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E.xcrn.m’.EmA bmitanwica
-
Cmpclopetria JSrttamuca
OR, A
DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, SCIENCES, AND MISCELLANEOUS
LITERATURE;
ENLARGED AND IMPROVED.
THE FIFTH EDITION,
jllustcate!) toitl) neartg stir tunUreiJ (ZEngrauingis.
VOL. I.
INDOCTI discant; ament meminisse periti.
EDINBURGH:
Printed at the Encyclopedia Press,
FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, AND THOMSON BONAR, EDINBURGH
-GALE, CURTIS, AND FENNER, LONDON; AND THOMAS WILSON
AND SONS, YORK.
J815.
PREFACE.
' fi
The importance of a work so constructed as to exhibit a comprehensive and
accurate view of every branch and portion of human knowledge, and human
art, must be too apparent to require any illustration. Such is the intention ot
the Encyclopedia Britannica ; and the publication of five extensive ^editions
of a work devoted to such objects, at once affords a proof of its eminent utility,
and of the favourable opinion of the public as to the ability with which it has
been executed.
The great superiority of the plan of tins work has contributed in no small
degree both to its usefulness and popularity. A very few words will serve to
explain the principles, and to evince the pre-eminence of the method which
its compilers have pursued in treating the various branches of the arts and
sciences.
In all former attempts, the alphabet, in place of being employed in the hum¬
ble function of an index to the matter contained in the work, was made supreme
arbiter of the whole arrangement; and the different sciences, instead of being
made the subjects of distinct and connected discussion, were cut down into de¬
tached parts, out of which no general view of any one science or art could possibly
be formed. In this view the alphabet, far from conducing to clearness, became
an instrument of disorder; and its only use appeared to be, to save the trouble of
•a more commodious or philosophical arrangement. These obvious defects in all
the most popular Dictionaries of arts and sciences were clearly observed by Mr
Chambers, himself the compiler of a well-known work of this kind ; and, in
speaking of the labours of his predecessors, he particularly censures the uninstruc-
tive method of their performances. u Former lexicographers (he observes) scarce
attempted any thing like structure in their works ; they seem not to have been
aware that a dictionary is in some measure capable of the advantages of a conti¬
nued discourse; and hence it is, that we see nothing like a whole in what they
have
VI PREFACE.
have clone.’’ For the purpose of remedying tins defect in his own work, he in¬
forms his readers, that “ his view was to consider the several matters, not only in
themselves, but relatively, or as they respect each other ; both to treat them as
so many wholes, and as so many parts of some greater whole ; and to point out
their connection with each other, and with that whole, by reference: so that by
a course of references from generals to particulars, from premises to conclutions,
from cause to effect, and vice versa, a communication might be opened between
the several parts of the work, and the detached articles be in some measure re¬
placed in the natural order of science, out of which the alphabetical order had re¬
moved them.” And in order to exhibit a view of the bearings and relations of
the various articles scattered through his Dictionary, he has prefixed to it a ta-
bnlar analysis illustrative of their mutual connections and dependencies.
But although it must be admitted, that this table is elaborately and skilfully
constructed, and that the arrangement of the Cyclopaedia of Mr Chambers is
much preferable to that of any former work of the kind, it is still indisputably
liable to many of those very objections for which this author censures his pre¬
decessors. Even if his original plan had been carried into effect with complete
success, and all the articles in different parts of his work had been so managed,
^as, when reunited, to have made so many complete systems, the number of refe¬
rences was still so great, that no reader could possibly have submitted to the
trouble of combining them (a).
Of this inconveniency the original compilers of the Encyclopedia Britannica
were fully aware ; and they resolved, in the conduct of their work, to adopt such
a plan as should completely free it from this objection. They were as fully con¬
vinced as their predecessors of the utility of a separate explanation of every tech¬
nical term, and of the necessity also of noticing, in detail, many topics which it
would be proper more fully to illustrate in a general account of the respective
sciences to which they belonged. But without such general treatises, combining
in
(a) Thus, from Meteorology we are referred to Air and the Atmosphere,; Including, ist, The history
©fits contents, TEther, Fire, Vapour, Exhalation, &c.; 2d, Meteors formed therein ; hs'Cloud, Rain,
tkc. Shower, Drop, Snow, Hail, Dew, Damp, 8cc. Rainbow, Parhelion, Halo, Thunder, Waterspout,
Winds, Monsoon, Hurricane, and the like. And as every word printed in capitals is the title of an article
treated separately in the Cyclopedia, we must turn backwards and forwards through more than, twenty-four
references before we come at the detached topics, which we are directed to unite into a system of METEOROLOGY.
The number of articles which must be united in the same manner to constitute the Compiler’s system of META¬
PHYSICS is upwards of forty-eight} and those which are referred to Theology above three hundred !
PREFACE.
VI l
in one view all the related parts of a subject, they deemed it impossible to convey
any thing like complete or philosophical information. They accordingly endear
voured, in so far as their limits would permit, to exhibit a clear and satisfactory
account of the several arts and sciences under their proper denominations, and to
explain, at the same time, the subordinate articles, under their technical terms*
These articles may be divided into three kinds. The first consists of such as,
not depending very closely on particular systems, admit ot a complete explana¬
tion under their proper names; the second, of such as require to be considered
in the general account of the sciences with which they are connected, and also
under their own denominations; and the third, of such as belong to a great
whole, from which they cannot be separated, so as to be explained in detail.
Articles of the first kind admit, of course, of no references; those of the second
sort, being only partially explained under their own denominations, the reader
is referred for more complete information to the article where the subject is
more fully illustrated ; and in articles of the third description, no attempt is made
to explain them, except in connection with the subjects to which they severally
belong, and to which the reader is therefore always referred.
Such is the plan of arrangement adopted in the first, and followed, with some
improvements in the detail, throughout every edition of the Encyclopaedia Bri-
tannica ; and there appears to be no other, by which the great objects of such a
work could be so conveniently and completely attained. Indeed, it seems to be
now pretty generally admitted, in this country at least, that the best form which
can be given to this kind of Dictionary, is that, in which the several arts and sci¬
ences are digested into treatises, and the various subordinate and detached parts
of knowledge explained in the order of the alphabet.
In the first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannic a, its compilers seem to
have intended little more than to furnish a general Dictionary 4 of Arts and
Sciences’; but in the succeeding edition, they took a wider range, so as to in¬
clude the great departments of Geography, History, Biography, and General
Literature. In this way, the work wTas converted into a Pandect and Reposi¬
tory of universal knowledge; and from three volumes, the form in which it first
appeared, has been gradually extended to a size more commensurate to the mag¬
nitude and variety of its objects.
Of the first and second editions of this work, and the twelve first volumes of
the third, it is understood, that Mr Colin Macfarquhar, one of its original pro¬
prietors and projectors, was the principal editor. Owing to his death, the re¬
maining six volumes of the third edition were edited by the Reverend Dr
Gleig. This gentleman was peculiarly fortunate, in being honoured with the co¬
operation
Vlil
PREFACE.
operation of the late Professor John Robison, whose contributions to the tat¬
ter volumes of that edition were numerous, and tended essentially to enhance
the character and utility of the undertaking. The fourth edition was wholly
edited by Dr James Millar, under whose superintendence, and with the assist-
since of several able contributors, the work received a large addition of new ar¬
ticles and treatises in all its departments.
To enumerate all the contributors to a work which. has undergone so many
changes, and of the compilation of which in its successive stages no record has
been preserved, is now beyond any means of information, which either the pub¬
lishers or any others possess. But they can still afford this satisfaction in regard
to almost all the more valuable treatises which it contains.
The article Agriculture, which, it seems probable, was originally compiled by
the late Mr James Tytler, was re-arranged and improved for the fourth edition
by Robert Forsyth, Esq. advocate. The treatise on Anatomy, originally drawn
up by Mr Andrew Fyfe of the University of Edinburgh, was revised by Dr
Millar. Acoustics, Aerostation, and Gunnery, were compiled by Mr Tytler.
The new' discoveries in Acoustics and Aerostation were added by Dr Millar. A-
stronomy, compiled also by Mr Tytler for the third edition, from materials fur¬
nished by Mr Jones of London, was more scientifically arranged, with the addition
of the later discoveries, for the fourth. Blind was furnished by Dr Blacklock and
Dr Moyes. Education, Religion, and Society, were composed by Mr Robert
Heron. The lives of Johnson and Mary Queen of Scots, wuth Instinct, Love,
Metaphysics, Miracle, the history of Ethics under Moral Philosophy, Oath, Pas¬
sion, Plastic Nature, Polytheism, Prayer, Slavery, and Supper of the Lord, were
contributed by Dr Gleig; Grammar and Theology by the Reverend James
Bruce and Dr Gleig ; and Motion by Dr Gleig and Mr Tytler. Medicine, origi¬
nally written by Dr Duncan, senior, of the University of Edinburgh, was revised
by him for the fourth edition. The article Music was partly drawn up by Dr
Blacklock, and revised for the fourth edition by George Sandy, Esq. The his¬
torical part of this article, originally written by William Maxwell Morison, Esq.
advocate, w'as revised, and continued down to the publication of the fourth edi¬
tion, by the same gentleman, who also furnished the treatise on Physiognomy.
Mysteries, Mythology, and Philology, were drawn up by the late Dr Doig of the
grammar school of Stirling. Navigation, Parallax, Pendulum, Projection of the
Sphere, and Ship-Building, were furnished by the late Dr Mackay of Aberdeen.
Optics, which was drawn up by Mr Jones, and revised for the third edition by
the late Professor Robison, w'as subjected to another revision for the fourth edi¬
tion by Dr Brewster. Percussion* Perspective, Philosophy, Physics, Pneumatics,
Precession
*
PREFACE.
lA'
Precession of the Equinoxes, Projectiles, Pumps, Quantity, Resistance of Fluids,
River, Roof, Rope-making, Rotation, Seamanship, Signals, Simson (Robert, life
of), Smoke-jack, Specific Gravity, Spirituous Liquors, Statics, Steam and Steam
Engine, Stove (the addition to this article in the fourth edition by Dr Millar),
Strength of Materials, Telescope, Tide, Articulating Irumpet, Variation of the
Compass, and Water-Works, were contributed by Professor Robison. Pre¬
destination and Providence were furnished by Mr Forsytli ; the History of the
French Revolution by the same gentleman and Dr Gleig; and the Continuation
in the fourth edition by Dr Millar.
All the preceding articles were written for editions prior to the fourth, in
which they only received the improvements or additions which have been respec¬
tively specified. The following articles and treatises were contributed, for the
first time, to the fourth edition:
Algebra, Conic Sections, Fluxions, Geometry, Logarithms (description of),
Mensuration, Porism, Series, and Trigonometry, by Mr Wallace, one of the
mathematical professors in the Loyal Military College at Sandhurst. Hydio-
dynamics, Free-Masonry, history of Mathematics, and Mechanics, by Dr Brew¬
ster of Edinburgh. Ichthyology, Meteorolite, Ophiology, and Ornitholog), by
Mr Muirhead, professor of natural history in the university of Glasgow. Africa,
Asia, and Europe, with the continuation of the history of America, and of Bri¬
tain, by Robert Forsyth, Esq. advocate. Electricity, Farriery, Geography,
Geology (part of), Magnetism, Mammalia, Man, Materia Medica, Physio¬
logy, Prescriptions (extemporaneous), Russia, Science (amusements of), Scot¬
land (geographical and statistical parts),, Spain, War (introduction), and Zoo¬
phytes, by Dr Kirby of Edinburgh. Continuation of the history of India, by
the late Dr William Tennant. Life and philosophy of Boscovich, by Dr Poole
of Edinburgh. Entomology, by Mr James Williamson of Edinburgh. Mid¬
wifery, by Dr Hamilton, junior, professor of midwifery, Edinburgh. Surgery,
by James Wardrop, Esq. surgeon, London. Vegetable Physiology, by Mr Lyall,
surgeon, Paisley. Political Economy and Taxation, by Mr Hugh Murray of
Edinburgh. Cetology, Chemistry, Conchology, Crystallization, Dyeing, Erpe-
tology, Furnace, Galvanism, Geology (part of), Mineralogy, Ores (analysis and
reduction of), Stones (analysis of), and the continuation of Galvanism under the
word Zinc, by Dr Millar.
The favourable reception of the fourth edition encouraged the then proprietor
to proceed with a reprint, which had advanced to the sixth volume, before the
copyright was acquired by the present publishers. They were thereby precluded
from making any material alterations on the present ox fifth edition ; but as the
work.
s
PREFACE,
work, after it became their property, was subjected to a revision by the former
editor (Dr Millar), many errors and inaccuracies have been corrected ; and the
improvement of the plates, has given it a decided superiority in this capital de¬
partment over every former edition. The Supplemental volumes, with which
it is to be followed, will enrich its stock of miscellaneous information with a large
accession of interesting articles; and, presenting a view of the arts and sciences
in their latest state of improvement at home and abroad, will thus render the
Encyclopedia Britannica the most complete repertory of universal knowledge
that has yet been given to the public.
Edinburgh, Ut Decetnber, 1814,
1
I
Encyclopaedia Britannica
a.
THE firft letter of the alphabet, in all the
3 known languages of the world, that of Ethi¬
opia excepted, in which it is the 13th. It has de-
fervedly the firft place in the alphabet, on account of
its fimplicity, very little more being neceffary to its
pronunciation than opening the mouth.
In the Englifti language, A is the mark of three dif¬
ferent founds, termed, by our grammarians, the broad,
the open, and the Jlender A. The firft refembles that
of the German A, is found in feveral monofyllables, as
"joail, fait, &c. and is pronounced as au in caufe. It
is probable that the Saxons expreffed only this broad
found of the letter, as it is ftill commonly retained in
the northern diftri&s of England, and univerfally
throughout Scotland j as, tank for talk, wank for walk
or wake.—The open A refembles that of the Italians
in adagio, and is the fame with that of a in father, ra¬
ther, &c. The flender found is peculiar to the Englifh
language, and refembles the found of the French diph¬
thong ai in pais, or their a mafculine, or perhaps it is
.a middle found between them. This is exemplified in
place, wajle, &c. alfo in toleration, juff cation, and all
other words ending with ation.
A is fometimes added after words in burlefque poetry $
in which cafe it only makes an additional fyllable with¬
out any alteration of the fenfe, as the interje&ion O
very often does in our ballads. It is alfo fometimes
redundant, as in the words arife, awake, &c. which
are not different in fignification from rife, wake, &c.
It is fometimes a word, either noun or interje&ion ;
in which laft cafe, it is commonly an expreflion of
grief, and joined with the afpirate, as ah ! When a
noun, it is only with refpeft to itfelf; as great A,
little a, &c.
A is very frequently ufed as an article; in which cafe
it has no plural fignification, and is ufed to denote the
number one, as a houfe, a field, &c. When placed as
an article before any of the vow'els, y and w only ex¬
cepted, it is joined with the letter n ; as an illand, an
orator, &c.—In the three following cafes it is a pre-
pofition : 1. When it goes before a participle, or noun
derived from a participle ; as, I am a doing this or
tnat. 2. When ufed before local furnames ; as Corne-
niis a Lapide, Thomas a Kempis, &c. 3. When it
is uieo in compofition; as, a foot, a fleep, &c. In fome
inftances it denotes the proportion of one thing to ano-
ther; a*, fo much a week, a man, a head, &c.
A, among the ancients, was a numeral letter, and
VoL. I. Part I.
fignified 500 ; and when a dafli was added on the top
A, 5000.
A, in the Julian calendar, is the firft of the feven
DOMINICAL letters. It had been in ufe among the
Romans long before the eftablifhment of Chriftianity,
as the firft of the eight nundinales literce; in imitation
whereof it was that the dominical letters were firft in¬
troduced.
A is alfo an abbreviation ufed with different inten¬
tions. Hence,
A, among logicians, is ufed to denote an univerfal
affirmative propofition ; according to the verfe,
Ajferat A, negat E, verum genera/iter ambce.
Thus, in the firft figure, a fyllogifm confifting of three
univerfal affirmative propofitions, is faid to be in Bar-
ba-ra; the A thrice repeated, denoting fo many of the
propofitions to be univerfal, &c. See Barbara.
A, among the Romans, was ufed in giving votes
or fuffrages.—When a new law was propofed, each
voter had two wooden ballots put into his hand ;
the one marked with a capital A, fignifying antique,
q. d. antiquum volo; and the other with U. R. for uti
rogas. Such as were againft the law, caft the firft into
the urn ; fignifying, I refufe it, I antiquate it; or, I
like the ancient law, and defire no innovation.
A, in the trials of criminal caufes, alfo denoted ab-
folution : Whence Cicero, pro Mi/one, calls si, litera
fa lu tar is, a faving letter.—Three ballots were diftri-
buted to each judge, marked with the letters, A for
abfolvo, I acquit; C for condemno, I condemn ; and
A. Z. for non liquet, It is not clear. From the num¬
ber of each caft into the urn, the praetor pronounced
the prifoner’s fate. If they were equal in number, he
was abfolved.
A, in the ancient inferiptions of marbles, &c. oc-
cafionally ftands for Augujlus, ager, aiunt, &c. When
double it denotes Augujli; when triple aurum, argen¬
tum, ces; and fometimes its meaning can only be'
known by the reft of the infeription. Ifidore adds,
that when it occurs after the word miles, (foldier) it
denotes him young. On the reverfe of ancient medals,
it denotes that they were ftruck by the city of Argos,
fometimes by that of Athens; but on coins of modern
date, it is the mark of Paris.
A, as an abbreviation, is alfo often found in modern
writers : as A. D. for anno Domini; Ai M. artium
magifer, mafter of arts ; anno mundi, &c.
AAR [2
A A, the letter a, with a line above it, thus a, is ufed
il in medical prefcriptions for of each ; fometimes it
^varon. js wrj^en 33 : e. g. ^ Mel. Sacchar. et Mann.
a, vel aa, ^j. i. e. Take of honey, fugar, and manna,
of each, one ounce.
A, put to bills of exchange, is in England an ab¬
breviation of accepted, and in France for accepte. It
is likewife ufual among merchants to mark their fets
of books with the letters A, B, C, &c. initead of the
numbers 1, 2, 3, &c.
A.A. A. The chemical abbreviation for Amalgama,
or Amalgamation.
A A, the name of feveral rivers in Germany and
SvviiTerland.
AACH, a little town of Germany, in the circle of
Suabia, near the fource of the river Aach, and almoft
equally diftant from the Danube and the lake Con-
fiance. It belongs to the houfe of Auftria. E. Long.
9. o. N. Lat. 47. 55.
AAHUS, a little town of Germany, in thercircle of
Weflphalia and bilhopric of Munller. It is the capital
of Aahus, a fmall dillridt; has a good eaftle •, and lies
north-eaft of Coesleldt. E. Long. 7. 1. N. Lat. 52. 10.
A AM, or Ha am, a liquid meafure in common ufe
among the Dutch, containing 128 meafures called
mingles, each weighing nearly 36 ounces avoirdupois ^
whence the Aam contains 288 Englifh, and iqSy pints
Paris meafure.
AAR, the name of two rivers, one in Swifferland,
and another in Weftphalia in Germany. It is alfo the
name of a fmall illand in the Baltic.
AARASSUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Pi-
Sdia, in the Hither Afia, thought to be the Anaffus of
Ptolemy.
AARON, high-prieft of the Jews, and brother to
Mofes, was by the father’s fide great grandfon, and by
the mother’s, grandfon of Levi. By God’s command
he met Mofes at the foot of Mount Horeb, and they
went together into Egypt to deliver the children of 11-
mel: he had a great (hare in all that Mofes did for their
deliverance. The Scriptures call him the prophet of
Mofes, and he afted in that capacity after the IfraeliteS
had paffed over the Red fea. He afcended Mount Si¬
nai with two of his fons, Nadab and Abihu, and fe-
venty elders of the people \ but neither he nor they
went higher than half way, from whence they faw the
glory of God j only Mofes and Jofhua went to the top,
where they flaid forty days. During their abfence,
Aaron, overcome by the people’s eager entreaties, fet
up the golden calf, which the Ifraelites worfliipped by
his confent. This calf has given rife to various conjec¬
tures. Some rabbies maintain that he did not make
the golden calf, but only threw the gold into the fire,
to get rid of the importunities of the people 5 and that
certain magicians who mingled with the Ifraelites
at their departure from Egypt, call this gold into
the figure of a calf. According to fome authors,
the fear of falling a facrifice to the refentmeut of the
people, by giving a refufal, made Aaron comply with
their defire : and they allege alfo, that he hoped to
elude their requeft, by demanding of the women to
contribute their car rings, imagining they would rather
choofe to remain without a vifible deity, than be de¬
prived of their perfonal ornaments. This affair of the
golden calf happened in the third month after the If-
] AAR
raelites came out of Egypt. In the firft month of the Aarc-
following year, Aaron was appointed by God high- II
prieft ; which office he executed during the time that , ar er|
the children of Ifrael continued in the wildernefs. He
died in the fortieth year after the departure from
Egypt, upon Mount Hor, being then 123 years old ;
A. M. 2522, of the Julian period. 3262, before the
Chriftian era 1452.
Aaron, the Caraite, a learned Jew who flouriffied
about the year 1299. He left many works on the Old
Teftament, among which there is one entitled, “ A
Commentary on the Pentateuch,” which has been much,
valued. It was written in Hebrew, and printed in fo¬
lio with a Latin tranfiation, at Jena, in 1710.
Aaron, another Caraite Jew, who lived in the 15th
century, wrote a concife Hebrew grammar, entitled
Chelil Jophi, “ the Perfection of Beauty,” which was
printed at Conftantinople in 15,81.
AARON and Julius, Saints, were brothers who fuf-
fered martyrdom together, during the perfecution un¬
der the emperor Dioclefian, in the year 303, about the
fame time with St Alban the firft martyr of Britain.
We are not told what their Britifti names were, it be¬
ing ufual with the Chriftian Britons, at the time of bap-
tifm, to take new names from the Greek, Latin, or
Hebrew. Nor have we any certainty as to the parti¬
culars of their death ; only that they fuffered the moft
cruel torments. Two churches were dedicated to the
brothers, in which their bodies were interred, at Caer-
Leon, the ancient metropolis of Wales.
Aaron, or Harun, Al Rafchid, a celebrated caliph,
or Mahometan fovereign of the Saracen empire j whofe
hiftory is given under the article Bagdad.
AARSENS, Francis, Lord of Someldyck and
Spyck, was one of the greateft minifters for negotia¬
tion the United Provinces could ever boaft of. His-
father, Cornelius Aarfens, was regiller to the States y
and being acquainted with Mr Pleffis Mornay, at the
court of William prince of Orange, he prevailed up¬
on him to take his fbn under him, with whom he con¬
tinued fome years. John Olden Barneveldt, w ho pre-
fided over the affairs of Holland and all the United
Provinces, fent him afterwards agent into France,
where he learned to negociate under thofe profound
politicians Henry IV. Villeroy, Silleri, Roffie, Jaon-
nin, &c. and he acquitted himfelf in fuch a manner as-,
to obtain their approbation. Soon after, he was in¬
verted with the charafter of ambaffadwr, and was the firft:
who was recognized as fuch by the French court y at
which time Henry IV. declared, that he ffiould take
precedence next to the Venetian minlfter. He refided
in France 15 years*, during which time he received
great marks of efieem from the king, rvho created him
a knight and baron •, and for this reafon he was re¬
ceived among the nobles of the province of Holland.
However, he became at length fo odious to the French
court, that they defired to have him recalled. He
was afterwards deputed to Venice, and to feveral Ger¬
man and Italian princes, upon occafion of the troubles
in Bohemia. He was the firft. of three extraordinary
ambaffadors fent to England in 1620, and the fecond
in 1641 *, in which latter embaffy he was accompanied/
by the lord of Brederode as firft ambaffador, and
Heemfvliet as third, to negociate the marriage of
Prince William, fon of the prince of Orange, with a-.
A BA [3
rfausker of Charles I. He was likewifo amballador
extraordinary at the French court in 1624, at the be-
sinning of Cardinal Richlieu’s adminiftration who had
a high opinion of him. The memoirs which he has
left of the negotiations in which he was engaged, (how
him to have been one of the ableft men ot his time,
and worthy of the confidence and truft repofed m him
by his country. But his charadler is not altogether
without ftain. His enmity to the remonftrants was bit¬
ter and unrelenting; and he is fuppofed to have great¬
ly encouraged the violent meafures puvlued by Fnnce
Maurice againft the venerable Barneveldt, and to have
been the principal advifer for affembling the famous and
perfecting fynod of Dordrecht. He died at a very ad¬
vanced age •, and his fon, who furvived him, was repu¬
ted the wealthieft man in Holland.
A AS AR, in Ancient Geography, a town of Paleitine,
In the tribe of Judah, fituated between Azotus and
Afcalon. In Jerome’s time it was a hamlet.
AB, the eleventh month of the civil year of the
Hebrews, and the fifth of their ecclefiaftical year, which
begins with the month Nifan. It anfwers to the moon
of July •, that is, to part of our month H the fame
name, and to the beginning of Auguft : it confifts ot
thirty days. The Jews faft on the firtl of this month,
in memory of Aaron’s death \ and on the ninth, became
on that day both the temple of Solomon, awd that
erefted after the captivity, were burnt; the former by
the Chaldeans, and the latter by the Romans. 1 he
fame day is alfo remarkable among that people for the
publication of Adrian’s edia, wherein they were for¬
bidden to continue in Judea, or even to look back when
at a diftance from Jerufalem, in order to lament the de-
folation of that city. The 18th of the fame month is
alfo a fail among the Jews j becaufe the lamp in the
fanauary was that night extinguiftied, in the time of
Ahaz. (
Ab, in the Syriac calendar, is the name of the lait
fummer month. The firft day of this month they call¬
ed Suum-Miriam, the faft of the virgin, becaufe the
eaftern Chriftians fafted from that day to the fifteenth,
which wTas therefore called Fathr-Miriam, the ceffation
of the faft of the virgin.
ABA (or rather Abau) Hanifah or Hanfa, fur-
named Al-Nooma, was the fon of Thabet, and born
at Coufah in the 80th year of the Hegira. This is the
moft celebrated doftor of the orthodox Mufliilmans,
and his fe& is held in greateft efteem among the four
which they indifferently follow. Notvvithftanding this,
he was not very ■well efteemed during his life ; infomuch
that the caliph Almanfor caufed him to be itnprifoned
at Bagdad, for having refufed to fubferibe to the opi¬
nion of abfolute predeftination, which the Muffulmans
call Cadha. But aftenvards Abou Jofeph, who was
the fovereign judge or chancellor of the empire under
the caliph Hadi, brought his dottrine into fuck credit,
that it became a prevailing opinion, That to be a good
Muffulman was to be a Hanifite. He died in the
150th year of the Hegira, in the prifon of Bagdad :
and it was not till 335 years after his death, that
Melick Schah, a fultan of the Selgiucidan race, ereft-
ed to his memory a magnificent monument in the fame
city, and a college for his followers, in the 485th year
of the Hegira, and Anno Chrifti 1092. The moft
] ABA
eminent fuccefiors of this doctor were Ahmed Benali,
A1 GiaiTas, and A1 Razi who was the matter of Naf-
fari } and there is a mofque particularly appropriated to u
them in the temple of Mecca.
Aba, Abas, Abos, or Abus, in Ancient Geography,
the name of a mountain of Greater Armenia, fituated
between the mountains Niphatos and Nibonis. Ac¬
cording to Strabo, the Euphrates and Araxes rofe from
this mountain ; the former running eaftward, and the
latter weftward.
Aba. See Abal.
Aba, Albon, or Ovon, a king of Hungary. He
married the fitter of Stephen I. and was elefted kmg
on the depofition of Peter in 1041. The emperor
Henry III. preparing to reinftate Peter on the throne,
Aba made an incurfion into his dominions, and return¬
ed loaded with booty, but was next year_ obliged to
make reftitution, by paying a large fum, in order to
prevent a threatened invafion from the emperor. He
indulged in great familiarity with the lower clafs of
the people, on account of which, and his ieverity to
their order, he became univerfally odious to the nobi¬
lity. The fugitive nobles, aided by the emperor, ex¬
cited a revolt againft him. After a bloody battie.
Aba was put to flight; and was murdered by his own
foldiers in 1044, having reigned three years.
ABA A, a river in Theffaly, fuppofed by fome to be
the Peneus of the ancients.
ABACiENA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Me¬
dia, and another of Garia in the Hither Afia.
ABACiENUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Sicily, whofe ruins are fuppofed to be thofe lying near
Trippi, a cit&del on a high and fteep mountain not far
from Meffina. The inhabitants were called Abaccenim*
ABACH, a market town of Germany, in Lower
Bavaria, feated on the Danube, 12 miles S. W. of
Ratifbon. It is remarkable for Roman antiquities, and
for fprings of mineral waters which are faid to be good
for variousdiftempers. E. Long. 11 - 56. N. Lat. 48. 53.
ABACINARE, or Abbacinare, in writers of the
middle age, a cruel fpecies of punifhment, confifting in
the blinding of the criminal, by holding a red-hot bafon
or bowl of metal before his eyes.
ABACK (a fea term), the fituation of the fails when
the furfaces are flatted againft the mafts by the force
of the wind. The fails are faid to be taken aback when
they are brought into this fituation, either by a fudden
change of the wind, or by an alteration in the (hip’s
courfe. They are laid aback, to effeft an immediate re¬
treat, without turning to the right or left; or, in the
fea phrafe, to give the ftiip Jlern-way, in order to avoid
Tome danger difeovered before her in a narrow channel,
or when fhe has advanced beyond her ftation in the line
of battle, or otherwife. The fails are placed in this
pofition by flackening their lee braces, and hauling in
the weather ones ; fo that the whole effort of the wind
is exerted on the fore part of their furface, which rea¬
dily putties the {hip aftern, unlefs (lie is reftrained by
fome countera&ing force. It is alfo ufual to fpread
fome fail aback near the ftern, as the mizen-top-fail,
when a ftiip rides with a Angle anchor in a road, in
order to prevent her from approaching it fo as to en¬
tangle the flukes of it with her flackened cable, and
thereby loofen it from the ground.
: -A 2 ABACOT.
Aba
II
Aback.
Abscot
Abacus.
ahA [ 4
AR AGO i, the name of an ancient cap of ftate worn
by the kings of England, the upper part whereof was
in the form of a double crown.
ABAC 1 ORS, or Abactores, a name given to
thofe who drive away, or rather ilea], cattle by herds,
Oi great numbers at once j and are therefore very pro¬
perly diftmguilhed from fares or thieves.
ABACUS, among the ancients, was a kind of cup¬
board or buifet. Livy, deferibing the luxury into
which the Romans degenerated after the conqueft of
Alia, fays they had their abaci, beds, &c. plated over
with gold.
Abacus, among the ancient mathematicians, figni-
iud a table covered with dull, on which they drew
their diagrams j the word in this fenfe being derived
from the Phuenician abak, dull.
Abacus, or Abaciscus, in Arclnteflure, fignifies
the fu peri or part or member of the capital of a column,
and ferves as a kind of crowning to both. Vitruvius
tells us the abacus was originally intended to reprefent
a fquare tile laid over an urn, or rather over a balket.
See Architecture, N° 15—The form of the abacus
is not the fame in all orders: In the Tufcan, Doric,
and Ionic, it is generally Iquare j but in the Corin¬
thian and Compofite, its four fides are arched inwards,
and embelliihed in the middle with fume ornament, as
a rofe or other flower. Scammozzi ufes abacus for a
concave moulding on the capital of the Tufcan pedef-
fal *, and Palladio calls the plinth above the echinus,
or boultin, in the 1 ufcan and Doric orders, by the fame
name.
Abacus is alfo the name of an ancient inilrument
for facilitating operations in arithmetic. It is varioufly
contrived. That chiefly ufed in Europe is made by draw¬
ing any number of parallel lines at the diltance of two
diameters of one of the counters ufed in the calculation.
A counter placed on the lowed line, fignifies 1 : on the
2d, to*, on the 3d, loo; on the 4th, 1000, &c. In
the intermediate fpaces, the fame counters are eftimated
at one half of the value of the line immediately fuperior,
viz. between the lit and 2d, 5 *, between the 2d and 3d,
5c, &c. See Plate I. fig. 1. where the fame number,
1802 for example, is reprefented under both divifions
by different difpofitfons of the counters. A farther il-
lutlration of this mode of notation is given in fig. 2.
National debt, according to Mr Ad¬
dington, lit Feb. 1802, L.400,709,832
According to Mr'J'ierney, - 457,154,081
According to Mr Morgan, - 558,418,628
New finking fund, - . 3,275,143
Old finking fund, - - - 2,534,187
Abacus is alfo ufed by modern writers for a table
of numbers ready call up, to expedite the operations of
arithmetic. In this fenfe we have Abaci of addition,
«f multiplication, of divifion. This inftrument for
computation is, under fome variations, in ufe with molt
nations, as the Greeks, Romans, Germans, French,
Chinefe, &c.
Grecian ABACUS, was an oblong frame, over which
were ftretched feveral brafs wires, fining with little
ivory balls, like the beads of a necklace ; by the va¬
rious arrangements of which all kinds of computations
were, eafily made.
Reman Abacus was a little varied from the Gre-
] ABA
cian, having pins Aiding in grooves, inftead of firing
or wires and beads. 0
c/nnefe Abacus, or ShwaNPAN, like the Grecian,
confilts of feveral feries of beads Itrung on brafs wires*
ftretched from the top to the bottom of the initru-
mint, and divided iu the middle by a crofs piece from
fide to fide. In the upper fpace every firing has two
beads, which are each counted for 5 ; and in" the lower
fpace every firing has five beads, of difibrent value,
the fiifi being counted as 1, the fccond as 10, the thifd.
as 100, and fo on, as with us,.
Abacus Pythagoricus, the common multiplication
table, fo called from its being invented by Pythagora
Ah ACC s Log if reus, is a reflangled triangle, whole
fides, forming the right angle, contain the numbers
from 1 to 60 ; and its area, the facia of each two of
the numbers perpendicularly oppofite. This is alfo cal¬
led a canon of fexagefma/s.
Abacus et Palmulce, in the Ancient Mufic, denote
the machinery, whereby the firings of polypletfra, or
inftruments of many firings, were ftruck with a plec¬
trum made of quills.
Abacus Harmonicas, is ufed by Kircher for the
ftru6lure and difpofition of the keys of a mufical in¬
ilrument, whether to be touched with the hands or th®
feet.
Abacus Major, in metallurgic operations, the name
of a trough ufed in the mines, wherein the ore is walk¬
ed.
ABADDON, is the name which St John in the
Revelation gives to the king of the loc ufts, the angel
of the bottonilefs pit. The infpired writer fays, this
word is Hebrew, and in Greek lignifies Ax»\Xvaii, i. e.
a dejiroycr. That angel-king is thought to be Satan
or the devil : but Mr le Clerc thinks with Dr Plam-
mond, that by the locufis which came out of the abyfk,
may be undtrftood the zealots and robbers, who mifj
ra^.ly aiTlieted the land of Judea, and laid it in a man¬
ner walie, before Jerufalem was taken by the Romans-j
and that Abaddon, the king of the locufis, may be
John of Gifchala, who having treacheroufiy left that
town a little before it was furrendered to Titus, came
to Jerufalem, where he foon headed part of the zealots,
who acknowledged him as their king, whilfi the refi
would not fubmit to him. This fubdivifion of the zea¬
lot party brought a thoufand calamities on the Jews.
ABADIIl, a title which the Carthaginians gave to
gods of the fir ft order. In the Roman mythology, it
is the name of a Hone which Saturn fwallowed, by the
contrivance of his wife Ops, believing it to be his new¬
born fun Jupiter: hence it became the objtd of reli¬
gious worjhip.
AB/E, or Aba, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Phocis in Greece, near Helicon j famous for an oracle
of Apollo older than that at Delphi, and for a rich tem-
pie which was plundered and burnt by the Perfians.
ABAFT, a fea term, fignifying the hinder part of
a fiiip, or all thofe parts both within and without
which lie towards the Hern, in oppofition to afore ;
which fee.—Abaft, is alfo ufed as a prepofition, and
fignifies further aft, or nearer the fern ; as, the barri¬
cade Hands abaft the main-maft, i. e. behind it, or
nearer the ftern.
ABAISSED, abaiffe, in Heraldry, an epithet ap¬
plied to the wings of eagles, See. when the tip looks
downward*
Abacus
II
AbaillietE
 y——J
ABA [5
downwards to the point of the (hield, or when the
wings are fhut ; the natural way of bearing them being
extended.
AB AK A khan, the eighth emperor of the Moguls,
a wife and good prince, afeended the throne in 1264.
He reigned 17 year', and is by fome authors faid to
have been a Chriftian. It may be admitted, indeed,
that he joined with the Chriftian* in keeping the feaft
of Eafter, in the city Hamadan, a {hurt time before his
death. But this is no proof of his Chriftianity } it be¬
ing common, in times of brotherly love, for Chriftians
and Mahometans to join in keeping the fame feafts,
when each would compliment the other with doing
honour to his folemnity.
AB AKANSKOI, a town of Siberia, which was
founded by Peter the Great in 1707. It is provided
with a garrifon* to protefr the hunters who are em¬
ployed in catching martens and foxes on account of
their furs, which are here an important article of com¬
merce. It is fituated in E. Long. 94. 5. N. Lat.
53- 3°- ...
ABALAK, a fmall town of Siberia, two miles ;rnm
Tobolfk, in E. Long. 64. 10. N. Lat. 57. 1. Abalak
M-famous as the refort of many pilgrims who vifit an
image of the virgin Mary, which is annually carried in
proceflion to Tobol Ik.
AB ALIENATION, in Lovj, the afl of transfer¬
ping one man’s property to another.
AB ALL ABA, the ancient name of APFLEBY-, a
town in Weftmorcland, remarkable only for its anti¬
quity, having l>een a Roman ftation. W. Long, I. 4.
N. Lat. 55. 38,
ABALUS, in Ancitnt Geography, fuppofed by the
ancients to be an ifland in the German ocean, called by
Timseus Bajilia, and by Xenophon Lampfacenus Ba/iia;
now the peninfula of Scandinavia. Here, according
to Pliny, feme imagined that amber dropped from the
trees.
A BAN A, or Am ANA, in Ancient Geography, a river
of Phoenicia, which, riling from Mount Hertnon, wafti-
ed the fouth ami weft (ides of Damafcus, and falls into
the Phoenician fea to the north of Tripoli*, called Chry-
forrheas, by the Greeks.
ABANGA. Sec Any.
ABANO, a town of the Paduano, in the republic
of Venice, famous among the ancients for its hot baths.
AB ANTES, a people who came originally from
Thrace, and fettled in Phocoea, a country of Greece,
where they built a town which they called Aba, after
the name of Abas their leader ; and if we may credit
fome ancient authors, the Abantes went afterwards in¬
to the iftand Euboea, now called Negropont: ethers
fay the Abantes of Euboea came from Athens. The
Abantes were a very warlike people, clofing with their
enemies, and fighting hand to hand.
AB ANITAS, or Abantis, in Ancient Geography,
a name of the ifland Euboea in the Egean fea, extending
along the coaft of Greece, from the promontory Sunium
in Attica to Theffaly, and feparated from Boeotia by a
narrow ftrait called Euripus. From its length the
ifland was formerly called Macris ; afterwards Aban-
tins or Abantis, from the Abantes, a people originally
of I brace, called by Homer crirStv Kouo&vhs, from
wearing their hair long behind, having in a battle ex¬
perienced the inconvenience of wearing long hair be*
]
ABA
Ab.iris.
fore. From cutting their hair before, they were called Abantias
Curctes.
ABAPTISTON, in Surgery, the perforating part
of the inttrument called a TREPAN. This inftrumtnt,
w hich is mentioned by Galen, 1‘abricius ab Acjuapen-
dente, and others, was a conical faw with a circular
edge. Modern praftitioners, however, prefer the cy¬
lindrical form ; and various contrivances have been re¬
commended to obviate the danger that may arife. from
want of dexterity, or from rathnefs, in performing the
operation of trepanning. A new inftrument has been
klcly invented and delineated for this purpofe, by Mr
Hodman, furgeon in Paifley. This inftrunient is fo
contrived, that it can be fitted to cut any thickncfs of
bone without danger of injuring the brain j and as no
pivot or centre pin is necefl'ary, the dreadful accidents
which have lometimes happened by not removing it,
when the inllrument in common ufe is employed, arc
completely avoided. (Philufoph. Mag. April 1802.)
ABARA, a town in the Greater Armenia, under
the dominion of the Turks j it is often the refidence <>t
the archbiftiop of Nakiivan. E. Long. -46. 25. N.
Lat. 39. 45.
ABAHANER, a town of Afia, in the Greater Ar¬
menia, belonging U> the Turks : it is feated on the ri¬
ver Alingena- E. Long. 46. 30. N. Lat. 39. 5C.
ABARCA, an ancient kind of (hoe ultd in Spaiiv
for pafting the mountains with. It was made of raw
hides, and bound with cords, which fecured the feet of
traveller* againft the fnow.
A BARI M, high mountains of fteep afeent, fepara-
ting the country of the Ammonites and Moabite* from
the land of Canaan, where Mofes died. According to
Jofephus, they Hood oppofite to the territory of Jericho,
and were the laft ftation but one of the Ifraelitcs-
coming from Egypt. Nebo and Piigah were parts of
thefe mountains.
A BARIS, the Hyperborean, a celebrated fage ot
antiquity, whofe hiftory and travels have been the fub-
ji<R of much learned difcuflion. Such a number of fa¬
bulous ftories * were told of him, that Herodotus him- * Jamblicia
felf feems to fcruple to relate them. He tells us on- Vita Py-
ly-f, that this barbarian was faid to have travelled
with an arrow, and to have taken no fultenance : but ’b
... . • 1 1 caP- 3°'
this does not acquaint us with the marvellous proper¬
ties which were attiibuted to that arrow; nor that it
had been given him by the Hyperborean Apollo.
With regard to the occafion of his leaving his native
country, Harpocration t tells u% that the whole earth {Ur.der the
being infefted w ith a deadly plague, Apollo, upon be-won'ACaj*.
ing confulted, gave no other anfwer, than that the
Athenians fhould offer up prayers in behalf of all other
nations ; upon which, feveral countries deputed ambaf-
fadors to Athens, among whom was Abaris the Hy¬
perborean. In this journey, he renewed the alliance
between his countrymen and the inhabitants of the
ifland of Delos. It appears that he alfo went to La¬
cedaemon ; fince according to fome writers ||, he there || Paufamas,
built a temple confecrated to Proferpine the Salutary, fib-
It is aflerted, that he was capable of foretelling earth¬
quakes, driving away plagues, laying ftorms Porphyry
Fie wrote feveral book*, as Suidas * informs us, viz.,n V<£a Py-
Apollo’s arrival in the country of the Hyperboreans
The nuptials of the river Hebrus; Qioytnx, or the Ge-tjle
iteration of the Gods; A collection of oracles, &c.
Himeriiis
* Account
of the
Druids, in
his Pojlbu-
tnous
Works,
vol. i.
p. 161.
f Diod. Sic
lib. ii. tiu
| Jamblich
Vita Vy-
tbag
p. izS.
ABA [6
Hiraerius tlie foplnft applauds him for fpeaking pure
Greek j which attainment will be no matter of won¬
der to fuch as confuler the ancient intercourfe there
was between the Greeks and Hyperboreans. If the
Hebrides, or Weftern iflands of Scotland, (fays Mr
'Poland *), were the Hyperboreans of Diodorus f,
then the celebrated Abaris was of that country ; and
likewife a druid, having been the prieft of Apollo.
Suidas, who knew not the didinction of the infular
Hyperboreans, makes him a Scythian ; as do f>me
others, milled by the fame vulgar error ; though Dio¬
dorus has truly fixed his country in an ifland, and not
on the continent. Indeed the fifiions and miftakes
concerning our Abaris are infinite : however, it is
agreed by all that he travelled quite over Greece, and
from thence into Italy, where he converfed familiarly
with Pythagoras, who favoured him beyond all his dif-
ciples, by inftrufting him in his doflrines (efpecially
his thoughts of nature) in a plainer and more compen¬
dious method than he did any other. This diftin&ion
could not but be very advantageous to Abaris. The
Hyperborean, in return, prefented the Samian, as
though he equalled Apollo himfelf in wifdom, with
the facred arrow, on which the Greeks have fabulouf-
•ly related f that he fit aftride, and flew upon it,
through the air, over rivers and lakes, forefts and
mountains ; in like manner as our vulgar ftill believe,
particularly thofe of the Hebrides, that wizards and
witches fly whitherfoever they pleafe on their broom-
fticks. The orator Himerius above mentioned, though
one of thofe who, from the equivocal fenfe of the word
Hi/perborean, feem to have miftaken Abaris for a Scy¬
thian, yet deferibes his perfon accurately, and gives
him a very noble chara&er. They relate (fays he)
“ that Abaris the fage was by nation a Hyperborean,
“ appeared a Grecian in fpeech, and refembled a Scy-
“ thian in his habit and appearance. He came to A-
“ thens, holding a bow in his hand, having a quiver
“ hanging on his (boulders, his body wrapt up in a
“ plaid, girt about the loins with a gilded belt, and
“ wearing trowfers reaching from bis waift down-
“ ward.” By this it is evident (continues Mr To-
land) that he was not habited like the Scythians, who
were always covered with (kins ; but appeared in the
native garb of an aboriginal Scot. As to what re¬
lates to his abilities, Himerius informs us, that “ he
“ was affable and pleafant in converfation, in difpatch-
“ ing great affairs fecret and induftrious, quick-fight-
“ ed in prefent exigencies, in preventing future dan-
“ gers circumfpeft, a fearcher after wifdom, defirous
“ of friendfhip, trufting little to fortune, and having
“ every thing trufted to him for his prudence.” Nei¬
ther the Academy nor the Lycseum could have fur-
nifhed a man with fitter qualities to travel fo far
abroad, and to fuch wife nations, about affairs no lefs
arduous than important. And if we further attentive¬
ly confider his moderation in eating, drinking, and the
ufe of all thofe things which our natural appetites in-
ceffantly crave ; joining the candour and fimplicity of
his manners with the folidity and wifdom of his an-
fwers •, all which we find fufficiently attefted ; it mud
be owned that the world at that time had few to com¬
pare with Abaris.
ABARTICULATION, in Anatomy, a fpecies of
articulation, admitting of a mnnifeft motion ; called al-
] ABA
fo Diarthrojis, and T)earticulatio, to diltinguilh it from At-ait:cub
that fort of articulation which admits of a very obfeure
motion, and is called Si/narthrojis. Al'affx.
ABAS, a weight ufed in Ptrfia for weighing pearls, v—■
It is one-eighth lefs than the European carat.
Abas, in heathen mythology, was the fon of Hy-
pothoon and Meganira, who entertained Ceres, and
offered a faerifice to that goddefs •, but Abas ridiculing
the ceremony, and giving her opprobrious language,
(he fprinked him with a certain mixture (he held in her
cup, on which he became a new t or water lizard.
Abas, Sckah, the Great, was third fon of Coda-
bendi, 7th king of Perfia of the race of the Sophis. Suc¬
ceeding to his father in 1 585, at the age of 1 8, he found
the affairs of Perfia at a low ebb, occafioned by the con-
quelts of the l urks and Tartars. He regained feveral
of the provinces they had feized ; but death put a flop
to his victories in 1629, after a reign of 44 years. He
was the greateft prince who had reigned in Perfia for
many ages ; and it was he who made Ifpahan the me¬
tropolis of Perfia. His memory is held in the higheft
veneration among the Perfians.
Abas, Sc/ia/t, his grandfon, 9th king of Perfia of
the race of the Sophis, fucceeded his father Sefi at 13
years of age. He was but 18 when he made himfelf maf-
ter of the city of Candahar, which had furrendered in his
father’s reign to the great Mogul, and all the province
about it; and he preferved it afterwards again!! this
Indian emperor, though he befieged it more than once
with an army of 300,000 men. He was a very merci¬
ful prince, and openly protefted the Chriftians. He had
formed a defign of extending the limits of his kingdom
toward the north, and had for that effedt levied a
powerful army ; but death put a flop to all his great
defigns, at 37 years of age, A. D. 1666.
ABASCIA, or Abcassia, the northern diftrift of
the w'eflern divifion of Georgia in Afia, fituated on the
coaft of the Black fea, and tributary to the Turks.
The inhabitants are poor, thievifh, and treacherous,
fo that there is no trading with them without the
utmoft caution. They trade in furs, buck and tyger
fkins, linen yarn, boxwood, and bees wax : but their
principal traffic confifts in the fale of their own chil¬
dren to the Turks, and to one another. They are def-
titute of many neceffaries of life, and have nothing
among them that can be called a town } though we
find Anacopia, Dandar, and Czekorni, mentioned in
the maps. They have the name of Chriftians j but
have nothing left but the name, any more than the
Mingrelians their northern neighbours. The men are
robuft and aflive, and the women are fair and beauti¬
ful ; on which account the Turks have a great value
for the female (laves which they purchafe from among
them. Their cuftoms are much the fame as thofe of
the Mingrelians ; which fee. E. Long, from 390 to
430. N. Lat. from 430 to 450.
ABASCUS, a river of Afiatic Sarmatia, which,
rifing from Mount Caucafus, falls into the Euxine, be¬
tween Pityus to the eaft, and Nofis to the weft.
ABASITIS, in /indent Geography, a trad! of Afiatic
Mvfia, in which was fituated the city of Ancyra.
ABASSA, The Greater and the Smaller, two
diftridls in the vicinity of the Caucafian mountains. 1 he
latter, according to Pallas, is inhabited by fix tribes
who were formerly Chriftians, but the nobles now pro-
fefs
ABA t 7 J ABA
Abaffa fefs the Mahometan religion. In manners, drefs, mode
II of life, and, in fome degree, in language, they referable
Abatis. £jie Circaffjans. They praftife agriculture, but chietiy
depend on pafturage for their fubfiftence. i hey are
celebrated for a fine breed of large horfes. 1 hey are
frequently haraffed and plundered by the Circadian
princes.
ABASSI, or Abassis, a filver coin current in Per-
fia, equivalent in value to a French livre, or tenpence
halfpenny fterling. It took its name from Schah Ab¬
bas II. king of Perfia, under whom it was ftruck.
ABASSUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
Greater Phrygia, on the confines of the loliftobagii, a
people of Galatia in Afia.
AB AT AMENTUM, in Law, is an entry to lands
by interpofition, i. e. when a perfon dies feized, and
Another who has no right enters before the heir.
To ABATE, (from the French aiattre, to pull
down, overthrow, demolilh, batter down, or dellroy),
a term ufed by the writers of the Englilh common law
both in an adtive and neutral fenfe j as, To abate a
cartle, is to beat it down. To abate a writ, is, by fome
exception, to defeat or overthrow it. A ftranger aba-
teth; that is, entereth upon a houfe or land void by the
death of him that laft poflefled it, before the heir takes
pofleffion, and fo keepeth him out : wherefore, as he
that putteth out him in pofleflion is faid to difleize, fo
he that fteppeth in between the former poffeflbr and his
heir is faid to abate. In the neuter fignification thus ;
The writ of the demandant (hall abate ; that i*, (hall
be difabled, fruftrated, or overthrown. The appeal
abateth by covin ; that is, the accufation is defeated by
deceit.
Abate, in the manege, implies the performing any
downward motion properly. Thus a horfe is laid to
abate or take down his curvets, when he puts both his
hind legs to the ground at once, and obferves the fame
exadlnefs in all the times.
ABATELMENT, in commerce, a term ufed for
a prohibition of trade to all French merchants in the
ports of the Levant who will not Hand to their bargains,
or refufe to pay their debt*. It is a fenlence of the
French conful, which mull be taken off before they can
fue any perfon for the payment of their debts.
ABATEMENT, in Heraldry, an accidental figure
fuppofed to have been added to coaU of arms, in order
to denote fome ditlionourable demeanour or (lain, where¬
by the dignity of coat armour was rendered of lefs ef-
fceem. See Heraldry.
Abatement, in Law. See To Abate.
Abatement, in the cuftoms, an allowance made
upon the duty of goods, when the quantum damaged
is determined by the judgment of two merchants upon
oath, and afeertained by a certificate from the furveyor
and land waiter.
ABATIS, an ancient term for an officer of the
flables.
Abatis, or Abattis, in military affairs, a kind
©f retrenchment made of felled trees. In fudden emer¬
gencies, the trees are merely laid length wife befide
each other, with the branches pointed outwards to
prevent the approach of the enemy, while the trunks
ferve as a breaftwork to the defendants. When the
abatis is employed for the defence of a pafs or entrance,
the boughs of the trees are ftripped of their leaves and
pointed, the trunks are planted in the ground, and the Abmis
branches interwoven with each other. H
ABATON, a building at Rhodes, erefted as a ~*u''
fence to the trophy of Artemifia, queen of Halicarnaf-
fus, Coos, &.c. raifed in memory of her vidory over
the Rhodians ; or rather to conceal the difgrace of the
Rhodians from the eyes of the world: for to efface or
deilroy the trophy was with them a point of religion.
ABATOR, in Law, a term applied to a perfon who
enters to a houfe or lands void by the death of the lafl
poffeffor, before the true heir.
ABATOS, in Ancient Geography, an ifland in the
lake Moeris, formerly famous for its papyrus. It was
the burial place of Ofiris.
ABAUZIT, Firmin, a learned Frenchman, was
born at Ufez, in Languedoc, in November 1679. His
father died when he was but two years of age. In confe-
quence of the revocation of the edict of Nantz, in the
time of Louis XIV. to avoid the rigours of perfecution
to which the Protettants of France were expofed, young
AbauziUs mother, who was a Proteftant, not without
difficulty, efcaped with her fon to Geneva, where he
remained fecure from danger, and enjoyed the benefit
of education. From his 10th to his 19th year, his time
was wholly devoted to literature ; and having made
great progrefs in languages, he ftudied mathematics,
phyfics, and theology. In the year 1698, he travelled
into Holland, where he became acquainted with the
learned Bayle, with Bafnage and Jurieu. Thence he
paffed over to England, and was introduced to Sir
Ifaac Newton, who entertained a very high opinion of
his merit. For this philofopher afterwards fent him his
Commercium Epjlolicum, accompanied with a very ho¬
nourable teffimony. “ You are well worthy, fays
Newton, to judge between Leibnitz and me.” The
reputation of Abauzit reached the years of King Wil¬
liam, who encouraged him by a very handfome offer-
to fettle in England j which he declined, and returned
to Geneva. In 1715 he entered into the fociety form¬
ed for. the purpofc of tranfiating the New Teftament
into the French language, and contributed valuable
affi fiance to this work. The chair of philofophy in the
univerfity ivas offered to him by that body in 1723,
which he refufed on account of his health and diffidence
of his talents. But in 1727 he accepted of the office
of librarian ta the city, the duties of which were nei«»
ther burdenfome, nor fubjefted him to any particular
reflraint.
Abauzit, who was deeply converfant in phyfical and
mathematical knowledge, was one of the firft who em¬
braced the grand truths which the fublime difeoveries
of Newton exhibited to the world. He defended the.
doctrines of that philofopher againft Father Caller^
and difeovered an error in the Principin, which was
corre£led by Newton in the fecond edition of his work.
He was a perfect mailer of many languages j he un¬
derflood hillory fo exactly, that he remembered the
names of the principal charafters and the dates of the
events j his knowledge of phyfics was deep and exten-
five, and he was well acquainted with medals and an¬
cient manuferipts. The different fciences which he
had ftudied, were fo well digefted and arranged in his
retentive mind, that he could at once bring together
all that he ever knew on any fubje£t. A remark¬
able inftance of this occurred in a converfation with
Rouffeau
ABB [8
Ajbauzit Rouffeau on the mafic of the ancients, while the latter
was employed in compiling his Dictionary of Mafic.
‘' . He had been at great pains in giving an accurate account
of ancient mafic. Bat how much was he furprifed to
find that Abauzit could give him a full and clear hif-
tory of all that he had with much labour collected j
and the more fo, when he was informed that 30 years
had elapfed fince his inquiries led him to confider that
fubjeCt. It was probably in confequence of this inci¬
dent that Rouffeau addreffed to Abauzit one of the
fineft panegyrics which he ever wrote.
A very fine compliment is faid to have been paid to
Abauzit by Voltaire. A ftranger having addreiTed
the poet in a flattering manner, by faying he had come
to Geneva to fee a great man, Voltaire aiked him,
whether he had feen Abauzit.?
This excellent man having enjoyed that otiumcum
•dignitote, fo much talked of, and fo eagerly fought af¬
ter, but rarely obtained, having thus lived univerfally
refpe&ed to the great age of S7 years, died in the
year 1767, lamented by the republic,.and regretted by
the learned.
Abauzit was a fincere Chrifiian 5 his piety was pure
and unafFe&ed ; his benevolence was extenfive. Li¬
beral in Ins opinions, he was indulgent and forbearing
to thofe whofe fentiments and opinions were different
from his own. Simple and eafy in his manners, every
thing about him, his houfe, his perfon, and his way of
fife, difcovered a ftrong averfion to fliow and luxury*
-He carefully avoided the officious obfervances of ce-
•remony, and anxioufly withdrew from the fuifome piaife
of flattery. His converfation, free from pedantry and
oftentation, inftructive and entertaining, was always
heard with eagernefs, and liftened to with attention.
The writings which Abauzit left behind him are
chiefly on religious fubjeCls. He wrote an “ Efifay on
the A pocalypfe,” in which he endeavoured to (how,
that the predictions in that book were to be applied to
the deftruCHon of Jerufaiem. This work was tranflated
into Englifn ; to which a refutation was added, which
fatisfied Abauzit f« much that he was miftaken in his
views, that he ordered an edition then ready for pub¬
lication in -Holland-to be flopped. His other works
are, “ Reflections on the Eucharift ; On Idolatry 7
On the Mvfteries of Religion; Paraphrafes and Ex¬
planations of fundry parts of Scripture ; Several Criti¬
cal and Antiquarian Pieces; and various Letters.”
AB AVO,inBo/rt7;y, a fynonyme of the Adansonia.
ABB, a term among clothiers applied to the yarn
of a weaver’s warp. They fay alfo Abb-wool in the
fame fenfe. r a r ■
ABBA, in Ancient Geography, a town ot Africa
Propria, near Carthage.
Abba, in the Syriac and Chaldee languages, liter-
rally fioriifies a father; and figuratively, a fupenor,
reputed” as a father in refped of age, dignity, or af-
feCtion It is more particularly ufed in the Syriac,
Coptic’ and Ethiopic churches, as a title given to the
bifliops. The bifliops themfelves beftow the title of Abba
more eminently on the bifliop of Alexandria ; which
occafioned the people to give hun the title of Baba,
or Papa, that is Grandfather; a title which he bore
before the bifliop of Rome. It is a Jewifti title of ho¬
nour given to certain rabbins called Tanattes: and it
is alfo particularly ufed, by feme writers of the middle
] ABB
age, for the fuperior of a monafiery, ufually called Abha
abbot. 11
ABBADIE, James, an eminent Proteftant divine,
born at Nay in Bern in 1654; firfl: educated there un- v "
der the famous John la Placette, and afterwards at the
univerfity of Sedan. From whence he went into Hol¬
land and Germany, and was minifter in the French
church of Berlin. He left that place in 1690; came
into England ; was fome time minifter in the French
church in the Savoy, London ; and rvas made dean of
Killalo in Ireland. He was ftrongly attached to the
caufe of King William, as appears in his elaborate de¬
fence of the Revolution, and hE hiftory of the aflafti-
nation-plot. He had great natural abilities, which he
improved by true and ufeful learning. He was a moft
zealous defender of the primitive dodlrine of the Pro-
teftants, as appears by his writings ; and that ftrong
nervous eloquence for which he was fo remarkable,
enabled him to enforce the doftrines of his profefiion
from the pulpit with great fpirit and energy. He pof-
fefled uncommon powers of memory. It is faid that
he com poled his works without committing any part
to writing, till they were wranted for the prefs. Lie
•died in London in 1727, after his return from a tour
in Holland. He publiflied feveral works in French
that were much efteemed ; the principal of which are,
A Treatife on the Truth of the Chriftian religion ;
The Art of Knowing one’s Self; A Defence of the
Britifh Nation ; the Deity of Jefus Chrift effential to
the Chrilltan Religion ; The Hiftory of the laft Con-
fpiracy in England, written by order of King William
III. ; and The Triumph of Providence and Religion,
or the opening the Seven Seals by the Son of God.
ABBAS, fon of Abdalmotalleb, and Mahomet’s
uncle, oppofed his nephew with all his power, regard¬
ing him as an impoftor and traitor to his country ; but
in the fecond year of the Hegira, being overcome and
made a prifoner at the battle of Beder in 623, a great
ranfom being demanded for him, he reprefented to Ma¬
homet, that his paying it would reduce him to beggary,
which would bring dilhonour on the family. Mahomet,
who knew that he had concealed large funis of money,
faid to him, “ Where are the purfes of gold that you
gave your mother to keep when you left Mecca ? Ab¬
bas, who thought this tranfaftion fecret, was much fur¬
prifed, and conceiving that his nephew was really a pro¬
phet, embraced his religion. He became one of his
principal captains; and faved his life when in imminent
danger at the battle of Honain, againft the Thakefites,
foon after the reduction of Mecca. But befides being a
great commander, Abbas was one of the firft doctors of
Ifiamifm, the whole of whofe fcience confifted in bein£
able to repeat and explain the Koran, and to preferve
in their memory certain apocryphal hiftories. Lie is
faid to have read le&ures on every chapter of the
Koran, as his nephew pretended to receive them from
heaven. He died in 652, and his memory is held in
the higheft veneration among the Muflulmans to tins
day.
Abul-ARBAS, fumamed Sajffah, one of his grandfons,
was proclaimed caliph a century after his death ; and
in him began the dynafty of the
ABBASSIDES, who poffefled the caliphat for 524
years. There were 37 caliphs of this race who fuc-
ceeded one another without interruption.
ABBE'.
ABB [
AbV>e ABBE', in a monadic fenfe, the fame with AfeBOT.
II Abbk', in a modern fenfe, the denomination of a
Abbcy; , dafs of perfons which has been popular in France.
They were not in orders $ but having received the ce¬
remony of tonfure, Avere entitled to enjoy certain pri¬
vileges in the church. The drefs of abb^s was that of
academics or profeffed fcholars. In colleges they AA'ere
the inftruftors of youth, and were employed as tutors
in private families. Many of them have rifen to a di-
ftinguifiled rank in the date, ivhile others have been
no lefs eminent in fcience and literature.
ABBESS, the fuperior of an abbey or convent of
nuns. The nbbefs has the fame rights and authority
over her nuns that the abbots regular have over their
monks. The fex indeed does not allow her to perform
the fpiritual functions annexed to the priedhood, with
which the abbot is ufually inveded ; but there are in¬
dances of fome abbefles ivho have a right, or rather a
privilege, to commidlon a pried to act for them. They
have even a kind of epifcopal jurildiftion, as well as
fome abbots ivho are exempted from the \ddtation of
their diocefans.
Martene, in his treatife on the rights of the church,
obferves, that fome abbefles have formerly confefled
their nuns. But he adds, that their excedive curiodty
carried them fueh lengths, that there arofe a neceffity
of checking it. However, St Bafil, in his Rule, alloivs
the abbefs to be prefent with the pried at the confeflion
of her nuns.
ABBEVILLE, a confiderable city of France in
Picardy, and the capital of Ponthiem The river Somme
divides it into two parts. It has a collegiate church
and tivelve parifh churches, the mod condderable of
which are St George’s and St Giles’s; befides a great
number of monaderies and nunneries, a bailiwick, and
a prelidial court. It is a fortified town •, tlfe walls are
flanked with badions, and furrounded by large ditches.
It was never taken : from Avhich circumdance it is
fometimes called the Maiden TozOn ; and hence too its
motto, Semper fidelis. The number of the inhabitants
amounts to 36,000. The fituation in the midd of a
fertile valley is pleafant and healthy. It is famous for
its AVoollen manufactory edablidied in 1665 under the
aufpices of Colbert. The duffs manufactured here are
faid to equal in fabric and quality the fined in Europe.
There is alfo a manufactory of fire arms, and a confi¬
derable trade in grain, lint, and hemp. It is about I ^
miles ead of the Bfitifli channel, and drips may come
from thence by the river Somme to the middle of the
town. E. Long. 2. 6. N. Lat. 50. 7*
ABBEY, a monadery, or religious houfe, governed
by a fuperior under the title of abbot or abbefs.
Abbeys differ only from priories, that the former are
under the direction of an abbot, and the others of a
prior ; for abbot and prior (we mean a prior conventual)
are much the fame thing, differing in little but the name.
Fauchet obferves, that, in the early days of the French
monarchy, dukes and counts were called abbots, and
duchies and counties abbeys. Even fome of their kings
are mentioned in hidory under the title of abbots. Phi¬
lip I. Louis VI. and afterwards the duke of Orleans,
are called abbots of the riionaftery of St Aignan. The
dukes of Aquitain were called abbots of the tnonafery
of St Hilary at Poibliers ; and the earls of Anj ou, ef
St Aubm, &c.
Vol. I. Part I.
9 ] ABB
Monaderies were at firff edablidied as religious Abbey,
houfes, to Avhich perfons retired from the budle of the v'"““
world to fpend their time in folitude and devotion. But
they foon degenerated from their original inditution,
and obtained large privileges, exemptions, and riches.
They prevailed greatly in Britain before the Reforma¬
tion, particularly in England ; and as they increafed
in riches, fo the date became poor : for the lands
which thefe regulars pofleffed Avere in tnoriua mam/,
i. e. could never revert to the lords Avho gave them.
This inconvenience gaA^e rife to the da.tutes againd gifts
in mortmaine, Avhich prohibit^ donations to thefe re¬
ligious houfes •, and Lord Coke tells us, that feveral
lords, at their creation, had a claufe in their grant,
that the donor might give or fell his land to AV’hom he
Avould, except is viris religiofs et Jud/eis) excepting
monks and Jews.
Thefe places Avere wholly abolilhed in England at
the time of the Reformation ; Henry VIII. having
fird appointed vifitors to inquire into the lives of the
monks and nuns, Avhich Avere found in fome places
to be extremely irregular, the abbots, perceiving their
diffolution unavoidable, Avere induced to refign theif
houfes to the king, Avho by that means became inved¬
ed with the abbey lands: thefe Avere afterwards grant¬
ed to different perfons, Avbofe defeendants enjoy them
at this day : they were then valued at 2,853,000!. per
annum, an immenfe fum in thofe days.
Though the fuppredion of religious houfes, even con-
fidered in a political light otily, was a great national
benefit, it mud be oAvned, that, at the time they tlou-
rifhed, they were not entirely ufelefs. Abbeys or mo-
naderies Avere then the repofitories, as Avell as the fe-
minaries, of learning ; many valuable books and nation¬
al records, as Avell as private hidory, having been pre-
ferA^ed in their libraries, the only places in Avhich they
could have been fafely lodged in thofe turbulent times.
Many of thofe, Avhich had efcaped the ravages of the
Danes, Averti dedroyed Avith more than Gothic barbarity
at the diffolution of the abbeys. Thefe ravages are pa¬
thetically lamented by John Bale, in his declaration up¬
on Leland’s Journal 1549. “ Covetoufnefs,” fays he,
“ Avas at that time fo bufy about private commodity,
that public Aveahb, in that mod neceffary and of re-
fpecl, was not anywhere regarded* A number of
them Avhich purchafed thefe fuperditious manfions, re-
ferved of the library books, fome to ferVe their jakes,
fome to fcour the candledicks, and fome to rub their
boots; fome they fold to the grocer and foapfeller $
and fome they fent over fea to the bookbinders, not
in fmall numbers, but in Avhole diips full ; yea, the
univerfities of this realm are not clear of fo detedable
a fadff. I knoAV a merchant that bought the contents
of two noble libraries for 40s. price ; a Ihame it is to
be fpoken ! This duff hath he occupied indead of gray
paper, by the fpace of more than thofe ten years, and
yet he hath dore enough for as many years to come.
I fhall judge this to be true, and utter it Avith heavi-
neft, that neither the Britons under the Romans and
Saxons, nor yet the Englilh people under the Danes
and Normans, had ever fucli damage of their learned
monuments as avc have feen in our time.”
In thefe days every abbey had at lead one perfon
whofe office it was to indruft youth ; and the hidori-
ans of this country are chiefly beholden to the monks
B for
ABB [ io ] ABB
Abh<*y for the knowledge they have of former national events.
AJ||)ot In thefe houfes alfo the arts of painting, architecture,
i - ^ ' and printing, were cultivated. They were hofpitals
for the fiek and poor, and afforded entertainment to
travellers at a time when there were no inns. In them
the nobility and gentry who were heirs to their foun¬
ders could provide for a certain number of ancient and
faithful fervants, by procuring them corodies, or Hated
allowances of meat, drink, and clothes. They were
likewife an afylum for aged and indigent perfons of
good family. The neighbouring places were alfo
greatly benefited by the lairs procured for them, and
by their exemption from forett laws; add to which,
that the monadic eftates were generally let at very eafy
rents, the fines given at renewals included.
ABBEYBOYLE, a town of Ireland, in the county
of Rofcommon, and province of Connaught. W. Long.
8. 32. N. Lat. 56. 54. It is remarkable for an old ab¬
bey.
ABBEYHOLM, a town in Cumberland, fo called
from an abbey built there by David king of Scots. It
Hands on an arm of the fea. W. Long. 2. 38. N. Lat.
54- 45-
ABBOT, or Abbat, the fuperior of a monaftery
of monks erefled into an abbey or priory.
The name Abbot is originally Hebrew, where it fig-
nifies father. The Jews call father, in their language,
Ab; whence the Chaldeans and Syrians formed Abba;
thence the Greeks a£c*j, which the Latins retained -,
and hence our Abbot, the French Abbe', &c. St
Mark and St Paul ufe the Syriac Abba in their Greek,
by reafon it was then commonly known in the fyna-
gogues and the primitive affemblies of the Chriftians;
adding to it, by way of interpretation, the word fa¬
ther, Aco* « %ciTn>, “ Abba, father q. d. Abba,
that is to fay, Father. But the name Ab, or Abba,
which at firft was a term of tendernefs and affe&ion in
the Hebrew and Chaldee, became at length a title of
dignity and honour : The Jewilh do&ors affefted it ;
and one of their mofl ancient books, containing the
fayings or apophthegms of divers of them, is entitled
Pirke Abboth or Avoth ; i. e. Chapters of the Fathers.
It was in allufion to this affe&ation, that Jefus Chrifl
forbade his difciples to call any man their father on
earth which word St Jerome turns againfl the fupe-
riors of the monafteries of his time, for affuming the
title of Abbots, or Fathers.
The name Abbot, then, appears as old as the infti-
tution of monks itfelf. The governors of the primi¬
tive monafteries afiumed indifferently the titles Abbots,
*See.Tiofly&and Archimandrites*. They were really diftinguiftied
and Archi- from the clergy ; though frequently confounded with
Tfiandnte. them) becaufe a degree above laymen.
In thofe early days, the abbots were fubjeft to the
biftiops and the ordinary paftors. Their monafteries
being remote from cities, built in the fartheft folitudes,
they had no (hare in ecclefiaftical affairs. They went
on Sundays to the parifh church with the reft of the
people -, or, if they were too remote, a prieft was fent
them to adminifter the facraments ; till at length they
were allowed to have priefts of their own body. The
abbot or archimandrite himfelf was ufually the prieft :
but his fun&ion extended no farther than to the fpiri-
tual aftiftance of his monaftery ; and he remained Hill
in obedience to the bilhop. There being among the
abbots feveral perfuns of learning, they made a vigo- Abbot,
rous oppofition to the riling herefies of thofe times ; ——v—
which firft occafioned the bilhops to call them out of
their deferts, and fix them about the fuburbs of cities,
and at length in the cities themfelves -, from which era
their degeneracy is to be dated. i hen the abbots
threw off their former plainnefs and fimplicity, affumed
the rank of prelates, afpirtd at being independent of
the biftiops, and grafped at fo much power, that levere
laws were made againft them at the council of Chalce-
don. Many of them, however, carried the point of
independency, obtained the appellation of /ord, and
were diftinguiftied by other badges of the epifeopate,
particularly the mitre.
Hence arofe new diftin£lions between the abbots.
Thofe were termed mitred abbots, who were privileged
to wear the mitre, and exercife epifcopal authority
within their refpeftive precinfls, being exempted from
the jurifdi&ion of the biftiop. Others were called cro-
fered abbots, from their bearing the crofier or paftoral
ftaff. Others were ftyled ecumenical or univerfal ab¬
bots, in imitation of the patriarch of Conftantinople :
while others were termed cardinal abbots, from their
fuperiority over all other abbots. In Britain, the
mitred abbots were lords of parliament ; and called
abbots-fovereign, and abbots-general, to diftinguilh
them from the other abbots. And as there were lords-
abbots, fo there were alfo lords-priors, who had ex¬
empt jurifdiftion, and were likewife lords of parlia¬
ment. Some reckon 26 of thefe lords abbots and
priors who fat in parliament. Sir Edward Coke fays,
that there were 27 parliamentary abbots and two priors.
In the parliament 20 Rich. II. there were but 25 ab¬
bots and two priors : but in the fummons to parliament
anno 4 Ed. III. more are named.
In Roman Catholic countries, the principal diftinc-
tions obferved between abbots are thofe of regular and
commendatory. The former take the vow and wear
the habit of their order ; whereas the latter are fecu-
lars who have received tonfure, but are obliged by
their bulls to take orders when of proper age.
Anciently the ceremony of creating an abbot con-
fifted in clothing him with the habit called cuculus,
or cowl ; putting the paftoral ftaff into his hand, and
the limes called pedales on his feet: but at prefent, it
is only a fimple benediction, improperly called, by fome,
confecration.
Abbot is alfo a title given to others befide the fu-
periors of monafteries: thus bilhops whofe fees were
formerly abbeys, are called abbots. Among the Ge-*
noefe, the chief magiftrate of the republic formerly
bore the title of abbot of the people. It was like¬
wife ufual, about the time of Charlemagne, for feveral
lords to aflume the title of count-abbots, abba-conutes ;
becaufe the fuperintendency of certain abbeys was com¬
mitted to them.
Abbot, George, archbilhop of Canterbury, was
born OClober 29. 1562, at Guildford in Surrey. He
was the fon of Maurice Abbot a cloth-worker. He
Itudied at Oxford, and in 1597 was chofen principal
of Univerfity college. In 1599, he was inftalled dean
of Winchefter : the year following, he was chofen vice-
chancellor of the univerfity of Oxford, and a fecond
time in 1603. In 1604, the tranftation of the Bible
now in ufc was begun by the direction of King James
ABB [i
Abbot, and Dr Abbot was the fecond of eight divines of Ox-
-J ford, to whom the care of tranflating the whole New
Teftament (excepting the Epiftles) was committed.
The year following, he was a third time vice-chancel¬
lor. In 1608, he went to Scotland with George
Hume earl of Dunbar, to aflift in eftablilhing an union
between the churches of Scotland and England ; and
in this bulinefs he conduced himfelf with fo much ad-
drels and prudence, that it laid the foundation of all
his future preferment. King James ever after paid
great deference to his advice and counfel; and upon
the death of Dr Overton bilhop of Litchfield and Co¬
ventry, he named Dr Abbot for his fucceflbr, who
was accordingly conilituted bifhop of thofe two united
fees in December 1609. About a month afterwards
he was tranflated to the fee of London, and on the fe¬
cond of November following was raifed to the archie-
pifcopal fee.
It is not however improbable, that his extravagant
adulation of his royal mailer, in which he went as far
as any other court-chaplain could do, contributed not
a little to his rapid preferment. In the preface to a
pamphlet which he publiflied, the following fpecimen
of ridiculous flattery occurs: Speaking of the king, he
- fays, “ whofe life hath been fo immaculate and un-
fpotted, &c. that even malice itfelf, which leaves no¬
thing unfearched, could never find true blemith in it,
nor call probable afperfion on it.—Zealous as a Da¬
vid; learned and wife, the Solomon of our age; reli¬
gious as Julias ; careful of fpreading Cbrill’s faith as
Condantine the Great ; juft as Mofes ; undefiled in
all his ways as a Jeholhaphat and Hezekiah ; full of
clemency as another Theodofius.”—If Mr Walpole
had feen this paflage, he certainly would not have faid,
that “ honell Abbot could not flatter.”
His great zeal for the Proteftant religion made him
a llrenuous promoter of the match between the Eleflor
Palatine and the Princefs Elizabeth ; which was ac¬
cordingly concluded and folemnized the 14th of Fe¬
bruary 1612, the archbilhop performing the ceremony
on a llage ere£led in the royal chapel. In the follow¬
ing year happened the famous cafe of divorce between
the lady Frances Howard, daughter of the earl of Suf¬
folk, and Robert earl of Elfex ; which has been confi-
dered as one of the greateft blemifhes of King James’s
reign. The part which the archbilhop took in the bu-
finefs, added much to the reputation he had already
acquired for incorruptible integrity. It was referred
by the king to a court of delegates, whofe opinion the
king and court wilhed and expelled to be favourable
to the divorce. But the archbifhop, unawed by royal
authority, with inflexible firmnefs refifted it, and pub-
lilhed his reafons for perfifling in his opinion, to which
the king, difappointed in his views, thought fit to re¬
ply : Sentence was given in the lady’s favour. In
1618, tlie king publilhed a declaration, which he or¬
dered to be read in all churches, permitting fports and
paftimes on the Lord’s dav : this gave great uneafinefs
to the archbifhop ; who, happening to be at Croydon
on the day it was ordered to be read, had the courage
to forbid it.
Being now in a declining ftate of health, the arch¬
bilhop ufed in the fummer to go to Hampfhire for the
fake of recreation ; and being invited by Lord Zouch
to hunt in his park at Bra»zill, he met there with the
Abbot.
i ] ABB
greateft misfortune that ever befel him ; for he acci¬
dentally killed the game-keeper by an arrow from a *
crofs-bow which he Ihot at one of the deer. i his fa¬
tal accident threw him into a deep melancholy ; and
he ever afterwards kept a monthly fall on luelday,
the day on which it happened ; and he fettled an an¬
nuity of 20l. on the widow *. Advantage was taken * Fuller’s
of this misfortune, to leflen him in the king’s favour;
but his majefty faid, “ An angel might have mifcar 87.
ried in this fort.” His enemies alleging that he had
incurred an irregularity, and was thereby incapacitated
for performing the offices of a primate ; the king di¬
rected a commiflion to ten perfons to inquire into this
matter.
The refult, however, avas not fatisfaClory to his
Grace’s enemies ; it being declared, that, as the mur¬
der was involuntary, he had not forfeited his archi-
epifcopal charaCler. The archbilhop after this feldom
afliited at the council, being chiefly hindered by his
infirmities ; but in the king’s laft illnefs he was lent
for, and conllantly attended till 1m Majefty expired
on the 27th of March 1622. He performed the ce¬
remony of the coronation of King Charles I. though
very infirm and diftrtfled with the gout. He was ne¬
ver greatly in this king’s favour ; and the duke of
Buckingham being his declared enemy, watched an op¬
portunity of making him feel the weight of his riif-
pleafure. This he at laft accomplilhed, upon the arch-
bilhop’s refufing to licenfe a fermon, preached by Dr
Sibthorpe to jullify a loan which the king had de¬
manded, and pregnant with principles which tended
to overthrow the conftitution. The archbilhop was
immediately after fufpended from all his lun6lions as
primate ; and they were txertifed by certain bilhops
commiffioned by the king, of whom Laud, the arch-
bilhop’s enemy, and afterwards his fucceffor, was one :
while the only caufe affigm d for this procedure was,
That the archbilhop could not at that time ptrfonally
attend thofe fervices which were otherwife proper for
his cognizance and dire£lion. He did not, however,
remain long in this fit nation ; for a parliament being
abfoluttly neceflary, his Grace was fent for, and rello-
red to his authority and jurifdi£lion. But not proving
friendly to certain rigorous meafures adopted by the
prevailing church party, headtd by Laud, whofe power
and intereft at court were now very confiderable, his
prefence became unwelcome there; fo that, upon the
birth of the prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II.
Laud had the honour to baptize him, as dean of the
chapel. The archbiflion being worn out with cares
and infirmities, died at Croydon, the 5th of Auguft
i633, aged 71 years; and was buried at Guildford,
the place of his nativity, where he had endowed an hol-
pital with lands to the amount of 300!. per annum.
A (lately monument was ere£ltd over the grave, with
his effigy in his robes.
He proved himfelf, in moft circumftances of his life,
to be a man of great moderation to all parties ; and
was defirous that the clergy Ihould gain the rt fpe<5l of
the laity by the fan£lity and purity of their manners,
rather than claim it as due to tlieir function. His ('pi¬
nions and principles, however, have drawn upon him
many fevere reflections; particularly, from the earl of
Clarendon. But Dr Wei wood has done more jufticef Memoirs,
to his merit and abilities fi. He wrote feveral trafls :iV0»_I7oo>
B 2
upon
P. 38.
All! ot
ABB [ i
( up< p various lubjefts; and, as already mentioned, tranf-
a hi I it f latecl rarl nf llie New Teflament, with the rdt of the
bury. Oxford divines, in 1611.
^v' ■' ^ here was another writer of the fame name, who
douriihed iomewhat later. J his George Abbot wrote
sl Paraphrafe on Job, A Vindication of the Sabbath, and
A Paraphrafe on the Pfa/ms.
Abbot, Robert, elder brother to the former, was
born at Guildford in 1560, and completed his iludies
at Baliol college, Oxford. In 1582, he took his de¬
gree of mailer of arts, and foon became a celebrated
preacher; and to this talent he chiefly owed Ins pre¬
ferment. Upon the firft fermon at W orcetter, he was
chofen le&urer in that city, and foon after reftor of
All-faints in the fame place. John Stanhope, Efq.
happening to hear him preach at Paul’s-crols, was lo
pleaied with him, that he immediately prefented him
to the rich living of Bingham in Nottinghamlhire.
I597* took his degree of dodfor in divinity :
and, in the beginning of King James’s reign, was ap¬
pointed chaplain in ordinary to his Majefty ; who had
fuel) an opinion of him as a writer, that he ordered the
doflor’s book De Antichrijio to be printed, with his
own commentary upon part of the Apocalypfe. In
1609, he was defied mailer of Baliol college ; which
trull he difebarged with the utmoft care and afliduity,
by his frequent leflures to the fcholars, by his conti¬
nual prefence at public exercifes, and by promoting
temperance in the fociety. In November 1610, he
was made prebendary of Normanton in the church of
Southwell; and, in 1612, his majefly appointed him
regius profeflor of divinity at Oxford. The fame of
his leflures became very great; and thofe which he
gave upon the fupreme power of kings, againft Bellar-
inine and Suarez, fo much pleafed his majefly, that
when the fee of Salifbury became vacant, he named
him to that bilhopric, and he was confecrated by his
own brother at Lambeth, December 3. 1615. When
he came to Salilbury, he found the cathedral falling to
decay, through the avarice and negligence of the cler¬
gy belonging to it ; however, he found means to draw
live hundred pounds from the prebendaries, which he
applied towards repairing it. Here he devoted him-
fclt to the duties of his funflion with great diligence
and afliduity, vifiting his whole diocefe in perfon, and
preaching every Sunday. But his fedentary life, and
clofe application to lludy, brought upon him the gra¬
vel and Hone ; of which he died on the 2d of March
1618, in the 58th year of his age ; having filled the fee
* Heylin’s only two years and three months. Dr Fuller *, fpeak-
Mflory oj ing of the two brothers, fays, “ that George was the
Frejbytc-
“ more plaufible preacher, Robert the greateft fcholar;
ti Qe0J.ge tjie a|,]er ftatefman, Robert the deeper di-
“ vine : gravity did frown in George, and fmilc in Ro-
“ bert.” He publilhed feveral pieces; and left behind
him fundry manuferipts, which Dr Corbet prefented to
the Bodleian library.
ABBOTS BROMLEY, a town in Staffordfhire.
After the diflblution of the monafteries, it was given to
the lord Paget; and has fince been called Paget's
Bromley. But it retains its old name in the king’s
books, and with regard to the fairs. W. Long. 1. 2.
N. Lat. 52. 45.
ABBOTSBURY, a fmall town in Dorfetlhire, in
W. Long. 1. 17. N. Lat. 50. 40. The abbey near
] ABB
this town was founded by a Norman lady, about the A'oboru
year 1026. Edward the Confeflbr and William the bur)r
Conqueror w’ere confiderable benefa&ors to it. ah ^ •
ARBO 1 S-Langj.ey, a village in Herts, four miles Vjon! *
from St Alban’s, famous as the birth-place of Pone ‘
Adiian IV.
ABBREVIATE of Adjudications, in Scots Lave,
an abftraCl or abridgment of a decreet of adjudica¬
tion, which is recorded in a regifter kept for that pur-
pole.
ABBREVIATION, or Abbreviature, a con¬
traction of a word or paflage, made by dropping fome
of the letters, or by fubfliluting certain marks or cha¬
racters in their place. A late philofophical writer on
grammar, divides the parts of fpeech into words which
are neceflary for the communication of thought, as the
noun and verb, and abbreviations which are employed
for the fake of difpatch. The latter, flriaiy fpeaking,
are alfo parts of Ipeech, becaufe they are all ufeful in
language, and each has a different manner of fignifica-
tion. Mr Tooke, however, feems to allow that rank
only to the neceffary words, and to confider all others
as merely fubftitutes of the firft fort, under the title of
abbreviations. 1 hey are employed in language in
three ways; in terms, in forts of words, and in con-
ItruCtion. Mr Locke in his Effay treats of the firfl:
clafs; numerous authors have written on the laft ; and
for the fecond clafs of abbreviations, fee Diverfions of
Parley. Lawyers, phyficians, &c. ufe many abbre¬
viations, for the fake of expedition. But the Rabbins
are the molt remarkable for this praCtice, fo that their
writings are unintelligible without the Hebrew abbre¬
viatures. The Jewifli authors and copyifts do not con¬
tent themfelves with abbreviating words like the Greeks
and Latins, by retrenching fome of the letters or fylla-
bles ; they frequently take away all but the initial let¬
ters. They even take the initials of feveral fucceeding
words, join them together, and, adding vowels to them,
make a fort of barbarous words, reprefentative of all
thofe which they have thus abridged. Thus, Rabbi Mo-
fes ben Muimon, in their abbreviature is Rambam, &c.
The following Abbreviations are of mojl frequent
occurrence in the Writings and Lnfcriptions of the
Romans.
A
AB. Abdicavit.
AB. AUG. M. P. XXXXI. Ab. Augufta millia paf-
fuum quadraginta unum.
AB. AUGUSTOB. M. P. X. Ab Auguftobriga mil¬
lia paffuum decern.
ABN. Abnepos.
AB. U. C. Ab urbe condita.
A. CAMP. M. P. XL A Camboduno millia paffuum
undecim.
A. COMP. XIIII. A Compluto quatuor decem.
A. C. P. VI. A capite, vel ad caput pedes fex.
A. D. Ante diem.
ADJECT. H-S. IX 00. AdjeCtisfeftertiis novem mille.
ADN. Adnepos.
AD£). Adquiefcit vel adquifita pro acquifita.
AED.II.II. VIR. II. /Edilis iterum,duum -viriterura.
JED. II. VIR. QUIN£). ALdilis duuro-vir quinquen-
nalis.
JED.
ABB [ 13 ] ABB
bbrevia- ^D. £). II. VIR. i^dilis quinquennalxs duum-vir.
tlon- JEL. i^Rlias,
1111-1 yEM. ve/ AIM. Aimilius, Aimilia.
A. K. Ante kalendas.
A. G. Anirao grato : Aulus Gellius.
AG. Ager, ve/ Agrippa.
ALA. I. Ala prima.
A. MILL. XXXV. A milllari triginta quinque, ve/
ad milliaria triginta quinque.
A. M. XX. Ad milliare vigefiraum.
AN. A. V. C. Anno ab urbe condit^.
AN. C„ H. S. Anno cent, hie fitus eft.
AN. DCLX. Anna fexcentefirao fexagefimo.
AN. II. S. Annos duos femis.
AN. IVL. Annos quadraginta fex.
AN. N. Annos natus.
ANN. LIII. H. S. E. Annorum quinqnagefim. trium
hie fitus eft.
ANN. NAT. LXVI. Annos natus fexaginta fex.
ANN. PL. M. X. Annos ve/ annis plus minus decern.
AN. 0. XVI. Anno defundus decimo fexto.
AN. V. XX. Annos vixit viginti.
AN. P. M. Annorum plus minus.
. A. XII. Annis duodecim.
AN. P. M. L. Annorum plus minus quinquaginta.
A. XX. H. EST. Annorum viginti hie eft.
AN. P. R. C. Anno poft Romam conditam.
AN. V. P. M. II. Annis vixit plus minus duobus.
AN. XXV. STIP. VIII. Annorum viginti quinque
ftipendii, ve/ ftipendiorum o<fto.
A. P. M. Amico pofuit monumentum.
AP. Appia, Appius.
A. P. V. C. Annorum poft urbem conditam.
APVD. L. V. CONV. Apud lapidem quintum con-
venerunt.
A. RET. P. III. S. Ante retropedes tres femis-
AR. P. Aram pofuit.
ARG. P. X. Argenti pondo dccem.
ARR. Arrius.
A. V. B. A viro bono.
A. V. C. Ab urbe condita.
B.
B. Balbus, Bulbius, Brutus, Belenus, Burrus.
B. Beneficiario, beneficium, bonus.
B. Balnea, beatus, buftum.
B-pro V, berna pro verna, bixil pro vixit, bibo^ro vi¬
vo, bi<Ror pro viftor, bidua pro vidua.
B. A. Bixit annis, bonus ager, bonus amabilis, bona
aurea, bonum aureum, bonis auguriis, bonis aufpiciis.
B. B. Bona bona, bene bene.
B. DD. Bonis deabus.
B. F. Bona fide, bona femina, bona fortuna, bene fac¬
tum.
B. F. reverfed thus, g* j. Bona femina, bona filia.
B. H. Bona hereditaria, bonorum hsereditas.
B. I. I. Boni judicis judicium.
B. L. Bona lex.
B. M. P. Bene merito pofuit.
B. M. P. C. Bene merito ponendum curavit.
B. M. S. C. Bene merito fepulcrum condidit.
BN. EM. Bonorum emptores.
BN. H. I. Bona hie nvenies.
B. RP. N. Bono reipublicae natus.
$• A. Bixit, id ejly vixit annis.
BIGINTI. Viginti. Abbrevia-
BIXIT. BIXSIT. BISSIT. Vixit. . tl0n- .
BIX. ANN. XXCI. M. IV. D. VII. Vixit annis oc-
togiata unum, menfibus quatuor, diebus feptem.
BX. ANVS. VII. ME. VI. DI. XVII. Vixit annos
feptem, menfes fex, dies feptem decim.
C.
C. Gefar, Caio, Caius, cenfor, civitas, conful, condem-
no.
C. C. Cariflimns conjugi, calumnia caufa, confilium
cepit.
C. C. F. Caius Caii filius.
C. B. Commune bonum.
C. D. Comitialibus diebus.
C. H. Cuftos hortorum tr/hseredum.
C. I. C. Caius Julius Cafar.
CC. VV. Clarifiimi viri.
CEN. Cenfor, centuria, centurio.
CERTA. QUINt,). ROM. CO. Ccrtamen quinquen-
nale Romae conditum.
CL. Claudius.
CL. V. Clarifliraus vir.
CH. COH. Cohors.
C. M. ve/ CA. M. Caufa mortis.
CN. Cneus.
C. O. Civitas omnis.
COH. I. vel II. Cohors prima vel fecunda.
COS. ITER. ET. TERT. DESIG. Conful iterum et
tertium defignatus.
COS. TER. vel QUAR. Conful tertium, vcl quartum.
COSS. Confules.
COST. CUM. LOC. H-S.00 D. Cuftodiam cum loco
feftertiis mille quingentis.
C. R. Civis Romanus.
CS. IP. Cafar imperator.
C. V. Centum viri.
D.
1). Decius, decimus, decuria, decurio, dedicavit, dedit,
devotus, dies, divus, Deus, dii, Dominus, dorous,
donum, datum, decretum, 8tc.
D. A. Divus Aojguftus.
D. B. I. Diis bene juvantibus.
D. B. S. De bonis fuis.
DCT. Detradtum.
DDVIT. Dedicavit.
D. D. Donum dedit, datrs, datio, Deus dedit.
D. D. D. Dono dederunt, vel datum decreto decurio-
num.
D. D. D. D. Dfgnura Deo donum dedicavit.
DDPP. Depofiti.
D. N. Dominus nofter. D. D. N. N. Domini noftri,
1). D. ^). O. H. L. S. E. V. Diis deabufque omnibus
hunc locum facrum effe voluit.
DIG. M. Dignus memoria.
D. M. S. Diis manibus facrum.
D. O. M. Deo optimo maximo.
D. O. IE. Deo optimo aterno.
D. PP. Deo perpetuo.
DR. Drufus.
DR. P. Dare promittit.
D. RM. De Romanis.
D. RP. De republica.
D. S. P. F. C. De fua pecunia faciundum curavit.
DT. Duntaxat.
DVL. vel DOL. Dulciflimus.
DEC*
ABB [ i
DEC.*XIII.AVG.XII.POP.XI. Decurionibusdena-
* riis tredecim, auguftalibusduodecim, populo undecim.
D. IIII. ID. Die quarta idus.
D. VIIII. Diebus novem.
D. V. ID. Die quinta idus.
E
E. Ejus, ergo, efTe, eft, erexit, exa&um. &c.
E. C. F. Ejus cauia fecit.
E. D. Fjus domus.
ED. Edi&um.
E. E. Ex edi&o.
EE. N. P. Efle non poteft.
EG. Egit, egregius.
E. H. Ejus hceres.
F2ID. Idus.
EIM. Ejufmodi.
E. L. £a lege.
E. M. Elexit vel erexit monumentum.
E<^. M. Equitum magifter.
E^). O. Equefter ordo.
EX. A. D. K. Ex ante diem kalendas.
EX. A. D. V. K. DEC. AD. PRID. K. IAN. Ex
ante diem quinto kalendas Decembris ad pridie ka¬
lendas Januarias.
EX. H-S. X. P.F. I. Ex feftertiis decern parvis fieri juflit.
EX. H-S. CION. Ex feftertiis mille nummum.
EX. H-S. oo oo oo oo Ex feftertiis quatuor millia.
EX. H-S. N. CC. L. oo D. XL. Ex feftertiis num-
morum ducentis quinouaginta millibus, quingentis
quadraginta.
EX. H S. DC. oo D. XX. Ex feftertiis fexcentis mil¬
libus quingentis viginti.
EX. KAL. IAN. AD. KAL. IAN. Ex kalendis
Januarii ad kalendas Januarii.
F
F. Fabius, fecit, fadum, faciendum, familia, famula,
faftus, Februarius, feliciter, felix, fides, fieri, fit, fe-
mina, filia, filius, frater, finis, flamen, forum, flu-
vius, fauftum, fuit.
F. A. Filio amantiflimo velfiliae amantiflimae.
F. AN. X. F. C. Filio vel filia; annorum decern faci-
undum curavit.
F. C. Fieri vel faciendum curavit, fidei commiflum.
F. D. Flamen Dialis, filius dedit, fadtum dedicavit.
F. D. Fide juflbr, fundum.
FEA. Femina.
FE. C. Ferme centum.
FF. Fabre fa£tum, filius familias, fratris filius.
F. F. F. Ferro, flamma, fame, fortior, fortuna, fato.
FF. Fecerunt.
FL. F. Flavii filius.
F. FQ. Filiis filiabufque.
Fix! ANNj XXXIX. M. I. D. VI. HOR. SCIT.
NEM. Vixit annos triginta novem, menfem unum,
dies fex, boras fcit nemo.
FO. FR. Forum.
F. R. Forum Romanum.
G
G. Gellius, Gains pro Caius, genius, gens, gaudium,
gefta, gratia, gratis, &c.
GAB. Gabinius.
GAL. Gallus, Gallerius.
G. C. Genio civitatis.
GEN. P. R. Genio populi Romani,
GL. Gloria.
4 1 ABB
GL. S. Gallus Sempronius.
GN. Gneus pro Cneus, genius, gens.
GNT. Gentes.
GRA. Gracchus.
GRC. Graecus.
H
H. Hie, habet, haftatus, haeres, homo, hora, hoftis,
herus.
H. A. Hoc anno.
HA. Hadrianus.
HC. Hunc, huic, hie.
HER. Hseres, hereditatis, Herennius.
HER. vel HERC. S. Herculi facrum.
H. M. E. H S. CCIDD. CCID3. I3p. M. N. Hoc
monumentum erexit feftertiis viginti quinque mille
nummum.
H. M. AD. H. N. T. Hoc monumentum ad haeredes
non tranfit.
H. O. Hoftis occifus.
HOSS. Hoftes.
H. S. Hie litus vel fita, fepuitus vel fepulta.
H-S. N. IIII. Seftertiis nummum quatuor.
H-S. CCCC. Seftertiis quatuor centum.
H-S . oc. N. Seftertiis mille mummum.
H-S . oo. CCID3. N. Seftertiis novem mille nummum.
H-S. CCID3, CID3. Seftertiis viginti mille.
H-S. XXM. N. Seftertiis viginti milie nummum.
H. SS. Hie fupra feriptis.
I
I. Junius, Julius, Jupiter, ibi, ideft, immortalis, impe-
rator, inferi, inter, im'enit, invitlus, ipfe, iterutn,
judex, juflit, jus, &c.
IA. Intra.
I. AG. In agro,
I. AGL. In angulo.
IAD. Jamdudum.
IAN. Janus.
I A. RI. Jam refpondi.
I. C. Juris confultus, Julius Caefar, judex cognitionum,
I. D. Inferiisdiis, Jovi dedicatum, Ifidideae, jufiu deae.
ID. Idus.
I. D. M. Jovi Deo magno.
I. F. vel I. FO. In foro.
IF. Interfuit. IFT. Interfuerunt.
I. FNT. In fronte.
IG. Igitur.
I. H. Jacet hie.
I. I. Injure.
IM. Imago, immortalis, imperator.
I. M. CT. In medio civitatis.
IMM. Immolavit, immortalis, immunis.
IM. S. Impenfis fuis.
IN. Inimieus, inferipfit, interea.
IN. A. P. XX. In agro pedes viginti.
IN. vel INL. V. I. S. Inluitris vir infra feriptus.
I. R. Jovi regi, Junoni reginae, jure rogavit,
I. S. vel I. SN. In fenatum.
I. V. Jurtus vir.
IVD. Judicium.
IVV. Juventus, Juvenalis.
II. V. Duum-vir, vel duum-viri.
III. V. vel III. VIR. Frium-vir, vel trium-viri.
IIII. VIR. f)uatuor-vir, vel quatuor-viri, vel quatuor
viratus.
Abbrcvk
tion.
4
min.
ABB
ABB [ l
bbrevia- IIIIII. V. w/VIR. Sextum-vir, velfe-vir, <velfex-vir.
non. IDNE. vel IND. aut INDICT. Indiflio. vei xndic-
tione.
K
K. Csefo, Cams, Caio, Caelius, Carolus, calumnia, can-
didatus, caput, cariflimus, clariffimus, caftra, cohors,
Carthago, &.c.
K. KAL. KL. KLD. KLEND. Kalendae, nut kalen-
ciis; et ftc dc cceteris ubi menfium apponuntur no-
min a.
K ARC. Career.
KK. Cariffimi.
KM. Cariflimus.
K. S. Carus fuis.
KR. Chorus.
KR. AM. N. Carus amicus nofter.
L
L. Lucius, Lucia, Lselius, Lollius, lares, Latinus, la¬
tum, legavit, lex, legio, libens Wlubens, liber, libera,
libertus, liberta, libra, locavit, See.
L. A. Lex alia.
LA. C. Latini coloni.
L. A. D. Locus alteri datus.
L. AG. Lex agraria.
L. AN. Lucius Annius, ^/quinquaginta annis,
L. AP. Ludi Apollinares.
L AT. P. VIII. E. S. Latum pedes o£to et femis.
LONG. P. VII. L. P. III. Longum pedes feptem, la¬
tum pedes tres.
L. ADQ^. Locus adquifitus.
LB. Libertus, liberi.
L. D. D. D. Locus datus decreto decurionum.
LECTIST. Lectifternium.
LEG. I. Legio prima.
L. E. D. Lege ejus damnatus.
LEG. PROV. Legatus provinciae,
LIC. Licinius.
LICT. Lifter.
LL. Libentiflimk, liberi, libertas.
L. L. Seftertius magnus.
LVD. S/EC. Ludi fdeculares.
LVPERC. Lupercalia.
LV. P. F. Ludos publicos fecit.
M
M. Marcus, Marca, Martius, Mutius, maceria, magi-
fler, magiftratus, magnus, manes, mancipium, mat-
moreus, marti, mater, maximus, memor, memoria,
menfis, meus, miles, militavit, militia, mille, miffus,
monumentum, mortuus, &e.
MAG. EQ^. Magifter equitum.
MAR. VLT. Mars ultor.
MAX. POT. Maximus pontifex.
MD. Mandatum.
MED. Medicus, medius.
MER. Mercurius, mercator.
MERK. Mercurialia, mercatus.
MES. VII. DIEB. XL Menfibus feptem, diebus un-
decim.
M. I. Maximo Jovi, matri Ideae w/Ifidi, militiaejus,
monumentum juflit.
MIL. COH. Miles cohortis.
MIN. vel MINER. Minerva.
M. MON. MNT. MONET. Moneta.
M. vel MS. Menfis vel menfes,
MNF. Maqifeftus,
5 1
MNM. Manumiflus.
M. P. II. Millia pafluum duo.
MV. MN. MVN. MVNIC. Municxpiutn vel munx-
ceps.
N
N. Neptunus, Numerius, Numeria, Nonius, Nero, nam,
non, natus, natio, nefaftus, nepos, neptis, niger, no¬
men, nonae, nofter, numerarius, numerator, numerus,
nummus vel numifma, numen.
NAV. Navis.
N. B. Numeravit bivusj>?r<5 vivus.
NB. vel NBL. Nobilis.
N. C. Nero Csefar, vel Nero Claudius.
NEG. vel NEGOT. Negotiator!
NEP. S. Neptuno facrum.
N. F. N. Nobili familia natus.
N. L. Non liquet, non licet, non longe, nominis Latini..
N. M. Nonius Macrinus, non malum, non minus.
NN. Noftri. NNR. vel NR. Noftrorum.
NO. Nobis.
NOBR. November.
NON. AP. Nonis Aprilis.
N£). Namque, nufquam, nunquam.
N. V. N. D. N. P. O. Neque vendetur, neque dona-
bitur, neque pignori obligabitur.
NVP. Nuptiae.
• . . °
O. Officium, optimus, olla, omnis, optio, ordo, ofla,
oftendit, &c.
OB. Obiit.
OB. C. S. Ob cives fervatos.
OCT. Oftavianus, Oftober.
O. E. B. Q. C. Offa ejus bene quiefcant condita.
O. H. F. Omnibus honoribus funftus.
ONA. Omnia.
OO. Omnes, omnino. O. O. Optimus ordo.
OP. Oppidum, opiter, oportet, optimus, opus.
OR. Ornamentum.
OTIM. Optimm.
P
P. Publius, pafllxs, patria, pecunia, pedes, perpetuus,
pius, plebs, populus, pontifex, pofuit, poteftas, prae-
fes, praetor, pridie, pro, poft, provincia, puer, publi-
cus, publiee, primus, &c.
PA. Pater, Patricius.
PAE. ET. ARR. COS. Paeto et Arrio confulibus..
P. A. F. A. Poftulo an fias auftor.
PAR. Parens, parilia, Parthicus.
PAT. PAT. Pater patriae.
PBLC. Publicus.
PC. Procurator.
P. C. Poft confulatum, patres confcripti, patronus colo¬
nise, ponendum curavit, praefedtus corporis, paftutn >
conventum.
PED. CXVS. Pedes centum quindecim femis.
PEG Peregrinus.
P. II. c/3. L. Pondo duarum femis librarum.
P. II.:: Pondo duo femis et triente.
P. KAL. Pridie kalendas.
POM. Pompeius.
P. P. P. C. Propria pecunia ponendum curavit.
P. R. C. A. DCCCXL1III. Poft Romam conditam
annis oftingentis quadraginta quatuor.
PRO. Proconful. P. PR. Pro-praetor. P. PRR. Pro-
praetores,
PR.,
ABB [ i
.Abbrevia- PR. fsj. Pro nepos.
. t1011, . P. R. V. X. Populi Romani vota decennalia.
' PS. Paffus, plebifcitum.
PUD. Pudicus, pudica, pudor.
PUR. Parpureus.
f)
Qj. Q^uinquennalis, quartus, quintus, quando, quantum,
qui, quae, quod, Quintus, Quintius, Quintilianus,
quseftor, quadratum, quaefitus.
Q. B. AN. XXX. Qui bixit, zcle/l visit, annos triginta.
QM. Quomodo, quern, quoniam.
QQ. Quinquennalis. QQ. V. Quoquo verfum.
Q. R. Quaeftor reipublicae.
<^. V. A. III. M. II. Qui ve/ quae vixit annos tres,
menfes duo.
R
R. Roma, Romanus, rex, reges, Regulus, rationalis,
RavennEe, refta, redto, requietorium, retro, roftra,
rudera, &c.
RC. Refcriptum.
R. C. Romana civitas.
REF. C. Reficiendum curavit.
REG. Regio.
R. P. RESP. Refpublica.
RET. P. XX. Retro pedes viginti.
REC. Requiefcit.
RMS. Romanus.
ROB. Robigalia, Robigo.
RS. Refponfum.
RVF. Rufus.
S
6 ] ABB
T. F. Titus Flavius, Titi filius.
THR. Thrax.
T. L. Titus Livius, Titi libertus,
TIT. Titulus.
T. M. Terminus, thermae.
TR. PO. Tribunitia poteftas.
TRAJ. Trajanus.
TUL. Tullus ve/ Tullius.
TR. V. Trium-vir.
TT. QTS. Titus Quintus.
© ve/ TH. AN. Mortuus anno.
©xiii. Defunftus viginti tribus.
*
V
V. Quinque, quinto, quinturn.
V. Vitellius, Volera, Volero, Volufus, Vopifcus, vale,
valeo j Vefta, veftalis, veftis, vefter, veteranus, vir,
virgo, vivus, vixit, votum, vovit, urbs, ufus, uxor,
victus, vidlor, &c.
V. A. Veterano afiignatum.
V. A. I. D. XL Vixit annum unum, dies undecim.
V. A. L. Vixit annos quinquaginta.
V. B. A. Viri boni arbitratu.
V. C. Vale conjux, vivens curavit, vir confularis, vif
clariflimus, quintum conful.
VDL. Videlicet.
V. E. Vir egregius, vifum eft, verum etiam.
VESP. Vefpafianus.
VI. V. Sextum-vir. \ II. V. Septem-vir. VIII. VIR,
otffum-vir.
V^IX. A. FF. C. Vixit annos ferine centum.
Abb re via.
tion
Abb’s.
S. Sacrum, facellum, fcriptus, femis, fenatus, fepultus,
fepulcrum, fanftus, fervus, ferva, Servius, fequitur,
fibi, fitus, folvit, fub, ftipendium, &c.
SAC. Sacerdos facrificium.
SiTi. ve/ S^TIC. Saeculum, fscculares.
SAL. Salus.
S. C, Senatus-confultum.
SCI. Scipio.
S. D. Sacrum diis.
S* EQ. Q. O. ET. P. R. Senatus, equefterque ordo et
populus Romanus.
SEMP. Sempronius.
SL. SVL. SYL. Sylia.
S. L. Sacer ludus, fine lingu^.
S. M. Sacrum manibus, fine manibus, fine malo.
SN. Senatus, fententia, fine.
S. P. Sine pecunia.
S. P. Q. R. Senatus populufque Romanus.
S. P. D. Salutem plurimam dicit.
S. T. A. Sine ve/ fub tutoris au£loritate.
SLT. Scilicet.
S. E. T. L. Sit ei terra levis.
SIC. V. SIC. X. Sicut quinquennalia, fic decennalia.
SSTVP. XVIIII. Stipendiis novem decim.
ST. XXXV. Stipendiis triginta quinque.
T
T. Titus, Tullius, tantum, terra, tibi, ter, teftamen-
tum, titulus, terminus, triarius, tribunus, turma, tu¬
tor, tutela, &c.
1AB. Tabula. FABVL. Tabularius,
TAR. Tarquinius.
TB. D. F. Tibi dulciflimo filio,
TB. PL. Tribunus plebis.
TB. TI. TIB. Tiberius.
VIX. AN. ** . Vixit annos triginta.
ULPS. Ulpianus, Ulpius.
v. M. Vir magnificus, vivens mandavit, volens me-
rito.
V. N. Quinto nonas.
V. MUN. V ias munivit.
VOL. Volcania, Voltihia, Volufus.
VONE. Bonae.
VOT. V. Votis quinquennalibus.
VOT. V. MULT. X. Votis quinquennalibus, mult is
decennalibus.
VO P. X. Vota decennalia.
VOT, XX. ve/ XXX. ve/ XXXX. Vota vicennalia,
aut tncennalia, aut quadragenalia.
V. R. Urbs Roma, votum reddidit,
VV. CC. Viri clariftimi.
UX. Uxor.
X
X. AN. Annalibus decennalibus.
X. K. OCT. Deci mo kalendas Odtobris.
X. M. Decern millia. X. P. Decern pondo.
X- V. Decem-vir. XV. VIR, Quindecim-vir.
Abbreviation of fractions, in Arithmetic and Al¬
gebra, is the reducing them to lower terms.
ABBREVIATOR, in a general fenfe, a perfon who
abridges any large book into a narrower compafs.
Ab*!ILEV1ators’ a co^ege °f 72 perfons inthechan-
f f ry of Rome, who draw up the pope’s brieves, and re¬
duce petitions, when granted by him, into proper form
ior being converted into bulls.
ABB’S (St) Head, a promontory of land in the
muthern extremity of the frith of Forth, in Scotland
io miles north of Berwick, and nearly the fame di-
ftance
AW>*s
A B D l i
ftailce fouth of Dunbar. W. Long. I. 56. N. Lat. 55.
55-
ABB UTALS, fignify the buttings or boundings of
land towards any point. Limits were anciently dillin-
guiihed by artificial hillocks, which were called bote-
mines; and hence butting. In a defcription of the fite
of land, the Tides on the breadth are more properly ad-
jacentes, and thofe terminating the length are abbutan-
tes ; which, in old furveys, were fometimes expreffed
by ccipitare, to head, whence abbutals are now called
head lands.
ABCEDARY, or Abcedarian, an epithet given
to compofitions, the parts of which are difpofed in the
order of the letters of the alphabet : thus we fay, Ab¬
cedarian pfalms, lamentations, hymns, &c. j fuch are
Pfal. xxv. xxxiv. exix. &c.
ARCOURT, a town near St Germains, four leagues
from Paris. Here is a brilk chalybeate water, which
is alfo impregnated with carbonic acid and foda j and
refembling the waters of Spa and Ilmington.
ABDALLA, the fon of Abdalmotalleb, was the
father of the prophet Mahomet. He was the moft
beautiful and modell of the Arabian youth, and when
he married Amina, of the noble race of the Zahrites,
200 virgins are faid to have died of ^ealoufy and de-
fpair. Several other Arabians of eminence bore the
fame name.
ABD ALMALEK, the fon of Mirvan, and the 5th
caliph of the race of the Ommiades. He furpaffed all
his predeceflfors in power and dominion $ for in his
reign the Indies were conquered in the call, and his
armies penetrated Spain in the well : he likewife ex¬
tended his empire toward the fouth, by making him-
felf mailer of Medina and Mecca. Under his reign
the Greek language and character were excluded from
the accounts of the public revenue. If this change,
fays Gibbon, was prodiuflive of the invention or fami¬
liar ufe of the Arabic or Indian cyphers, which are
our prefent numerals, a regulation of office has promot¬
ed the moll important dilcoveries of arithmetic, alge¬
bra, and the mathematical feiences. His extreme ava¬
rice expofed him to the contempt and derifion of his
fubjefls, who gave him the appellation of the fweat of
a Jlone; and his fetid breath, it is faid, poifoned the
flies which accidentally lighted on his lips, whence he
was called the father of flies. He began his reign in
the 65th of the Hegira, A. D. 684 j reigned 1 5 years j
and four of his fons fucceffively enjoyed the caliphate.
ABDalmalek, Ben Zohar, an eminent phyfician,
commonly called by the Europeans Aven%oar. See
Avenzoar.
ABDALMO PALLEB, or Abdol Motalleb,
the fon of Haffiem, the father of Abdalla, and grand¬
father of Mahomet the prophet of the Muflulmans, was,
it is faid, of fuch wonderful comelinefs and beauty, that
all women who faw him became enamoured : which
may have given occafion to that prophetic light, which,
according to the Arabians, ffione on the foreheads of
him, his anceltors, and defendants ; it being certain
that they were very handfome and graceful men. He
died when Mahomet, of whom he had taken peculiar
care, was only eight or nine years old $ aged, according
to fome no, and according to other writers 120.
ABDALONYMUS, or Abdolonymus, in claffic
hiltory, of the royal family of Sidon, and defended
Vol. I. Part I.
7 ] ABD
from King Cinyras, lived in obfurity, and fubfifted by Abilalony.
cultivating a garden, while Strato was in poffeffion of nills
the crown of Sidon. Alexander the Great having depo- Abder i
fed Strato, inquired whether any of the race of Cinyras c—
was living, that he might ft him on the tbrorf. It was
generally thought that the whole race was extinft: but
at laft Abdalonymus was thought of, and mentioned to
Alexander ; who immediately ordered fome of his fol-
diers to fetch him. They found the good man at work,
happy in his poverty, and entirely a ftranger to the noife
of arms, with which all Afia was at that time dillurb-
ed 5 and they could farcely perfuade him they were in
earnell. Alexander was convinced of his high defent
by the dignity of his perfon j but was defirous of learn¬
ing from him in what manner he bore his poverty. “ I
wiffi,” faid Abdalonymus, “ I may bear my new con¬
dition as well 5 Thefe hands have fupplied my neci ffi-
ties : I have had nothing, and I have wanted nothing.”
Th is anfwer pleafed Alexander fo much, that he not
only bellowed on him all that belonged to Strato, but
augmented his dominions, and gave him a large prefent
out of the Perfian fpoils.
ABDALS, in the eallern countries, a kind of faints
fuppofed to be infpired to a degree of madnefs. The
word is perhaps derived from the Ajabic, Abdallah,
the fervant of God. The Periians call them devanek
khoda, fimilar to the Latin way of fpeaking of prophets
and fibyls, q. d. furentes deo, raging with tj^e god.
Hurried on by excefs of zeal, efpecially in the Indies,
they often run about the ftreets, and kill all they meet
who are of a different religion. The Engliffi tailors
call this running a much, from the. name of the inltru-
ment, a fort of poniard, which they employ on thofe
defperate occafions. If they are killed, as it commonly
happens before they have done much mifehief, they
reckon it highly meritorious; and are efteemed, by the
vulgar, martyrs for their faith.
ABDARA, or AbderA, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Bsetica in Spain, a Phoenician colony ; wow A dr a,
to the weft of Almeira in the kingdom of Granada.
ABDERA, in Ancient Geography, a maritime town
of Thrace, not far from the mouth of the river Neffus, on
the eaft fide. The foundation, according to Herodotus,
was attempted to be laid by Timefius the Clazomenian \
but he was forced by the Thracians to quit the defign.
The Teians undertook it and fucceeded, and fettled in
this place, in order to avoid the infults and oppreffion of
the Perfians.—Several Angularities are told of Abdera *. * Pirn. lib.
The grafs of the country round it was of fuch a qua-xxv- c; 8-
lity, that the horfes which fed on it were feized with Juft*ilh'
madnefs. In the reign of Cafiander king of Macedon, XX'" <“ ’’
this city was fo infefted with frogs and rats, that the
inhabitants were forced for a time to quit it,—The
Abderites, or Abderitani, were very much derided for
their want of wit and judgment: yet their city has
given birth to feveral eminent perfons ; as Protagoras,
Democritus, Anaxarchus, Hecataeus the hiftorian, Nice-
naetus the poet, and many others, who were mentioned
among the illuftrious men.—In the reign of Lyfima-
chus, Abdera was afflifted for fome months with a moft
extraordinary difeafe f : this was a burning fever, whofe t Luciamn,,
crifis was always on the feventh day, and then it \eiiqutmodo
them ; but it fo diftra&ed their imaginations, that they
fancied themfelves players. After this, they were ever ^usmitd^
repeating verfes from fome tragedy, and particularly
f from
A B »
Abdera from the Andromeda of Euripides,
II been upon the ftage ; fo that many of thefe pale mea-
Abdication. aaors were poUl.;ng fDrtl) their tragic eselama-
' " ' tions in every ftreet. This delirium continued till the
winter following; which was a very cold one, and
therefore fitter to remove it. Lucian, who. has de-
fcribed this difeafe, endeavours to account for it m this
manner : Archelaus, an excellent player, afted the
Andromeda of Euripides before the Abdentes, in the
height of a very hot fummer. Several had a fever at
their coming out of the theatre *, and as their imagina¬
tions were full of the tragedy, the delirium which the
fever raifed perpetually reprefented Andromeda, Per-
feus, Medufa, &c. and the ieveral dramatic incidents,
and’called up the ideas of thofe obje&s, and the plea-
fure of the reprefentation, fo ftrongly, that they could
not forbear imitating Archelaus’s action and declama¬
tion : And from thefe the fever fpread to others by in-
fedtion. . . . .
ABDERAHMA, a Saracen viceroy in Spam, who
revolted and formed an independent principality at Cor¬
dova. He had feveral fucceffors of the fame name.
A viceroy and captain-general of this name.led the
Saracens and their followers into France, ravaging the
country wherever they came. At length he was met
at Tours by Charles Martel, who had received rein¬
forcements of Germans and Gepidae ; and after many
fkirmifhes, the Saracen army, in a general .adiion, was
totally routed, and Abderahma was killed with ^^0,000
Moors. This great event, which firft broke the power
of the Saracens, and taught the Europeans that they
were not invincible, happened about the year 732
the Chriftian era, and of the Hegira 114.
ABDEST, a Perfian word, properly fignifying the
water placed in a bafon for wafhing the hands ; but is
ufed to imply the legal purifications pradlifed by the
V-.fifr.rp nraver. entering the mofque, or
f 18 ] A B D
as if they had ed or declaimed his ion, and expelled him the family.
Mahometans before prayer, entering the mofque, or
reading the Alcoran.
ABDIAS of Babylon, one of the boldelt le¬
gend writers, who boafted that he had feen Chrift, that
he was one of the 70 difeiples, had been eye-witnefs
of the adlions and prayers of feveral of the apofties
at their deaths, and had followed into Perfia St Simon
and St Jude, who, he faid, made him the firft bilhop
of Babylon. His book, entitled Rift or ia Certaminis
Apqftolici, was publifhed by Wolfgang Lazius, at Bafil,
1551 5 and has paffed through feveral editions in other
places.
ABDICATION, the adiion whereby a magtftrate,
or perfon in office, renounces and gives up the fame be¬
fore the term of fervice is expired.
This word is frequently confounded with refigna-
tion ; but differs from it ; for abdication is done purely
and limply, whereas refignation is in favour of fome
third perfon. In this fenfe, Dioclefian is faid to have
abdicated the crown ; Philip IV. of Spain refigned
it. It is faid to be a renunciation, quitting, and re-
linquiffiing, fo as to have nothing further to do with a
thing •, or the doing of Inch adtions as are inconfiftent
with the holding of it. On King James’s leaving the
kingdom, and abdicating the government, the lords
propofed that the word defertion ffiould be employed ;
but the commons thought that it was not fufficiently
eomprehenfive. Among the Roman writers it is more
particularly ufed for the adt whereby a father difcard-
It is diftinguiffied from exlueredatio or diftnheriting, in
that the former was done in the father’s lifetime } the '
latter, by will at his death : fo that whoever was abdi¬
cated’ was alfo disinherited *, but not vice verfa,
ABDOLLATIPH, a phyfician, was born at Bag¬
dad in the 557th year of the Hegira, A. D. 1161 =
Having been educated with the greatert care by his^fa-
ther, who was himfelf a man of learning, and refided
in a capital which abounded with the beft opportuni¬
ties of inftrudtion, he early diftinguilhed himfelf no's
only by proficiency in rhetoric, hiftory, and poetry,
but alfo in the more fevere ftudies of Mohammedan
theology. To the acquirement of medical knowledge,
he applied with efpecial diligenceand it Was chiefly
with this view that, in his 28th year, he left.Bagdad,
in order to vifit other countries. At Moful, in Mefo-
potamia, whither he firft directed his courfe, he found
the attention of the ftudents entirely confined to the
chemiftry of that day, with which he was already luf-
ficiently acquainted/ Having fpent a year at Moful,
he removed to Damafcus in Syria, where the gramma¬
rian A1 Kindi then enjoyed the higheft reputation j
and with whom he is faid to have engaged in a cont.ro-
verfy on fome fubjea* of grammar and philology, which
terminated in favour of Abdollatiph,
At this time, Egypt had yielded to the arms of Sa-
ladin, who was marching again.ft Paleftine for the pur-
pofe of wrefting that country from the hands of the,
Chriftians : yet towards Egypt Abdollatiph was irre-
fiftibly impelled by that literary curiofity which fo
ftrongly marked his cliaraffer. lo the fuccefsiul pro*-
fecutton of this journey, the eonfent and patronage of
the fultan were indifpenfably ncceffary : but when the
Arabian phyfician arrived at the camp, near Acca,
(the ancient Ptolemais, now Acre) to folicit his power¬
ful profeftion, he found the Saracens bewailing a
defeat which they had recently experienced ; a de¬
feat fo honourable to the {kill and valour of our Eng-
Hffi Richard, that nothing lefs than the late, match-
lefs defence of this fortrefs, by a handful of Britiffi Tea¬
men and marines, could have detracted from its im¬
portance, or eclipfed its glory. Hence the lofty fpint
of the fultan was plunged into a morbid melancholy,
which excluded the traveller from his prefence j but
the favours which he received evinced the munificence
of Saladin, and he perfifted in his defign of exploring
the wonders of Egypt. One ftrong inducement which
influenced him on this occafion, was the inftru&ion
which he hoped to derive from the fociety of the cele¬
brated Maimonidesj and by A1 Kadi A1 Fadel, who*
had earneftly but unavailingly folicited him to return
to Damafcus, he was furniftied with fuch recommenda¬
tions as procured for him the moft flattering reception
at Cairo/ His talents and kis virtues confirmed and'
increafed the kindnefs with which he was welcomed
on his firft arrival y and tire Egyptians of the higbeft-
rank continued to vie with each other in cultivating hb
ftiendfhip.
From this intercomfe, however, with the great and
the learned, Abdollatiph withdrew, in order to pre-'
fent'himfelf before the fultan *, who, having concluded"
truce with the Franks, then refided in the Holy
City. Here he was received by Saladin with every
expreffion of eft cent for his character and attainments^
A Tos
A B D [ «i
Abio]U- To a fe'.Scd palitencfi, and cond^cer.dlng freedom,
tiph this prince is faid to have added a munificent nberali y
H . in the patronage of fcience and of art •, and of this
Abdomina- ^ we have a laudable in fiance in the pen-
v—4r—' fion\vhich he granted to Abdollatiph, and which a-
mounted to 30 dinars per month. After the death of
the fultan, this fum was raifed by his ions to 100 di¬
nars, till the ambition of their uncle forced them from
the throne of Egypt and of Syria-, and thus was our
traveller compelled to refort again to Damafcus, after
a thort abode at Jejufalem : where his lectures, and
his treatifes, were equally the objeas of general admira-
In the capital of Syria, his purfuits were of the fame
nature, and attended with fimilar fuccefs. His prac¬
tice as a phyfician was extenfive. lo the Undents in
the college of A1 Aziz, he freely communicated the
ample ftores of his cultivated mind ; and m the works
which he compafed an the principles of medicine, he
difplayed that depth of refearch and that felicity of il-
luftraticm, which are the rare effefts of genius com¬
bined with diligence, judgment, and erudition.
Such is the teftimony given to the exertions of our
author ; and it is added that they were rewarded at
Damafcus not with fame alone, but alfo with riches.
Yet neither the applaufe of the wife nor the patronage
of the wealthy had power to detain him, when other
fcenes or other fociety promifed to gratify his curiofity,
or to increafe his knowledge. On this account, pro¬
bably, he left Damafcus, and, after having vifited
Aleppo, refided feveral years in Greece. With the
fame view he travelled through Syria, Armenia, and
Alia Minor, Hill adding to the number of his avorks ;
many of which he dedicated to the princes whofe
courts he vifited, or whofe fubjefts he laboured to in-
firu<^- . • j 1
After having thus enriched Ins own mind, and con¬
tributed fo fuccefsfully to the improvement of others,
fentiments of devotion induced him to undertake a pil¬
grimage to Mecca, In the mean time, however, he
feems to have experienced the full force of that de¬
fire, which in the native of Switzerland has often been
known to fuperfede every other,—the defire of once
more beholding the place which gave him birth. He
wiflied alfo to prefent the fruits of his travels, and
of his ftudies, to the caliph A1 Moftanfer Billah. He
therefore eagerly journeyed towards Bagdad, which,
after fo long an abfence, he no doubt beheld with
emotions of tender exultation :—but all his hopes were
difappointed : Scarcely had he reached his native
city, when he was fuddenly taken ill, and died in his
63d year, A. D. 1223. Of 150 treatifes which he
compofed on various fubjefts of medicine, natural pbi-
lofophy and polite literature, only one, entitled Hifto-
rice JEgi/pti Compendium, has furvived the ravages of
time. This manufcript, the only one which has been
difcovered, was brought to Europe by the celebrated
orientaiift Pacocke, and is now preferved in the Bod¬
leian library. Dr White of Oxford publifired an edi¬
tion of the original Arabic, with an elegant Latin
verfion in qto, in 1800. {Month. Rev.').
ABDOMEN, in Anatomy, is that part of the trunk
of the body which lies between the thorax and the
bottom of the pelvis. See Anatomy.
ABDOMINALES, or Abdominal Fishes, con-
> ] A B E
ftltute the Fourth Order of the Fourth Clafs of Ani- Akioimiu*
mals, in the Linooean fyfiem. See Ichthyology. ‘jj'
ABDUCTION, in Logic, a kind of argumentation, Abtjjard>
by the Greeks called apagoge, wherein the greater ex- y—
treme is evidently contained in the medium, but the.
medium not lo evidently in the leller extreme as not to
require fome farther medium or proof to make it ap¬
pear. It is called abduckon, becaufe, trom the con-
clufion, it draws us on to prove the proppfition ai-
fumed. Thus, in the fyllogilin, “ All whom God ab-
folves are free from fin j but God abfolves all who are
in Chrift ; therefore all who are in Chrill are free from
fin,”—the major is evident ; but the minor, or affump-.
tion, is not fo evident without fome other propofition
to prove it, as, “ God received full fatisfadfion for fin
by the fufferings of lefus Chrift.”
ABDUCTOR, or Abducent, in Anatomy, a name
given to feveral of the mufcles, on account of then
ferving to withdraw, open, or pull back the parts to
which they belong.
ABEL, fecond fon of Adarh and Eve, was a fhep-
herd. He offered to God fome of the firftlmgs of his
flock, at the fame time that his brother Cain offered
the fruits of the earth. God was pleafed with Abel’s
oblation, but difpleafed with Cain’s -, which fo exafper-
ated the latter, that he rofe up againft his brother and
killed him. Thefe are the only cireumfiances Mofes
relates of him ; though, Were we to take notice of the
feveral particulars to which curiofity has given birth
on this occafion, they would run to a very great length.
But this will not be expelled. It is remarkable, that
the Greek churches, who celebrate the feafts of every
other patriarch and prophet, have not done the. fame
honour to Abel. His name is not to be found in any
catalogue of faints or martyrs till the loth century
nor even in the new Roman martyrology. However
he is prayed to, with fome other faints, in feveral Ro¬
man litanies fald for perfons who lie at the point of
death.
ABEL-Kcrami/n, or Vinearutn, beyond Jordan, in the
country of the Ammonites, where Jephthah defeated
them, feven miles d ill ant from Philadelphia j abounding
in vines, and hence the name. It Avas alfo called Abclu.
ABEL-Meho/ah, the country of the prophet Eliflia,
fituated on this fide Jordan, between the valley ol Jez-
reel and the village Bethmael, in the plains of Jordan,
where the Midianites were defeated by Gideon. Judges
vii. 22.
Abel Mi%raim, (called alfo the Threlhing-floor of
Atad), fignifying the lamentation of the Egyptians 5
in allufion to the mourning for Jacob, Gen. i. 3, 10,
II. Suppofed to be near Hebron.
ABEL-Mofch, or Abelmufch, in Botany, the trivial
natne of a fpecies of the Hibiscus.
ABEL-Sattim, or Sittim, a town in the plains of Moab,
to the north-eAft of the Dead fea, not far from Jordan,
where the Ifraelites committed fornication with the
daughters of Moab : So called, probaoly, from the
great number of fittim trees there.
ABELARD, Peter, an eminent fcholaftic philo-
fopher of France, the fon of Berenger, of noble def-
cent, was born at Palais near Nantes in Bretagne, in
the year 1079. Abelard had received from nature a
vigorous and aftive mind", but it was his lot to live at
a period, when logic, metaphyfics, and polemic theo-
r C 2, logy.
ABE [ 20 ] ■ ABE
Abelard, logy, conftituted a learned education, when abftrufe
Ipeculations and verbal fubtleties occupied the ingenu¬
ity of literary men, and dittinguidied talents for depu¬
tation led to honour and preferment. Devoted to let¬
ters by his lather’s appointment, and by liis own incli¬
nation, bis literary attainments could at this time only
be exhibited in the field of fcholaftic philofophy ; and,
that he might be fitted for his deftined career of life,
he was placed, after a previous eourfe of grammatical
ftudies, under the tuition of Rofceline, a celebrated
metaphyfician, and founder of the feft of the Nomi-
nalifts. Under the inftrudlions of this able mailer, at
the early age of fixteen, he furnilhed himfelf with a
large ftore of fcholaftic knowledge, and acquired a
fubtlety and quicknefs of thought, a fluency of fpeech,
and facility of expreflion, which were neceffary qualifi¬
cations in Icholaftic difputation.
Having fpent fome time in vifiting the fchools of fe-
veral provinces, after the example of the ancient phi-
lofophers who travelled in fearch of wifdom, in the
twentieth year of his age, he fixed his refidence in the
univerfity of Paris, then the firft feat of learning in
Europe. The mafter, William de Champeaux, was at
that time in high repute for his knowledge of philofo¬
phy, and his Ikill in the dialeftic art ; to him he com¬
mitted the direftion of his ftudies, and was at firft con¬
tented with receiving inftrudfion from fo eminent a
preceptor. De Champeaux was proud of the talents
of his pupil, and admitted him to his friendlhip. But
the afpiring youth ventured to contradict the opinions
of his mafter, and in the public fchool held difputations
with him, in which he was frequently victorious. The
jealoufy of the mafter and the vanity of the pupil na¬
turally occafioned a fpecdy feparation.
Elated by fuccefs, and confident of his own powers,
Abelard, without hefitation, at the age of twenty-two,
opened a public fchool of his own. “ I was young in¬
deed,” fays he j “ but confident of myfelf, my ambi¬
tion had no bounds: I afpired to the dignity of a pro-
feffor, and only waited till I could fix on a proper
place to open my leCtures.” Melun, a town ten
leagues from Paris, where the court frequently refided,
was the place which he chofe for this bold difplay of
his talents. But it was not without confiderable diffi¬
culty that Abelard executed his plan *, for De Cham¬
peaux, who regarded him as a rival, openly employ¬
ed all his intereft againft him. Abelard at length
prevailed, his fchool was opened, and his leftures were
attended by crowded and admiring auditories. Em¬
boldened by this fuccefs, and perhaps ftimulated by
unworthy refentment, Abelard refolved to maintain an
open conteft with his mafter, and for this purpofe re¬
moved his fchool to Corbeil near Paris. The difpu-
tants frequently met in each other’s fchools 5 and the
conteft was fupported on each fide with great fpirit,
amidft crowds of their refpeftive fcholars. The young
champion was in the end victorious, and his antagonift
was obliged to retire.
Conftant application and violent exertions had now
ft) far impaired Abelard’s health, that it was become
neceflary for him to interrupt his labours j and, with
the advice of his phyfician, he withdrew to his native
country. Two years afterwards, he returned to Cor¬
beil, and found that De Champeaux had taken the mo-
naftic habit among the regular canons in the convent
l
of St ViCtor ; but that he fiill continued to teach rhe- Abelard,
toric and logic, and to hold public difputations in the- —v——
ology. Returning to the charge, he renewed the con¬
teft, and his opponent was obliged to acknowledge
himfelf defeated ; and the fcholars of De Champeaux
deferted him, and went over in crorvds to Abelard.
Even the new profeffor, who had taken the former
fchool of De Champeaux, voluntarily furrendered the
chair to the young philofopher, and requefted to be
enrolled among his difciples. A triumph fo complete,
while it gratified the vanity of Abelard, could not fail
to provoke the refentment of his old mafter, who had
influence to obtain the appointment of a new profeffor,
and drive Abelard back to Melun. De Champeaux’s
motive for this violent proceeding was foon perceived $
even his friends were affiamed of his conduft ; and he
retired from the convent into the country. When A-
belard w^as informed of the flight of his adverfary, he
returned towards Paris and took a new ftation at the
abbey on Mount St Genevieve. His rival, the new
profeffor, was unequal to the conteft, and was foon
deferted by his pupils, who flocked to the leftures of
Abelard. De Champeaux too returning to his mo-
naftery, renewed the ftruggle ; but fo unfuccefsfully,
that Abelard was again viftorious.
_ During a ffiort abfence, in which Abelard vifited
his native place, De Champeaux was preferred to the
fee of Chalons. The long and Angular conteft between
thefe philofophers terminated ; and Abelard, perhaps
for want of a rival to ftimulate his exertions, or poffi-
bly through envy of the good fortune of his rival, de¬
termined to exchange the ftudy and profeffion of phi-
lofophy for that of theology. He therefore quitted his
fchool at St Genevieve, and removed to Laon, to be¬
come a fcholar of Anfelm. From this celebrated ma¬
fter he entertained high expeftations ; but they were
foon difappointed. On attending his leftures, he found
that, though he poffeffed uncommon fluency of lan¬
guage, he left his auditors without inftruftion. “ You
would have thought,” lays Abelard, “ he was kindling
a fire, when inftantly the whole houfe was filled with
fmoke, in which not a fingle fpark was vifible : he
was a tree covered with a thick foliage, which pleafed
the diftant eyebut, on a nearer infpeftion, there
was no fruit to be found: I went up to this tree in full
expeftation, but I faw that it was the fig-tree which the
Lord had curfed.” (Hi/?. Calamit.'). Abelard gra¬
dually retired from thefe unprofitable leftures, but
without offering offence either to the veteran profeffor,
or his fcholars. In converfation one of them alked
him, what he thought of the ftudy of the Scriptures ?
Abelard replied, that he thought the explanation of
them a talk of no great difficulty 5 and, to prove his
affertion, he undertook to give a comment, the next
day, upon any part of the Scriptures they ftiould men^-
tion. 1 hey fixed upon the beginning of the prophecy
of Ezekiel; and the next morning he explained the
paffage in a theological lefture, which was heard with
admiration. For feveral fucceffive days, the leftures
were at the requeft of the audience continued ; the
whole town preffed to hear them ; and the name of
Abelard was echoed through the ftreets of Laon. An¬
felm, jealous of the riling fame of this young theolo¬
gian, prohibited his leftui’es, under the pretence that
fo young a lefturer might fall into miftakes, which
would
ABE [2
Abehni. would bring difcredit upon his nrafter. Abelard,
"~v - whofe ambition required a wider field than that of
Laon, obeyed the prohibition, and withdrew. He
returned to Paris, whither the fame of his theological
talents had arrived before him, and opened his fchool
with his leisures on the prophecy of Ezekiel. His au¬
ditors were delighted j his fchool was crowded with
fcholars •, and he united in his ledlures the fciences of
theology and philofophy with fo much fuccefs, that
multitudes repaired to his fchool from various parts of
France, from Spain, Italy, Germany, Flanders, and
Great Britain.
Hitherto Abelard has appeared with high diftinc-
tion, as an able difputant, and a popular preceptor :
we muft now view him under a different character,
and, when nearly arrived at the fober age of forty,
fee him, on a fudden, exchanging the fchool of philo¬
fophy for the bower of pleafure, and even difgracing
himfelf, as will too plainly appear in the fequel, by
forming and executing a deliberate plan for the feduc-
tion of female innocence. It happened that there was
at this time, refident in Paris, Heloife, the niece of
Fulbert, one of the canons of the cathedral church, a
lady about eighteen years of age, of great perfonal
beauty, and highly celebrated for her literary attain¬
ments. Abelard, whofe vanity had been fatiated with
fame, and the vigour of whofe mind was now ener¬
vated by repofe, found himfelf inclined to liften to the
voice of paffion. He beheld with ardent admiration
the lovely Heloife, and confident that his perfonal at-
traftions were ft ill irrefiftible, he determined to capti¬
vate her affeftions. Fulbert, who doubtlefs thought
himfelf honoured by the vifits of fo eminent a fcholar
and philofopher, received him into his houfe as a learn¬
ed friend. He wras foon afterwards prevailed upon,
by a handfome payment which Abelard offered for his
board, to admit him into his family j and, apprehend¬
ing no hazard from a man of Abelard’s age and pro-
feflion, confidentially requefted him to undertake the
inftruffion of Heloife. Abelard accepted the truft,
but, as it feems, without any other intention than to
betray it. 1 he hours of inftruftion were employed in
other lelfons than thole of learning and philofophy j
and to fuch a mafter as Abelard, it was not furprifing
that Heloife was an apt fcholar. Fulbert’s refpeftful
opinion of the philofopher, and his partiality for his
niece, long concealed from him an amour, which was
become the fubjeft of general converfation. At length
the difeovery burft upon him like a clap of thunder.
Upon difeovering her pregnancy, it was thought ne-
ceflary for her to quit her uncle’s houfe, and Abelard
conveyed her to Bretagne, where his filler was pre¬
pared to receive them. Here Heloife was delivered of
a fon, to whom they gave the whimfical name of Aftro-
labus. Abelard, upon the birth of the child, pro-
pofed to Fulbert to marry his niece, provided the mar¬
riage might be kept fecret : Fulbert confented, and
Abelard returned to Bretagne to fulfil his engagement.
Heloife, partly out of regard to the honour of Abe¬
lard, whofe profeflion bound him to celibacy, and
partly from a romantic notion that love like hers ought
not to fubmit to ordinary reftraints, at firft gave Abe¬
lard a peremptory refufal. He, however, at laft pre¬
vailed, and they were privately married at Paris. He-
loife from this time met with fevere treatment from
i ] ABE
her uncle, which furnilhed Abelard with a plea for Abelard,
removing her from his houfe, and placing her in the v
abbey of Benedi&ine nuns, in which Ihe had been
educated. Fulbert concluded, perhaps not without
reafon, that Abelard had taken this ftep, in order to
rid himfelf of an incumbrance w'hich obftru&ed his fu¬
ture profpefts. Deep refentment took poffeflion of his
foul, and he meditated revenge. He employed feve-
ral ruffians to enter his chamber by night, and inflift
upon his perfon a difgraceful and cruel mutilation.
The deed was perpetrated 3 the ruffians were taken,
and fuffered, according to the Lex Tahonis, the pu-
niffiment they had inflifted ; and Fulbert, for his fa-
vage revenge, was deprived of his benefice, and his
goods were confifcated. Unable to fupport his morti¬
fying refleftions, Abelard refolved to retire to a con¬
vent. At the fame time he formed the felfilh refolu-
tion, that, fince Heloife could no longer be his, ffie
ffiould never be another’s, and ungeneroufly demanded
from her a promife to devote herfelf to religion 3 and
even infifted upon her taking the holy vow before him,*
fufpefting, as it feems, that if he firft: engaged himfelf,
ffie might violate her promife, and return to the world 3
a circumftance, with which ffie afterwards thus ten¬
derly reproached him : “ In that one inftance, I con-
fefs, your miftruft of me tore my heart 3 Abelard, I
bluftied for you.” Heloife fubmitted to the harfti in-
jun&ion, profeffed herfelf in the abbey of Argenteuil,
and receiving the religious habit, exclaimed in the
words of Cornelia :
   0 maxime conjux !
0 thalamis indigne meis ! hoc juris habebat
In tantum fortuna caput ? cur impia nupji,
Si miferum faSlura fui ? nunc accipe pcenas,
Sed quas fponte luam. Lucan.
“ Ah ! my once greateft lord ! Ah ! cruel hour !
Is thy viflorious head in Fortune’s power !
Since miferies my baneful love purfue,
Why did I wed thee, only to undo !
But fee, to death my willing neck 1 bow ;
Atone the angry gods by one kind blow.” Howe.
A few days after Heloife had taken her vows, Abe¬
lard affumed the monaftic habit in the abbey of St De¬
nys, determined as it feems to forget, in hope of being
forgotten by the world. However, his admirers and
fcholars in Paris were umvilling that the world ffiould
lofe the benefit of his labours, and fent deputies to en¬
treat him to return to his fchool. After feme delibe¬
ration, he again yielded to the call of ambition 3 and
at a fmall village in the country, he refumed his lec¬
tures, and foon found himfelf furrounded with a nume¬
rous train of fcholars. The revival of his popularity
renewed the jealoufy of other profeffors, who took the
firft opportunity of bringing him under eeclefiaftieai
cenfure. A treatife which he publiftied at this time*
entitled, “ The Theology of Abelard,” was fuppofed
to contain fome heretical tenets. A fynod was called
at Soiffons in the year 112,1 3 the work was condemned
to be burnt, and Abelard was commanded to throw it
into the flames. After being involved in other con-
troverfies, new charges were brought againft him, and
he fled to the convent of St Ayoul at Provins in Cham¬
pagne, the prior of which was his intimate friend,
The place of his retreat was foon difeovered, and
threats-
Abelard.
ABE [ 2
threats and perfnafions were in vain employed to recal
him : at laft he obtained permilTion to retire to Tome
folitary retreat, on condition that he (liould never again
become a member of a convent.
The fpot which he chofe was a vale in the foreft
of Champagne, near Nogent upon the Seine. la ere
Abelard, in 1122, erefted a fmall oratory, which he
dedicated to the Trinity, and which he afterwards en¬
larged and confecrated to the Third Perlon, the Com¬
forter, or Paraclete. Here he was foon difcovered,
and followed by a train of fcholars. A ruftic college
arofe in the forefc, and the number of his pupils foon
increafed to fix hundred. Jealoufy again provoked the
exertions of his enemies, and he was meditating his e-f-
cape, when, through the intereft of the duke of Bre¬
tagne, and with the confent of the abbot of St Deny*,
he was elected fuperior of the monaltery of St Gildas,
in the diocefe ofVannes, where, though not without
frequent and grievous vexations, he remained leverai
years.
About this time, Suger the abbot of St Denys, on
the plea of an ancient right, obtained a grant for an¬
nexing the convent of Argenteuil, of which Heloile
was now priorefs, to St Denys, and the nuns, who
were accufed of irregular practices, were difperfed.
Abelard, informed of the difireffed fituation of Heloife,
invited her, with her companions, eight in number, to
take poffeffion of the Paraclete.
It was during Abelard’s refidence at St Gildas, that
the interefling correfpondence pafied between him and
Heloife, which is ftill extant. The letters of Heloife,
in this correfpondence, abound with proofs of genius,
learning, and tafte, which might have graced a better
age. It is upon thefe letters that Mr Pope has formed
his “ E pi file from Eloifa to Abelard a piece which
is entitled to the higheft praife for its poetical merit,
but which deviates in many particulars from the ge¬
nuine chara&er and ftory of Heloife, and culpably vio¬
lates moral propriety. Here, too, Abelard probably
wrote his “ Theology,” which again fubjefted him to
perfecution. His opinions were pronounced heretical
by a council *, and although he appealed to Rome, the
judgment of the council was confirmed by the pope •,
and he was fentenced, unheard, to perpetual filence and
imprifonment. By the interpofitkm of fome friends,
however, and by a fubmiffive apology, he obtained his
pardon, with permiflum to end his days in the mona-
flery of Cluni.
At Cluni he was retired, ftudious, and devout. The
monks of the convent importuned him to refume the
bufinefs of inftruftion. In a few occafkmal efforts he
complied with their felicitation *, and his leclures were
heard with undiminiftied applaufe. But his health and
fpirits were much enfeebled, and gradually declined
till he died in the 63d year of his age, A. D. 1142. His
body was fent to Heloife to be interred in the convent
of the Paraclete. Heloife furvived her hufband 21
years, a pattern of conjugal affe&ion and monaftic vir¬
tue ; and was buried in the fame grave, as appears by
the following epitaph :
Hie
Sub eodem marmore,jacent
Hujus Mo ti afterii
Conditori Fetrus Abelardus,
2
2 ] ABE
Et ubbatij/a prime, Heloifa,
Glim ftudiis, ingeuio, in fan ft is nupliis
Et peeniteniia,
Nunc ceterna, ut fperamus, felicitate,
Corjunch.
Petrus abut 21 Aprilis 1142
Heloifa 17 Midi 1163.
The amour, which has given Abelard fo much cele¬
brity, will remain an eternal blot upon his memory.
It was not a juvenile indiferetion of which Abelard
was guilty, but, according to his own confeffion, the
Eduction of innocence, deliberately planned, and re-
folutely executed. It was accompanied with breach
of confidence, violation of duty, and degradation of
character. Except in the grant of the Paraclete as an
afylum to Heloife and her lifter hood, an uniform felf-
itlmcfs, appears in Abelard’s conduit. In Heloife, the
criminality, though not obliterated, was palliated by
youthful ardour and inexperience; and extreme fenfi-
bility, romantic attachment, noble generofity, and dif-
interefled invincible conftancy, united to throw a veil
over human frailty. Confidered apart from this dif-
graceful affair, Abelard appears with more advantage.
His writings, indeed, will not give the reader a high
idea of his genius or tafte : but it cannot be queftion-
ed, that the man who could foil the firft mailers of the
age at the weapons of logic, could draw round him
crowded and admiring auditors, and could collect
fcholars from different provinces and countries where-
ever he chofe to form a fchool, mull have poffeffed ex¬
traordinary talents. Had his love of truth been equal
to his tbirft of fame, and had his courage in adhering to
his principles been equal to his ingenuity in defending
them, his fufferings and perfections might have ex¬
cited more regret, and his title to honourable remem¬
brance would have been better eftablilhed. Upon the
whole, of Abelard it may perhaps with truth be faid,
that he was too vain to be truly great, and too felfilh to
be eminently good, and that his charadler is rather
adapted to excite admiration than to command refpeft.
His principal works, written in Latin, are, “ An
Addrefs to the Paraclete on the Study of the Scrip¬
tures ; Problems and Solutions ; Sermons on the Felti-
vals j A Treatife againft Herefies ; An Expolition of
the Lord’s Prayer ; A Commentary on the Romans j
A Syftem of Theology ; and his Letters to Heloife
and to others.” (Gen. Biog.).
ABEL tree, or Abele Tree, an obfolete name
for a fpecies of the poplar. See Populus, BotanE
Index.
ABELIANS, Abeolites, or Abelonians, in
church hiftory, a feft of heretics mentioned by St Au-
ftin, which arofe in the diocefe of Hippo in Africa,
and is fuppofed to have begun in the reign of Arca-
dius, and ended in that of Theodolius. Indeed it was
not calculated for being of any long continuance.
Thofe of this feft regulated marriage after the example
of Abel; who, they pretended, was married, but died
without ever having known his wife. They therefore
allowed each man to marry one woman, but enjoined
them to live in continence ; and, to keep up the fedl,
when a man and woman entered into this fociety, they
adopted a boy and a girl, who were to inherit their
goods, and to marry upon the fame terms of not be¬
getting
ABE
t 23 1
ABE
Aberbro
thick.
Ab,to getting .Mdren. but of adopting tm, of different
^ icxcs
ABELL A, anciently a town of Campania, near the
river Clanius. The inhabitants Were called Abellani,
and faid to have been a colony of Chalcidians. J he
nux Avellann, called alfo Prcenejhna, or the ««/,
takes its name from this town, according to Macrobius.
Now Avelta. ...
ABELLINUM, anciently a town of the liirpim,
a people of Apulia ; diftant about a mile from the ri¬
vulet Sabatto, between Beneventum and Salernum.
Pliny calls the inhabitants Abellinates, with the epithet
Protopi, to diftinguifh them from the Abellinates Math.
Now Ave/Iino. E. Long. 15. 20. N. Lat. ^ P1
ABEN EZRA, Abraham, a celebrated rabbi, born
at Toledo in Spain, called by the Jews, The wife, great,
and admirable Doaor, was a very able interpreter ot
the Holy Scriptures *, and was well Ikilled in grammar,
poetry, philofophy, aftronomy, and medicine. He was
alfo a perfeft mailer of the Arabic. His principal
work is, “ Commentaries on the Old leftament,” which
is much efteemed : thefe are printed in Bomberg’s and
Buxtorf’s Hebrew Bibles. His ftyle is clear, elegant,
concife, and much like that of the Holy Scriptures:
he almoft always adheres to the literal fenfe, and every¬
where gives proofs of his genius and good fenfe j he,
however, advances fome erroneous fentiments. i he
fcarceft of all his books is entitled u Jefud Mora *,
which is a theological work, intended as an exhortation
to the ftudy of the Talmud. He alfo wrote Eleganti<v
Gramtnaticze, printed in oftavo at Venice in 154^‘
died in 1174, aged 75.
ABEN MELLER, a learned rabbin, who wrote a com¬
mentary on the Old Teftament in Hebrew, entitled,
41 The Perfe£tion of Beauty.” This rabbin generally
follows the grammatical fenfe and the opinions of Eim-
ehi. The beft edition is that of Holland.
ABEN AS, a town of France, in Languedoc and in
the Lower Vivarais, feated on the river Ardefch, at the
foot of the Cevennes. E. Long. 4. 43. N. Lat. 44. 40.
ABENEL GAUBY, a fixed liar of the fecond or
third magnitude, in the fouth fcale of the conftcllation
Libra.
ABENSPERG, a finall town of Germany, in the
circle and duchy of Bavaria, and in the government of
Munich. It is feated on the river Abentz, near the
Danube. E. Long. it. 38. N. Lat. 48'. 45.
ABERAVON, a borough town of Glamorganfhire
in Wales, governed by a portreeve. It Had a market,
which is now difeontinued. The vicarage is drfeharged,
and is worth 45I. clear yearly value. It is feated at
the mouth of the river Avon, 194 miles weft of Lon¬
don. W. Long. 3. 21. N. Lat. ft. 40.
ABERBKOTHICK, or ArB-roaHI, one of the
royal boroughs of Scotland, fituated in the county of
Angus, about 40 miles N. N. E. of Edinburgh, in
W. Long. 2. 29. and N. Lat. 56; 36. It is feated
on the difeharge of the little river Brothic into the
fea, as the name imports, Aher in the Britifh implying
fuch a fitnation. It is a fmall but ftourifhing place,
well built, and ftill inereafing. The town lias been in
an improving ftate for the laft forty years, and the
number of inhabitants greatly augmented 5 which is
ftwing to the introduftion of manufaftures. The po¬
pulation in 1801 was above 7000, The inhabitants
confift chiefly of weavers of coarfe brown linens, and
fome fail-cloth j others are employed in making white ^
and coloured threads : the remainder are either en- Abercrom-
gaged in the (hipping of the place, or in the neceffary by.
and common mechanic trades. The brown linens, or
ofnaburgs, were manufa&ured here before any encou¬
ragement was given by government, or the linen com¬
pany erefled at Edinburgh. It appears from the books
of the ftamp-office in this town,-4.hat feven or eight
hundred thoufand yards are annually made in the place,
and a fmall diftrift round. Befides this export and
that of thread, much barley and fome wheat is fent
abroad. The foreign imports are (lax, flax-feed, and
timber, from the Baltic. The coafting trade confifts
of coals from Borrowftounnefs, and lime from Lord
Elgin’s kilns in Fife. At this place, in default of a
natural harbour, a tolerable artificial one of piers has
been formed, where, at fpring tides, which rife here fif¬
teen feet, (hips of two hundred tons can come, and of
eighty at neap tides; but they muft He diy at low wa¬
ter. This port is of great antiquity : there is an agree¬
ment yet extant between the abbot and tne burghers of
Aberbrothick, in 1194, concerning the making of the
harbour. Both parties were bound to contribute their
proportions ; but the larged fell to the (hare of the
former, for which he was to receive an annual tax pay¬
able out of every rood of land lying within the bo¬
rough. The glory of this place was the abbey, whofe
very ruins give fome idea of its former magnificence.
It was founded by William the Lion in 1178, and de¬
dicated to our celebrated primate 1 homas h Becket.
The founder was buried there ; but there are no re¬
mains of his tomb, or any other, excepting that of ^
monk of the name of Alexander Nicol. The monks
were of the Tyronenfian order ; and were firft brought
from Kelfo, whofe abbot declared thofe of this place,
on the firft inftitution, to be free from his jurifdiaion.
The laft abbot was the famous Cardinal Beaton, at thfi
fame time archbilhop of St Andrew’s, and, before his
death, as great and abiolute here as Wolfey was in
England. "King John, the Englifn monarch, granted
this monad cry rtioft uncommon privileges ; for, by
charter under the great feal, he exempted it a ttloiws el
confuetwUne in every part of England, except London.
At Aberbrothick is a chalybeate water, fimilar to thofe
of Peterhead and Glendye.
ABERCONWAY, or Conway, in Caernarvon-
Ihire, North Wales ; fo called from its fituation at the
mouth of the river Conway. It is a handfome town,
pleafantly fituated on the fide of a hill, and has many
conveniences for trade ; notwithftanding which it is
the pooreft town in the county. It was built by Ed¬
ward L and had not only walls, but a ftrong caftle
which is now in ruins. Here is an infeription on the
tomb of one Nicholas Hooks, importing that he was
the one-and-fortieth child of his father, and had twen¬
ty-feven children himfelf. It is 229 miles from Lou¬
don. W. Long. 3. 47* N- Lat. 53. 20.
ABERCROMBY, The Honourable Alexan¬
der (Lord Abercromby), a judge in the courts of fe(-
fion and jufticiavy in Scotland, was the youngetl fon of
George Abercromby, of Tullibody, Efq. of a refpec-
table familv in Clackmannanhire, and was born on
the 15th O’aober 1745. Mr Abercromby was early
dsftined for the prof’effion of the law, and with this
view
ABE • [ j
view lie was educated at the univerfity of Edinburgh,
where he paffed through the requiiite courfe of lan¬
guages, philolbphy, and law, and was admitted advo¬
cate in the year 1766 : but neither during the time of
his education, ok for fome years after he entered his
profeilional career, did he give much promife of
thofe eminent abilities and that affiduous application
which afterwards ditfinguilhed him as a pleader and a
judge. The vivacity of his difpolition, and the
fprightlinefs of his manners, led him to prefer the
gayer amufements of life, and the fociety of men of
fa (hi on and pleafure, to the arduous profetution of phi-
lolophical (Indies, and to the iefs inviting and more
barren paths of legal difquifitions. When, however,
either during his academical courfe, or the firif years
of his practice at the bar, occafions required the exer¬
tion of his talents, the qnicknefs of his perception, and
the acutenefs and ftrength of his underftanding, enabled
him to difplay fuch powers of attention and applica¬
tion to bufinefs as are feldom acquired but by regular
and uniform habits of induftry, and by the force of
conftant application. But, to attain that diftin&ion
and eminence, to which lie afpired, -and to fecure that
independence which the patrimony of a younger fon
of a family, more refpeftable than opulent, could not
afford him, he found it neceflary to withdraw from
thofe. feenes of amufement and pleafure, and to feclude
himfelf from that fociety which his gaiety and agree¬
able manners had enlivened and entertained, and to
"think ferioufiy of applying to the labours of his profef-
fion. With much credit to himfelf, and with undimi-
'milled vigour of mind, he threw o(f the chara61er of
the man of fadiion, and devoting his time and talents
to the toilfome detail of bufinefs as a lawyer, by his
fliccefsful efforts he foon gave folid proofs of the di-
ffinguifhed abilities which he poffeffed. About this
time, he was engaged as counfel in a caufe in which
public curiofity and opinion were much int'ere(fed and
divided. This caufe, which was of a very intricate
nature, afforded an opportunity of making a more emi¬
nent difplay of his profeffional talents. By a fpeech
which he delivered on this occafion, confpicuous for
eccurate diferimination, (frength of argument, and im-
prelfive eloquence, he gave a favourable prefage of his
future celebrity. The marks of approbation which he
now received probably taught him to appreciate thofe
talents which had hitherto remained concealed or un¬
employed, and encouraged him to call them forth into
exertion.
In 1780, Mr Abercromby refigned the office of
ffieriff-depute of Stirlingffiire, which he had held for
feveral years, and accepted of that of depute-advocate,
with the hope of extending his employment in the line
of his profeffion. In this ftep he was not difappoint-
ed *, for his reputation and bufinefs rapidly increafed,
and foon raifed him to the firft rank of lawyers at the
Scotch bar. In the midft of the laborious duties of
his profeffion, Mr Abercromby did not entirely pre¬
clude bimfelf from indulging in the elegant amufe-
ments of polite literature. He was one of that fo¬
ciety who fet on foot two periodical papers, the Mirror
and Lounger, publiffied at Edinburgh ; the former in
1779, and the latter in 1785. To the Mirror he con¬
tributed ten papers, and to the Lounger nine. The
names of the authors have been publifhed in the late
4 ] ABE
editions of thefe works, which renders it unneceltary Aberc
to point out thofe papers of which Mr Abercromby bX
wTas the author. * ——y-
In May 1792, he was appointed one of the judges
of the court of feffion, and in December following he
was called to a feat in the court of judiciary. Lord
Abercromby continued to difeharge the arduous du¬
ties of thefe important oftices till fummer 1795, when
he was'feized with a pe&oral complaint, of which he
died on the 1,7th November the fame year, at Ex-
mouth in Devonffiire, where he had gone for the reco¬
very of his health.
As a lawyer, Lord Abercromby had acquired great
reputation. His papers on law-cafes were diftinguifii-
ed for precifion and perfpieuity. His fpeeches were
elegant, animated, and eloquent. With the moft pa¬
thetic feeling he pled the caufe of the unfortunate ;
while he could affume the fevere tone of virtuous in¬
dignation in rebuking injuftice and oppreffion. With
fuch qualifications, added to the ftri&eA attention and
punftuality, he could not fail to become an able and
refpedlable judge. In this high ftation, his deport¬
ment was grave, dignified, and decided. His elocution
was folemn and deliberate j and his opinions, delivered
in tins manner, had an impreffive effe£h Avoiding
a detail of cireumftances, and never arguing the caufe
as a lawyer, he pronounced with brevity and precifion
the opinion of a judge drawn from its ftriking and pro¬
minent features. His only writings are the papers in
the periodical publications already alluded to. They
are marked by an eafy turn of expreffion, manly and
virtuous fentiments, and, when the fubjeft required it,
by delicate irony or unaffefted tendernefs. (P/z//. Tranf,
Edin.).
Abercromby, Sir Ralph, knight of the Bath,
and a lieutenant-general in the Britiffi army, an elder
brother of the preceding, was born in the year 1738.
Being deftined for the army, he obtained, in May
1756, a cornet’s commiffion in the 2d dragoon guards y
and rofe, April 24. 1762, to the rank of a captain in
the 3d regiment of horfe. Afcending through the in¬
termediate gradations of rank, he was appointed, No¬
vember 3. 1781, to the colonelcy of the 103d infan¬
try. September 28. 1787, he was promoted to the
rank of major-general. November 5. 1795, he ob¬
tained the command of the 7th regiment of dragoons.
Having been nearly 40 years in the army, having
ferved with honour in two wars, and being efteemed
one of the ableft, cooleft, and moft intrepid officers in
the whole Britiffi forces, he was employed on the con¬
tinent under his royal highnefs the duke of York, in
the commencement of the prefent war. In the aftion
on the heights of Gateau, he commanded the advanced
guard j and was wounded at Nimeguen. He con¬
duced the march of the guards from Deventer to Ol-
denfaal, in the retreat of the Britilh out of Holland, in
the winter of 1794-5. In Auguft 1795, he was ap¬
pointed to fucceed Sir Charles Grey, as commander in
chief of the Britiffi forces in the Weft Indies. March
24. 1796, Grenada was fuddenly attacked and taken
by a detachment of the army under his orders. He
afterwards obtained poffeffion of the fettlements of De-
marara and Iflequibo, in South America. St Lucia
was next taken by more difficult exertions, in which
the ability of this eminent commander was fignally dif-
ABE [ 25 1 A B E
Abercroitir played. St Vincent’s was, by the middle of June, ad-
by- ded to the Britiib conquefts. Trinidad, in February
j ’jp'j, (hared the fame fate. Hs returned the fame
year to Europe, and, in reward for fuch important fer-
vices, was inverted with the red ribbon, appointed to
the command of the regiment of Scots Greys, entruft-
ed with the governments of the Kle of Wight, Fort
George, and Fort Auguftus, and raifed to the high mi¬
litary rank of lieutenant-general. He held, for a
time, the chief command of the forces in Ireland. In
that command, he laboured to maintain the difcipline
of the army, to fupprefs the tiling rebellion, and to
protect the people from military oppreffion, with a care
worthy alike of the great general and the enlightened
and beneficent ftatefman. From that ftation he was
called to the chief command of the forces in Scotland.
His conduft in this diftinguiihed appointment gave
univerfal fatisfa&ion. When the great enterprife
againft Holland was refolved upon, Sir Ralph Aber-
cromby was called again to command, under his royal
highnefs the duke of York. The difficulties of the
ground, the inclemency of the feafon, delays, though
inconvenient, yet unavoidable, the diforderly move¬
ments of the Ruffians, and the timid duplicity of the
Dutch, difappointed our hopes of that expedition.
But, by the Dutch, the French, the Britilh, it was
confeffed, that even victory, the mod decifive, could
not have more confpicuoufly proved the talents of this
illuftrious officer. His country applauded the choice,
when he was fent with an army to difpoffefs the French
of Egypt. His experience in Holland and Flanders,
and in the climate of the Weft Indies particularly, fit¬
ted him for this new command. He accompliffied
fome of the firft duties of a general, in carrying his ar¬
my in health, in fpirits, and w’ilh the requifite intelli¬
gence and fupplies, to the deftined fcene of adlion.
The landing, the firft difpofitions, the attacks, and the
courage oppofed to attack, the fpirit with which his
army appears to have been by confidence in their lead¬
er infpired, the extraordinary fuperiority which the
Britifti infantry under his command evinced to that
which was thought the braveft and bed difciplined in¬
fantry in the world, demonftrate that all the beft
qualities of the greateft commanders were in Sir
Ralph Abercromby united—that they were all fum-
moned forth into aftivity, in the glorious achieve¬
ments amid which he fell.—In his private charafter he
was modeft, difinterefted, benevolent, and honourable.
General Lord Hutchinfon, who fucceeded him in the
command, in the difpatches with the account of his
death, has given a fine eulogium on his character as a
foldier, and ftrongly expreffive of the high eftimation in
which he was held by the army.—“ We have fuftain-
ed an irreparable lofs in the perfon of our never fuffi-
ciently to be lamented commander in chief, Sir Ralph
Abercromby, who was mortally wounded in the ac¬
tion, and died on the 28th of March. I believe he
was wounded early, but he concealed his fituation from
thofe about him, and continued in the field, giving his
orders with that coolnefs and perfpicuity which had
ever marked his character, till long after the action
was over, when he fainted through weaknefs and lofs
of blood. Were it permitted for a foldier to regret
any one who has fallen   
I might be excufed fur
<Vol. I. Part I.
in the iervice 01 his country,
lamenting him more than any
other perfon ; but it is fome confolation to thofe who Abercrom-
tenderly loved him, that, as his life was honourable, fo
was his death glorious. His memory will be recorded , 'C1^
in the annals of his country—will be facred to every
Britilh foldier—and embalmed in the recolledlion of a
grateful pofterity.” His remains were conveyed on
board Admiral Lord Keith’s flag (hip to Malta, attend¬
ed by Colonel Sir John Dyer, and were interred in the
commandery of the grand mafter, with the highefl:
military honours.
A monument to his memory, to be eredled in St
Paul’s church, London, at the public expence, was vo¬
ted by the houfe of commons. His widow has been
created a peerefs, and a penfion of 200cl. a-year for
her and three lives fettled on the family. (Gent. Mag.').
ABERDEEN, the name of two cities in Scotland,
called the Old and New Town, fituated on the German
ocean, in W. Long. 2. 8. and N. Lat. 57. 8.
Aberdeen, Old, is a place of great antiquity.
According to tradition, it was of note in the reign of
Gregory, who conferred on it fome privileges about
the year 893. In 1004, Malcolm II. founded a bi-
(hopric at a place called Mortlich in Banffshire, in
memory of a fignal victory which he there gained over
the Danes 5 which bilhopric wTas tranflated to Old A-
berdeen by David I. j and in 1163, the then bifhop of
Aberdeen obtained a new charter from Malcolm IV.
There is extant a charter of Alexander II. by which,
in 1217, the king grants to Aberdeen the fame privi¬
leges he had granted to his town of Perth.
The Old Town lies about a mile to the north of the
New, at the mouth of the river Don, over which is a
fine Gothic bridge, of a Angle arch, greatly admired,
which refts on a rock on each iide. This arch,
faid to have been built by a biffiop of Aberdeen about
the year 1290, is 67 feet wide at the bottom, and 34T
feet high above the furface of the river, which at ebb
tide is here 19 feet deep. The Old Town was former¬
ly the feat of the biffiop, and had a large cathedral com¬
monly called St Mac liar's. Two very antique fpires,
and one aide, which is ufed as a church, are now the
only remains of it. The biftiopric was founded in the
time of David I. as above mentioned. The cathedral
had anciently two rows of (lone pillars acrofs the
church, and three turrets j the fteeple, w'hich was the
largeft of thefe turrets, reded upon an arch, fupported
by four pillars. In this cathedral there was a fine li¬
brary ; but about the year 1560, it was almott totally
deftroyed. But the capital building is the King’s Col¬
lege on the fouth fide of the town, which is a large and
ftately fabric. It is built in form of a fquare, with cloi-
fters on the fouth fide. The chapel is very ruinous with¬
in ; but there ftill remains fome wood work of exquifite
workmanftiip. This was preferved by the fpirit of the
principal at the time of the Reformation, who armed
his people and checked the blind zeal of the barons of
the Mearns •, who, after dripping the cathedral of its
roof, and robbing it of the bells, were going to violate
this feat of learning. They (hipped their facrilegious
booty, with an intention of expofing it to fale in Hol¬
land : but the veffel had fcarcely gone out of port,
when it periffied in a dorm with all its ill gained lad¬
ing. The deeple is vaulted with a double crofs arch j
above which is an imperial crown, fupported by eight
done pillars, and cloied with a globe and two gilded
D croffes.
ABE t 26 ] ABE
Aberdeen, crofles. In the year 1631 this fteeple was thrown
down by a ftorm, but was foon after rebuilt in a more
(lately form. This college was founded in 1494, by
William Elphinllon billrop of this place, lord chancel¬
lor of Scotland in the reign of James III. and lord
privy feal in that of James IV. But James IV. claimed
the patronage of it, and it has fince been called the
King's College. This college, and the Maril'chal Col¬
lege in the New Town, form one univerfity, called the
XJniverfity of King Charles. 1 he library is large, but
not remarkable for many curiofities. Heftor Boethius
was the frit principal of the college ; and fent for from
Paris for that purpofe, on an annual falary of forty
ruerks Scots, at thirteen pence each. The fquare tower
on the fide of the college was built by contributions
from General Monk and the officers under him then
quartered at Aberdeen, for the reception of ftudents ;
of which about a hundred attend the college, many of
whom lodge in it.
Aberdeen, is the capital of the (hire of A-
berdeen. For extent, trade, and beauty, it greatly
exceeds any town in the north of Scotland. It is built
on a hill or riling ground, and lies on a fmall bay
formed by the Dee, deep enough for a ffiip of 200 tons,
and above two miles in circumference.—The buildings
(which are of granite from the neighbouring quarries)
are generally four dories high 5 and have for the mod
part, gardens behind them, which give it a beautiful
appearance. On the high dreet is a large church which
formerly belonged to the Francifcans. This church
was begun by Biffiop William Elphindon •, and finiffi-
ed by Gavin Dunbar, bilhop of Aberdeen, about the
J500. Bithop Dunbar is faid like wife to have built
the bridge over the Dee, which confids of feven
arches. In the middle of Cadle dreet is an oftagon
building, with neat bas relievos of the kings of Scot¬
land from James I. to James VII. The town-houfe
makes a good figure, and has a handfome fpire in the
centre. The grammar fchool is a low but neat build¬
ing. Gordon’s hofpital is handfome •, in front is a good
datue of the founder : it maintains forty boys, who are
apprenticed at proper ages. The infirmary is a large
plain building, and fends out between eight and nine
hundred cured patients annually. But the chief pub¬
lic building in the New Town is the Marifchal Col¬
lege, founded by George Keith earl Marifchal, in the
year 1 ^93 but fince greatly augmented with addi¬
tional buildings. There are about 140 ftudents be¬
longing to it. In both the Marifchal and King’s col¬
lege the languages, mathematics, natural philofophy,
divinity, &c. are taught by very able profeffors. The
convents in Aberdeen were : one of Mathurines or of
the order of the Trinity, founded by William the
Lion, who died in 1214*, another of Dominicans, by
Alexander II. j a third of Obfervantines, a building
of great length in the middle of the city, founded by
the citizens and Mr Richard Vans, &c.; and a fourth
of Carmelites, or White Friars, founded by Philip de
Arbuthnot in 1540.
Aberdeen, including the Old Town, is fuppofed to
contain 25,000 inhabitants. Its trade is confiderable,
but might be greatly extended by an attention to the
white filheries.
The harbour was long a great detriment to its trade,
and occafioned the lofs of many lives and much pro¬
perty. A ftranger could never depend upon finding it
as he left it 5 while veffels lay at anchor in the road till Aberdeen,
the tide ftiould make, they have often been wrecked by s—-y——.
ftorms which fuddenly arofe. It was very narrow at
the mouth, having the eafterly rocky point of the
Grampian mountains on the fouth, and a flat blowing
fand on the north, extending along the coaft for many
miles. By the eafterly and north-eaft ftorms the fand
was driven in a long ridge acrofs the harbour’s mouth,
and formed what was called the bar. Upon this bar
the depth of water at low tide was fometimes not above
three feet. Clearing away the fand, though but a par¬
tial and temporary remedy, was a matter of great ex¬
pence to the community. If it was cleared one week
fo as to have five or fix feet of water at ebb, a frefh
ftorm the next week undid all that had been done. rlhe
town at laft came to the refolution of erecting a ftrong
pier on the north fide of the harbour. '1 his pier is
1200 feet in length, and gradually increafes in thiek-
nefs and height as it approaches to the ft a, where the
head or rounding is 60 feet diameter at the bafe, and
the perpendicular elevation is 38 feet. Ihe whole is
built of granite, which is a very durable ftone : many
of the outfide ftones are above three tons weight, with
hewn beds. It was built under the direction of Mr
Smeaton; and the expence, amounting to above 17,000!.
is defrayed by doubling the harbour dues, which are
chiefly paid by the inhabitants.
A little to the fouth of the bar, they have now a
depth of 17 fathoms at low water j and at the har¬
bour’s mouth, from eight to nine fathoms, where they
had formerly but a few feet.
Aberdeen once enjoyed a good (hare of the tobacco
trade. At prefent, its imports are from the Baltic ; and
a few merchants trade to the Weft Indies and North
America. Its exports are ftockings, thread, falmon,
and oatmeal. The firft is a moft important article, as
appears by the following ftate of it : For this ma-
nufadture, 20,800!. worth of wool is annually im¬
ported, and 1600I. worth of oil. Of this wool are
annually made 69,333 do^en pairs of ftockings ;
worth, at an average, il. 10s. per dozen. Thefe
are the work of the country people in almoft all parts
of this great county, who get 4s. per dozen for Ipin-
ning, and 14s. per dozen for knitting*, fo that there
is annually paid them 62,329!. 14s. There is, befides,
about 2000I. value of ftockings manufadlured from the
wool of the county. The thread manufadlure is an¬
other confiderable article, though trifling in comparifon
of the woollen. The falmon fiffieries on the Dee and
the Don are a good branch of trade. About 46 boats
and 130 men are employed on the firft j and in fome
years 167,0001b. of fiffi have been fent pickled to
London, and about 930 barrels of falted fiffi exported
to France, Italy, &c.—The filhery on the Don is far
lefs confiderable. The fiffi of this river are taken in
cruives above the bridge ; a pradlice contrary to the
ancient laws of the kingdom, unlefs where the nature
of the water rendered the net fifliery impra£licable.
The inhabitants likewife export confiderable quantities
of pickled pork, which they fell to the Dutch for
viftualling their Eaft India ffiips and men of war j
the Aberdeen pork having the reputation of being the
beft cured of any in Europe for keeping on long
voyages.
“ It is however remarkable, Mr Knox obferves,
that there is not a fingle decked veffel fitted out from
Aberdeen
ABE
[ 27 ]
ABE
ibstJeon, Aberdeen for tlie herring or white filheries, where i
Aberdeen- now an excellent harbour, an aftive people, conVerfant
in trade, and poffeffed of capital j feated within fix hours
failina of Long Fortys, and two days lading of the
Shetland ifies. This inattention is the more extraor¬
dinary, as the exports of Aberdeen, though very eon-
fiderable, do not balance the imports m value. 1 he
herring and white filheries, therefore, if profecuted
with vigour, and cured and dried with judgment, would
not only extend the fcale of exports, but alfo furmlh
the outward bound veffels with freights, and better al-
fortments for the foreign markets. The falmon of the
Dee and Don are taken in great abundance, cured in
the higheft perfettion, and greatly valued at the Eu¬
ropean markets. If the merchants, in addition to thefe,
fliould alfo export the cargoes of 50 or 60 vefiels con-
flantly employed in the herring and white filhenes, the
port of Aberdeen would in a few years become the
moll celebrated mart of filh now exifting.” .
From a round hill at the well end of the city, flow
two fprings, one of pure water, and the other of a
quality refembling the German Spa. Aberdeen, with
Aberbrothick, Brechin, Montrofe, and Inverbervy, re¬
turns one member to parliament.
ABERDEENSHIRE, an extenfive county in Scot¬
land, is bounded on the north and call by tne German
ocean-, on the fouth by the counties of Kincardine,
Angus, and Perth j and on the well by Banff, Mur¬
ray, and Invernefs fhires. It extends in length about
90 miles, from fouth-well to north-eall, and about 46
in breadth, from the mouth of the river Dee to where
it is bounded by the Ihire of Banff. Its extent in
fquare miles may be ellimated at 1170. It compre¬
hends the diarias of Marr, Garioch, Aberdeen Pro¬
per, and great part of Buchan. The difiria of Marr,
which may be confidered as the centre of Scotland,
is wild, rugged, and mountainous j fome of the hills
riling with precipitous fides, to the height of 2000
"feet above the level of the fea. I he fides of the hills
are covered with extenfive natural foreffs in many
places impenetrable to human footfleps. Buchan is lefs
hilly; but very barren, bleak and inhofpitable to the
view. The reft of the country is more fertile, having
a gradual defcent from the central diftria eaftward, to
the fea. The coaft is in general very bold and rocky.
The Boilers or Buffers of Buchan, arreft the attention
of all ftrangers, by their ftupendous craggy^ precipices.
The foil, in fo extenfive a diftria, is as various as can
be well fuppofed. The Hate of agriculture in the in¬
terior parilhes of the county is very rude ; but the ex¬
ample of many patriotic proprietors is producing won¬
ders even in the moll barren foils. Prejudices in huf-
bandry, when deeply rooted, are with difficulty over¬
come but even thefe are yielding to a more regular
and modern fyftem. The average produce of the farms
in the whole county, is eftimated in proportion to
the rent, as five to one. This produce, confiderable
as it is, compared with the produce formerly, is
fcarcely one-half of what may be expelled from the
improvements which are daily made. The principal
rivers of Aberdeenfhire are, the Dee and Don, the
Ythan, the Ugie, and the Cruden. The Deveron alfo
forms its boundary with Banffshire for many miles. All
the rivers have been long celebrated for the excel¬
lence of the falmon with which they abound, The
rents of the fifhings are eftimated at 2480I. per annum, Aberdeen,
and the produce at upwards of io,oool. Befides the | _ .
fiffiings of the rivers, the fea coaft of Aberdeenihire
abounds with all kinds of excellent filh and a num¬
ber of fifiling vefiels are fitted out from the fea ports of
the county, particularly Peterhead and Fraferburgh.
Under the article of fiffieries, we may mention tire
celebrated pearl fifliing in the river Ythan. In this
river fome pearls have been found, which fold fingly
fo high as 2I. and 3I. With regard to mineralogy,
little wealth of that defcription has hitherto been found
in this county. The granite quarries are the moft va¬
luable articles. From thofe in the neighbourhood of
Aberdeen, 12,000 tons and upwards are annually ex¬
ported to London, the value of which may be efti¬
mated at about 8400I. There are feveral quarries Jn
the pariffi ©f Aberdour, which yield excellent mill-
ftones. There is a quarry of blue flate wrought in the
parifti of Culfalmond, and a vein of manganefe in the
neighbourhood of Old Aberdeen. The county abounds
with limeftone ^ but, from the want of coal, it cannot
be wrought to much advantage, except near a fea port.
In Old Machar and Old Deer parifhes, about J5,00O
bolls of lime are annually burnt, valued at 2750k Some
kelp is made on the coaft, the value of which muft.be
confiderable. Mr Pennant mentions an exceeding
large piece of amber, thrown affiore on the coaft of
Buchan-, and fmaller pieces are frequently found on
the fame coaft. In the pariffi of Leflie, a beautilul
green amianthus, tvith white and gray fpots, is found
in confiderable quantities. It is eafily wrought, and
formed into fnuff boxes and other ornaments by the
country people. Plumbago is found on tire banks of
the Deveron. Amethyfts, emeralds, and topazes, are
found in the pariffi of Crathie, and on the ffiore at Pe¬
terhead. Onyx and agates are frequently to be met
with. On the eftate of Invercauld, there are found
large fpecimens of rock cryftals. Befides thefe, afbe-
fto", talc, mica, fchiftus, and other curious minerals,
are found in many parts of the county. The princi¬
pal manufatflure carried on in the county, is the knit¬
ting of ftockings and hofe, in which all the women,
and moft of the old men and boys, are employed the
greater part of the year. The other manufaclures are
too trifling to deferve particular notice. Aberdeen-
ftiire contains three royal boroughs 5 Aberdeen, Kin-
TORE, and Inverury : and feveral large and hand-
fome towns j as Peterhead, Fraferburgh, Huntly, and
Old Meldrum. It is divided into 85 pariftres. Not-
withftanding the remote fituation of Aberdeenihire, it
is ornamented with many fine feats of the nobility and
gentry. Slains caftle, the feat of the earl of Errol ;
Aboyne caftle, of the earl of Aboyne ; Ellon, of the
earl of Aberdeen; Inverury, of the earl of Kintore ;
are the chief refidences in the county.
The following account of the population of Aber-
deen-fhire, at two different periods, is taken from the
Statijl. Hijl. of Scotland.
. n Population Population
Farijhes. jn 1755. in 1790-98.
I Aberdeen, Old, or Old Machar 4945 8107
Aberdeen, New, including 7. 10785
Footdee or Fittie
Aberdour
i
D 2
I397
16120
1306
Aboyne
h
A B
ABE
Aberdeen-
fhire.
[ 28 ]
'Parifhes.
Aboyne
5 Alford
Auchindore
Auchterlefs
Belhelvie
Birfe
20 Bourty
Cabrach
Cairny
Chapel of Garioch
Clatt
15 Clunie
Coldftone, Logie
Coul
Crathie and Braemarr
Crimond
20 Cruden
Culfaltnond
Gulbnie, now annexed to Leochel
Daviot
Deer, New
25 Deer, Old
Drumblade
Drurnoak
Dyce
Echt
30 Ellon
Fintray
Forbes
Forgue
Foveran
35 Fraferburgh
Fyvie
Gartley
Glafs
Glenbucket
40 Glenmuick, &c.
Huntly
Infch
Inverury
Keig
45 Keith-hall
Kemnay
Kildrummie
Kincardine O’Niel
King Edward
50 Kinnellar
Kinnethmont
Kintore
Leochel, including Culhnie
Leflie
55 Logie Buchan
Longlide
Lonmay
Lumphanan
Machar, New
60 Meldrum, Old
Methlick
Midmarr
Monquhitter
Monymulk
65 Newhills
Oyne
Population
hi 1755-
j695
990
839
1264
1471
1126
5*5
960
2690
559
994
I243
751
2671
765
2549
810
975
23I3
2813
II25
760
383
1277
2523
9°5
456
1802
1981
1682
2528
1328
1093
430
2270
1900
995
73°
499
1 in
643
562
1706
*35*
398
791
973
1286
3T9
575
1979
1674
682
1191
1603
*385
979
997
100c
959
643
Population
in 1790-98.
I0C0
663
59°
1264
I3l8
1300
456
700
2600
I035
425
885
1132
766
22 ci
917
2028
745
95°
2800
3267
886
692
352
963
1830
85r
370
1778
1230
2060
2I94
1800
776
449
2117
3600
900
73*
475
838
611
426
2075
*577
342
830
812
642
418
5°9
I792
1650
621
1030
1490
*°35
945
1500-
1130
1181
630
Petrifies.
Peterculter
Peterhead
Pitfligo
70 Premnay
Rathen
Rayne
Rhynie and Effey
Skene
75 Slains
Strathdon
Stricken
Tarland
Tarvas
80 Tillynefsle
T ougb
Towie
Turreff
Tyrie
85 Udney
E
Population
in I7S5>
755
2487
1224
448
*5*7
1131
836
12 c 1
1286
*75°
1158
T30°
2346
335
57°
656
1897
596
*3**
Total, 116,836
Population Aberdeen-
in 1790-98. fhire
1002
4100
1300
45°
*73°
**73
681
**33
1117
I524
1400
1050
1690
412
560
55°
2029
949
1137
122.921
116,836
Abernethy.
Increafe, 6085
ABERDOUR, a fmall town in Fifefhire, Scotland,
on the frith of Forth, about ten miles north-weft of
Edinburgh. In old times it belonged to the Viponts $
in 1126 it was transferred to the Mortimers by mar¬
riage, and afterwards to the Douglafes. William, lord
of Liddefdale, furnamed the Flower of Chivalry, in the
reign of David II. by charter conveyed it to James
Douglas, anceftor of the prefent noble owner the earl
of Morton. The monks ofTnchcolm had a grant for a
burial place here from Allan de Mortimer, in the reign
of Alexander III. The nuns, ufually ftyled the Poor
Clares, had a convent at this place.
ABERFORD, a market town in the weft riding of
Yorkftiire, ftands in a bottom ; and is about a mile in
length* and pretty well built. It is near a Roman
road, which is raifed very high, and not far from the
river Cock 5 between which and the town there is the
foundation of an old caftle ftill vifible. It is 181 miles
north-by-weft from London. W. Long. 2. 45. N.
Lat. 55. 52.
ABERGAVENNY, a large, populous, and flou-
riftiing town in Monmouthftiire, feated at the conflu¬
ence of the rivers Ufk and Gavenny. It has a fine
bridge over the Ufk, confifting of fifteen arches; and
being a great thoroughfare from the weft part of Wales
to Bath, Briftol, Gloucefter, and other places, is well
furnifhed with accommodation for travellers. It is
furrounded with a wall, and had once a caftle. It car¬
ries on a confiderable trade in flannels, which am
brought hither for fale from the other parts of the
county. It is 142 miles diftant from London. W.
Long. 2. 45. N. Lat. 51. 50. Abergavenny appears-
to have been the Gibbanium of Antoninus, and the toxvn-
of Ufk his Burrium.
ABERNEI'HY, John, an eminent dififenting mi-
nifter, was the fon of Mr John Abernethy, a dillenting
minifter in Coleraine, and was born there on the-
19th of Oftober 1680. When about nine years of age,
he was feparated from his parents, his father being ob-
liged
V
ABE
t 29 ]
ABE
Usernethy, ^ged to attend fome public affairs in London ; and his
Aberration. raotheri t0 ftelter herfelf from the mad fury of the
v Irifh rebels, retiring to Derry, a relation who had him
under his care, having no opportunity of conveying
him to her, carried him to Scotland •, and thus he
efcaped the hardfhips and dangers of the fiege of Derry,
in which Mrs Abernethy loft all her other children.
He afterwards ftudied at the univerfity of Glafgow,
where he remained till he took the degree of matter ot
arts ; and, in 1708, he was diofen minifter of a dil-
fenting congregation at Antrim, in which fituation he
continued above 20 years. About the time of the Ban-
gorian controverfy (for which fee HoadlEY), a dii-
fenfion arofe among his brethren^ in the xnimftry at
Belfaft, on the fubjeft of fubfcription to the W eftmin-
fter Confeffion of Faith. In this controverfy he became
a leader on the negative fide, and incurred the cenfure
of a general fynod. The agitation of parties began to
be alfo felt among the members of his congregation.
Many of them deferted him 5 which induced him to
accept of an invitation to fettle in Dublin, where his
preaching was much admired. Here he continued for
ten years, refpe&ed and efteemed. But his labours
were terminated by a hidden attack of the gout in the
head, to which he had been fubjeft *, and he died in
December 1740, in the 60th year of his age. His
writings, as was his chara&er, are diftingmfhed for
candour, liberality, and manly fentiment. He pubiifhcd
a volume of fermons on the Divine Attributes 5 after
his death a fecond volume was publiftied by his fnends",
and thefe were fucceeded by four other volumes on
different fubjedls : all of which have^been greatly ad¬
mired.
ABERNETHY, a fmall town in Strathern, a diftrict
of Perthfhire in Scotland, fituated ©n the river 1 ay, a
little above the mouth of the Erne, It is faid to have
been the feat of the Piftilh kings ; and was afterwards
the fee of an archbifhop, which was afterwards trans¬
ferred to St Andrew’s. In the churchyard of Aber¬
nethy, there is a tower of fmgular eonftru£tion. It is
of a circular form, is 74 feet in height, and 48 feet in
circumference. The tower at Brechin is the only one
of a fimilar ftrufture in Scotland. I he refearches of
the antiquarian have hitherto failed in difeovering the
ufes of thefe infulated buildings. Conjecture, there¬
fore, has fupplied the place of certainty, by fuppofing
that they are of Pi£tifti origin, and that they were in¬
tended as places of confinement for religious devotees
in performing penance, and hence they have been de-
dominated towers of repentance.
ABERRATION, in djlronomy, an apparent mo¬
tion of the celeftial bodies, produced by the progreflive
motion of light, and the earth’s annual motion in her
orbit.
This effeft may be explained and familiarized by
the motion of a line parallel to itfedf, much after the
manner that the compofition and refolution of forces are
explained.
M. de Maupertuis, in his “ Elements of Geography,”
gives a familiar and ingenious idea of the aberration,
in this manner : “ It is thus,” fays he, “ concerning
the direftion in which a gun muft be pointed to ftrike
a bird in its flight : inftead of pointing it ftraight to
the bird, the fowler will point a little before it, in the
path of its flight, and that fo much the more as the
3
flight of the bird is more rapid, with refped to the Aberration
flight of the fhot.” In this way of conlidenng the v
matter, the flight of the bird reprefents the motion of
the earth, and the flight of the ftiot reprefents the mo¬
tion of the ray of light.
Mr Clairaut too, in the Mem. de 1’Acad, des sciences
for the year 1746, illuitrates this eflfeft in a familiar
way, by fuppofing drops of rain to fall rapidly, and
quickly after each other from a cloud, under which a
perfon moves with a very narrow tube ; in which cafe
it is evident that the tube muft have a certain inclina¬
tion, in order that a drop which enters at the top, may
fall freely through the axis of the tube, without touch¬
ing the tides of it j which inclination muft be more or
lefs according to the velocity of the drops in refpecl
to that of the tube ; then the angle made by the di-
re£Hon of the tube and of the falling drops, is the aber¬
ration arifing from the combination of thofe two mo-
tions.
This difcovery, which is one of the bnghteft that
have been made in the prefent age, we owe to the ac¬
curacy and ingenuity ot the late Dr Bradley, aftro-
nomer royal 5 to which he was oceafionally led by the
refult of fome obfervations which he had made with a
view to determine the annual parallax of the fixed.ftars,
or that which arifes from the motion of the earth in its
annual orbit about the fun.
The annual motion ot the earth about the fun had
been much doubted, and warmly contefted. The de¬
fenders of that motion, among other proofs of the re¬
ality of it, conceived the idea of adducing an incon-
te(table one from the annual parallax of the fixed ftars,
if the ftars (hould be within fuch a diftance, or if m-
ftruments and obfervations could be made with fuch ac¬
curacy, as to render that parallax fenfible. And with
this view various attempts have been made. Before the
obfervations of M. Picard, made in 1672, it was the
general opinion, that the ftars did not change tlirir po-
fition during the courfe of a year, iycho Brahe and
Ricciolus fancied that they had aflured themfelves of it
from their obfervations ; and from hence they concluded
that the earth did not move round the tun, and that
there was no annual parallax in the fixtd ftais. M. I i-
card, in the account of his Voyage (P Lrantloi/rg* made
in 1672, fays that the pole liar, at different times ofi
the year, has certain variations, which he had obferved
for about 10 years, and which amounted to about 40"
a year : from whence fome, who favouied tne annual
motion of the earth, were led to conclude that thefe va¬
riations were the eflfeft of the parallax of the t..ilh s
orbit. But it was impoflible to explain it by that pa¬
rallax j becaufe this motion was in a manner contrary
to what ought to follow only from the motion of the
earth in her orbit.
In 1674 Dr Hook publiftied an account of obferva¬
tions which he faid he had made in 1669, by
which he had found that the liar y Draconis was .23"
more northerly in July than in October : obfervations
which, for the prefent, feemtd to favour thfe opinion of
the earth’s motion, although it be now known that
there could not be any truth or accuracy in them.
Flamfteed having obferved the pole ftar with his
mural quadrant, in 1680 and the following years, found
that its declination was 40" lefs in July than in De¬
cember ; which obfervations, although very juft, were
yet,
li
A B E
C 3o ]
ABE
Aberration. ye^ however, improper for proving the annual parallax ;
v and he recommended the making of an indrument of
15 or 20 feet radius, to be firmly fixed on a ftrong
foundation, for deciding a doubt which was otherwile
not loon likely to be brought to a conclufion.
In this ftate of uncertainty and doubt, then, Dr
Bradley, in conjunflion with Mr Samuel Molineux,
in the year 1725, formed the projeft of verifying, by
a feries of new obfervations, thofe which Dr Hook had
communicated to the public almoft 53 years before.
And as it Avas his attempt that chiefly gave rife to this,
fo it was his method in making the obfervations, in
fome meafure, that they followed ; for they made choice
of the fame ftar, and their inftrument was conftru&ed
upon nearly the fame principles : but had it not great¬
ly exceeded the former in exaflnefs, they might ftill
have continued in great uncertainty as to the parallax
of the fixed ftars. For this, and many other convenient
and ufeful aftronomical inftruments, philofophers are in¬
debted to the ingenuity and accuracy of Mr Graham.
The fuccefs of the experiment evidently depending
fo much on the accuracy of the inftrument, this be¬
came a leading objeft of confideration. Mr Moli-
neux’s apparatus then having been completed, and fit¬
ted for obferving, about the end of November 17257
on the third day of December following, the bright
flar in the head of Draco, marked y by Bayer, was
for the firft time obferved, as it palfed near the zenith,
and its fituation carefully taken with the inftrument.
The like obfervations were made on the fifth, eleventh,
and twelfth days of the fame month ; and there ap¬
pearing no material difference in the place of the ftar,
a farther repetition of them, at that feafon, feemed
needlefs, it being a time of the year in which no len-
fible alteration of parallax, in this ftar, could foon be
expefted. It was therefore curiofity that chiefly urged
Dr Bradley, who was then at Kew, where the inftru¬
ment was fixed, to prepare for obferving the ftar again
on the 17th of the fame month •, when, having adjuft-
ed the inftrument as ufual, he perceived that it palled
a little more foutherly this day than it had done before.
Not fufpefting any other caufe of this appearance, it
was afcribed to the uncertainty of the obfervations, and
that either this, or the foregoing, was not fo exadl as
had been fuppofed. For which reafon they propofed
to repeat the obfervation again, to determine from what
caufe this difference might proceed : and upon doing
it, on the 20th of December, the do£for found that the
ftar paffed ftill more foutherly than at the preceding
obfervation. This fenftble alteration furprifed them
the more, as it was the contrary way from what it
would have been, had it proceeded from an annual pa¬
rallax of the ftar. But being now pretty well fatisfied,
that it could not be entirely owing to the want of ac¬
curacy in the obfervations, and having no notion of
any thing elfe that could caufe fuch an apparent mo¬
tion as this in the ftar •, they began to fufpe£I that fome
change in the materials or fabric of the inftrument it-
felf might have occafioned it. Under thefe uncer¬
tainties they remained for fome time \ but being at
length fully convinced, by feveral trials, of the great
exa£Inefs of the inftrument *, and finding, by the gra¬
dual increafe of the ftar’s diftance from the pole, that
there muft be fome regular caufe that produced it;
they took care to examine very nicely, at the time of
each obfervation, how much the variation Was } till Aberratin
about the beginning of March 1726, the ftar was found ——v—-
to be 20w more foutherly than at the time oi the firft
obfervation : it now indeed feemed to have arrived at
its utmoft limit fouthward, as in feveral trials, made a-
bout this time, no fenfible difference was obferved in
its fituation. By the middle of April it appeared to
be returning back again towards the north \ and about
the beginning of June, it palled at the fame diftance
from the zenith, as it had done in December, when it
was firft obferved.
From the quick alteration in the declination of the
ftar at this time, increafing about one fecond in three
days, it was conje&ured that it would now proceed
northward, as it had before gone fouthward, of its pre-
fent fituation; and it happened accordingly ; for the
ftar continued to move northward till September fol¬
lowing when it again became ftationary $ being then
near 20" more northerly than in June, and upwards of
39" more northerly than it had been in March. From
September the ftar again returned towards the fouth,
till, in December, it arrived at the fame fituation in
which it had been obferved twelve months before, al¬
lowing for the difference of declination on account of
the preceflion of the equinox.
This was a fufficient proof that the inftrument had
not been the caufe of this apparent motion of the ftar j
and yet it feemed difficult to devife one that ftiould be
adequate to fuch an unufual effedt. A nutation of the
earth’s axis was one of the firft things that offered itfelf
on this occafion •, but it was foon found to be infufficient;
for though it might have accounted for the change of
declination in y Draconis, yet it would not at the fame
time accord with the phenomena obferved in the other
ftars, particularly in a fmall one almoft oppofite in right
afcenlion to y Draconis, and at about the fame diftance
from the north pole of the equator : for though this ftar
feemed to move the fame way, as a nutation of the
earth’s axis would have made it ; yet changing its de¬
clination but about half as much as y Draconis in the
fame time, as appeared on comparing the obfervations
of both made on the fame days, at different feafons of
the year, this plainly proved that the apparent motion
of the ftar was not occafione d by a real nutation ; for
had this been the cafe, the alteration in both ftars
would have been nearly equal.
The great regularity of the obfervations left no room
to doubt, but that there was fome uniform caufe by
which this unexpected motion was produced, and
which did not depend on the uncertainty or variety of
the feafons of the year. Upon comparing the obferva¬
tions with each other, it wras difeovered that, in both
the ftars above mentioned, the apparent difference of
declination from the maxima, was always nearly propor¬
tional to the verfed fine of the fun’s diftance from the
equinoftial points. This was an inducement to think
that the caufe, whatever it was, had fome relation to the
fun’s fituation with refpeft to thofe points. But not
being able to frame any hypothefis, fufficient to account
for all the phenomena, and being very defirous to
fearch a little farther into this matter, Dr Bradley be¬
gan to think of erefting an inftrument for himfelf at
Wanftead ; that, having it always at hand, he might
with the more eafe and certainty inquire into the laws
of this new motion. The confideration likewife of
being
ABE [ ] ABE
berrr.tion. being able, by another inftrutnent, to con Si ra the truth
of the obfervatums hitherto made with that of Mr Mo-
lineux, was no fmall inducement to the undertaking ;
but the chief of all was, the opportunity he (hould
thereby have of trying in what manner other itars
Should be affefted by the fame caufe, whatever it. might
be. For Mr Molineux’s inftrument being originally
defigned for obferving y Draconis, to try whether it
had any fenfible parallax, it was fo contrived, as to be
capable of but little alteration in its dire&ion ; not a-
bove feven or eight minutes of a degree : and there be¬
ing but few ftars, within half that diftanee from the
zenith of Kew, bright enough to be well obferved, he
could not, with his inftrument, thoroughly examine
how this caufe affe&ed ftars that were differently Situ¬
ated, with refpeff to the equinoctial and folftitial points
of the ecliptic.
Thefe conftderations determined him •, and by the
contrivance and direction of the fame ingenious perfon,
Mr Graham, his inftrument was fixed up the 19th of
Auguft 1727. As he had no convenient place where
he could make ufe of fo long a telefcope as Mr Moli¬
neux’s, he contented himfelf with one of but little
more than half the length, namely of 12 feet and a half,
the other being 24 feet and a half long, judging from
the experience he had already had, that this radius
would be long enough to adjuft the inftrument to a
Sufficient degree of exaftnefs : and he had no reafon
afterwards to change his opinion ; for by all his trials
he was very well fatisfied, that when it was carefully
re&ified, its fituation might be fecurely depended on
to half a fecond. As the place where his inftrument
was hung, in fome meafure determined its radius; fo
did it alfo the length of the arc or limb, on which the
divifions were made, to adjuft it: for the arc could
not conveniently be extended farther, than to reach
to about 6-J- degrees on each fide of the zenith. This
however was fufficient, as it gave him an opportunity
of making choice of feveral ftars, very different both
in magnitude and fituation ; there being more than two
hundred, inferted in the Britiffi Catalogue, that might
be obferved with it. He needed not indeed to have
extended the limb fo far, but that he was willing to
take in Capelin, the only ftar of the firft magnitude
that came fo near his zenith.
His inftrument being fixed, he immediately began
to obferve fuch ftars as he judged moft proper to give
him any light into the caufe of the motion already
mentioned. There was a fufficient variety of fmall
ones, and not lefs than twelve that he could obferve
through all feafons of the year, as they were bright
enough to be feen in the day time, when neareft the
fun. He had not been long obferving, before he
perceived that the notion they had before entertained,
that the ftars were fartheft north and South when the
fun was near the equinoxes, was only true of thofe
ftars which are near the folftitial colure. And after
continuing his obfervations a few months, he difcover-
ed what he then apprehended to be a general law ob¬
ferved by all the ftars, namely, that each of them be¬
came ftationary, or was fartheft north or South, when
it paffed over his zenith at fix of the clock, either in
the evening or morning. He perceived alfo that what¬
ever fituation the ftars were in, with refpedl to the car¬
dinal points of the ecliptic, the apparent motion of
4
every one of them tended the fame way, when they Aberration.
pafled his inftrument about the fame hour of the cay
or night ; for they all moved Southward when they
pafied in the day, and northward when in the night j
So that each of them was fartheft north when it came
in the evening about fix of the clock, and fartheft fouth
when it came about fix in the morning.
Though he afterwards difeovered that the maxima,
in moft of thefe ftars, do not happen exaftly when they
pafs at thofe hours ; yet, not being able at that time
to prove the contrary, and fuppofing that they did, he
endeavoured to find out what proportion the greateft
alterations of declination, in different ftars, bore to
each other ; it being very evident that they did not all
change their inclination equally. It has been before
noticed, that it appeared from Mr Molineux’s obfer-
vatinns, that y Draconis changed its declination above
twice as much as the before-mentioned fmall ftar that
was nearly oppofite to it ; but examining the matter
more nicely, he found that the greateft change in the
declination of thefe ftars, was as the fine of the lati¬
tude of each ftar refpe&ively. This led him to fufpeft
that there might be the like proportion between the
maxima of other ftars ; but finding that the obferva¬
tions of fome of tfyern would not perfectly correfpond
with fuch an hypothefis, and not knowing whether the
fmall difference he met with might not be owing to
the uncertainty and error of the obfervations, he de¬
ferred the farther examination into the truth of this hy¬
pothefis, till he Should be furniftied with a feries of ob¬
fervations made in all parts of the year ; which would
enable him not only to determine what errors the ob¬
fervations might be liable to, or how far they might
fafely be depended on ; but alfo to judge, whether
there had been any fenfible change in the parts of the
inftrument itfelf.
When the year was completed, he began to exa¬
mine and compare his obfervations; and having fatif-
fied himfelf as to the general laws of the phenomena,
he then endeavoured to find out the caufe of them.
He was already convinced that the apparent motion
of the ftars was not owing to a nutation of the earth’s
axis. The next that occurred to him, was an altera¬
tion in the dire£lion of the plumb-line, by which the
inftrument was. conftantly adjufted; but this, upon
trial, proved infufficient. Then he confidered what
refraction might do ; but here alfo he met with no fa-
tisfaftion. At lart, through an amazing fagacity, he
conjeftured that all the phenomena hitherto mention¬
ed, proceeded from the progreftive motion of light,
and the earth’s annual motion in her orbit : for he
perceived, that if light were propagated in time, the
apparent place of a fixed objeCt would not be the
fame when the eye is at reft, as when it is moving in
any other direCHon but. that of the line paffing through
the objeCI and the .eye ; and that when the eye is mo¬
ving in different dire&ions, the apparent place of the
objeCt would be different. {Hutton's Math. DiEl.').
Aberration, in Optics, the deviation or difperflon
of the rays of light, when reflected by a fpeculum,
or refraCted by a lens, which prevents them from
meeting or uniting in the fame point, called the geo¬
metrical focus, but are fpread over a fmall fpace, and
produce a confufion of images. There are two fpecies
of aberration diftinguiffied by their different caufes;
the «
A B G [3
Aberration the one arifes from the figure of the lens or fpeculum,
II the other from the unequal refrangibility of the rays
. ‘ , of light. This laft fpecies is fometimes called the
Newtonian, from the name of its difcoverer. See Op¬
tics.
ABERRATION of the Planets, is equal to the geocen¬
tric motion of the planet, the fpace it appears to move
as feen from the earth, during the time that light em¬
ploys in paffing from the planet to the earth. Thus,
in the fun, the aberration in longitude is confiantly
26'', that being the fpace moved by the fun, or, which
is the fame thing, by the earth, in the time of 8' 7",
which is the time in which light paffes from the fun to
the earth. In like manner, knowing the dillance of
any planet from the earth, by proportion it will be, as
the diflance of the fun is to the diftance of the planet,
fo is 8' 7" to the time of light paffing from the planet
to the earth : then computing the planet’s geocentric
motion in this time, that will be the aberration of the
planet, whether it be in longitude, latitude, right af-
cenfion, or declination. (Hutton's Math. DifH).
ABERYSTWITH, a market-town of Cardigan-
fhire, in Wales, feated on the Ridal, near its confluence
with the lit with, where it falls into the fea. It is a
populous, rich town, and has a great trade in lead, and
a confiderable filhery of whiting, cod, and herrings. It
was formerly furrounded with walls, and fortified with
a caflle j but both are now in ruins. Its diftance from
London is 203 miles W. N. W. W. Long. 4. 15.
N. Lat. 52. 30.
ABESTA, or Avesta, the name of one of the fa-
cred books of the Perlian magi, which they afcribe to
their great founder Zoroafter. The Abefta is a com¬
mentary on twm others of their religious books called
Zend and Pazcnd; the three together including the
whole fyftem of the Ignicolse or worftiippers of fire.
ABETTOR, a law term, implying one who en¬
courages another to the performance of fome criminal
action, or who is art and part in the performance itfelf.
Treafon is the only crime in which abettors are ex¬
cluded by lawq every individual concerned being con-
•fidered as a principal. It is the fame with art-and-part
in the Scots law\
ABEX, a country of Higher Ethiopia, in Africa,
bordering on the Red fea, by which it is bounded on
the eaft. It has Nubia or Sennar on the north ; Sen-
nar and Abyflinia on the weft \ and Abyflinia on the
fouth. Its principal towns are Suaquem and Arkeko.
It is fubjeft to the Turks, and has the name of the
beglerbeglik of Habeleth. It is about five hundred
miles in length and one hundred in breadth ; is a moun¬
tainous country, fandy, barren, and unhealthy, much
infefted with wild beafts j and the forefts abound with
ebony trees.
ABEYANCE, in Law, the expectancy of an eftate.
Th us if lands be leafed to one perfon for life, with re-
verfion to another for years, the remainder for years is
in abeyance till the death of the lelfee.
ABG A.R, or A.BGARUS, a name given to feveral of
the kings of Edelfa in Syria. The moft celebrated of
them was one who, it is faid, was cotemporary with
Jefus Chrift •, and who having a diftemper in his feet,
# ^ ^ and hearing of Jefus’s miraculous cures, requefted him
Hiji lib i. Ietter t0 <-'orae and cure him. Eufebius *, who be-
cap. 13. lieved that this letter was genuine, and alfo an anfwer
s ] A B I
our Saviour is faid to have returned to it, has tranf- Abgar
lated them both from the Syriac, and alferts that they jj
were taken out of the archives of the city of Edefla. Abians.
The firft is as follows : “ Abgarus, prince of Edefla,
“ to Jefus the holy Saviour, who hath appeared in the
“ fleftr in the confines of Jerufalem, greeting. I have
“ heard of thee, and of the cures thou haft wrought
“ without medicines or herbs. For it is reported thou
“ makeft the blind to fee, the lame to walk, lepers to
“ be clean, devils and unclean fpirits to be expelled,
“ luch as have been long difeafed to be healed, and
“ the dead to be raifed •, all which when I heard con-
“ cerning thee, I concluded with myfelf, That either
“ thou waft a God come down from heaven, or the
“ Son of God fent to do thefe things. I have there-
“ fore written to thee, befeeching thee to vouchfafe to
“ come unto me, and cure my difeafe. For I have
“ alfo heard that the Jews ufe thee ill, and lay fnares
“ to deftroy thee. I have here a little city, pleafantly
“ fituated, and fufficient for us both. Abcarus.”
To this letter, Jefus, it is faid, returned an anfwer by
Annanias, Abgarus’s courier j which was as follows :
“ Blefled art thou, O Abgarus ! who haft believed in
“ me whom thou haft not feen $ for the Scriptures fay
“ of me, They who have feen me have not believed in
“ me, that they who have not feen, may, by believing,
“ have life. But whereas thou writeft to have me
“ come to thee, it is of neceflity that I fulfil all things
“ here for which I am fent; and having finiftred them,
“ to return to him that fent me : but when I am re-
“ turned to him, I will then fend one of my difciples
“ to thee, who ftiall cure thy malady, and give life to
“ thee and thine. Jesus.” After Jefus’s afcenfion,
Judas, who is alfo named Thomas, fent Thaddeus, one
of the feventy, to Abgarus •, wko preached the gofpel
to him and his people, cured him of his diforder, and
wrought many other miracles : which was done, fays
Eufebius, A. D. 43.—Though the above letters are
acknowledged to be fpurious by the candid writers of
the church of Rome j feveral Proteftant authors, as
Dr Parker, Dr Cave, and Dr Grabe, have maintained
that they are genuine, and ought not to be rejedled.
ABGILLUS, John, furnamed Prefter John, was
fon to a king of the Frifcii} and, from the aufterity of
his life, obtained the name of Prefer, or Prieft. He
attended Charlemagne in his expedition to the Holy
Land 5 but inftead of returning with that monarch to
Europe, it is pretended that he gained mighty con-
quefts, and founded the empire of the Abylfines, call¬
ed, from his name, the empire of Prefter John. He is
faid to have written the hiftory of Charlemagne’s jour¬
ney into the Holy Land, and his own into the Indiesj
but they are more probably trifling romances, written
in the ages of ignorance.
ABIANS, anciently a people of Thrace, or (ac¬
cording to fome authors) of Scythia. They had no
fixed habitations ; they led a wandering life. Their
houfes were waggons, which carried all their polfef-
fions. They lived on the flelh of their herds and
flocks, on milk and cheefe, chiefly on that of mare’s
milk. They were unacquainted with commerce.
They only exchanged commodities with their neigh¬
bours. They poffeffed lands, but they did not culti¬
vate them. They afligned their agriculture to any
who would undertake it, referving only to themfelv.es
a
Abimelech. i
A B I [
Abians a tribute j which they exa&ed, not with a view to live
in affluence, but merely to enjoy the neceflaries of life.
They never took arms but to oblige thofe to make
good a promife to them by whom it had been broken.
They paid tribute to none of the neighbouring dates.
They deemed themfelves exempt from fuch an impo-
fition; for they relied on their ftrength and courage,
and confequently thought themfelves able to repel any
invafion. The Abians, we are told, Were a people of
great integrity. This honourable eulogium is given
them by Homer. (Strabo).
ABIATHAR, high pried of the Jews, fon to Ahi-
melech, who had borne the fame office, and received
David into his houfe. This fo enraged Saul, who ha¬
ted David, that he put Ahimelech to death, and 81
prieds j Abiathar alone efcaped the maflacre. He af¬
terwards was high pried •, and often gave King David
tedimonies of his fidelity, particularly during Abfa-
lotffis confpiracy, at which time Abiathar followed
David, and bore away the ark. But after this, con-
fpiring with Adonijah, in order to raife him to the
throne of King David his father 5 this fo exafperated
Solomon againd him, that he diveded him of the
priedhood, and banidied him, A. M. 3021, before
Chrid 1014.
ABIB, fignifying an ear of corn, a name given by
the Jews to the fird month of their ecclefiadical year,
afterwards called Nifan. It commenced at the vernal
equinox 5 and according to the courfe of the moon, by
which their months were regulated, anfwered to the
latter part of our March and beginning of April.
ABIDING bij Writings, in Scots Law : When a
perfon founds upon a writing alleged to be falfe, he
may be obliged to declare judicially, whether he will
dand or abide by it as a true deed.
ABIES, the Fir-tree. See Pinus, Botany
Index.
ABIGEAT, an old law term, denoting the crime
of dealing cattle by droves or herds. This crime was
feverely punilhed; the delinquent being often con¬
demned to the mines, banidmnent, and fometimes capi-
tally.
ABIHU, brother to Nadab, and fon to Aaron.
The two former had the happinefs to afcend Mount
Sinai with their father, and there to behold the glory
of God : but afterward putting drange fire into their
cenfers, indead of the facred fire commanded by God,
fire ruffling upon them killed them. Though all the
people bewailed this terrible catadrophe, Mofes for-
bade Aaron and his two fons Elea-zar and Ithamar to
join in the lamentation.
ABII Scyth/e, taken by Strabo to denote the Eu¬
ropean Sarmatae, bordering on the Thracians and Ba-
ftanae: They were commended by Curtius for their
love of judice, and'by Ammiefius for their contempt
of earthly things.
ABIMELECH, king of Gerar, a country of the
Philidines, was cotemporary with Abraham. This pa¬
triarch and his family being there, his wife Sarah,
though 90 years of age, wras not fafe in it \ for Abi¬
melech carried her off, and W7as fo enamoured of her,
that he refolved to marry her. Abraham did not de¬
clare himfelf Sarah’s huftand 5 but gave out die was
his fider. But the king being warned in a dream, that
ffie was married to a prophet, and that he fliould die
WoLc I. Part I.
] A B I
if he did not redore her to Abraham, the king obeyed ; AbiroelecTi
at the fame time reproving Abraham for his difinge- A^jp0nians#
nuity *, who thereupon, among other excufes, faid ffle w—^  
was really his filler, being born of the fame father,
though of a different mother. Abimelech afterwards
gave confiderable prelents to Abraham ■, and a cove¬
nant, that of Beerffleba, was entered into between them,
A. M. 2107. After the death of Abraham, there
being a famine in the neighbouring countries, Ifaac his
fon alfo withdrew into Gerar, which was then likewife
governed by a king called
Abimet.ech, probably the fucceffor of the former.
Here Rebekah’s beauty forced her huffiand to employ
Abraham’s artifice. Abimelech difcovering that they
were nearly related, chid Ifaac for calling his wife his
fider; and at the fame time forbade all his fubje<9:s,
upon pain of death, to do the lead injury to Ifaac or
Rebekah. Ifaac’s profpertty lod him the king’s
friendfflip, and he was defired to go from among them.
He obeyed ; but Abimelech afterwards entered into a
covenant w'ith him, A. M. 2200.
Abimelech, the natural fon of Gideon, by his con¬
cubine. His violent afts and death are recorded in
Judges, chap. ix. A. M.
ABINGDON, a market-toivn in Berkdiire, fituat-
ed on a branch of the Thames, derives its name from
an ancient abbey. The ffreets, which are well paved,
terminate in a fpacious area, in which the market is
held ; and in the centre of this area is the market-
houfe, which is fupported on lofty pillars, with a large
hall of freedone above, in which the dimmer affixes for
the county are held, and other public bufinefs done,
the Lent affizas being held at Reading. It has two
churches ; one dedicated to St Nicholas, and the other
to St Helena: the latter is adorned with a fpire, and
both are faid to have been erefted by the abbots of
Abingdon. Here are alfo two hofpitals, one for fix,
and the other for thirteen poor men, and as many poor
women ; a free fchool; and a charity fchool. The
town was incorporated by Queen Mary. It fends two
members to parliament, who are chofen by the inha¬
bitants at large not receiving alms. Its great manu-
faflure is malt, large quantities of which are font by
water to London. It is feven miles fouth of Oxford,
47 ead of Glouceder, and 55 wed of London. This
town is fuppofed by Biffiop Gibfon to be the place
called, in the Saxon annals, Clovejhoo, where two fy-
nods are faid to have been held, one in 742, and the
other in 822. W. Long. 1. 12. N. Lat. 51. 42.
ABINTESTATE, in Civil Law, is applied to a
perfon who inherits the right of one who died intedate
or without making a will. See Intestate.
ABIPONIANS, a tribe of American Indians, who
formerly inhabited the didri<51: of Chahs in Paraguay ;
but the hodilities of the Spaniards have now obliged
them to remove fouthward into the territory lying be¬
tween Santa Fe and St Jago. The only account we
have of them is that publiffied by M. Dobrizhoffer in
1785. This gentleman, who lived feven years in
their country, informs us that they are not numerous,
the whole nation not much exceeding 5000 ; for which
he affigns as a reafon an unnatural cudom among their
women of fometimes dedroying their own children,
from motives of jealoufy led their hufflands diould
take ether mates during the long time they give fuck,
E which
A B L [34
A-biponiars which is not lefs than two years. They are naturally
white, but, by expofure to the air and fraoke, become
of a brown colour. They are a itrong and hardy race
of people j which our author attributes to their marry¬
ing fo late, an Abiponian feldom or never thinking of
marriage till 30 years of age. They are greatly cele¬
brated on account of their chaflity and other virtues j
though, according to our author, they have no know¬
ledge of a Deity. They make frequent incurfions into
the territories of the Spaniards, mounted on the horfes
which run wild in thofe parts. They have a kind of
order of chivalry for their warriors ; and are fo for¬
midable, that 100 of their enemies will fly before ten
of thefe horfemen. The hatred which thefe favages,
whofe manners, though rude and uncultivated, are in
many refpefls pure and virtuous, bear to the Spaniards,
is invincible. “ Thefe pretended Chriftians,” fays our
author, “ who are the fcum of the Spaniflr nation,
praclife every kind of fraud and villany among thefe
poor barbarians j and their corrupt and vicious morals
are fo adapted to prejudice the Abiponians againft the
Chriflian religion, that the Jefuit miffionaries have,
by a fevere law, prohibited any Spaniard from coming,
without a formal permiflion, into any of their colonies.”
—From his account of the fuccefs of the Jefuits in con¬
verting them to Chriftianity, however, it does not
appear that they have been able to do more than bribe
them to a compliance with the ceremonies of the
Popiflr fuperftition ; fo that in general they are quite
ignorant and uncivilized ; a moil; ftriking inftance of
which is, that in counting they can go no further than
three ; and all the art of the Jefuits to teach them the
limpleft ufe and expreflion of numbers has proved un-
fuccefsful.
ABIRAM, a feditious Levite, who, in concert
with Korah and Dathan, rebelled againft Mofes and
Aaron, in order to ftiare with them in the government
of the people; when Mofes ordering them to come
with their cenfers before the altar of the Lord, the
earth fuddenly opened under their feet, and fwallowed
up them and their tents j and at the fame inftant fire
came from heaven, and confumed 250 of their follow¬
ers. Numb. chap. xvi.
ABISHAI, fon of Zeruiab, and brother to Joab,
was one of the celebrated warriors who flourifhed in
the reign of David : he killed with his own hand 300
men, with no other weapon but his lance j and flew a
Philiftine giant, the iron of whofe fpear weighed 300
fhekels. 1 Sam. chap. xxvi. 2 Sam. chap, xxiii.
ABJURATION, in our ancient cuftoms, implied
an oath, taken by a perfon guilty of felony, and who
had fled to a place of fancluary, whereby he folemnly
engaged to leave the kingdom for ever.
Abjuration is now uied to fignify the renouncing,
difclaiming, and denying upon oath, the Pretender to
have any kind of right to the crown of thefe kingdoms.
ABJURATION of Herefy, the foleran recantation of
any doftrine as falfe and wicked.
ABLACTATION, or weaning a child from the
bread. See Weaning.
Ablactation,among the ancient gardeners, the fame
with what is now called G RAFTING by approach, is a me¬
thod of engrafting, by which the cyon of one tree being
for fome time united to the ftock of another, is afterwards
cut off, and, as it were, weaned from the parent tree.
] A B L
ABLAI, a country of Great Tartary, the inhabi¬
tants of which are called Buchars or Buchares. See
Ablay.
ABLACQUE ATJON, an old term in Gardening,
fignifies the operation of removing the earth, and bar¬
ing the roots of trees in winter, to expofe them more
freely to the air, rain, fnows, &c.
ABLANCOURT. See Perrot.
ABLATIVE, in Grammar, the fixth cafe of Latin
nouns. The word is formed from auferre, “ to take
away.” Prifcian alfo calls it the comparative cafe ; as
ferving among the Latins, for comparing, as well as
taking away.
The ablative is oppofite to the dative 5 the firft
expreffin'g the adlion of taking away, and the latter
that of giving.
In Englifti, French, &c. there is no precife mark
whereby to diftinguifti the ablative from other cafes;
and we only ufe the term in analogy to the Latin.
Thus, in the two phrafes, the magnitude of the city,
and he fpoke much of the city ; we fay, that of the city
in the firft is genitive, and in the latter ablative ; be-
caufe it would be fo, if the two phrafes were exprefl'ed
in Latin.
The queftion concerning the Greek ablative has
been the fubjeft of a famous literary war between two
great grammarians, Frifchlin and Crufius} the former
maintaining, and the latter oppofing, the reality of it.
The difpute ftill fubfifts among their refpesftive follow¬
ers. The chief reafon alleged by the former is, that
the Roman writers often joined Greek words with the
Latin prepofitions which govern ablative cafes, as
well as with nouns of the fame cafe. To which their
opponents anfwer, that the Latins anciently had no ab¬
lative themfelves j but inftead thereof, made ufe, like
the Greek?, of the dative cafe j till at length they
formed an ablative, governed by prepofitions, which
were not put before the dative : that, at firft, the two
cafes had always the fame termination, as they full
have in many inftanees: but that this was afterwards
changed in certain words. It is no wonder then, that
the Latins fometimes join prepofitions which govern an
ablative cafe, or nouns in the ablative cafe, with Greek
datives, fince they were originally the fame ; and that
the Greek dative lias the fame eifeift as the Latin abla¬
tive.
Ablative Absolute, in Grammar, is a phrafe de¬
tached or independent of the other parts of a fentence
or difeourfe. In the Latin language it is frequent, and
it has been adopted by the moderns.
ABLAY, in Geography, a country of Great Tartary,
governed by a Calmuck chief, but fubje6l to Ruflia,
to obtain its protection. It lies eaft of the river Irtifch*
and extends 500 leagues along the fouthern frontiers
of Siberia, from E. Long. 720 to 83°. N. Lat. from
5l0 to ST¬
ABLE, or Abel, Thomas, chaplain to Queen
Catharine, confort to Henry VIII. diftinguiihed him-
felf by his zeal in oppofing the proceedings againft
that unfortunate princefs for a divorce. For this pur-
pofe he wrote a piece, entitled “ TraBatus de non dif~
folvendo Hennci et Catharince matrimonio, i. e. “A
Treatife proving that the marriage of King Henry and
Queen Catharine ought not to be difiblved.” But the
title of the book, according to Bilhop Tanner, was
InviBu
Ablai
Able.
ABN [ 35 ]
Able InviSIa Veritas. He took the degree of bachelor of
i) arts at Oxford on the 4th of July 1513, and that of
Abner, 0f arts on the 2hj(^ July I534
* he fell under a profecution for being concerned in the
affair of Elizabeth Barton, called the Holy Maid of
Kent. This was an infamous impoftor, fuborned by
the monks to ufe ftrange gefficulations, exhibit fi61i-
tious miracles, and to feign the gift of prophecy ; and
fo well did fhe aft her part, that (he drew fome per-
fons of refpeftability to her interell : but being detect¬
ed, ike was condemned and executed, after discover¬
ing the names of her principal accomplices and infliga-
tors. On her account Able was charged with mifpri-
fion of treafon, by flat. 25 Hen. VIII. j and being alfo
one of thofe who denied the king’s Supremacy over the
church, he was apprehended and impril'oned ; during
which time his confinement was fo rigorous, that the
keeper of Newgate was committed to Marlhalfea pri-
j'on for fuffering him to go out upon bail. He was af¬
terwards hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Smithfield
in 1540. Bouehier gives him the character of a very
learned man \ and tells us, that he uied to teach the
queen mufic and the learned languages.
ABLECTI, in Roman antiquity, a feleCt body of
foldiers chofen from among thofe called Extraordi-
NAR1I.
ABLEGMINA, in Roman antiquity, thofe choice
parts of the entrails of victims which were offered in
facrifice to the gods. They were fprinkled with Hour,
and burnt upon the altar ; the priefts pouring fome
wine on them.
ABLOE, in Geography, a town of Little fartary,
which lies between the river Dnieper and the Black
fea. E. Long. 33. 15. N. Lat. 46. 20.
ABLUENTS, in Medicine, the fame with diluters
or Diluents.
ABLUTION, in a general fenfe, fignifies the walk¬
ing, or purifying fomething with water.
Ablution, in a religious fenfe, a ceremony in ufe
among the ancients, and ftill praftifed in feveral parts
of the world : it confided in walking the body, which
was always done before facrificing,or even entering their
houfes. Ablutions appear to be as old as any ceremo¬
nies, and external worlhip itfelf. Mofes enjoined them ;
the heathens adopted them 5 and Mahomet and his fol¬
lowers have continued them : thus they have got foot¬
ing among moft nations, and make a confiderable part
of moft eftablilhed religions.—The Egyptian priefts
had their diurnal and nofturnal ablutions 5 the Grecians
their fprinklings *, the Romans their luftrations and la-
vations; the Jews their walhing of hands and feet, be-
lide their baptifms.—The ancient Chriftians had their
ablutions before communion •, which the Romilh church
ftill retain before their mafs, fometimes after. The Sy¬
rians, Copts, &c. have their folemn walkings on Good
Friday : the Turks their greater and leffer ablutions j
their Ghaft and Wodou, their Aman, 'laharat, &c.
ABNER, the fon of Ner, father-in-law to Saul,
and general of all his forces, ferved him on all oc-
eafions with fidelity and courage. After the death of
that prince, Abner fet Ilhbolheth, Saul’s fon, on the
throne. A war breaking out between the tribe of Ju¬
dah, who had elefted David king, and Ifrael, Abner
marched againft that prince with the flower of his troops,
but was defeated. Abner afterward, being difgufted,
went over to David, and induced the chiefs of the ar- Abi er
my and the elders of Ifrael to declare for him. He was
received by David with every mark of affedtion, which 
gave offence to Joab, by whom he was infidioully put
to death, A. M. 2956.
ABNOBA, now Abenow, in Geography, a long
range of mountains in Germany, extending from the
Rhine to the Necker, and having different names ac¬
cording to the different countries through which they
ftretch. About the river Maine they are called the
Oden or Otenwa/d; between Heffe and Franconia, the
SpeJJart; and about the duchy of Wirtemberg, where the
Danube takes its rife, they receive the name of Baar.
ABO, a maritime town in Sweden, fituated on the
promontory formed by the gulfs of kinland and Both¬
nia, 120 miles north-eaft from Stockholm, in E. Long.
21. 28. and N. Lat. 60. 10. It is a ftapelftad, or city,
which has the privilege of a foreign trade, and be¬
longs to the lane or government and diocefe of Abo.
It is built on both fides of the river Aurajocki, which
have a communication by a wooden bridge. 1 he
ftreets and lanes of Abo amount to 102 j the number (ft
houfes to 1100, which in 1780 contained above 2000
families. In 1791 the number of inhabitants was
8500.
A gymnafium was eftablifhed at Abo by Guftavus
Adolphus in 1626, which was converted by Queen
Chriftina, in 1640, into an academy or univerfity, in
which are now taught, anatomy, natural hiftory, che-
miftry, and economics. The library founded by Queen
Chriftina confifts of above 10,000 volumes, bolides ma-
nufcripts, ancient coins, medals, &c. I he Ichool or
anatomy is in confiderable repute ; and enjoys, it is
faid, one very extraordinary privilege. By a particu¬
lar regulation, all perfons who hold lands or penfions
from the crown are bound to leave their bodies to be
differed for the inftruclhm of the ftudents.
The trade of Abo is confiderable. The exports
confift of iron, copper, pitch, tar, deals, &c. 1 he im¬
ports are tobacco, coffee, fugar, wine, fait, grain, hemp,
and fpiceries. In Abo are manufactured filk ribband-,
fuftian, fail-cloth, leather, tiles, watches and clocks,
paper, fugar, and tobacco. The plantations of to¬
bacco in this neighbourhood produce not lefs than
152,000 cwt. annually. (Hcerbi's Travels).
Abo-hus, or Abo-slot, a very ancient caftle in
Finland, fituated at the mouth of the river Aura, ft as
the refidence of Duke John, and the prifon of King
Eric in the 16th century. It is at prefent employed
as a magazine for corn and gunpowder, and as a prifon
for ftate offenders.
ABOARD, the infide of a Ihip. Hence any perfun
who enters a thip is faid to go aboard: but when an
enemy enters in the time of battle, he is faid to board;
a phrafe which always implies hoftility.—To fall a-
board of, is to ftrike or encojinter another Ihip when one
or both are in motion, or to be driven upon a drip by
the force of the rvind or current. — bboard-main-tack,
the order to draw the main-tack, L e. the lower-corner
of the main-fail, down to the CHESS-TREE.
ABOASAR, in Geography, a village in Lower
Egypt, fuppoled to be the ancient Bufiris.
ABOCCIS, in Ancient Geography, the Abuncis of
Ptolemy, a town of Ethiopia, fituated ©n the weftern
fide of the Nile near the great cataradL
E 2 ABOCRO,
Abocro
I)
Abonaafus.
ABO 0 36 j ABO
ABOCRO, or Aborrkl, in Geography, a town near
the river Ankobar or Cobre, on the Atrican Gold
coaft. It gives name to a republican province.
ABOI. A, in Geography, a divifion of the Agow, in
Abyflinia, is a narrow valley, through which runs a
river of the fame name, whofe waters receive many
tributary flreams from the lofty, rugged, and woody
mountains that form the valley. In none of the rivers
are any fith found, which Bruce afcribes to their being
dried up in the fummer, and great rapidity in winter.
ABOLITION, implies the atft of annulling, de-
ftroying, making void, or reducing to nothing. In
our law, it fignifies the repealing any law* or ftatute.
The leave given by a prince or judge to a criminal ac-
cufer to defilt from farther profecution of the accufedj
is in the mod appropriate fenfe denominated abolition.
Abolition is particularly- ufed among civilians, for
remitting the punifhment of a crime. It is, in this
fenfe, a kind of amnefty j the punilhment, not-the in¬
famy, is taken off.
Abolition, in the Roman law, is the annulling a
profecution, or legal accufation : and in this fenfe, it
is different from amnefty ; for, in the former, the ac¬
cufation might be renewed by the fame pirofecutor, but
in the latter, it rvas extinguilhed for ever. Within 30
days after a public abolition, the fame accufer, with the
prince’s licence, was allowed to renew the charge j
after a private abolition, another accufer might renew
it, but the fame could not. Abolition was alfo ufed for
expunging a perfon’-s name from the public lift of the
aceufed, hung up in the treafury. It was either pub¬
lic, as that under Auguftus, when all the names which
had long hung up, were expunged at once 5 or pri¬
vate, when it was done at the motion of one of tire
parties. Abolition of debts, according to the laws of
the Theodofian code, was fometimes granted to thofe
who were indebted to the fifeus. A medal of the em¬
peror Adrian reprefents that prince with a fceptre in
his left hand, and a lighted torch in his right, with
which he fets fire to feveral papers in prefence of the
people, who teftify their joy and gratitude by lifting
up their hands towards heaven. The legend on the
medal is, Reliqua vetera H. s. nummis abolita.
ABOLLA, in antiquity, a warm kind of garment,
lined or doubled, worn by the Greeks and Romans,
chiefly out of the city, in following the camp.—Critics
and antiquaries are greatly divided as to the form,
ufe, kinds, &c. of this garment. Papias makes it a
fpecies of the toga, or gown j but Nonnius, and moft
others, fuppofe it to be a fpecies of the pallium, or
cloak. The abolla feems rather to have flood oppofed
to the toga, which was a garment of peace, as the
abolla was of war •, at leaf! Varro and Martial place
them in this oppofite light. There feem to have been
different kinds of abolhe, appropriated to different
charafters and occafions. Even kings appear to have
ufed the abollaCaligula was offended with King
Ptolemy for appearing at the fhows in a purple abolla,
the fplendour of which drew the eyes of the fpedlators
from the emperor to himfelf.
ABOMASUS, Abomasum, or Abomasius,. names
of the fourth ftomach of ruminating animals. It is in
the abomafus of calves and lambs that the runnet or
earning is formed wherewith milk is curdled. See
Anatomy, Part II.
ABOMINATION, a term ufed in Scripture with Abomtna-
regard to the Hebrews, who, being ftiepherds, are faid tion
to have been an abomination to the Egyptians, becaufe ^ •
they facrificed the facred animals of that people, as . origines;
oxen, goats, ftieep, &c. which the Egyptians efteemed’
as abominations, or things unlawful. The term is alfo
applied in the facred writings to idolatry and idols, be¬
caufe the worfhip of idols is in itfelf an abominable
thing, and at the fame time ceremonies- obferved by'
idolaters were always attended with licentioufnefs and
other odious and abominable actions. The abomination
of defolation, foretold by the prophet Daniel, is fup-
pofed to imply the ftatue of Jupiter Olympias, which
Antiochus Epiphanes caufed to be placed in the temple
of Jerufaiem. And the abomination of defolation, men¬
tioned by the Evangelifts, fignifies the enfigns of the
Romans, during the laft liege of Jerufaiem by Titus, on
which the figures of their gods ^nd emperors were em¬
broidered, and placed upon the temple after it was taken,
ABON, A bona, or Abonis, in Ancient Geography,
a town and river of Albion. The town, according jo
Camden, is Abingdon •, and the river, Abhon or Avon.
But by Antonine’s Itinerary, the diftance is nine miles-
from the Venta Silurum, or Caer-Went ; others, there¬
fore, take the town t» be Porfhut, at the mouth of the
river Avon, near Briftol. Abhon or Avon, in the.-.
Celtic language, denotes a river.
ABORAS, in Ancient Geography, by Xenophon-
called Araxes, a river of Mefopotamia, which flows
into the Euphrates at Gircefium. In the negociation.
between Dioclefian and Narfes, near the end of the
thrird century, it was fixed as the boundary between the
Roman and Perfian empire.
ABORIGINES, in hiftory, (Dionyfius of Halicar-
nafius, Livy, Virgil) ; originally a proper name, given
to a certain people in Italy, who inhabited the an¬
cient Latium, or country now called Campagna di Ro¬
ma. In this feme the Aborigines are diftinguilhed
from the Janigenae, who, according to the falfe Be-
rofus, inhabited the country before them ; from the
Sdculi, whom- they expelled ; from the Grecians,-
from whom they defcended ; from the Latins, whofe
name they- affnmed after their union with ./Eneas and
the Trojans ; laftly, from the Aufonii, Volfci, Oeno-
trii, Ssc. neighbouring nations in other parts of the
country. Whence this people came by the appellation
is much difputed. St Jerome fays, they were fo call¬
ed, as being, abfyue origine, the primitive planters of
the country after the flood : Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus
accounts for the name, as denoting them the founders of
the race of inhabitants of that country : others think
them fo called as being originally Arcadians,, who*
claimed to be earth-born, and not defcended from any
people. Aurelius ViftorTuggeID another opinion, viz.
that they were called Aborigines, q. d. Aberrigines,
from ab, “ from,” and errare, “ to wander f as having
been before a wandering people. Paufanias rather*
thinks they were thus called «;p« “ from moun¬
tains which opinion feoms confirmed by Virgil, who,,
fpeaking of Saturn, the legiflator of this people, fays,
Is genus indocile ac difperfum montibus aids
Compofuit, legefque dedit.——
The Aborigines were either the original inhabitants
of the. country, fettled there by Janus, as fome ima*
gine j
ABO
aborigines, gine ; or by Saturn, or Cham, as others
viiortion. after . the difperfion, or even, as iome think, before it:
““’’"'v Or, they were a colony fent from fome other nation ^
•who expelling the Siculi, the ancient inhabitants, fet¬
tled in their place. About this mother nation there
is great difpute. Some maintain it to be the Arca¬
dians, parties of whom were brought into Italy at dif¬
ferent times} the firft under the conduct of Oenotrius,
fon of Lycaon, 450 years before the Trojan war j a
fecond from Theffaly; a third under Evander, 60
years before the Trojan war; befides another under
Hercules; and another of Lacedaemonians, who fled
from the fevere difcipline of Lycurgus: all thefe uni¬
ting, are faid to have formed the nation or kingdom
of the Aborigines. Others will have them of barba¬
rian rather than Grecian origin, and to have come
from Scythia; others from Gaul. Laftly, Others will
have them to be Canaanites, expelled by Joftma.
The term Aborigines, though fo famous in antiqui¬
ty, is ufed in modern geography only occafionally as
an appellative. It is given to the primitive inhabi¬
tants of a country, in contradiftin&ion to colonies, or
new races of people.
ABORTION, in Midwifery, the premature exclu-
fion of a foetus. See Midwifer,y.
The praftice of procuring abortions was prohibited
by the ancient Greek legiflators Solon and Lycurgus.
Whether or not it, was permitted among the Romans,
has been much difputed. It is certain the praftice,
which was by them called vifceribus vim inferred was-
frequent enough ; but whether there was any penalty
on it before the emperors Severus and Antonine, is
the queftion. Nodt maintains the negative; and fur¬
ther, that thofe princes only made it criminal in one
particular cafe, viz. of a married woman’s praftifings
it out of refentnjpnt againft her hulband, in order to
defraud him of the comfort of children : tins was or¬
dered to be punilhed by a temporary exile. The. foun¬
dation on which the practice is faid to have been al¬
lowed, was, that the foetus, while in utero, was repu¬
ted as a part of the mother, ranked as one of her own
vifeera, over which flie had the fame power as over the
reft : befides, that it was-not reputed as a man, homo ;
nor to be alive, otherwife than as a. vegetable : confe-
quently, that the crime amounted to little more than
that of plucking unripe fruit from the trees. Seneca
1 . reprefents it is a peculiar glory of Helvia, that (he had
never, like other ■women, w’hofe chief ftudy is their
beauty and fliape, deftroyed the foetus in her womb.
The primitive fathers, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Mi-
nutius Felix, Auguftin, &c. declaimed loudly againft
the practice as virtual murder. Several councils have
condemned it. Yet we are told that the modern Ro-
mifti ecclefiaftical laws allow' of difpenfations for it.
Egane mentions the rates at which a difpenfation for
it may be had.
The praftice of artincial abortion is chiefly in the
hands of women and nurfes, rarely in that of phyfi-
cians ; who, in fome countries, are not admitted to the
profeflion without abjuring it. Hippocrates, in the
oath he would have enjoined on all phyficians, includes
their not giving the pejfus abortivus, though elfewhere
he gives the formal procefs whereby he himfelf pro¬
cured in a young woman a mifearriage. It may, how¬
ever, be obfsrved, that often all the powers of art
L 37 1 ^ ^ ^
not long prove ineffedlual, and no lefs often do the attempts-Abortion
prove the means of punifliment by their fatal confe- Abra|anej>
quences. # # 1
Abortion, among gardeners, fignifies fuch fruits
as are produced too early, and never arrive at matu¬
rity.
ABORTIVE, is, in general, applied to whatever
comes before its legitimate time, or to any defign which
mifoarries.
Abortive Corn, a diftemper of corn mentioned by
M. Tilletr and ftifpefted to be occafioned by infers.
It appears long before harveft, and may be known by
a deformity of the ftalk, the leaves, the ear, and even
the grain.
Abortive Vellum, is made of the lkin of an abortive
calf.
ABOTRITES, or Abodrites, in HIJlory, the
name of a people bordering on Bulgaria, in that part
of Dacia contiguous to the Danube. 1. he country of
the Abodrites, now called Mecklenburg, was a part
of the ancient Vandalia.
ABOUKIR, a fmall town of Egypt, fituated in
the defert between Alexandria and Roletta. It is the
ancient Canopus, and is fituated, according to Mr Sa-
vary, fix leagues from Pharos. Pliny fays, from the
teftimonies of antiquity, that it was formerly an ifland :
and its local appearance makes this credible ; for the
grounds around it are fo low, that the fea ftill covered
a part of them in the days of Strabo, The town is
built upon a rock, which forms a handfome road for
(hipping, and was out of the reach of inundations.
In the bay of Aboukir, a fignal viftory was obtained
in 1798 by the Englifti fleet over the French fleet.
The town was taken-from the Turks, after a vigorous,
defence, by the French in 1799, and retaken by the
Englifh in 1801.
ABOUT, the fituation of a fliip immediately after
file has tacked, or changed her courfe by going about
and {landing* on the other tack.—About Jhip ! the or¬
der to the {hip’s crew for tacking.
ABOUTIGE, a town of Upper Egypt, in Africa,
near the Nile, where they make the bell opium in all
the Levant. It was formerly a large,, but now is a
mean place. N* Lat. 26/ 50.
ABRA, a filver coin ftruck in Poland, and worth
about one {lulling ftorling. It is current in feveral
parts of Germany, at Conftantinople, Aftracan, Smyrna,
and Grand Cairo,
ABRABANEL, Abarbanel, or Avravanel,
Isaac, a celebrated rabbi, defeended from King David,
and born at Li (bon A. D. 1437. He became coun-
fell or to Alphonfo V. king of Portugal, and afterwards
to Ferdinand the Catholic; but in 1492 was obliged
to leave Spain with the other Jews. In fhort, after re¬
dding at Naples, Corfu, and feveral other cities, he
died at Venice in 1508, aged 71. Abrabanel pafled
for one of the moft learned of the rabbis ; and the Jews
gave him the names-of the Sage, the Prince, and the
Great Politician. We have a commentary of bis on
all the Old Teftament, which is pretty fcarce; he there
principally adheres to the literal fenfe ; and his ftyle b
clear, but a little diffufe. His other works are, A>
Treatife on the Creation of the World; in which he re¬
futes Ariftotle, who imagined that the world was
eternal; A Treatife. on the Explication of the Prophe,
cies
abracada
abracai
abraca
abrac
a bra
abr
ab
a
ABR [
Abrabar.el relating to the Meifiah, againft the Chrxftians: A
Abraham concerning Articles ol Faith 5 and fome others
■,, v-. lefs fought after. Though Abrabanel difcovers his im¬
placable averfion to Chriftianity in all his writings, yet
he treated Chriftians with politenefs and good manners
in the common affairs of life.
ABRACADABRA, a magical word, recommended
by Serenas Samonicus as an antidote againff agues and
feveral other difeafes. It was to be written upon a piece
of paper as many times as the word contains letters,
omitting the laft letter of the former every time, as in
abracadabra margin f, and repeated in the fame order; and
abracadabr then fufpended about the neck by a linen thread. A-
abracadab bracadabra was the name of a god worlhipped by the
Syrians ; fo wearing his name was a fort of invocation
of his aid ; a pradlice which, though not more ufeful,
yet was lets irrational, than is the equally heathenilh
practice among thofe who call themfelves Chriftians, of
wearing various things, in expectation of their opera¬
ting by a fympatby, whofe parents were Ignorance and
Superfiition.
ABRAHAM, the father and flock whence the
faithful iprung, was the Ion of Terah. He was de-
fcended from Noah by Shem, from whom he was nine
degrees removed. Some fix his birth in the 130th year
of Terah’s age, but others place it in his father’s 70th
year. It is highly probable he was born in the city of
Ur, in Chaldea, which he and his father left when they
went to Canaan, where they remained till the death of
Terah; after which, Abraham refumed his firft defign of
going to Palefline. The Scriptures mention the feve¬
ral places he flopped at in Canaan ; his journey into
Egypt, where his wife was carried off from him ; his
going into Gerar, where Sarah was again taken from
him, but reftored, as before ; the victory be obtained
over the four kings who had plundered Sodom ; his
compliance with his wife, who infilled that he fhould
make ufe of their maid Hagar in order to raife up
children ; the covenant God made with him, fealed
with the ceremony of circumcifion ; his obedience to
the command of God, who ordered him to offer up
his only fon as a facrifice, and how this bloody aft was
prevented ; his marriage with Keturah ; his death at
the age of i 75 years ; and his interment in the cave
of Machpelah, near the body of Sarah his firft wife.
It would be of little ufe to dwell long upon thefe par¬
ticulars, fince they are fo well known. But tradition
has fupplied numberkfs others, the mention of one or
two of which may not be unacceptable.
Many extraordinary particulars have been told re¬
lating to his converfion from idolatry. It is a pretty
general opinion, that he fucked in the poifon with his
milk; that his father made ftatues, and taught that
they were to be worlhipped as gods*. Some Jewilh
foTxxrv! 2 authors relate+, that Abraham followed the fame trade
\Apud Ge- with Terah for a confiderable time. MaimonidesJ
?iebrand. in fays, that he was bred up in the religion of the Sa-
Chron. ^ bseans, who acknowledged no deity but the liars ; that
29 refle^ons on t^ie nature of the planets, his admira¬
tion of their motions, beauty and order, made him
conclude there mull be a being fuperior to the ma¬
chine of the univerfe, a being who created and govern¬
ed it; however, according to an old tradition, he did
not renounce Paganifm till the 50th year of his age.
It is related ||, that his father, being gone a journey,
* Suidas in,
|| Heideg¬
ger, Hiji.
Patriarch.
tom. iii.
p. 36.
38 ] A B R
left him to fell the ftatues in his abfence ; and that a Abraham,
man, who pretended to be a purchafer, afked him how
old he was j Abraham anfwered, Fifty.”—“ Wretch
that thou art (faid the other), for adoring at fuch an
age a being which is but a day old !” Thefe words
greatly confounded Abraham. Some time afterwards,
a woman brought him fome flour, that he might give
it as an offering to the idols ; but Abraham, inftead
of doing fo, took up a hatchet and broke them all to
pieces, excepting the largeft, into the hand of which
he put the weapon. Terah, at his return, alked
whence came all this havock ? Abraham made an-
fvver, that the ftatues had had a great conteft w hich
Ihould eat firft of the oblation ; “ Upon which (faid
he), the god you fee there, being the ftouteft, hewed
the others to pieces with that hatchet.” Terah told
him this was bantering ; for thofe idols had not the
fenfe to aft in this manner. Abraham retorted tbefe
words upon his father againft the worshipping of fuch
gods. Terah, ftung with this raillery, delivered up
his fon to the cognizance of Nimrod, the fovereign of
the country ; who exhorted Abraham to worfhip the
fire ; and, upon his refufal, commanded him to be
thrown into the midft of the flames : “ Now let your
God (faid he) come and deliver you.” But (adds
the tradition) Abraham efcaped from the flames un¬
hurt.—This tradition is not of modern date, fince it
is told by St Jerome § ; who feems to credit it in ge-^ ':i
neral, but dilbelieves that part of it which makes 'l'e-Hebraic, m
rah fo cruel as to be the informer againft his own {ow.Genefm.
Perhaps the ambiguity of the word Ur * might have * l!; t^ie
given rife to the fiftion altogether. Such as lay ftrefs j^^g1^ a
on the following xvords which God fays to Abraham city, and it
(Gen. xv. 7.), 1 am the Lord that brought thee cut o/'alio fignifi-
Ur of the Chaldees, imagine that he faved him from a the
great perfecution, fince he employed the very ^ame^f^i-^ix01*
words in the beginning of the decalogue to denote the has it thus:
deliverance from Egypt. Qui eligi/li
Abraham is faid to have been well Ikilled in many eum *gne
fciences, and to have wrote feveral books. Jofephus f chaldeo-
tells us that he taught the Egyptians arithmetic and| Antiq.
geometry; and according to Eupolemus and Artapan, lib. i. cap.7.
he inftrufted the Phoenicians, as well as the Egyp- 8-
tians, in aftronomy. A work which treats of the crea¬
tion has been long aferibed to him : it is mentioned in
the Talmud J, and the rabbis Chanina and Hofchia j Heidegger
ufed to read it on the eve before the Sabbath. In the Hifl. Patri-
firft ages of Chriftianity, according to St Epiphanius ][,«^. tom.
a heretical feft, called Sethinians, difperfed a piece “'P-I43-
which had the title of Abrahavi's Revelation. Origen Harin'’
mentions alfo a treatife fuppofed to be wrote by this 286.
patriarch. All the feveral works which Abraham
compofed in the plains of Mamre, are faid to be con¬
tained in the library of the monaftery of the Holy
Crofs on Mount Amaria in Ethiopia §. The book on § Kirchem's
the creation was printed at Paris 1552, and tranflated Treatife of
into Latin by Poftel : Rittangel, a converted Jew, and Libraries,
profeffor at Konigfberg, gave alfo a Latin tranllationP‘
of it, with remarks, in 1642.
Abraham Ben Chai/a, a Spaniih rabbi, in the
13th century, who profeffed aftrology, and affumed the
charafter of a prophet. He pretended to predift the
coming of the Mefliah, which was to happen in the
year 1358 ; but fortunately he died in 1303, fifty-five
years before the time when the prediftion was to be
fulfilled.
Abraxas
A B R
Abraham fulfilled. He wrote a book, De Nntivitalibus,
was printed at Rome in I ^45.
Abraham Usque, a Portuguefe Jew, tvbo, in con-
jundlion with Tobias Athias, tranflated the Hebrew
Bible into Spanifh. It was printed at Ferrara, in
1 553, and reprinted in Holland in 1630. 1 his Bible,
efpecially the firif edition, which is moft valuable, is
marked with ftars at certain words, which are defign-
ed to (how that thefe words are difficult to be under-
ftood in the Hebrew, and that they may be ufed in a
different fenfe.
Abraham, Nicholas, a learned Jefuit, born in
the diocefe of Toul, in Lorrain, in 1489. He obtain¬
ed the rank of divinity profeffbr in the univerfity of
Pont-a-Moufon, which he enjoyed 17 years, and died
September 7. 1655. He wrote Notes on Virgil and
on Nonnius j A Commentary on fome of Cicero’s O-
rations, in two vols. folio ; an excellent collection of
theological pieces in folio, entitled Pharus Vetens Tef-
tamenti; and A Hebrew Grammar in verfe.
ABRAHAMITES, an order of monks extermina¬
ted for idolatry by Theophilus in the ninth century.
Alfo the name of another feCt of heretics who had
adopted the errors of Paulus. See Paulicians.
ABR ANTES, a town of Portugal, in Eftremadu-
ra, feated on an eminence, in the midft of gardens and
olive trees, near the river Tajo, belongs to a marquis
of the fame name. It contains 35,000 inhabitants,
four convents, an alms-houfe, and an hofpital. W.
Long. 7. 18. N. Lat. 39. 13.
ABRASAX, or Abraxas, the fupreme god of the
Bafilidian heretics. It is a myftical or cabbaliftic
word, compofed of the Greek letters as, £, g, as, as, s,
which together, according to the Grecian mode of nu-
meration, make up the number 365. For Bafilides
taught, that there were 36;; heavens between the earth
and the empyrean ; each of which heavens had its an¬
gel or intelligence, which created it ; each of which
angels like wife was created by the angel next above
it ; thus afeending by a feale to the Supreme Being, or
firff Creator. The Bafilidians ufed the word Abraxas
by way of charm or amulet.
ABRASION is fometimes ufed among medical
writers for the effeCI of (harp corrofive medicines or
humours in wearing away the natural mucus which co¬
vers the membranes, and particularly thofe of the fto-
rnach and inteftines. The word is compofed of the
Latin ab and ratio, to /have or fcrltpe off.
ABRAVANNUS, in Ancient Geography, the name
of a promontory and river of Galloway in Scotland, fo
called from the Celtic term Aber, fignifying either the
mouth of a river or the confluence of two rivers, and
Avon, a river.
ABRAUM, in Natural Hiflory, a name given by
tome writers to a fpecies of red clay, ufed in England
by the cabinet makers, &c. to give a red colour to new
mahogany wood. We have it from the ille of Wight;
but it is alf > f ;und in Germany and Italy.
ABRAXAS, an antique (lone with the wrord abraxas
engraven on it. They are of various fizes, and mod of
th cm as old as the third century. They are frequent
in the cabinets of the curious ; and a collection of them,
as complete as poffibie, has been defired by feveral.
Ihere is a fine one in the abbey of St Genevive, which
has occafioned much fpeculation. Moft of thejn feem
[ 39 ] ABR
which to have come from Egypt : whence they are of fome
ufe for explaining the antiquities of that country,
n con- Sometimes they have no other infeription befides the
word : but others have the names of faints, angels, or v
Jehovah himfelf annexed ; though moft ufually the
name of the Bafilidian god. Sometimes there is a re¬
prefen tation of Ifis fitting on a lotus, or Apis fur-
rounded with ftars ; fometimes monftrous compofitions
of animals, obfeene images, Phalli and Ithyphalli. The
graving is rarely good, but the word on the reverfe is
fometimes faid to be in a more modern llyle than the
other. The charadlers are ufually Greek, Hebrew,
Coptic, or Hetrurian, and fometimes of a mongrel
kind, invented, as it would feem, to render their mean¬
ing the more infcrutable. It is difputed whether the
Veronica of Montreuil, or the granite obeli(k mention¬
ed by Gori, be Abraxafes.
ABREAST (a fea term), fide by fide, or oppofite
to; a fituation in which two or more (hips lie, with
their (ides parallel to each other, and their heads equal¬
ly advanced. This term more particularly regards the
line of battle at fea, where on the different occafions
of attack, retreat, or purfuit, the feveral fquadrons or
divifions of a fleet are obliged to vary their difpofitions,
and yet maintain a proper regularity by failing in right
or curved lines. When the line is formed abreaft, the
whole fquadron advances uniformly, the (hips being
equally diftant from and parallel to each other, fo that
the length of each (hip forms a right angle with the
extent of the fquadron or line abreaft. The commander
in chief is always ftationed in the centre, and the fe-
cond and third in command in the centres of their re-
fpeftive fquadrons.—Abreajl, within the (hip, implies
on a line with the beam, or by the fide of any objetl
aboard ; as, the frigate fprung a leak abreajl of the
main hatchway, i. e. on the fame line with the main
hatchway, crofting the (hip’s length at right angles, in
oppofition to AFORE or abaft the hatchway.
ABRETENE, or Abrettine, in Ancient Geo¬
graphy, a diftridt of Myfia, in Afia. Hence the epithet
Abrettenus given to Jupiter (Strabo) ; whofe prieit
was Cleon, formerly at the head of a gang of robbers,
and w ho received many and great favours at the hand
of Antony, but afterwards went over to Auguftus.
The people were called Abrctteui; inhabiting the
country between Ancyra of Phrygia and the river
Rhyndacus.
ABRIDGEMENT, in Literature, a term fignifying
the redudtion of a book into a fmaller compafs.
The art of conveying much fentiment in few words,
is the happieft talent an author can be poffeffed off
This talent is peculiarly neceffary in the prefent ftate
of literature ; for many writers have acquired the dex¬
terity of fpreading a few trivial thoughts over feveral
hundred pages. When an author hits upon a thought
that pleafes him, he is apt to dwell upon it, to view it
in different lights, to force it in improperly, or upon
the (lighted relations. Though this may be pleafant
to the writer, it tires and vexes the reader. There is
another great fource of diffufion in compofition. It is
a capital objeft with an author, whatever be the fub-
jeft, to give vent to all his beft thoughts. When he
finds a proper place for any of them, he is peculiarly
happy. But rather than facrifice a thought he is fond
of, he forces it in by way of digreflion, or fuperfluous
i Huff rat ion.
Abraxas
11
Abridge¬
ment.
A B R f 40 ] A B R
Abridge- illuflration. If none of thefe expedients anfvver his
, luent’ purpofe, he has recourfe to the margin, a very conve-
nient apartment for all manner of pedantry and imper¬
tinence. There is not an author, however correft,
but is more or lefs faulty in this refpeft. An abridger,
however, is not fubjeft to thefe temptations. The
thoughts are not his own j he views them in a cooler
and lefs affeftionate manner ; he difcovers an impro¬
priety in fome, a vanity in others, and a want of utili¬
ty in many. His bufinefs, therefore, is'to retrench fu-
perfluities, digreffions, quotations, ‘pedantry, &c. and
to lay before the public only what is really ufeful.
This is by no means an eafy employment : To abridge
fome books, requires talents equal, if not fuperior, to
thofe of the author. The fadts, -manner, fpirit, and
reafoning muft be preferved ; nothing effential, either
in argument or illuftration, ought to be omitted. The
difficulty of the talk is the principal reafon why we
have fo few good abridgements : Wynne’s abridgement
of Locke’s Effay on the Human Underilanding, is per¬
haps the only unexceptionable one in our language.
Thefe obfervations relate folely to fuch abridgements
as are defigned for the public. But,
When a perfon wants to fet down the fubftance of
any book, a ffiorter and lefs laborious method may be
followed. It would be foreign to our plan to give ex¬
amples of abridgements for the public : But as it may
be ufeful, efpecially to young people, to know how to
abridge books for their own ufe, after giving a few di-
reftions, we ffiall exhibit an example or two, to (how
with what eafe it may be done.
Read the book carefully 5 endeavour to learn the
principal view of the author j attend to the arguments
employed : When you have done fo, you will general¬
ly find, that what the author ufes as new or additional
arguments, are in reality only collateral ones, or ex-
tenfions of the principal argument. Take a piece of
paper or a common-place book, put down what the
author wants to prove, fubjoin the argument or argu¬
ments, and you have the fubftance of the book in a few
lines. For example,
In the Eflay on Miracles, Mr Hume’s defign is to
prove, That miracles which have not been the imme¬
diate objects of our fenfes, cannot reafonably be be¬
lieved upon the teftimony of others.
Now, this argument (for there happens to be but
one) is,
“ That experience, which in fome things is variable,
“ in others uniform, is our only guide in reafoning
“ concerning matters of faft. A variable experience
“ gives rife to probability only ; an uniform experi-
“ ence amounts to a proof. Our belief of any fadt
“ from the teftimony of eye witneffes is derived from
“ no other principle than our experience in the vera-
“ city of human teftimony. If the faft attefted be
“ miraculous, here arifes a conteft of two oppofite
“ experiences, or proof againft proof. Now, a mi-
“ racle is a violation of the laws of nature ; and as a
“ firm and unalterable experience has eftabliffied thefe
“ laws, the proof againft a miracle, from the very na-
“ ture of the fadl, is as complete as any argument
“ from experience can poffibly be imagined ; and if
“ fo, it is an undeniable confequence, that it cannot be
“ furmounted by any proof whatever derived from hu-
H man teftimony.”
In Dr Campbell’s Diflertation on Miracles, the au- Abridge
thor’s principal aim is to (how the fallacy of Mr Hume’s
argument ; which he has done moft fuccefsfully by an-
other fingle argument, as follows :
“ The evidence arifing from human teftimony is not
il folely derived from experience : on the contrary, te-
“ ftimony hath a natural influence on belief antecedent
“ to experience. The early and unlimited aflent given
“ to teftimony by children gradually contradts as they
“ advance in life : it is, therefore, more confonant to
“ truth to fay, that our diffidence in teftimony is the
‘^refult of experience, than that our faith in it has this
“ foundation. Befides, the uniformity of experience,
“ in favour of any fadt, is not a proof againft its be-
“ ing reverfed in a particular inftance. The evidence
“ arifing from the fingle teftimony of a man of known
“ veracity will go farther to eftabliffi a belief in its be-
“ ing adtually reverfed : If his teftimony be confirmed
by a few others of the fame charadter, we cannot
“ withhold our aflent to the truth of it. Now, though
“ the operations of nature are governed by uniform
“ laws, and though we have not the teftimony of our
“ fenfes in favour of any violation of them •, (till, if in
“ particular inftances w7e have the teftimony of thou-
i( fands of our fellow-creatures, and thofe too men of
“ ftridl integrity, fwayed by no motives of ambition or
“ intereft, and governed by the principles of common
“ fenfe, That they wrere adtually eye witnefles of thefe
“ violations, the conftitution of our nature obliges us to
“ believe them.”
Thefe two examples contain the fubftance of about
400 pages.—Making private abridgements of this kind
has many advantages : It engages us to read W'ith ac¬
curacy and attention •, it fixes the fubjedt in our minds j
and, if we ffiould happen to forget, inftead of reading
the books again, by glancing a few lines, wTe are not
only in pofleffion of the chief arguments, but recal in a
f good meafure the author’s method and manner.
Abridging is peculiarly ufeful in taking the fub¬
ftance of what is delivered by profeflbrs, &c. It is
impoffible, even with the affiftance of (hort-hand, te
take down, verbatim, what is faid by a public fpeaker.
Befides, although it were pradticable, fuch a talent
wnuld be of little ufe. Every public fpeaker has cir¬
cumlocutions, redundancies, lumber, which deferve not
to be copied. All that is really ufeful may be com¬
prehended in a ffiort compafs. If the plan of the dif-
courfe, and arguments employed in fupport of the dif¬
ferent branches, be taken down, you have the whole.
Thefe you may afterwards extend in the form of a dif-
courfe drefled in your own language. This would not
only be a more rational employment, but would like-
wife be an excellent method of improving young men
in compofition j an objeft too little attended to in all
our univerfities.
“ The mode of reducing, fays the author of the Cu-
riofities of Literature, what the ancients had writ¬
ten in bulky volumes, pra£tifed in preceding centu¬
ries, came into general ufe about the fifth. As the
number of ftudents and readers diminifhed, authors
negle&ed literature, and were difgufted with com¬
pofition \ for to write is feldom done, but when the
writer entertains the hope of finding readers. Inftead
of original authors, there fuddenly arofe numbers of
abridgers. Thefe men, amidft the prevailing difguft
A fi R [ 4* 1 A B R
Abridge- for literature, imagined they fliould gratify the public
mcnt introducing a mode of reading works in a few hours,
Abroea- otherwife could not be done in many months j
tion! and, obferving that the bulky volumes of the ancients
- y..... i< lay buried in duft, without ai^y one condefcending to
examine them, the difagreeable neceffity infpired them
with an invention that might bring thofe works and
themfelves into public notice, by the care they took of
renovating them. This they imagined to effeft by form¬
ing abridgements of thefe ponderous volumes.
All thefe Abridgers, however, did not followr the
fame mode. Some contented themfelves with making
a mere abridgement of their authors, by employing their
own expreffions, or by inconfiderable alterations. Others
compofed thofe abridgements in drawing them from va¬
rious authors, but from whofe works they only took what
appeared to them moft worthy of obfervation, and dref-
fed them in their own ftyle. Others, again, having be¬
fore them feveral authors who wrote on the fame fub-
je£l, took paiTages from each, united them, and thus
formed a new work. They executed their defign by
digefting in common places, and under various titles,
the moft valuable parts they could coiled!:, from the
beft authors they read. To thefe laft ingenious fcholars,
we owe the refcue of many valuable fragments of an¬
tiquity. They happily preferved the beft maxims, the
charadlers of perfons, defcriptions, and any other fub-
jedls which they found interefting in their ftudies.
There have been learned men who have cenfured
thefe Abridgers, as the caufe of our having loft: fo many
excellent entire works of the ancients ; for pofterity be¬
coming lefs ftudious, was fatisfied with thefe extradls,
and negledled to preferve the originals, whofe volumi¬
nous fize was lefs attradlive. Others on the contrary
fay, that thefe Abridgers have not been fo prejudicial
to literature, as fome have imagined j and that had it
not been for their care, which fnatched many a perifti-
able fragment from that (hipwreck of letters, which the
barbarians occaftoned, we fhould perhaps have had no
works of the ancients remaining.
Abridgers, Compilers, and even Tranflators, in the
prefent faftidious age, are alike regarded with contempt;
yet to form their works with fkill requires an exertion
of judgment, and frequently of tafte, of which their
contemners appear to have no conception. It is the
great misfortune of fuch literary labours, that even when
performed with ability, the learned will not be fotmd
to want them, and the unlearned have not difcernment
to appreciate them.”
ABRINCATARUM otfidum, in Ancient Geogra¬
phic the town of the Abrincates or Abrincatui; now
Avranches, in France, fituated on an eminence in the
fouth-weft of Normandy, near the borders of Brit¬
tany, on the Englilh channel. W. Long. I. io. N.
Lat. 48. 40.
ABROGATION, th^.adl of abolifhing a law, by
authority of the maker; in which fenfe the word is fy-
nonymous with abolition, repealing, and revocation.
Abrogation ftands oppofed to rogation : it is diftin-
guifhed from derogation, which implies the taking
away only fome part of a law j from /abrogation, which
denotes the adding a claufe to it $ from abrogation,
which implies the limiting or reftraining it; from dif-
nsnfation, which only fets it afide in a particular in-
WOL. I. Part I.
fiance ; and from antiquation, which is the refufing to Abr&gn-
pafs a law. t^.ri
ABROKANI, or MallemoiXI, a kind of muflin, Abruzzo.
or clear, white, fine cotton cloth, brought from the >—-y—^
Eaft Indies, particularly from Bengal ; being in
length 16 French ells and 3 quarters, and in breadth
5 eighths.
ABROLHOS, in Geography, dangerous (hoals or
banks of land, about 20 leagues from the coafi: of Bra¬
zil. S. Lat. 18. 22. W. Long. 38. 45.
ABROMA, in Botany. See Botany Index.
ABROTANUM, in Botany. See Artemisia,
Botany Index.
ABROTONUM, in Ancient a town and
harbour on the Mediterranean, in the diftrift of Syrtis
Parva in Africa j one of the three cities that formed
Tr-ipoly.
ABRUG-Banya, in Geography, a populous town of
Tranfylvania, in the diftrift of Weiflenburg. It is
fituated in a country which abounds wdth mines of gold
and filver, and is the refidence of the mine office, and
chief of the metal towns. E. Long. 23. 24. N. Lat.
46. 50.
ABRUS, in Botany, the trivial name of the Gly¬
cine.
ABRUZZO, a province of Naples. The river
Pefcara divides it into two parts ; one of which is call¬
ed Ulterior, of which Aquila is the capital ; and the
other Citerior, whofe capital is Chieti, Befides the Apen¬
nines, there are two confiderable mountains, the one
called Monte Cavallo, and the other Monte Majello 5
the top of which laft: is always covered with fnow. A-
bruzzo is a cold country •, but the rigour of the climate
is not fo great as to prevent the country from produ¬
cing in abundance every thing requifite for the fupport
of life. Vegetables, fruits, animals, and numberlefs
other articles of fuftenance, not only furniffi ample
provifion for the ufe of the natives, but alfo allow of
exportation. It produces fo much wheat, that many
thoufands of quarters are annually fliipped off. Much
Turkey wheat is fent out, and the province of Teramo
fells a great deal of rice little inferior in quality to
that of Lombardy. Oil is a plentiful commodity, and
wines are made for exportation on many parts of the
coaft ;>but wool has always been, and ftill is, their
ftaple commodity : the flocks, after paffing the whole
fummer in the fine paftures of the mountains, are driven
for the winter into the warm plains of Puglia, and a
few fpots near their own coaft, where the fnow does not
lie. There are no manufaflures of woollens in the pro¬
vince, except two fmall ones of coarfe cloth. The
greateft part of the wool is exported unwrought. No
filk is made here, though mulberry trees would grow
well in the low grounds.
Formerly the territory of Aquila furniftied Italy al-
moft exclufively with faffron *, but fince the culture of
that plant has been fo much followed in Lombardy, it
has fallen to nothing in Abruzzo. In the maritime
trails of country the cultivation of liquorice has been
increafed of late years, but foreigners export the roots
in their natural ftate : in the province of Teramo there
is a manufaflory of pottery ware, for which there is a
great demand in Germany, by the way of Triefte, as
it is remarkably hard and fine j but even this is going
A B R [4:
Abruzzo. to decay, by being abandoned entirely to the igno-
 * ’ ranee of common workmen. It is not to be expected
that any improvements will be made in arts and manu-
factures, where the encouragement and attention of lu-
periors is wanting, and no pains taken to render the
commodity more marketable, or to open better channels
of fa!e for it. The only advantages thefe provinces
enjoy, are the gift of benevolent nature •, but. fhe has
ftill greater prefents in ftore for them, and waits only
for the helping hand of government to produce them.
This whole coaft, one hundred miles in length, is ut¬
terly deftitute of fea ports j and the only fpots where
the produce can be embarked are dangerous inconve¬
nient roads, at the mouths of rivers, and along a lee-
fhore : the difficulty of procuring dripping, and ol load¬
ing the goods, frequently caufes great quantities ot
them to rot on hand } which damps induftry, and pre¬
vents all improvements in agriculture. The hujband-
man is a poor difpirited wretch, and wretchednefs pro¬
duces emigration : the uneven furface of the country
occafions it to be inhabited by retail, if the expreffiorr
may be ufed, rather than in large maffes ; for there is
not a city that contains ten thoufand people, and lew
of them exceed three thoufand. Villages, cattles, and
feudatory ettates are to be met with in abundance j
but the numbers of their inhabitants are to be reckoned
by hundreds, not thoufands : in a word, the political
and focial fyftem of the province ffiows no figns of the
vigour which nature fo remarkably difplays here in all
her operations.
The antiquary and the naturalift may travel here
with exquifite pleafure and profit j the former will find
treafurcs of inferiptions, and inedited monuments, be-
lonoing to the warlike nations that, once covered the
face of the country *, the natural philofopher will have
a noble field for obfervation in the ftupendous moun¬
tains that rife on all fides. Monte-corno and Majello
are among the molt interefling. The firft is like an aged
monument of nature, bald, and horribly broken on
every afpeft j from various appearances,, it is evident
that its bowels contain many valuable veins of metallic
ore ; but the great difficulty of accefs renders the fearch
of them almoit impra&icable. Majello has other merits,
and of a gayer kind :—nature has clothed its declivities
and elevated fields with an infinite variety of plants.
' The chara&er of the inhabitants varies.a little among
themfelves, according to fituation and climate, but ef-
fentially from the dilpofition of the natives of the more
fouthern provinces. This proceeds from a difference
of origin : for the Lombards, who were barbarians,
but not cruel ; poor, but hofpitable •, endowed with
plain honeft fenfe, though poffeffed of little acutenefs
or fubtlety ; remained peaceable proprietors of thefe
mountainous regions, till the Normans, who were ac-
cuftomed to a fimilar climate, came and difpoffeffed
them. The Greeks who retained almoft every other
part of the kingdom under their dominion, never had
grjy fwav here. Tor this reafon the Abruzzefi ttnl
bear a great refemblance to their northern, progenitors
or matters : to this day one may trace in them the
fame goodnefs of heart, but great indolence and re¬
pugnance to lively exertions j a fault that proceeds ra¬
ther from a want of a£live virtue, than a difpofition to
•yyickednefs. Hence it comes, that in thefe provinces,
where the proximity of the frontier almoft enfures im-
] A B S
punity, fewer atrocious and inhuman deeds are heard Abruzzo
of than in other parts of the realm. Remnants of an" AbgJ|arus
cient northern cuftoms exifted here fo late as the be- .
ginning of this century, and, among the mountaineers,
very evident traces of the Frank and leutonic lan¬
guages may be difeovered.
ABSALOM, in Scripture H/Jiory, the fon of Da¬
vid by Maacah, was brother to Tamar, David’s daugh¬
ter, who was raviffied by Amnon their eldeft brother
by another mother. Abfalom waited two years for an
opportunity of revenging the injury done to his filler :
and at laft procured the affaflination of Amnon at a
feaft which he had prepared for the king’s fons. He
took refuge with Talmai king of Gelhur •, and was no
fooner reftored to favour, but he engaged the Ifraelites
to revolt from his father. Abfalom was defeated in
the wood of Ephraim : as he was flying, his hair
caught hold of an oak, where he hung till Joab came
and thruft him through with three darts : David had
exprefsly ordered his life to be fpared, and extremely
lamented him. The weight of Abfalom’s hair, which
is ftated at “ 200 Ihekels after the king’s weight,’v
has occafioned much critical difeuffion. If, according
to fome, the Jewiffi ffiekel of filver was equal to half an
ounce avoirdupois, 200 fliekels would be 6^- pounds j
or, according to Jofephus, if the 200 ftiekels be equal
to 5 minae, and each mina 2\ pounds, the weight of
the hair would be 12^ pounds, a fuppofition not very
credible. It has been fuppofed by others, that the ffie¬
kel here denotes a weight in gold equal to the value
of the filver Ihekel, or half an ounce, which will re¬
duce the weight of the hair to about 5 ounces j or that
the 200 ftiekels are meant to exprefs the value, not the
weight. But it is not improbable, as fome have alleged,
that the whole difficulty has arifen from an error in
tranferibing the Hebrew numerals.
ABSCESS, in Surgery i from abfeedo, to feparate :
a cavity containing pus ; or a colledlion of puriform
matter in a part: So called, becaufe the parts which
were joined are now feparated j one part recedes fiom
another, to make way for the collefted matter. See
Surgery.
ABSCISSE, in Conics, a part of the diameter or
tranfverfe axis of a conic feblion, intercepted between
the vertex or fome other fixed point and a femiordinate.
See Conic Sections.
ABSCONSA, a dark lantern tafed by the monks at
the ceremony of burying their dead.
ABSENCE, in Scots Law : When a perfon cited
before a court does not appear, and judgment is pro¬
nounced, that judgment is faid to be in abfence. No
perfon can be tried criminally in abfence.
ABS1MARUS, in Hi/lory, having dethroned Leon¬
tius, cut off his nofe and ears, and (hut'him up in a.
monaflery, was proclaimed by the foldiers emperor of
the Eaft, A. D. 698. Leontius himfelf was alfo an
ufurper. He had dethroned Juftinian II. who, after¬
wards, with the afliftance of the Bulgarians, furprifed
and took Conftantinople and made Abfimarus prifoner.
Juftinian, now fettled on the throne, and having both
Abfimarus and Leontius in his power, loaded them with
chains, ordered them to lie down on the ground, and
with a barbarous pleafure, held a foot on the neck or
eac h for the fpace of an hour in prefence of the people,
who with ftiouts and exclamations fung, Super afpi-
A B S [A3 ] A B S
Abfimarus Jem et bajilljcum ctmbulabis, et conculcabis leonem et Jra-
II conem. “ Thou Qvalt walk on the afp and the bafilifk,
Abfolute, an^ treaj on tjie jjon an(j t|ie jrag0n>” By the orders
of Juftinian, Abfimarus and Leontius were beheaded,
A. D. 705.
ABSINTHIATED, any thing tinged or impreg¬
nated with abfinthium or wormwood. Bartholin men¬
tions a woman whofe milk was become abfinthiated,
and rendered as bitter as gall, by the too liberal ufe of
wormwood.
Vimim abjinthites, or poculum abjinthiatum, “ worm¬
wood wine,” is much fpoken of among the ancients as
a wholefome drink, and even an antidote againft drunk-
ennefs. Its medical virtues depend on its aromatic
and bitter qualities. Infufed in wine or fpirits, it may
prove beneficial in cafes of indigeftion or debility of
the ftomach.
ABSINTHIUM, in Botamj, the trivial name of
the common wormwood. See Artemisia, Botany
Index.
ABSIS, in /fjlronomy, the fame with apfis. See
Apsis.
ABSOLUTE, in a general fenfe, fomething that
{lands free or independent.
Absolute is more particularly underflood of a being
or thing which does not proceed from any caufe, or
does not fubfift by virtue of any other being, confider-
ed as its caufe ; in which fenfe, God alone is abfolute.
Abfo/ute, in this fenfe, is fynonymous with independent,
and ftands oppofed to dependent.
ABSOLUTE alfo denotes a thing that is free from
conditions or limitations ; in which fenfo, the word is
fynonymous with unconditional. We fay, an abfolute
decree, abfolute promife, abfolute obedience.
ABSOLUTE Government, that in which the prince is
left folely to his own will, being not limited to the ob-
fervance of any laws except thofe of his own difcre-
tion.
Absolute Equations, in AJlroncmy, is the aggregate
of the optic and eccentric equations. The apparent
inequality of a planet’s motion, arifing from its not be¬
ing equally diftant from the earth at all times, is call¬
ed its optic equation, and would fubfill even if the pla¬
net’s real motion were uniform. The eccentric ine¬
quality is caufed by the planet’s motion being uniform.
To illuflrate which, conceive the fun to move, or to
appear to move, in the circumference of a circle, in
whofe centre the earth is placed. It is manifefl, that
if the fun moves uniformly in this circle, it mull appear
to move uniformly to a fpedlator on the earth, and in
this cafe there will be no optic nor eccentric equation ;
but fuppofe the earth to be placed out of the centre of
the circle, and then, though the fun’s motion fhould be
really uniform, it would not appear to be fo, when feen
from the earth ; and in this cafe there would be an optic
equation, without an eccentric one. Imagine farther,
the fun’s orbit to be not circular but elliptic, and the
earth in its focus •, it will be as evident that the fun
cannot appear to have an uniform motion in fuch el-
lipfe : fo that his motion will then be fubjefl to two equa¬
tions, the optic and the eccentric.
ABSOLUTE Number, in Algebra, is any pure number
Handing in any equation without the Conjun&ion of li¬
teral charaflers •, as 2 A-f-36 == 48 $ where 36 and 48
are abfolute numbers, but 2 is not, as being joined with Absolute
the letter x. I,1
ABSOLUTION, in Civil Law, is a fentence where- A Aorpuon-
by the party accufed is declared innocent of the crime "" 'r"
laid to his charge.—Among the Romans, the ordinary
method of pronouncing judgment was this : after the
caufe had been pleaded on both fides, the pra;co ufed
the word dixerunt, q. d. they have faid what they had
to fay ; then three ballots were diftributed to each
judge, marked as mentioned under the article A ; and
as the majority fell of either mark, the accufed was ab-
folved or condemned, &c. If he were abfolved, the
praetor difmilfed him with videtur non feciffe, or jure vi~
detur fecijfe.
Absolution, in the Canon Law, is a juridical acl,
whereby the prieft declares the fins of fuch as are peni¬
tent remitted.—The Romanifts hold absolution a part of
the facrament of penance; the council of Trent, fe if.
xiv. cap. Hi. and that of Florence, in the decree ad Ar-
menos, declare the form or effence of the facrament to
lie in the words of abfolution, I abfolve thee of thy fins.
The formula of abfolution, in the Romilh church, is ab¬
folute : in the Greek church, it is deprecatory ; and in
the churches of the reformed, declarative.
Absolution is chiefly ufed among Proteftants for a
fentence by which a perfon who ftands excommunicated,
is releafed or freed from that puniflunent.
ABSORBENT, in general, any thing pefftfling the
faculty of abforbing, or {wallowing up another.
Absorbent Medicines, teftaceous powders, or fub-
ftances into which calcareous earth enters, as chalk,
crabs eyes, &c. which are taken inwardly for drying up
or abforbing any acid or redundant humours in'the ilo-
mach or inteflines. They are likewife applied external¬
ly to ulcers or fores with the fame intention.
Absorbents, or Absorbing Vefels, in Anatomy,
a name given promifeuoufly to the laftral vtflels, lym¬
phatics, and inhalant arteries, a minute kind of vel-
fels found in animal bodies, which imbibe fluids that
come in contafl with them. On account of their
minutenefs and tranfparency, they efcape obfervatiou
in ordinary difiedtion. They have, however, been
detecled in every tribe of animals, and, in the ani¬
mals which have been examined, in every part of the
body. Thofe which open into the ftomach and intef-
tines, and convey the chyle, which is a milky fluid,
from thefe organs to the blood, have received the name
of laBeals, or ladleal veflels ; and thofe which open en
the external furface, and the furface of all the cavities
of the body, have been denominated lymphatics, from
the lymph or colourlefs fluid which they contain. See
Anatomy.
ABSORBING, the fwallowing up, fucking up, or
imbibing any thing : thus black bodies are faid to ab-
forb the rays of light; luxuriant branches, to abforb or
wafte the nutritious juices which fhould feed the fruit
of trees, &c.
ABSORPTION, in the animal economy, is the
fundlion of the abforbent veffels, or that power by
which they take up and propel hub ft a nee. This power
has been aferibed to the operation ot cbfferem eau-
fes, according to the theories which phvfiologifts have
propofed. Some attribute it to capillary attradlion,
others to the prefiure of the atmofphere, and others to
F 2 an
A B S
Abforption an ambiguous or unknown caufc, which they denomi-
Abitemi nate J^iiQn ; for this laft is nothing elfe than the ela-
ous. Power of one part of the air refioring the equili-
»».»■ v— . i brium, which has been deltroyed by the removal or ra-
refadlion of another part.
ABSORPTIONS of the Earth, a term ufed by Kircher
and others for the finking in of large trafls of land by
means of fubterranean commotions, and many other
accidents.
Pliny tells us, that in his time the mountain Cym-
botus, with the town of Curites, which flood on its
fide, were wholly abforbed into the earth, fo that not
the leaft trace of either remained •, and he records the
like fate of the city of I'antalis in Magnefia, and after
it of the mountain Sypilus, both thus abforbed by a
violent opening of the earth. Galanis and Gamales,
towns once famous in Phoenicia, are recorded to have
met the fame fate ; and the vaft promontory, called
Phegiutn, in Ethiopia, after a violent earthquake in the
night-time, was not to be feen in the morning, the
whole having difappeared, and the earth clofed over
it. Thefe and many other hiftories, attefted by the
authors of greateil credit among the ancients, abun¬
dantly prove the fa£t in the earlier ages j and there
have not been wanting too many inftances of more mo¬
dern date. Kircher*s Mund. Subter. p. 77.).
Picus, a lofty mountain in one of the Molucca ifles,
which was feen at a great diflance, and ferved as a
land-mark to failors, was entirely deftroyed by an
earthquake ; and its place is now occupied by a lake,
the ihores of which correfpond exaftly to the bafe of
the mountain. In 1556, a fimilar accident happened
in China. A whole province of the mountainous part
of the country, with all the inhabitants, funk in a mo¬
ment, and was totally fwallowed up : The fpace which
was formerly land is alfo covered with an extenfive
lake of water. And, during the earthquakes which pre¬
vailed in the kingdom of Chili, in the year 1646, fe-
veral whole mountains of the Andes funk and difap¬
peared.
ABSORUS, Apsorus, Absyrtis, Absyrtides,
Apsyrtides, Apsyrtis, and Absyrtium, (Strabo,
Mela, Ptolemy) ; iflands in the Adriatic, in the gulf
of Carnero •, fo called from Abfyrtus, Medea’s bro¬
ther, there flain. ihey are either one ifland, or two
feparated by a narrow channel, and joined by a bridge j
and are now called Cherfo and Ofero.
ABS1 EINEN, in Geography, a diftridt near the
river Memel in Little Lithuania. It is a mountainous
country, but is fertile in grain, and abounds with ftieep
and excellent horfes.
ABSTEMII, in church hiftory, a name given to
fuch perfons as could not partake of the cup of the eu-
charift on account of their natural averfion to wine..
Calvinifts allow thefe to communicate in the fpecies or
bread only, touching the cup with their lip j which*
on the other hand, is by the Lutherans deemed a pro¬
fanation.
ABSTEMIOUS, is properly underftood of a per-
fon who refrains abfolutelv from all ufe of wine.
The hiftory of Mr Wood, in the Medic. Tranf.
vol. if. p. 261, art. 18. is a very remarkable exem¬
plification of the very beneficial alterations which may
be effe&ed on the human body by a ftritt courfe of
abftemioufnefs.
44- 1 A B S
The Roman ladies, in the firft ages of the republic,
were all enjoined to be abltemious j and that it might
appear, by their breath, whether or no they kept up to
the injunflion, it was one of the laws of the Roman
civility, that they fliould kifs their friends and relations
whenever they accofted them.
ABSTEMIUS, Laurentius, a native of Macera-
ta, profeffor of belles lettres, in Urbino, and librarian
of Duke Guido Ubaldo, under the pontificate of A-
lexander VI. He wrote, 1. Notes on moft difficult
paffages of ancient authors. 2. Hecatomythium, i. e.
A colledtion of an hundred fables, &c. which have
been often printed with thofe of Aifop, Phaedrus, Ga-
brias, Avienus, &c. and a preface to the edition of Au¬
relius Vidlor publilhed at Venice in 1505.
ABSTERGENT medicines, thofe employed for
refolving obftruftions, concretions, &c. fuch as foap,
&c.
ABSIINENCE, in a general fenfe, the a£t or ha¬
bit of refraining from fomething to which there is a
ftrong propenfity. Among the Jew's, various kinds of
abftinence were ordained by their law. The Pytha¬
goreans, when initiated, u’ere enjoined to abftain from
animal f. od, except the remains of facrifices 3 and to
drink nothing but water, unlefs in the evening, when
they were permitted to take a fmall portion of wine.
Among the primitive Chriftians, fome denied them-
felves the ufe of fuch meats as w'ere prohibited by that
law, others regarded this abftinence w'ith contempt
of which St Paul gives his opinion, Rom. xiv. 1—3.
The council of Jerufalem, which was held by the apo-
ftles, enjoined the Chriftian converts to abftain from
meats, ftrangled, from blood, from fornication, and
from idolatry. Abftinence, as preferibed by the gof-
pel, is intended to mortify and reftrain the paffions, to
humble our vicious natures, and by that means raife
our minds to a due fenfe of devotion. But there is
another fort of abftmence, which may be called ritualy.
and confifts in abftaining from particular meats at cer¬
tain times and feafons. It was the fpiritual monarchy
of the weftern world which firft introduced this ritual
abftinence j the rules of which were called rogations ;
but grofsly abufed from the true nature and defign of
falling. In England,, abftinence from flefh has been
enjoined by ftatute fince the Reformation, particularly
on Fridays and Saturdays, on vigils, and on all com¬
monly called ffj days. Fhe like injunctions were re¬
newed under Queen Elizabeth : but at the fame time
it was.declared, that this was done not out of motives
of religion, as if there were any difference in meats 3
but in favour of the confumption of fiffi, and to multi¬
ply the number of fiffiermen and mariners, as well as
to fpare. the. flock of. fheep. The great faft, fays St
Auguftin, is to abftain from fin.
. Abstinence is more particularly ufed for a fpare
diet, or a flender parfimonious ufe of food. Phyficians
relate wonders of the effeds of abftinence in the cure
of many diforders, and protracting the term of life.
The noble Venetian Gornaro, after all imaginable
means had proved vain, fo that his life was defpaired
of at 40, recovered,, and lived to near 100, by ths
mere effedt of abftinence 3 as he himfelf gives the ac-
count.. It is indeed furprifing to what a great age the
primitive Chriftians of the eaft, who retired from the
perfeeutions into the deferts of Arabia and Egypt, li¬
ved.
Abftemious
.11
Abftinence.
A B S
ibftinence. ved, liealthful and cheerful, on a very little
—v  Caflian affures us, that the common rate for 24 hours
was 1 2 ounces of bread, and pure water . with luch
frugal fare St Anthony lived 105 years; James the
Hermit, 104 ; Arfenius, tutor of the emperor Arca-
dius, 1 20 ; St Epiphanius, 115 ; Simeon the Stylite,
XI2*; and Romauld, 12c. Indeed, we can match
thefe inllances of longevity at home. Buchanan in¬
forms us, that one Laurence arrived at the great age
of 140 by force of temperance and labour ; and Spotf-
wood mentions one Kentigern, afterwards called St
Mongah or Mungo, who lived to 185 by the fame
means. Abftinence, however, is to be recommended
only as it means a proper regimen ; for in general it
mud have bad confequences when obferved without a
due regard to conftitution, age, llrength, &c. Ac¬
cording to Dr Cheyne, moft of the chronical difeafes,
the infirmities of old age, and the (hort lives of Eng-
lilhmen, are owing to repletion ; and may be either
cured, prevented, or remedied by abftinence ; but then
the kinds of abftinence which ought to be obferved,.
cither in ficknefs or health, are to be deduced from the
laws of diet and regimen.
Among the inferior animals, we fee extraordinary
inftances ©f long abftinence. The ferpent kind, in par¬
ticular, bear abftinence to a wonderful degree. We
have feen rattle-fnakes which had lived many months
without any food, yet ftill retained their vigour and
fiercenefs. Dr Shaw fpeaks of a couple of ceraftes (a
fort of Egyptian ferpents), which had been kept five
years in a bottle clofe corked, without any fort of food,
unlefs a fmall quantity of fand in which they coiled
themfelves up in the bottom of the veffel may be rec¬
koned as fuch : yet when he faw them, they had new¬
ly caft their {kins, and w'ere as brifk and lively as if
juft taken. But it is natural for divers fpecies to pafs
four, five, or fix months every year, without either eat¬
ing or drinking. Accordingly, the tortoife, bear, dor-
moufe, ferpent, &c. are obferved regularly to retire, at
thofe feafons, to their refpedlive cells, and hide them¬
felves, fome in the caverns of rocks or ruins ; others
dig holes under ground ; others get into woods, and
lay themfelves up in the clefts of trees ; others bury
themfelves under water, &c. And thefe animals are
found as flat and fleftiy, after fome months abftinence, as
before.—Sir G. Ent* weighed his tortoife feveral years
fucceflively, at its going to earth in 0£lober, and coming
out again in March ; and found, that of four pounds
four ounces, it only ufed to lofe about one ounce. In¬
deed we have inftances of men pafling feveral months
as ftri&ly abftinent as other creatures. In particular,
the records of the Tower mention a Scotchman im-
prifoned for felony, and ftri&ly watched in that fortrefs
for fix weeks, during which time he did not take the
lead fuftenance ; and on this account he obtained his
pardon. Numberlefs inftances of extraordinary ab¬
ftinence, particularly from morbid caufes* are to be
found in the different periodical Memoirs, Tranfadlions,
Ephemerides, &c. It is to be added, that, in moft in¬
ftances of extraordinary human abftinence related by
naturalifts, there were faid to have been apparent
marks of a texture of blood and humours, much like
that of the animals above mentioned. Though it is
no improbable opinion, that the air itfelf may furnifh
fomething for nutrition, it is certain, there are fub-
3
* Phil.
Tranf.
154.
[ 45 ] A B S
food, ftances of all kinds, animal, vegetable, Stc. floating-Abibnence
in the atmofphere, which muft be continually taken in A^^rac_
by refpiration ; and that an animal body may be nourilh- tion.
ed thereby, is evident in the inftance ot vipers ; which 1 ^ J
if taken when firft brought forth, and kept from every
thing but air, will yet grow very confiderably in a few
days. So the eggs of lizards are obferved to increafe
in bulk, after they are produced, though there be no¬
thing to furnilh the increment but air alone ; in like
manner as the eggs or fpawn of fifties grow and are
nourilhed with the water. And hence, fay fome, it is
that cooks, turnfpit dogs, &c. though they eat but lit¬
tle, yet are ufually fat. See Jasting.
ABSTINENTS, or Abstinences, a fet of here¬
tics that appeared in France and Spain about the end
of the third century. They are fuppofed to have bor¬
rowed part of their opinions from the Gnoftics and Ma-
nicheans, becaufe they oppoftd marriage, condemned
the ufe of flefti meat, and placed the Holy Ghoft in
the clafs of created beings. We have, however, no
certain account of their peculiar tenets.
ABSTRACT, in a general fenfe, any thing fepa-
rated from fomething elfe..
Abstract Idea, in Metaphyjics, is a partial idea of
a complex objedl, limited to one or more of the compo¬
nent parts or properties, laying afide or abftrafting from
the reft. Thus, in viewing an objedt with the eye, or
recolledling it in the mind, we can eafily abftradt from
fome of its parts or properties, and attach ourfelves to
others: we can attend to the rednefs of a cherry, with¬
out regard to its figure, tafte, or confiftence. See Ab¬
straction.
Abstract Mathematics, otherwife called Pure Ma¬
thematics, is that which treats of magnitude or quantity,
abfolutely and generally confidered, without reftridlion
to any fpecies of particular magnitude ; fuch are A-
rithmetic and Geometry. In this fenfe, abftradt ma¬
thematics is oppofed to mixed mathematics ; wherein
fimple and abftradt properties, and the relations o.:
quantities primitively confidered in pure mathematics,
are applied to fenfible objedls, and by that means be¬
come intermixed with phyfical confiderations : fuch are
Hydroftatics, Optics, Navigation, &c.
Abstract Numbers, are affemblages of units, con-
fidered in themfelves, without denoting any particular
and determinate things. 'I bus fix is an abftradt num¬
ber, when not applied to any thing ; but if we fay 6
feet, 6 becomes a concrete number. See the article
Number.
Abstract Terms, words that are ufed to exprefs ab¬
ftradt ideas. Thus beauty, uglinefs, whitenefs, round-
nefs, life, death, are abrtradt terms.
Abstract, in Literature, a compendious view of any
large wrork ; ftiorter and more fuperficial than an
abridgement.
ABSTRACTION, in general, the art of abftradt-
ing, or the ftate of being abftradtcd.
Abstraction, in Metaphyjics, the operation of the
mind when occupied by abftradt ideas. A large oak
fixes our attention, and abftradts us from the ftirubs
that furround it. In the lame manner, a beautiful
woman in a crowd, abftradts our thoughts, and engrof-
fes our attention folely to herfelf. Thefe are examples
of real abftradtion : when thefe, or any others of a fi-
milar kind, are recalled to the mind after the objedts
themfelves
‘Abftrac-
tion
Abfyrtus.
A B S [ 46 ] ABU
themfelves are removed from our fight, they form what
are called abJlraSl ideas, or the mind is faid to be em¬
ployed in abftraft ideas. But the power of abftraftion
is not confined to objefts that are feparable in reality
as well as mentally : the fize, the figure, the colour of
a tree, are infeparably connected, and cannot exift inde¬
pendent of each other *, and y<et we can mentally confine
our obfervations to any one of thefe properties, neglec¬
ting or abftradling from the reft.
Abftra&ion is chiefly employed thefe three ways.
Firft, When the mind confiders any one part of a
thing, in fome refpedl diftinft from the whole *, as a
man’s arm, without the confideration of the reft of the
body. Secondly, When we confider the mode of any
fubftance, omitting the fnbftance itfelf; or when we
feparately confider feveral modes which fubfift toge¬
ther in one fubjeft. This abftradtion the geometricians
make ufe of when they confider the length of a body
feparately, which they call a line, omitting the confi¬
deration of its breadth and thicknefs. Thirdly, It is
by abftra&ion that the mind forms general or univerfal
ideas : omitting the modes and relations of the parti¬
cular objefls whence they are formed. Thus, when
we would underftand a thinking being in general, we
gather from our felf-confcioufnefs what it is to think •,
and omitting thofe things which have a particular rela¬
tion to our own minds, or to the human mind, we con¬
ceive a thinking being in general.
Ideas formed in this manner, which are what we
properly call abjlrafl ideas, become general re prefen ta-
tives of all obje£ts of the fame kind ; and their names
applicable to whatever exifts conformable to fuch ideas.
Thus the idea of colour that we receive from chalk,
fnow, milk, &c. is a reprefentative of all of that kind ;
and has a name given it, whitenefs, which fignifies the
fame quality wherever found or imagined.
ABSTRUSE, fomething deep, hidden, concealed,
or far removed from common apprehenfions, and there¬
fore not eafily underftood -, in oppofition to what is
obvious and palpable. Thus metaphyfics is an abftrufe
fcience ; and the do<ftrine of fluxions, and the method
de maximis et minimis, are abftrufe points of know¬
ledge.
ABSURD, an epithet applied to any thing that is
contrary to human apprehenfion, and contradicts a ma-
nifeft truth. Thus, it would be abfurd to fay that 6
and 6 make only 10, or to deny that twice 6 make 12.
When the term abfurd is applied to actions, it has the
fame, import as ridiculous.
ABSURDUM, redu&io ad abfurd urn, is a mode of
demonftration employed by mathematicians rvhen they
prove the truth of a propofition by demonftrating that
the contrary is impoflible, or leads to an abfurdity. It
is in this manner that Euclid demonftrates the fourth
propofition of the firft book, of the Elements, by iliow-
ing that the contrary involves a manifeft abfurdity, viz.
“ That two flraight lines can inclofe a/pace."
ABSYNTHIUM. See Artemisia, Botany In¬
dex.
ABSYRTUS, in heathen mythology, the fon of
/Etes and Hypfea, and the brother of Medea. The
latter running away with Jafon, after her having aflift-
ed him in carrying off the golden fleece, was purfued
by her father; when, to flop his progrefs, fhe tore Ab-
fyrtus in pieces, and fcattered his limbs in his way.
5
ABTHANES, in Hi/lory, a title ef honour ufed by Abthanes,
the ancient inhabitants of Scotland, who called their Abubeker.
nobles thanes, which in the old Saxon fignifies king's v ^
mini/lers ; and of thefe the higher rank were ftyled ab¬
thanes, and thofe of the lower under thanes.
ABUBEKER, or Abu-Becr, the firft caliph, the
immediate fucceffor of Mahomet, and one of his firft
converts. His original name was Abdulcaaba, figni-
fying, fervant of the caaba or temple, which, after his
cenverfion to Mahometanifm, was changed to Abdallah,
feruant of God; and on the marriage of the prophet
with his daughter Ayeftia, he received the appellation
of Abu-Becr, Father of the virgin. Uluftrious by his fa¬
mily, and poffeffed of immenfe wealth, his influence and
example were powerful means of propagating the faith
he had adopted, and in gaining converts to the new re¬
ligion. Abubeker was a found believer, and although
he lived in the greateft familiarity with Mahomet, he
had always the higheft veneration for his cbaradter.
He vouched for the truth of his revelations after his
nightly vifits to heaven, and thus obtained the appella¬
tion of the faithful. He was employed in every mif-
fion of truft or importance, was the conftant friend of
the prophet, and when he was forced to fly from Mecca,
was his only companion. But notwithftanding his
blind devotion to Mahometanifm, his moderation and
prudence were confpicuous in cheeking the fanatical
zeal of the difciples of the new religion, on the death
of Mahomet. This event threatened deftrudftion to the
doctrines of Iflamifm. Its followers could not doubt
that it had taken place, and they were afraid to believe
it. In this uncertainty and fluctuation of belief, Omar
drew his fword, and threatened to cut in pieces all who
dared to affert that the prophet was dead. Abubeker,
with more coolnefs and wifdom, addreffed the people,
Is it, fays he, Mahomet whom you adore, or the God
whom he has revealed to you: Know that this God is
alone immortal, and that all thofe whom he has created
are fubjeB to death. Appeafed and reconciled by this
fpeech, they eleCled him fucceffor to Mahomet, and he
affumed the modeft title of caliph, which has continued
with all his fucceffors. Ali, the fon-in-law of the pro¬
phet, regarding the elevation of Abubeker as a viola¬
tion of his legal rights to the fucceflion, refufed at firft
to recognife the appointment, till he was forced l>y
threats into compliance and fubmiflion. His partifans,
however, ftill confidered him as the legitimate fueceffor,
and their opinion has prevailed among many Mufful-
mans, who believe that the fovereign authority, both
fpiritual and temporal, remains with his defeendants.
The firft part of the reign of Abubtker was unfet¬
tled and turbulent. Many of his fubjeCls returned to
idolatry, fome embraced Chriftianity, new impoftors
arofe. Seduced by the example of Mahomet, they were
dazzled with the hope of power and diftinftion, and
were thus led on to deftruCHon. He alone was received
as the true prophet, all others were falfe. Abubeker,
with the afliftance of Caled, an able general, foon re¬
duced to fubmiflion and obedience, or puniftied with
death, all thofe who difputed or refifted his authority.
Tranquillity being eftablifhed at home, he fent out his
armies, under the fame general, to propagate the Ma¬
hometan faith in Syria, which, after a bloody battle,
was compelled to fubmit to a new-power, and to adopt
a new religion. Damafcus was afterwards befieged ;
and
ABU
[
>vbeker and on the very day that it furrendered and opened its
II gates to his victorious arms, Abubeker expired m the
bundant. j ^ t. Q£ the Hegira.
The public conduft of this caliph was marked by
prudence, equity, and moderation. Mild and iimpkm
his manners, frugal in his fare, he difcovered great in¬
difference to riches and honours. Such was his libe¬
rality to the poor and to his foldiers, that he beftowed
on them the whole of his revenue. The treafury being
on this account quite exhaufted at his death, made
Omar fav, “ that he had left a difficult example for his
fucceffors to follow.” A ffiort time before his death,
he ditfated his will in the following words : “ This is
the will of Abubeker, which he dilated at the mo¬
ment of his departure from this world : At this moment
when the infidel ffiall believe, when the impious ffiall
no longer doubt, and liars (hall fpeak truth, I name
Omar for my fucceffor. Muflfulmans, hear his voice,
and obey his commands. If he rule juftly, he will con¬
firm the good opinion which I have conceived of him ^
but if he deviate from the paths of equity, he muft
render an account before the tribunal of the fovereign
iudge. My thoughts are upright, but I. cannot fee
into futurity. In a word, they who do evil, ffiall not
always efcape with impunity.11 Abubeker firft col-
le&ed and digefted the revelations of Mahomet, which
had hitherto been preferved in detached fragments, or
in the memories of the Muffulman believers; and to
this the Arabians gave the appellation Almojhaf, or
the Book. The firft copy was depofited in the hands
of Hafeffa the daughter of Omar and the widow of
Mahomet.
ABUCCO, Abocco, or Abochi, a weight ufed in
the kingdom of Pegu. One abucco contains x 21- tec-
calis • two abuccos make a giro or agire ; two gin, half
a hi%a; and a hiz-a weighs an hundred teccalis 5 that
is, two pounds five ounces the heavy weight, or three
pounds nine ounces the light weight of Venice.
ABUKESO, in commerce, the fame with Aslan.
ABULFARAGIUS, Gregory, fon of Aaron a
phvfieian, born in 1 226, in the city of Malatia, near
the fource of the Euphrates in Armenia. He followed
the profeffion of his father •, and practifed with great
fuccefs : but he acquired a higher reputation by the ftu-
dy of the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic languages, as
well as by his knowle dge of philofophy and divinity ;
and he wrote a hiftory which does great honour to his
memory. It is written in Arabic, and divided into dy~
nafties. It contifts of ten parts, being an epitome of
univerfal hiftory from the creation of the world to his
own time. The parts of it relating to the Saracens,
Tartar Moguls, and the conquefts of Jenghis Khan, are
efteemed the moft valuable. He profeffed Chriftianity,
and was biffiop of Aleppo, and is fuppofed to have be¬
longed to the fed! of the Jacobites. His contemporaries
fpeak of him in a ftrain of moft extravagant panegyric.
He is ftyled the king of the learned, the 'pattern of his
times, the phoenix of the age, and the crozvn of the vir¬
tuous. Dr Pococke publiffied his hiftory with a Latin
tranflation in 1663 ; and added, by way of fupplement,
a ffiort continuation relating to the hiftory of the eaftern
princes.
ABUNA, the title given to the archbiffiep or me¬
tropolitan of Abyffinia.
ABUNDANT number, in Arithmetic, is a num-
47 ] A B Y
ber, the fum of whofe aliquot parts is greater than the Abundant
number itfelf. Thus the aliquot parts of 12, being 1, Ab“doSi
2, 3, 4, and 6, they make, when added together, 16. * v—
An abundant number is oppoied to a deficient numoer,
or that which is greater than all its aliquot parts taken
together j as 14, whofe aliquot parts are 1, 2, and 7,
which make no more than 10 : and to a perfedl num¬
ber, or one to which its aliquot parts are equal, as 6,,
whofe aliquot parts are I, 2, and 3. ^
ABUNDANT!A, a heathen divinity, reprefent-
ed in ancient monuments under the figure ot a wo¬
man with a pleafing afpedt, crowned with garlands, oi
flowers, pouring all forts of fruits out of a horn which
fire holds in her right hand, and fcattering grain with
her left, taken promifcuoully from a ffieaf ot corn.
On a medal of Trajan ftie is reprefented with two cor¬
nucopia.
ABUS AID Ebn Aljaptu, fultan of the Moguls,
fucceeded his father, anno 717 of the Hegira. He was
the laft monarch of the race of Jenghis Khan, who held
the undivided empire of the Moguls j for after his death,
which happened the fame year that lamerlane Avas born,
it became a feene of blood and deiolation, and Avas bro¬
ken into feparate fovereignties.
ABUS, in Ancient Geography, a river of Britain,
formed by the confluence of the Ure, the Derwent,
Trent, &c. falling into the German fea, betAveen York-
ffiire and Lincolnffiire, and forming the mouth of the
Humber.
ABUSE, an irregular ufe of a thing, or the introdu¬
cing fomething contrary to the true intention thereof.
In grammar, to apply a Avord abufively, or in an abufive
fenfe, is to mifapply or pervert its meaning.—A permu¬
tation of benefices, without the confent oi the biffiop, is
termed abufive, and confequently null.
ABUT!LON, in Botany, the trivial name of feveral
fpecies of the fida. See Sida, Botany Index.
ABYDOS, in Ancnnt Geography, anciently a toAvn
built by the Milefians, in Afia, on the Hellefpont where
it is fcarce a mile over, oppofite to Seftos on the Euro¬
pean fide. Noav both are called the Dardanelles. Abydos
lay midway between Lampfacus and Ilium, famous ior
Xerxes’s bridge, (Herodotus, Virgil •,) and for the loves
of Leander and Hero, (Mufceus, Ovid j) celebrated
alfo for its oyfters (Ennius, Virgil). 1 he inhabitants
were a fort effeminate people, given much to detraction;
hence the proverb, Ne temere Abydum calcare, when avc
Avould caution againft danger, (Stephanus).
Abydos, in Ancient Geography, an inland toAvn of
Egvpt, between Ptolemais and Diofpolis Parva, towards
Syene •, famous for the palace of Memnon and the
temple of Ofiris. A colony of Milefians 3 (Stephanus).
It was the only one in the country into Avhich the fing¬
ers and dancers were forbidden to enter.
The city, reduced to a village under the empire of
Auguftus, noAV prefents to our vierv only a heap of
ruins without inhabitants 3 but to the Aveft of thefe
ruins is ftill found the celebrated tomb of Ofymandes.
The entrance is under a portico 60 leet high, and fup-
ported by Iavo rows of maffy columns. I he immove¬
able folidity of the edifice, the huge maffes which com-
pofe it, the hieroglyphics it is loaded Avith, ftamp it a
Avork of the ancient Egyptians. Beyond it is a temple
300 feet long and 145 Avide. Upon entering the mo¬
nument Ave meet Avilb an immenfe hall, the roof of
which.
1
Abydos
Abyfs.
A B Y [
which is Tupperted by 28 columns 60 feet high, and 19
in circumference at the bafe. They are 12 feet dillant
, from each other. The enormous ftones that form the
ceiling, perfe&ly joined and incrufted, as it were, one
in the other, offer to the eye nothing but one folid plat¬
form of marble 126 feet long and 26 wide. The walls
are covered with hieroglyphics. One fees there a mul¬
titude of animals, birds, and human figures with point¬
ed caps on their heads, and a piece of fluff hanging
down behind, dreffed in loofe robes that come down
only to the waift. The fculpture, however, is clumfy 4
the forms of the body, the attitudes and proportions of
the members, ill obferved. Amongft thefe we may di-
ftinguifh fome women fuckling their children, and men
presenting offerings to them. Here alfo we meet with
the divinities of India. Monfieur Chevalier, formerly
governor of Chandernagore, who refided 20 years in
that country, carefully vifited this monument on his re¬
turn from Bengal. He remarked here the gods Jag-
grenate, Gones, and Vechnou or Wiftnov, fuch as they are
i-eprefented in the temples of Indoftan. A great gate
opens at the bottom of the firfl hall, which leads to an
apartment 46 feet long by 22 wide. Six fquare pillars
fupport the roof of it j and at the angles are the doors
of four other chambers, but fo choked up with rub-
bifh that they cannot now be entered. The lafl hall,
64 feet long by 24 wide, has flairs by which one de-
fcends into the fubterraneous apartments of this grand
edifice. The Arabs, in fearching after treafure, have
piled up heaps of earth and rubbifh. In the part we
are able to penetrate, fculpture and hieroglyphics are
difcoverable as in the upper ftory. The natives fay
that they correfpond exadly with thofe above ground,
and that the columns are as deep in the earth as their
height above the furface. It would be dangerous to
go far into thofe vaults: j for the air of them is fo load¬
ed with a mephitic vapour, that a candle can fcarce be
kept burning in them. Six lions heads, placed on the
two fides of the temple, ferve as fpouts to carry off the
water. You mount to the top by a ftaircafe of a very
fingular ftruflure. It is built with ftones incrufted in
the wall, and projefling fix feet out-, fo that being
fupported only at one end, they appear to be fufpended
in the air. The walls, the roof, and the columns of
this edifice, have fuffered nothing from the injuries of
time and did not the hieroglyphics, by being cor¬
roded in fome places, mark its antiquity, it would ap¬
pear to have been newly built. The folidity is fuch,
that unlefs people make a point of deftroying it, the
building muft laft a great number of ages. Except the
coloffal figures, whofe heads ferve as an ornament to
the capitals of the columns, and which are fculptured
in relievo, the reft of the hieroglyphics which cover the
infide are carved in ftone. To the left of this great
building we meet with another much fmaller, at the
bottom of which is a fort of altar. This was probably
the fan&uary of the temple of Ofiris.
ABYL A (Ptolemy, Mela) ; one of Hercules’s pil¬
lars, on the African fide, called by the Spaniards Sierra
de las Monas, oppofite to Calpe in Spain, the other pil¬
lar fuppofed to have been formerly joined, but fepa-
rated by Hercules, and thus to have given entrance to
the fea now called the Mediterranean ; the limits of the
labours of Hercules (Pliny).
ABYSS, in a general fenfe, denotes fomething pro-
Atyfs.
48 ] A B Y
found, and, as it were, bottomlefs. The word is ori¬
ginally Greek, u&v!r<ro<;; compounded of the privative
£*, and /ivctrog, q. d. without a bottom.
Abyss, in a more particular fenfe, denotes a deep
mals or fund of waters. In this fenfe, the word is
particularly ufed in the Septuagint, for the water
which God created at the beginning with the earth,
which encompaffed it round, and which our tranflators
render by deep. Thus it is that darknefs is faid to have
been on the face of the abyfs.
Abyss is alfo ufed for an immenfe cavern in the
earth, in which God is fuppofed to have collected all
thofe waters on the third day \ which, in our verfion,
is rendered the feas, and elfewhere the great deep. Dr
Woodward, in his Natural Hiftory of the Earth, af-
ferts, That there is a mighty colledtion of waters en-
clofed in the bowels of the earth, conftituting a huge
orb in the interior or central parts of it; and over the
furface of this water he fuppofes the terreftrial ftrata to
be expanded. This, according to him, is what Mofes
calls the great deep, and what moft authors render the
great abyfs. The water of this vaft abyfs, he alleges,
communicates with that of the ocean, by means of cer¬
tain hiatufes or chafms pafling betwixt it and the bot¬
tom of the ocean and this and the abyfs he fuppofes
to have one common centre, around which the water
of both is placed ; but fo, that the ordinary furface of
the abyfs is not level with that of the ocean, nor at lb
great a diftance from the centre as the other, it being
for the moft part reftrained and depreffed by the ftrata
of earth lying upon it: but wherever thefe ftrata are
broken, or fo lax and porous that water can pervade
them, there the water of the abyfs afcends j fills up all
the clefts and fifi’ures into which it can get admittance ;
and faturates all the interftices and pores of the earth,
ftone, or other matter, all around the globe, quite up
to the level of the ocean.
The exiftence of an abyfs or receptacle of fubterra¬
neous waters, is controverted by Camerarius*; and*^{^^-
defended by Dr Woodward chiefly by two arguments:
the firft drawn from the vaft: quantity of water which ™
covered the earth, in the time of the deluge j the fe-p. 24.
cond, from the confideration of earthquakes, which he
endeavours to fhow are occafioned by the violence of
the waters in this abyfs. A great part of the terreftrial
globe has been frequently ftiaken at the fame mo¬
ment j which argues, according to him, that the 'vva*
ters, which were the occafion thereof, were coextended
with that part of the globe. There are even inftances
of univerfal earthquakes ; which (fays he) fhow, that10111-
the whole abyfs muft have been agitated ; for fo gene-PA393'. r
ral an effeft muft have been produced by as general a Literaturr,
caufe, and that caufe can be nothing but the fubterra- tom. viii.
neous abyfs f. p 101, &c.
To this abyfs alfo has been attributed the origin off Hollof
fprings and rivers; the level maintained in the
faces of different feas ; and their not overflowing their Wood-
banks. To the effluvia emitted from it, fome even ward’s
attribute all the diverfities of weather and change in
our atmofphere J. Ray ||, and other authors, ancient j^^krud-
as well as modern, fuppofe a communication between 1727,
the Cafpian fea and the ocean by means of a fubterra-p.
nean abyfs : and to this they attribute it that the Caf-
pian does not overflow, notwithftanding the great num-c. *>
ber of large rivers it receives, of which Kempfer rec-p, 75.
kons
A B Y
t 49 ]
A B Y
A'byfs,
Abyffinia.
f Cerent
i1 toes.
kons above 45 in the compafs of 60 miles*, though
others fuppofe that the daily evaporation may fuffice to
keep the level.
The different arguments concerning this fubjeft may
be feen colle&ed and amplified in “ Cockburn’s Inquiry
into the Truth and Certainty of the Mofaic Deluge,”
p. 2ji, &c. After all, however, this amazing theory
of a central abyfs is far from being demonftrated ; it
will perhaps in feveral refpefts appear inconfiftent with
found philofophy, as well as repugnant to the pheno¬
mena of nature. In particular, if we believe any thing
like eleftive attraflion to have prevailed in the forma¬
tion of the earth, we muff believe that the feparation
of the chaos proceeded from the union of fimilar par¬
ticles. It is certain that reft is favourable to fuch ope¬
rations of nature. As, therefore, the central parts of
the earth were more immediately quiefcent than thofe
remote from the centre, it feems abfurd to fuppofe that
the heavier and denfer bodies gave place to the more
light and fluid *, that the central part fhould confift of
water only, and the more fuperficial part of a cruft or
{hell. Vid. “ Whitehurft’s Inquiry into the original
Formation of the Strata,” &c. See Deluge.
Abyss is alfo ufed to denote hell; in which fenfe
the word is fynonymus with what is otherwife called
Bcn'cithrum, Erebus, Tartarus; in the Englifh Bible,
the bottomlefs pit. The unclean fpirits expelled by
Chrift, begged, ne imperaret ut in abyjfum irent, ac¬
cording to the vulgate *, £<$ ufivyrov, according to the
Greek, Luke viii. 31. Rev. ix. r.
Abyss is more particularly ufed, in Antiquity, to de¬
note the temple of Proferpine. It was thus called on
accbunt of the immenfe fund of gold and riches depo-
fited there.; forae fay hid under ground.
Abyss is alfo ufed in Heraldry to denote the centre
of an efcutcheon. In which fenfe a thing is faid to be
borne in abyfs, en abyfme, when placed in the middle of
the thield, clear from any other bearing: He bears
azure, a flower de lis, in abyfs.
ABYSSINIA, Abassia, or Upper Ethiopia, in
Geography, an empire of Africa within the torrid zone,
which is comprehended between the 7th and 16th de¬
grees N. Lat. and the 30th and 40th degrees of E.
Long. By fome writers of antiquity the title of Ethio¬
pians was given to all nations whofe complexion was
black ; hence we find the Arabians, as well as many
other Afiatics, fometimes falling under this denomina¬
tion , betides a number of Africans whofe country lay
at a diftance from Ethiopia properly fo called. Thus
the Africans in general were divided into the weftern
or Hefperian Ethiopians, and thofe above Egypt fituat-
ed to the eaft ; the latter being much more generally
known than the former, by reafon of the commerce
they carried on with the Egyptians.
From this account we may eafily underftand Avhy
there thould be fuch a feeming difagreement among
ancient authors concerning the lituation of the empire
of Ethiopia, and likewife why it thould pafs under fuch
a variety of names. Sometimes, for example, it was
named India, and the inhabitants Indians; an appel¬
lation likewife applied to many other diftant nations.
It was alfo denominated Atlantia and Ethria, and in
the moft remote periods of antiquity Cephenia; but
more ufually Abafene, a word fomewhat refembling;
Vol. I. Part I.
AbaJJia or AbyJJinia, its modern names. On the other Ab)ffiiua.
hand, we find Perfia, Chaldaea, Affyria, &c. ftyled v—
Ethiopia by fome writers : and all the countries extend¬
ing along the coafts of the Red fea were promifeuoufly
denominated India and Ethiopia. By the Jews the em¬
pire of Ethiopia was ftyled Cujh and Luditn.
Notwithstanding this diverlity of appellations, and
vaft diffufion of territory aferibed to the Ethiopians,
there was one country to which the title was thought
more properly to belong than to any of the reft 5 and
which was therefore called Ethiopia Propria. This Situation of
was bounded on the north by Egypt, extending all Ethiopia
the way to the lefler cataradl of the Nile, and an iilandPr^r/a-
named Elephantine ; on the weft it had Libya Interior *,
on the eaft the Red fea, and on the fouth unknown
parts of Africa ; though thefe boundaries cannot be fix¬
ed with any kind of precifion.
In this country the ancients diftinguiflied a great va-Different
riety of different nations, to whom they gave names nations ae.
either from fome perfonal circumftance, or from their c,ordinS to
manner of living. The principal of thefe were, 1. Thecjents ~
Blemmyes, feated near the borders of Egypt; and who,
probably from the ftiortnefs of their necks, were faid
to have no heads, but eyes, mouths, &c. in their breafts.
Their form muft have been very extraordinary, if we
believe Vopifcus, who gives an account of fome of the
captives of this nation brought to Rome. 2. The No*
bales, inhabiting the banks of the Nile near the illand
Elephantine already mentioned, faid to have been re¬
moved thither by Oafis to reprefs the incurfions of the
Blemmyes. 3. The Troglodytes, by fome writers faid
'to belong to Egypt, and deferibed as little fuperior to
brutes. 4. The Nubians, of whom little more is known
than their name. 5. The Pigmies, by fome fuppofed
to be a tribe of Troglodytes j but by others placed on
the African coaft of the Red fea. 6. The Aualitce or
Abahtce, of whom we know nothing more than that
they were fituated near the Abalitic gulf. 7. The
Struthiophagi, fo called from their feeding upon of-
triches, were fituated to the fouth of the Memnones.
8. The Acridophagi; 9. Chelonophagi; 10. Ichthyopha-
gi; 11. Cynamolgi; 12. Elephantophagi; 13. Rhixopha-
gi; 14. Sperrnatophagi; 15. Hy/ophagi; and, 16. Ophio-
phagi: all of whom had their names from the food they
made ufe of, viz. locufts, tortoifes, fifti, bitches milk,
elephants, roots, fruits or feeds, and ferpents. 17. The
Hylogones, neighbours to the Elephantophagi, and
who were fo favage that they had no houfes, nor any
other places to deep in but the tops of trees. 18. The
Pamphagi, who ufed almoft every thing indiferimi-
nately for food. 19. The Agriophagi, who lived on
the flefti of wild beafts. 20. The Anthropophagi, or
man-eaters, are now* fuppofed to have been the Caffres,
and not any inhabitants of Proper Ethiopia. 21. The
Hippophagi, or horfe-eaters, who lay to the northward
of Libya Incognita. 22. The Macrobii, a powerful
nation, remarkable for their longevity ; fome of them
attaining the age of 120 years. 23. The Sambri, fi¬
tuated near the city of Tenupfis in Nubia upon the
Nile ; of whom it is reported that all the quadrupeds
they had, not excepting even the elephants, were de-
ftitute of ears. 24. The Afachce, a people inhabiting
the mountainous parts, and continually employed in
hunting elephants. Befides thefe, there were a num-
ber
Abyflima.
Firft fettle-
ment.
Peopled on
ginally
from Ara¬
bia.
Abyflinian
tradition
concerning
it.
Original
habitations
of the
CuQiites.
Defcription
of the city
of Axum.
A B Y [ 5° 1
ber of other nations or tribes, of whom we fearce know longing to a
any thing but the names; as the Gapachi, Ptoem-
phanes, Catadupi, Pechini, Catadrae, &c.
In a country inhabited by fuch a variety of nations,
all in a ftate of extreme barbarifm, it is rather to be
wondered that we have any hiftory at all, than that it
is not more diftinft. It has already been obferyed,
that the Jews, from the authority of the facred writers
no doubt, beftowed the name of Cujh upon the empire
of Ethiopia ; and it is generally agreed that Cufh was
the great progenitor of the inhabitants. In fome paf-
fages of Scripture, however, it would feem that Cufh
was an appellation beftowed upon the whole peninfula
of Arabia, or at leaft the greater part of it. In others,
the word feems to denominate the country watered
by the Araxes, the feat of the ancient Scythians or
Culhitesj and fometimes the country adjacent to Egypt
on the coaft of the Red fea.
A number of authors are of opinion, that Ethiopia
received its firft inhabitants from the country lying to
.the eaft of the Red fea. According to them, the de-
fcendants of Cufh, having fettled in Arabia, gradually
migrated to the fouth-eaftern extremity of that coun¬
try ; whence, by an eafy paflage acrofs the ftraits of
Babelmandel, they tranfported themfelves to the Afri¬
can fide, and entered the country properly called Ethio¬
pia : a migration which, according to Eufebius, took
place during the refidence of the Ifraelites in Egypt j
but, in the opinion of Syncellus, after they had taken
poffeflion of Canaan, and were governed by judges.
Mr Bruce makes mention of a tradition among the
Abyflinians, which, they fay, has exifted among them
fr.on» time immemorial, that very foon after the flood,
Cufh the grandfon of Noah, with his family, paffed
through Atbara, then without inhabitants, till they
came to the ridge of mountains which feparates that
country from the high lands of Abyffinia. Here, ftill
terrified with the thoughts of the deluge, and appre-
henfive of a return of the fame calamity, they chofe
to dwell in caves made in the fides of thofe moun¬
tains, rather than truft themfelves in the plains of At¬
bara ; and our author is of opinion, that the tropical
rains, which they could not fail to meet with in their
journey fouthward, and which would appear like the
return of the deluge, might induce them to take up
their habitations in thefe high places. Be this as it
will, he informs us that it is an undoubted fatt, “ that
here the Cufhites, with unparalleled induftry, and with
inftruments utterly unknown to us, formed to^ them¬
felves commodious, yet wonderful habitations in the
heart of mountains of granite and marble, which re¬
main entire in great numbers to this day, and promife
to do fo till the confummation of all things.”
The Cufhites having once eftablifhed themfelves
among thefe mountains, continued to form habitations
of the like kind in all the neighbouring ones 5 and thus
following the different chains (for they never chofe to
defcend into the low country), fpread the arts and
fciences, which they cultivated, quite acrofs the Afri¬
can continent from the eaftern to the weftern ocean.
According to the tradition above mentioned, they
built the city of Axutn early in the days of Abraham.
This, though now an inconfiderable village, was an¬
ciently noted for its fuperb ftru&ures, of which fome
remains are ftill vifible. Among thefe are fome be-
A B Y
magnificent temple, originally HO feet AbylTima.
in length, and having two wings on each fide; a'
double porch ; and an afcent of 1 2 fteps. Behind this
ftand feveral obelilks of different fizes, with the re¬
mains of feveral others which have been deftroyed by
the Turks. There is alfo a great fquare ftone with an
infcription, but fo much effaced that nothing can be
difcovered excepting lome Greek and Latin letters,
and the word Bafi/ius. Mr Bruce mentions fome
“ prodigious fragments of coloffal ftatues of the dog-
ftar” ftill to be feen at this place ; and “ Seir (adds
he), which, in the language of the Troglodytes, and
in that of the low country of Meroe, exactly corre-
fponding to it, fignifies a dog, inftruas us in the rea-
fon why this province was called Sire, and the large
river which bounds it Sir is.'1'
Soon after building the city of Axum, the Cufhites
founded that of Meroe, the capital of a large ifland or
peninfula formed by the Nile, much mentioned by an¬
cient hiftorians, and where, according to Herodotus,
they purfued the ftudy of aftronomy in very early ages
with great fuccefs. Mr Bruce gives two reafons for Meroe why
their building this city in the low country, after having !ounded‘
built Axum in the mountainous part of Abyffinia.
X. They had difcovered fome inconveniencies in their
caves both in Sire and the country below it, arifing
from the tropical rains in which they were now involv¬
ed, and which prevented them from making the celef-
tial obfervations to which they were fo much addidled.
2. It is probable that they built this city farther from
the mountains than they could have wifhed, in order to
avoid the fly with which the fouthern parts were infefted.
This animal, according to Mr Bruce, who has given
a figure of it, is the moft troublefome to quadrupeds Dcfcription
that can be imagined. He informs us, that it infefts^.P®^
thofe places within the tropical rains where the foil is
black and loamy, and no other place whatever. It is
named %imb (by whom we are not informed), and has
not been defcribed by any other naturalift. It is of a
fize fomewhat larger than a bee, thicker in proportion,
and having broader wings, placed feparate like thofe
of a fly, and quite colourlefs, or without any fpots.
The head is large, with a fharp upper jaw ; at the end
of which is a ftrong pointed hair about a quarter of an
inch long; and the lower jaw has two of thefe hairs :
all of which together make a refiftance to the finger
equal to that of a ftrong hog’s briftle. One or all of
thefe hairs are ufed as weapons of offence to the cattle ;
but what purpofe they anfwer to the animal itfelf, our
author does not fay. So intolerable, however, are its
attacks to the cattle, that they no fooner hear its buz¬
zing, than they forfake their food, and run about till
they fall down with fright, fatigue, and hunger. Even
the camel, though defended by a thick and ftrong- Ikin
with long hair, cannot refift the pundtures of this in-
feft ; which feem to be poifonous, as they produce large
putrid fwellings on the body, head, and legs, which at
laft terminate in death. To avoid this dreadful’enemy,
the cattle muft all be removed as quick as poffible to
the fandy parts of Atbara, where they flay as long as
the rains laft, and where this dreadful enemy never
ventures to follow them. The elephant and rhinoceros,
who, on account of the quantity of food they require,
cannot remove to thefe barren places, roll themfelves
in the mud, which when dry, coats them over fo hard,
that?
A B Y [5
Abyflima. that they are enabled to refill the punaures of the in-
—-V ' Tea ; though even on thefe fome tubercles are gene¬
rally to be met with, which our author attributes to
this caufe. Mr Bruce is of opinion, that this is the tty
mentioned by Ifaiah, chap. vii. 18. 19. “ And it (hall
come to oafs, that in that day the Lord (hall Infs tor
the fly that is in the uttermoft part of the rivers ot h.-
<rypt: and they fliall come and fliall reft all of them in
the defolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and
upon all thorns, and upon all buflies.” ‘ 1 hat is (fays
Mr Bruce), they fliall cut off from the cattle their
ufual retreat to the defert, by taking poffeflion of thefe
places, and meeting them there, where ordinarily they
never come, and which therefore are the refuge of the
Meroe, which lay in N. Lat. l6°, the exaft limit of
the tropical rains, was without the bounds afligned by
nature to thefe deftruaive infeas ; and confequently a
place of refuge for the cattle. Mr Bruce, on his return
through the defert, faw at Gerri, in this latitude, ruins,
fuppofed to be thofe of Meroe, and caves in the moun¬
tains immediately above them*, for he is of opinion,
that they did not abandon their caverns immediately
after they began to build cities. As a proof of this,
he mentions that Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was built
by a colony of Ethiopians j and that near the ruins of
that city, a vaft number of caves are to be feen even
up to the top of a mountain in the neighbourhood : all
of which are inhabited at this day. By degrees, how¬
ever, they began to exchange thefe fubterraneous ha¬
bitations for the cities they built above ground and
thus became farmers, artificers, &c. though originally
their foie employment had been commerce.
Mastufi- °n this fubiea Mr Bruce haS Slv®n a ve,7 curIoUS
cence of differtation though how lar the application of it to the
the ancient Ethiopians may be juft, we cannot pretend to deter-
Indians andmjne>r He begins with obferving, that the magnifi-
EgyPtians- cence of the Indians and Egyptians has been celebrated
from the moft remote antiquity, without any account
of the fources from whence all this wealth tvas derived :
and indeed it muft be ow-ned, that in all hiftories of
thefe people, there is a ftrange deficiency in this re-
fpeft. The kings, we are to fuppofe, derived their
fplendour and magnificence from their fubjedfts ; but we
are quite at a lofs to know whence their fubjefts had
it: and this feems the more ftrange, that in no period
of their hiftory are they ever reprefented in a poor
or mean fituation. Nor is this difficulty confined to
thefe nations alone. Paleftine, a country producing
neither filver nor gold, is reprefented by the facred
writers as abounding in the early ages wTith both thofe
metals in a much greater proportion than the moft
powerful European ftates can boaft of, notwithftanding
the vaft fupplies derived from the lately difcovered con¬
tinent of America. The Affyrian empire, in the time
of Semiramis, was fo noted for its wealth, that M.
Montefquieu fuppofes it to have been obtained by the
conqueft of fome more ancient and richer nation > the
fpoils of which enriched the Affyrians, as thofe of the
latter afterwards did the Medes. This, however, Mr
Bruce very juftly obferves, will not remove the diffi¬
culty, becaufe we are equally at a lofs to know whence
the wealth w7as derived to that former nation and it
is very unufual to find an empire or kingdom of any
extent enriched by conqueft. The kingdom of Mace-
Abyffinis.
i ] A B Y
don, for inftance, though Alexander the Great over¬
ran and plundered in a very fhort time the richeft ena-
pire in the world, could never vie with the wealth o^
Tyre and Sidon. Thefe laft were commercial cities ;
and our author juftly confiders commerce as the only
fource from whence the wealth of a large kingdom ever
was or could be derived. The riches of Semiramis,
therefore, were accumulated by the Eaft India trade
centering for fome time in her capital. While this
was fuffered to remain undifturbed, the empire flourifti-
ed : but by an abfurd expedition againft India itfelf,
in order to become miftrefs at once of all the w7ealth it
contained, ftie loft that which ihe really poffeffed ", and
her empire was foon after entirely ruined. To the
fame fource he attributes the riches of the ancient E-
gyptians} and is of opinion, that Sefoftris opened up
to Egypt the commerce with India by fea y though
other authors fpeak of that monarch in very different
terms. As the luxuries of India have fomehow or
other become the objefls of defire to every nation. in
the world, this eafily accounts for the wealth for which
Egypt has in all ages been fo much celebrated, as well
as for that with which other countries abounded -, while
they ferved as a medium for tranfmitting thofe luxuries
to other nations, and efpecially for the riches of thofe
which naturally produced the Indian commodities fo
much fought after. I his Avas the cafe particularly
with Arabia, fome of the produaions of which \yere
very much coveted by the weftern nations y and being,
befides, the medium of communication between the
Eaft Indies and Aveftern nations, it is eafy to fee Ayhy
the Arabian merchants foon became poffeffed of im-
menfe wealth. > ^ n •
Befides the territories already mentioned, the Cuihites
had extended themfelves along the mountains Avhich
run parallel to the Red fea on the African fide $
Avhich country, according to Mr Bruce, has “ in all
times been called Sabo, or Axabo, both which fignify
South; an epithet given from its lying to the fouth-
ward of the Arabian gulf, and which in ancient times
was one ef the richeft and moft important countries in
the world. “ By that acquifition (fays our author),
they enjoyed all the perfumes and aromatics in the
eaft ; myrrh, and frankincenfe, and caffia 5 all Avhich
grow fpontaneoufly in that ftripe of ground from the
bay of Bilur Aveft of Azab to Cape Gardafui, and
then fouthward up in the Indian ocean, to near the
coaft of Melinda, Avhere there is cinnamon, but of an
inferior kind.” As the Cuftiites or Troglodytes ad¬
vanced ft ill farther fouth, they met not only with moun¬
tains, in Avhich they might excavate proper habitations,
but likeAvife Avith great quantities of gold and filver
furnifhed by the mines of Sofala, Avhich, our author
fays, furniflied “ large quantities of both metals, in
their pure and unmixed ftate, lying in globules Avith-
out any alloy or any neceffity of preparation or fepa-
ration.” In other parts of his Avork, he labours to
prove Sofala to have been the Ophir mentioned in
Scripture.
Thus the Ethiopians, for fome time after their fet-TTie Ethio-
dement, according to Mr Bruce, muft have been aPiansat
nation of the firit importance in the world. The
northern colonies from Meroe to Thebes built cities. iearn€i
and made improvements in architecture; cultivated people,
commerce, agriculture, and the arts ; not forgetting
G 2 the
A B Y [ 52 ] A B Y
, yain-.a.. tdc Icience of agronomy, for which they had an ex-
v cellent opportunity by reafon of the clearntfs of the
iky in tire Thebaid. Their brethren farther to the
iouth, or thofe who inhabited Ethiopia properly fo
called, were confined for fix months to their caves by
reafon of the tropical rains, whence they were natural-
* s ly led to purfuits of another kind. “ Letters**, at lead
J' one kmd of them, and arithmetical charadlers (we are
told), were invented by this middlc^part of the Culhites j
while trade and aftronomy, the natural hiftory of the
winds and feafons, were wdiat neceffarily employed that
part of the colony eftablidied at Sofala mod to the
fouth ward.”
^^hile the Cufiiites were thus employed at home in
pian shep- co^ie<^ing g0l^_ gathering and preparing fpices, &c.
herds. thefe commodities wrere fent abroad into other coun¬
tries by another fet of people, named Shepherds, who
aided as carriers to them, and who afterwards proved
fo formidable to the Egyptians. Thefe differed in
their appearance from the Ethiopians, having long
hair, and the features of Europeans ; and were of a
very dark complexion, though not at all like the black-
moors or negroes. They lived in the plain country
in huts or moveable habitations, attending their cattle,
and -wandering up and down as various circumdances
required. By acting as carriers to the Cufhites, they
became a great and powerful people, pofleding vad
numbers of cattle, as well as a very confiderable ex¬
tent of territory. They poffefled a dripe of land along
the Indian ocean •, and to the northward of that, ano¬
ther along the Red fea : but their principal habita¬
tion was the flat part of Africa between the northern
tropic and the mountains of Abyflinia, which country
is now called Beja. This reaches from Mafuah along
the fea-coad to Suakem ; then turns wed ward, and
continues in that dire&ion, having the Nile on the
fouth, the tropic of Cancer on the north, with the
deferts of Selima and Libya on the wed. The next
didriid belonging to thefe people was Meroe, now
called Atbara, lying between the rivers Nile and Ada-
boras. A third didridf, now called Derkin, is a fmall
plain lying between the river Mareb on the ead, and
Atbara on the wed. But the mod noble and warlike
of all the Shepherds were thofe who poffefled the
mountains of Habab, reaching from the neighbourhood
of Mafuah to Suakem j which diflridt is dill inhabited
by them.
Different Thefe Shepherds, according to our author, were di-
dinguidied by feveral different appellations, which may
be fuppofed to denote different degrees of rank among
them. Thofe called limply Shepherds, our author fup-
pofes to have been the common fort who attended the
flocks. Another fet were called Hycfos or Agfos, dig¬
nifying “ armed fhepherds,” who are fuppofed to have
been the foldiers. A third were named Agag, fuppofed
to be the chiefs or nobles of thefe armed fhepherds •,
whence the title of king of kings, according to Mr
Bruce, is derived •, and he fuppofes Agag killed by Sa¬
muel to have been an Arabian fliepherd.
The building of Carthage augmented the power of
the Shepherds to a confiderable degree, by reafon of
the vafl: quantity of carriage naturally belonging to a
place of %ch extenfive commerce, and which fell into
the hands of the Lehabim, Lubim, or Libyan pea-
fants. An immenfe multitude of camels, in the early
ages, anfwered the purpofe of navigation : and thus Abjffini*.
we find that commerce was carried on by the Ifhmael-  v-—J
ites as early as the days of Jofeph, from the fouthern
extremity of the Arabian peninfula. Thefe Shep- Reafon of
herds, however, though generally the friends and alliest]ie enmhy
of the Egyptians, who were alfo Cufiiites, fo me times
proved very bitter enemies to them, as is relate*! in
the hiflory of that country. The reafon of this may Egyptian*
be deduced from the great oppafition betwixt their
manners and cuftoms. The Egyptians worfhipped
black cattle, which the Shepherds killed and ufed as
food ; the latter worfhipped the heavenly bodies, while
the Egyptians were the grofleft idolaters, and worfhip¬
ped idols of all kinds that can be imagined. Hence
a mere difference in religion might occafion many
bloody quarrels j though, if the above account can be
depended upon as authentic, it is natural to imagine
that the mutual connexion of interefts fliould have ce¬
mented their friendfhip, whatever difference there might
happen to be in opinions of any kind.
Befides the Culhites and Shepherds, however, we Origin of
mufl now feek for the origin of thofe different nations t,ie hffer-
whieh have already been mentioned. Mr Bruce allows ent
that there are various nations inhabiting this country,
who are fairer than either the Cuihites or the Shep¬
herds, and which, though they have each a particular
name, are all known by the general title of Habejk ;
which may be tranflated by the Latin word convener,
fignifying a number of diftindl people meeting acciden¬
tally in one place ; and which our author maintains
againfl Scaliger, Ludolf, and a number of others, to be
a very juft tranflation, and quite confonant to the hi¬
ftory of the country.
The moft authentic ancient hiftory of this country, Fiiff fettle-
according to Mr Bruce, is the chronicle of Axum ; ment of
the charafter of which, among the modern Abyflinians, Ethiopia,,
ftands next to the facred writings themfelves 5 and t^the rvl
confequently muft be efteemed the higheft Abyflinian byffinian
authority we have on the fubjedf. According to this hiftory*
book, there wfas an interval of 5500 years between
the creation of the world and the birth of Chrift j
1808 years before which laft event the empire of A-
byftinia or Ethiopia received its firft inhabitants.
Two hundred years after its fettlement, it was fo de-The coun-
ftroyed by a flood that it received the name of Cure'^y
Midra, or a country laid wafte ; “ or (fays our author) ^ a
as it is called in Scripture, a land which the waters or " °
floods had fpoi/edfl (Ifaiah xviii. 2.). The peopling
of the country was finifhed about 1400 years before
Chrift, by the fettlement of a great number of people,
fpeaking different languages, who fat down peaceably
in the high lands of Tigre, in the neighbourhood of
the Shepherds, with whom they were in friendlhip.
Thefe people, according to tradition, came from Pa-
leftine ; and our author is inclined to believe the whole
of the relation to be true, as the time coincides wfith
the expulfion of the Canaanitilh nations by jolhua,
which happened about 1490 B. C. ten years before
which there had been, according to Paufanias, a flood
in Ethiopia which occafioned prodigious devaftation.
Ethiopia, be thinks, would afford the moft ready afy-
lum for the fugitive Canaanites, as they muft have
long had a commercial intercourfe with that country j
and he fupports the opinion like wife from what Proco¬
pius mentions of ttvo pillars extant in his time, on the
coaft
Abyffinia.
Ethiopia
conquered
by Mofes.
A B Y [
coaft of Mauritania, with the following infcription. in
the Phoenician language : “ We are Canaamtes tlying
from the face of Jolhua the fon of Nun, the robben
The authenticity of thefe infcriptions, however, is
much difputed, and therefore it cannot go a great
way in eftabliihing any hiftorical point. 1 he firft and
inofl confiderable of the colonies above mentioned
fettled in the province of Amhara the fecond in Da-
mot one of the fouthern provinces; the third in an¬
other province called La/Ia, or Tc/ieratz-^goiv,^ from
Tc/iera their principal habitation ; and a fourth in the
territory of Galat. , _ . . .
Our author goes on to prove, that the Ethiopians in
ancient times were not only the mod learned people
in the world, but that they fpoke the original lan¬
guage, and were the inventors of writing. In what
manner they came to degenerate from this character,
and into their prefent date of barbarity, cannot be
known •> this being a phenomenon equally unaccount¬
able with the degeneracy of the Egyptians. Accord¬
ing to fome authors, the Ethiopians were conquered
by Mofes ; of which tranfadion we have the follow¬
ing account. Before the time of that legiflator, the
Ethiopians poffeffed the country of Thebais in Egypt :
but not content with this, they made an irruption
into Lower Egypt, and penetrated as far. as Mem¬
phis; where, having defeated the Egyptians, they
threatened the kingdom with total dedruaion. I. he
Egyptians, by the advice of their oracles, put Moles at
the head of their forces 5 who immediately prepared for
3 ] A B Y
Sheba, who came to vifit the Jewifh monarch, and
whom the Abyflinians fuppofe to have been Sovereign
of Ethiopia Propria 5 but Mr Bruce is of opinion that queen
die was only fovereign of that territory on the eadern Sheba,
coad of Africa named Scbn, which he fays ought to
be her title in dead of S/iebn. In favour of this opi¬
nion, he likewife urges, that it was cudomary for the
Sabeans, or inhabitants of the African didrict named
Saba, to be governed by women ; whereas thofe who
inhabited the oppofite fide of the Arabian gulf, and
who were named Sabccctn /irabs or Hotnentes, were not
only governed by kings, but would not allow theii
fovereigns to go abroad anywhere under pain of being
doned to death. The Abyflinians, as has been already
hinted, claimed her for their fovereign-, and he intorms
us, that having receivt d an account from d amerin, an E-
thiopian merchant, of the furprifing wifdom and wealth
of Solomon, flie undertook the journey mentioned in
Scripture, to afeertain the truth of the report. In
this die was attended by a great many of her nobility,
carrying along with her alfo magnificent prefents for
the monarch die intended to vifit. Accordirtg to the
Abyflinian hidorians, die was a Pagan at the time this
journey was undertaken $ but being druck with ad¬
miration at the fight of Solomon’s grandeur, and the
wifdom he difplayed, die became a convert to the true
religion. Another part of her hidory, by no means
inconfident with the character of Solomon, is, that die
returned in a date of pregnancy and within a year
« • • y e (*• 1 _ * .7 1 O . 1 n. Lv
invading the enemy’s country. The Ethiopians ima¬
gined that he would march along the banks of the
Nile ; but Mofes chofe rather to pafs through fome of
the interior countries, though greatly infeded with fer-
pents, and where confequently his march mud be at¬
tended with much danger. To preferve his men, he
condrufted a number of cheds or panniers of the
Egyptian reed papyrus, which he filled with the birds
named Ibis, celebrated for their antipathy to ferpents.
As foon as he approached the traft abounding with
thefe reptiles, a fufficient number of the birds were
let out, who prefently cleared the way for the army
by dedroying the ferpents. Thus the Ethiopians
were furprifed in their own country, where they had
dreaded no invafion their forces, being defeated in
the field, were at lad (hut up in the capital Meroe, a
city almod impregnable, by being furrounded with
three rivers, the Nile, Adapus, and Adaboras. The
daughter of the Ethiopian monarch, however, having
an opportunity of feeing Mofes from the walls., fell in
love with him, and offered to deliver up the. city, pro¬
vided he would fwear to marry her. With this re-
♦quifition the Jewifh legiflator complied 5 but treated
the inhabitants with great feverity, plundering the
city, and putting many of the inhabitants to death.
After this he ravaged the whole country, difmantling
all the places of drength ; and having thus rendered the
Ethiopians incapable of attempting any thing again.d
other nations for a confiderable time, he returned in
triumph to Egypt, after an abfence of ten years.
From the time of Mofes to that of Solomon, there
is a chafm in the Ethiopic hidory. After this, how¬
ever, we are furnilhed with fome kind of regular ac¬
counts. The hidory commences with the queen of
was delivered of a fon, named David by Solomon 5 but
by his mother Menilek, Menc/ec/i, or Menelcheck; that is,
another felf. When he grew up he was fent to be edu¬
cated at the court of his father Solomon \ where having
daid fome time, he was accompanied home by many
doctors of the law, and other Ifraelites of didindfion,
particularly Azariah the fon of Zadoc the high-pried.
By thefe the Jewifh religion was edablifhed in Abyffinia,
where it continued till the introdudtion of Chridlanity.
The princefs we fpeak of is named Maeeda, B a Ikes, or
Bulkis, by the Abyflinians. By our Saviour, and in the
Ethlopie verfion of the Scripture, fhe is dyled The ^ueen
of thie'South, and is faid to have come from the uttermod
parts of the earth, or of the habitable world. Hence
the compilers of the Univerfal Hidory have inferred,
that the princefs dyled Ihie^ueen of Sheba in. Scripture
was really fovereign of Ethiopia. “ Ethiopia .(fsy
they) is more to the fouth of Judaea than the territoiy
or "kingdom of Saba in Arabia Felix j confequently
has a better claim than that country for the dominions
of the princefs whom our Saviour calls The ^ueen of
the South. Ethiopia is dyled the remotejlpart of the ha¬
bitable world by Herodotus and Strabo; and therefore
better agrees with what our Saviour has faid of the
queen of Sheba, that die came from ‘ the uttermod
parts of the earth,’ than Arabia. Nor can it be deem¬
ed a fufficient reply to this argument, that Arabia
Felix was the uttermoft part of the earth in refpedl to
Judma, fince it was bounded by the Red fe.a : for that
not only Egypt, but even Ethiopia, regions beyond
that fea, were known .to and had a communication
with the Jews, both before and in our Saviour’s time,
is indifputably clear. Laffly, From what has been
fuggeded, it appears no improbable conjeidure, that
Judaifm was not only knpwn, at lead in a part of
A B Y [
Ab)ffiaia.^ Ethiopia, but nearly related to the eftablillied religion
v ~ there, at the beginning of the apoftolic age, if not
much earlier. After all, thefe two opinions, fo con¬
trary in appearance, may be made confiftent without
= great difficulty 5 fmce it is agreed, that Arabia and
Ethiopia have anciently borne the fame name, been
included during certain intervals in one empire, and
governed by one prince. Part of the Arabs and
Ethiopians had the fame origin, and very confider-
able numbers of the Abafeni tranfported themfelves
from Arabia Felix into Ethiopia ; a circumftance
which fufficiently proves the intercourfe that formerly
fubfifted between the Cuffiites or Ethiopians of Alia
and Africa.
The Abyffinian hiftorians farther inform us, that the
young prince Menilek was anointed and crowned king
in the temple of Jerufalem, before he returned to his
own country j that Azariah was conftituted high-prieft ;
that he brought with him a Hebrew tranfcript of the
law ; and though this book is now loft, having been
burnt along with the church of Axum, the office is ftill
continued in the line of Azariah, whofe fuccelfors are
ftyled Nebrits, high priejls, or keepers of the church, in
that city ; both church and ftate being modelled ex-
aftly after that of Jerufalem. Makeda continued to
enjoy the fovereignty for 40 years ; and the laft aft of
her reign was to fettle the fucceffion to the throne.
By this aft the crown was declared hereditary in the
family of Solomon for ever ; it was alfo determined,
that after her no woman ffiould be entitled to wear the
crown or aft as fovereign of the country ; but that
the fovereignty ffiould defcend to the moft diftant heirs
male, rather than to the females, however near 5 which
two articles were to be confidered as fundamental laws
of the empire, not to be aboliflied. Laftly, That the
male heirs of the royal family ffiould always be fent
prifoners to a high mountain, where they were to be
confined till they ffiould be called to the throne, or as
long as they lived. This cuftom, according to Mr Bruce,
w'as peculiar to Abyffinia; the neighbouring Shepherds
being accuftomed to have women for their fovereigns,
which prevailed in the laft century, and perhaps does fo
at prefent.
Makeda having eftabliffied thefe laws in fuch a man¬
ner as not to be revocable, died in the year 986 B. C.
The tranfaftions of her fon Menilek after his acceffion
are not pointed out, farther than that he removed his
capital to Tigre. His reign can by no means be ac¬
counted profperous j fince in his time the empire was
invaded by Shifliak or Sefak the king of Egypt, who
plundered the temple of Jerufalem under Rehoboam.
Ethiopia The like fate attended a rich temple which had been
conquered built at Saba the capital of the Ethiopian empire, and
by Shilhak.
which might very probably occafion the removal of the
imperial feat to Tigre, as already mentioned. It is
indeed pretty plain from Scripture, that Ethiopia, or
great part of it, was fubjeft to this monarch ; as the
Ethiopians or CuQiites, mentioned in his army which
invaded Judea, are joined with the Lubim or Iftby-
ans, and muft therefore be accounted inhabitants of
Ethiopia Proper. This is indeed no fmall confirma¬
tion of the opinion of Sir Ifaac Newton, who agrees
with Jofephus in fuppofing Shiffiak to have been the
celebrated Sefoftris of profane hiflorians. Thus far
we are certain, that in the palfage of Scripture juft
54 ] A B Y
now alluded to, the facred hiftorian indireftly afcribes Abyffinxs
the fovereignty of Ethiopia to Shiffiak ; and we do —y-
not find it anywhere hinted that another Egyptian
monarch was poflefled of this fovereignty. Herodotus
alfo plainly tells us, that Sefoftris was matter of Ethi¬
opia, and that no other Egyptian but himfelf ever
polfelfed that empire.
During the reign of Shiffiak, we know no parti-Revojut;0J
culars concerning the Ethiopians j but after his death, after the
Sir Ifaac Newton is of opinion, that they defended of
Egypt againft the Libyans, who had taken an oppor-shifliak*
tunity of invading the country during the civil war
which took place on the death of that great conqueror.
In about ten years afterwards, however, according to
the fame author, they became aggrelfors ; drowned the
fuccefior of Shiffiak in the Nile, and feized on the
whole kingdom ; at which time Libya alfo fell into their
hands. In the time of Afa king of Judah, we find the
combined hoft of the Ethiopians and Lubim or Li¬
byans, making an attack on the territories of that
prince, to the number of more than a million. This Defeat of
may be reckoned a confiderable confirmation of theZerahby
piece of hiftory juft mentioned j as it is not eafy toAfakin&
conceive how the two fliould combine in fuch a man-°f Judal1*
ner, unlefs Zerah was mafter of both. The total over¬
throw which the allied army received from Afa, gave
the inhabitants of Lower Egypt an opportunity of re¬
volting ; who being fuftained by an army of 20,000
auxiliaries from Phoenicia and Paleftine, obliged Mem-
non, fuppofed to be the fame with Amenophis, to re¬
tire to Memphis. Soon after this he was forced to
leave Egypt altogether, and to retire into Ethiopia j
but in about 13 years he returned with his fon Ra-
mafles at the head of a powerful army, and obliged the
Canaanitiffi forces to retire out of Lower Egypt $ a
tranfaftion denominated by the Egyptian writers the
fecond expulfon of the Shepherds.
Sir Ifaac Newton is of opinion, that the Egyptian ofM
princes Ment s, Memnon, and Amenophis, were the and his fuo
fame perfon ; and that by him Memphis was eitherceffors.
originally built or firft fortified, in order to prevent
the Egyptians from entering Ethiopia. He is alfo
fuppofed to have been the fon of Zerah, and to have
died at a very advanced age about 90 years after the
deceafe of Solomon. Thus, according to Sir Ifaac
Newton’s chronology, the moft remarkable tranfac-
tions of antiquity will be brought lower by ages than
by the ufually received computations. According to
this, the Argonautic expedition happened in the time
of Amenophis j though fome Greek writers inform us,
that the fame prince affifted Priam king of Troy with
a body of forces. He was fucceeded by Ramaffes, al¬
ready mentioned, who built the northern portico of the
temple of Vulcan at Memphis. The next was Moeris *,
who adorned Memphis, and made it the capital of his
empire, about trvo generations after the Trojan war.
Cheops, Caphrenus, and Mycerinus, fucceeded in order
to Moeris ; the laft being fucceeded by his fitter Ni-
tocris. In the reign of Afychis her fucceffor, both
Ethiopia and Affyria revolted from Egypt ; which,
being now divided into feveral fmall kingdoms, was
quickly fubdued by Sabacon or So, the emperor of
Ethiopia. This monarch, foon after his acceffion to
the throne of Egypt, allied himfelf with Hoffiea king
of Ifrael 5 by which means the latter was induced to
revolt
A B
Ab)ffin>a-
Y [ 55 ] A B 1
and in confequence of this, whole of Ins anfv^r was fo contemptuou^and^lifguft. ^^yfunu.
Sennache-
lib defeat¬
ed by Se-
thon.
Ethiopia
fubdued by
Efarhad-
don.
Unfuccefs-
ful expedi¬
tion of
Gambyfes
againft this
country.
revolt from the Aflyrian, 7 . rr -. . ct .
an end was put to the kingdom of Ifrael by bhalma-
nefer king of Affyria, in the 24th year of the era of
Nabonaffar, and 720th before the commencement of
the Chridian era. According to Herodotus, this mo¬
narch voluntarily refigned the crown of Egypt after he
had enjoyed it 50 years ; but Africans relates, that
after - reign of eight years, he died in Egypt, in the
ninth year of Hezekiah king of Judah. His fucccflor
Sethon, fuppofed to be the Sevechus of Manetho, ad¬
vanced to Pelufium with a powerful army againft Sen¬
nacherib king of Affyria*, when the bowftrings of the
Affyrians were gnawed in pieces by a great number of
rats and mice, and thus they were eafily defeated with
great {laughter by the Egyptians. Hence Herodotus
informs us, that the ftatue of Sethon which he faw in
Egypt had a moufe in its hand. Sir Ifaac Newton,
however, explains the whole in an allegorical manner.
As the moufe among the Egyptians was a fymbol of
deftruaion, he conje'aures, that the Affyrians were on
this occafion overthrown with great {laughter 5 and
that Sethon, in conjunaion with I erhakah, eitlier king
of the Arabian Cufhites, or a relation of Setbon, and
his viceroy in Ethiopia Proper, furprifed and defeated
Sennacherib betwixt Libnah and Pelufium, making
as great {laughter among his troops as if their ftiield-
ftraps and bowftrings had been deftroyed by mice.
In the 78th year of the era of Nabonaffar, the em¬
pire of Ethiopia was fubdued by Efarhaddon king of
Affyria', who held it three years, commitUng enor¬
mous cruelties both in that country and in Egypt.
After his death the Ethiopians {hook off the yoke, and
maintained their independency till the time of Cyrus
the Great, the firft king of Perfia ', who, according to
the Greek hiftorian Xenophon, feems to have alfo.been
fovereign of Ethiopia. After his death they revolted,
and his fon Cambyfes untuccefsfully attempted to re¬
duce them. Herodotus informs us, that before he un-
detook this expedition, he fent feme of the Ichthyo-
phagi ambaffadors to the king of the Macrobii or long-
Jived Ethiopians, under pretence of foliciting his friend-
ftiip, but in reality to obferve the ftrength of the coun¬
try. Of this the Ethiopian prince was aware, and told
the ambaffadors that he knew their defign, reproached
Cambyfes with his injuftice and ambition, and gave
them his bow ; telling them at the fame time, that the
Perfians might think of invading Ethiopia when they
could eafily bend it; and in the mean time, that their
mailer ought to thank the gods who had never in-
fpired the Ethiopians with a defire of extending their
territories by conqueft. Cambyfes had fent by the
ambaffadors a rich purple robe, gold bracelets, a box
of precious ointment, a veffel full of palm wine, and
other things, which he imagined would be acceptable
to the Ethiopian monarch. But all thefe, excepting
the wine, were defpifed. This, he owned, was fuperior
to any liquor produced in Ethiopia', and he did not
feruple to intimate, that the Perfians, fhort-lived as
they were, owed moft of their days to the ufe of this
excellent liquor. Being informed by the ambaffadors
that a coFifiderable part of the food made ufe of by
the Perfians was bread, he faid that it was no wonder
to find people who lived on dung unable to attain the
longevity of the Macrobian Ethiopians. In {hort, the
ing, that Cambyfes was filled with the greateft indig¬
nation ', in confequence of which, he inftantly began
his march without taking time to make the neceffary
preparations, or even to procure provifions of any kind
for his army. Thus a famine enfued among them j
which at laft became fo grievous, that the foldiers were
obliged to eat one another: and Cambyfes hirofelf,
finding his life in great danger, was obliged to give
orders for marching back again 5 which was not ac-
compliftied without the lofs of a great number of men.
Another army which he fent on an expedition againft:
Ammonia, in order to deftroy the celebrated oracle of
Jupiter Ammon, perifhed entirely in the deferts, being
overwhelmed with the vaft clouds of fand frequently
raifed there by the wind.
At this time, it is doubtful whether Cambyfes would Ethiopia at
have accompliflied his purpofe even if he had found it tins time a
practicable to march into the heart of Ethiopia. ThisP0W«ful
empire had but a fliort time before received a very uaiPire'
confiderable acceffion of ftrength by the defertion of
240,000 Egyptians who had been polled by Pfamme-
nitus in different places on the frontiers. Ihefe not
having been relieved for three years, had gone over at
once to the emperor of Ethiopia, who placed them in
a country difaffeCted to him; ordering them to expel
the inhabitants, and take poffeffion of their lands. Not-Ethiopia
withftanding this, however, Sir Ifaac Newton hints,fuppofed by
that Cambyfes conquered Ethiopia, about the 223d or^.^^^
224th year of the era of Nabonaffar j but his 0pini°n have been
in this refpeCt does not appear to be well founded. conquered
We are told, indeed, that the Perfian monarch, not- by Camby-
withftanding the misfortunes he met with in the expe-fes-
dition above mentioned, did really make himfelf ma-
fter of fome of the Ethiopic provinces xvhich bordered
on Egypt ; and that thefe, together with the Troglo¬
dytes, fent him an annual prefent of two chcenixes of
unrefined gold, 200 bundles of ebony, five Ethiopian
boys, and 20 elephants teeth of the largeft fize : but
it appears improbable to the laft degree, that even
though Cambyfes had employed the whole of his reign
in the attempt, he could have conquered the vaft re¬
gions of Ethiopia Proper, Sennaar, and Abaflia, which
were all included in the Ethiopia of the ancients.
When Xerxes invaded Greece, we find his army, Ethiopians
according to Herodotus, was partly compofed of Ethi- „
opians, of whom Herodotus mentions two diftinft races ^
of people. One of thefe inhabited the Afiatic. coaft,
and differed from the Indians only in their hair and
language. Their arms were the fame with thofe of
India; they wore helmets made of the {kins of horfes,
the ears and manes of which ferved them for tufts and
plumes of feathers; their fhields being made of the
Huns of cranes. The hair of the Afiatic Ethiopians
was long, but that of the weftern tribes was frizzled.
The latter were alfo differently armed, having darts
lighted at one end and covered with leather. We are
n«t informed particularly from what nations thefe
troops were brought, nor whether they were natural
fubjefts of the king of Perfia, or only auxiliaries: of
confequence we can conclude nothing certain concern¬
ing the dominion of the Perfian monarchs at this time
over Ethiopia, further than that they might poffefs
fome of the provinces next to Egypt; while the main
body
. A B Y t 5<5 ]
y in!a- body of the empire being in a flate of independence, laft to retire
and unconnefted with other parts of the world, is not
taken notice of by the hiftorians of thofe times.
Though Alexander the Great had a defire to know
the lources of the Nile, he did not fuffer himfelf to be
diverted by this curiofity from purfuing his grand ex-
fon'uered PeditIon into Perfia* Ptolemy Euergetes, however,
byHptolemy aPPears to have carried this curiofity to fuch an extre-
Euergetej. mby as to invade Ethiopia for no other purpofe. It
is furprifing that the particulars of this expedition are
not recorded by any hiflorian, as it appears by an in-
fcription that he penetrated to the farthefl parts of the
empire, and conquered the molt powerful nations in it.
Of this we have the following account, which is looked
upon by the beft hiftorians to be authentic. It was
copied on the fpot (being the weftern entrance to A-
-•dule, one of the cities @f Ethiopia) by Cofmas Egypti-
us, or, as fome call him, Cofmas Indicopleuftes, in the
time of the emperor Juftin I. by order of Elefbaan
king of the Axumites, and of which the following ac¬
count is given by the perfon who copied it. ‘{ Here
(fays he), facing the road to Axuma, flood a chair of
white marble, confifting of a fquare bafe, a fmall thin
column at each angle of this bafe, with a larger
wreathed one in the middle, a leat or throne upon
thefe, a back and two fides. Behind this chair there
was a large done three cubits high, which had fuftain-
ed eonfiderable injury from time. This ftone and
chair ’ contained an infcription to the following pur¬
pofe : ‘ Ptolemy Euergetes penetrated to the fartheft
parts of Ethiopia. He fubdued Gaza, Agame, Signe,
Ava, Piamo or Tziamo, Gambela, Zingabene, An-
gabe, liama, Athagaos, Calaa, Semene, Lafine, Zaa,
Gabala, Atalino, Bega, the Tangaitae, Anine, Metine,
Sefea, Raufo, Solate, the territory of Raufo, and feve-
ral other kingdoms. Among the nations he reduced,
were fome inhabiting mountains always covered with
a deep fnow ; and others feated upon the ridges of hills,
from whence iiTued boiling fleams, and craggy preci¬
pices, which therefore feemed inaccefiible. Having
finally, after all thefe conquefts, affembled his whole
army at Adule, he facrificed to Mars, Neptune, and
Jupiter j for his great fuccefs, he dedicated this chair
or throne to Mars.”
Conqueft , From the time of this conqueror to that of the em-
of Ethiopia peror Auguftus, we meet with nothing of any confe-
mms.e 1 °’ A1161106 re.lating to Ethiopia Proper. The Roman
forces having about this time been drawn out of E-
gypt, in order to invade Arabia, Candace queen of E-
thiopia, or perhaps rather of the illand or peninfula of
Meroe, took the opportunity of their abfence to make
an irruption, with a numerous army, into the province
of Thebais. As there was at that time no force to
oppofc her, ftie met for fome time with great fuccefs •,
but hearing at laft that Petronius, governor of Egypt,
was in full march to attack her, ftie retired into her
own dominions. Petronius purfued her as far as
Pfelcha, where with 10,000 men he gained an eafy
vi&ory over 30,000 undifciplined Ethiopian favages,
armed only with poles, hatchets, and other clumfy or
infignificant weapons of a fimilar nature. This vic¬
tory was foon followed by the reduftion of feveral
fortrefles ; however, as the Roman foldiers were ex-
Qeflively incommoded by the heat of the climate, Pe¬
tronius, notwithflanding his fuccefs, w^as obliged at
A B Y
_ Soon after, Candace fent ambaffadors Abvfiin^;
to Auguftus himfelf with fuch magnificent prefents, t~~*~v
that the emperor is faid ,to have been thereby induced
to grant her a peace on her own terras. From this
time the Romans accounted themfelves mafters of
Ethiopia. Auguftus was complimented on the great
glory he had acquired 5 and that he had, by reducing
a country till that time unknown even to the Romans,
finilhed the conqueft of Africa. No material altera¬
tion, however, took place in the affairs of Meroe, in
confequence of this conqueft, whether real or pretend¬
ed. Pliny informs us that it had been governed by
queens, who bore the title of Candace, for feveral ge¬
nerations before that time 5 and fo it continued to be
afterwards, as wTe learn from Scripture, where we are
informed that, in the reign of Tiberius, the fovereign
of Ethiopia was ftill named Candace. Some indeed
are of opinion that the Candace mentioned in the Adis
of the Apoftles was the fame with her who had been
conquered by Auguftus ; but this feems by no means
probable, as the interval of time is by far too long to
be allowed for the reign of a fingle princefs.
From an anecdote of the debauched emperor Helio-
gabolus who was accuftomed to confine his favourites,
by way of diverfion, with old Ethiopian women, we
may learn that fome intercourfe took place between
the two empires, and probably that the Ethiopians
owned fome kind of fubjedion to the Romans. The
Blemmyes, a gang of monftrous banditti, w ho inhabit- Account el
ed the frontiers of Thebais, were vanquiflred by the em-the Blem-
peror Probus : but, towards the clofe of the third cen-m>'es*
tury, we find them again become fo powerful, that in
conjundion with another nation called Nobatce, who
inhabited the banks of the Nile near Upper Egypt,
they committed fuch depredations in the Roman ter-
-ritories, that Dioclefian w’as obliged to aflign lands to
the latter, and to pay both of them a confiderable fum
annually, to defift from their former pradices. Thefe
expedients did not anfwer the purpofe *, the favages
continued their depredations till the time of the em¬
peror .Tuftinian, who treated them with more feverity,
and obliged them to remain at peace. We are told by
Procopius, that before the time of Dioclefian, the Ro¬
man territories extended fo far into Ethiopia, that their
boundaries were not 23 days journey from the capital,
fo that probably the whole empire had been in a ftate
of dependence on them.
From the time of this emperor to that of their con-
verfion to Chriftianity, we find nothing remarkable in
the hiftory of the Ethiopians. Three hundred and
twenty feven years are counted from the time of our
Saviour to that of Abreha and Atzbeha, or from A-
bra and Afba, who enjoyed the kingdom when the
gofpel was preached in Ethiopia by Frumentius. This £^^^5
man was a kinfman and companion of a philofopher converted
named Meropius, a native of l yre ; w'ho having tra-t0 Chrifti-
veiled all over India, died on an ifland of the Red fea. anity by
After his death Frumentius, with another named AE-^™men'
defius, who had alfo been his companion, were brought
before the king of Ethiopia, to whom that ifland was
fubjeft. He took them into his fervice ; making the
one his treafurer and the other his butler. On the
death of this prince, the queen conceived fuch a favour
for them, that ftie refufed to allow them to depart out
of the kingdom j but committed the management of
her
A B Y
[ 57 ]
A B Y
The two
ings re¬
fute to ad-
nit Aria-
lifm.
Account of
he war of
he ele-
jhant.
Abyflinia. her affairs entirely to Frumentxus, who made ufe of
““ "his influence to diffufe the Chriftian religion through-
out the country, and at lafl was appointed biftiop of
Axuma. It isVaid, however, that the court and prin¬
cipal people, if not the nation in general, relapfed into
idolatry, which continued to prevail till the year
when they were again converted by their king ikdad
or Aidog. . .
The two princes Abra and Alba, who reigned joint¬
ly in Ethiopia in the time of Frumentius, lived in fueh
harmony together, that their friendfliip became almoft
proverbial. After being converted to Chriftianity,
they adhered ftri£tly to the orthodox doctrine, reiufing
to admit an Arian biftiop into their country. _ In the
time of the emperor Conftantius, however, this herefy
w-as introduced, and greatly favoured by that monarch j
and an attempt was made to depofe Frumentius on ac¬
count of his refufal to embrace it.
The reign of thefe princes is remarkable for an ex¬
pedition into Arabia Felix, called by the Mohamme¬
dan writers the war of the elephant, and which was
undertaken on the following occafion: The temple of
Mecca, fituated nearly in the middle of the Arabian
peninfula, had been held in the greateft veneration for
near 1400 years j probably from the notion entertain¬
ed by the people in the neighbourhood, that Adam
pitched his tent on that fpot. Here alfo was a black
ftone fuppofed to poffefs extraordinary fandtity, as be¬
ing that on which Jacob laid his head when he nad
the vifion of angels. The moft probable account of
the real origin of this temple, according to Mr Bruce,
is, that it was built by Sefoftris, and that he himfelf
was worftiipped there under the name of Ofins.
On account of the veneration in which this tower
and idol were held by the Arabians, Mr Bruce fup-
pofes that the thought was firft fuggefted of making
it the emporium of the trade between India and Afri¬
ca 5 but Abra, in order to divert it into another chan¬
nel, built a very large temple near the Indian ocean
in the country of the Homerites ; and, to encourage
the refort of people to this new temple, he bellowed
upon it all the privileges of the former which flood in
the city of Mecca. The tribe of Arabians named
Koreifh, in whofe country Mecca flood, being exceed¬
ingly alarmed at the thoughts of having their temple
deferted, entered the new one in the night, burned all
that could be confumed, and befmeared the remains
with human excrements. Abra, provoked at this fa-
crilege, affembled a confiderable army, with which he
invefted Mecca, himfelf.appearing on a white elephant,
from whence the war took its name already mentioned.
Miraculous The termination of the war, according to the Arabian
leftrudion hiftorians, was miraculous. A vaft number of birds
■hi^ianar name^ Ababil came from the fea, having faces like
^u>pian ar , eac^ carryjng Jn its claws a fmall ftone about
the fize of a pea, which they let fall upon the Ethio¬
pian army in fuch numbers, that every one of them
was deftroyed. At this time it is faid that the fmall-
pox firft made its appearance 5 and the more probable
account of the deftruftion of the Ethiopian army is,
that they periftied by this diftemper.
The war of the elephant is fuppofed to have termi¬
nated in the manner above mentioned about the year
360 ; from which time to that of Elefbaan, named al¬
fo Caleb, and probably the fame with the Adad or A-
Vol. I. Part I.
with nothing re- AbyiTmia.
He engaged in a
Firft ap¬
pearance
the
fmallpox.
dag already mentioned, we meet
markable in the Ethiopic hiftory. . „ ^ ^ .
war with the Homerites or Sabaeans in Arabia helix, ^
whom he overthrew in battle, and put an end to their (i^tjanPy
kingdom ; after which he embraced the Chriftian reh- un(ier Elei-
gion in token of gratitude for the fuccefs he had met baan.
with. In the time of this prince a violent perfecution chriitians
of the Chriftians took place in Arabia. The Jewifti perfecuted
religion had now fpread itfelf far into that peninfula,jin Arabia*
and" in many places the profeffors of it were become
abfolute mailers of the country, infomuch that feveral
Jewifti principalities had been eredled, the foyereigns
of which commenced a fevere perfecution againft die
Chriftians, Among the reft, one Phineas diftinguifli-Cruelty of
ed himfelf by his cruelty, having prepared a great Phineas a
number of furnaces or pits filled with fire, into which ^wUh
he threw thefe who refufed to renounce Chriftianity.1
The Chriftians applied for relief to the emperor Juftin ;
but he being at that time engaged in a war with the
Perfians, could not interfere : however, in the year
522, he fent an embaffy to Elefbaan, who was now
alfo a member of the Greek church, intreating him
to exert himfelf for the relief of the Chriftians of Ara¬
bia. On this the emperor commanded^ his general A-
breha, governor of the Arabian province A emen, to
march to the afliftance of Aretas, fon to a prince of
the lame name whom Phineas had burnt j while he
himfelf prepared to follow with a more confiderable
force. But before the arrival of the Ethiopian mo- He Is de-
narch, young Aretas had -marched againft Phineas,feated*
and entirely defeated him. In a ftiort time afterwards
the emperor himfelf arrived, and gave Phineas a fe-
cond defeat; but notwithftanding thefe misfortunes, it
does not appear that either the principality of Phineas
or any of the other Jewifti ones, was at this time over¬
turned, though it feems to be certain, that at the time
we Tpeak of, the Ethiopians poffeffed part of the Ara¬
bian peninfula. According to the Arabian hiftorians,
the war of the elephant, with the miraculous deftruc-
tion of the Ethiopian army, already mentioned, took
place in the reign of Elefbaan.
Some hiftorians mention, that the Ethiopian mo-
■narchs embraced the doflrines of Mahomet foon after
the impoftor made his appearance 5 but this feems not
to be well-founded j though it is certain that the iV«-
jajhi or Ethiopian governor of Yemen embraced Ma-
hometanifm, and that .he was related to the royal fa¬
mily. On this occafion, however, the Ethiopians loft
all the footing they once had in Arabia ; the governors
being expelled by Mahomet and his fucceffors. They
fled to the African fide of the Red fea with numbers Eth;opians
of their fubjedts, where they eredled feveral fmall king-driven out
doms, as Adel, Wypo, Hadea, Mara, and others, of Arabia,
which ftill continue.
During the concjuefts of the caliphs, the Jews were
for fome time everywhere driven out of their domi¬
nions, or oppreffed to fuch a degree that they volun¬
tarily left them. Ethiopia offered them an afylum : Number of
and in this country they became fo powerful, that a Jews in E-
revolution in favour of Judaifm feemed ready to 3^'
place. One family had always preferved an indepen¬
dent fovereignty on a mountain called Samen, the
royal refidence being *on the top of a high rock ; and
feveral other high and rugged mountains were ufed by
that people as natural fortreffes. Becoming by de-
H grees
Royal fa¬
mily of E-
thiofia
maflacred
tey Judith.
The king
efcapes.
Judith
ufurps the
throne.
A B Y [
Abyftinia. grccs more and more powerful, Judith the daughter
' v of one of their king1' formed a defign of overturning
the Ethiopian government, and fetting afide the family
of Solomon, who had hitherto continued to enjoy the
fovereignty. This defign was facilitated by feveral cir-
cumftances. The empire had been weakened by an un-
fuccefsful Avar, famine, and plague; the throne was
poflefled by an infant *, and the abfurd cuftom of con¬
fining the whole royal family on a rock named Damo,
gave her an opportunity of cutting them all off at once
by furprifing that place. Fortunately, however, the
king himfelf efcaped the general cataftrophe, and was
conveyed by fome of the nobility of Amhara to the
province of Xoa or Shoa ; by which means the line of
Solomon Avas preferved, and aftenvards reftored, though
not till after a very confiderable interval.
Judith having by this maflacre eftablifhed her oAvn
poAver, affumed the imperial dignity, though in direft
oppofition to an efiablilhed and fundamental laAV of
the empire already mentioned, that no vvoman fliould
enjoy the fovereign authority. The people, hoAvever,
feem to have fubmitted quietly to her government,
as fhe fat on the throne for 40 years, and afterwards
tranfmitted the fovereignty to her pofterity ; five of
•whom reigned fucceflively in this country. We are
not furnifhed Avith any particulars concerning their
reigns ; farther than that, during them, the people Ayere
greatly oppreffed. By fome means, of Avhich hiftorians
have not given any account, another revolution took
place ; and a neAV let of ufurpers, related to the family
of Judith, but not their dired: lineal defendants, fuc-
ceeded to the throne. Thefe Avere Chriftians, and go¬
verned Avith much greater lenity than the JeWifh fove-
reigns had done ; butftill, being ufurpers, none of their
tranfa&ions are recorded in the Abyffmian annals, ex¬
cepting thofe of Lalibala, Avho Avas accounted a faint.
He lived in the end of the I2th or beginning of the 13 th
century, and proved a great prince. At that time
the Chriftians in Egypt Avere grievoufty perfecuted by
the Saracens, Avho had a particular abhorrence at ma-
fons, builders, and ftone cutters ; looking upon them
as the chief promoters of idolatry by the ornaments
they put upon their works. Thefe Avere joyful¬
ly received by Lalibala j Avho, by affording them an
afylum in his dominions, foon collefted a great num¬
ber. They Avere employed by him in hewing churches
out of the folid rock, after the example of the an¬
cient Troglodytic habitations ; and many vvorks of this
kind remain in the country to this day. He under¬
took, hoAvever, a ftill more difficult and arduous talk •,
no lefs than that of leffening the ftream of the Nile,
undertakes an(J j;tiUS ftarving the Avhole kingdom of Egypt, notv
to diminifh jn tjie }ia^3s 0f ]-,js enemies, and Avbo perfecuted thofe
theNile.of religion. From the account given by Mr Bruce
of this proje£L it appears that there really is a poffibili-
ty in nature of accompliftiing it •, not indeed by turn¬
ing the courfe of the Nile itfelf, but by diverting that
of many of its branches, which are the means of con-
Wmg into it the water fupplied by the tropical rains,
and bv which it overflows its banks annually. We are
likeAvife affured by the fame author, that I^alibala fuc-
ceeded in his enterprife fo far as to divert the courfe
of tAVO large rivers from the Nile, and that they have
ever fince floAved into the Indian ocean. He next pro¬
ceeded to carry a level towards a lake named Zacvia,
A new re¬
volution.
Chriftians
perfecuted
in Egypt
fly to E-
thiopia.
Lalibala no
58 ] A B Y
into which' many rivers, Avhofe ftreams contribifte to AhjffimJ
increafe that of the Nile, empty themfelves ; and had c—
this been accomplilhed, there is no doubt that the lofs
of fo much Avater Avould have been very fenfibly felt by
the Egyptians. According to molt hiftorians, this
enterprifing monarch was prevented by death from put¬
ting his defign in execution 5 though Mr Bruce informs
us of a Avritten account at Shoa, in which it Avas af-
ferted, that he Avas diffuaded from it by certain monks,
who told him, that by fending doAvn fuch a quantity
of water to the eaftern and dry parts of Africa, thefe
countries Avould foon become lo fertile and populous
that they Avould rival the empire of Ethiopia, or at leaft
Avithdraw their allegiance from it entirely. 'I he re¬
mains of thefe works Avere feen by the Portuguefe am-
baffador in 1^2 2.
All this time the princes of the line of Solomon Reftoration
had been obliged to content themfelves Avith the fo -ofth®line
vereignty of the province of Xoa or Shoa, Avithout0 oraonj
making any attempt to regain their former dignity *,
blit they Avere unexpe&edly reftored without blood-
fhed or difturbance by Naacueto Laeb the grandfon
of Lalibala. This prince, Avho Avas of a gentle and
pacific difpofition, Avas perfuaded by a monk named
Tecla Haimanout, much celebrated for his fancfity,
to refign the croAvn, to which, though he received it
from his father, he could not pretend any abfolute
right. In confequence of the mediation of this monk,
therefore, if Avas agreed that Naacueto Ihould give up
the empire to Icon Amlac the lineal defcendant of So¬
lomon, Avhd then poffeffed the fovereigrity of Shoa. In
confequence of this a portion of lands fliould be irre¬
vocably and irredeemably affigned to him and his
heirs ; and he ftiould likewife be alloAved lome marks
of fovereignty as a teftimony of his former grandeur.
In this treaty, hoAvever, the good monk did not for¬
get his oAvn intereft. He had founded a famous mo-
naftery in Shoa, and Avas pfimate of the wholfe empire
under the title of Abuna. He new infifted that one
third of the kingdom ftiould be abfolutely ceded to
himfelf for the maintenance of his OAvn dignity, and
the fupport of the clergy, convents, &c. throughout
the country j he alfo infifted that no native Abyfti-
nian ftiould eA’er enjoy the fame dignity with hitrifelf,
even though he fhould have been chofen and ordained
at Cairo, as Avas the cuflom Avith the Abyffiniah pre¬
lates.
Thefe extraordinary terms were complied with, and Uncertain.
Icon Amlac raifed to the throne of Ethiopia. He did U
not, however, remove the feat of government from the
province of Shoa •, but continued at Tegulat the capi¬
tal of that province during the Avhole of his lifetime,
AA'hich continued 15 years after his acceffion to the
throne. We are ignorant of the tranfaftions of his
reign, as Avell as that of feveral of his fucceffors ; five
of Avhom afcended the throne in as many years. From
this quick fucceffion Mr Bruce is of opinion, that a ci¬
vil Avar had taken place among the candidates for the
throne : but the Abyffinian annals make no mention
of this ) neither have we any particular account of the
tranfa&ions of the empire till the time of Amda Sion,
Avho began to reign in 1312. He Avas the fon of We-Re;gn 0f
dem Araad, the youngeft brother ©f Icon Amlae, Amda S®
and fucceeded to the throne on the death of his father.
Fie ptofeffed the Chriftian religion j but his praftice
feems
He is ex¬
communi¬
cated for
inceft.
A B Y
Abyffinia. feems to have been very oppofite to its precepts
began his reign Avith living publicly with a concubine
of his father’s; and quickly after committed inceft with
his two lifters. On this he was firft exhorted to re¬
pentance, and then excommunicated, by Honorius, a
monk greatly celebrated for his famftity, and who has
lince been canonized. The prince, enraged at this
indignity, caufed the faint to be feverely whipped
through every Itreet of his capital. I hat night the
town was by fome unknown means fet on fire and re¬
duced to allies : the clergy perfuaded the people, that
the blood of Honorius had turned to fire as it dropped
on the ground, and thus occafioned the cataftrophe }
The monks but the king fufpefting that the monks themfelves had
baniftied. been the incendiaries, banilhed or imprifoned them all,
fo that their hopes of exciting an infurre&ion were dif-
appointed ; and being difperfed into thofe provinces
where the inhabitants were moftly Jews or Pagans,
they were now obliged to apply to what was certainly
more incumbent upon them, viz. the diffufion of the
knowledge of the gofpel.
While the king was bufied with the monks, one of
the faftors, who had been entrufted with fome of his
commercial interefts, was aflaffinated by the Moors in
the province of Ifat 5 on which, without making the
His expedi-leaft complaint or expoftulation, he affembled his
tion againft troops, and with /even horfemen (a) fell upon the
^.M.ah0‘ neareft Mahometan fettlements, maffacring all he met
without exception. Putting himfelf then at the head
of his army, he proceeded in the molt rapid career of
defolation, laying wafte the whole country with fire
and fvvord, and carrying off an immenfe booty.
For fome time the Moors were fo furprifed, that
they did not think of making oppofition ; but at laft
they took up arms, and attempted to furprife the Abyf-
finian monarch in his camp, hearing that he had fent
out moll of his army in detachments. With this view
they approached the camp in the night time, expefl-
camp in the jng t0 have found the king and his few foldiers im-
«>uf fuccefs" in fleep. Unexpeftedly, however, he had been
U Ce 5* joined by a confiderable part of his army, whom he
drew up in battle array to receive his enemies. An
engagement enfued, in which the king behaved with
great valour, killed the Moorilh general with his own
hand, and gained a complete victory. He then com¬
manded fuch of his foldiers as could not find houfes
ready built, to build huts for themfelves, and a large
trad! of land to be plowed and fown, as if he meant to
flay in the country of the enemy during the rainy fea-
They fub- fon. The Mahometans now perceiving that they were
mit, but ;n danger of being totally exterminated, willingly fub-
^e" mitted to the terms he pleafed to impofe upon them ;
aDain while the monarch conciliated the affedlions of his peo¬
ple by dividing among them the vaft plunder he had
acquired in this expedition.
The Moors no fooner found themfelves freed from
any apprehenfions of immediate danger, than they pre¬
pared for a new revolt. The king having intelligence
[ 59 1 A B Y
He of their defigns, fecretly prepared to fubdue them be-
fore they could have time to bring their matters j to a
fufficient bearing. The Moors, however, being better
prepared than he expe&ed, began hoftilities by fur-
priling and plundering fome villages belonging to the
Chriftians, and deftroying their churches. A moft
Abyffima.
nietans.
They at¬
tack his
formidable combination had taken place j and as the
confequence of allowing the confederate rebels to
join' their forces might have been very dangerous, the
king ufed his utmoft endeavours to prevent it. This
defign was in fome meafure facilitated by the fuperfti-
tion of Amano king of Hadea, one of the principal re¬
bels. This man, by the advice of a conjurer in whom
he put great confidence, inftead of marching his troops
to the afliftance of his allies, remained at home tvith
them, where he was defeated and taken prifoner by a King of
detachment of the king’s army. The governor of Am-^ea de-
hara was next defpatched againft Saber-eddin the re- ^
volted governor of Fatigar, with orders to lay wafte foner>
the country, and ufe every method to force him to a
battle, if he lliould be difinclined to venture it himfelf.
Thefe orders were pun&ually executed ; Saber-eddin Another
was compelled to ftand an engagement, in which
was defeated ; the vigors plundered his houfe, and took
his wife and children prifoners. But in the mean time
intelligence was received of a new revolt among the
Falalha, who had affembled a great army, and threat¬
ened to become very formidable ; their chief keeping
a clofe correfpondence with Saber-eddin, as well as
with the king of Adel. Thefe, however, fttared the ih® Tda“
fame fate with the reft, being entirely defeated by clefeat‘J
Tzaga Chriftos another Abyffinian general, who foon
after joined the king with his whole army. This proved
fatal to the rebel caufe : Saber-eddin, no longer able
to fupport himfelf againft the royal forces, was obliged
to furrender at diferetion, and all the reft were quickly'
reduced •, fo that the king was at leifure to march
againft the kings of Adel and Mara, who having now
united their forces, refolved to give him battle. At The king
this the Abyflinian monarch was fo exafperated, that marches a-
he determined to take the moft ample vengeance on his
enemies. In the prefence of his whole army, there- ‘ ’ ’
fore, and a monk of uncommon fanflity drefied in the
fame habit in which he ufually performed divine fer-
vice, the king made a long fpeech againft the Maho¬
metans. He recounted the many violences which they His fpeech
had committed ; and of which the kings of Adel and and oath in
Mara had been principal promoters. He enumerated
many examples of murder, facrilege, &c. of which
they had been guilty ; felting forth alfo that they had
carried off great numbers of Chriftians into flavery,
and that the view of making flaves was now a great
motive with them for making war. He difclaimed
every idea of commencing hoftilities from any avarici¬
ous motive ; as a proof of which, he denied that he
would accept of any part of the plunder for his own
ufe ; concluding with a declaration, that he was now
about to fwear on the holy eucharift, that, “ though
H 2 but
(a) On this Mr Bruce remarks, that “ it has been imagined the number fhould be increafed to 70 ; but
there would be little difference in the raftmefs of the aftion.” The word in the Abyflinian annals which he
tranflates is feven; but if we increafe the number at all, it ought more probably to be Jeven hundred than
feventy.
A B Y [60
Abyffinia. but 20 of bis army fhould join him, be would not
* v turn his back, upon Adel or Mara, till he bad either
forced them to tribute and fubmiffion, or entirely ex¬
tirpated them and annihilated their religion.” After
this fpeech, he took the oath in the prefence of the
whole army j who not only applauded him with loud
{bouts, but protefted that they looked upon themfelves
Enthufiafm to be all bound by the oath he had taken. As he had
of his mentioned in his fpeech that the plunder had been pur-
*roops. chafed by the lives of their Chriftian brethren, they
determined to (how their abhorrence at keeping any
of it on thefe terms. Taking lighted torches in their
hands, therefore, they fet fire to the whole plunder
that had been amaffed fince the beginning of the war $
and having thus reduced themfelves to a ftate of po¬
verty, they prepared to {how their Chriftianity by
thirding, not after the wealth, but the blood of their
enemies.
Notwithftanding the enthufiafm of the whole army
on this occafion, the expedition was attended with
Exeeffive great difficulties. Thefe arofe principally from fuper-
iuperftition ftition *, and as, on the one hand, the Abyflinians were
of both par-prjncjpie laid under confiderable difadvantages,
their adverfaries on the other enjoyed equal advanta¬
ges from no better caufe. JThe Abyflinians, according
to Mr Bruce, are very credulous with refpefl: to genii
or fpirits which go about doing mifchief in the dark.
Hence they are afraid of travelling, but efpeciady of
fighting, in the night-time; becaufe they imagine that
the world is then entirely given up to thefe beings, who
are put out of humour by the motions of men, or of
any other terreftrial creature. In the night-time there¬
fore an Abyflinian dares not even throw a little ivater
out of a bafon, left it ftiould fall upon fome fpirit and
provoke it to vengeance. The Moors, on the other
hand, though equally fearful, fecure themfelves againft
thefe in\rifible enemies by means no lefs ridiculous than
the fears themfelves. A verfe of the Koran, fewed up
in leather, and Avorn round their neck or arm, is fuff*-
cient to defy the poAver of the moft mifchievous fpirit.
Under fuch powerful proteftion, therefore, they laugh
at the terrors of the Abyflinians, and are on all occa-
fions ready to attack them in the night-time, and even
prefer that feafon rather than any other for coming to
an engagement. Senfible of this advantage, and en-
Tke king’s couraged by the little lofs which attended even a de¬
troops ha- feat in thefe nocturnal encounters, they determined on
Tafled. prefent occaflon to avoid any pitched battles, and
to content themfelves Avith harafling the king’s army
with continual Ikirmiflies of this kind. Thus, though
the Abyffinian monarch had always the advantage, his
troops foon began to complain; and, on ^the com¬
mencement of the rainy feafon, infilled on being alloAV-
ed to return. This was by no means agreeable to a
prince of fuch a martial difpofition as Amda Sion. He
therefore told them, that, if they were afraid of rains,
he would conduft them to a country where there were
none ; meaning Adel, which, though likeAvife Avithin
the limits of the tropical rains, has them at another
feafon than that in which they fall in Abyflinia. Thus
he perfuaded his army again to fet fonvard : but Avas
fo grievoufly haraffed by the nofturnal attacks of the
Moors, that he was once more in danger of being de-
ferted ; and Avhen by his eloquence he had found
means to diflipate the apprehenfions of the foldiers, he
] A B ¥
was feized with a violent fever which threatened his Abyffinia.
life. The foldiers noAV expelled that they were foon ‘
to return; but while they indulged themfelves in the The king is i
careleffnefs which ufually attends an expeftadon of
this kind, they accidentally received intelligence thatfever° j
the Moors, having affembled an army of 40,000 men,
were in full march to attack them, and at a very fmail
diftance. The king Avas hoav free from fever, but fo
weak that he fainted on attempting to put himfelf in
readinefs for going out to battle. Still, however, his
refolution continued firm and unalterable; having re¬
covered from his faint, w'afhed and refreftied himfelf,
he made a fpeeeh to his foldiers, filled with the moft
enthuliaftic expreflions of confidence in the juftice and
goodnefs of the caufe in which he was engaged, and in
the continuance of the divine favour and protection.
« As it never Avas my opinion (faid he), that it was
my oAvn ftrength and valour, or their Avant of it, which
has fu often been the caufe of preferving me from their
hands; fo I do not fear at prefent that my accidental
Aveaknefs Avill give them any advantage over me, as
long as I truft in God’s power as much as I have e\rer
done.” By this fpeeeh the drooping fpirits of the A-
byflinians were revived; and they only begged that
their monarch would now truft to the valour of his
troops, and not expofe his perfon to fuch danger as he
had ufually done. He promifed to comply Avith their
requeft; but matters were foon throAvn into confufion His troopj
by a report that the Moors had poifoned the Avells anddifliearten;
enchanted all the running water in the front of the ar-ed.
my. The poifoned wells, however, Avere eafily avoid¬
ed ; and a prieft of vaft fanClity was difpatched a day’s
journey before the army to difenchant the waters by
his bleflings; Avhich, having the advantage of the good
qualities of the element itfelf on their fide, Avere doubt-
lefs more powerful than the fpells of the infidels. Not
content with this, the king caufed a river to be confe-
crated by the name of Jordan ; but while his men Avere
employed in bathing themfelves in this holy Avater, the
Fits-Auraris, an officer who had been difpatched with
a party of men who always go before the Abyflinian
armies, was attacked and driven back on the main bo¬
dy by a detachment of the enemy, Avho had along with
them a number of Avomen provided with drugs to poi-
fon and fpells to enchant the waters. A.dreadful Pa'Struck
nic noAV feized the Avhole army. Unmindful of the with a p3^
promifes made to their king, they not only refufed toniCithey
advance, but for the moft part refolved to leave the refute to
camp, and return homeAvards Avithout delay. TheengaSe*
king, fenfible that all was loft if this pernicious fcherae
ftiould be adopted, did his utmoft to encourage and
perfuade them to return to their duty ; but perceiving
that nothing Avas to be gained by reafoning with men
fo much terrified, he only requefted that fuch as could
not be induced to fight, would not leave their places,
but ftand quiet fpeftators of the battle. Even thisHe begins,
had very little effea : fo that, finding the enemy noAvthe fight
ready to make an attack, he ordered his mafter.of the with a very,
horfe, Avith only five others, to attack the left Aving offew attend-
the enemy ; Avhile he, Avith a fmall party of his fer-ants'
vants, made an attack on the right. This defperate
a&ion Avas attended with fuccefs. The king, notw-ith-
ftanding the Aveaknefs he yet laboured under, killed
Avith his OAvn hand tAvo of the commanding officers of
the enemv’s right Aving; while his fon difpatched ano-
' ther
A B Y [ 6
Abyflinia. ther of confiderable rank belonging to the left. This
-V—* had fuch an effea upon the whole Moorilh army, that
they began evidently to lofe courage j while the Abyf-
finians, afhamed of their conduct, now rufhed furioufly
on to refcue their prince from danger. The battle
continued for fome time with great obftinacy} but at
laft the centre and left wing of the Moors were entire-
The Moors jy. defeated. The right wing, compofed principally
defeated, £ Arabians, retired in a body ; but not knowing the
country, they entered a deep valley furrounded by per¬
pendicular rocks entirely covered with wood. The A-
byflinitms, imagined they had nothing more to do,
began to ftrip and mangle the bodies of the killed and
wounded ; but the king, perceiving that the Arabians
had brought themfelves into a fituation from whence
they never could be extricated, obliged his foldiers to
defift from this barbarous employment, and even killed
and almoft two of them who difobeyed his orders. The army
entirely cut was then divided into two parts, one of which fur-
3S‘ rounded the devoted Arabians, while the other was fent
a day’s journey after the remainder of the Moors.
Both parties proved equally fuccefsful. The king,
with part of his divifion, attacked the Arabians in
front, while the reft rolled great ftones down from the
tops of the rocks upon them. By this they were
thrown into fuch confufion, that being neither able to
fly nor refift, they were all killed to a man. The fate
of the Moors was little better. The other divifion of
the Abyflinian army found them lying round a large
pool of wrater, which they lapped like as many dogs.
In this helplefs fituation there was nothing requifite
but to order them to be flaughtered ; and this cruel or¬
der was punctually executed. The foldiers imagining
they ftiould now difcharge their vow to heaven, wea¬
ried themfelves with flaughter •, till at laft, being al-
moft fatiated with blood, they made a few prifoners,
among whom was Saleh king of Mara, with his queen ;
the former of whom was hanged by order of Amda
Sion, and the latter cut in pieces, and her body given
to the dogs by the foldiers.
Atnda Sion This fignal victory was gained in the end of July
purfues his 1316 } but as the rains at that feafon fet in with vio-
sdvantage. lence) moft of the army now again infifted on their re¬
turning home without delay. The king and principal
officers, however, were of opinion, that the advantages
fo dearly purchafed ought by all means to be purfued
till they had either reduced the Mahometans to fubjec-
tion, or at leaft deprived them of all power to make at¬
tacks on the empire with any profpeCl of fuccefs. This
opinion being adopted, the king fent back the bag¬
gage, women, and others who could be of no ufe to
the army ; retaining only the veteran foldiers, who
were able to encounter more than fix times the num¬
ber of fuch enemies as he could expefl to meet with.
His further Advancing farther into the Mahometan territories, he
ctmquefts. took up his refidence in a large town called Zey/rt ;
from whence he, that very night, fent out a detach¬
ment to furprife a large village in the neighbourhood
named Taraca. This was executed with fuccefs •, the
men were maffacred, and the women kept to fupply
the places of thofe who had been fent away. Conti¬
nuing ftill to advance, he detached parties to lay wafte
the countries all round ; and in this expedition he had
the good fortune to cut off two of the principal authors
of the conspiracy againft him, He then proceeded to
] A B Y
invade Talab and Abalge in the territories of the king Abyffinia.
of Adel. That monarch, now rendered defperate
the view of approaching ruin, had affembled all the(|e(j
troops he could raife, in order to make one laft effort
againft the enemy j but condufted himfelf with much
lefs prudence than he ought to have done when con¬
tending with fuch an experienced and vigilant adver-
fary. Amda Sion, confident of fuccefs, took no lefs
care how to prevent the enemy from efcaping than
how to gain the vi&ory. For this purpofe he dif-
patched parties of horfe to lie in wait in all thofe ave¬
nues by which he fuppofed that the Moors might at¬
tempt to make their efcape *, after which, falling furi-
oufly on the Adelians himfelf, and being well fupport-
ed by his troops, he gained a complete vidlory 5 the^e kmg^
king of Adel, with great numbers of his men, being”catccI
killed on the fpot, and almoft all the reft by the partiesi^Hed.
of horfe whom the Abyffinian monarch had potted iiv
ambuffi to intercept them.
As the lofs of this battle rendered the affairs of the
Adelians quite defperate, the three young princes, fons
of the late king, with their uncle, waited upon Amda
Sion with rich prefents, which they laid at his feet
in the moft humble manner, putting their foreheads The princea
in the duft, and intreating his pardon ; profeffing their
fubje&ion and readinefs to obey his commands, provid-mu’
ed that he would fpare the remainder of their country
and property. To this the king made a very unfa¬
vourable reply, reproaching them with indignities done
to himfelf; but efpecially with the facriiege they had
committed in burning churches and murdering priefts,
deftroying alfo defencelefs people in villages, merely
becaufe they imagined that he could not protefl them.
To puniffi thefe and other crimes, he faid, he was now
in the heart of their country $ and he was determined
never to turn his back upon Adel while he had ten men
capable of drawing their fwords ; for which reafon he
commanded them to return and expeft the approach of
his army.
By this fierce fpeech the brother and two eldeft
children of the king of Adel were fo dilheartened, that
they could not fpeak $ but the youngeft fon made a
very fpirited fpeech, in which he attempted to foften
the king by complimenting his valour, and ffiowing
that it was unworthy of his character to pufti the war
againft a people who were already conquered and de¬
fencelefs. All the anfwer he could obtain, however, Are unfa-
was, that unlefs the queen with the reft of the royal
family, and the principal people of the nation, wouldrcCe
come by to-morrow evening and furrender themfelves
as the princes had done, he w ould lay wafte the terri¬
tory of‘Adel, from the place where he fat to the Indian
ocean. On this the princes earneftly requefted their
mother to fubmit without referve to the clemency of
the Abyffinian monarch, and to wait upon him next
morning } but ffie was prevented from this by fome of The war
the nobility who had formerly advifed the war, and ^vhocont^nueSj
juftly fufpe&ed danger to themfelves if they fhould be
obliged to fubmit unconditionally to the conqueror.
They refolved, therefore, once more to venture a battle j
and the better to enfure fuccefs, they bound themfelves
by an oath to (land by each other to the laft extremity.
At the fame time they difpatched meffengers to the
princes, requefting them to make their efcape with all
manner of expedition, and to head the army themfelves;
An obfti-
nate battle,
A B Y [62
Abyffinia. 0f whom were determined to conquer or die as foon
as the royal family Ihould be out of the enemy’s hands.
By this conduct the Abyffinian monarch was fo much
irritated, that he divided his army into three parts 5 two
of which he commanded to enter the territory ol the
enemy by different routes, and to exterminate both man
and beaft wherever they came $ while he himfelf, with
the third, took the ftraight road to the place where
the new Adelian army was encamped. Here he found
a number of infantry drawn up and ready to engage
him •, but, befides thefe, there was a multitude of old
men, women, and even children, all armed with fuch
weapons as they could procure. Surprifed at this
fight, he ordered a party of horfe to difperfe them ; but
this was found impoffible •, fo that he was obliged to
call in the detachments he had fent out, with orders to
fall upon the enemy by the neareft way they could ad¬
vance. The engagement was for a long time very
doubtful ; and in oppofition to Amda Sion appeared
the young king of Wypo, who everywhere encoura¬
ged his troops, and made the moft obftinate refiftance.
The Abyffinian monarch having obferved him, fheathed
his fword, and arming himfelf with a bow, chofe the
broadeft arrow he could find, and took fo juft an aim,
that he fhot the young prince through the fide of the
neck, and his head inclining to one fhoulder he foon
fell down dead. On this the fpirit of the Adelians en¬
tirely forfook them, and they betook themfelves. to
flight; but unluckily falling in with two Abyflinian
detachments coming to the king’s relief, they were fo
completely deftroyed, that only three of them are faid
■ to have made their efcape. On the fide of the Abyf-
finians, however, the vi&ory was dearly purchafed *,
many of the principal officers being killed, and fcarcely
one of the cavalry efcaping Avithout a Avound.
The remainder of this expedition confifted only in
the deftruttion and burning of toAvns and villages, and
maffacres of helplefs people, on pretence of retaliating
the injuries committed by the Mahometans againft the
Chriftians. At laft, Aveary of conqueft and of carnage,
this vi&orious monarch, Avho never fuffered a defeat in
any battle, returned in triumph to his capital, Avhere
he ended his days after a reign of 30 years. In his
time Ave find that the royal family Avere not confined,
as had been the ufual praCtice from the time of the
queen of Sheba to the maffacre by Judith ; for Saif
Araad, the fon and fucceffor of Amda Sion, diftinguifti-
ed himfelf in one of the battles in Avhich his father Avas
engaged.
Though the neAV prince, as appears from Avhat has
been juft noiv obferved, was by no means dettitute of
military talents, the Abyflinian empire enjoyed a pro-
R-eign of found peace during his reign. The only remarkable
SaifAraad. tranfa&i-on Avas the relief given by him to the Coptic
The Moor-
ilh army
entirely cut
off.
Dreadful
devafta-
tions.
The royal
family not
confined
as former¬
ly.
] A B Y
fringement made on the treaty between Icon Amlac and Abyffmia,
the Abuna Tacla-Haimanout formerly mentioned. By v——v——*
that treaty the Abuna Avas to have a full third of the
whole empire for the fupport of his oAvn dignity and
that of the church : but Theodorus, juftly confidering
this as an unreafonable acquisition, reduced it very con-
fiderably, though he ftill alloAved a very ample revenue
out of every province of the empire j and even this has
been confidered by feveral of his lucceffors as far too
large, and confequently has been frequently abridged
by them. The annals of this prince’s reign are A'ery
defeClive, and Mr Bruce fuppofes that they havTe been
mutilated by the ecclefiaftics; Avhich, confidering Avhat
Ave havAi juft noAV related of his reducing their revenues,
is by no means improbable. By his fubjeCts he Avas js ce]e^ra.
confidered as fuch a faint, that to this day the people ted as a
believe he is to rife again and to reign a thoufand years ‘aint.
in Abyflinia; during which period war is to ceale, and
happinefs to be univerfally diffufed.
From the time of Theodorus to that of Zara Jacob,
Avho began his reign in 1434, the Abyflinian annals fur-
niftv us Avith little or nothing of any confequence. The Zara Jacob
character of this prince is reprefented as by no means in- faid to e-
ferior to that of Theodorus, or indeed of any monarch 0 Q*
that ever fat on the throne of Ethiopia, or any other
kingdom in the Avorld. He is, in ftiort, fet forth as
another Solomon, and a model of what fovereigns
ought to be j though, from fome particulars of his
reign, his character fhould feem to be rather exag¬
gerated. The firft remarkable tranfaCtion of this Sends an
great monarch Avas his fending an embafly to the embaffy to
council of Florence. The ambafladors Avere certaintlle' council
priefts from Jerufalem, Avho in that aflembly adheredof^lorencc,
to the opinions of the Greek church •, and the em¬
bafly itfelf Avas judged to be of fuch confequence as to
be the fubjeCt of a picture in the Vatican. This prince
obtained alfo a convent at Rome from the pope for
the ufe of the Abyflinians ; which is ftill preferved,
though very feldom vifited by thofe for Avhom it Avas
defigned. He feems to have been very defirous of
keeping up a correfpondence Avith the Europeans as
Avell as the Afiatics ; and in his time Ave firft read of
a difpute in Abyflinia Avith the Frangi or Franks on
the fubjeCt of religion. This Avas carried on in pre- A party for
fence of the king between one Abba George and a Ve- thecburch
netian painter, Francifco de Branco Lone, in Avhich of K-0™6
the former confuted and even convinced his antago- imet *
nift ; but from this time we find a party formed for the
church of Rome, and which probably took its rife from
the embafly to the council of Florence.
The prince of Avhom we noAV treat Avas the firft Avho
introduced perfecution on a religious account into his
dominions ; and for this reafon, muft probably, he is
fo highly commended by the ecclefiaftics. The ftate Religious
Egypt had thrown Into of religion in Abyffinia was now indeed very corrupt
P -r o erront "trade was carried on The Greek profeflion had been originally eftabliftied
Of Theodo
cus.
prifon. At this time a great trade Avas carried on
through the defert by caravans between Cairo and A-
byflinia, as Avell as from Cairo to Suakem on the Red
fea ; but the Ethiopic monarch having feized the mer¬
chants from Cairo, and font parties of horfe to interrupt
the caravans in their paffage, the fultan Avas foon con¬
tent to releafe the patriarch, Avhom he had imprifoned
only Avith a vieAV to extort money.
In the reign of Theodorus, Avho held the croAvn of
Ethiopia from the year 1409 an
OI ICiiy lull 111 xxuyiiiiiia <xo
The Greek profeflion had been originally eftabliihedltltr0 ucc !
from the church of Alexandria •, but in the low pro¬
vinces bordering on the coaft of Adel, the Mahome¬
tan fuperftition prevailed. Many of that perfuafion
had alfo difperfed themfelves through the towns and
villages in the internal parts of the empire, Avhile in not
a few places the groffeft idolatry flill took place; fuch
as the Avorlhip of the heavenly bodies, the Avind, trees,
coavs, ferpents, &c. All this had hitherto paflfed un¬
noticed but in the reign of Zara Jacob, fome fami¬
lies
A B Y
[ 63 ]
A B Y
Abyfflnia.
Anula Sion
a cruel in-
quifitor.
Murder of
the king’s
fon-in-law.
Perfecution
iuppreffed.
Affairs of
the king¬
dom regu¬
lated.
Churches
repaired.
The queen
put to a
cruel death.
lifes being accufed of worftiipptng the cow and fer-
pent, were brought before the king, who pronounced
fentence of death upon them. Their execution was
followed by a royal proclamation, that whoever did
not carry on his right hand an amulet with thefe
words upon it, “ I renounce the devil for Chrift our
Lord,” liiould not only forfeit his perfonal edate, but
be liable to corporeal puniihment. The fpirit of per¬
fecution thus begun, quickly diffufed itfelf, and an in-
quilitor was appointed to fearch for criminals. This
was one Amda Sion, the king’s chief confidant, who
pretended to all that abfurd and auitere devotion com¬
mon to religious hypocrites. In this he was flattered
Avith uncommon parade and attendance, the ufual re-
Avards of people of that ftamp 5 as he never appeared
abroad but with a great number of foldiers, trumpets,
drums, and other enfigns of military dignity waiting
upon him. He kept alfo a number of fpies, who
brought him intelligence of thofe who were fecretly
guilty of any idolatrous or treafonable praflices $ after
Avhich, proceeding with his attendants to the houfe of
the delinquent, he caufed the family firfl: fupply him-
felf and his party with refrefhments, and then ordered
the unhappy wretches to be all put to death in his pre¬
fence. Among thofe who fuffered in this barbarous
manner Avere the two fons-in-law of the king himfelf,
who had been accufed by their wives, the one of adul¬
tery, and the other of incefi: j on which flight ground
they were both put to death in their oAvn houfes, in
fuch a manner as defervedly threw an odium on the
king. His conduft was afterwards fo feverely condem¬
ned by a certain clergyman from Jerufalem, that a re¬
formation feems to have been produced •, and no men¬
tion is afterwards made of the inquifitor or perfecution
during this reign.
The attention of the king Avas now called off from
religion to the ftate of his affairs in the different pro¬
vinces of the kingdom. As the Moorifh provinces
Avere very rich, by reafon of the extenfive trade they
carried on, and frequently employed their wealth in ex¬
citing rebellion, it became neceffary that the fovereign
himfelf fliould examine into the circumftances and dif-
pofitions of the feveral governors ; which was likewife
proper on another account, that he might aflign to each
the fum to be paid. On this occafion he divided the
empire more diftindtly, and increafed the number of go¬
vernments confiderably ; which being done, he fet about
repairing the churches throughout the country, which
had fallen into decay, or been deftroyed in the war with
the Mahometans. So zealous was he in this refpeft,
that having heard of the deftru&ion of the church of
the Virgin in Alexandria by fire, he inftantly built an¬
other in Ethiopia, to repair the lofs which Chriflianity
might have fuffered.
The laft public tranfa&ion of this prince’s reign Avas
the quafliing of a rebellion which fome of his gover¬
nors had entered into *, but Avhatever glory he might
acquire from this or any other exploit, his behaviour
Avith regard to his domeftic affairs muft certainly place
him ill a Very difadvantageous light. In the decline of
the king’s life, the mother of the heir-apparent con¬
ceived fuch an extreme defire to behold her fon in pof-
feflion of the throne, that fhe began to form fchemes
for obliging his father to take him into partnerlhip
•With him in the government. Thefe being dtfcovered,
her hufband cruelly caufed her to be Avhipped to death : Abyfiinia.
and finding that his fon aftenvards performed certain 1" " »
folemnities at her grave in token of regard for her, he
caufed him to be loaded Avith irons and banifhed to the
top of a mountain j Avhere he would probably have been
put to death, had not the monks interfered. Thefe
having invented prophecies, dreams, and revelations,
that none but the young prince Baeda Mariam was to
poffefs the throne, the old king fubmitted to the decrees
of Heaven, and relaxed in his feverity.
On the acceflion of the neAV king in 1468, the old}^®royal
law for imprifoning all the royal family Avas revived,ldm‘Iy
i # o •/ j * again con-»
and a mountain named Gejhen chofen for the purpofe. f^ed.
Having thus fecured himfelf from any danger of a rival
in cale he fhould undertake a foreign expedition, he
proclaimed a pardon to all thofe who had been banifh¬
ed during the former reign, and thus ingratiated him¬
felf with his people : after which he began to prepare
for Avar. At this the neighbouring princes, particu¬
larly the king of Adel, being alarmed, fent ambaffa-
dors requefting the continuance of peace. The Abyf-War with
finian monarch told them, that his defign was to de-the Dobas
ffroy the Dobas ; a race of fhepherds very Avealthy,re*°*ve^
but extremely barbarous, profefling the Pagan religion,°n‘
and greatly refembling the Gallas. The reafon of
his commencing hoftilities againfl; them Avas, that they
made continual inroads into his country, and commit¬
ted the greateft cruelties 5 on which account he deter¬
mined not to make war as with a common enemy, but
to exterminate and deftroy them as a nuifance. The
king of Adel was no fooner poffeffed of this piece of
intelligence, than he communicated it to the Dobas j
defiring them to fend their rvomen and children, with
their mofi: valuable effedts, into his country, till the in-
vafion fhould be over. This propofal Avas readily em-They are
braced ; but Basda having got notice of it, feized anmaffacred.
avenue through Avhich they mufl: neceffarily pafs, and
maffacred every one of the company. After this, en¬
tering their country, he committed fuch devaftations,
that they were glad to fubmit, and even to renounce
their religion in order to free themfelves from fuch a
dreadful enemy. The king then turned his arms againfl:
Adel, Avhere he was attended Avith his ufual fuccefs ;
a moft complete vidtory being gained over the Moors
by the Abyflinian general: but while the king himfelf£)eath 0f
Avas advancing towards that country, Avith a full refolu-the king-,
tion to reduce it to the moft abject date of mifery, he
Avas feized Avith a pain in his boAvels, which occafioned
his death.
The difcovery of the kingdom of Ethiopia or Abyf-
finia by the Europeans took place about this time. It
has already been obferved, that fome intercourfe by
means of individuals had been carried on betAvixt this
country and Italy ; but the knowledge conveyed to
Europeans in this manner Avas very imperfedt and ob- Difcovery
feure. Even the fituation of the country had beenof Abyflinia
forgot} and though fome confufed notions were enter-^ t!ie ■t'u“
tained of a diftant Chriftian prince svho AVas likeAvife ar°i;>eans‘
prieft, Marco Paulo, the famous Venetian traveller, Of Prefter
affirms that he had met with him in Tartary j and it John-
Avas univerfally agreed, that his name Avas Joannes
Prejbyter, Prete Janni, or Prejier John. When the
Portugueffc began to extend their difeoveries along the
coaft of Africa, more certain intelligence concerning
this prince Avas obtained. Bemoy, one of the kings of
the
A B Y I
"Abyilinta, tlie Jaloffes, a nation on the weftern coaft of Africa,
~—v 1 had allured the Portuguefe navigators of the exigence
of fuch a prince fo ftrongly, that the king determined
to fend ambaffadors to him •, and the difcovery was of
the greater confequence, that a paflage to the Eaft In¬
dies was now attempted both by land and fea. 1 he
ambaffadors were named Peter Covillan and. Alphonfo
de Paiva. Thefe were fent to Alexandria in Egypt,
A B Y
Ainbaffa-
dors fent
from the
king of
Portugal
from whence they were to fet out on their journey
the
Account of
their tra¬
vels.
intent of which was, to explore the fources of the In¬
dian trade, the principal markets for the fpice, &c.
but above all, to difcover whether it was poffible to
arrive at the Eaft Indies by failing round the continent
of Africa.
In the profecution of this fcheme our two travellers
went from Alexandria to Cairo j from thence to Suez
at the bottom of the Red fea j from Suez they took
their route to Aden, a wealthy and commercial city
beyond the ftraits of Babel Mandel. Covillan now fet
fail for India, and De Paiva for Suakem. The latter
loft his life without making any difcovery ; but Covil¬
lan palled over to Calicut and Goa. From thence he
returned to the continent of Africa, vifiting the gold
mines of Sofala, and palling from thence to Aden and
Cairo ; at which place he was informed of the death
of his companion. In this city he was met by two
Jews with letters from the king of Abyffinia. One of
thefe Jews was fent back with letters to the Abyflinian
monarch : but with the other he proceeded to the
itland of Ormus in the Perfian gulf. Here they fepa-
rated j the Jew returning home, and Covillan repafling
the ftraits of Babel Mandel, whence he proceeded to
Aden, and afterwards entered the Abyffinian-domi-
Important
intelligence
conveyed
to Portugal
by Covil¬
lan.
moiia. . ..
The reigning prince at this time was named Alex¬
ander ; and when Covillan arrived, he was employed
in levying contributions upon his rebellious fubje&s.
He met with a kind reception j and was conveyed to
the capital, where he was promoted to the higheft
polls of honour, but never allowed to return to Europe
again. The intelligence, however, which he tranfmit-
ted to the court of Portugal proved of much import-
He not only defcribed all the ports of India he
Reign of
Alexander.
64 ]
well, that when Alexander was about to invade Adel, Abyffimg.
Za Saluce the prime minifter, with many of the prin-
cipal nobility, were in the intereft of his adverfary. feret(J'd(j^
Not being apprized of this treachery, however, Alex-his prillle
ander intrufted this minifter with the command of a minifter
great part of his forces j and with thefe the latter aban-j*™1 ™ftoi
doned him in the heat of an engagement. Alexander
and the few troops who remained with him, however, gains ^ vic_
were fo far from being dilheartened by this treachery,tory.
that they feemed to be infpired with frtlh courage.
The-king having killed the ftandard-bearer of the ene¬
my, and thus become mailer of the green enfign of
Mahomet, the enemy began to give way ; and on his
killing the king of Adel’s fon, immediately after, they
quitted the field altogether. The victory was not by
any means complete ) neither was Alexander
Meditates
a war a-
gainft Adel
had feen, with the fituation and wealth of Sofala, but
advifed the king to profecute the difcovery of the paf-
fage round Africa with the utmoft diligence ; affirm¬
ing, that the cape at the fouthern extremity of the
continent was well known in India; and accompany¬
ing the whole with a chart which he had obtained from
a Moor, and which thowed exa&ly the fituation of the
cape and neighbouring countries.
Covillan arrived in Ethiopia about the year 1490 j
and the prince to whom he addrefled himfelf was A-
lexander the fon of Bseda Mariam, a prince endowed
with many good qualities, and no lefs verfed in mili¬
tary affairs than any of bis predeceffors. His reign
was difturbed by plots and rebellions, which at laft
proved fatal to him. From his early years he mani-
fefted a great defire to make war on the king of Adel,
who feems to have been the natural rival of the Ethio-
pic princes. But the Adelian monarch, having now
become fenfible that he was not able to cope with fuch
powerful adverfaries, took the moft effe£lual way of
fecuring himfelf j viz. by gaining over a party at the
court of Abyffinia. In this he had now fucceeded fo
in a fi¬
tuation to purfue the advantage he had gained. Hav¬
ing therefore challenged the Moors to a fecond engage¬
ment, which they declined, he returned with a defign
to puniffi his perfidious minifter Za Saluce, who had
endeavoured to excite the governors of all the provin¬
ces to revolt as he went along. I he traitor, however, ^]exari(]er
had laid his plots too well j fo that his fovereign was murdered,
murdered in two days after his arrival in the capital.
Za Saluce did not enjoy the rewards he expedled from
his treachery : for having attempted to excite a revolt
in the province of Amhara, he was attacked by the
nobility there \ and his troops deferting him, he was
taken prifoner without any refiftance, his eyes were put
out, and himfelf expofed on an afs, to the curfes and
derifion of the people.
Alexander was fucceeded by an infant fon, whoRe;gnof
reigned only feven months j after which his younger Naod.
..brother Naod was chofen king by the unanimous voice
of the people. He proved a wife and virtuous prince ;
but the late misfortunes, together with the corruption
introduced at court by the Mahometans, had fo un¬
hinged the government, that it became very difficult to
-know how to manage matters. Judging very proper¬
ly, however, that one of the moft effeftual methods of
f quieting the minds of the people would be an offer of
a general pardon j he not only proclaimed this, but
like wife, “ That any perfon who fhould upbraid an¬
other with being a party in the misfortunes of paft
times, or fay that he had been privy to this or that
confpiracy, had received bribes from the Moors, &c.
Ihould be put to death without delay.” On his enter-Maffudi
ing upon government, he found it neceffary to prepare ravagesflie
againft an enemy whom we have not heretofore men-Abyirin.ian
tioned, viz. Maffudi, prince of a diftrift named ^ror,1;errltories'
which lay in the neighbourhood of Adel. This chief¬
tain being a man of a very enterprifing and martial
-difpofition, and a moft violent enthufiaft in the Maho¬
metan caufe, had made a vow to fpend 40 days annual¬
ly in fome part of the Abyffinian dominions during the
time of Lent. For this purpofe he kept a fmall body
of veteran troops, with whom he fell fometimes on
one part, and fometimes on another of the frontiers,
putting to death without mercy fuch as made refiftance,
and carrying off for flaves thole who made none. For
30 years he continued this pradlice j beginning exaftly
on the firft day of Lent, and proceeding gradually up
the country as the term advanced. His progrefs was
greatly facilitated by the fuperftition of the people
themfelves, who kept that fall with fuch rigour as al-
mrift
•Abyffink
He is de¬
feated.
David III.
Abyffinia
in danger
from the
Turks.
A B Y 16
rnoft entirely to exhauft their ftrength ; fo that Maffudi
having never met with any oppofition, was always fure
of fuccefs, and thus came to be reckoned invincible.
On the prefent occafion, however, he experienced a
prodigious reverfe of fortune. Naod having enjoined
his foldiers to live in the fame full and free manner
during the fall as at any other time, and having fet the
example himfelf, marched out againft his enemy 5 who,
being ignorant of the precaution he had taken, advan¬
ced with his ufual confidence of fuccefs. The Abyfli-
nian monarch, ftill pretending fear, as if on account of
the weaknefs of his men, pitched his camp in very
itrong ground, but left fome pailages open to it, that
the enemy might make an attack, i his was done
contrary to the advice of their leader j and the confe-
quence was, that almoft every one of them was cut off.
On this the king of Adel fent ambafladors to folicit a
continuance of the peace with himfelf} which was
granted, upon condition that he reftored all the flaves
whom Maffudi had carried off in his laft year’s expe¬
dition } with which the Mahometan chief thought pro¬
per to comply rather than engage in fuch a dangerous
war.
Naod having thus freed his country from the dan¬
ger of any foreign invafion, applied himfelf to the cul¬
tivation of the arts of peace, and reforming the man¬
ners of his fubje&s, in which he fpent the remainder
of his days. He died in 1508, after a reign of 13
years •, and was fucceeded by his fon David III. a child
of 11 years of age. i hough the affairs of the empire
were at prefent in fuch a ftate as required a very pru¬
dent and attive adminiftration, the emprefs Helena,
widow of Baeda Mariam, had intereft enough to get
the crown fettled on the infant juft mentioned. This
proceeded partly from her defire of engrofiing all the
power into her own hands, and partly from a wifti to
keep peace with Adel her native country. Thefe ends
could not be accompliftied but by keeping a minor on
the throne of Abyflinia *, which was therefore her con-
ftant object as long as ftie lived. But though this
might not have been attended with any very bad con-
fequence had the two nations been left to decide the
quarrel by themfelves, the face of affairs was now quite
changed by the interference of the Turks. That peo¬
ple having now conquered almoft the whole of Arabia
to the Indian ocean, being likewife on the point of re¬
ducing Egypt, and having a great advantage over their
adverfaries in ufing fire-arms, now projected the con-
queft of India alfo. In this indeed they were always
difappointed by the fuperior valour of the Portuguefe ;
but as this conqueft remained a favourite object with
them, they did not abandon their attempts. In the
countries which they had conquered, they exafted fuch
enormous contributions from the merchants, that vaft
numbers of them fled to the African fide of the Red
fea, and fettled on the coaft of Adel. The Turks
furprifed at the increafe of trade in this country, which
they themfelves had occafioned, refolved to (hare in the
profits. For this purpofe they took pofieflion of Zeyla,
a fmall ifland in the Red fea, direftly oppofite to the
coaft of Adel •, and erefted a cuftomhouie in it, where
they oppreffed and ruined the trade as in other places.
Thus both Adel and Abyflinia wrere threatened with
a moft formidable enemy, which it would have been
utterly out of their power to have refifted, had not the
Vol. I. Part I.
5 ] A B Y
defire of poffefling India conftantly prevented the Turks ASyfllot^.
from dire&ing their ftrength againft thele countries. ^
Helena was fenfible enough of the dangerous fituation ^
of the empire, but preferred the gratification of
ambition to the good of her country , however, that
fhe might preferve herfelf from the attacks of fuch a N
formidable enemy, it was now thought proper to enter
into an alliance with the Portuguefe. T he ambalta-
dor from Portugal, Peter Covillan, was denied the li¬
berty of returning to his own country, as has been al¬
ready related j and as, for fome time paft, it had not
been obvious how he could be of much ufe, he had
begun to fall into oblivion. The prefent emergency,
however, recovered his importance. The emprels was-
fenfible of the neceflity fhe lay under of having fome
perlon who underftood both the Abyflinian and Por¬
tuguefe languages before fhe could open any correfpon-
dence with that nation, and who might likewife in¬
form her of the names of the perfons to whom her let¬
ters ought to be addreffed. By him fhe was now itr-
ftrudted in every thing neceffary to the fuccefs of her
embaffy. The meffage was committed to one Matthew
an Armenian merchant, with whom a young Abyfli¬
nian was joined } but the latter died by the way. I he
letters they carried are by Mr Bruce fuppofed to have
been partly the work of Covillan and partly of the
lefs experienced Abyflinian confidants of the emprefe.
They began with telling the king, that Matthew would
give him information of her whole purpofe, and that
he might depend on the truth of what he faid : but in
the latter part the whole fecret of the embafTy was
difclofed, and a force fuflicient to deftroy the I urkifh
power was exprefsly folicited. Among the other par¬
ticulars of this embaffy alfo it is faid, that a third part
of Abyflinia was offered in cafe her requifitions were
complied with } but this, as well as the embafly itfelf,
was always denied by David when he came of age.
Matthew, though raifed from the rank of merchant The ambaf-
to that of an ambaffador, could not, it feems, aft ac- hulor >'h
cording to his new dignity in fuch a manner as to
ufed.
fcreen himfelf from the moft mortifying and dangerous
imputations. Having arrived at Dabul in the Eaft
Indies, he was feized as a fpy, but relieved by Albu¬
querque the viceroy of Goa *, and that not out of any
regard to his charafter as ambaffador, but becaufe he
himfelf had a defign upon Abyflinia. This viceroy
ufed his utmoft endeavours to induce Matthew to de¬
liver his commiflions to him ; but the ambaffador con¬
ftantly refufed to ftiow any letter he had, except to
the king of Portugal in perfon, and in his own king¬
dom. This put him out of favour with the viceroy $
while his attendants, difpleafed at the mean appear¬
ance of the man, infifted fometimes that he was a fpy
from the fultan, at others that he was a cook, an im-
poftor, or a menial fervant. Matthew, however, per¬
ceiving that he was now out of danger, maintained
that his perfon was facred, and infifted on being treat¬
ed as the reprefentative of a fovereign. He let the
viceroy, biftiop, and clergy know, that he had with
him a piece of the wood of the true crofs, fent as a
prefent to the king of Portugal : and he required
them, under pain of facrilege, to pay refpeft to the
bearer of fuch a precious relic, and to celebrate its ar¬
rival as a feftival. This was inftantly complied with,
and a folemn proceflion inftituted ; but very little re-
I £ar(i
A B Y [ 66 ] A B Y
Abyflmia: gard appears to have been paid to this ambaflador ei-
w"* '• ”■ _ ther in his temporal or fpiritual charadter, as he could
not obtain leave to depart for Portugal till I 513',which
was three years after he arrived in India. In his paf-
fage he was extremely ill-treated by the Ihipmafters
with rvhom he tailed : but of this they foon had caufe
to repent ; as on their arrival at Lifbon they were all
put in irons, and would probably have died in confine¬
ment, had not Matthew made interceffion for them
with the king.
Maffuili re- "In the mean time, Maffudi having recovered from
news his the defeat given him by Naod, and formed alliances
tions6^" ""'ith the Turks in Arabia, had renewed his depreda¬
tions on the Abyfiinian territories with more fuccefs
than ever. Such a number of Haves had been, by his
affiduity, fent to Mecca, that he was honoured with
a green filk ftandard (an emblem of the true Mahome¬
tan faith), wdth a tent of black velvet embroidered
■with gold, and he was likewife made Sheykh of Zey-
la ; fo that, as this ifland was properly the key to the
Abyfiinian empire, he could neither be rewarded with
greater honour nor profit. This happened when David
had attained the age of 16; and in confequence of
fuch furprifing fuccefs the king of Adel, never a
hearty friend to Abyflinia, determined to break the
peace with that empire and make an alliance with
Maffudi. Having taken this refolution, the two princes
invaded Abyflinia with their joint forces, and in one
year carried off 19,000 Chriftian fiaves, fo that a ge¬
neral terror was fpread over the whole empire. David,
already impatient of the injuries his people had fuftain-
ed, determined to raife an army, and to head it in per-
fon as his anceftors had done, contrary to the advice
of the emprefs, who confidering only his youth and in¬
experience in military affairs, wiflied him to have em-
Bavid ployed fome of his veteran officers. A very powerful
marches a- army was raifed, and ample fupplies of all kinds were
gainft him. procured. With one part of his forces the emperor
took the road to Auffa the capital of Adel ; fending the
other under the command of an officer named the Be-
twudet, to meet the Moorilh army, which was then ra-
vaging part of Abyffinia. It was natural to be ima¬
gined, that the Moors, on hearing that an army was
marching to deftroy the capital of their country, would
abandon the thoughts of conqueft or plunder to pre-
ferve it. In doing this, David knew that they had
certain defiles to pafs before they could reach Adel.
He ordered the Betwudet therefore to allow them to
enter thefe defiles ; and before they could get through,
he himfelf, with the main body of the army, marched
to attack them at the other end. Thus the Moors
were completely hemmed in by a fuperior army : but
befides this unfavourable fituation, they were farther
M ff di difpirited by Maffudi. That hero came, on the morn-
prophefies ing of the engagement, to the king of Adel, inform-
-'his own ing him that his own time was now come ^ that he
dearh. }ia^ been certainly told by a prophet, long ago, that
if this year (1516) he fiiould fight the king of Abyffi¬
nia in perfon, he fhould lofe his life. He was affured
that the Abyffinian monarch was then prefent, having
feen the fcarlet tent which was ufed only by the fove-
reigns of that country -, and therefore advifed the king AbjtTinia. j
of Adel to make the beft of his way over the lealt —v—
fteep part of the mountain before the engagement be¬
gan. The Adelian monarch, who had at any rate no
great inclination to fight, was not inlpired with cou¬
rage by this fpeech : he therefore followed the advice
given him •, and, with a few of his friends, palled the
mountain, leaving his troops to their fate. 'I he
Moors, in the mean time, being abandoned by one
leader, and having another devoted to deflrudion,
ffiowed an uncommon backwardnefs to engage, which
was taken notice of by their enemies. Maftudi, how¬
ever, as foon as he fuppofed the king of Adel to be
out of danger, fent a trumpet to the Abyfiinian camp,
with a challenge to any man of quality in the army to
fight him *, on condition that the party of the victori¬
ous champion fiiould be accounted conquerors, and
that the armies rtiould immediately feparate without
further bloodflied. The challenge was inftantly ac¬
cepted by a monk named Gabriel Andreas ; who, in
the reign of Bseda Mariam, had been condemned to
lofe the tip of his tongue for fpeaking flightly of the-
king’s proclamation of amnefty. Maffudi Ihovved no He is kill-
reluCtance to prefent himfelf*, but received fuch a e(b
ftroke from his antagonirt with a two-handed fword as
almoft cut his body in two, and he immediately fell
down dead. Andreas cut off his head j and throwing
it at the king’s feet, cried out, “ There is the Goliath
of the infidels.” This became the fignal for a general
engagement, notwithftandmg the terms ftipulated by
Maffudi before the combat. The Moors were quickly The Moors
repulfed by the king’s troops, and driven backwardcltltateti
through the defile. At the other end they were met ^
by the Betwudet (b), who drove them back to the
king’s forces ; fo that at laft being forced to fly to the
mountains, they were all flaughtered by the peafants,
or perilhed with hunger and third.
The lame day that this viftory was gained over the Zeyla ta-
Moors by David, being in the month of July
the ifland of Zeyla in the Red fea was taken and the' °r ug
town burnt by the Portuguefe fleet under Lopez Sua¬
rez de Alberguiera. The Abyffinian ambaffador,
Matthew, in the mean time, had been received with
the greateft marks of efteem in Portugal. The utmoft
attention was paid to his embaffy ; he was lodged in
the moft fplendid manner j and his maintenance was
fuitable to his lodging. The king prepared an em-Emba(ry
baffy on his part, and fent home Matthew on board from the
the Indian fleet commanded by Lopez. The ambafia- king of
dor ordered for Abyflinia was one Edward Galvan, a hwtugah
man who had filled many ftate departments with the
utmoft applaufe ; but who by reafon of his age, being
now 86, was certainly very unfit for fuch a diftant and
perilous voyage. He died accordingly on the ifiand
of Camaran in the Red fea, where Suarez had impru¬
dently landed, and paffed the winter in the utmoft di-
ftrefs for want of provifions of every kind. This ad¬
miral was fucceeded by Lopez de Seguyera; who failed
firft to the ifland of Goa in the Eaft Indies, where he
fitted out a ftrong fleet; after which he returned to
the Red fea, and landed on the ifland of Mafuah, hav¬
ing
(B) This is the title of one of the officers in Abyflinia, not the proper name of a man.
A B Y
[ 67 ]
A B Y
A Portu-
the coaft
of Abyfli-
nia.
inR along with him Matthew, about the authenticity
of whofe miffion there had been fuch difputes. At hiS
firft approach the inhabitants fled ; but at laid he was
accofted by a Chriftian and a Moor from the continent,
who informed him that the coald oppofite to Maiuah
was part of the kingdom of Abyflinia, and that it was
governed by an officer named the baharnagajh ; that ait
guefe fleet the inhabitants of the ifland were Chriihans ; that the
arrives on Teafou Gf their flying at the fight of the Portuguese
fleet was that they took them for Turks, who fre¬
quently made defcents, and ravaged the liland, 5tc.
The admiral difmifled them with prefents j and loon
after had a vifit from the governor of Arkceko, a town
on the continent ; who informed him, that about 24
miles up the country there was a monaftery, feven of
the members of which were now deputed to wait upon
him. Thefe inilantly knew Matthew, and congratu¬
lated him in the warmeft manner upon his return from
fuch a long voyage. An interview foon took place
between the baharnagaffi himfeli and Lopez. 1 he
Aby{Tinian informed him, that the coming of the Por-
tuguefe had been long expe&ed, in confequence ot cer¬
tain ancient prophecies j and that he himfelf and all
the officers of the emperor were ready to ferve him.
They parted with mutual prefents j and all doubt about
Matthew being now removed, he prepared to fet out
for the emperor’s court; while Roderigo de Lima was
nominated ambaflador in place of Galvan who died.
Along with them were 15 Portuguefe ; all men of the
moil determined courage, and wlio would hefitate at
nothing which they thought might contribute to the
glory of their king, their own honour, or the advan¬
tage of their country. Their prefent journey indeed
was much more perilous than their voyage from Por-
of his e mb a fly, and obtained leave to depart for Poriu
Abyflm'L
gab
Difficult
journey of
^ vy V11 11C. J vj \ * 1 ^ ^ m 0 m
tfle ambaf- tugal to Abyflinia. The emperor was at this time in
I'ndors
through
Abyflinia
the fouthern part of his dominions, but the Portuguele
had landed on the northern part *, fo that they had al-
moft the whole breadth of the empire to pafs. before
they could meet with him. 1 he very firfl: journey
they attempted was through a wood fo thick that it
could fcarce afford a paffage either to man or beaft,
while the interflices of the trees were fo interwoven
•with briers and thorns of various kinds, that their paf¬
fage was rendered almoft impra&icable. 'I his ivas ren¬
dered ftill more terrible by the vaft numbers of wild
beails they faw, and which feemed only to be prevented
from devouring them by the appearance of fo many
men together. The rainy feafon was alfo now begun ;
fo that they were expofed to inceffant deluges of water
defcending from the clouds, befides frequent and vio¬
lent ftorms of wind, thunder, and lightning, &.c. 1 o
add to their misfortunes, an epidemic fever broke out
among them, which carried off Matthew and one of
the fervants of Don Roderigo. At laft, after a moft
tedious and toilfome journey, from the 16th of April
to the 18th of Offober 1520, the Portuguefe ambaffa-
dor, with his retinue, came within fight of the Abyf-
finian camp at the diftance of about three miles. His
yvie very reception was by no means favourable ; for inftead of
indifferent- being immediately admitted to the prefence of the em-
iy received peror? }ie ■was waited t)n by one of the officers of Hate,
peror and’ ftyled> ™ tokt'n of humility, HaJug Ras, or commander
long detain-0/ ; ''vho caufed him pitch his tent three miles
farther off from the camp : and it was not till five years
afterwards that he was enabled to finifh the bufinefs
Are very
ed.
During all this time, not a fingle word had paffcu
relatin(r to the affairs of the two nations ; fo that it is
difficuft to imagine what might have been the defign At laft nv-
of the Aby {Tinian emperor. At laft, having refoived owed to
to fond an wobaffy to Portugal, he allowed Roder.go^^.^
'to depart, but detained two of his people ; appointing dcr from
Zaga Zaab, an Aby {Tinian monk, his ambaffador to I qr-the empe-
,1 ror•
tU This long intercourfe betwixt two fuch diftant na-Bad effects
tions, however, could not but greatly alarm the Mahd-ot this ce-
mctan powers, who were natural enemies to both. i
lira, the Turkiffi fultan, having been conftantlv defeat¬
ed by the Portuguefe in the call, and alarmed at tnc
thoughts of having a fleet of that nation in the Red
Tea, where they might greatly annoy his fettlements
on the coaft of Arabia, determined to carry his arms
to the African fide ; while the king of Adel, having
ftrengthened himfelf by alliances with the lurkifh of¬
ficers in Arabia, was now become a much more .tor-
midable enemy than before. This was foon expenen-tte^
ced in a battle with the Adeiians j in which the Abtthe
Tinian monarch was overthrown with the lols ot a-'™011 Moors,
all his great officers and principal nobility, befides a
vaft number of private men. The victory was princi¬
pally owing to the affiftance given by the lurks ; tor
the army was commanded by Mahomet fur name
■Gragnc. i. e. left-handed, governor of Zeyla, which had
now received a Turkiffi garrifon. This man, having
the conqueft of Abyffinia greatly at heart, refolved, as
foon as poflible, to effeft fomething dectfive ; and
therefore having fent to Mecca all the prifoners taken
in his late expedition, he obtained in return a confider-
able number of janizaries, with a train of portable ar¬
tillery Thus the fortune of the war was entirely de-The Ade-
cided in favour of tile Adelians and Xurks ; the empe- b*"S »"■«-
ror was defeated in every battle, and frequently hun -
ed from place to place like a wild beaft. ihe Moors,^ej-eat
finding at laft no neceffity for keeping up an army, emperor.
overran the whole empire in fmall parties, everywhere
plundering and burning the towns and villages, and car¬
rying off the people for {laves.
This deftructive war continued till the year 1537 »
when Gragne fent a meflage to the emperor, exhorting
him not to fight any longer againft God, but to make
peace while it was in his power, and £Te -'m
daughter in marriage : on which condition he would
withdraw his army ; but other wife he would reduce
his empire to fuch a ftate that it ffiould be capable of
producing nothing but graft. David, however, ftiil
refufed to fubmit ; replying, that he put his confidence
in God, who at prefent only chaftifed him and _1,s {fje refufes
people for their fins ; but that Gragne himfelf, being t0 fubmit.
an infidel, and enemy to the true religion, could not
fail of coming in a ftiort time to a miferable end. J his
unfuccefsful negotiation was followed by feveral encoun¬
ters, in which the emperor was conftantly defeated ; in
one of them his eldeft fon svas killed, and in another.
his youngeft was taken prifoner; fo that he now feem¬
ed entirely deftitute, being obliged to wander on foot,
and all alone, hiding himfelf throughout the day among
the bufties on the mountains. _ # . j
The invincible conftancy 'with which this forlorn
monarch bore his misfortunes, proved a matter of fur-
T o nriie
i.
A B Y [ 68 ] A B Y
Abvffinia. prjfe botl) to friends and enemies. Many of his vete-
-~'T~ ran foldiers, compadionating the diftreffes of their fo-
vereign, fought him out in his hiding places’, fo that
he once more found himfelf at the head of a fmall ar¬
my, with which he gained fome advantages that ferved
to keep up his own fpirits and thofe of his adherents.
His greateft enemy was Ammer, one of Gragne’s of¬
ficers, who headed the rebellious Abyflinians, and who
had formed a fcheme of affaflinating the king ; but,
inftead of accotnplilhing his purpofe, he himfelf was af-
faflinated in X538 by a common foldier, on what ac¬
count we are not informed.
By the death of Ammer and the fmall fuccelfes
which David himfelf had obtained, the affairs of Abyf-
finia feemed to revive j but ftill there was no probabi¬
lity of their being ever brought to a fortunate iffue.
A new em- embaffy to Portugal was therefore thought of in
bafly to  j  ,i   rrn . _r  
Portugal.
good earneft, as the mifchievous effefls of flighting the
proffered friendlhip of that power were now fufficient-
ly apparent. One of the attendants of Roderigo, na¬
med John Bermudes, who had been detained in Abyf-
finia, was chofen for this purpofe; and to his tempo¬
ral character of ambaffador was added that of Abuna,
primate or patriarch. John, who was not a clergy¬
man originally, had received all the inferior ecclefia-
llical orders at once, that the fupreme one might be
thus conferred upon him j but happening to be a great
bigot to the popifli religion, he would not accept of
his new dignity but with a provifo, that his ordination
Ihould be approved by the pope. This was indireftly
fubmitting the church of Abyffinia to that of Rome j
to which David would never have agreed, had it not
been for the defperate fituation of his affairs at that
time. John was therefore allowed to do as he thought
proper: when palling through Arabia and Egypt to
Italy, he had his confirmation confirmed by the pope ;
after which he fet out on the bulinefs of his embaffy.
On his arrival at Lifbon, he was acknowledged by the
king as patriarch of Alexandria, Abyflinia, and of the
fea ; for this laft title had alfo been conferred upon
him by his Holinefs. Entering then upon the pur¬
pofe of his embaffy, he began by putting Zaga Zaab in
irons for having walled fo much time, and done no-
A body of thing effeftual fince he had left Abyllinia. Then he
Fortuguefe reprefented to the king the diftreffes of the Abyflinians
oTiftthet0 *n a ftrong light? and infilled fo violently for re-
nmperor. Ref to them, that an order was very foon procured for
400 mufketeers to be fent by Don Garcia de Noronha
to their relief. To accelerate the progrefs of the in¬
tended fuccours, John himfelf propofed to fail in the
fame fleet with Don Garcia •, but his voyage was de¬
layed for a whole year by ficknefs, occafioned, as he
fuppofed, by poifon given him by Zaga Zaab, the monk
whom he had imprifoned, and who had been fet at li¬
berty by the king. After his recovery, however, he
fet fail for India, where he arrived in fafety. The
death of Don Garcia, which happened in the mean
time, occafipned another delay but at laft it was re-
folved, that Don Stephen de Gama, who had fucceed-
ed to Don Garcia, fhould undertake an expedition to
the Red fea, in order to burn fome Turkilh galleys
which then lay at Suez. But intelligence having in
the mean time been received of the intended voyage,
thefe veffels had withdrawn themfelves. Anchoring
'hen in the port of Mafuah, Don Stephen fent over to
Arkeeko on the continent to procure frelh water and Ab^ffinia.
other provifions ; but the Turks and Moors being now ^ *
entirely mailers of that coaft, the goods he had fent in
exchange were feized without anything being given anci take
in return. A meffage was brought back, importing, the town of
that the king of Adel was now mailer of all Ethiopia, Arkeeko.
and confequently, that no trade could be carried on
without his leave j but if Don Stephen would make
peace with him, the goods fhould be reftored, a plen¬
tiful fupply of water and all kinds of provifions grant¬
ed, and amends likewife made for 60 Portuguefe who
had been killed at Zeyla. Thefe had run awTay from
the fleet on its firft arrival in the Red fea, and landed
on the coaft of Adel, where they could procure no wa¬
ter $ of which the barbarians took advantage to decoy
them up the country ; where, having perfuaded them
to lay down their arms, they murdered them all. To
this Don Stephen returned a fmooth anfwer, fent more
goods, obtained provifions, and promifed to come afhorc
as foon as a Mahometan feftival, which the favages
were then celebrating, fhould be over. This treaty
was carried on with equal bad faith on both fides j but
Don Stephen had now the advantage by obtaining the
provifions he flood in need of. Thefe were no fooner
brought on board, than he ftri£tly forbade all inter-
courfe with the land $ and choofing out 600 men, he
attacked the town of Arkeeko, killed the governor,
and fent his head to the Abyflinian court; maffacring
at the fame time all the people in the town he met
with. *
During this long interval, a confiderable change Affa;re 0f
had taken place in the Abyflinian affairs. We have Abyflinia
already feen that David had been reduced to great di- fluring this
flrefs; but afterwards met with fome little fucceffes, filtervah
which feemed to indicate an approaching change of
fortune. In thefe, however, he was foon difappoint-R0yai fa_
ed. A Mahometan chief called Ffiz/r Mugdid made mily maf-
an attack upon the rock Geftien, where the royal fa-feci ed.
mily were kept j and finding it entirely unguarded, af-
cended without oppofition, and put every perfon to the
fvvord. This laft difafter feems to have been too great jyeatj, 0f
for the refolution even of this heroic prince, as he died David and
the fame year 1540. He was fucceeded by his fon accefiion of
Claudius, who, though then but about 18 years of age, Claudins to
was endowed with all the great qualities neceffary for ^ ernP,re*
managing the affairs of the empire in fuch a dreadful
crifis, and had made confiderable progrefs before the
arrival of the Portuguefe.
On his acceflion, the Moors, defpifing his youth, in-A powerful
ftantly formed a league among themfelves to crufli him league
at once j but, like almoft all others too confident of
vidlory, they negle&ed to take the proper precautions empe>
againft a furprife. This was not unobferved by Clan- ror.
dius; who falling upon one party which lay next to
him, gave them a total defeat. The king purfued Moors
them the whole day of the engagement, the enfuing defeated,
night, and part of the following day ; putting to death
without mercy every one who fell into his hands. This
exceflive ardour very much damped the fpirits of his
enemies, and at the fame time infpired his own party
with the moft fanguine hopes of fuccefs 5 whence he
foon appeared at the head of fuch an army as convin¬
ced his enemies that he was by no means to be defpi-
fed. They now found it neceffary to defift from the
gfcaftice they had fo long continued, of plundering and
ravaging
B Y [ 69 J A B \
to call in their fcattered par- and they were therefore obliged_ to condyuft^new ones
and fpend the rainy feafon in
as they had conquered, with-
Ab)ffiaia. ravaging the country j
v”- 1 ties, unite their troops,
fuch parts of AbytTmia  , - • r ,
out returning into Adel, as had hitherto, been ufual
with them. They now same to a refolution to iorce
the king to a general engagement, in which they ho¬
ned to prove viftorious by dint of numbers. lor this
purpofe all the rebel chiefs in Abyflinia were called in,
and a formidable army collefted. They waited only
for one very experienced chief named Jonathan; atter
whofe iunaion they determined to attack the royal ar¬
my without delay. But Claudius took his ports at all
times with fuch judgment, that any attempt upon Ins
Jonathan, a camp would have been almoft defperate > and getting
rebel chief, intenigence where Jonathan lay with his torces, lie
defeated marched out in the night time, came upon him quite
and killed. redj defeated and killed him, fending his head
to the reft of the confederacy by a prifoner, the only one
he had fpared out of all thofe who were taken. By
the fame meffenger a defiance was fent to the Moors,
and many opprobrious epithets were beftowed upon
them ; but though the armies approached one another,
and continued for feveral days under arms, the Moors
were fo much intimidated that they would by no means
venture an engagement. r
By this viftory the fpints of the Abymmans were lo
much elevated, that they flocked in from all parts to
join their prince j and even many of the Mahometans,
having experienced the lenity of the Chriftian govern¬
ment, chofe rather to fubmit to Claudius than to the
Unfuccefs- Turks and Adelians. The king, however, was in dan-
fd attempt of beina affaflinated by one Ammer, a treacherous
SSL governor; who knowing that he had retired to fome
difiance from his army to celebrate the feftival of
Barter, attempted to furprife him when almoft delti-
tute of attendants ; but Claudius having timely notice
of his defigns, laid an ambulh for him with a confider-
able part of his army which he headed in perlon. ihe
rebel, not being equally well informed, fell into the
fnare, was defeated, and almoft his whole army cut off
on the 24th of April 154-1. # *
Such was the fituation of affairs when the Fortu-
auefe arrived. The head of the governor of Arkeekb
had been received by the queen, who regarded it as a
happy inftance of the valour of her allies, and as a
prefage of future viaories. The Portuguefe admiral,
Don Stephen de Gama, loft no time in employing the
men allowed by the king to aflift the Abyffinians.
Thefe were in number 450 ; but as the officers who
commanded them were all noblemen of the firft rank,
the army was conftderably increafed by the number
of their fervants. The fupreme command was given
to Don Chriftopher de Gama the admiral’s youngeft
brother. Almoft every man on board, however, was
ambitious to (bare in the glory of this enterprile j
rwlvan™ whence great complaints were pnade by thofe who were
sf the name not allowed to go : and hence, Mr Bruce informs us,
ofabayin the bay in the ifland of Mafuah, where the admiral s
Mafnah. galley rode, had the name of Bahia dos Agravados ;
guefoundert^ie ba? tbe not as bas been err°"
Don chri- neoufly fuppofed. ' , a
ftopher de This gallant army inftantly fet forward by the molt
Gama fet eap„ road through the AbyfTinian territories, in order
the. IT1 to join the emperor. Still, however, , the way was fo
ror. 1 rugged, that the carriages of their artillery ga^c vvj
the barrels of old muf-
which was extremely
as they went along fplittin
kets to furnifh them with iron,
fearce in Abyffinia. In this journey the general was interview
dius
met by the emprefs, attended with her two lifters and awith the
great many others of both fexes, whom he faluted with cmPrcls'
drums beating and colours flying, accompanied by a
general difeharge of the fire-arms, to their great con-
fufion and terror. Her majefty, whofe perfon was en¬
tirely covered, indulged the Portuguefe general with
a view of her face ; and after a mutual exchange of ci¬
vilities, the queen returned with 100. mulketeers ap¬
pointed by him as her guard. After eight days march,
through a very rugged country, Don Chriftopher re¬
ceived a defiance in very infulting terms from Gragne
the Mahometan general, which was returned in the fame
ftvle. An engagement took place on the 25th ofBattlebe-
March 15421 in which little was done by eithe# party
befides wounding both the . commanders : however, and t£e
Gragne, though greatly fuperior in horfe, had already Moors,
felt fo much of the Portuguefe valour, that he did not
choofe to venture a fecond battle.
As the feafon was now far advanced, the Portu¬
guefe put themfelves into win ter-quarters j while Grag¬
ne remained in their neighbourhood, in hopes, of for¬
cing them to a battle before they could be joined by
the king, who advanced for the purpofe as fall as poi-
fible. This being the cafe, it was to the laft degree
imprudent in Don Chriftopher to think of venturing
an engagement without previoufly forming a junction
with his royal ally 1 efpecially as Gragne had. now dou¬
bled the number of his horfe, increafed his train, of
artillery, and otherwife received confiderable rein¬
forcements. Unfortunately, however, the Portuguefe Don chrf„
general fuffered himfelf to be hurried away by the im-ftopher
petuofity of his own temper*, and paying regard to ralhly en-
the defiances and reproaches of a barbarian whom he^^
ought to have defpifed, w'as induced, contrary to all
advice that could be given, to venture an engagement
at a vaft difadvantage. Yet when the armies encoun¬
tered each other, the fuperiority. of the Portuguefe
was fo great, that viftory feemed likely to be decided
in their favour. On this Gragne ordered fqme artille¬
ry to be pointed againft the Abyfiinian allies. Thefe,
entirely unaccuftomed to fire-arms, fled almoft at the
firft difeharge. Gragne, well knowing that it was his
intereft to deftroy the Portuguele, who were only.400
in number, ordered no purfuit againft the Abyfiinians,
but fell with his whole force upon the Europeans. Even
yet his fuccefs was doubtful, till Don Chriftopher, ex¬
porting himfelf too much, was fingled out and ftiot
through the arm. This produced fuch confufion, that Is wounded
a total defeat, with the lofs of the camp, enfued *, when deteat-
the barbarians, according to cuftom, put to death ab
the wounded, and began to abufe the women, who had
all retired into the tent of the general. . This being ob-
fervedby a noble Abyfiinian lady married to one of the
Portuguefe, file fet fire to fome barrels of gunpowder
which happened to be in the tent, and thus perilhed
along with her ravifiiers.
Don Chriftopher, who by his rafhnefs had occafioned
this difafter, obftinately refufed to fly, till he was put
into a litter by force, and fet off along with the queen
and patriarch, who happened to be prefent. The .two
latter had fet off before the battle; but Don Chrifto¬
pher , i-
A B Y
[
r
]
A B Y
ter m a
cave, is ta¬
ker, and
put to
de..th.
<3ragn«, a-
bantloned
by his al¬
lies, is de¬
feated and
killed.
Akyffinici. phcr fent fome liorfemen in purfuit of them, by whom
they were brought back, and reproached by the gene¬
ral for the bad example they had (hown to the army.
Takes fhei- Arriving at the approach of night in a wood where
there was a cave, Don Chritfopher entered it to have
his wound dreflfed, but obftinately refufed to proceed
farther. Next day he was taken ; betrayed, as is moft
probable, by a woman whom he loved^ who is faid to
have pointed out this cave to him, and promifed to
fend fome friends to convey him into a place of fafety.
Inftead of this, a party of the enemy entered the cave \
and on his readily informing them of his name, they
indanfly carried him in triumph to Gragne. Here,
after feveral infults had pafied on both fides, the barba¬
rian, in a fit of paflion, cut off bis head ; which was
fent to Conflantinople, and his body cut in pieces and
difperfed through AbyiTmia.
This cruelty of Gragne proved more detrimental to
his caufe than a complete viftor-y gained by the other
party could have been. On the one hand, the Portu-
guefe were fo exafperated by the lofs of their leader,
that they were ready to embark in the moll; defperate
undertakings, in order to revenge his death ; on the
other, the Turks, on whom he principally depended,
were irritated to the laft degree at tlie difappointment
of (haring his ranfom, which they imagined would have
been an immenfe fum; and therefore abandoned their
deader to return to their own country. Gragne, thus
left to decide the quarrel with his Africans, was quick¬
ly defeated by Claudius ; and in another -engagement
Avhich took place on the loth of February 1543> bis
troops were defeated aud himfelf killed. This lalt
misfortune was owing to his boldnefs in advancing be¬
fore his army which was giving way, fo that he be¬
came known to the Portuguefe. On this he was
fingled out by a Portuguefe named Peter Lyon, who
had been valet de chambre to Don Chriftopher. This
man, to make his aim more fure, crept for a confider-
able way along the bank of a river towards the place
where Gragne was; and when come fufficiently near,
(hot him quite through the body. Finding himfelf
mortally wounded, he quitted the field of battle ; and
was followed by Lyon, who in a fhort time faw him
fall from his horfe. He then came up to him, and cut
off one of his ears, which he put in his pocket and
returned to the battle to do what further fervice he
could. The next day Gragne’s body was found by
an Abyffmian officer, who cut off his head and claim¬
ed the merit of killing him ; but Lyon having pulled
out the ear which he carried in his pocket, vindicated
his own right to the reward which was to be given to
the other. On this occafion the Mooriffi army was ai¬
med entirely dedroyed ; Gragn^’s wife and fon were
taken prifoners, with Nur the fon of Mugdid, who
dedroyed the royal family ; and it had been happy for
Claudius, as we (hall afterwards fee, that he had put
thefe prifoners to death. Very foon after this engage¬
ment, the emperor had intelligence that Joram, a rebel
chief who had once reduced his father David to great
didrefs, was advancing rapidly in hopes of being dill
able to be prefent at the battle. This was the lad of
his father’s enemies on whom Claudius had to revenge
bimfelf; and this was effeftually done by a detachment
.sof his army, who poded themfelves in his -way, fell up¬
Joram a re¬
bel diief
defeated
and killed.
on him unexpe£ledly, and cut him in pieces with all AbyiTmia.
his men.
Claudius being now freed from all apprehenfion of
foreign enemies, began to turn his thoughts towards
the reparation of the damages occafioned by fuel) a
long war, and the fettlement of religious affairs. WeDifturban- >
have already mentioned, that John Bermudes was ap-£eson af-.
pointed by the Pope, as he faid, patriarch of Alexan- ^ 0 rc!l' |
dria, Abyffinia, and of the fea. This however, is faid°
by others to have been a falfehood ; that John was
originally ordained by the old patriarch of Abyffinia ;
and that the Pope did no more than give his fan&ion
to this ordination, without adding any new one of his
own. But whether this was fo or not, certain it is,
that John, who was very infolent in his behaviour, and
of a turbulent difpofition, now began to infill that
Claudius ihould not only embrace the doftrines of the
church of Rome, but eilabliffi that religion throughout
the empire, which he faid his father David had engaged
to do ; and which, confidering the extreme diftrels in
which lie was involved, it is very probable that he did.
Claudius, however, was of a different opinion, and re- Altercation
fufed to alter the religion of the country ; upon which betwixt tht
a contention began, which was not ended but by the emperor
total expulfion of the Catholics, and the cutting off alHk^^e pa-
communication with Europeans. At that time the Bemnujes>
Portuguese and Abyffinians intermarried, and attended
religious worffiip promifeuoufly in each others churches:
fo that the two nations might have continued to live in
■harmony, had it not been for the miffiehaviour of Ber-
mudes. Claudius, perceiving the violence and over¬
bearing difpofition of the man, took every opportunity
of {bowing his attachment to the Alexandrian or Greek
church ; denying that he had made any promife of fub-
milting to the fee of Rome. On this Bermudes told
him that he was aecurfed and excommunicated ; the
king in return called him a Neftorian heretic; to which
Bermudes replied by calling him a liar, and threaten¬
ed to return to India, and carry all the Pertuguefe
along with him. To this infolent fpeech Claudius an-
fwered, that he wiflaed indeed that Bermudes would
return to India ; but that he would not allow the Por¬
tuguefe, nor any perfon, to leave his territories with¬
out permiffion.
Thus matters feemed likely to come to an open rup¬
ture ; and there can be no doubt that the worit extre¬
mities would have followed, had not the emperor been
reftrained by the fear of the Portuguefe valour on the
one hand if he ffiould attempt any thing againft them,
and the hopes of further advantages ffiould he retain
them in his fervice. For thefe reafons he bore with
patience the infults of the patriarch ; attempting to
gain the reft of the Portuguefe over to his fide. He
Succeeded perfe&ly with their commander Arius ERas,-^ portn,
who privately renounced the church of Rome, and was gUefe corn-
baptized into that of Abyffinia by the name of Mr/rcz/rmantler re-
ovMarco-; in confequence of which, the emperor, look-”®^®^
ing upon him as a naturalked fubjeSt, fent him a'ftand-religion>
ard with the Abyffinian arms jto be ufed inftead of thofe
of Portugal. This, however, was not delivered ; for
a Portuguefe named Ja/nes Brito, meeting the page
Avho carried it, took it from him and killed him with
his fword. The apoftafy of Arius is faid to have been
owing to the great honoufs which had been conferred
upon
Abyflinia-
He is in-
•efted with
ayal dig-
lity.
Hohilities
letween
die Abyf»
inians and
dortuguefe
A B Y [7
upon Lira by the Abyffinian monarch-: for having,
in an expedition againlf Adel, defeated and. killed the
king, and taken the queen prifoner, he bellowed her in
marriage on Arius j and that the match might be
equal, he raifed him alfo to the royal dignity, by giving
him the kingdoms of Doar and Belwa.
The altercation on the fubjetl- of religion becoming
every day more violent, Bermudes was prohibited by
the emperor from fending any farther orders to the
Portuguefe, they being now under the command of
Marco the Abyflinian captain-general 5 meaning Arius
Dias, to whom the name of Marco had been lately
given. To this the patriarch replied, that being fub-
je&s of the king of Portugal, they were under no ob¬
ligation to obey a traitor to his king and religion ; and
that fince his majefty Hill perfilted in refuting to fub-
mit to the pope, he was refolved to leave the empire
with his forces. The emperor^ however, Hill infilled
that he was abfolute in his own dominions j and. he
expefled the Portuguefe to pay obedience to his gene¬
ral, and none elfe. The Portuguefe, enraged at this
declaration, refolved to die fword in hand rather than
fubmit to fuch terms and therefore began to fortify
their camp in cafe of any attack. The emperor on
‘this, thinking a defiance was given him in his own ter¬
ritories, ordered the camp to be inftantly attacked. The
attempt was accordingly made, but with very little
fuccefs j the Portuguefe having llrewed the ground with
gunpowder, fet fire to it as the Abyllinians marched
along, which dellroyed great numbers, and intimida¬
ted the reft to fuch a degree that they inftantly fled..
Finding it in vain to think of. reducing them by force,
the emperor is then faid to have been advifed by Mar¬
co to confult his own fafety, and break the power of
the Portuguefe by artifice. With this view he fent
for the patriarch, pretended to be very forry for his
frequent breach of promife, and defirous to make what
amends for it he could. Inftead of complying with the
patriarch’s demands, however, he fir ft ordered his fub-
jedls to fupply them with no provifions : then he Hop¬
ped the mouths of the Portuguefe by a confiderable
quantity of gold, giving the patriarch himfelf a very
valuable prefent j adding to all this a large fupply of
provifions; but at the fame time taking proper me¬
thods to difperfe their leaders into different parts of
the empire, fo that they fhould find it impofiible ever
to reunite in a body.
Such is the account given of this tranfadlion by the
Portuguefe hiftorians; but that of Mr Bruce, who fays^
that he tranflated his from the Abyfiinian annals, is fome-
what different. He only informs us, that the quarrel
betwixt the Portuguefe and AbylTmians w7as inflamed
by the “ incendiary fpirit of the brutifh Bermudes :
from reproaches they came to blows; and this proceed¬
ed fo far, that one night the Portuguefe affaulted the
king’s tent, where they flew fome and grievoufly wound¬
ed others.” The event, however, was that no abfo¬
lute quarrel ever took place betwixt this emperor and
any of the Portuguefe, excepting this patriarch, whom
he was on the point of banifhing to one of the rocks
ufed as prifons in Abyffinia. This was difpenfed with
on the interpofition of Gafpar de Suza the new Por¬
tuguefe commander (who had fucceeded Arius Dias),
and another named Kafmati Robe/, both of whom were
in great favour with the emperor ; and Bermudes per-
1 ] A B Y
fuaded to withdraw to India. According to Mr Bruce Abjfftnia.
he repaired to Dobarwa, where he remained two years v 1
quite neglected and forlorn, faying mafs to no more Bermudes
than ten Portuguefe who had fettled there after the A"'
feat of Don Chriftopher. fie then went to Mafuah ; ' inl“'
and the wind foon becoming favourable, he embarked
in a Portuguefe veffel, carrying with him the ten per-
fons to whom he had officiated as prieft. From Goa
he returned to Portugal, and continued there till his
death. On the other hand, the Portuguefe writers
inform us, that he was narrowly watched by order of
the emperor; and that Gafpar de Suza, the Portuguefe
commander, had orders to put him to death if he fhould
attempt to make his efcape. Bermudes, however, be*
ing determined at all events to make his efcape, pre¬
tended to be ill of the gout, and that a change of air
was neGeflary for his recovery; for which reafon he
went to the town above mentioned, where there was a
monaftery. On this pretence he was allowed to crofs
the kingdom of Tigre, accompanied by eight faithful
fervants, with whom he reached Dobarwa unfufpe£ted.
Here he remained concealed in a monaftery for two
years before he could find an opportunity of getting to
the itland of Mafuah, from whence he proceeded to
Goa.
The emperor was fcarce freed from this troublefome A new de-
prieft, when he was-in danger of being involved in newputation
difficulties by the intrufion of others into his dominions.tl<jm
Ignatius Loyola, founder of the order oL the Jefuits, I>0Pe’
was at that lime at Borne ; and. fo much attached to
the caufe of the pope, that he propofed to go in per-
fon to Abyffinia, in order to make a thorough convcr-
fion of both prince and people. His holinefs, how¬
ever, who, from what he had already feen of Ignatius,
conceived that he might be of greater ufe to him by
flaying in Europe, fent in his ftcad Nugnez Baretto,
one of the fociety of Jefuits, whom he inverted with
the dignity of patriarch, and honoured with a letter to
Claudius. With thefe commiffions, and a number of
priefts, Baretto failed for Goa in the Eaft Indies ; by
which, however diftant, the only palfage to Abyffinia
was at that time. On his arrival at that place he was
informed that the Abylunian monarch had fuch a fteady
averfion to-the church of Rome, that there was no pro¬
bability of his meeting with a favourable reception.
For this reafon it was-judged more proper to fend fome
clergymen of inferior dignity, with proper credentials,
as atnbafiadors to the emperor from the governor of
India, without running the rilk of having any affront,
put upon the patriarch. Thefe were Oviedo-bilhop of
Hierapolis, Carneyro biffiop of Nice, and feveral others,,
who arrived fafely at Mafuah in the year 1558-. Clau¬
dius, on hearing of their arrival, was greatly pleafed,
as fuppofing that a new fupply of Portuguefe foldiers
was arrived. Finding, however, that they were only
priefts, he was very much mortified, but ftill refolved
to give them a civil-reception. . But a more important
confideration, and which concerned-thfc welfare of the
empire in the higheft degree, now claimed his atten¬
tion. This was the appointment of a fucceffor to the
throne, Claudius himfelf having no fon. A project Prince Me.
was therefore fet on foot for ranfoming Prince Menas,nas re-
the emperor’s youngeft brother, who had been takendei''™ecl
prifoner by the Moors in the time of David, and hi-^1?1
therto detained in captivity on a high mountain in Adel. „
This
7 2
A B Y [
^A'byfflnia. This was not likely to be accomplifhed ; for the Moors
    would not willingly part with one who they knew was
their mortal enemy, that he might be raifed to the fo-
vereignty of a great empire. By detaining him pri-
foner alfo, they might reafonably hope for difputes con¬
cerning the fucceffion to the Abyflinian throne j which
w'ould enable them to attack the empire with advan¬
tage. In thefe circumftances, it is probable that Clau¬
dius wTould have found great difficulty in procuring his
brother’s liberty, had it not been that the fon of the
famous Gragne had been taken in that battle in which
his father was killed, and in like manner confined on
a mountain in Abyffinia. A propofal was then made
to his mother, who had efcaped into Atbara, that her
fon ihould have his liberty, provided the king’s brother
ihould be reftored. This was accepted ; and by means
of the bafhaw of Mafuah, an exchange was made.
Four thoufand ounces of gold were given for the ranfom
of Menas, which were divided between the Moors and
the baffiaw of Mafuah ; while on his part Claudius fet
at liberty Ali Gerad the fon of Gragne without any
farther demand.
According to Bermudes’s account of thefe times,
the widow of Gragne was taken prifoner at the battle
in which her hufband was killed, and was afterwards
married to Arius Dias. In this cafe we muft fuppofe
her to have been the fame with the queen of Adel,
mentioned as.his confort by other hiftorians : but Mr
Bruce treats this-account as a mere Fable ; and informs
us, that by means of Nur the fan of Mugdid, murderer
of the royal family as already related, (lie made her
efcape into Atbara. On that occafion Nur fell in love
with her •, but ffie refufed to marry any man unlefs he
brought her the head of Claudius, who had killed her
former hufband. To attain his withes, therefore, Nur,
now governor of Zeyla, undertook the talk ; and when
Claudius marched towards Adel, fent him a challenge
to fight ; telling him that there w'as yet a particular
inftrument for (bedding the blood of the Abyffinian
princes, and defiring him to be prepared, as he was
very foon to fet out to attack him. The emperor did
not decline the combat, but is faid to have been advifed
agamft this expedition by all his friends. This advice
feems to have proceeded from a number of prophecies,
probably trumped up by the clergy, that he ffiould be
unfortunate, and lofe his life in the campaign. Thefe
prophecies ought no doubt to have had weight with
him, as they moft certainly indicated a fpirit of dif-
affeftion among his troops ; and the event accordingly
Defeat and evinced that it wTas fo. The Abyffinians fled almofl
death of on the firft fire, leaving the king in the midft of his
enemies, attended only by 18 Portuguefe and 20 horfe-
men of Abyflinia, who continued faithful to the lafl.
All thefe were killed after the moft defperate refift-
ance ; the king himfelf receiving upwards of 20 wounds
before he fell. His head was cut off, and brought by
Nur to his miftrefs, who hung it up on a tree before
her door. Here it remained for three years, when it
was at laft bought by an Armenian merchant, who
buried it at Antioch in the fepulchre of a faint of the
fame name. Nur gained on this occafion a very com¬
plete viftory •, the king and moft of the principal
nobility being killed, a great number made pri-
foners, and the camp taken with an immenfe booty.
On his return to Adel, he refufed to accept of any
Nur, deter¬
mines to
"deftroy
Claudius.
the empe¬
ror.
] A B Y
congratulations, or to allow rejoicings to be made for Afeyflima.
his victory, but paffed along in the habit of a common —v—
foldier, mounted on an afs j faying, that he owed the
vidlory to the mercy of God alone, who had imme¬
diately interpofed for the deftrudlion of the Chriftian
army.
This fatal engagement took place on the 22d of
March 1559*, and as the fucceflion had been already
fettled, Menas afeended the throne without any oppo-
fition. On his acceffion he found his affairs in great Reign of
confufion, and he had ftill to contend with foreign and Menas,
domeftic enemies. The firft of thefe was Radaet the
king of the Jews, who had a territory in the empire of
Abyffinia, the capital of which was on a rock named
Samen. The caufe of this quarrel is not known, but
the event was unfortunate j the king being obliged to
abandon the enterprife, after‘having beftowed a confi-
derable time upon it. This was followed by an attempt
to affaffinate him, which had very near taken place j
and this again by a confpiracy among his principal Rebellion
nobles headed by Ifaac the Baharnagaftr. He had been a°F I|aac ^
very faithful'fervant of the late emperor Claudius ; but arna*
ill ufed by Menas, who was of a very haughty and mo-
rofe difpofition. In attempting to fupprefs this rebel¬
lion, the firft attempts of the emperor were likewife in-
effe&ual, his forces being attacked by furprife and en¬
tirely defeated. Soon after this, Ifaac proclaimed
Tafcar, the nephew-of Menas, who was then at liberty,
king of Abyffinia ; hoping thereby to ftrengthen his
catife, and enable him to cope with the emperor, who
wras affembling a powerful army againft him. This ex¬
pedient did not anfwer the purpofe. His army was He is de-
entirely defeated by Menas; Tafcar taken prifoner,featecl*
and thrown headlong from the top of a precipice ;
and Ifaac himfelf efcaped with great difficulty to the
confines of his own government in the neighbourhood
of Mafuah. Here he entered into an alliance with the
Turkifh baftiaw of Mafuah ; whofe friendffiip he gained
by putting him in poffeffion of the town of Dobarwa,
with the flat country adjacent, which abounds with theand portu.
proviftons wanted at Mafuah, and is looked upon asgUefe.
the key to the province of Tigre and the high lands
of Abyflinia. Befides this, Ifaac ftrengthened himfelf
alfo by an alliance with the Portuguefe ; which, had
their numbers been at all confiderable, muft have been
very formidable. Their inclination to defert their for¬
mer prote&or and ally the emperor, proceeded entirely
from the ffiameful behaviour of their priefts, who never
would be fatisfied without enflaving the emperor as
well as his fubje&s to the tyranny of Rome. We haveReafon of
already feen that Bermudes had proceeded fo far on their quar-
this fubjeft, that he narrowly efcaped with his life,
fucceffor Oviedo (for the patriarch Nugnez died by theemper0r’
way) fared ftill worfe. On his introdu&ion to the
emperor Claudius, he informed him, that the pope and
king of Portugal now expelled no lefs than an imme¬
diate fulfilment of his engagements of fubmiffion to the
fee of Rome. This requifition was made with fuch an
air of infolence, that the prince could fcarce conceal his
refentment ; but reftraining his pafiion, he promifed to
confider of it, and to call meetings of the learned in
thefe matters to debate the point. This was a very
fruitlefs talk ; and therefore Oviedo thought proper to
quit the court towards the end of December 1558 ;
leaving behind him an infolent letter addreffed to the
Portuguefe
A B Y [ 7
Abyflinia. Portuguefe and fuch converts as they had made; in
^ ' which he exhorted them not to converfe with fchiima-
tics, and the Abyffinians to forfake their errors. Be¬
ing now debarred from accefs to the emperor, he be¬
gan to entertain the people with feditious difcourfes j
which pradtice he continued during the remaining part
of the reign of Claudius and the beginning of that of
Menas. The latter, perceiving the pernicious tenden¬
cy of his difcourfes, pofitively commanded him to de-
fift j which the patriarch refufing, the emperor fell
upon him with his own hands, beat him feverely, tore
his clothes and beard, and took his chalice from him
that he might thus be difabled from faying mafs: after
Oviedo ba- which he banilhed him, with Francis Lopez another
niihed to a 0f aflfociates, to a barren mountain, where they re-
mountain. majnec[ feven months in great mifery. Not content
with this, he iffued many fevere edidls againft the Por¬
tuguefe ; prohibited them from intermarrying with the
Abyflinians; and fuch of the Abyflinian women as
were already married to Portuguefe hulbands, he com¬
manded not to accompany them to their churches.
Is com- His next ftep was to call Oviedo again into his pre-
manded to fence> and command him, under pain of death, in-
empire but flan^y leave his dominions. The infolent and fool-
refufcs.’ ilh prieft refufed obedience to this exprefs command :
he declared that he would obey God rather than man j
and prefenting his bare neck to the emperor, defired
him to ftrike and put an end to his life at once. Menas
drew his fword, but was prevented by the queen and of¬
ficers who flood near him from giving the fatal ftroke.
Sentence of A fecond beating and banilhment to the mountain fuc-
banifliment ceeded; and in the latter part of the fentence all the
paired on ^ Portuguefe priefts as well as others were included. The
thefe°who P°rt;ugue^e> however, determined not to fubmit to fuch
thereupon an indignity $ and therefore, to a man, joined Ifaac j
join the who, in expeftation of more auxiliaries from India, pro¬
rebels. feffed a great defire of embracing the Romilh religion.
The king was very apprehenfive, and not without rea-
fon, of the arrival of more Portuguefe ; but it appears
that Oviedo had not fufficient intereft to procure the
Ifaac again fupply he promifed. An engagement, therefore, took
defeated, place without them, in which Menas was again vidlori-
ous; though the battle was not fo decifive as to put an
end to the rebellion.
The emperor died a fliort time after his victory, and
was fucceeded in 1563 by his fon Sertza Denghel,
then only 12 years of age. The beginning of his
reign was difturbed by new rebellions j which, however,
were happily (upprefied. Ifaac, with his allies the ba-
fliaw and the Portuguefe, feem to have remained for
fome time unmolefted ; and in the year 1569, a kind of
accommodation took place. It is by no means eafy to
fay how the Portuguefe were again received into fa¬
vour after fuch flagrant treachery and rebellion. Mr
Bruce only Amply tells us that “ Oviedo and the Por¬
tuguefe did not appear at court.” This indeed is not
to be wondered at, as they had been fo lately at open
war with the emperor. Other accounts fay, that after
the laft battle with Ifaac, “ their name became fo odious
to all the Abyflinians, efpecially to their monarchs,
that they would never fuffer any of them to be in their
army from that time.” Some of thefe accounts fay
alfo, that Menas was defeated and killed in another:
battle; others, that he was driven to fome high moun¬
tains, where he wandered about till death put an end
Vol. I. Part I.
Reign of
Sertza
Denghel.
3 ] A B Y
to bis mifery. Accounts of this kind, however, are Abyffima
by Mr Bruce treated as mere falfehoods, and exprefsly ^
contradiftory to the annals of thofe times. All we
can fay upon the fubjeft therefore is, that alter the
defeat of Ifaac, the Portuguefe, not excepting Oviedo
himfelf, remained in Abyflinia, where they were more
favourably dealt with by the new emperor than they
had been by his father j though he was no friend to
their religion, as fuppofing it to be deftruftive of mo¬
narchy and all civil government. It is probable alfo,
that tlie various difturbances which happened, together
with his own tender age during the beginning of his
reign, Avould prevent him from paying that attention
to them which he would otherwife have done. The
Galla, a very barbarous nation, and who have at laft
greatly reduced the power of the Ethiopian monarchs,
made frequent inroads during this reign ; and in the Ifaac and
year 1576, a league was formed by Mahomet king of f1'6 baflia.^
Adel, with Ifaac and the Turkilh balhaw, who had ei- ^Jing of
ther continued their hoftilities or renewed them about Adel; °
this time. The emperor, however, marched with fuch
expedition, that he did not allow them time to join
their forces j and attacking them feparately, gained abut are en-
complete vi&ory over them all. Almoft the wholetirelyde-
Mooriflr army was deftroyed ; but while the emperorfeated*
entered Adel with a defign to make a full end of his
enemies on the eaft, he received information that the
Galla had invaded his dominions on the weft. Iraver-
fing the whole breadth of the empire therefore with the
utmoft expedition, he came up with thefe enemies, who
were afraid to encounter him. On this he turned hisTlie empe-
arms againft the Falaftia, obliging them to deliver up ror invades
their king, whom he baniftied to a mountain. Then
invading the country of the Galla and Falaftia, he ra-0fthe Galla
vaged it for four years fucceflively, protetting at theandFala-
fame time the kingdom of Narea from the inroads of flia.
thefe barbarians.
While Sertza Denghel employed himfelf in reprefs-
ing the incurfions of the Galla, one Cad ward Balha, a
Turkifti officer of great valour and experience, who
had been invefted with the office of bafliaw of Mafuah,
began to make inroads into the province of Tigre. Tigre inva'-
The emperor haftened to oppofe him ; but in his paf-ded by Cad-,
fage committed great devaftations in the country of the ward £a*
Falalha, in order to provoke them to defcend from “w*
their mountains and come to an engagement. T. hefe
Falaftia profefs the Jewifli religion, and wrere then go-King of the
verned by a king named Gefhen. This monarch, pro-Falaflia de.
voked at the ravages and deftru&ion he beheld, de-ari<l
fcended with vaft numbers of his fubje£ts, in order to u
revenge it; but was killed and his army utterly de¬
feated by the Abyflinians, on the 19th of January
1594. The victorious Sertza then haftened to encoun¬
ter the baftiaw ; who, confident of the fuperiority of his
own troops, not only waited for him patiently, but gave
him every advantage he could defire. A very defperate.
battle enfued; the event of which was doubtful, till
Robel, commander of part of the king’s houfehold
troops, who were armed with pikes, attacked that part
of the Turkifti horfe where he faw the bafliaw, and kill¬
ed the officer who carried the ftandard. In doing this
he broke his pike \ but though then deftitute of any The ba-
other weapon than a ftiort crooked knife which the^iawde-^
Abyflinians always carry in their girdles, he inftantly a,Ki
puihed up to the bafliaw, and with it wounded him mor- '
K tally
Death of
the empe¬
ror.
nated.
Jacob raif-
ed to the
throne.
A B Y [ 74
Abyffinia. tally in tlie throat. This unexpe&ed event inftantly
v_''' decided the victory ; the Turkillt horfe betook them-
felves to flight, and the reft of the army foon followed
their example. A dreadful daughter enfued among
the Moors, who were purfued to the ifland of Mafuah ;
and many were driven into the deferts, where they pe-
riflied with thirft. After this, marching back to the
weftern part of his territories, the emperor proceeded
to Narea, deftroying the Galla as he went along. His
laft expedition was towards Damot to chaftife feme re¬
bels there. Before he fet out, a prieft of great fantti-
ty and talent for divination, is faid to have warned him
not to undertake the war; but his advice was rejefted
with contempt : on which he requefted him only not
to eat the fifh taken out of a certain river *, but this ad¬
vice was alfo neglefted, and the fifti being really of a
poifonous nature, the king died in confequence of eat¬
ing them.
Twofuccef- On the death of Sertza Denghel a difpute enfued
fors nomi- about the fucceflion. In the beginning of his ficknefs
the late king had named for his fucceffor his fon Jacob,
a boy of only feven years of age ; but finding death
approaching, he named his nephew Za Denghel, as be¬
ing come to the years of manhood, and more fit for the
government of fuch a numerous and turbulent people.
This laft refolution proved highly difagreeable to the
queen and fome of the principal nobility, who wiihed
for a minority, during which they might engrofs the
power into their own hands. In conjun&ion with her
two fons-in-law, Kefla Wahad and Ras Athanafius,
therefore, the emprefs determined to raife Jacob to the
throne, notwithftanding the final determination of the
late king above mentioned. This wras put in execution
immediately after the death of Sertza Denghel; Jacob
was raifed to the throne, and Za Denghel confined in
an ifland of the lake Dembea or Tzana. An attempt
was likewife made to feize Socinios, natural fon to Fa-
eilidas grandfon of the unfortunate David, who had
likewife a claim to the throne 5 for his not being born
of a lawful marriage was no objeftion in Abyflinia.
Socinios, however, no fooner faw the fate of his coufin
Za Denghel, than he withdrew himfelf from the power
of his enemies-, and Za Denghel himfelf, after being a
fhort time confined in the ifland above mentioned, found
means to efcape, and took refuge among the inacceflibie
mountains of Gojam.
Thus difappointed in their attempts on the princes,
the emprefs, with her two fons-in-law, were obliged
to pretend loyalty to Jacob, whom they governed till
he was 17 years of age. The young king then per¬
ceiving that his tutors were taking fome fteps to pro¬
long their dominion over him, took the government
into his own hands, and baniftied one Za Selaffe, whom
they had employed in the execution of their projefts,
to the kingdom of Narea. The confpirators, alarmed
Za Deng- at this bold exertion of royal prerogative, determined
hel raifed to inftantly to depofe Jacob, and raife Za Denghel, whom
the throne, ]iaft baniftied, to the throne. This, however, was
now a matter of fome difficulty, as he had concealed
himfelf fo effe&ually among the mountains of Gojam,
that he could fcarce be found out. His retreat being
at laft difcovered, Ras Athanafius took an opportunity
of infulting Jacob, even while fitting on the throne ;
called him an obftinate, ftubborn, and foolilh boy •,
declared him. degraded from the imperial dignity, and
] A B Y
that Za Denghel was coming to fupplant him. Jacob Abjlfhiia,
perceiving by the infolence of this fpeech, that he was—y-—-1
entirely in the pow-er of his enemies, left his palace in
the night, in order to fly to the mountains of Samen,
where his mother’s relations were, from whom he ex¬
pected protection. He got to the borders of that coun-jacob ba„
try, but was there difcovered, feized, and brought backnithed.
to his rival, who was now feated on the throne. Za
Denghel, however, with a clemency not very ufual in
Abyffinia, did not either put him to death, or mutilate
him in fuch a maimer as to render him incapable of af¬
terwards enjoying the kingdom ; but contented himfelf
with banifliing him for life, to Narea.
Za Denghel was no fooner fettled on the throne,
than he unluckily behaved in fuch a manner as to ali¬
enate the affe&ions of his people from him entirely. j)eci;ne of
This was occafioned by his attachment to the church of the Romifh
Rome. Ever fince the time that the Portuguefe hadreflg'on.'n
joined Ifaac the Baharnagafh, the entrance into Abyflinia
had been (hut up by the Turks, fo that no new miflion-
aries could have accefs j and all thofe who came with
Oviedo being dead, the Romifh religion had languifhed
for want of preachers to fupport it. The laft of thefe
died in 1596 ; and all the reft having been dead fome
time before, little could be expefted from the labours,
of a (ingle perfon. Next year Melchior Sylvanus, a
vicar of the church at Goa, was fent on a miflion to
Abyflinia ; being fuppofed to be a proper perfon for this
work, on account of his language and complexion which
might baffle the vigilance of the Turks. He entered
without being fufpeCted ; but the great defeat given the
Turks by Sertza Denghel, already mentioned, had re¬
duced their power fo much, that lefs danger now at¬
tended this expedition than formerly, and other miflion-
aries quickly followed.
The moft learned, as well as beft qualified for Peter Paea
the undertaking in every refpe61, was Peter Pae<z, vvft0 reftores it.
came to this country in the year 1600 ; and on his ta¬
king upon him the whole charge of the miflion, Sylva¬
nus returned to India. The new miflionary did not at
firft affeft to intrude himfelf on the emperor ; but ta¬
king up his refidence at the convent of Fremona in the
province of Tigre, he firft applied to the ftudy of the
learned language of the Abyflinians called Geex, and in
which their books are ufually written. In this he made
fuch progrefs as quickly to furpafs the natives them-
felves •, after which he fet up a fchool, where the chil¬
dren of the Portuguefe and Abyflinians were taught
promifcuoufly. The progrefs made by his fcholars was
fo great, that he was fpoken of at court, and recommen¬
ded in the warmed: terms to the emperor Jacob before
his depofition. On this he was fent for, and appeared arrives
before the court in 1604 ; where, to the great diffatif-at court,
fa&ion of the Abyflinian monks, he received fuch ho¬
nours as are ufually bellowed on men of the firft quali¬
ty. Next day, in a difpute before the king, two of his
fcholars, whom he had brought along with him, fairly
vanquiftied the beft theologians that could be found to
oppofe them. Mafs was then faid in the Romifti man¬
ner •, and this was followed by a fermon, which in the
purity and elegance of its diftion (whatever the fub-
(tance might be) excelled any thing that had ever been
compofed in the Abyflinian language. ,
Though Paez had been called to court by Jacob, yet
Za Denghcl was on the throne before he arrived, and
it
A B Y [ 75 1 A B Y
Abyffinia it tvas hfe who witneffed the difpute and heard the fer-
y——»trion< jje was {ij much charmed with the latter, that
Membra- inftantly refolved to embrace the religion of the
ces the Ca- church of Rome •, which refolution he foon after corn-
tholic reli- municated to feveral of his friends, and even to Paez
gion. himfelf; but under an oath of fecrecy. The empe¬
ror’s own zeal, however, rendered this oath of no
ufe ; for in a little time he iffued proclamations for¬
bidding the obfervation of the Jewilh Sabbath, and
wrote letters to Pope Clement VIII. and Philip III.
of Spain, deliring a fupply of mechanics to inllruil
his people in the ufeful arts, and Jefuits to teach them
religion.
His impru- This precipitate condufl had the effeiR which might
dent con- have been expefted. The Abyffmians were generally
l'Uns a r*" to t'16 church of Rome, and no pains had
.bellion. been taken to gain them over : they were alfo turbu¬
lent, favage, and rebellious ; ever ready to revolt ^ and
now had a favourable opportunity of exculing their
treafons upon pretence of zeal for religion. This op¬
portunity was quickly made ufe of by Za SelaiTe,
whom, as we have already mentioned, Jacob had ba-
niihed ; but who, on the advancement of Za Denghel,
The empe. ]ia^ probably been fet at liberty. This traitor having
raunicHtc'd many feditious meetings in private, prevailed
on the Abuna, or Abyflinian patriarch, to excommuni¬
cate the king, and abfolve his fubjefts from their al¬
legiance. He then fet out for the territory of Gojam,
where the people had always been remarkable for their
averfion to the church of Rome. In this place, there¬
fore, he found no difficulty in raifing an army to fight
An array againlt his fovereign. Za Denghel, who was an ex-
raifed a- pert warrior, did not fail to go in quell of him with
gainft him. -uffiat forces he could raife j but foon found, by the
great defertion among his troops as he pafled along,
how much the excommunication pronounced by the
Abuna had availed. This was fo alarming, that John
Gabriel, an experienced Portuguefe officer, advifed
him to decline an engagement for the prefent, and
take ffielter in fome fortrefs until his fubjedls ffiould
return to a fenfe of their duty. This falutary advice
■was rejefted, from the abfurd notion that it was a dif-
honour not to fight a rebel who had defied his fove¬
reign. In the beginning of the engagement, vidlory
feemed to favour the royal caufe. The Portuguefe
carried every thing before them, and routed that wing
of the enemy which oppofed them. In the other wing,
however, the cowardly and treacherous Abyffinians de-
ferted their king, who was quickly furrounded by his
He, is aban-enern^esJ anc^ a defperate fituation. A body of
fioned by nobility, with his own officers and domeftics, attended
bis troops him, and fought defperately in his defence. Za Den-
*n killed, being an excellent horfeman, and admi¬
rably Ikilled in the ufe of arms, performed allonilhing
feats of valour. At laft he was thrown to the ground,
grievoufly wounded in the breaft by a lance. Notwith-
ilanding this, he inftantly recovered himfelf, drew his
fword, and refilled his aflailants fo violently, that they
were fain to keep at a dillance and annoy him wdth
mi (Tile weapons. In this fituation he flood till almoll
fainting with fatigue and lofs of blood ; when the trai¬
tor Za Selalfe, pulhing up his horfe violently againft
him, threw him to the ground by a blow on the fore¬
head, and a multitude then rufiiing upon him he was
difpatched with many wounds.
The news of Za Denghel’s death were received with AbyfTmia.
fuch general indignation throughout the Abyffinian 'rJ
empire, that the rebels durft not name any fucceffor. univerlally.
As it feemed natural to think, however, that Jacob iameuted,
would now be re-ele£led, meflengers were difpatched
to acquaint him of his good fortune j but during this The empire
interval Socinios appeared, not as a candidate, but as claimed by
already in polfeffion of the empire, and ready to fup.Soamos.
port his rights by force of arms. His firll Hep was
to let Ras Athanafius know his pretenfions to the
throne, and defire his affiftance with his army, pro-
mifing to reward him as foon as it Ihould be in his
power. Without waiting for any anfwer, he advanced
fo rapidly, that Athanafius had fcarce time to confider
what he ffiould reply, when a fecond meffage was fent,
importing that Socinios was in the neighbourhood, and
ordering preparations to be made for receiving him as
his fovereign. This expeditious mode of a£lion fo
much confounded Athanafius, that he complied with
the requifitions, faluting him king, and joining his
troops to his. Thus fuccefsful in his firll attempt, So¬
cinios made a fimilar one on Za Selafle. In this, how¬
ever, he was difappointed. Za Selafie having firll
fent an equivocal anfwer, marched againll him with
his whole army j while Socinios, happening to fall
fick, and putting little confidence in Athanafius, with¬
drew to the mountains of Amhara. Athanafius like-Heisob-
wife, not knowing to wliom he Ihould attach himfelf, Hged to re¬
withdrew his forces, and flood neuter. tire*
Za Selafle had refufed to join Socinios, in expedla-
tion that Jacob would make his appearance, whom he
rather wilhed to enjoy the crown than Socinios 5 as
under the former he might hope to engrofs all the
power to himfelf. For a long time, however, no an¬
fwer was returned to his melfages ; his troops became
impatient •, fo that fearing left a mutiny or general de¬
fertion Ihould take place, he difpatched a meflenger to
Socinios, acknowledging him for emperor. But fcarce jaco^ fet
was this done, when a meflenger arrived from Jacob, Up in op¬
informing him that he was then in Dembea, and pro-pofition to
mifing Za Selafle great honours if he would acknow-h‘m-
ledge him for his fovereign. With thefe terms the
traitor inftantly complied, and his example was fol¬
lowed by Athanafius; while Socinios, not as yet able
to refill all his enemies, retired again to Amhara.
This, however, he was not long of accompliffiing.
Jacob was by no means poflefledof equal military Ikill j
and though Za Selafle was an experienced officer, yet
his extreme perfidy, pride, and obftinacy, rendered it
very dangerous to have any concern with him. Thisron_
appeared remarkably in the prefent cafe. His pride draft and
in the firft place would not allow him to join his forces defeat of
to thofe of Jacob, left the latter, who was inferior ffiZaSelafife
military Ikill, ftiould have a lhare in the vi&ory he was s ge"
to gain. Then, intoxicated with his opinion of him- *
felf, he neglefled to behave with the caution neceflary
in the neighbourhood of fuch an experienced general
as Socinios, which gave the latter an opportunity of
cutting off almoft his -whole army. Being now obliged
to fly with a few attendants to Jacob’s camp, he met
with an indifferent reception on account of his defeat j
for which reafon he made propofals to join Socinios.
The latter accepted his offer, though he could put no
confidence in one who had been guilty of fuch com¬
plicated treachery j only he thought it would be an
k 2 advantage
A B Y C 76 ] A B Y
Abyffinia. advantage to put it out of his power to join his anta-
gonift. Jacob, on the other hand, confident in his
featcd and numbers, which are faid to have been almolt 30 to 1,
killed. advanced boldly to give his antagonift battle. Soci-
nios declined the engagement till he had drawn him
into a fituation where his forces could not a£l: with ad¬
vantage. A dreadful carnage enfued, Jacob himfelf
perifhed among the multitude, and his body was
never afterwards found. In this battle alfo was killed
the wicked prieft Abuna Petros, who was the occafion
of Za DenghePs death, as we have already related.
Ras Athanafius efcaped by the fwiftnefs of his horfe,
and took refuge in a neighbouring monaftery. He
was afterwards pardoned at the interceflion of Peter
Paez ; but his goods and ertate being confifcated on
various occafions, he fell into univerfal contempt, was
abandoned by his wife, and died at laft of want. Ac¬
cording to the Abyffinian accounts, Socinios ordered
the purfuit to be flopped as foon as he faw the head of
Abuna Petros ; but the Portuguefe writers inform us,
that he kept it up with the utmoft vigour throughout
the whole day and part of the night. They particular¬
ly mention, that a number of Portuguefe, who had join¬
ed the army of Jacob, loft their lives on this occafion,
by falling over a precipice which they could not avoid
in the dark. One of thefe named Manual Gonfalve*
had the good fortune to light on a tree, rvhere he fat
till morning in great terror, but at laft was relieved and
made his efcape.
By this viftory Socinios was fully eftablifhed on the
throne, though his fituation might ftill be accounted
precarious by reafon of the rebellious difpofition of
many of the provinces. He began with making a ge¬
neral proclamation of pardon, excepting only the mur¬
derers of Za Denghel, with whom he had been in terms
of intimate friendlhip. Being informed therefore, that
one Maharclin, a Moor, had given him the firrt wound
in that battle in which he was killed, he ordered his
head to be inftantly ftruck off with an axe before the
gate of the palace.
Sacinios fa- The Portuguefe were much favoured by this prince •,
vours the and they were become very numerous by continual in-
Ponuguefe. termarriages with the Abyflinians ; the male children
were always trained to the ufe of fire arms by their
parents, and incorporated as foldiers with them ; and
they were now all united in one body under an expe¬
rienced officer named John Gabriel, whom we have al¬
ready had occafion to mention. As their numbers and
valour made them obje&s of confideration, Socinios
determined to attach them to himfelf as much as pof-
fible *, and the beft means to do this he knew was by
favouring their priefts. Peter Paez was therefore fent
for to court ; where a difpute concerning the fupre-
macy of the pope and the two natures of Chrift (the
great fubjefts of debate in Abyffinia), took place, and
a fermon was preached with as great fuccefs as that in
He refolves Za DenghePs time. The king firft enlarged the ter-
to embrace ritory poffeffed bv the Jefuits at Fremona; after which
the Catho- jie declared to Paez his refolution of embracing the
he religion. 0at}jO|;c religion •, giving him at the fame time two
letters, one to the king of Portugal, the other to the
pope, the purport of which was to requeft a number of
more Portuguefe to deliver Abyffinia from the incur-
fions of the Galla, as they had formerly done from the
yoke of the Moors.
Before any thing of importance could be done in AbylTmia.
matters of religion, the king was called forth to fup- 277V7"fJ
prefs a rebellion which had already taken place. An to^p^nd-
impoftor had appeared, who called himfelf Jacob thejngtobe
late king, and pretended to have efcaped from the the late
battle 5 but fo much wounded in the face that he kept
one fide of it conftantly covered to conceal the defor- ap‘
mity. He made his appearance among the mountains
of Habab near Mafuah ; and being joined by great
numbers of people, Sela Chriftos, brother to the king,
and governor of Tigre, marched againft him. The is defeated,
impoftor’s troops, though numerous, fled at the firft
onfet ; but he efcaped to the mountains, where it was
very difficult to follow him. This, however, was at¬
tempted j and a great many of the ports he had taken
were ftormed like as many forts; but ftill the impoftor
himfelf, though driven from place to place, found
means to make good his retreat to the country lying
between the mountains of Habab and the territory of
the Baharnagalh. Thither he was purfued by Sela
Chriftos 5 but that general, finding the rebellion likely
to fpread through the whole province of Tigr£, thought
proper now to acquaint his brother Socinios with the
ftate of affairs, and to defire his affiftance. The king,
though at that time he had fent away moft of his troops
in aa expedition againft the Shangalla and Gongas,
who dwelt on the north-weft of Abyffinia, fet out im¬
mediately with fuch troops as he could collet. Thefe
were but few in number ; his cavalry, particularly,
amounting to no more than 530, befides a fmall rein¬
forcement brought by his brother Emana Chriftos, go¬
vernor of Amhara. As he proceeded, ho was inform¬
ed that a party of Galla were lodged on a hill at no
great diftance from him. Determining to cut them
off, he furrounded the hill where they were pofted j
but having caufed his cavalry to advance before, and
pafs a deep ravine, they were almoft entirely deftroy-
ed, while the reft of the army v'ere feized with fuch a
panic that they refufed to ftir. In this extreme dan¬
ger, the Galla paffed the ravine to attack them 5 but
the king having advanced fingly, and killed the firft of
them, his troops, alhamed of their cowardice, ruftied
forward on the enemy, and gained a complete viftory,The GalIa
which obliged the favages to leave the province they defeated,
infefted at that time.
The misfortune of the cavalry on this occafion
quickly occafioned a report that the king had been
defeated ; of which the impoftor Jacob did not fail to
take advantage ; and defcending from his mountains,
committed great devaftations in the low country. But The impo-
though attended by a great multitude, who likewifeftor Jaecb
fought with more obftinacy than formerly, he was ftill
defeated by Sela Chriftos with a force greatly inferior. eate
But before any thing effeflual could be done for his
reduction, the Galla made a dreadful irruption into
the fouthern provinces, murdering all who fell into their
hands, and burning and deftroying towns, churches,
and villages, in the moft dreadful manner. The king
bore thofe exceffes for feme time with patience, till at
laft he drew them into fuch a difadvantageous fitua¬
tion, that being furrounded by his forces, and inferior
in number as well as in valour, they were all cut off An army of
to a man, with the lofs of only 400 on the part ofGallacut
the Abyffinians. Soon after this viflory the king un*^roI]iat;on |
derwent the ceremony of coronation. He then march-kiDg>
ed
A B Y [ -;
Abyffiaia. ed againft the importer Jacob j but the latter was
{m~~*  too fenfible of the fuperiority of his rival to face
him in the field. He therefore retired again to his
mountains, while the king left the fupprertion of the
rebellion to an experienced officer named Amfala
The impof- Chriftos ; who employed two young men, who had
tor Jacob been outlawed for murder, to aflaffinate the importer,
affaflinated. This being done, it was found that the pretended
Jacob was no other than a herdfman among thofe
mountains to which he fo conrtantly fled for refuge j
and that he had neither wound nor fear on his face,
but had kept one half of it covered to conceal the lit¬
tle refemblance he bore to Jacob whom he perfonated.
The king being now freed from this rebellion, began
again to turn his thoughts towards religion. His firft
ftep was to make a handfome prefent to the Jefuits j
but he foon fhowed his inexperience in religious matters,
by attempting to reconcile the two cantending parties
Dangerous in his empire. Before he could fee the folly of this
rebellion attempt, however, his attention was called by a moft
begun by dangerous rebellion, which was begun by one Melchi-
Melduze- zedeCj a fervant of the late Serlza Denghel, but a
man of great experience in war. He was firft oppofed
by Sanuda, a brave officer $ but being totally deftitute
of troops, he was obliged to apply to the attendants of
the king of Sennaar, who had been depofed by his
Defeats one fubjefts, and was at that time in Abyffinia. Thefe
of the king’s readily joined him ; and a bloody battle enfued, in
generals, Sanuda was fo totally defeated, that he alone
had the good fortune to efcape, and that grievoufly
wounded, his men being all killed on the fpot. On
this misfortune Socinios fenthis brother Emana Chriftos
with a confiderable force to reduce the rebels. Mel-
chizedec finding himfelf oppofed by fuch an able ge¬
neral, exerted himfelf to the utmoft, in order to raife
a force fufficient to refill him ; and in this he fucceed-
ed fo well, that his army foon ftruck terror into all
the neighbouring country, notwithftanding the pre-
Caufes A.r- fence and known valour of the king’s brother. A
claimed™* P™nce blood-royal, named was likewife
king. found out and proclaimed king, in order to give fome
fan6lion to the rebels ; foon after which they boldly
marched to meet the royal army. The engagement
took place on the 9th of March 1611, and was fought
with great obftinacy on both fides ; the advantage
even appeared for fome time on that of the rebels \
till Emana Chriftos, perceiving that all was at flake,
puflied defperately forward to the place where Melchi-
zedec himfelf was. The latter feeing no probability
•of avoiding a Angle combat, which he did not choofe
to try, inftantly turned his horfe and fled ; and the reft
Is defeated, of the army foon followed his example. Melchizedec,
taken pri- however, did not much avail himfelf of this cowar-
puTto ^ ’ ^or was cIofely Pur^uet^ by the peafants, taken
death. prifoner, and executed as a traitor, together with fe-
veral of his principal officers. The fate of Prince Arzo,
whom, to fupport their caufe, the rebels had proclaimed
king, is not known.
The rebel- This victory, fo far from extinguilhing the fpirit^of
•HiesC°ntl" rebellion, feemed to have inflamed it beyond all bounds:
for news were now received that the whole country
round the head of the Nile to the province of Tigrd
had revolted ; fo that there w'as a neceffity for the im¬
mediate prefence of the emperor himfelf; and even
this was infufficient, as the rebels were difperfed over
7 ] A B Y
fuch a large tra£l of territory. His two brothers, Abyfimia.
Emana and Sela Chriftos, were therefore both em- f
ployed againft different rebel chiefs, while the king
marched againft thofe who were moft formidable. The Cruel man-
principle on which this war was carried on feems toner cal>
have been very cruel, viz. that of killing all the men, J^war.
and carrying off the women and children for Haves.
This was rigidly executed, firft upon the inhabi¬
tants of a mountainous diftridl named Gufman on the
Nile } though, at the interceffion of the miffionary Peter
Paez, the women and children, inftead of being fold
for Haves, were given to the Jefuits to be educated in
the Catholic religion. The Gongas and Agows were
next attacked with equal fuccefs, and ftill greater cruel¬
ty ; one of their tribes named ’ZalabctJJ'a, being almoft
entirely exterminated : but this, inftead of having any
good effedt, feemed to multiply the rebels ftill more.
The Agows and Galla invaded the provinces in the
neighbourhood ; and another impoftor, whofe true Amdo, an-
name was Amdo, but who pretended to be the unfor- other im-
tunate emperor Jacob, appeared as a competitor f0r portor, fup-
the crown. This laft rebel proved much more formi-
dable than any of the reft. He was indeed furprifed
before he had time to colledl any forces j but Gideon,
king of the Jews of Samen, having killed the guards
who watched him, fet the impoftor at liberty, and
fupported his caufe. Thus he foon coyedted a very
formidable army, with which he defeated and killed an
officer named Abram, who oppofed him with a confi¬
derable force, This brought Socinios himfelf againft
him, who inftantly attacked the Jewifti monarch Gi¬
deon, as being the principal fupport of his caufe. As -yyar w;th
the country of the Jews was naturally ftrong, and very Gideon,
full of fortified places, the redudtion of it was evidently
a very difficult talk. The firft place attacked was a
fortrefs named MaJJiraba ; which, though very ftrongly
fortified and garrifoned, was foon taken by ftorm, and
every one in it put to the fword without diftindlion.
Hotchi and Amba Za Hancaffe, two other ftrong for-
treffes, lhared the fame fate. A fourth, named Senga-
nat, no lefs ftrong than any of the former, was alfo
taken \ Gideon himfelf narrowly efcaping with his life
in the attack. Difcouraged therefore by fo many mis¬
fortunes, and apprehending the total ruin of his coun¬
try, this prince at laft was content to fue for peace ;
which was granted on condition that Amdo ftiould be
delivered up. This traitor was condemned to a pu- Amdo de~
niftiment very unufual among Chriftians, viz. that ofliveredup
being crucified; but in nailing him to the crofs, hisandpntto
cries and groans fo much affefted the king, that he^ea,t^‘
ordered him to be taken down and beheaded.
The war was now refumed againft the Gongas and
Guba; whom the king annually invaded for the pur-
pofe of making Haves. In this expedition his officers Other rrrrli-
not only executed their commiffion againft thefe fa- tai7 expe-
vages, but likewife carried off a great number of cattletiitlons’
from the Agows, who were then at peace with the
emperor. This condu£t was highly refented by Soci¬
nios, who obliged them to make reftitution of what
they had taken away ; and the doing them juftice in
this particular, had more effe£t in reducing the reft of
thefe people to obedience, than all the cruelties which
had been committed fince the beginning of the war.
In 1616, the emperor fet out on an expedition a-
gainft the Galla ; but this was laid afide on the death
of
A B Y
The Jews
exterminat
ed.
Abyflima,^ 0f his eldeft Ton, for whom he entertained a great af¬
fection. It was fucceeded by a very cruel order
againft the Jews, whom Socinios now determined to
exterminate without any apparent occafion. His com¬
mands, however, were executed with the utmoft punc¬
tuality, fo that very few efcaped ; and among the reft
perifhed their prince Gideon lately mentioned. He
was fuppofed to be immenfely rich, and to have con¬
cealed his riches, which have been fought for in vain
by the Abyftinians from that time to the prefent. The
children of the murdered Jews were fold for flaves ;
and luch of the profeflion as wrere fcattered through
the empire, had orders to renounce their religion and
be baptized, under pain of death. Thus almoft the
whole Jewifh religion was extinguifhed at once, as moft
of them chofe rather to embrace Chriftianity than fuf-
fer death. In token of the fincerity of their conver¬
sion, they were all ordered to plough and harrow on
the Sabbath day.
After this maffacre, the expedition againft the Gal-
[ 78 3
A B Y
Succefsful
expedition
War with
Sennaar,
£ic.
-gainit the ^VaS re^urne(^> and carried on with the ufual cruelty :
Gaila. while the Galla never once appeared to prevent the
defolation of their country. Next year, however, a
new aflociation was made among thefe favages, and
the empire invaded by them in two different parts at
once. One of their armies tvas cut off to a man be¬
fore they had time to begin their ravages ; while the
other fled on the firft approach of the royal army, leav¬
ing their wives, children, and baggage, to the mercy
of the enemy. Thus the king was left for a ftiort time
at reft from rebellions or foreign invafions 5 and this
interval he determined to make ufe of in making war
on his neighbour the king of Sennaar, from whom he
had formerly received an affront. In this expeditioh
he was affifted by one Wed Ageeb, a prince of the
Arabs, who lived on the frontiers of Abyftinia. The
allies proceeded with their ufual cruelty, killing all the
men, and felling the women and children for Haves.
Vaft numbers of cattle were carried off j and the vic¬
torious armies returned with an immenfe booty. The
next expedition was againft Fatima queen of the Shep¬
herds, otherwife called queen of the Greekst Avho refided
on the north-eaft of Atbara. In this alfo the king
proved fuccefsful, though lefs blood was ihed than
ufual : but it was not long before this extraordinary
fuccefs met with a fevere check by the entire lofs of
an Abyffinian army ; the favourite fon of the emperor
himfelf being killed in the engagement, with fome of
the beft officers in the empire.
All this time Peter Paez had applied himfelf with
the utmoft affiduity to the converfion of the Abyfli-
nians to the Catholic faith ; and in this undertaking
Excellent he had been attended with wonderful fuccefs. He was
Peter<Paez^ndeed Angularly qualified for an undertaking of this
‘ ^ ‘ ' kind among a rude and barbarous people : for befides
an uncommon (hare of learning, he poffeffed an emi¬
nent degree of Ikill in the mechanical arts 5 by which
he was enabled to teach the Abyffinians how to build
houfes of ftone and lime, which they had never known
before. In thefe he was at firft mafon, carpenter,
fmith, and architeft himfelf j and thus, to the aftonifh-
ment of the whole empire, he built fome churches
and a palace for the king. His univerfal genius
prepared the people for the reception of his opini¬
ons j while the barbarous ignorance and favage man-
ProgriA of
the Romifh
religion.
ners of his^antagonifts tended to prejudice every one Abjffiniat
againft their tenets, though ever fo juft in themfelves. ^—-v—J
Sela Chrillos, the king’s brother, is faid to have been
converted by only reading the Abyffinian books with
attention; in which, it feems, the ignorance of the
priefts had been difplayed in an extraordinary manner.
We have already feen how well the emperor himfelf
was difpofed towards the Romifh church ; and his ex¬
ample was followed by many of the principal people
of the kingdom. At laft the Abyflinian patriarch,
named Simon, made a complaint that irregularities in
religion had been committed, and difputes held on
matters of faith, without calling him, or permiftion
granted him, to fupport the clergy in thefe controver-
fies. As Socinios had no high opinion of this prieft’s
learning or eloquence, he did not imagine that any harm
could enfue to the caufe from granting what he wanted.
A public difpute was accordingly appointed; in which
Simon’s inferiority was fo apparent, that Socinios now
publicly declared his belief in the two natures of
Chrift.
While the converfion was in this profperous way, Letters
letters arrived from the pope and king of Spain, horn the
but without any promife of the temporal afliftanceP?Pe and
which had been folicited; though they affured hims^fj^
of an ally far fuperior, the Holy Spirit himfelf, pro- Pam’
vided the emperor continued firm in his refolutions of
embracing the Catholic faith. Socinios would pro-Determines
bably have been as well fatisfied with an account of atofubmitto
reinforcement of foldiers 5 but as matters flood, he wasthe P°l,e-
obliged to be content, and refolved to fubmit in form
to the pope, renouncing for ever his connexion with
the Greek church. As it was improper, however, to
fend letters on a fubjeft of fuch importance by a com¬
mon meffenger, proper perfons were to be appointed
who might occafionally affume the charafter of am-
baffadors, and aft accordingly. This being refolved
on, the next thing was to determine the way by which
the ambaffadors were to reach Europe. The ufual
track by Mafuah was now ftiut up on account of the
rebellion which cxifted in the neighbouring provinces j
fo that the more eligible way feemed to be through
Narea and the provinces to the fouthward, by which
they might reach Melinda, and from thence embark
for Goa.
The ambaffadors were chofen by lot; which falling Ambaffa-
firft on Antonio Fernandez, he named Fecur Egzie dors fet out
as his companion ; and, all things being fettled, thefefor
two fet out for Gojam in the beginning of March
1613. It feems furprifing that the Abyffinian mo¬
narch ftiould have fent ambafladors on fuch a dangerous
expedition through barbarous countries, without being
accompanied by a proper guard. This, however, feems
undoubtedly to have been the cafe; as we hear of no
other attendants than ten Portuguefe, whom Fecur
Egzie took with him, fix of whom were to go no
farther than Narea, but the other four were to pro¬
ceed to India: forty men armed with Ihields and
javelins were alfo granted, but this force was much
too fmall to anfwer any ufeful purpofe. Sela Chriftos
indeed furnilhed them with guides from the barbar¬
ous nations in the neighbourhood of Narea, taking
hoftages for the fecurity of the travellers; but the in-
fufficiency of thefe precautions foon appeared. Our Account of
travellers had proceeded but two days journey into thetheir j°ur*
country ne-v"
/
A B Y [7
country of tire Conga,, when they were treated in
fuch a hoftile manner, that one of the Portuguefe \\as
obliged to return with Fernandez to complain of the
treatment of the favages. On this information bela
Chriftos inftahtly difpatched three officers, with a pro¬
per number of troops, tochaftife them ; by which means
the ambaffadors got fafe to Mine, the name of fume
miferable villages on a ford of the Nile. Here they
croffed the river on Ikins blown up, and next day en¬
tered the country of the Pagan Galla ; and foon after,
though not without great difficulty, they reached the
kingdom of Narea, the moft feutherly province of the
Abyffinian empire, but quite furrounded by the Galla.
liere they were received with great kindnefs by the
commanding officer of the firft fortified place they came
to ; but on being introduced to the king himielf, they
met with a very different reception. This was owing
to the infinuations of an Abyffinian monk, that they
were to bring Portuguefe foldiers that way into Abyl-
frnia •, which would be deftruaive to his kingdom. On
calling a council, it w'as refolved to fend them into the
kingdom of Bali ; fo that they would be obliged to
pafs through a much more difficult and dangerous road
than what was firft intended. Having thus, as he fup-
pofed, provided againft the danger which threatened
his kingdom, he made them a prefent of 50 pieces of
o-old, recommending them at the fame time to the am-
baffador from the fovereign of Gingiro, through which
they were next to pafs. . r o r 1
On leaving Narea, they received^ convoy of bo iol-
diers to conduft them fafely to their next ftage ; after
which they paffed four days through countries totally
laid wafte by the Galla, and where they were obliged
to hide tbemfelves for fear of meeting with thefe fa¬
vages. Proceeding ftill through woods and vaft chains
of mountains, they came to the river Zebee, or more
properly Kibbee, from its white colour refembling melt-
Defcription ed butter, as the word imports. Fernandez defenbes
of the river this river as larger than the Nile, and vaftly more, ra-
Zebee. pid. They paffed it by a kind of bridge, but certainly
a moft tremendous one. 1 he channel of the river is full
of rocks; and betwixt every two of thefe a fingle tree was
laid, fo elaftic that it would bend with the weight of
one perfon } while the vaft height of the precipice, and
the fight of the roaring current below, was fufficient to
ftrike the boldeft with terror. At a fmall diftance from
this bridge was a ford, through which it was neceffary
that their mules fhould pafs ; which being accompliffi-
ed without any accident, though with difficulty and
danger, they entered the territory of Gingiro. Here
they wrere hofpitably received by the fovereign, and
after a mutual exchange of prefents proceeded to San-
gara, the capital of another fmall kingdom named Cam-
bat, which was at this time governed by a Moor named
Amelmal. During the time of their refidence here, one
Manquer, a fchifmatic Abyffinian, arrived, who infi-
nuated to the king that the recommendations they had
brought along with them wrere falfe. This reduced
them to the neceffity of flaying there till.meffengers
could be fent to Socinios to know whether it w^as fo or
not ; which occafioned a delay of three months.. At
laft orders were brought to fend them off immediately.
This favourable anfwer procured the difmiffion of the
ambaffadors with prefents j while the malicious Man-
ouer was detained prifoner. He-efcaped, however^ and
Q ] A B Y
overtook them in the next kingdom, named Alaba,
which was governed by a Moor named Miko. Here
he acufed them of a defign to overturn the Mahome¬
tan religion altogether : which fo exafperated the bar¬
barian, that he threatened them all with death; an
aftnally put them in prifon, where fome oi the Por.tu' e amba{:>
guefe died. At laft, after holding a council, in which ^
Manquer gave his voice for putting them to death, it obliged t0
was refolved that they (hould be fent back to Amelmal; ieturn.
which was accordingly done, and from his dominions
they returned to Abyffinia. Thus ended this memo¬
rable embaffy, by which the pope was deprived of any
authentic documents which might ftiow that any Abyi-
finian emperor had ever voluntarily fubmitted to him ;
and there can be no doubt that this mifearnage, more
than any thing elfe, prevented the eftabliftmient of
Popery in this country. r 1 r- a k
Socinios had noiv gone fo far in favour of the Ca-A munber
tholic parly, that he began to fliare in fome meafure ^ on a(._
the fate of Za Denghel; numberlefs conlpiracies being count
formed againft him, which it was undoubtedly owing iigion.
only to the altered fituation of affairs by the preaching
and affiduity of Peter Paez, that he was able to with-
ftand. The confpirators were at this time fupported,
not only by the Abuna, but by Emana Chriftos bim-
felf the king’s brother, whom we have frequently had
occafion to mention. Their firft ftep was the very
fame which had been fo fuccefsfully taken by Za Selafle
in the time of Za Denghel, viz. to pronounce fentence
of excommunication on the emperor He teas at
time abfent on an expedition againft the Ag°'vs > but nicate5 the
returned immediately on hearing what was tranlacte enaperorj
in his abfence ; informing the Abuna, that if he did but is obli-
not recal the excommunication without delay, his head ged to with-
fhould pay the forfeit. This fpirited declaration had
fuch an effeft, that the anathema was annulled, and the
confpiracy diffolved for that time. It was next refol-Attempt
ved between Emana Chriftos the king’s brother, Ju"natethe
lius his fon-in-law, and Kefla Wahad. mailer of the emper01.
houfehold, to affaffinate the king in his palace. To
accomplifh this purpofe it was concerted that they
{hould defire an audience ; that Julius fliouid entei
firft, and prefent a petition of fuch a nature as would
probably be refufed : on this he was to.begin an alter¬
cation ; and during the continuance of it the other two
affaffins were to come up, and ftab their fovereign be¬
fore he had time to put himfelf in a pofture. of defence.
Happily for Socinios, however, he was informed of
his danger by a page juft before Julius made his ap¬
pearance : on which, inftead of refufing the petition,
he granted it immediately *, fo that there was no room
for difpute. He then got up tn walk ; which was
fcarce done when Emana Chriftos alfocame ; on which
Socinios invited them all to the terrace to walk with
him. This prevented their falling upon him at that
moment ; and as they fuppofed they would have ft ill a
better opportunity on the terrace, they readily confent-
ed. But Socinios having opened a private door, at it mifear- •
which he entered firft, drew it quickly after him ; and ries.
as this door had a fpring-lock made by Peter Paez,
which {hut it in the infide, but could not. be opened
from without, the confpirators were difappointed. Be¬
ing alfo fenfible that their defign had been difeovered,
they were obliged for fome time to keep at a diftance,
but did not for that reafon abandon their wicked pro^
jefts.
fpirators
continues
Julius the
dates.
A B Y [ 80
Abyflmia. jefts. Their next fcheme was to be put in execution
The rebel ' 'v^en was abfent on an expedition againft the
lious fpirit Peopie Sennaar, who had made a violent irruption
of the con- into the Abyflinian territories. The objedl notv was not
the affaffination of the emperor, but of his brother Sela
Chriftos; becaufe the emperor had taken the govern¬
ment of Gojam from Emana Chriftos, who was a fchif-
matic, to give it to Sela Chriftos, who wras a violent
Catholic. The enterprife was begun by Julius j who
fon-io°law a proclamation, that all thofe who believed twro
firft appears natures in Chrift fttould leave the province of Tigre,
inarms. where he was governor; and that fuch as were true
friends to the Alexandrian faith ftiould repair to his
ftandard to fight for it. He then ordered the goods of
all the Catholics in Tigre to be confifcated ; and march¬
ed without delay into Gojam, in hopes to furprife Se¬
la Chriftos. But here the whole fcheme was baffled
by the vigilance and aftivity of the emperor; for he
having received information of what was going for¬
ward, returned into that province before the confpi-
rators had received certain intelligence of his having
left it. This fo much damped the ardour of Emana
Is deferted Chriftos and Kefla Wahad, that they flood aloof with-
by his aflb- out attempting any thing till Julius fhould try his for¬
tune. That rebel was at firft very much difconcerted j
but foon recovering his courage, advanced to the place
■where the Nile iflues out of the lake of Dembea, where
he met with the Abuna. Being confirmed by that
prieft in his wicked defigns, he refolved, by his ad¬
vice, to fall upon the king before he could be joined
by Sela Chriftos, Simon himfelf (the Abuna) offering
to fhare his fortune : and to confirm all, a new and
Socinios ex- folemn excommunication was pronounced againft the
king and all his adherents. Socinios, alarmed at thefe
proceedings, fent a meffage to Sela Chriftos, defiring
him to come to his afliftance as fall as poflible. In the
mean time he himfelf advanced to meet Julius j but
chofe his polls fo judicioufly, that he could not be for¬
ced to an engagement without great difadvantage on
the part of the enemy. Notwithftanding this, Julius
pitched his camp clofe to that of the king, with a de-
fign to force him to a battle at all events. This rafh
aftion was followed by one ftill worfe. Simon had
perfuaded him, that as foon as the royal army fhould
fee him, they would abandon the ftandard of the em¬
peror to join his. On this, without farther confidera-
tion, he ruffled into the camp of Socinios with a very
few attendants, and reached the emperor’s tent. Here
he was known by the guards, and inftantly difpatched
with all his followers ; the whole army betook them-
felves to flight after his death, and were purfued with
great flaughter by the royalifts. The plunder of the
camp was immenfe, Julius having brought all his riches,
which he had amaffed by a long courfe of extortion,
into the field along with him j and all of thefe were
diftributed among the foldiers. A vaft number of
cattle were likewife taken, which Socinios diftributed
among the prielts, judges, and lay-officers. By this
complete viftory the whole fcheme of the confpirators
was overthrown. Emana Chriftos having no forces
capable of coping with his brother, and unwilling, as
we have faid, to affift Julius openly, had retired to a
high mountain named Melon /Imba, in the territory of
Gojam. Here he was inverted by Af Chriftos, an ex¬
perienced general, whom Sela Chriftos had left gover-
-commum
cated a fe-
cond time.
Rafhnefs
and death
of Julius.
Emana
Chriftos
taken, but
pardoned.
] A B Y
nor when he joined the emperor. Emana, who was AbyffinL
likeAvife an expert commander, would have made a vi- -y—-
gorous defence j but unfortunately the mountain was
fo deftitute of water, that in three days he was deli¬
vered up by his own men, to fave themfelves from pe-
riftiing W’ith thirft. On being brought to the king, he
was tried in a full affembly of judges, and condemned
to death 5 but the king pardoned and fent him to Am-
hara.
This terrible confpiracy had been occafioned by the
difpute concerning the two natures of our Saviour :
another quickly followed on account of the dif-
pule concerning the Sabbath-day j the Abyffinian
church infilling on the obfervance of the feventh day
of the week as a Sabbath, and the Romilh church on
the obfervance of the firft day. The author of this Anotherre
rebellion was one Jonael, who had been concerned in beliion by
the expedition formerly mentioned, in which the A-JotiaeI-
gows cattle were driven away, and afterwards reftored
by the king. It is more than probable that his re-
fentment on this account contributed much to increafe
his zeal on the prefent occafion 5 but whatever was the
real caufe, religion was the foie pretence. He began
with a moft infolent but anonymous letter to the
king ^ in which the arguments of the Alexandrians
for the obfervance of the Jewilh Sabbath were ftated,
and the contrary dodlrine condemned with the utmoft
virulence of expreffion. The king himfelf was reviled
in the moft opprobrious manner, compared to another
Dioclefian, the Jefuits faid to be relations of Pontius
Pilate, and all of them devoted to hell without re¬
demption. By this ftupid performance the king was
fo much offended, that he added a claufe to the
former proclamation, commanding that “ all out-door
work, fuch as plowing and fowing, ftiould be publicly
followed by the huffiandman on the Saturday, under
penalty of paying a 'web of cotton cloth for the firft
omiffion, the value of the cloth to be 5s. ; the fe-
cond offence to be puniftied by a confifcation of move¬
ables, and the offence not to'be pardoned for leven
years.” lo this Socinios added a fpeech from the
throne in vindication of himfelf, concerning the part
he had taken in religious matters ; and to ftioiv that
he was in earneft, caufed the tongue of a monk to be
cut out for denying the two natures of Chrift, and
one of his generals to be whipt for obferving the Jewiih
Sabbath.
In the mean time Jonael having collefted what for¬
ces he could, openly declared againft his fovereign j
but not daring to meet him in the field, he retired in¬
to the country of the Galla, on hearing that Socinios
was approaching him with an army. On this the king-
entered their territories, and laid them wafte ; which
created a diffenfion among the favages themfelves ; one
party being for affording him prote&ion, the other
for delivering him up. This being made known to He is mur-
the king, he fent a few prefents to the faithlefs barba- dered by
rians of Jonael’s party ; who returned his kindnefs by the Galla*
fending him the head of the rebel, though but a ffiort
time before they had fought with their brethren for
his refeue.
_ A more formidable enemy than Jonael, however, AnotJier
ftill remained. The province of Damot was one of rebellion,
the moft difaffefted to Socinios in the whole empire j
and to this place the greateft part of the religious fa¬
natics
A B Y [
^bytTmla. natics in other provinces had retired. They now muf-
v> v—- terecj Up an army of more than 12,000 men, among
efperate whom were 400 monks, all of them armed with
ithufiafm fliieids, lances, and fwords; infpired, befides, with
: the
lanks.
•enounces
;he Alex-
indrian
'aith.
fuch a degree of religious enthufiafm, ihat they expend¬
ed to be rendered invulnerable by all terreftrial wea¬
pons, and that armies of angels would fight in their
caufe. Againft thefe Sela Chriftos was difpatched with
about 7000 excellent foldiers ; and as the general him-
felf was a zealous Roman Catholic, as well as molt of
his men, we need not doubt that both parties imagined
themfelves fure of the protection of heaven, and con-
fequently that the encounter would be very violent.
The two armies met on the 16th of OCtober 1620;
but Sela Chriftos was unwilling to deftroy the infatuated
people, who he knew would be unable to refill his ve¬
teran troops. He therefore firft Ihowed them his fupe-
riority in fome Ikirmifhes j and then fent a pathetic
meflage, offering a general pardon if they would lay
down their arms. The melfengers, however, were not
allowed to approach, fo that an engagement became
unavoidable. The numbers of the rebels, as Sela
Chriftos had forefeen, availed very little againft the
difcipline of the veterans he commanded. The 400
monks made a molt obftinate refiftance; and did not
yield till after 180 of them had been killed on the
fpot.
The emper- Socinios, having once more vanquilhed his enemies,
>r publicly now determined to fhow his attachment to the church
of Rome more openly. Having therefore fent for
Peter Paez, he told him his final refolution to embrace
the Catholic religion in its full extent ; after which he
renounced the Alexandrian church in the molt expli¬
cit manner. His renunciation was followed by a pro¬
clamation vindicating his conduCt; in which, befides
the arguments ufed for the pope’s fupremacy, &c. he
infilled much on the bad lives of the clergy of the op-
polite party, and for which it appeared that there was
in reality too much foundation. This was the laft
work of the excellent milfionary Peter Paez, who died
of a fever immediately after his leaving the king. The
example of the fovereign, however, had very little ef¬
fect upon his fubje£ts. The proclamation was follow¬
ed by a new rebellion in Amhara. Unluckily the ene¬
mies of his brother Sela Chriftos had perfuaded Soci¬
nios to deprive him of his government: and there was
no other in the kingdom who could be intrufted with
fuch an important commiflion 5 fo that the king foon
found himfelf under a neceflity of replacing and com¬
mitting to him the charge of the war againft the re¬
bels. In this he was attended with his ufual fuccefs :
for the rebel chief, finding himfelf unable to contend
with his enemy, repaired for alliftance to the Galla j
who no fooner had him in their power than they killed
him on the firft: oiler of the imperial general, mangling
his body in fuch a manner that fcarce a bit of it re¬
mained to be fent to his antagonift.
In the mean time news of the revolution in reli¬
gious matters which had taken place in Abyftinia,
arrived in Europe. Though the embalfy to the pope
and king of Spain could not pafs, as has already been
A new pa- related, yet frequent accounts had been otherwife
triarch and tranfmitted j which produced fuch an effeft, that a new
arriveT^65 ^ miffionaries> with a patriarch (Alphonfo Mendes)
Abvffinia at t^e*r head, were fent to Abyflinia. They arrived
* Vot. I. Part. I.
A new re¬
bellion
breaks out.
The rebel
chief mur¬
dered by
the Galla.
81 ] A B Y
at Gorgora, the feat of royal refidence, in the beginning AbylSnia*
of the year 1626$ and at the very firft audience of the *
emperor, it was agreed that he ihould take an oath of
fubmiffion to the pope. The ceremony was perform-Socinios
ed with all the fplendour that could be contrived : thetak®s ^
patriarch then preached a fermon on the pope’s fu- t0
premacy in the Portuguefe language, intermixed with the pope.
Latin quotations $ which is reported to have greatly
confirmed the faith of the emperor and his brother,
though neither of them underftood a word of the lan¬
guages in which it was preached. An anfwer to this
unintelligible difeourfe was made in the Amharic lan¬
guage, which was equally unintelligible to the patriarch
and his attendants j and to this the patriarch added a
few words of a reply equally ill underftood. At the
conelufion of the difpute, an oath of the pope’s fupre¬
macy was taken by the emperor himfelf on his knees,
then by the princes, and afterwards by all prefent, ac¬
cording to their different ftations. Sela Chriftos, not Violent
contented with taking the oath, drew his fword, and con<lu<^
in words not eafily underftood, denounced vengeance Se*a ^in"
on “ thofe who fell from their duty and he likewife i'< S
added to the oath of fupremacy another to the empe¬
ror and Facilidas the prince royal 5 but if the latter
fhould fail in the defence of the Catholic faith, he
fwore to be his greateft enemy : nor would he be fatis-
fied without impofing this claufe upon all the officers,
whether civil or military, then prefent.
This violent condudl of Sela Chriftos procured him and of the
a number of enemies, and at laft was the occafion ofemPpror.
his deftrudlion ; but that of the king and patriarch a^patri“
fet the whole empire in a flame. An excommunica¬
tion was firft pronounced upon all who did not keep
the oath : a proclamation was next iffutd, that all
priefts ffiould previoufly embrace the Catholic religion
under pain of death j and that every one, under the
fame penalty, fhould obferve Lent and Eafter, accord¬
ing to the rules of the Romifli church. The patiiarch
proceeded in the fame ftylej reordaining the clergy,
confecrating the churches over again, rebaptizing the
people, even fuch as were full grown, abrogating cir-
cumcifion, polygamy, and divorce (for thefe had been
allowed by the Alexandrian church), and reducing the
moveable feafts entirely to the rules of the church of
Rome.
Though polygamy and divorce are no doubt incon-
fiftent with the pure doctrines of the gofpel, yet it
was very improper to meddle with thefe practices at
once in fuch a violent manner. Befides the confufion
that this would naturally occafion in private families,
thefe practices gave occafion to many queftions in law,
which it belonged to the civil judges to decide ; but
now thefe were all fubjedled to the. authority of the
patriarch : and from fome other fteps taken by this
prelate, it appeared that he intended to encroach much
farther upon the civil authority. One of thefe related
to the church lands; which in Ethiopia are granted by
the king, and refumed at his pleafure 5 others being
granted in their place, fo that neither priefts nor
monks have any property in them. On the prefent An Ahyfll-
occafion, an Abyffinian nobleman had poffeffed fome nian noble-
lands belonging to a Catholic monk ; for which he wasmanexcom-
called before the patriarch. On his refufing to fub-™1111^1^*
mil tp this new tribunal, he was inftantly condemned
to reftore the lands j but refufing this alfo, the patri-
L arch
of the
grave
Catholic
liturgy al¬
tered.
A B Y [82
Abyflima. ^ arch took an opportunity, as he was attending the em-
' peror^ at church, to pronounce fentence of excommu¬
nication againft him, giving him over at once, foul and
body to the devil.—On hearing this terrible fentence
pronounced, the nobleman fainted away, and was with
difficulty recovered. On the interceffion of the em¬
peror, however, the curfe was taken off 5 but the in¬
cident produced a very difagreeable effeft on the
minds of the people, who from that day began to en-
r tert3*n a greater averfion than ever to the Roman Ca-
Abyffini- ^holies and their priefts. T his averfion wras greatly
an faint increafed by the abfurd conduft of the patriarch, in
thrown out ordering the body of an Abyffinian faint to be taken
up, and thrown out of the grave in an ignominious
manner, becaufe it had been buried under the altar of
a church, which he imagined was thus defiled. In all
other refpe&s, the patriarch behaved in fuch an infolent
and overbearing manner, that the effe&s of his op-
preffion foon began to be univerfally felt, and the
Catholic religion began very quickly to decline 
The firft flroke given to it was the alteration of the
liturgy, which was done at the defire of the empe¬
ror. Ever fince the eftabliffiment of the Catholic re¬
ligion, the Latin mafs book, &c. had been made ufe
of according to the pra&ice of the church of Rome ;
but as it feemed very unreafonable to impofe this at
once upon the Ethiopians, Socinios ordered the patri¬
arch to make fuch alterations in the old Abyffinian li¬
turgies as he thought proper, that the people might
thus have an opportunity of paying their devotions in
a language they underftood. The patriarch, not being
able to affign any folid reafon to the contrary, was
obliged to comply j but no fooner was this done than
the people made ufe of their old liturgies entirely, with¬
out the leaft regard to the innovations of the patriarch.
In the midft of the confufion which daily took place
from thefe caufes, the Galla made a dreadful invafion,
and cut off one of this emperor’s generals with his
whole army : nor w^ere all the abilities of Sela Chri-
ftos, who had fo often diftinguiffied himlelf, fufficient
to retrieve matters j fo that the favages, after having
ravaged the country for feme time at pleafure, return*
ed home loaded with booty. Lins misfortune was
followed by the revolt of Tecla Georgis the king’s fon-
in-law j who not only made religion the pretence for
taking up arms, but infulted the Catholics in the moft
outrageous manner; collefting their images and other
religious trinkets into a heap, and then publicly fet-
ting fire to them. After this he called before him his
own chaplain, named Abba^Tacob, who was a Catholic,
dripped him of his pontificals, and killed him with his
own hand. A reconciliation with Socinios was now
impofiible 5 fo that he had no refource but in arms. In
this however, he was equally unfuccefsful wdth the
Is defeated, other rebels in this reign ; being defeated, taken pri-
IxeouteT1 fonerl ,^d put t0 death’ alon§’ ™ith Ws fitter Abdera,
executed, notwithftandmg the interceffion of a Catholic miffion¬
ary for him, and that of the queen and ladies of the
court for his filler.
As the. reafons given by the king for refufing fuch
Revolt of powerful interceffion were purely religious, the people
f Agows> became more and more averfe to a profeffion fo ex-
]
A B Y
An army
cut off by
the Galla.
~Tecla Ge¬
orgis, the
king’s fon-
in-law, re¬
volts.
terminations, but that they were exafperated by the Abylfnit
llavery and oppreffion to which they faw themfelvcs fub- —-
jedled. They now therefore fet up Melcha Chriftos, a
prince of the royal blood, as a pretender to the crown j
and foon put on fuch a formidable appearance, that the
king himlelf thought proper to march againfi: them with
an army of 30,000 fighting men, which with the fer-
vants and other attendants amounted to more than
80,000. Melcha Chriftos retired with his troops to the
craggy mountains of the country 5 and being impru¬
dently followed by the emperor, rolled down fuch quan¬
tities of ftones from the precipices, that Socinios was
obliged to retreat with great precipitation, after having
loft almoft one half of his army.
On this defeat the emperor found himfelf obliged to The rebels
apply to .Sela Chriftos, whom he had again diffiraced tlt’feateci ^
nnH   x. xt p 1 i - • Sela Chri-
who let u ) iiiuicr dverie to
Melcha ,V tremely oppreffive and fanguinary as" that of Rome
Ghrittos. feemed to be. A.revolt of the Agows quickly follow-
, not that religion had really any ffiare in their de¬
ed
and deprived of his government. He fucceeded fn giv-nela
ing the rebels a dreadful overthrow, which for fome Laca Ma
time entirely broke their power 3 but this fuccefs was Ham’s re-'
quickly followed by the revolt of Laeca Mariam, aVG^ an<l
near relation of the king. He alfo was defeated, anddt5ath-
obliged to retire to a mountain fo fieep, that though
he afeended it in fafety, he was daffied in pieces with
many of his followers in attempting to defeend 3 the
reft, who efcaped this danger, being killed by their
purfuers. Still, however, the reberMelcha Chriftos Several
was unlubdued 3 againft whom Prince Facilidas, the
heir-apparent to the throne, was fent, having under Hie
him a nobleman of moft diftinguiffied charadler named emper°r'
Keba Chrijlos.' The latter was defeated and killed,
without its being in the pow'er of Facilidas to do any
thing towards the fuppreffion of the rebellion. This
misfortune was followed, by the death of Fecur Egzie,
formerly ambaffador with Antonio Fernandes to the
pope, but now lieutenant-general to Sela Chriftos. He
was cut off with a fmall body of troops by the
Galla.3 and from many misfortunes befalling the
imperial troops, the power of Melcha Chriftos was
augmented to fuch a degree, that he now began to
aft as a king,, and appointed a deputy-governor to
one of the provinces. His opinion of his own impor- A rebel ge.
tance, however, had almoft proved his ruin 3 for the neral en-
new governor having appointed a great feflival on a tirely de*
Saturday, in oppofition to the royal edift, he was at- ted’
tacked by a party of the king’s "troops, and entirely
routed from the lofs of 4000 of his men. This defeat Prince Fa-
was revenged by an overthrow given to Prince Faci- cilidas de-
lidas himfelf 3 the blame of which was laid upon Sela^4,55,
Chnftos. The latter, as we have often had oecafion
to obfer.ve, was not only a moft valiant commander,
but a rigid Catholic 3 and thefe two qualities mipht
naturally have been thought to fecure him in favour
with the emperor. His violent conduft in regard toSelaChri.
the Catholic religion, however, had raifed him fo ma-ftos univer-
ny enemies, that accufations were perpetually brouoht*a%
againft him ; and one difgrace conftantly followed an¬
other, notwithftanding all his fervices. The orefent
accufation was brought by one Lefana Chriftos/whom
Se.la Chriftos had formerly condemned to death. For
this offence he had received a pardon from Socinios 3
and he now revenged himlelf upon his former judge by
acculing him to. his fovereign. Sela Chriftos was not
unmindful of his conduft 3 and therefore, as foon as
he had him in his power, put him to death without
regarding the pardon he had received. The emperor
jyflhiiii*
<>.—-y—.—.
]| privet!
rthe go-
'irnrnent
(,Gojani.
]}volt of
Ijsnewgo
- rnor.
f le is de-
eated, ta-
ten, and
)ut to
Seath.
The empe-
■'or relaxes
in his feve-
j rity con-
l cerning re-
iigion,
tvhich is
fe fen ted by
the patri-
, arch.
A B Y [
on tins deprived him of the government of Gojam,
1 vrhich he gave to Serca Chriftos, who was fuppofed to
be a dependent on Prince Facilidas, and was belides
coufin to the emperor himfelf. The new governor,
on his entering upon office, promifed folemnly to fup-
port the Catholic religion •, bQt no fooner did he arrive
in Gojam than he folieited Prince Facilidas to rebel
againfl: his father, and re-eltablifh the Alexandrian
faith. This was not the only inftance in which he
jfhowed his difobedience. He had received the charge
of a caravan which came annually from Narea j but
inftead of adting properly in this refpedt, he employ¬
ed himfelf in driving off the cattle of the Agows and
Damots, who expedted no harm, and were confequent-
ly quite unprepared. Such numbers of them were
carried off on this occafion, that 100,000 are said to
have been fent to the Abyffinian market. Socinios,
when informed of fuch an atrocious robbery, ordered
him to reftore the cattle, and to furrender himfelf pri-
foner j but inftead of complying with this order, he
again folicited Facilidas to revolt againft his father.
For this he was ffiarply reproved; but now deter¬
mined to make the world believe that the prince had
entered into his fchemes, he fent a public meffage, to
him in which he was defired to come and take poffef-
fion of the kingdon. Facilidas imprifoned the per-
fon who brought this treafonable meffage, and foon af¬
ter fent him to Socinios $ bat Serca Chriftos ftill per-
lifted in his mad attempts. He now propofed to abo-
lilh the Romifh religion throughout the kingdom j and
with that view attacked a convent which Sela Chriftos
had built in Gojam : but the fathers having been fur-
niffied with fotne fire-arms, made fo good a defence,
that he was obliged to give over the enterprife. He
then took the laft ftep to complete his folly, by open¬
ly revolting againft the emperor, and fetting up a
prince of the royal-blood in oppofition to him, whom
he had found living in obfcurity among his mother’s
relations. To cut off all poffibility of reconciliation
with the emperor, he renewed the facrilegious pra&ices
of Georgis, and put to death a prieft for refufing to
deny the two natures of Chrift. Thus he procured a
multitude of enthufiafts to join him ; but when the
affair came to a decifion, and Prince Facilidas with a
well-difciplined army was fent againfl: him, it then be¬
came evident how little the fanaticifm of a tumul¬
tuous rabble availed againft the Ikill of a regular army.
The rebels fought, however, with great obftinacy till
moft of them were killed, their commander being ob¬
liged to take refuge on a mountain j from whence, be¬
ing unable to make his efcape, he at laft came down
and furrendered at difcretion. We need not doubt of
his fate j but notwithftanding the execution of this
rebel, another ftill remained. This was Melcha Chri¬
ftos, againft whom the emperor next prepared to
march. He now found, however, the bad confe-
quences of having afted fo violently in favour of the
Catholic religiop. His army was fo difaffefted, that
he could fcarcely put any confidence in them. For
this reafon he iffued a proclamation, that fuch as chofe
to obferve the Wednefday as a fall: inftead of Satur¬
day, had liberty to do fo. This and fome other in-
dulgencies being reported to the patriarch, the latter
ffiarply reproved him as committing an encroachment
on the priefthood j and put him in mind of the pu-
83 } A B Y
nilhment of leprofy infli&ed upon Uzziah for affum- Abyffrifc-
ing the prieft’s office. Thus an altercation commen- —v—
ced; and it was evident, from the behaviour of So¬
cinios, that his extreme favour for the Romifii reli¬
gion began to decline. After this he fet out for the
country of Lafta, where Melcha Chriftos was, and the
entrance to which was guarded by very high and rug¬
ged mountains. Among thefe the rebels had ftrongly
fortified themfelves; but were driven from four ports
by the king’s troops, fo that the latter imagined a
complete vidory had been gained. Affembling tliem-
felves, however, on the top of another high mountain,
the rebels watched their opportunity ; and defcending
fuddenly upon them, cut off great numbers, and obliged The empe-
the reft to make a precipitate retreat. Another cam-ror defeat,
paign was therefore necelfary 5 but now the army loftcd*
all patience. They were become weary of making war
on their countrymen, and after flaughtering them in
the field, feeing the intervals between the campaigns
filled up with numerous executions of thofe who had
efcaped the fword. A deputation was therefore fent The army
from the foldiers by Prince Facilidas, who, though he require the
had never declared his fentiments openly, was ftrongly1 ^<t.oraKon
fufpeded of being no friend to the Catholics. The Andrian ^
purport of the deputation was, that they did not mean faith,
to fay that the Romilh profeffion was a bad one, but
it was fuch as they could not underftand ; and confe-
quently there could be no merit on their part in pro-
feffing it. They were ready, however, to lay down
their lives for the public good, provided their ancient
religion was reftored *, but this was a point they would
not give up, and without which they would neither
concern themfelves in the quarrel, nor even wilh fuc-
cefs to the emperor’s arms. With regard to the Ro-
mifti religion, they added this declaration, perhaps the
ftrongeft poffible mark of averfion, that they did not
voijh to know any thing about it. Socinios, therefore,
according to the Abyffinian accounts, promifed to re¬
ftore the Alexandrian faith, on condition that he re¬
turned vi&orious from Lafta. The army then readi¬
ly agreed to follow him wherever he pleafed ; while
the rebels, having left their fortreffes in Lafta, pro¬
bably from a confidence in their own ftrength, boldly
marched towards the royal army. In the engagement,
however, they did not (how their ufual alacrity, and
were foon defeated with the lofs of 8000 men. Many Melcha
of their beft officers were killed on the fpot, and Mel- f'hriftos de-
cha Chriftos himfelf efcaped only by the fwiftnefs of^eate^‘
his horfe.
By this vidfory the power of the rebels was broken ;
but it was not attended with the fame fatisfaftion to
the people with which other vidlories were wont to be
accompanied. On viewing the field of battle along
with Facilidas next day, the prince is faid to have made
a pathetic fpeech to his father ; in which he told him, Pathetic
that the bodies of the men he faw dead on the field of A)eec^
battle were neither thofe of Pagans nor Mahometans,Jj1"
but of his own Chriftian fubjeiffs 5 and that, viftories ofhis father
this kind were like driving a fword into his own en-concerning
trails. “ * How many men (fays he) have you (laugh-clie war.
tered ? how many more have you yet to kill ? We are \y™els *
become a proverb even to the Pagans and Moors forvoh h. qto,
carrying on this war ; and for apoftatizing, as they fay,p. 943.
from the faith of our anceftors.” The king did not
make any reply at that time ; but the effeds of the
L 2 prince’s
An univer- jj.
fal tolera-
A B Y
A'hyiTmia. prince’s words were foon apparent.
' the firft opportunity of upbraiding him with his ingra
titude to the Catholics, and deferting the religion
whofe profeffors had by their prayers obtained fuch a
fignal viftory. To this Socinios replied in general,
that he had done every thing in his power to eftablifh
the Catholic religion ; for which he had died the blood
of thoufands, and had Hill as much more to died : but
that he diould confider of the matter, and acquaint him
with his final refolution. This was by no means fa¬
vourable j for next day, in a meflage to the patriarch,
he recounted the many rebellions which had been ex¬
cited on account of religion; and concluded with tell¬
ing him, that though the faith of Rome was not a
bad one, yet the people of Abyfiinia did not underftand
For this reafon he was determined to grant a tole-
tion grant- rati°n) by allowing fuch as profefled the Catholic faith
cd. to do fo in peace, and fuch as rather chofe that of A-
Oppofed by lexandrxa to do the fame. The patriarch replied, that
ard/,atr** n° °bje<Rion to grant this indulgence to fuch
as had not yet embraced the Catholic faith •, but thofe
who had done fo could not be permitted to renounce
it without a grievous fin. Thus a new fyftem of per-
lecution would have commenced: but the emperor,
underflanding well the purport of his difcourfe, replied,
that if this was the cafe, he was no longer mailer of his
The empe-own kingdom 5 and immediately afterwards ilfued a
the Alex-05 Proc^ama,:^on> wherein he declared the Alexandrian
andrian faith rellored, with the altars for the facrament, litur-
faith, and gy, and every other thing belonging to it; at the fame
refigns the time, that being now old and infirm, he himfelf refign-
kingdom. ecj |.]ie crown ancj empire to Facilidas.
This remarkable proclamation was made on the 14th
of June 1632 j after which Socinios took no farther
care of public affairs j nor did he long furvive this
tranfadlion. He died on the yth of September this
year, and with him fell all the hopes of the Jefuits.
Facilidas, as had been rightly conjeflured, was an in¬
veterate enemy to the Catholic faith. As foon there¬
fore as he had obtained the government, even before
he took upon himfelf the title of the king, the Catholics
were everywhere difplaced from offices of trull and ho¬
nour ; but as foon as he found himfelf ellablilhed on
the throne, a letter was fent to the patriarch informing
him, that as the Alexandrian faith was now rellored,
it was become indifpenfably neceffary for him to leave
the kingdom, efpecially as the new Abuna was on the
way, and only deferred his journey till the Romiffi
The patri- prielts Ihould be out of the country. For this reafon
arch com- he commanded the patriarch, with all his brethren, to
manded to leave their convents throughout the empire, and retire
hn!a y!" to Fremona in the kingdom of Tigre, there to wait
his further pleafure. The patriarch attempted to foft-
en him by many conceffions, but in vain; on the 9th
of March 1633 he was ordered, with the reft of the
fathers, to proceed immediately for Fremona. This
they were obliged to comply with $ but the emperor,
underftanding that they were about to eftablilh them-
lelves, and to folicit fuccours from Spain to accomplifh
their purpofes by force, he fent orders to the patriarch,
inftantly to deliver up all the gunpowder they had at
that place, and to prepare, without delay, to fet out for
Mafuah. Still the infatuated and obllinate prieft de¬
termined not to comply with the emperor’s orders. At
laft he thought proper to deliver up the gunpowder j
The new
emperor
an enemy
to the Ca¬
tholics.
[ 84 ] A B Y
The patriarch took but refolved to leave his companions behind him, and AbyfTmia.
to difperfe them as much as poffible through the em- '—"-y——
pire, in cafe he himfelf Ihould be obliged to embark at
Mafuah j which, however, he did not by any means
intend. For this purpofe he applied to the Bahama-He applies
galh, named John Akay, then in rebellion againft the for protec-
emperor ; who carried them all off from Fremona intI0tlt0the
the night time, under a guard of foldiers, and lodged
them fafely in a ftrong fortrefs named Adicotta. Here in rebellion,
the patriarch imagined that he might remain in fafety
till he fhould be able to procure fuccours from India.
In this, however, he was deceived. John conveyed
them from place to place, through many unwholefome
fituations, till their ftrength as well as their patience
was exhaufted. At lail, on receiving a prefent of gold,
he allowed them to return to their old habitation Adi¬
cotta. Facilidas, then, being determined at all events
to get rid of fueh troublefome guefts, endeavoured to
prevail upon John by bribes to deliver them into his
hands. John was too delicate to comply with this re-
queft, which he fuppofed would be a violation of hof-
pitality j but he confented, on receiving a proper com- H*® patri. '
penfation, to fell them to the Turks. Two were left
in Abyffinia, in hopes of foon fharing the crown of^aHes " I
martyrdom j and this indeed Facilidas did not delay fold to the
to put them in poffeffion of, being both ordered forTurks*
execution as foon as he got them into his power.
Not content with this, and being perpetually appre-
henfive of frefh invafions from Europe, he entered into
a treaty with the Turkiffi baffiaws to keep the ports
of Mafuah and Suakem ftiut againft them ; by which
their entrance into Abyffinia would be effeftually pre¬
vented.
During thefe tranfaftions, the emperor took the
moft effe£lual methods otherwife to eradicate the Ro-
mi(h religion, by cutting off the principal perfons who
profeffed it, or obliging them to renounce their profef-
fion. The principal of thefe was his uncle Sela Chri-Se!a Chri-
ftos, who had deferved fo well of the late emperor So-ftos Put t0
cinios, and of the whole empire in general. His ex-^eat^‘
ceffive bigotry in religious matters proved the caufe of
his deftruflion, as has formerly been hinted. When
it was propofed to him to renounce his faith, he abfo-
lutely refufed to do fo, either to avoid the greateft pu-
nifliment the king could infli£l, or to obtain the great-
eft gift he had in his power to beftow. On this he was
baniftied to an unhealthy diftrifl among the mountains
ot Samen ; but as even here he kept up a correfpon-
dence with the Jefuits, and wilhed to facilitate the in¬
troduction of more Portuguefe from India, he was fen-
tenced to be hanged on a cedar tree.
I he expulfion of the prefent race of miffionaries did
not entirely difcourage the Europeans from attempting
to introduce a freffi miffion into Abyffinia. The ob-
ftinate, haughty, and rebellious fpirit of the Jefuits was
univerfally condemned, and regarded as the caufe of
the extreme averfion Ihowed by the emperor and the
whole empire againft the doctrines they profeffed. It
was therefore hoped, and not without fome appearance
of reafon, that the point might ftill be gained, provi¬
ded the miffion were undertaken by others lefs violent
and infidious in their behaviour. After the execution A new mii*
of thofe who remained in Abyffinia, fix Capuchins, the
reformed order of St Francis, were fent with protec-fix Francif-
tions from the Grand Signior to facilitate their paffagecan Capu-
int0 chins. -
A B Y [5
Abvflinia. Into Aliyffinia, avhere they hoped to revive the droop-
-v 'ini;, or rather loft, caufe of the Catholic religion.
a'L tUU undertaking' was truly unfortunate,
The event of this undertaking was truly unfortunate,
'our of The Galla murdered two who attempted to enter A-
hemraur- byffmia by the way of Magadoxa. Iwo who arrived
nemmur- byilmia dv me  -
iered, and fafelY in the country were Honed to death j while the
he other • • _ Vvaarlno- nt Mafuah of the fate of their
remaining two, healing at Mafuah of the fate of their
' companions, returned home with the melancholy ac-
count of it. This bad fuccefs did not deter three
Emir- others from making the fame attempt a (hort time af-
S b, terwards; but they having imprudently informed Fa-
)rderofFa-cilidas of their intention, were murdered by the balhaw
:ilidas* of Mafuah, who had received orders from him to thi=
purpofe. So particular was the emperor with regard
to the execution of this order, that he caufed the ba-
ftiaw to fend him the fkin of their faces and heads ;
that he might know by their faces that they were
Europeans, and by their fbaved heads that they were
„ , ,, PrThe Catholic faith was now totally fuppreffed but
Sftoi Hill the fpirit of rebellion ftill prevailed ; and Mekha Chn-
continues in ftos continued as much in oppofition to his fovereign
rebellion. as ^ben he firft took up arms on pretence ot religion.
At firlt he met with extraordinary fuccels j totally de¬
feated the royal army, though commanded by hacih-
das in perfon ; after which, purfuing his good foi tune,
he made himfelf mailer of the capital, entered the pa¬
lace and was formally crowned king. ihis, how¬
ever, was the laft of his good fortune, lacilidas hav¬
ing quickly recruited his army, fent three able gene¬
rals to attack his rival, who was now adling the iove-
15 defeated reign in his palace. The rebels were attacked and fur-
and killed, rounded before they expefted an enemy were almoft
entirely cut off, and Melcha Chnftos himfelf was killed
in the engagement.
The victory over Melcha Chnftos was followed by
feveral fuccefsful expeditions againft. the Agows and
Galla; but in the 6th year of the reign of this empe¬
ror, the rebels of Lafta, who feemed determined not to
yield while there remained a poflibility of rehltance,
Ue rebels chofe the fon of Melcha Chriftos for their king, and
choofe his agajn began their depredations on the neighbouring
fon for their °ovjnces> Facilidas marched againft them with his
Jeader. . but had the misfortune to lofe the
Theemper-greateft part of his army by cold among the mountains
oFs arnfy of Lafta, though it was then the time of the equinox,
and confequently the fun was only 12° from being ver¬
tical, the latitude of Lafta being no more than 12 ,
and the fun 12 hours in the day above the horizon.—
Before this rebellion could be fuppreffed, another was
begun, at the head of which was Claudius the king s
brother. He had not the fame good fortune with the
rebels of Lafta 5 but was quickly defeated, taken pn-
foner, and baniftied to a mountain called Wechne;
perifties
with cold.
Princes of
the blood loner ttnu »— •.».—— 
again im- which ferved from that time for the imprifonment ot
I,n the princes of the blood-royal. The fupprelKon of one
tain, rebellion, however, feemed to have no other effea than
that of giving rife to another. A new expedition was
Facilidas to be undertaken againft the Agows and Shangal a ;
defeated by but they had polled themfelves fo advantageouily,
the Agows tbe royal army was entirely defeated without bemg
and Shan- i i   o»-.xr nn fheir enemies. 1 3C1-
galla.
LUC 1 \JJ Cii ik*. ».*.*j " —~  J ^ . -p.
able to make any impreflion on their enemies. i'acl_
lidas, however, knowing that this defeat could “e at¬
tended with no other bad confequence than the lots ot
the men? which had already happened, marched dirett-
5 ] A B Y
ly a^ainll the rebels of Lafta without attempting to Abyfrnn
revenge the defeat he had fuftained. The rebel gene- rebeis
ral, weary of a contention, in which he probably laW0fbaita
that he would be finally unfuccefsful, chofe to fubmit fubmit.
unconditionally to the emperor \ who, though he at
firft affeaed to treat him with feverity, foon after re¬
leafed him from prifon, bellowing upon him large pol-
feflions in Begemder, with his daughter Theoclea m
marriage. ,
Eacilidas died in the month of Oaober 1665, and Reign ox
was fucceeded by his fon Hannes. This prince wasHatm<s.
fuch an enthufiaft for Chriftianity, that in the very be¬
ginning of his reign he illued a proclamation, forbid¬
ding the Mahometans to eat any flelh but what was
killed by Chriftians j but fo far was he from any in¬
clination to favour the Catholics, that he ordered all
their books which could be found in the empire to be
collefted and burnt. Much of his time was fpent in
regulations of church matters, and in contentions and
trilling difputes with the clergy j which conduft fo
difgufted his fon Yafous, that he fled twice from the
capital, but was purfued and brought back. The lall
time was in the year 1680, when he found his father
ill of the diftemper of which he died. Hannes expired
on the 19th of July that year, having lived at peace
during the whole of his reign, excepting fome trifling
expeditions againft the Shangalla and rebels of Lafta. _ ^
Yafous, who fucceeded to the throne with the ap-Rej.g” 0i
probation of the whole kingdom, was of a vei} differ¬
ent difpofition from his father. Generous, aflive, and
brave, he was lefs bigotted, and differed from him
confiderably in religious principles. Having fettled
church matters as he thought proper, his next ftep,
and the moll glorious aftion of his whole reign, was
to pay a vifit to thofe of the royal family who were His genero-
conlined on the mountain of Wechne. He found them
in the moll miferable condition j all in tatters, and pr;nceSi
many almoft naked •, their revenue having been ill paid
by his father, who was of a fordid dilpofition, and
the little they received having been embezzled by
their keepers. Yafous was greatly moved at this fpec-
tacle, ordered a large fum of money to be divided
among them for prefent relief, clothed them accord¬
ing to their rank, and fettled matters fo that no part
of their revenue could ever afterwards be improperly
applied. To the governor of the mountain he aflign-
ed a large traft of territory, to make amends for the
profit he had been accuftomed to derive from the re¬
venue of the princes; and finally he left all the prifon-
ers at the foot of the mountain, at perfeft liberty ei¬
ther to take up their refidence again on it or any
where elfe. By thefe extraordinary inftances of royal
munificence, the emperor fo effe&ually gained the af-
fe&ion of his relations, that they unanimoufly deter¬
mined to return to their former ftate of confinement;
and during the whole time of his reign not one of them
ever appeared as a competitor for the crown.
Though Yafous is faid to have poffeffed all the qua¬
lities which conftitute a great and good monarch, the
natural turbulence of his tubjedls, and the reftlefs dif¬
pofition of the monks, foon began to ftiow themfelves Irruption of
by new feditions. Thefe were preceded by a violent the Galla,
irruption of the Galla,'who were overthrown, as ufual,^™'1S
• .1 . n 1 L   C,-. r-iff Q V KzAinrr ■frvl 1 11 o
irruption or tne vjaua, who wcit uvti0j.-^
with great daughter } but foon after, being folicited nionkSj re_
wun great   monKs, re-
by fome monks who had drawn over a party ot the hellion, &c.
A OTIWU
A B Y [ 86 ] A B Y
AbyfTmia. Agows to their fide, the difturbances were renewed.
* * A grandfon of Socinios, who had fled to the Galla
when Facilidas firft baniflied the princes to Weehnc,
was proclaimed king. A multitude of favages imme¬
diately flocked to his ftandard, fo that he was foon at
the head of a very formidable army, while the Agows
and other malecontents were ready to join him as foon
as he fliould repafs the Nile. The king, however, en¬
tirely difconcerted the fcheme by his adtivity j for,
advancing with the utmoft celerity, he reached the
banks of the Nile before the Galla on the other fide
were ready to join their allies on this fide of it. The
Agows were fo confounded at his prefence, that they
allowed him to pafs the river unmolefted. The Galla
were equally furprifed at feeing the Avar transferred
into their own country 5 and, with their ufual fickle-
nefs, deferted the prince whofe caufe they had pre¬
tended to efpoufe. A few remained faithful, but were
utterly defeated by the forces of Yafous 5 the unhap-
U , , r py prince himfelf, Avhofe name rvas Ifauc, being taken
the empe- prifoner, and put to death in the prefence of his rival,
ror. ' After this, many great exploits vvere performed againft
the rebellious Agows, Galla, and other favages : but
which, as they produced no other confequence than
that of eftablifliing the emperor’s charadler for perfon-
al valour and military fkill, avc {hall here pafs over ;
only remarking, that, in the opinion of his fubje&s,
one of his campaigns Avas the moft glorious ever re¬
corded in the annals of Abyflinia. The moft memo-
Attempt to rabie events in the prefent reign regarded religion, and
revive the & renewal 0f the correfpondence bettvixt Europe and
rniffions Abyflinia } of Avhich Ave have a particular account from
from Eu- Mr. Bruce to the following purpofe. About the end
rope. nf the 17th century, a number of Francifcans from
Italy fettled at Cairo in Egypt, and Avere maintained
at the expence of the fathers in Paleftine, though pre¬
tending to be independent of their fuperior the guar¬
dian of Jerufalem. The latter, difpleafed at this me¬
thod of proceeding, offered to fupply the miflion to
Egypt entirely at the expence of Paleftine, and like-
wife to furnifti from thence miflionaries capable of in-
ftru&ing the people in the Chriftian religion. This
propofal meeting with a favourable reception at Rome,
a new fet of miflionaries from Jerufalem, called by our
author Capuchins, appeared at Cairo ; from Avhence the
Francifcans were hanifhed, only two of them being
alloAved to remain in that city. The others returned
to Rome j Avhere, finding that they could not re-efta-
blifli themfelves by fair means, they had recourfe to
artifice and fidlion. It Avas now pretended, that, on
the expulfion of the Jefuits from Abyflinia, a great
number of Catholic Chriftians had fled into the neigh¬
bouring countries of Nubia and Sennaar, Avhere they
found themfelves fo grievoufly oppreffed by the Ma¬
hometans, that, Avithout fome fpiritual afliftance, they
Avould be under the neceflity of renouncing their re¬
ligion. This ftory being confirmed by the two Fran¬
cifcans Avho remained at Cairo, the jcaufe of thefe fup-
pofed Chriftians was eagerly efpoufed by the religious
in Italy, and a new miffion fet on foot at the expence
of the pope for their relief, which continues to this
day under the title of the Ethiopia mijjion. The mif-
fionaries had it alfo in charge to penetrate if poflible
into Abyflinia •, and to keep up, as far as Avas in their
poAver, the Catholic faith, until a better opportunity
fhould offer of making an attempt to convert the Avhole Abyffinh.
empire. For this purpofe a convent Avas procured for '-y-—*J
them at Achmim in Upper Egypt5 and permiffion was
granted, notAvithftanding their former baniftrment, to
fettle two of their order at Cairo independent of the
fathers of Paleftine.
While thefe tranfadlions paffed in Italy and Egypt,
Louis XIV. of France was in the height of his glory.
He had attempted to rival the ancient Greeks and
Romans in the magnificence of his Avorks ; but his
condudt Avith regard to religion, his perfeculion of the
Proteftants, and reA'ocation of the edi£l of Nantz, had
ftigmatized him throughout the greateft part of Eu¬
rope as a bloody and mercilefs tyrant. To wipe off
this ftain, the Jefuits, his great fpiritual directors, form¬
ed a fcheme of inducing the emperor of Abyffinia to
fend an embaffy to France after which they hoped
that they might get themfelves replaced in the Ethiopic
miflxon, to the exclufion of the Francifcans. The king,
whofe pride was very much flattered by the propofal,
readily embraced it ; but the pope’s confent Avas ftill
necefiary. His holinefs was by no means pleafed with
this intrufion of a temporal prince into fpiritual affairs:
neverthelefs he did not choofe to enter into any conteft;
but that he might undo Avith one hand Avhat he did
with the other, he appointed fix Jefuits, of Avhom Ver-
feau, the ambaffador of Louis to himfelf Avas one, to be
miflionaries to Abyflinia, but the fuperior of the Fran¬
cifcans to be his legate d at that court 5 provid¬
ing him Avith fuitable prefents for the emperor and
principal nobility.
The Jefuits now finding themfelves in danger of be¬
ing fupplanted by the Francifcans, applied to the pope
to know Avhich of the tAVo orders ftiould make the firft;
attempt to enter Abyflinia j but received no other
anfwer than that thofe Avho were moft expert ftiould
do fo. Verfeau, probably difpleafed at this conduct
of the pope, Avent to a convent in Syria, of Avhich he
Avas fuperior, Avithout making any attempt to enter
Ethiopia : therefore the miflion remained in the hands
of tivo perfons of oppofite profeflions, a Jefuit and a
Francifcan ) the name of the latter being Pafchal, an
Italian •, and of the former Brevedent, a Frenchman.
The latter Avas accounted a man of learning and pro¬
bity, zealous in the caufe of his religion, but by
no means imprudent or rafti in his attempts to pro¬
mote it.
In the mean time an unforefeen accident procured Yafous falls
admittance to the miflionaries into Abyflinia more ^
readily than could have been expefled in the Prefent £uropean
fituation of affairs. Yafous and his fon had both been phylician.
attacked by a fcorbutic diforder which threatened to
turn to a leprofy ; on which one Hagi Ali, a Maho¬
metan fadlor at Cairo, received orders to bring with
him an European phyfician on his return to Abyflinia.
It happened that this man had formerly been acquaint¬
ed Avith Friar Pafchal, Avho had adminiftered fome me¬
dicines to him. Fie noAV propofed that Pafchal ftiould Friar Paf-
accompany him to Abyflinia in the charadter of a dial and an-
phyfician •, and that Friar Anthony, another of his oivn c[fcan un_
order, fhould go Avith him as his companion. But (iertake the
this fcheme was fruftrated by Maillet the French con-office,
ful, Avho had the charge of the whole from Louis XIV.
and Aviftied that the Jefuits alone%ftiould have the con-
dudt of the million. For this purpofe he reprefented
to
A B Y
[ 37 ]
A B Y
The Fran-
clfcans re-
folve the
Abyflinia. to Hagi All, that Friar Pafchal undcrftood nothing of
medicine ; but he promifed to furnifli. him with ano-
ed'by^M1" ^ier» whofe <kill he extolled above all thofe of ancient
Mailiet. or modern times. Hagi Ali, who knew nothing of
the matter, readily agreed to Maillet’s propofal j and
Poncet and Charles Poncet, a Frenchman, who had been bred a
Brevedent ancj apothecary, was appointed to the office
of phyfician, with Father Brevedent to attend him as
his fervant. Thus the fcheme of the Francifcans was
for the prefent overthrown : but unluckily Maillet em¬
ployed one Ibrahim Hanna, a Syrian, to write letters
to the Abyffinian monarch and fome of his principal
nobility, which he defired him to fubmit to the in-
fpedlion of one Francis, a Capuchin or monk of the
Holy Land, and confequently an enemy to the Fran¬
cifcans. Ibrahim, not being acquainted with the
monk he mentioned, and thinking any other would
anfwer as well, carried the letters to one of the fame
name, but of the Francifcan order. Thus the whole
fecret was divulged at once ; and the Francifcans, with
tleftrudtion the malevolence effential to fuch religious mifereants,
of the mif- refolved on the deitrudtion of Poncet and his atten-
Poncerfets ^an*-s* •A*' l>referit, however, their fanguinary inten-
outoijhis tions were defeated; Poncet fet out immediately after
return after he had received his commiffion, and arrived fafe at
curing Ya- Gondar the capital of Abyffinia, with his attendant
fous. Father Brevedent, on the 21ft of July 1699. Bre-
redent died on the 9th of Auguft ; but Poncet lived
to execute his commiffion, by making a full cure of his
royal patient. On the 2d of May 1700, he fet out on
his return for Europe, and arrived at Mafuah without
any bad accident.
It has been already obferved that the main end of
this undertaking was to procure an embaffy from A-
byffinia to the French monarch ; and this end alfo was
gained. An ambaflador was procured, but unluckily
not fuch a one as M. Maillet, the chief manager of the
The AByf- whole projedf delired. This man, intoxicated with
baffuior 1~ a^^ur(^ notions of nobility and diftinftions of rank,
difagree- uould not make allowance for the difference between
able to M. the appearance of an ambaffador from a barbarous mo-
Mailiet. narch, however powerful, and one from the fovereign
of a civilized and polite nation. The ambaffador fent
by Yafous, therefore, having been originally no other
than a cook, could not be agreeable to a man of fuch
a difpofition. The prefents fent by the Abyffinian
monarch, indeed, had they arrived, would have pro¬
bably conciliated matters. Thefe were, an elephant,
fome Abyffinian young women, &c. but unluckily the
elephant died, and the ambaffador was robbed of all
the reft by a Turkiffi baffiaw. Maillet, therefore na¬
turally proud, imperious, and covetous, thought pro¬
per to call in queftion the authenticity of Morat the
ambaffador’s miffion, to call Poncet himfelf a liar, and
He Is not not to allow the former to proceed to France. The
allowed to tranfa&ions on this occafion are fet forth at length by
France110 ^ ®ruce greatly to the difgrace of Maillet; but as
details of this kind would fwell the prefent article be¬
yond due bounds, we muft refer the curious reader to
the work juft mentioned.
1 hus the fcheme of procuring an embaffy from A-
byffinia having proved abortive, the next project of the
Jefuits was to get an embaffy fent from France, whofe
objeft was to be the cementing a perpetual peace be¬
tween the two nations, and to eftablifh a lading and
commercial intercourfe ; though, whatever friendlhip Abyfllnia,
or good-will might take place, it was evident that
there was not a iingle article that could be exchan¬
ged between them, nor was there any ready commu-
munication between the two countries either by fea
or land. The perfon pitched upon as ambaflador de
was M. de Route, vice-conful at Damietta. He isRoule fent
charatfterifed by Mr Bruce as “ a young man of fome ambaflador
merit, who had a confiderable degree of ambition, ^
and a moderate Ikill in the common languages fpo-
ken in the eaft: but abfolutely ignorant of that of
the country to which he was going, and, what was
worfe, of the cuftoms and prejudices of the nations
through which he was to pafs. Like moft of his
countrymen he had a violent prediledtion for the drefs,
carriage, and manners of France, and a hearty con¬
tempt for thofe of all other nations : this he had
not addrefs enough to difguife ; and this endangered
his life.” Befides thefe difadvantages, he had the mif-
fortune to be under the difpleafure of all thofe of his
own nation w’ho refided at Cairo; fo that the mer¬
chants were very much averfe to his embaffy ; and, as
the Francifcans and Capuchins were his mortal enemies,
he had not a fingle friend in the world except Maillet
and the Jefuits. Unluckily the conful miffed him in
one of the moft material articles, and which was un¬
doubtedly of the utmoft confequence to him in the ac-
complifhment of his purpofe, viz. the prefents necef-
fary to be taken with him for the barbarous people
through whofe country he was to pafs. Brocaded,
fatins, and trinkets of various kinds, according to Mr
Bruce, were the proper wares ; but, inftead of this, he
had taken along with him mirrors of various kinds,
with the pitftures of the king and queen of France,
wearing crowns upon their heads. The former of
thefe fubje&ed him to the imputation of being a ma¬
gician ; while the latter, if ffiewn to a Mahometan,
would bring upon him the charge of idolatry. The
worft misfortune of all was the malice and treachery
of the Francifcans, who had already prejudifed againft
him the people of the caravan with whom he was to
go, the governors of the provinces through which his
road lay, and the brutal and barbarous inhabitants of
Sennaar who lie in the way betwixt Egypt and Abyf¬
finia. The confequence of all this was, that he wasHeismur-
murdered at the laft-mentioned place with all his reti-dered.
nue. The Francifcan friars, who had preceded him
to Sennaar, left it before his arrival, and returned im¬
mediately after. There cannot therefore be the leaft
<doubt thet they were the authors of his murder ;
though the bigotted difpofition of Louis XIV. prevent¬
ed all inquiry into the matter ; fo that the particular
fteps they took to accomplifli their defigns were never
publiftied to the world.
The affaffination of De Roule was preceded by that Yafous a{-
of Yafous emperor of Abyffinia, who fell by a oonfpi-faffiirated,
racy of his wife and fon, occafioned by a fit of jea-
loufy in the former. He was fucceeded by his fon
Tecla Haimanout who had confpired againft him. Be-
s fore his death, he had difpatched a meffage to the
king of Sennaar, requiring him to afford M. de Roule
protedtion at his court, and a fafe condudt from
it; but when the meffenger was within three days
journey of the capital of that kingdom, he received
news of the affaffination of Yafous. On this he re¬
turned
Abyffinia.
  v 
The new
emperor in¬
tends to re¬
venge his
death.
but is him-
felf mur¬
dered.
Reign of
Theophi-
lus.
Execution
of the
queen and
other regi¬
cides.
Tigire-
volts, but is
defeated,
taken, and
put to
death.
Line of So¬
lomon fet
aikle.
A B Y [88
turned in great hafte to Gondar, in order to have the
letters of proteftion renewed by Tecla Haimanout
the reigning prince. This was readily done: but
before the meffenger could reach Sennaar, he was in¬
formed that De Roule was already aflaflinated} on
which he returned with ftill greater hafte than be¬
fore. The Abyftinian monarch, provoked at fuch a
fcandalous violation of the law of nations, declared
his intention of commencing hoftilities againft the
king of Sennaar $ and for this purpofe affembled his
army. But this was fcarcely done, before he was in¬
formed that a rival, named Amda Sion, had been
fet up againft him by the friends of his father Yafous,
and had been for fome time privately collefting
troops to furprife him before he could be ready to
make any oppolition. It was therefore neceffary to
employ the army deftined againft Sennaar to reduce
this rebel to obedience ; and fcarcely was this done,
when the emperor himfelf was aflaftinated j fo that all
thoughts of revenging the death of M. de Roule were
laid aftde.
Tecla Haimanout perifhed in 1706, and was fuc-
ceeded by his uncle Titfilis, or Theophilus; whofe
firft care was to apprehend all thofe fufpe&ed to have
been concerned in the death of his predeceflbr. Thus
the murderers of Yafous, whom Tecla Haimanout had
inftigated, imagined themfelves fecure, and came to
court without any fear of danger : but no fooner did
Theophilus get them into his power, than he caufed
them all to be put to death without exception $ the
queen herfelf being publicly hanged on a tree. iMot
fatisfied with avenging the death of Yafous by the
execution of his murderers, he did the fame with thofe
of Tecla Haimanout; putting to death all who were
immediately in his own power, and commanding the
governors of the provinces to do the fame with thofe
whom they could find within their jurifdiflion. One
of thefe, named Tigi, who had formerly been Betwu-
det, having efcaped into the country of the Galla,
raifed a very confiderable army, with which he invaded
Abyftinia, where he committed the moft dreadful
cruelties. Theophilus engaged him on the 28th of
March 17095 when, with a force greatly inferior, he
gained a complete viftory. A number of the Galla
Red to a church, hoping to be prote&ed by the fandti-
ty of the place; but the emperor telling his foldiers
that it was defiled by thofe who were in it, command¬
ed it to be fet on fire, fo that every «ne perilhed. Ti¬
gi, with his two fons, were taken prifoners, and put to
death. The king himfelf did not long furvive his vic¬
tory 5 falling fick of a fever, of which he died in Sep¬
tember 1709.
After the death of Theophilus, the line of Solomon
by the queen of Sheba was fuperfeded a fecond time,
and a ftranger of the name of Oujias feated on the A-
byffinian throne. The extreme feverity of Theophilus
in punilhing the murderers of both \ afous and J ecla
Haimanout gave occafion to this 5 for as both princes
had been aflaflinated in confequence of confpiracies
formed by the principal people of the nation, the num¬
ber of confpirators was fo great, that the parties con¬
cerned had intereft fufficient to influence the ele&ion
of the new monarch, even in this moft capital refpeft,
of his not being a defcendant of Solomon. Excepting
this Angle defeft, he was in every refpeft worthy of
] A B Y
the kingdom, and was already fhe higheft fubjc£t in it. Abyffinia.
Scarce was he feated on the throne, however, when a
dangerous confpiracy was formed againft him by the
very perfons by whom he had been placed upon it. ,
Ouftas baffled their defigns, by feizing the principal
confpirators before they had time to bring their fchemes
to a bearing : and feveral people of the firft rank were
condemned to lofe their nofes, or to be put to death-
After this the emperor undertook an expedition a-
gainft the Shangalla, according to the barbarous cuf-
tom of the Abyffinian monarchs, who hunt thefe poor
people merely for the fake of making flaves 5 flaugh-
tering the men without mercy, as well as many of the
women, and carrying off only the boys and girls into
captivity. In this he met with perfeft fuccefs 5 and
was about to attempt the conqueft of the whole coun¬
try, when he was called back by the news that his
prime minifter Tafa Chrirtos was dead. While the The em-
emperor remained in his capital at Gondar, he was ta-Peror falls
ken fuddenly ill 5 which he imputed at firft to witch-rick’
craft, and therefore ufed fome antidotes 5 among which
the fmoking of the palace with gunpowder wras one.
But this was d«ne fo carelefsly by the fervants, that
the whole building was confumed; an accident look¬
ed upon by the people in general as a very bad omen,
efpecially as the king’s complaint increafed every day.
At laft the principal officers came to pay him a vifit of
condolence, as they pretended j but in reality to ob-
ferve the nature of his diftemper, and to confult whe¬
ther or not it was likely to continue till they could fall
upon means to deprive him of the government. Ou¬
ftas underftood their intentions, and therefore fummon-
ed all his ftrength to affume for a moment the appear¬
ance of health j fo that the officers found him as ufual
engaged in bufinefs. Being thus difconcerted, it be¬
came neceflary to make fome apology for a vifit fo ex¬
traordinary and formal 5 for which they were at firft
fomewhat at a lofs ; on recolle&ion, however, they
told him, that hearing he had been fick, which they
happily found was not the cafe, they had come to make
a propofal concerning the lucceffion 5 profeffing a de¬
fire that he would quiet the minds of his own family,
and of the people in general, by appointing his fon Fa-
fil fucceffor to the throne after his deceafe. Ouftas Ouftas de-
gave them an equivocal anfwer 5 but the difcourfe con- P^d, and
cerning Fafil happening to be overheard by the fol- (.^6(1™”
diers, a violent mutiny enfued, and all the officers whoPmpeIor.
had come to vifit Ouftas were killed. Part of the
town was fet on fire in the confufion 5 and at laft: a
proclamation wras made, that David fon of Yafous was
king of Abyffinia. The prince was then fent for from
the mountain, and arriving at Gondar, was crowned on
the 30th of January 1714. The diftemper of Ouftas, Death of
in the mean time continuing to increafe, he died on the Ouftas.
10th of February the fame year.
The new emperor was a rigid Alexandrian in prin- Reign of
ciple 5 but Ouftas had been fo far favourable to the David.
Catholics as to entertain fome of their priefts, though
in a private manner. As it was the cuftom, however,
to call a convocation of the clergy on the acceffion of
every new emperor, the monks and others infifted up¬
on one being called on the prefent occafion 5 the more
efpecially that a new Abuna was come from Egypt,
and the lenity ffiewn to the Catholics by Ouftas had
excited the jealoufy of the Abyffinian clergy in the
higheft
yfllnia.
A B Y [ 89 ] A B Y
This affembly proved fatal to three this crime being known, were inftantly put to death ; Abyflmia.
- • • ^ but nothing could fave the life of the emperor, who
died the 9th of March 1719 in great agony
ee Tto-
higheft degree.   , .
Romilh priefts, whom Ouftas had protefted and lup-
ported for fome time. They were brought before the
king and Abyffinian clergy ; who (hortly alked them,
whether they believed that the council of Chalcedon
was to be accepted as a rule of faith, and that Pope
Leo lawfully prefided in it ? To both thefe queftions
they anfwered in the affirmative : on which, without
ee no- farther trial, they were condemned to be ftoned ; and
l priefts the fentence was initantly put in execution by the fu-
to rious and ignorant multitude, only one perfon in the
:h* whole affembly exclaiming againft it as unjuft.^ Ihe
priefts being thus gratified in one inftance, infifted
that Abba Gregorius, who had a&ed as interpreter
to the three juft mentioned, (hould alfo be put to death j
but this was prevented by David, who found, upon in¬
quiry, that he had only done fo in obedience to the ex-
prefs commands of Ouftas his fovereign.
Here we muft take notice, that though the faith of
Abyffinia is always faid to be the fame with that of
Alexandria, it is not for that reafon to be imagined
that the clergy are all of the fame mind. On the
contrary, many different parties exift among them,
who hate one another no lefs than all of them do the
church of Rome. The principal of thefe in the time
we fpeak of were the monks of Debra Libanos and
thofe of St Euftathius, to which laft the emperor him-
felf belonged. On-the arrival of a new abuna, it is
cuftomary to interrogate him before the emperor and
affembly of the clergy, which of the two opinions he
adheres to. The emperor at prefent, not thinking
his prefence neceffary, fent the betwudet, with the prin¬
cipal perfons of both parties, to hear the profeffion of
the new abuna, which was afterwards to be proclaim¬
ed to the people. The latter, probably not willing to
contend with either party, gave an equivocal anfwer.
But with this the king himfelf was diffatisfied j and
therefore, without confulting the abuna farther, he
caufed it to be proclaimed, that the new abuna’s pro¬
feffion was the fame with that of the monks of St
Euftathius. This was highly refented by the monks
of Debra Libanos, who inftantly ran to the abuna,
and from him received a profeffion dire&ly contrary to
what had been proclaimed by the king’s order. Not
fatisfied with this, they continued their tumult, difre-
mJ
Tenfions
ong the
lyflinian
eat maf-
garding the imminent danger they were in of falling
under the king’s difpleafure. One of their number
was fo infatuated as to cry out, that he faw a cherub
with a flaming fword guarding the door of the houfe
where they were. Unluckily, however, they continu¬
ed their affembly fo long, and behaved in fuch a fedi-
tious manner, that the emperor fent againft them a bo-
dy of Pagan Galla ; who fell upon them fword in hand,
e of the billed upwards of too of the ringleaders, and then fal-
fers and lying out into the ftreet, deftroyed indiferiminately eve¬
ry one they met.
The maffacre continued till the next day at noon,
when a ftop was put to it by the king’s proclamation.
The vaft quantity of blood fo wantonly ffied, however,
could not but occafion great difeontent throughout the
capital, and the bad effe&s of it foon appeared. The
ie king ’vvas univerfally hated, and numberlefs confpira-
ifoned. cies were talked of; but before any pretender to the
crown appeared, David himfelf fell fick, the caufe of
which was found to be poifon. The perpetrators of
VOL. I. Part I.
David was fucceeded by his brother Bacuffa; who Re;gn 0f
in the beginning of his reign proved very fevere and Bacufla.
cruel, cutting off almoft all the nobility who could be
fuppofed to have had any ffiare in the confpiracies
and feditions of former reigns. In the latter part of
it he became much more mild, and was beloved by his
fubjefts. He was fucceeded in 1729 f°n Y2" Ya-
fous II. who continued long under the regency of hisfousll.
mother ) and as foon as he took the management of
affairs upon himfelf, was difturbed with continual fedi¬
tions and rebellions. In one of thefe the city of
Gondar was made a field of battle, and was fo fre¬
quently fet on fire, as to be almoft entirely reduced to
ruins. Having at laft fucceeded in reducing all his Cultivates
enemies to obedience, he encouraged and promoted the 5 »
arts of peace, repairing and ornamenting his palaces, in
which he employed fome Greek artifts. For this he
renounced the diverfion of hunting, and the barbarous
expeditions againft the Shangalla : but this way of life Is lampoon-
proved fo difagreeable to his turbulent fubje&s, that a
fevere fatire was publiffied againft him, under the title un{j’er_
of “ The expeditions of Yafous the Little.” ludig-takes an
nant at this reproach, he determined on an expedition expedition
againft the kingdom of Sennaar •, and having made the
neceffary preparations, invaded it with a formidable eI
army, without the leaft pretence of provocation, or
making any declaration of war. As he proceeded in¬
to the country of the enemy, he allowed his foldiers
everywhere to exercife the greateft cruelties, to deftroy
every living creature with the fword, and every thing
combuftible with fire. Some of the Arabs joined him
as he went along ; many more fled from his prefence ;
and a body of them tried to oppofe him. Thefe laft
were utterly defeated*, and Yalous without delay pre¬
pared to march to Sennaar the capital of the kingdom.
As he ftill went on, the king Baady, being affifted by A divifion
Hamis prince of a territory named Dar Poor, furprifed " )t
one divifion of his army fo effectually, that they were
all cut off to the number of 18,000. Yafous, how¬
ever ftill continued his deftruCtive progrefs ; though
he gave over all thoughts of reducing the capital, or
fubduing the kingdom. He returned triumphant to
Gondar, making a great ffiow of the plunder he had
acquired ; though the dejeCted countenances of many
of his army {bowed that they were by no means plea-
fed with expeditions of this kind. The king himfelf
was fuppofed to behold the diftrefs of his fubjefts on
this occafion with a malicious pleafure, on account of
their impatience and turbulence in times of peace, and
their forcing him into a war when he had no inclina¬
tion for it. In a ffiort time, however, the people were
perfeftly comforted for the lofs of their brethren. In Religious
the late unfortunate aCtion they had loft all thofe holy l,tenfils re-
utenfils, which it is ufual in Abyflinia to carry into the
field of battle in order to enfure victory. Among sant rate‘
thefe was a picture of the crown of thorns which was
put upon our Saviour’s head ; fome pieces of the true
crofs upon which he fuffered ; a crucifix which had
fpoken on many occafions; with many other facred re¬
lics of equal value. Soon after the battle all thefe
were redeemed by the priefts at an extravagant rate j
no lefs than 8000 ounces of gold having been given
M for
A B Y [90
Abyffinia. for the fpeaking crucifix j and for the reft, we are to
1 fuppofe a proportional price had been paid. On the ar¬
rival of this trumpery at Gondar, the greateft rejoicings
were made, and Yafous was aftonifhed at the people
having fo foon forgot the lofs of their countrymen and
relations.
Soon after thefe tranfa&ions the abuna died ; but
though it was cuftomary for the Abyflinian monarchs
to advance the money neceflary rto bring a new one
from Alexandria, Yafous found himfelf obliged to lay
a tax upon the churches for defraying it at this time,
having fpent all his ready money in repairing and orna-
The mef- menting his palaces. Three priefts, configned to the
fengers fent care of as many Mahometan factors, were fent to
tor the new Egypt for the new patriarch ; but they were detained
fultea and f°r f,me time by the naybe or prince of Mafuah, who
robbed!m extorted from them one half of the money given by the
emperor for bringing the abuna from Cairo. Yafous
no fooner heard that they were detained at Mafuah,
than he fent orders to Suhul Michael governor of Ti-
gre to refufe provifions to the inhabitants of Mafuah,
which would foon reduce the naybe to obedience : but
as Michael intended foon to quarrel with the king
himfelf, he was not in any hafte to obey the orders he
received. The travellers were therefore detained fo
long, that on their arrival at Jidda, they found they
had loft the monfoon ; and, what was worfe, the fche-
riff of Mecca would not allow them to pafs without a
frefti extortion. Their money was now exhaufted ; but
the rapacious fcheriff put one of their number in pri-
fon } where he continued for a twelvemonth till the mo¬
ney arrived : and from this time thefe extortions were
changed into a ftated tribute 5 75 ourices
(about 186I. fterling) being granted for leave of paf-
ofAhe abu*2 ^age to ^a*ro f°r the abuna ; 90 ounces to the fche-
ie a u ancj ag j^gj^y j.0 naybe, for allowing the abuna
to pafs from Cairo : an agreement which fubfifts to this
day. Several other infults of this kind being received
from the naybe, Yafous at laft difcovered that there
was a ftridt alliance betwixt him, the governor of Ti-
gre, and the Baharnagalh *, any one of whom, had he
thought proper, could have cruftied this pitiful prince
with the fmalleft effort. On this the emperor deter¬
mined to march againft him in perfon ; but was pre-
mines to ventec} by a rebellion which had been purpofely excited
naybe of6 in the country of Azab and that of the Dobas. The
Mafuah, rebels were eafily overthrown : but thus the expedition
but is pre- againft the naybe was delayed for a year j during which
War^with interval the emperor fent for Michael to Gondar. This
Michael order tvas pofitively refufed, and a war enfued. Mi-
governor of chael, unable to contend with the emperor in the open
Tigre. field took to an high mountain, the ufual refuge of
Abyffinian rebels. Here alfo his bad fortune purfued
him 5 all his polls were taken by {form excepting one,
which, it was evident, would likewife have been carried,
though not without a very great expence of men. Here
Michael Michael requefted a capitulation •, and to enfure favour-
obliged to able terms, he defired to put into the hands of Yafous
capitulate. a grea<. quantity of treafure, which would otherwife be
diflipated among the common foldiers. This being
done, Michael defcended with a ftone upon his head,
as confefling himfelf guilty of a capital crime, with a
defign to make fubmiflion to the emperor. This was
prevented for one day by a violent ftorm of wind and
rain j from which moment the Abyflinians believe he
]
A ftated
tribute for
na.
The empe¬
ror deter¬
mines to
A B Y
began converfe with the devil: but Mr Bruce informs Abyffinia.
us, that he has often heard him fay it was Michael the l—v——
archangel who was his correfpondent.
Yafous was firmly determined to put this rebel to Yafous b
death, notwithftanding the quantity of gold he had re- obliged to
ceived j neverthelefs a promife was extorted from him pardon hitr
that he would fpare his life. As foon as Michael came contrary to
into his prefence, the emperor was filled with indig-^.sna^aln’
nation, retraced his promife, and ordered him to be
carried out and put to death before his tent door. The
execution of the fentence, however, was prevented by
the interceffion of all the officers of any confideration
in the court or army. Such univerfal folicitation
could not be withftood: Michael was pardoned j but
with thefe remarkable words, that the emperor waffied
his hands of all the innocent blood which Michael
ffiould ftied before he brought about the deftruftion
of his country, which he knew he had been long medi¬
tating.
Michael continued for fome time in prifon ; but was He is fet at
afterwards fet at liberty, and even reftored to his go-liberty and
vernment at Tigre. No fooner was he reinftated in ^
this dignity, than colle&ing an army, he attacked Kaf-ho®ol^s>e
mat! Woldo governor of Amhara, defeated him in two
battles, and forced him to take refuge among the Gal-
la, whom he foon after bribed to murder him. In
other refpefts he behaved as a moft dutiful fubjeft,
gave the king the belt intelligence, and fupplied him
with foldiers better accoutred than he had ever before
beheld. He was alfo more humble than before his
misfortune ; nor did an increafe of his favour and in¬
fluence make him deviate from the line he had pre-
fcribed. Having begun to gain friends by bribery,
he continued to add one bribe to another to fecure the
old, and to gain new ones by the fame means, pre¬
tending all the while to no kind of dignity or honour,
not even to fuch as was juftly due to his own rank.
Thus he became fuch a favourite with the emperor,
that he bellowed upon him the governments of En-
derta and Sire, in addition to that of Tigre ; fo that he
was now mailer of almoft: one half of Abyffinia. Du- Caufe of
ring the reign of Yafous, however, he attempted no"f
thing. The foundations of the difturbances which^
fucceeded were laid by the queen-mother, towards the
end of the reign of Yafous. This emperor had been
married when very young to a lady of Amhara, by
whom he had two fons named Adigo and Aylo $ but
as his wife pretended to interfere in matters of ftate,
he was perfuaded by his mother to baniffi both her and
her children to Wechne. After this his mother chofe
a wife for him from among the Galla 5 a people of all
others the moft obnoxious to the Abyffinians, both on
account of the horrid barbarity of their manners, and
the continual wars which from time immemorial had
taken place between the two nations. The new queen
was the daughter of one Amitzo, a prince who had
once hofpitably entertained Bacuffa before he became
emperor 5 and his people were efteemed the leaft bar¬
barous of the whole. A prejudice againft her, however,
againft her offspring, and the emperor himfelf, never
to be effaced, now took place among the Abyffinians j
but this did not ffiow itfelf during the reign of Yafous.
The emperor died on the 2lft of June 1753, being the Death of
24th year of his reign, not without fufpicion of being Yafous.
poifoned by his mother’s relations, who were now at¬
tempting
A B Y [ 9
Abyflinia. tempting to engrofs the whole power of the empire into
'—^ their hands.
Bei-n of On the death of Yafous, his fon loas by the Galla
loas. princefs juft mentioned fucceeded to the throne with¬
out any oppofition. The difcontent which had taken
place in the former reign about the power affumed by
the relations of the old queen, now began to Ihow it-
felf more openly j and it was complained that a relation-
ftiip to her was the only way to preferment, by which
means the old families, whofe merit had often faved the
ftate, were totally excluded from every ftiare of favour.
TteGaHa Qn the acceflion 0f the young king, a party of Galla
'ntoAbyt- horfe, faid to be about 1200 in number, were fent as
fhia. the portion of his mother j and thefe were quickly
followed by a number of private perfons from motives
of curiofity, or hopes of preferment, who were embo¬
died to the number of 600 into a troop of infantry,
the command of which was given to Woofheka. The
great favour in which thefe people were at court foon
induced many others to make their appearance. Two
Two of of the king’s uncles were fent for by his exprefs defire j
the king’s an(j brought along with them a trpop of IOOO
^ve^and" h°rfe* ^7 t^ie t‘me t^ie7 arrivec^ ^ queen was dead j
engross all but her two brothers, named Brulhe and Lubo, finding
the power, that the king put an entire confidence in them, deter¬
mined to make a party at court. This was eafily ef¬
fected ; every thing was governed by Gallas j even the
king himfelf affeaed to fpeak their language ; while
the Abyflinians were to the laft degree mortified at fee¬
ing their inveterate enemies thus eftablifliing a domi¬
nion over them in the heart of their own country. At
laft the king thought proper to appoint his uncle Lubo
to the government of Amhara ; but this produced fuch
exceflive difcontent, that he was fain to retraa his no¬
mination left a civil war ftiould have enfued. While
the empire was thus divided into two parties, Suhul
Suhul Mi- Michael came to Gondar in a very fplendid manner,
ehael ar- on an application from the exiled prince of Sennaar to
court^ be reftored to hls kingdom. This prince, ivhen condu&ed
into the prefence of the emperor, proftrated himfelf be¬
fore him, owned himfelf his vaffal, and was put in
poffeffion of the government of Ras el Feel upon the
frontiers, Avith a large revenue, Avhere he was advifed
to flay till the difputes which fubfifted at that time
ftiould fubfide. This falutary advice, hoivever, he had
king of not prudence to comply with ; but fuffering himfelf to
murdered be decoyed from llis arylurn in Atbara, Avas taken pri-
foner and murdered.
In the mean time the Abyfiinian prime minifter,
Welled de I’Oul, died. He had hitherto moderated
the fury of the oppofite parties by his Avife and prudent
conduft but no fooner was he taken out of the Avay,
than a moft dreadful fcene of confufion and civil Avar
took place, which raged Avith the utmoft violence Avhile
Mr Bruce Avas in Abyflinia, and feemed not likely to
State of tho come to any termination Avhen he left it. 1 he Avhole
different empire was divided into tAVO great faCtions: at the
parties. q£ ^ one wag tbe Gid queen, mother of Yafous j
and at the head of the other, loas himfelf the emperor,
with his Galla relations. Matters Avere firft brought
to a crifis by the imprudence of the emperor himfelf in
beftoAving the government of Begemder upon Brulhe
one of his Galla uncles. The government of this pro¬
vince had been lately refigned into the hands of the
queen by an old officer named Ayo; and it Avas fuppo-
- ] A B Y
fed that his fon named Mariam Barea, univerfally af- A',>‘TllUS,
lowed to be one of the moft accomplilhed noblemen of
the kingdom, Avas to fucceed him in this government.
This opinion Avas farther confirmed by the marriage of
Mariam himfelf with Ozoro Efther, a daughter of the
old queen by her fecond hufband. Unfortunately a
quarrel had happened between Kafmati Ayo, the old
governor of Begemder, and Suhul Michael, a little be¬
fore the refignation of the former, and continued unde¬
cided till Mariam took the office upon him. The oc-
cafion Avas quite trifling ; neverthelefs, as Mariam had
refufed to fubmit to the decifion of the judges, Avhom
he ftigmatized as partial and unjuft, infilling that the
king ffiould either decide the affair in per fon, or that
it (hould be referred to the decifion of the fword, he
thus fell under the imputation of being a difobedient
and rebellious fubjeft. In confequence of this, loas
looked upon him ever afterwards Avith an evil eye j and
now deprived him, by proclamation, of the govern-Brulhe
ment of Begemder, giving it to his own Galla uncle made go^
Brulhe, of whom we have already made fo much men-
tion. This unexpected promotion threw the whole univer.
empire into a ferment. As Begemder Avas a frontier fai ferment
province bordering on the country of the Galla, there enfues.
was not the leaft doubt, that, immediately on the ac-
ceffion of Brulhe to his new office, it would be over¬
run by that race of barbarians, remarkable for their
favage manners almoft beyond all the other nations in
Africa. This Avas the more dangerous as. there Avas
not above a day’s journey betAvixt the frontiers of Be¬
gemder and Gondar, the capital of the Avbole empire.
Mariam Barea himfelf, Avho had a high fenfe of ho¬
nour, was particularly hurt at the manner in which he
was deprived of his dignity, and condemned with hi^
family to be fubjeft to a race of Pagans, whom he had
often defeated in battle, and obliged to acknoAvledge
him as their fuperior. All remonftrance, however, was
vain. Brulhe, under the fanaion of the imperial com¬
mand, advanced with an army to take poffeffion of his
new dignity : but fo exceedingly averfe Avere the A-
byffimans to follow him in this expedition, that the
army diffianded itfelf feveral times after it had been
colleaed ; and it took up almoft a year before he could
proceed from the place where his camp Avas, at the lake
Tzana or Dembea, to the frontiers of Begemder,
though fcarce a day’s journey diftant. Maream La.rea is oppofed
beheld his operations with great contempt, employing Mariam
his time in the difpatch of ordinary bufinefs, and en- Barea.
deavouring to reconcile himfelf to the king, but Avith-
out fuccefs. As his laft effort, he fent a remonftrance
to the emperor •, in Avhich, after many proteftatio.ns of
duty and obedience, he reminded him, that, in his in-
veftiture into the office of governor of Begemder, he
had fworn not to alloAv any of the Galla to enter his
province ; that, ftiould he deviate from the obfervance
of this oath, the fafety of the princes in Wechne w^ould
be endangered 5 they Avould conftantly be liable to the
invafions of the Pagans, and probably be.extirpated, as
had already happened at Iavo different times ; and he
begged of the emperor, if he was determined to de¬
prive him of his government, to beftoAv it rather upon
fome Abyffinian nobleman ; in Avhich cafe he promiled
to retire, and live in private Avith his old father. He
had, however, formed a refolution, Avhich he thought
it his duty to fubmit to the emperor, that if his ma-
M 2 jefty
Brulhe de¬
feated and
killed.
A B Y [92
Abyffinia. jefty (hould think proper to come, at the head of a
L in f.mmmi Qa^a army, to invade his province, he would retire to
the fartheft extremity of it, till he was flopped by the
country of the Galla themfelves j and fo far from mo-
iefting the royal army, he might be affured, that
though his own men might be ftraitened, every kind of
provilion Ihould be left for his majefty. But if an
army of Galla, commanded by one of that nation,
ftiould enter the province, he would fight them at the
well of Fernay, on the frontiers, before one of them
fliould drink there, or advance the length of a pike into
the province.
This remonftrance had no effedf upon the emperor.
He returned a Icoffing anfwer, announcing the fpeedy
arrival of Brulhe, whom he thought fure of vidtory :
but, at the fame time, to (how that he did not put his
Farther confidence entirely in his prowefs, he created Suhul
promotion ]V[Jcliael governor of Samen, which lay next to Figre
ol Michael. .n ^ way. to Begemder, fo that no obftruttion might
lie in the way of that officer’s march to Gondar, in cafe
there ffiould be any occafion for him. Mariam, pro¬
voked at the manner in which he was undervalued in
the king’s meffage, gave an ironical reply, in which he
alluded to the name of Brul/ie, in the Abyffinian lan¬
guage fignifying a kind of bottle $ this he told him
■would be broken on the rocks of Begemder, if fent in¬
to that country.
On receiving this laft meffage from Mariam, the
king inftantly ordered the army to be put in motion ;
but the Abyffinians had unanimoufly determined not
to a£t offenfively againft their countrymen. Brulhe
therefore was left to decide the affair with his Galla.
Mariam kept exadlly to his word in the declaration he
had made to the king, not ftirring out of his province,
nor allowing the leaft attempt to be made to harafs his
enemy, till they were drawn up at the well above men¬
tioned, where he met them with his army. The Galla,
unfupported by the Abyffinian troops, were utterly un¬
able to bear the flrock of Mariam’s army, and therefore
foon betook themfelves to flight 5 but a part of them,
who were furrounded by the cavalry, fought valiantly
till they were all cut to pieces. Mariam had given the
moft exprefs orders to take Brulhe alive •, or, if that
could not be done, to allow him to make his efcape.
One of his fervants, however, obferving him in the
field, puffied up through the enemy to the place where
he was, and running him twice through with a lance,
left him dead on the fpot.
Mariam Barea was no fooner informed of the death
of his rival, than he cried out in great emotion, that
Suhul Michael, with the whole army from Tigre,
would attack him before autumn. In this he was not
deceived. loas inftantly difpatched an exprefs for Mi-
created Ras.chael, ordering his attendance, and invefting him with
the dignity of Ras, by which he became poffeffed of
unlimited power both civil and military. Michael
himfelf had for a long time feen that matters would
come to this crifis at laft:, and had provided for it ac¬
cordingly. He now fet out with an army of 26,000
men, all of them the beft foldiers in the empire, and
10,000 of them armed with mufkets. As he paffed
along, his troops defolated the country wherever they
came, but he encumbered his army by nothing ufe-
lefs $ allowing his men to carry along with them neither
women, tents, beafts of burden, nor even provifions,
]
A B Y
Michael
Commits
great de-
vaftations.
The fubfiftence of his troops was abundantly provided Abyffinia.
for by the miferable inhabitants of the provinces —y"-*
through which he paffed 5 and not fatisfied with this,
he infifted on a contribution in money from all the di-
ftrifts within a day’s march of thofe places where he
was} the leaft delay was followed by the flaughter
of the inhabitants and deftrudlion of their houfes.
Towns, villages, and buildings of every kind, were fet
on fire as he paffed along *, the people fled from all
quarters to the capital for refuge, as from the face of
the moft: inveterate enemy •, and loas himfelf was now
fenfible of his having been in the wrong to inveft him
with fuch unlimited power. On his arrival at the ca- Arrives a£
pital, Michael took poffeffion of all the avenues, as jf Gon<lar»
he meant to befiege it $ fo that an univerfal confterna-
tion enfued. Inftead of offering any hoftility, how¬
ever, he waited with the utmoft refpeft on the empe¬
ror, proceeding immediately from the royal prefence
to his own houfe, where he fat in judgment, as the
nature of his office required him to do. No fooner Executes
had he taken upon him this new office, however, than juftice im.
he executed juttice in fuch a rigorous and impartial Part*a^*
manner as made the boldeft offenders tremble. Some
parties of his own foldiers, prefuming upon the licence
that had hitherto been granted them, entered Gondar,
and began to plunder as they had done in other places j
but, on the very firft complaint, their commander cau-
fed 12 of them to be apprehended and hanged. Their
execution was followed by 50 others in dift'erent quar¬
ters of the city j after which he gave the charge of the
capital to three officers Avho were to prefide over three
quarters, himfelf taking care of the fourth. Two ci¬
vil judges were appointed to affift each officer in a di-
flrift, two were left in the king’s houfe, and four of
them held a court of judicature in his own. Thus the
inhabitants, finding, that inftead of bloodffied and maf-
facre, they were to expe6t nothing but ftrift equity
and moderation, became reconciled to Michael the
day after his arrival, and lamented only that he had
not come fooner to relieve them from the anarchy and
confufion in which they had been held fo long. To
fo great a degree of perfeftion indeed did he bring
his legiilation, that a very ffiort time after he entered
the city, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and an
ounce of gold, were expofed in the market-place on
the head of a drum night and day for fome time, with¬
out any one offering to take them away. This was the
more remarkable as there was then a fcarcity of provi¬
fions, and Michael himfelf would allow' but a very fcan-
ty fupply of water to be carried into the city j thereby
giving the inhabitants to underftand, that if he fliould
fet fire to it as he had done to other places, it would
not be in their power to quench the flames.
The capital being thus fecured in perfect obedience, Marches
Michael next prepared to fet out on his expedition a- againft Mi
gainft Mariam Barea. Senfible, however, that tffie riam Bare)
deftru&ion of this worthy nobleman would be attend¬
ed with a great degree of odium, he w'as refolved that
none of it, or at leaft as little as poffible, ffiould fall
upon himfelf. For this purpofe, he infifted that the
emperor ffiould march in perfon from Gondar, and
carry all his foldiers along with him. Thus he had an
opportunity of throwing the whole blame upon loas,
and reprefenting himfelf as no more than a paffive in-
ftrument in the affair. He alfo took every occafion of
praifing
A B Y [9
Abyflinia. praifing liis antagonift for his virtues, and cenfunng the
emperor for attempting to cut off fuch an excellent ol-
fiCIn the mean time Mariam Barea keeping exatf.ly to
the terms of the laft remonftrance he had fent to loas,
retired before him to the extremity of the province,
loas and Michael advanced furioufly, burning and de-
ftroying every thing as they went along. An engage¬
ment at laft enfued at a place called Nefas Mufa,
on the extreme borders of Begemder, when Mariam
could not retreat without going out of the province.
Mariam de-As the royal army was more than twice the number
feated. 0f tlie other, and commanded by an officer of fuperior
{kill, victory was not long of being decided in its fa¬
vour. Mariam with 12 of his officers, took refuge
Betrayed in the country of the Galla ; but were immediately
by the Gal- delivered up by that faithlefs people. He was put to
la, and death by Lubo the brother of Brulhe, who is faid
crue',ly with his own hands to have cut his throat as a ftieep
murdered. .g commonly killed in this country, and afterwards to
have disfigured the body in a (hocking manner. The
head was cut off, and carried to Michael’s tent, who
would not allow it to be uncovered in his prefence.
It was afterwards fent to the family of Brulhe in the
country of the Galla, to (how them what attention
had been given to revenge his death j and this difplea-
fed the Abyflinians even more than any thing that
had yet happened fince the beginning of the conteft.
Some of his The 12 officers, who were taken along with him,
officers pro-f0Ugbt protedlion in the tent of Ras Michael, to which
reded by the° werre fuffered to efcape by Wooftieka their keep-
Michael. ^ 7 Lubo, however, intended likewife to have facri-
ficed them as he had done Mariam, and therefore fent
"Wooftieka to demand them : but no fooner had he un¬
folded his errand, than Michael, in a rage,, called to his
attendants to cut him in pieces before the tent door j
which would certainly have been done, had he not fled
with the utmoft precipitation.
Difagree- The fcandalous afcendency which the Galla always
merit be- manifefted over the king, had greatly difpleaied Mi-
tween the cbael. wj10 expreffed himfelf fo freely on the fub-
MichaeL that a coolnefs took place between them An¬
other officer named Waragna Fajil, a Lralla by
birth, had infinuated himfelf into the king’s favour,
and greatly diftinguiftied himfelf at the battle of
Nefas Mufa. It was no wonder, therefore, that he
foon became a rival to Michael ; and this rivalfhip
was greatly augmented by the following circumftancei
Near the field of battle at Nefas Mufa was a houfe
of Mariam Barea, where Ozoro Efther his widow now
was. Being furrounded by pleafant and verdant mea¬
dows, Fafil encamped there for the fake of his caval¬
ry. No other defign was at that time apparent; how¬
ever his prefence greatly alarmed the princefs. She
had along with her at that time a nobleman named
Ayto Aylo, who had been at the battle of Sennaar j but
had there been terrified to fuch a degree, that he refol-
ved to renounce the world ever after and turn monk.
In this character he wras now with Ozoro Efther : and
though he refufed to be concerned in any military af¬
fairs, he was (till confulted by both parties as a kind
of oracle. In the prefent emergency, therefore, he told
the princefs that there was only one way by which (lie
oould fecure herfelf from the cruelty of the Galla, and
becoming a prey to one or other of the murderers of
3 ] A B Y
her hulband j and that was by immediately efpoufing
Ras Michael. Ozoro was perfeftly fenfible of the
propriety of the advice, and therefore fet out next
morning in company with Aylo to Michael’s tent.
Here dm threw herfelf at his feet on the ground j and
refufing to rife, Aylo explained her errand, informing
the Ras that (lie intended to beftow herfelf upon him
in marriage, as being the only perfon not guilty of her
former huiband’s death capable of affording her pro-
tedion in her prefent fituation. Michael faw clearly Midiad ^
the advantages attending fuch a match ; and therefore ()_
having caufed the army to be drawn up in order otzoroEfther,
battle, as if for a review, he fent for a prieft, and was
married to the princefs in the fight of all his men. I he,
ceremony wTas followed by the loud acclamations of the
whole army; and loas was foon informed of the rea-
fon. He expreffed his difpleafure at the match, how'-
ever, in fuch unequivocal terms, that a mutual hatred
from that moment commenced. This was foon made
public by a very trifling accident. One day while the
army was marching, Michael being much incommoded
by the fun, which affeded his eyes, threw a white hand¬
kerchief over his head to keep off the heat, d his was
inftantly told the king, who took it as an affront of¬
fered to himfelffor in Abyffinia it is unlawful to co¬
ver the head on any occafion whatever in prefence of
the emperor, or even within fight of the palace where
he lodges. loas was no fooner informed of the fuppo-
fed affront, than he fent to the Ras to know upon what
account he prefumed to cover his head in his prefence *,
but though the covering was inftantly taken off, it was
thought that no atonement could ever be made for fuch
a grievous offence. Soon after this a quarrel happening ^
between Fafil and a perfon named Gufho, likewife a man
of great confequence, complaint was made to the Ras,
who, as civil judge, fummoned both parties before him.
Fafil abfolutely refufed to obey any fuch jurifdidion ;
and the affair being laid before the other judges, it was
given in favour of Michael, and Fafil declared to be in
rebellion. This was followed by a proclamation de-Final quar-
priving him of his government of Damot, and every
other public office he held. Fafil, however, had no amlFaliI>
mind to fubmit to this difgrace } and therefore, after
holding a long conference with the king, departed
with his army, encamping on the high road betwixt
Damot and Gondar, where he intercepted the proyifions
coming from the fouthward to the capital. This was
followed by an attempt to affaflinate the Ras. A ffiot A ^ fired
was fired from one of the windows of the palace into at jyiichaei
the houfe where he fat in judgment •, the diftance be-from the-,
ing fo fmall, that he could eafily be feen from the pa- P^ace win.
lace while thus employed. The ball, however, miffed<!ow-
Michael, but killed a dwarf who was (landing before
him fanning the flies from his face. As it was evident
that this (hot muft have been fired with the knowledge
of the king, it was rightly judged to be the commence¬
ment of hoftilities. loas inftantly removed to a di¬
ftance, but fent Wooftieka with orders to the Ras to
return to Tigre without feeing his face j declaring, at
the fame time his own uncle Lubo governor of Begem¬
der and Amhara. Michael could fcarcely be prevailed
upon to fee Wooftieka, and told him that he ftiould
certainly be put to death the next time he appeared in
his prefence. Next day loas fent a meffage to the Ras
by four judges, commanding him to return to Tigre
without
A B Y
[ 94 3
A B Y
AbvffiuU. without the leaft delay, under pain of his higheft dif-
pleafure. Michael returned a formal anfwer, conclud¬
ing, that he expefted the king himfelf to be ready to
march againft Fafil to-morrowr. To this an abfolute
refufal was given : on which Michael iffued a procla¬
mation, commanding all the Galla to leave the capital
next day under pain of death : in cafe of difobedience
they were declared outlaws, and liable to be killed by
the firft that met them if they were found 24 hours af¬
ter the proclamation in the capital, or to the fame pe¬
nalty if they were found in the kingdom after ten
days. An engagement took place a fhort time after,
in which Fafil -was totally defeated, and obliged to re¬
tire into Damot. In this engagement fome of the
king’s black horfe were taken. Thefe were all Haves,
and fubjedl to no other commands but thofe of his ma-
jefty himfelf. Their appearance clearly Ihowed that
they muft have been fent by the king to fight againft
the Has. All of them were therefore brought before
the latter, and interrogated by whofe orders they had
come to the battle. Two refufed to give any anfwer,
and had their throats cut in prefence of their compa¬
nions. A third plainly told him that they had been
fent by the king; who had likewife ordered an Arme¬
nian to fire out of the palace window at Has Michael.
Fafil de¬
feated by
Michael.
Toas fifiafiV-
nated.
On this the prifoners were difmifled ; but affaflins in-
Hannes fet
up by Mi¬
chael, and
foon after
poifoned.
Heign of
Tecla Hai-
manout.
Fafil de¬
feated.
ftantly difpatched to put an end to the king’s life ;
which they accomplilhed, and buried him in a church
dedicated to St Raphael.
On the death of loas, Michael, now abfolute mafter
of Abyflinia, fet up for emperor Hannes, brother to
the late king Bacuffa, an old man who had refided al-
moft all his lifetime on the mountain of Wechne, and
being entirely tmacquainted with the affairs of the
world, was on this account probably fuppofed by Mi¬
chael to be the more proper for his purpofes. Han¬
nes had been maimed by the lofs of his hand, on pur-
pofe to incapacitate him for the throne ; but this ob-
jeftion was laughed at by the Ras. He found him,
however, poffeffed of a quality much more inimical to
his own purpofes ; and that was, an abfolute averfion
at meddling with the affairs of government: fo that he
could not by any means be induced to take the field a-
gainft Fafil. Michael therefore \vas obliged to fet out
by himfelf; but thinking it improper to leave a king
of any kind behind him in the capital, he had the old
man poifoned before his departure; putting his fon
Tecla Haimanout in his place.
The young emperor, according to Mr Bruce’s ac¬
count, was of a fair complexion, lefs tawney than a
Neapolitan or Portuguefe, owing to his having been
born in the mountain. He was endowed with many
princely accomplifhments ; and fo much attached to
Michael Ras, that he called him Father from the time
of his acceflion, waiting upon him when indifpofed
with the affeflion of a fon. There being now no ob-
jeftion, therefore, Michael marched againft Fafil with¬
out delay, and entirely defeated him on the 3d of De¬
cember 1769. On this occafion Woolheka was taken
prifoner, and afterwards flead alive, notwithHanding
the interceffion of fome of Michael’s officers for him ;
his Ikin being afterwards formed into a bottle. This
piece of cruelty was attributed to Ozoro Efther; whom
Mr Bruce reprefents as the moft humane and merciful
«f women ; though he is obliged to allow, that on the
prefent occafion, as well as on every other which re¬
garded her former hulhand, ftie entirely forgot her Abyflinia.
charadfter. The night on which this miferable victim ~JM"" ^ ’ J
was deftroyed, fire appeared in the king’s tent dreffed
like a bride j and in a little time returned in triumph
to Gondar.
Soon after thefe tranfaftions Mr Bruce entered A-Mr Bruce'
byflinia. He arrived at Mafuah when there was only arrivnl and
a report of Hannes’s being ill, and Mr Bruce was fup-^^*5
pofed to be his phyfieian, though in truth that emperor nia
was already dead. Here he was ill-treated by the
naybe, with a defign to extort money, and afterwards
probably to put him to death, as was his cuftom with
other ftrangers. He efcaped the danger, however, by
the proteftion of Achmet, nephew and heir apparent to
the naybe, and by his own prudent and refolute beha¬
viour ; threatening his adverfaries with the arrival of a
Britilh man of war in cafe of any injury ; Ihowing the
Grand Signior’s protedlion ; making ufe of the name
of Ras Michael, now fo formidable, and to whom he had
obtained a recommendation, &c. After many vexa¬
tions and delays, he was at laft allowed to depart ; and
a guide, by name Saloome, was fent along with him.
This man was brother in-law to the naybe, and a profef-
fed Chriftian ; but a traitor in his heart, and who wilh-
ed to do every thing in his power to hurt our traveller.
He was furnilhed with another guide, however, by his
friend Achmet, to inform him where to pitch his tent,
and other neceffary particulars.
On the 15th of November 1769 Mr Bruce left Ar-Sets out
keeko, on the eaftern coaft of Africa, and proceeded from Ar-
- - - ~ — v .1 •. 1 r a 1 n' • a r keeko*
fouthwards for Gondar the capital of Abyflinia. Af.
ter an hour’s journey, he pitched his tent near a pit
full of rain water, where he remained all day ; and in
the evening a meffenger arrived from the naybe, who
took away the guide Saloome. Next day the latter
returned in company with Achmet the naybe’s ne¬
phew already mentioned. The latter caufed him de-
pofite in his hands Saloome’s full hire, as though he
had gone the whole length he had promifed. Four
of the men were commanded to go back to Ar-
keeko, and others put in their place: after which
Achmet told Mr Bruce that he was not to take the
road through Dobarwa, though near, becaufe it be¬
longed to the naybe; but that Saloome knew another
by a place called Dixan, which belonged to himfelf,
and where he could infure him of a good reception.
In this journey, he told him, that he would be obliged
to crofs the mountain of Taranta, the higheft in Abyi-
finia; but the fatigue of this would be more than re-
compenfed by the affurance of fafety and the curiofity
of the place. Taking leave of Achmet in a very
friendly manner, therefore, Mr Bruce with his com¬
pany finally fet out on their journey the evening of the
16th. For the ftiort fpace they had travelled, the Account oi
ground was covered with grafs broader in the leaf than tke countr
ours; but in a little time the foil became hard, dry,^™cUjfhe
gravelly, and full of acacia or Egyptian thorn. Nextpafl-ed.
day (the 17th) they changed their courfe from fouth to
weft; and foon arrived at a range of mountains Hand¬
ing fo clofe to one another, that there was no paffage
between them excepting what was worn by torrents of
water; the bed of one of which confequently now be¬
came their road. In the evening they pitched their
tent at fome diftance from this torrent, which had
fcarcely any water in it when they left it; but all the
afternoon there had been an appearance of rain, with
much
A B Y [
Abyffinia. much thunder and lightning, at a diilance. On a
Sudden
fwell of a
torrent.
Notes of
the African
birds differ¬
ent from
thofe of
Europe.
Account of
the moun¬
tain Taran-
ta.
fudden they heard a noife among the mountains louder
than thunder ; and inftantly favv the torrent, fwelled
immenfely by the diftant rains, now running like, a
rapid river, and the foremoft part of it advancing in its
bed in a body of water about the height of a man.
Having run for fome time in this violent manner, the
current, no longer fupplied by the rains, began to di-
minifh, and by the next morning was quite gone.
Among thefe mountains the nights are cold even in
fummer.
On the 18th the journey was refumed in the bed
of the torrent, which now fcarcely had any water:
though the Hones were rendered very flippery by the
quantity of rain which had fallen. Leaving this dif-
agreeable road, they came to a fine rivulet j which
being the firft clear water they had feen from the time
Mr Bruce left Syria, was exceedingly agreeable. They
proceeded along the banks of this river for fome time j
and foon after leaving it, they came to another of the
fame kind : but next day were obliged to refume their
courfe in the bed of a torrent. The mountains in this
part of the world are exceflively rugged and full, of
precipices, entirely deftitute of foil, and covered with
loofe Hones of a black colour. On the fide of the tor¬
rent in which they marched, however, there grew very
large fycamore trees, fome of them little lefs than
feet in diameter. Their branches afforded flielter to an
infinite number of birds ; many of them without fong 5
but others having notes very different from the Euro¬
pean kinds, and peculiar to the continent of Africa.
MoH of thofe which had very beautiful colours were
of the jay or magpie kind. The trees were loaded with
figs ; but they came to nothing, by reafon of the igno¬
rance of the favages, who knew not the procefs of ca-
prification. The ffreams of water themfelves, which
at this feafon were found fo delightful, run only after
O&ober *, they appear on the other fide of the moun¬
tains when the fummer rains in Abyffinia are ceafing ;
at other times no water is to be met with, excepting
what is contained in flagnant pools.
On the 20th of November they began to afcend the
high mountain of Taranta. Their road was now ex¬
ceedingly rugged and uneven, interfered with mon-
flrous gullies and holes made by the torrents, as well
as by huge fragments of rocks which had tumbled,
down. It was with the utmoff difficulty that they
could carry the aflronomical inffruments up the hill 5
in which work Mr Bruce himfelf, and one of his at¬
tendants named TTa/ine, a Moor, bore a principal ffiare.
The only misfortune they met with was, that their
affes being unloaded, and committed to the care of a
fingle perfon, refufed to afcend this barren mountain j
and in fpite of all that their drivers could do, fet off at
a brilk trot for the fertile plains below. Luckily,
however, they were afterwards recovered by four
Moors fent after them, and the journey refumed with¬
out any material interruption. The beaHs were now
become much more tractable, having been feen and
purfued by the hyaenas with which that mountain a-
bounds.
Taranta is fo deHitute of earth, that there was no
poffibility of pitching a tent upon it j fo that our tra¬
vellers were obliged to take up their lodging in one of
the caves with which it abounds. The under part of
95 ] A B Y
the mountain produces in great plenty the tree called Abyflima^
kolqual/, which was here obferved in greater perfec-' v
tion than in any other place throughout the whole
journey. The middle part produced olives which car¬
ried no fruit j and the upper part was covered with
the oxycedras or Virginia cedar, called ar’ze in the lan¬
guage of the country. On the top is a fmall village Of the vil-
named Halai, inhabited by poor ffiepherds, who keep
the flocks of the rich people of the town of Dixan be- tants^f^he
low. They are of a dark complexion, inclining to yel-mouTltains.
low; their hair black, and curled artificially by means
of a flick, and which our author fuppofes to be the
fame with the crifping-pin mentioned Ifa iii. 22. The
men have a girdle of coarfe cotton cloth, fwathed fix
times round their middle j and they carry along with
them two lances, and a ffiield made of bulls hides. Be-
fides thefe weapons, they have in their girdles a crook¬
ed knife with a blade about 16 inches in length, and
three in breadth at the lower part. There is here great Beautiful
plenty of cattle of all kinds the cows generally of a cattle, Sec.
milk white, with dewlaps hanging down to their knees j
their horns wide like thofe of the Lincolnffiire cattle j
and their hair like filk. The ffieep are all black, both
here and throughout the province of Tigr£; having
hair upon them inflead of wool, like the refl of the
ffieep within the tropics ; but remarkable for its luflre
and foftnefs, without any briflly quality. On the top
of the mountain is a plain, which, at the time our au¬
thor was there, they had fown with wheat. The air
feemed exceffively cold, though the barometer was not
below 590 in the evening. On the wefl fide, the ce¬
dars, which on other parts are very beautiful, degene¬
rate into fmall ffirubs and buffies.
The road down this mountain was for fome time
nothing inferior in ruggednefs to what they had met
with in afeending it $ but as they approached Dixan, Town of
it became confiderably better. This is the firfl town Dixan de-
on the Abyffinian fide of Taranta. Is is feated onfcribed-
the top of a hill of a form exaftly conical, furrounded
by a deep valley like a ditch ; and no accefs to it but
by a path which winds round the hill. The inhabi¬
tants were formerly exterminated by Michael Ras ;
and the fucceeding race, in Mr Bruce’s time, were of
a very indifferent chara&er, being, as he fays, com-
pofed of the worfl people from the territories of the
Baharnagaffi and the province of Tigre, on both of
which it borders. Here he was in danger from the
treachery of Saloome, who wiffied to have decoyed him
into the power of fome affaffins. Finding that this
could not be done, he furrounded Mr Bruce and his
retinue with a body of armed men ; but they were
difperfed by the authority of Hagi Abdelcarder, the
friend of Achmet, who had received orders to provide
for the fafety of the travellers. The only trade car¬
ried on here is that of buying and felling flaves ; who
are flolen from Abyffinia, chiefly by the priefls, and
fent into Arabia and India,
The next Hage was from Dixan to Adowa, capital Journey to
of the province of Tigr6. Leaving Dixan on the 25th Adowa, the
of November, they pitched their tent the firfl night 0
under a large fpreading tree called daroo, which Mr g
Bruce fays was one of the fineff he faw in Abyffinia,
being about 7^ feet in diameter. They had been joined
by fome Moors driving 20 loaded affes and two bulls,
■which in that country are likewife ufed as beafls of
burden.
A B Y [96
Abyflinia. burden. Here, our author fays, he recovered a tran-
1 ■ ' quillity of mind which he had not enjoyed fince his ar¬
rival at Mafuah •, but they were now entirely without
the dominions of the naybe, and entered into thofe of
His trea- the emperor. Saloome attended them for fome wray,
cherous and feemed difpofed to proceed 5 but one of the corn-
guide obli- pan^ wh0 belonged to the Abyflinian monarch, having
turn'”0 rC' made a mark in the ground with his knife, told him,
that if he proceeded one ftep beyond that, he would
bind him hand and foot, and leave him to be devoured
by wild beads.
The coun- Being now in a great meafure delivered from their
try becomes fears and embarraflments, the company proceeded on
more ferule t]iejr journey with pleafure, through a much better
as he Paaesc<)Untry than they had hitherto paffed. In fome places
a on^ it was covered with wild oats, wood, high bent grafs,
&c. but in not a few places rocky and uneven. Great
flocks of a bird as large as a turkey, called in the Am-
haric language, erkoom, were feen in fome places. A
large animal of the goat kind, called agavsan, w’as
found dead and newly killed by a lion. It was about
the fize of a large afs*, and afforded a plentiful re pad.
Numbers of kolquall trees were alfofeen*, and the fades
of the river Habedi were adorned with a beautiful tree
of the fame name with the dream. There were in this
place alfo many flowers of various kinds, particularly
jeflamine. The mountains of Adowa, which they came
in fight of on the 5th of December, are totally unlike
any thing to be met with in Europe j their fides being
all perpendicular rocks, like deeples or obelifks of ma¬
ny different forms.
^ Adowa, though the capital of an extenfive province
or kingdom, does not contain above 300 houfes j but
occupies neverthelefs a large fpace, by reafon of the in-
clofures of a tree called wanxey, which furround each
of the houfes. It flands on the declivity of a hill, fi-
tuated on the wed fide of a fmall plain furrounded by
mountains. It is watered by three rivulets which ne¬
ver become dry even in the greated heats. A manu-
fafture is carried on here of a kind of coarfe cotton
cloth which paffes for money throughout all Abyflinia.
The houfes are built of rough done cemented with
mud j lime being only ufed in the conflru&ion of thofe
at Gondar, and even there it is very bad.
Our traveller was very hofpitably entertained at A-
dowa, by one Janni, with whom he refided during his
flay there. Leaving it on the lyth of December, he
vifited the ruins of Axum, once the capital of the em¬
pire. Here are 40 obelifks, but without any hiero¬
glyphics. A large one ftill remains, but the two lar-
geft are fallen. There is alfo a curious obelifk, of which
he gives a figure, with other antiquities which our li¬
mits will not allow us to enlarge upon. The town has
at prefent about 600 houfes, and carries on manufac¬
tures of the coarfe cotton cloth already mentioned. It
is watered by a fmall ftream which flows all the year,
and it is received into a fine bafon 150 feet fquare,
where it is colle&ed for the ufe of the neighbouring
gardens. Its latitude was found by Mr Bruce to be
140 6' 36" north.
On the 20th of January 1770, our traveller fet out
from Axum. The road was at firft fmooth and plea-
fant, but afterwards very difficult ; being compofed
of ftones raifed one above another, the remains of a
magnificent caufeway, as he conjectures. As they paf-
Adowa de-
fcribed.
Vilits the
ruins of
Axum.
] A B Y
fed farther on, however, the air was every where per- Abyffmia.
fumed by a vaft number of flowers of different kinds,-nr—
particularly jeffamine. One fpecies of this, named
agamy was found in fuch plenty, that almoft all the
adjacent hills were covered by it j the w'hole country
had the moft beautiful appearance 5 the weather was
exquifitely fine, and the temperature of the air agree¬
able. In this fine country, however, Mr Bruce had
the firft opportunity of beholding the horrible barbari- Monftrous
ty of the Abyflinians, in cutting off pieces of fleftr from j^h^ntyd
the bodies of living animals, and devouring them raw •
but notwithftanding this extreme cruelty, they have the
utmoft horror and religious averfion at pork of every
kind} infomuch that Mr Bruce durft not venture to
tafte the flefli of a wild boar, juft after having afiifted
in the deftruftion of five or fix.
During the remaining part of the journey from A-
dowa to Sire, the country continued equally beautiful,
and the variety of flowers and trees greatly augmented;
but as a report rvas propagated that Ras Michael had
been defeated by Fafil, they now met with fome infults.
Thefe, however, were but trifling *, and on the 22d in
the evening they arrived fafely at Sire, fituated in N.
Lat. 140 4' 35".
This town is ftill larger than Axum 5 but the houfes Sire Je-
are built of no better materials than clay, and coveredicnbed*
with thatch ; the roofs being in the form of cones,
which indeed is the fliape of all thofe in Abyflinia.
It Hands on the brink of a very fteep and narrow val¬
ley, through which the road is almoft impafiable. It
is famous for a manufacture of cotton cloth, which, as
we have already obferved, paffes for money throughout
the whole empire. At fome times, however, beads,
needles, antimony, and incenfe, will pafs in the fame
way. The country in the neighbourhood is extremely
fine ; but the inhabitants are fubjeft, by reafon of the
low fituation, to putrid fevers. On leaving it on the
24th, our travellers paffed through a vaft plain, where
they could difcern no hills as far as the eye could reach,
excepting fome few detached ones Handing on the plain,
covered with high grafs, which the inhabitants were
then burning. The country to the northward is flat
and open. In the way to Gondar, however, lies that
ridge of mountains called Samen ; of which one named
Lamalmon is the moft remarkable, and by fome fuppof-
ed to be the higheft in Abyflinia. Betwixt Sire and
thefe mountains the river Tacazze runs, which, next to
the Nile, is the largeft in Abyflinia.. Mr Bruce in¬
forms us that it carries near one third of the water
which falls on the whole empire ; and when palling it,
he faw the marks of its ftream, the preceding year, 18 Tacazfce
feet perpendicular above the bottom; nor could it.be
afcertained whether this was the higheft point to which
it had reached. It has its fource in the diftriCt of
Angot, riling from three fources like the Nile, in a
flat country, about 200 miles to the S. E. of Gondar.
It is extremely pleafant j being {haded with fine lofty
trees, the water extremely clear, and the banks adorn¬
ed with the moft fragrant flowers. At the ford where
they croffed, this river was fully 200 yards broad, and
about three feet deep j running very fwiftly over a
bottom of pebbles. At the very edge of the water the
banks were covered with tamarilks, behind which grew
tall and ftately trees, that never lofe their leaves. It
abounds with fifli} and is inhabited by crocodiles and
Vnnnnnotami ?
A B Y
[ 97 1
A B Y
Abyflinia.
Mountain¬
ous country
of Samen
defcribed.
Extreme
voracity of
the hyaenas
Lamalmon
mountain
deicribed.
hippopotami; the former of which frequently carry off
people who attempt to crofs the river upon blown-up
{kins. The neighbouring woods are full of lions and
hyaenas. The Tacazze is marked by Mr Bruce in his
map as a branch of the Aflaboras, which falls into the
Nile. The latitude of the ford was found to be 130
42' 45".
This river was paffed on the 26th of January ; after
which our travellers entered into the country of Sa¬
men 5 the governor of which, Ayto Tesfos, had never
acknowledged the authority of Ras Michael, nor any
of the emperors fet up by him fince the death of loas.
The country therefore was hoftile j but the uncertainty
of the event of the war, and the well-known feverity
of Michael’s difpofition, preferved our traveller and
his company from any infult, excepting a feeble and
unfuccefsful attempt to extort money. Here Mr Bruce
obferves that the people were more flat nofed than any
he had hitherto feen in Abyflinia. The path among
the mountains was for the moft part exceedingly dan¬
gerous, having a precipice of vafl height clofe by it
which way foever you turn. The mountains appeared
of very extraordinary (hapes ; fome being like cones $
others high and pointed, like columns, pyramids, or
obelifks. In one place a village was obferved in fuch
a dangerous fituation, that fcarce the diftance of a yard
intervened between the houfes and a dreadful precipice.
Below it is a plain of about a mile fquare, covered with
citron and lemon trees. A river named Mai-Lumi
rifes above this village, and falls into the wood, where
it divides into two •, one branch furrounding the north
and the other the fouth part of the plain j then falling
down a rock on each fide, they unite 5 and having
run about a quarter of a mile farther, the ftream is
precipitated in a cataradt 150 feet high. The lions
and hyaenas were very numerous among thefe moun¬
tains, and devoured one of the beft mules our travellers
had. The hyaenas were fo bold, that they {talked
about as familiarly as dogs, and were not intimidated by
the difcharge of fire arms. Their voracity was fuch,
that they ate the bodies of thofe of their own fpecies
which our travellers had killed in their own defence.
On the 7th of February they began to afcend La¬
malmon by a winding path fcarcely two feet broad, on
the brink of a dreadful precipice, and frequently in¬
terfered by the beds of torrents, which produced vaft
irregular chafms in it. After an afcent of two hours,
attended with incredible toil, up this narrow path,
they came to a fmall plain named Kedus or St Michael,
from a church of that name fituated there. This plain
is fituated at the foot of a fteep cliff, terminating the
weftern fide of the mountain, which is as perpendicular
as a wall, with a few trees on the top. Two ftreams
of water fall down this cliff into a wood at the bot¬
tom *, and as they continue all the year round, the
plain is thus preferved in continual verdure. The air
is extremely wholefome and pleafant. On afcending
to the very top of the mountain, where they arrived
on the 9th of February, our travellers were furprifed
to find, that though from below it had the appearance
of being fharp pointed, it was in reality, a large plain,
full of fprings, which are the fources of moft: rivers in
this part of Abyflinia. Thefe fprings boil out of the
earth, fending forth fuch quantities of water as are fuf-
ficient to turn a mill. A perpetual verdure prevails j
Vol. I. Part I.
and it is entirely owing to indolence in the hufbandman ^
if he has not three harvefts annually. _ Lamalmon Hands *
on the north-weft part of the mountains of Samen *, but
though higher than the mountains of ligrd, our author
is of opinion that it is confiderably inferior to thofe
which are fituated on the fouth-eaft. I he plain on the
top is altogether impregnable to an army, both by rea-
fon of its fituation and the plenty of provifions it affords
for the maintenance of its inhabitants 5 even the ftreams
on the top are full of fifh. Here the mercury in the
barometer flood at 20^ inches.
During the time our travellers remained at La-Journey to
malmon, a fervant of Ras Michael arrived to conduftGondar*
them fafely to the capital, bringing a certain account
of the viftory over Fafil 1 fo that now the difficulties
and dangers of their journey were over. The country
appeared better cultivated as they approached the ca¬
pital j and they faw feveral plantations of fugar canes
which, they grow from the feed. In fome places,
however, particularly in Woggora,^ great damage is
done by fwarms of ants, rats, and mice, which deftroy
the fruits of the earth. Mr Bruce had already expe-Mlfchief
rienced the mifehief arifing from a fmall fpecies of done by
ant, whofe bite was not only more painful than theants*
fling of a fcorpion, but which iffued out of the ground
in fuch numbers as to cut in pieces the carpets and eve¬
ry thing made of foft materials to which they could have
accefs.
When Mr Bruce approached the capital, he was dref- Arrival at
fed like a Moor : and this drefs he was advifed to keep Gondar.
until he ftiould receive fome protection from govern¬
ment $ his greateft, indeed his only, danger arifing
from the priefts, who were alarmed at hearing of
the approach of a Frank to the capital. This was the
more neceffary, as the emperor and Michael Ras were
both out of town. For this reafon alfo he took up his
refidence in the Moorifh town at Gondar ; which is
very large, containing not fewer than 3000 houfes.
The only inconvenience he underwent here was the not
being allowed to eat any flefh : for we have already ta¬
ken notice of a law made by one of the emperors, that
none of his fubjeCls fhould eat flefh but fuch as had
been killed by Chriftians •, and a deviation from this
would have been accounted equal to a renunciation of
Chriftianity itfelf. Here he remained till the 15th of
February ;"when Ayto Aylo waited upon him, and ad-
dreffed him in the charaCler of phyfician, which he
had affumed. By this nobleman he was carried to the Mr Bruce
palace of Kofcam, and introduced to the old queen, produced
His advice was required'for one of the royal family who*°
was ill of the fmallpox ; but a faint had already under¬
taken his cure. The event, however, proved unfortu¬
nate ; the patient died, and the faint loft his reputa¬
tion. Our limits will not allow us to give any parti¬
cular account of the fteps by which Mr Bruce arrived
at the high degree of reputation which he enjoyed in
Abyflinia. In general, his fuccefs in the pradlice of me¬
dicine ; his fkill in horfemanfhip and the ufe of fire-arms,
which by his own account mutt have been very extraor¬
dinary j his prudence in evading religious difputes ; as
well as his perfonal intrepidity and prefence of mind,Is ^
which never once failed him, even in the greateft ^ an(i
emergencies j all confpired to render him agreeable to held in
people of every denomination. By the king he was great efti-
promoted to the government of Ras-el-Feel, was hisraat‘on-
N conftant
Abyfljnia.
His depar¬
ture from
the conn-
try.
■Event of
the war be¬
fore he left
the coun¬
ty.
A B Y [ 98
conftant attendant on all occafions, and was with him
in feveral military expeditions j but never met with any
opportunity of diftihguilhing his perfonal valour, though
he had the command of a body of horfe at one of the
battles fought at a place named Serbraxos. Thus ho¬
noured and employed, he had an ample opportunity of
exploring the fources and cataradls of the Nile, as
well as the geography and natural products of the
whole country j obtaining alfo leave at laft to re¬
turn home. We cannot, however, praife the be¬
nevolence of his fpirit at his departure. It has al¬
ready been obferved, that he was in fome danger from
the priefts on his firft arrival, on account of their
fufpedling him to be a Jefuit 5 for that is the mean¬
ing which they affix to the word Frank or European.
As he conftantly attended the eftabliffied worlhip of
the country, however, and carefully avoided all difputes
on the fubjeft of religion, he became at laft not only
unfufpecled, but very intimate with many of the princi¬
pal ecclefiaftics. From one of thefe, named Tenfa Chti-
flos, he a Iked a benedi&ion immediately before he de¬
parted ; which piece of unexpected humility fo affefted
the prieft, that it brought tears in his eyes. The bene¬
diction was conveyed in the fimple form, “ God blefs
you.” A troop of inferior priefts who attended would
needs blefs him alfo j and probably were pkafed at ha¬
ving it in their power to bellow a benediction publicly
on a man of fuch confequence: but to the bleffings of
thefe poor monks Mr Bruce replied in Englijh, “ Lord
fend you all a halter, as he did Abba Salama!”
This Abba Salama had been an ecclefiaftic of great
confequence but of a very diffolute life, and at laft
hanged for his crimes. The monks imagined he had
been recommending them to their patriarch Abba Sala-
ma, and with great devotion anfwered “ Amen.”
The hiftory of the war after Mr Bruce’s arrival is
related at great length in his work, I he king lecla
Haimanout ftill kept his ground, and was at lalt ac¬
knowledged by aim oft the whole empire, though fuo-
cefs did not always attend his arms. An ufurper,
named Socinios, was reduced and made a fervant in
the king’s kitchen •, but was afterwards hanged for
theft. Ras Michael, notwithftanding all his Ikill in
military affairs, was not able to get the better of
Fafil •, and his exceffive cruelty, avarice, and ambition,
difgufted every one. An attempt was even made to
affaffinate him ; and his fpiritual friend (Michael the
archangel, according to his own. report, or the devil,
according to that of the Abyffinians) at laft forfook
him 5 fo that he was carried off prifoner by a party of
the rebels. After this misfortune he was much deject¬
ed, imputing it to the want of the fpiritual affidance
juft mentioned, and which it feems had withdrawn it-
felf fome time before. His wife Ozoro F.fther, whom
Mr Bruce characterizes as the handfomeft woman he
ever faw, was in great favour with the king at the time
our traveller left Abyffmia. As the king himfelf was
a handfome young man, there is no improbability in
fuppofing with Mr Bruce, that “ they were not infenfi-
ble to each other’s merits j” and as ffic was fometimes
honoured with a private audience, where Michael himfelf
“ bore no part in the converfation,” we ftiall conclude
our hiftory of this fingular empire by a conjefture, that
foon after Mr Bruce’s departure, Michael either died
by courfe of nature, he being then very old, or was cut
] A b Y
off by his enemies ; on which Tecla Haimanout, ha- Abyffinia.^
ving fully fettled the affairs of his empire, became pof- ^ ' ~f
feffed of the beautiful Ozoro Efther, and commenced
his reign with great glory.
With regard to the geographical defcription of an- Geography
cient Ethiopia, little can be faid^ as not even the t>oun*
daries of the empire itfelf, much lefs thofe of the par¬
ticular diftriCts which compofed it, were known. The
ancient writers, however, agreed that it was very moun¬
tainous : but they mention no mountains of any confe¬
quence excepting Garbata and Elephas, whofe fituation
is not well afcertained, though it is generally fuppofed
that they anfwer to the mountains of TigrC. The moft
noted cities were Axum, Napata, Premis or Premnis,
Melis, Mondus, Abalis, Mofylon, Caloe, Opone, &c.
The nations which inhabited ancient Ethiopia have Cuftoms of
already been enumerated ; and it is not to be fuppofed t^ie khabi-
that all, or indeed any two of them, would agree intants'
many refpefts. The ancient hiftorians, however, give
the following information. They had many laws which sic.
were very different from thofe of other nations j efpe-p. 101,103.
cially their laws relating to the ele&ion of kings. The
priefts chofe the moft reputable men of their body, and
drew a large circle around them, which they were not
to pafs. A prieft entered the circle, running and
jumping like an Egipan or fatyr. He of thofe that
Avere enclofed in the circle who firft catched hold of
the prieft, was immediately declared king; and all the
people paid him homage, as a perfon intrufted with
the government of the nation by Divine Providence.
The new-eletted king immediately began to live in the
manner Avhich was prefcribed to him by the laws. In
all things he exa£Uy follorved the cuftoms of the coun¬
try ; he paid a moft rigid attention to the rules efta¬
bliffied from the origin of the nation, in difpenfing re-
Avards and puniffiments. The king could not order a
fubjeft to be put to death, though he had been capi¬
tally convitfted in a court of juflice , but he fent an
officer to him, Avho ffioAved him the fignal of death.
The criminal then ffiut himfelf up in his houfe, and.
Avas his oAvn executioner. It Avas not permitted him
to fly to a neighbouring country, and fubftitute baniffi-
ment for death j a relaxation of the rigour of the laAV,
AV.ith Avhich criminals Avere indulged in Greece.
We have the folloAving extraordinary information
Avith regard to the death of many of their kings: The
priefts of Meroe, Avho had acquired great poAver there,
Avhen they thought proper difpatched a courier to the
king to order him to die.. The courier Avas commif-
fioned to tell him, that it Avas the Avill of the gods, and
that it Avould be the moft heinous of crimes to oppofe
an order Avhich came from them. 1 heir firft kings
obeyed thefe groundlefs defpotical fentences, though
they Avere. only conftrained to fuch obedience by their
OAvn fuperftition. Ergamenes, Avho reigned in the
time of Ptolemy the fecond, and Avho Avas inftru£ted in
the philofophy of the Greeks, Avas the firft Avho had
the courage to (hake off this iniquitous and facerdotal
yoke. He led an army againft Meroe, Avhere, in more
ancient times, Avasthe Ethiopian temple of gold j Avhen
he put all the priefts to the fword, and inftituted a new
Avorffiip.
The friends of the king had impofed on themfelves
a very fingular laAV, which Avas in force in the time of
Diodorus Siculus. When their fovereign had loft the
ufe
# Lib. iii
c. 24.
A B Y r
Abyffinift. ofe of any part of his body, by malady, or by any other
1   'accident, they infli&ed the fame infirmity on them-
felvesj deeming it, for inftance, fhameful to walk
ftraight after a lame king. They thought it abfurd
not to fliare with him corporeal inconveniences ; fince
we aje bound by the ties of mere friendfhip to parti¬
cipate the misfortunes and profperity of our friends.
It was even cuftomary among them to die with their
kings, which they thought a glorious teftimony of their
conftant loyalty. Hence the fubje£ls of an Ethiopian
king were very attentive to /us and their common pre-
fervation ; and therefore it was extremely difficult and
dangerous to form a confpiracy againft him.
The Ethiopians had very particular ceremonies in
their funerals. According to Ctefias, after having fail¬
ed the bodies, they put them into a hollow ftatue of
gold which refembled the deceafed ; and that ftatue
was placed in a niche on a pillar which they fet up for
that purpofe. But it was only the remains of the rich-
eft Ethiopians that were thus honoured. The bodies
of the next clafs were contained in filver ftatuesj the
poor were enfhrined in ftatues of earthen ware.
Herodotus * informs us, that the neareft relations of
the dead kept the body a year in their houfes, and of¬
fered facrifices and firft fruits during that time to their
deceafed friend j and at the end of the year, they fixed
the niche in a place fet apart for the purpofe near their
town.
The Ethiopians made ufe of bows and arrows, darts,
lances, and feveral other weapons, in their wars, which
they managed with great ftrength and dexterity. Cir-
cumcifion was a rite obferved amongft them, as well as
among the Egyptians, from very early antiquity j
though which of thefe nations firft received it, cannot
certainly be known. The Ethiopian foldiers tied their
arrows round their heads, the feathered part of which
touched their foreheads, temples, &c. and the other
proje&ed out like fo many rays, which formed a kind
of crown. Thefe arrows were extremely ffiort, point¬
ed with ffiarp ftones inftead of iron, and dipped in the
virus of ferpents, or fome other lethiferous poifon, in-
fomuch that all the wounds given by them were attend¬
ed with immediate death. The bows from which they
(hot thefe arrows were four cubits long ; and required
fo much ftrength to manage them, that no other na¬
tion could make ufe of them. The Ethiopians retreat¬
ed fighting, in the fame manner as the Parthians j dif-
charging volleys of arrows with fuch dexterity and ad-
drefs, whilft they were retiring full fpeed, that they ter¬
ribly galled the enemy. Their lances or darts were
of an immenfe fize, which may be deemed a farther
proof of their vaft bodily ftrength.
Thus far chiefly with regard to the Ethiopians who
lived in the capital, and who inhabited the ifland of
Meroe, and that part of Ethiopia which was adjacent
to Egypt.
There were many other Ethiopian nations, fome of
which cultivated the trafts on each fide of the Nile,
and the iflands in the middle of it; others inhabited
the provinces bordering on Arabia} and others lived
more towards the centre of Africa. All thefe people,
and among the reft thofe who were born on the banks
of the river, had flat nofes, black (kins, and woolly
hair. They had a very favage and ferocious appear¬
ance ; they were more brutal in their cuftoms than in
99 ] A B Y
their nature. They were of a dry aduft temperament j Ab>^r‘ia
their nails in length refembled claws : they were igno¬
rant of the arts which polifh the mind : their language
was hardly articulate ; their voices were flirill and
piercing. As they did not endeavour to render life
more commodious and agreeable, their manners and
cuftoms were very different from thofe of other nations.
When they went to battle, fome were armed with
bucklers of ox hides, with little javelins in their hands ;
others carried crooked darts ; others ufed the bow $
and others fought with clubs. I hey took their wives
with them to war, whom they obliged to enter upon
military fervice at a certain age. The women wore
rings of copper at their lips.
Some of thefe people went without clothing. Some¬
times they threw about them what they happened to
find, to (belter themfelves from the burning rays of the
fun. With regard to their food, fome lived upon a
certain fruit, which grew fpontaneoufly in marffiy
places ; fome ate the tendered (hoots of trees, which
were defended by the large branches from the heat of
the fun ; and others fowed Indian corn and lotos.
Some of them lived only on the roots of reeds. Many
fpent a great part of their time in (hooting birds ; and
as they were excellent archers, their bows fupplied
them with plenty. But the greater part of this people
were fuftained by the fleffi of their flocks.
The people who inhabited the country above Me-
rofc made remarkable diftin&ions among their gods.
Some, they faid, were of an eternal and incorruptible
nature, as the fun, the moon, and the univerfe; others
having been born among ni^n, had acquired divine ho¬
nours by their virtue, and by the good which they had
done to mankind. They worffiipped Ifis, Pan, and
particularly Jupiter and Hercules, from whom they
fuppofed they had received mod benefits. But fome
Ethiopians believed that there were no gods; and when
the fun rofe, they fled into their marffies, execrating
him as their cruelleft enemy.
Thefe Ethiopians differed likewife from other na¬
tions in the honours which they paid to their dead.
Some threw their bodies into the river, thinking that
the moft honourable fepulchre. Others kept them in
their houfes in niches : thinking that their children
would be ftimulated to virtuous deeds by the fight of
their anceftors ; and that grown people, by the fame
obje&s, would retain their parents in their memory.
Others put their dead bodies into coffins of earthen
ware, and buried them near their temples. I o fwear
with the hand laid upon a corpfe, was their moft fa-
cred and inviolable oath.
The favage Ethiopians of fome diftritts gave their
crown to him who of all their nation was bed made.
Their reafon for that preference was, that the two firft
gifts of heaven were monarchy and a fine perfon. In
other territories, they conferred the fovereignty on the
moft vigilant (hepherd ; for he, they alleged, would be
the moft careful guardian of his fubjedls. Others chofe
the richeft man for their king ; for he, they thought,
would have it moft in his power to do good to his fub-
je£ts. Others, again, chofe the ftrongeft ; efteeming
thofe moft worthy of the firft dignity who were ableft
to defend them in battle.
Nod. Sic.
p. 102.
The Jefuit miffionaries were the firft who gave any
information to the Europeans concerning this country }ar\ee5
N 2
and
A B Y
[ too ]
A B Y
Abyflinia. and indeed, excepting them and the late accounts by
» ' 1 1 Mr Bruce, we have no other fource of information con¬
cerning it. Louis XIV. of France appointed fix Je-
fuits to this miffion, and furnilhed them with fuitable
prefents for the emperor and the principal nobility.
The admifiion of thefe miflionaries was facilitated by
a dangerous fcorbutic diforder, which had attacked Ya-
fous and his fon, and for which they wiflied to have the
advice of an European phyfician. Maillet, the French
conful at Cairo, wifhing the Jefuits to have the honour
of the miffion, difappointed the views of Friars Pafchal
and Anthony, two Francifcans, who were firft thought
of, and recommended Charles Poncet, a Frenchman,
who had been bred a chemift and apothecary, and Fa¬
ther Brevedent as his fervant, to Hagi Ali, a Maho¬
metan fadlor at Cairo, for the defired purpofe. 1 he
Francifcans attempted the deftruftion of Poncet and
his attendants ; but Poncet arrived fafe at Gondar on
the 2ift of July, 1699, and having perfeaiy cured
his royal patient, fet out oh the 2d of May, fyoo, on
his return for Europe, and arrived in fafety at Mafuah.
Brevedent died at Gondar foon after their arrival. An
embaffy on the part of the Abyffinian monarch was de¬
feated by the interference of Maillet; but the Jefuits
concerted another miffion from France, and the perfon
appointed as ambaffador w7as M. de Roule, vice-conful
at Damietta. This miffion was very improperly con¬
ducted j the merchants at Cairo oppofed it 5 the Fran¬
cifcans obftruCted it, and it terminated in the murder
of the ambaffador in the province of Sennaar.
The miffionaries confirm what is faid by the ancients,
that Abyffinia is a very mountainous country. The
provinces of Begemder, Gojam, V7aleka, Shoa, &c.
according to them, are only one continued chain of
mountains. Many of them were faid to be of fuch
enormous height, that the Alps and Pyrenees are but
mole-hills in comparifon of them. Thofe called Aorm
were faid to be of this kind ; but Mr Bruce informs us,
that thefe accounts are greatly exaggerated. Amongft
thofe mountains, and even frequently in the plains,
there are many fteep and craggy rocks to be met with
of various and whimfical fhapes } feme of them fo fmoothj
that men and oxen are raifed to the top by means of
engines. The tops of thefe rocks are covered with
woods and meadows, full of fprings and ftreams of wa¬
ter ; of which Mr Bruce has given us an account in
his defcription of Lamalmon. The moft remarkable of
thefe, according to the authors we are now fpeaking of,
is that called Amba Gejhen, mentioned in the courfe of
this article as one of the mountains ufed for a prifon to
the princes of the blood. Its top is defcribed as only
half a league in breadth, though it is faid that it would
require near half a day to go round it.
Mr Bruce’s Modern Ethiopia, or Aby flinia, as it is now called,
account of is divided, according to Mr Bruce, into two parts,
' named Tigre and Arnhara ; though this rather denotes
a difference in the language than the territory of the
people. The molt eafterly province properly fo called
is Mafuah. It is of confiderable length, but no great
breadth •, running parallel to the Indian ocean and Red
lea, in a zone of about 40 miles broad, as far as the
illand Masuah. The territories of the Raharnagalh
include this province as well as the diftridffs of Azab
and Habab. In the former are mines of foffil fait,
which fubftance in Abyffinia paffes current inftead of
it? divi-
iions.
money. For this purpofe the mineral is cut into fquare Abyffinia.
folid pieces about a foot in length. Here alfo is a kind v—-v—
of mint from which great profits are derived. The Ha¬
bab is likewHe called the land of the Agaaxi or Shep¬
herds •, who fpeak the language called Gee*, and have
had the ufe of letters from the moft early ages. This
province was formerly taken by the Turks, when the
rebellious Raharnagaffi Ifaac called them to his affift-
ance againft the emperor Menas. From that time the
office fell into difrepute, and the Baharnagaffi at prefent
has much lefs power than formerly. The province of
Mafuah is now governed by a Mahometan prince or
officer called a naybe.
Tigre is bounded on the eaft by the territories of
the Baharnagaffi, of which the river Mareb is the boun¬
dary on the eaft, and the Tacazze on the weft. It is
about 200 miles long from north to fouth, and 120
broad from weft to eaft. All the merchandife fent
acrofs the Red fea to Abyffinia, or from Abyffinia
acrofs the Red fea, muft pafs through this province,
fo that the governor has his choice of it as it goes
along. Thus the province itfelf is very wealthy *, and
as the Abyffinian fire-arms are brought from Arabia,
the governors of Tigre, by purchafing quantities of
them, may eafily render themfelves very powerful. No
arms of this kind can be fent to any perfon without his
permiffion ; nor can any one buy till the governor has
firft had an offer.
Sire was fome time ago united to Tigrfe, on account
of the mifconduft of its governor } but was disjoined
from it at the time Mr Bruce was in Abyffinia, with
the confent of Ras Michael, who beftowed the govern¬
ment of it upon his fon. It is about 25 miles long,
and as much in breadth. Its weftern boundary is the
Tacazze.
Samen is a very mountainous province lying to the
weftward of the river Tacazze, about 80 miles long,
and in fome places 30 broad, though in moft it is much
narrower. It is moftly inhabited by Jews.
Begemder lies to the north-eaft of Tigre. It is
about 180 miles long and 60 broad; bounded by the
river. Nile on the weft. It comprehends the moun¬
tainous country of Lafta ; and there are now feveral
fmall governments difmembered from it. I he inhabi¬
tants are fierce and barbarous, but reckoned the beft
foldiers in Abyffinia; and it is faid that this province
with Lafta can furnilh 45,000 horfemen. It abounds
with iron mines, which in Abyffinia would be very va¬
luable if properly managed. It is alfo well ftored with
beautiful cattle. Near the fouth end it is cut into vaft
gullies, feemingly by floods, of which we have no ac¬
count. This province is reckoned the great barrier
againft the incurfions of the Galla ; and though they
have often endeavoured to make a fettlement in it, they
have never yet found it practicable. Several of their
tribes have been cut off in the attempt.
Next to Begemder is the province of Amhara, in
length about 120 miles, and fomewhat more than 40
in breadth. It is very mountainous; and the men are
reckoned the handfomeft in all Abyffinia. In this pro¬
vince is the mountain or rock Gefhen, formerly the re~
fidence of the royal family. This province is parallel
to Begemder on the fouth ; being feparated from it by
the river Baffiilo. On the weft it is bounded by the
Nile. The river Geffien is another boundary.
Walaka
A B Y t ic
Abyffima. Walaka lies between the rivers Gelhen and Samba,
-v——It is a low unwholefome province, having Upper Shoa
to the fouthward. It was in this province that the
only furviving prince of the family of Solomon was
preferved after the maffacre by Judith, formerly men¬
tioned *, and on this account great privileges were con¬
ferred upon the inhabitants, which in forae degree
continue to this day. The governor is confidered as
an ally, rather than a fubjeft, of the emperor of Abyf-
linia ; and to preferve his independency, he has allow¬
ed the Galla to furround his province entirely, yield¬
in'* up to them the territory of Walaka above mention¬
ed* Trufting to the valour of his own people, he is
under no apprehenfion of his barbarous neighbours
the Galla. This province is alfo remarkable for the
monaftery of Debra Libanos, where the famous faint
Tecla Haimanout, the founder of the power of the
clergy, was bred.
Gojam is remarkable for having in it fome of the
fources of the Nile. It is bounded on the north by
the high mountains of Amid Amid, on the fouth by
the river Nile, on the weft by another river named
Guit, and on the eaft by the river Temci j. on the
north-eaft it has the kingdom of Damot. It is about
40 miles long from north to fouth, and fomewhat
more than 20 in breadth from eaft to weft. It is
very populous, but the men are accounted the worft
foldiers in Abyffinia. There is great plenty of very
beautiful cattle.
Beyond the mountain&of Amid Amid on the eaft lies
the country of the Agows j on the weft it has Bure,
Umbarma,' and the country of the Gongas 5 on the
fouth, thofe of Damot and Gafat j and Dingleber on
the fouth.
Dembea occupies all the fpace along the lake of the
fame name, from Dingleber belovv the mountains bound¬
ing Guefque and Kuara. Mr Bruce is of opinion, that
the lake has formerly overflowed the whole of it; and
the decreafe of this lake he brings as an inftance of the
decreafe of large pools throughout the world.
To the fouth of Dembea is the country of Kuara,
bordering on that of the Shangalla, the Macrobii of the
ancients. The neighbouring countries, inhabited by
Pagan favages, produce gold, which is introduced in
plenty into this province. None is produced in the
province itfelf, nor indeed does Mr Bruce mention any
part of Abyflinia where gold is naturally found. In the
lower part of this country is a colony of Pagan blacks
named Ganjar ; derived, according to our author, from
the black flaves who came into the country with the
Arabs after the invafion of Mahomet. T hefe deferting
their mafters, formed the colony we fpeak of; but it is
now more increafed by vagabonds from other parts than
by the multiplication of the inhabitants themfelves.
The governor of this country is one of the great officers
of ft ate : he has kettle-drums of filver, which he is^ al¬
lowed to beat through the ftreets of Gondar ; a privi¬
lege allowed to none but himfelf. This privilege was
conferred upon the firft governor by David II. who
conquered the country.
The frontier countries of Narea, Ras-el-Feel, Tchel-
ga, &c. are wholly inhabited by Mahometans, and the
government of them is ufually given to ftrangefs.
The country is very hot, unwholefome, and covered
with thick woods. The people are fugitives from all
/
1 1 A B Y . .
nations, but excellent horfemen \ making ufe of no Abyfluiia^
other Aveapon but the broadfword, with which, how¬
ever inadequate we might fuppofe the weapon to be,
they will attack the elephant or rhinoceros.
According to Mr Bruce the empire of Abyffinia is
bounded on the fouth by a vaft chain of mountains,
extending with very little interruption from 340 to
440 E. Long, and between 8° and 90 N. Lat. In
more profperous times it extended beyond thefe
fouthward, particularly into the kingdom of Adel
but the mountains juft mentioned are undoubtedly
to be reckoned its natural boundaries on this fide.
On the eaft and north-eaft it has the Red fea, and
on the fouth-eaft the kingdom of Adel. On the weft
and north its boundaries are lefs diftindfly marked ;
having on both thefe quarters the barbarous kingdom
of Sennaar, whofe limits will no doubt frequently vary
according to the fortune of war betwixt the two prm*
ces. From Arkeeko, fituated near the foot of the ba-
faltes mountains, in about 150 30' N. Lat. it extends
to near 70 N. Lat. where the mountains of Caffa, the
moft foutherly province of Abyffinia, terminate.. A~
long the coaft of the Red fea lie the territories inha¬
bited by the Hazorta Shiho, the diftridl of Engana
Shiho, and the kingdom of Dancali, including the
territory of Azab and the fait pits already mentioned.
To the weftward of thefe is the province or kingdom
of TigriS, including the country of the Dobas, part of
the kingdom of Bali, and that of Dawaro. Still far¬
ther weft are thofe of Sire, Lafta, Amhara, the great-
eft part of Bali, and part of Fatigar, which laft reaches
beyond the mountains. Proceeding ftill in the lame
diredlion, wTe come to Tcherkin, Tchelga, Abargale,
Salao, Begemder, Shoa, and Ifat; reckoning always
from north to fouth ; Tcherkin, for inftance, being to
the northward of Tchelga, &c. Shoa extends a con-
fiderable way to the weftward \ fo that, befides Ifat, it
has to the fouth of it alfo the kingdoms of Hade and
Cambut; the latter extending beyond the fouthern
ridge of mountains. To the weftward are Ras-el-Feel,
Dembea, Gojam, and Damot $ and beyond thefe are
the kingdoms of Bembea, Bizamo, Gooderoo, and Gu-
raque •, thofe of Narea or Enarea and Caffa occupying
the fouth-weft corner of the empire.
The climate of Abyffinia, though, like other parts Climate,
of the torrid zone, it was formerly thought to be un¬
inhabitable, is not only tolerable, but in general tem¬
perate and healthy. In this refpeft, however, the
uneven furface of the country expofes different fitua-
tions to the effedts of heat and_ cold, of drynefs and
moifture, and of a free circulation or a ftagnati.on of
the atmofphere, in very various degrees. On the
mountains, and in the higher parts of the country,
the Iky is clear and ferene, the air is cool and refrefti-
ing, and the people are healthy and fprightly j
whilft thofe who live in fome of the valleys, in the vi¬
cinity of marffies, and in fandy deferts, experience the
pernicious influence of exceffive heat, and of a moift,
ftagnant, and fuffocating air ; fo that the climate de¬
pends upon foil and fituation as much almoft as upon
the latitude. Mr Bruce obferves, that on the higheft
mountain of the ridge called Lamalmon, the thermo¬
meter flood at 3 2° in the depth of winter, the wind
being north-weft ; clear and cold, but attended only
with hoar froft. This, he adds, vaniftied into dew
aftei
A B Y
Abyflinia. after a quarter of an hour’s fun j nor did he
' any fign of congelation
102 ] A B Y
ever fee otherwife fmall dofes of ipecacuanha either remove it, AbyAmia.
[
Bifeafes.
of water upon the top of
the higheft mountains. The barometer flood at 190
9' at noon of the fame day, and the thermometer was
at 'yS0. He obferved hail to lie for three hours in the
forenoon on the mountains of Amid Amid. -I he
range of the barometer and thermometer, according
to Mr Bruce’s regifter kept at Gondar from February
19. 1770, to May 31. 1771, will appear from the fol¬
lowing table.
Barom.
Thermom.
}
22.11
20. H
21.6
69°
75°
9l°
54i
Wind.
s.
E.
W. N. W.
W.
April 29.
64 A. M.
Mar. 29.
2^ P. M.
April 19* 7
12 Noon. ^
July 7.
I 2 Noon.
The rainy feafon commences in April or the beginning
of May, when the fun becomes vertical, and ends in
September. The rains generally ceafe about the 8th
of September j a fickly feafon follows till they begin
again, about the 20th of Oftober ; they then continue
conftant, but moderate, till the 8th of November.
All epidemic difeafes ceafe with the end of thefe rains.
In order to avoid the inconveniences that attend the
overflowing of their rivers during this feafon, as well
as on account of the greater falubrity of elevated fitua-
tions, the Abyflinians have built many of their towns
and villages on the mountains. Their houfes are ge¬
nerally very mean, confifting only of one ftory, and
conftrudled with ftraw and laths, earth and lime j
though there are fome of ftone and better materials.
It is a miftaken notion, however, that they live in tents,
and not in houfes. In a climate like that of Abyflinia,
fubjeft to fcorching yveather for fix months, and to de¬
luges of rain, ftorms of wind, thunder and lightning,
and hurricanes, fuch as are unknown in Europe, for
the other fix, it is not probable that they ftiould choofe
to live in tents, after having known how to build fuch
cities as Axum. In many of the towns and villages,
the houfes are feparated by hedges, which being always
green, and intermixed with flowers and fruit trees at
certain diftances, afford an agreeable profpeft, and con¬
tribute alfo to their falubrity.
The inhabitants of Abyflinia are fubjedt to violent
fevers, which commonly prove fatal on the third day.
Thofe who furvive to the fifth day often recover, mere¬
ly by drinking cold water, and by repeatedly throwing
cold water upon them in their beds. The bark is
the moft effedlual remedy ; which in critical cafes, fays
Bruce, fhould be frequently repeated in fmall dofes, and
perfedl abftinence obferved, unlefs from copious draughts
of cold water. Another common difeafe in Abyflinia,
is the tertian fever, which is in no refpedt different
from our tertian, and is fuccefsfully treated in the fame
manner. All fevers terminate in intermittents, and if
they continue long, in dyfenteries, which are always
tedious, and very frequently mortal. Bark and ipe¬
cacuanha, in fmall quantities, water, and fruit not
over ripe, have been found the moft effe&ual remedies.
The dyfentery, commencing with a conftant diarrhoea,
is feldom cured, if it begins with the rainy feafon j
or change it into an intermittent fever, which yields to
the bark. Another endemial difeafe is called hanzcer,
the hogs or the fwine, and is a fwelling of the glands
of the throat, and under the arms, which by ineffectual
attempts for producing fuppuration, and opening the
tumours, becomes a running fore, and refembles the
evil. In connection with this diforder, we may men¬
tion thofe fwellings, to which the whole body is
fubjeCt, but more particularly the arms, thighs, and
legs, fometimes accompanied with ulcers in the nofe
and mouth, which deface the fmoothnefs of the fldn,
and which on this account are much dreaded by the
Abyflinians. The two laft difeafes fometimes yield
to mercurials 5 but the laft is fpeedily and completely
cured by antimonials. Another complaint affliCls
thofe who are in the habit of drinking ftagnant wa¬
ter. It is called farenteit, or the worm of Pharaoh, and
appears in all parts of the body, but moft frequently
in the legs and arms. It is a worm with a fmall black
head and a hooked beak, of a whitifti colour, and a
white body of a filky texture, refembling a fmall ten¬
don. The natives feize it by the head, and wind it
gently round a piece of filk, or a bird’s feather, and
thus by degrees they extraCl it without any inconveni¬
ence, or permanent fear. Mr Bruce fuffered much from
this complaint, and the breaking of the worm in the
operation of extrafting it. The moft terrible of all
the difeafes of this climate is the elephantiafis. The
cicuta, mercury, and tar-water, were unfuccefsfully
tried in this complaint 5 the greateft benefit was de¬
rived from whey made of cows milk. To the alter¬
nation of fcorching heat and chilling cold, thin cloth¬
ing, the ufe of ftagnant putrid water for four months,
and other fuch caufes, thefe difeafes may be partly, if
not wholly aferibed. The fmallpox was introduced
into Abyflinia at the time of the fiege of Mecca, about
the year 356, and the Abyfiinian army was the firft:
vi£tim to it.
The great difference of climate, owing to the vafts0;iari(j
extent and variety of elevation in different parts of this vegetable
empire, is very perceptible in its foil and produ<5Hons<Proiluc*
The mountains in many places are not only barren, buttlons’
altogether inacceflible, except by thofe who make it
their conftant practice to climb amongft them : and
even by them they cannot be afeended without great
difficulty and danger. The fhapes of thefe mountains,
as we have already had occafion to obferve, are very
ftrange and fantaftical: exceedingly different from thofe
of Europe j fome refembling towers and fteeples, W'hile
others are like a board or flate fet up on end; the bafe
being fo narrow, and the whole mountain fo high and
thin, that it feems wonderful how it can Hand. In the
valleys, however, and flat parts of the country, the foil
is exceflively fruitful, though in the warmeft places
grain cannot be brought to perfe£tion. Wine is alfo
made only in one or two places $ but the greateft pro-
fufion of fruits of all kinds is to be met with every
where, as well as many vegetables not to be found in
other countries. There is a vaft variety of flowers,
which adorn the banks of the rivers in fuch a manner
as to make them refemble fine gardens. Among
thefe a fpecies of rofe is met with, W’hich grows upon
trees, and is much fuperior in fragrance to thofe
which grow on bullies. Sena, cardamom, ginger, and
cotton,
Plants de-
frribed by
Mr Bruce.
A B Y [103
Abyffiuia- cotton, are likewife produced here in great quantities.
u,—y ■■■'1 Among the variety of rare plants to be met with in A-
byffinia, Mr Bruce particularly defcribes the following.
I. The papyrus, the ancient materialfor paper: which
our author fuppofes to have been a native of Ethiopia,
and not of Egypt as has been fuppofed. 2. BalelTan,
balm, or balfam plant 5 a tree growing to the height
of 14 or 15 feet, and ufed for fuel along with other
trees in the country. It grows on the coaft of the
Red fea, among the myrrh trees behind Azab, all the
way to Babelmandel. This is the tree producing the
balm of Gilead mentioned in Scripture. 3. The fafla,
myrrh, and opocalpafum trees. Thefe grow likewife
along the coaft of the Red fea. The faffa or opocal¬
pafum is ufed in manufadtures j and, according to our
author, refembles gum adragant, probably tragacanth.
The tree which produces it grows to a great fize, and
has a beautiful flower, fcarce admitting of defcription
without a drawing. 4. The ergett, a fpecies of the
mimofa, is of two kinds ; one called ergett y'dimmo, or
the bloody ergett, from the pink colour of its filaments j
the other ergett el krone, or the horned ergett, with a
flower refembling the acacia vera or Egyptian thorn.
Thefe were both found on the banks of a river named
Amo, near the great lake Dembea. 5. Enfete, an her*
baceous plant, growing in Narea, in fwampy places ;
but it is fuppofed to grow equally well in any other
part of the empire, where there is heat and moifture
fufficient. It forms a great part of the vegetable food
of the Abyflinians. It produces a kind of figs, but
thefe are not eatable. When ufed for food, it is to be
cut immediately above the fmall detached roots, or
perhaps a foot or two higher, according to the age of
the plant. The green is to be ftripped from the upper
part till it becomes white j and when foft, it affords an
excellent food when eaten with milk or butter. 6.
Kolquall, a kind of tree, only the lower part of which
is woody, the upper part being herbaceous and fuccu-
lent. The flowers are of a beautiful golden colour,
and the fruit turns to a deep crimfon ; fo that the trees
make a very beautiful appearance. The whole plant
is full of a very acrid and cauftic milk. 7* Back is a
large tree, growing not only in Abyflinia but in many
places of Arabia Felix. Its wood is fo hard and bit¬
ter, that no worm will touch it 5 for which reafon it is
ufed by the Arabs for conftrufting their boats. It
grows, like the mangrove, among the falt-water of the
fea, or about fait fprings. . 8. Gir-gir, or Geftie-et-aube)
a kind of grafs found about Ras-el-Feel, growing to
the height of about three feet four inches. 9. The
kantuffa, a very noxious fpecies of thorn, much more
troublefome than any with which we are acquainted,
and growing to the height of eight or more feet.
The flowers have a ftrong fmell like the flower mignio-
net. 10. The gaguedi, is a fliort tree only about nine
feet high, a native of Lamalmon. The flowers, which
are yellow, and very beautiful, turn towards the fun like
thofe of the helianthus. 11. The wanfey, a tree com¬
mon throughout all Abyflinia, flowers exaftly on the
firft day the rains ceafe. It grows to the height of
18 or 20 feet ; having a thick bark and clofe heavy
wood •, the firft part of which is white, but the reft of
a dark colour. The flowers are of a beautiful white
colour j but it does not appear to poffefs any other
remarkable property, though it is held in great efti-
] A B Y
mation by the Abyflinians, and is even worlhipped Abyffima.^
by the Galla. 12. The farek, or Bauhinia acumina- '
ta, grows in the country immediately adjacent to the
fources of the Nile ; being found by Mr Bruce fcarce
400 yards diftant from the fountain. 13. Kuara, is
a beautiful tree, growing in the fouth and fouth-weft
parts of Abyflinia. It has a fruit like a bean, of a
red colour, which in the early ages was made ufe of as
a weight for gold and diamonds ; and hence Mr Bruce
is of opinion that the name of the imaginary weight
carat is derived. 14. The walkuffa, grows in the hotteft
parts of Ethiopia. It is a flowering tree, with beau¬
tiful white bloffoms, which do not appear till towards
the middle of January. The flowers have no fmell,
and are accounted pernicious to bees. The wood is
very heavy. 15. The wooginoos,. or Brucea anti-
dijfenterica, is common throughout the whole empire^
but principally on the fides of the valleys. It is a fo-
vereign remedy againft the dyfentery, a very common
and fatal difeafe in hot countries. Mr Bruce had expe¬
rimental proof of its antidyfenteric virtue. 16. CulTo^
or Bankfia anthelmintica, is a very beautiful and ufeful
tree, being a ftrong anthelmintic, and ufed as fuch by
the Abyflinians. Every perfon there, whether male or
female, is troubled with that kind of worm called afca^
rides ; a great number of which are evacuated every
month, and the evacuation is promoted by an infufion
of this plant. While taking this medicine, the patients
fequeftrate themfelves from all their acquaintance, and
keep clofe at home. It is faid that the want of this me¬
dicine in other countries is the reafon why the Abyfli¬
nians do not go out of their own country ; or, if they
do, that they are (hort-lived. Teff, is a kind of grain
fown generally throughout Abyflinia; and conftitu-
ing the bread commonly made ufe of by the inhabitants.
They have indeed plenty of wheat, and are as Ikilful in
forming it into bread as the Europeans 5 but this is
only made ufe of by people of the firft rank : however,
the teff is fometimes of fuch an excellent quality, that
the bread made from it is held in equal eftimation with
the fineft wheat. From the bread made of this, grain
a fourifli liquor called hou%a is prepared, which is ufed
for common drink like our fmall beer. A liquor of
the fame kind, but of inferior quality, is made from
barley cakes.. Some have been of opinion, that the ufe
of teff occafions the worms above mentioned ; but this
is controverted by Mr Bruce. Nook, a plant not to be
diftinguifhed from our marigold, either in fhape, fize,
or foliage, is alfo fown very generally over the country,
and furnifhes all Abyflinia with oil for the kitchen and
other ufes.
Abyflinia abounds with a vaft variety of quadrupeds Quadra-
both wild and tame. Immenfe numbers of cattle every-
where prefent themfelves, fome of them the molt
beautiful in the world. Some have monftrous horns,,
faid to be capable of holding 10 quarts each 5 but this,:
as our author informs us, is a difeafe which proves fa¬
tal to them. Buffaloes are here met with in great
numbers, and are very fierce and untraflable; but
there are no fuch animals as carnivorous bulls, which
have been faid to exift in this and other internal parts
of Africa. Antelopes and other wild animals are met
with in great numbers in the uncultivated parts •, feed¬
ing chiefly on the leaves of trees. They abound moft
of all, however, in thofe parts, which have been onca,
cultivated.
A B Y
[ i°4 1
A B Y
Bll'di.
A'byfEnia1 cultivated, but fince defolated by the calamities of Avar j
\ 1 and where wild oats abound in fuch quantities as to
hide them from purfuit. Hyaenas, lions, foxes, jack¬
als, wild boars, &c. are alfo found, as well as the ele¬
phant, rhinoceros, camelopard, and others of the lar-
o-er and more uncommon kinds. Great ha\rock is
made in the cultivated fields by multitudes of baboons,
apes, rats, and mice. There is plenty of hares •, but
thefe being reckoned unclean, as Avell as wild boars,
are not ufed as food. The rivers abound with croco¬
diles and hippopotami, at lealt the Nile, and thofe
large ftreams which flow into it} but a great number
have Avater in them only during the rainy feafon, and
thefe haAre neither fifh nor any animal that feeds upon
them. . _
The number of birds in this country is immenfej
nor are thofe of the carnivorous kind at all deficient.
Great numbers of eagles, vultures, haivks, and others
of that kind, are met with, and come punctually every
year after the tropical rains have cealed. 1 hey feed
at firft upon the fhell-fifh Avhich are met with in great
quantities on the edges of the deferts, Avhere they had
lived in the fait fprings ; but, being forced from their
natural habitations svhen thefe fprings Avere fwelled by
the rains, are afterwards left to perifh on dry land.
When thefe fail, their next refource is from the car-
cafes of the large animals, fuch as the elephant and
rhinoceros, Avhich are killed in the flat country by the
hunters. Their next fupply is the multitude of rats
and field-mice which infeft the country after harveft.
The vaft (laughter of cattle made by the Abyflinian
armies, the multitude of perfons killed whofe bodies
are allowed to rot on the field of battle, &c. furnifh
them alfo with another refource. Thefe fupplies, boAV-
ever, all fail at the beginning of the rainy feafon,
when the hunters and armies return home, and the vaft
quantity of water which continually overfloAvs the
ground renders it impoflible for them to find any other
food.
There are other birds which feed upon infeCls, and
multitudes which live on grain or feeds of various
kinds-, all of Avhich are amply fupplied by the immenfe
quantity of fruits and berries which groAV in Abyflinia,
and are ripe at all feafons of the year. A very re¬
markable particular concerning this is, that the trees
which bear fruit all the year round do not carry it al¬
ways in the fame place, The weft fide is that which
bloffoms firft, and Avhere of confequence the fruit firft
comes to perfection the fouth fide fucceeds, and goes
through the fame procefs: after Avhich, the north blof¬
foms in like manner and laft of all is the eaft fide,
which produces flowers and fruit towards the begin¬
ning of the rainy feafon. All the trees of Abyflinia
are ever-green j and their leaves are of a thick lea¬
thery confiftence, and highly varniftied, to enable them
to refift the violent rains which fall during a certain
feafon. The granivorous birds have likervife this ad¬
vantage, that the rains do not fall at the fame time all
over the country. It is interfeCted by a chain of
mountains that divide the feafons alfo ; fo that they
have but a fliort Avay to fly in order to become birds
of paffage, and fupply themfelves with fuch food as is
neceffary for them beyond the mountains. All the
pigeons, of which there are many fpecies, are birds
of paffage, excepting one kind. The oavIs
are ex¬
tremely large and beautiful, but few in number. .There AbylTima
is a great variety of fwallows, feveral kinds of which nr—
are unknown in Europe j but, fays our author, “ thofe
that are common in Europe appear in paffage at the
very feafon when they take their flight from thence.
We faw the greateft part of them in the ifland of Ma-
fuah, where they lighted and tarried two days, and
then proceeded with moon-light nights to the fouth-
Aveft.” The large birds which refide conftantly among
the mountains of Samen and Taranta have all their
feathers tubular, the hollow part being filled with a
kind of yellow duft which ifiues out in great abun¬
dance on hunting them. This was particularly obfer-
ved by Mr Bruce in a fpecies of eagle, which he calls
the gulden eagle ; and the duft being vieAved through a
microfcope with a very ftrong magnifying poAver, ap¬
peared like fine feathers. The croAVs are (potted Avhite
and black, almoit in equal proportions. The raven has
his feathers intermixed with brown, the tip of his
beak white, and a figure like a cup or chalice of white
feathers upon his head. Our author farv no fparrows,
magpies, nor bats; neither are there many water-fowl,
efpecially of the web-footed kind : but there are vaft
numbers of ftorks, which cover the plains in May, Avhen
the rains become conftant. There are no geefe, ex-^
cepting one fpecies called the golden goofe or goofe of
the Nile, which is common all over Africa ; but there
are fnipes in all the marfties.
Our author deferibes very few fifties ; though he piflie3<
fays that an account of thefe, and other marine pro¬
ductions of the Red fea, which he has painted and col¬
lected, would occupy many large volumes, and the en¬
graving coft a fum which he could not by any means
afford. Among others, he mentions the torpedo and the
hinny, which latter is good food, and groAvs to a large
fize ; that from Avhich he took the draAving Avas about
32 pounds weight. Its whole body is covered with
beautiful feales refembling filver fpangles.
Locufls and a fpecies of ants are extremely trouble-
fome and pernicious in Abyflinia, but the fly by the
natives called tfaltjalya is moft deftruCtive to cattle.
Mr Bruce gives a particular defeription of a kind of Few fer
lizard, and of the ceraftes or horned ferpent; but de-pent;sin
nies that ferpents are numerous in Abyflinia, as almoftbyffinia.
all authors have fuppofed, and as Ave ftiould be led na¬
turally to fufpeCt. He vouches alfo for the power that
fome perfons have of enchanting ferpents and fcorpions,
which in fome is natural, in others communicated ar¬
tificially by certain medicines. He prevailed upon
thofe Avho kneAV the fecret to prepare him by thefe
means as they had done others ; but, notAvithftanding
this afliftance, he acknoAvledges, that when it came to
the trial his heart ahvays failed him.
The croAvn is hereditary in the line of Solomon, but Method 1
it depends on the minifter to choofe the particular per-fettling 11
fon who is to enjoy it ; and as it is always his inc]ina-fucc®^or
tion to have the government in his own hands, he neyer c°own.
fails to choofe an infant, Avhcf is feldom fuffered to live
after he comes to the years of maturity. Thus perpe-Tjie cauj
tual wars and commotions take place, infomuch that0fcivii
the ravenous birds, as has been obferved, find one great wars,
fupply of food in the (laughters made by the Abyflinians
of one another. All authors indeed agree that the de-Exceffivi
vaftations committed by the armies of this country aredeftrudi
exceflive; infomuch, that after a long encampment isby t.5’®ir
removed,
A B Y [ 105 ] A B Y
AViyflinia.
Immenfe
number of
birds which
follow
them.
Curious
method of
keeping off
the hyaenas
from the
king’s pa¬
lace.
Method of
anointing
and crown¬
ing the
king.
removed, nothing is to be feen all around the place
where it was but bare earth. When an army marches
through the country, fays Mr Bruce, “ an inconceiva¬
ble number of birds and beads of prey, efpecially the
former, follow it from the firft day of its march to its
return j increafing always in proportion the more it ad¬
vances into the country. An army there leaves nothing
living behind, not even the vedige of a habitation; but
fire and the fword reduce every thing to a wildernefs and
folitude. The beads and birds unmoleded have the
country to themfelves, and increafe beyond all podible
conception. The dovenly manners of this favage people,
who, after a battle, bury neither friends nor enemies;
the quantity of beads of burthen that die perpetually
under the load of baggage, and variety of mifmanage-
ment j the quantity of offal, and half-eaten carcafes of
cows, goats, and Iheep, which they confume in their
march for fuftenance $ all furnilh a dock of carrion fuf-
ficient to occafion contagious didempers, were there not
fuch a prodigious number of voracious attendants who
confume them almod before putrefadtion. There is no
giving the reader any idea of their number, unlefs by
comparing them to the fand of the fea. While the army
is in motion, they are a black canopy which extends over
it for leagues. When encamped, the ground is dif-
coloured with them beyond the fight of the eye ; and
all the trees are loaded with them.”
The prodigious number of criminals executed for
high treafon, whofe bodies are cut in pieces and thrown
about the dreets, invite the hyaenas to the capital, in
the fame manner that the carrion of the camp invites
the birds of prey to follow it. The method of keeping
off thefe voracious animals is certainly very curious.
“ An officer (fays Mr Bruce) called Serach MaJJenj,
with a long whip, begins cracking and making a noife
worfe than 20 French podilions at the door of the pa¬
lace before the dawn of day. This chafes away the
hyaenas and other wild beads: this too is the fignal for
the king’s rifing, who fits in judgment every morn¬
ing fading ; and after that, about eight o’clock, he goes
to breakfad.”
From thefe and other circumdances we Ihould be
apt to imagine that the Abydinians, indead of be¬
coming more civilized, were daily improving in bar¬
barity. The king is anointed at his eledlion with plain
oil of olives j “ which (fays Mr Bruce) being poured
upon the crown of his head, he rubs into his long hair
indecently enough with both his hands, pretty much as
his foldiers do with theirs when they get accefs to
plenty of butter.” In former times, however, matters
feem to have been conducted with more decency. So-
cinios, the greated monarch that ever fat on the Abyf-
finian throne, was crowned, after having gained a great
victory over the Galla, in a very different manner, and
with the ceremonies which we are told were in ufe
among the ancient kings of Tigrd, At that time he
had with him an army of about 30,000 men *, and was
befides attended by all the great officers dreffed in the
gayed manner, as well as by the ladies of the fird qua¬
lity in the empire. The king himfelf, dreffed in crim-
fon damalk, with a great chain of gold about his neck,
his head bare, and mounted on a horfe richly capari-
foned, advanced at the head of his nobility, paffed the
outer court, and came to the paved way before the
church. Here he was met by a number of young girls,
Vol. I. Part I.
daughters of the ambares or fupreme judges, together Abyftinta.
with many noble virgins danding on the right and left ^
of the court. Two of the nobled of thefe held in their
hands a crimfon cord of filk, fomewhat thicker than
common whip-cord, dretched acrofs from one company
to another, as if to diut up the road by which the king
was approaching the church. When this cord was
prepared and drawn tight about bread-high by the
girls, the king entered j advancing moderately quick,
and ffiowing his fkill in horfemandiip as he went along.
Being dopped by the tenfion of the dring, the damfels
alked, Who he was? To this he anfwered, “ I am your
king, the king of Ethiopia.” But they replied, “ You
fhall not pafsj you are not our king.” He then retired
fome paces, and again prefented himfelf. The quedion
was again put, “ Who he was ?” To which he anfwered,
“ I am your king, the king of Ifrael.” But the fame
reply was dill given by the girls. The third time, on
being alked, “ Who he was ?” he anfwered, “ I am
your king, the king of Sion and drawing his fword,
he cut the cord afunder. The damfels then cried out,
“ It is a truth, you are our king j truly you are the
king of Sion.” On this they began to ling Hallelujah,
and were joined by the whole army and the red of the
king’s attendants. Amidd thefe acclamations the king
advanced to the foot of the dair of the church, dif-
mounted, and fat down upon a done; which, in Mr
Bruce’s opinion, was plainly an altar of Anubis or the
Dog-dar. After the king, came a number of prieds
in proper order. The king was fird anointed, then
crowned, and accompanied half up the deps by the fing-
ing prieds. He dopped at a hole made on purpofe in
one of the deps, where he was fumigated with myrrh,
aloes, and caffia : after which divine fervice was cele¬
brated ; and he returned to the camp, where 14 days
were fpent in leading and rejoicing.
Ceremonies of this kind are now given over on ac¬
count of the expence. Our author was informed by
Tecla Haimanout, that when he was obliged to retire
into Tigre from his enemies, Ras Michael had fome
thoughts of having him crowned in contempt of his
enemies 5 but by the mod moderate calculations that
could be made, it would have cod 20,000 ounces of
gold, about 8o,oool. derling; on which all thoughts
of it were laid afide.
The Abyffinians compute time by the folar year. Mode of
Thirty days conditute their month, to which they addc.omPu,:ing
five days and a quarter, and thus they complete thetime’
year. The five days are added to the month of Au-
gud, and to every fourth year they add a fixth day.
They begin their year with the 29th or 30th of Au-
gud, i. e. the kalends of September •, the 29th of Au-
gud being the fird of their month Mafcaram. The
common epoch which the Abyffinians ufe is from the
creation of the world, and they reckon 5500 years from
the creation to the birth of Cbrid, rejecting the odd
eight years of the Greeks, who make this period 5508
years. They have alfo many other epochs, fuch as
from the council of Nice and Ephefus. In their eccle-
fiadical computations they make ufe of the golden num¬
ber and epaft. The fird ufe of epadls amongd them
was not earlier, according to Scaliger, than the time of
Dioclefian ; but Mr Bruce obferves, that this is con¬
trary to the pofitive evidence of Abyflinian hidory,
which fays exprefsly, that the epadl was invented by
O Demetrius
[
A B Y
Abyffinia. Demetrius of Alexandria. This Demetrius was the
r ^ patriarch of Alexandria, and elefted about the
igoth year of Chrift, or in the reign of Severus, and
confequently long before the time of Dioclefian. 1 he
Abyffmians have another mode of computing time, that
is peculiar to themfelves. They read the whole of the
evangelitts, in order, every year, in their churches ;
and when they fpeak of an event, they write or lay, it
happened in the days of Matthew ; that is, in the hrft
quarter of the year, whilft they were reading the goipel
of St Matthew in their churches. They compute the
time of the day in a very arbitrary manner. The twi¬
light being very Ihort, is felefted for the beginning
of their day ; this they call Nagge, which comprehends
the duration of twilight. M£fet expreffes the moment
when the evening twilight begins. Mid-day is called
Kater, which fignifies culmination. All the other parts
of time they defcribe, in converfation, by pointing at
the place in the heavens where the fun was, when the
event, which they are defcribing, happened. _
With regard to the manners of the Abyliinians,
they are reprefented by Mr Bruce as highly barbarous.
Their continual warfare inures them to blood from
their infancy ; fo that even children Avould not have
the lead fcruple at killing one another or grown up
perfons if they were able. Many (hocking inftances
of hardnefs of heart are related by our author in Tecla
Haimanout himfelf, though other wife an accomphihed
prince. Their cruelty difplays itfelf abundantly m the
punilhments infli&ed upon criminals, one of which is
Haying alive, as has been already related of Woolheka.
Cutting in pieces with a fabre is another ; and this is
performed, not by executioners, whofe employment is
reckoned difgraceful as in this country, but by officers
and people of quality. So little is this thought of in¬
deed in Gondar, the capital of the empire, that Mr
Bruce happening to pafs by an officer employed in this
work, who had three men to difpatch, the officer called
to him to Hop till he had killed them all, as he wanted
to fpeak to him upon a matter of confequence. Ston¬
ing to death is a capital puniffiment likewife common
in°this country ; and ufually inffi&ed on Roman Ca¬
tholics if they happen to be found, or upon other he¬
retics in religion.
It is not to be fuppofed that people who regard the
fheAWvf lives of one another fo little» wiU fllow much C°m‘
frnians. ’ paffion to the brute creation. In this refpea, how-
Their hor- ever, the Abyffinians are cruel and favage beyond all
people on the face of the eartn. There are many
inftances of people eating raw fiffi or flelh, and we call
them barbarous that do fo ; but what name ffialj we
give to thofe who cut off pieces of fleffi from animals
while ftill living, and eat it not only raw but Hill qui¬
vering with life ! Mr Bruce labours much to prove,
that the way of eating not raw, but living fleffi, was
cuftomary among the nations of antiquity : but what¬
ever be in this, he is the only author who mentions it
dire&ly ; and it is on his Angle teftimony that the fa&
is eftabliffied. The Jefuits mention in their books,
that the Abyffinians eat raw flefli, but not a word of
eating it in this manner ; and indeed there are feme
circumftances which he himfelf relates feemingly very
difficult to be reconciled with known and indubitable
£a£ts. He informs us, for inftance, that when at no
great diftance from Axum, the capital of Tigre, he fell
A B Y
rid manner
of feeding.
106 ]
in with three foldiers “ driving a cow. They halted Abyflinia,
at a brook, threw down the beaft, and one of them Abyfliniaa.
cut a pretty large collop of fleffi from its buttock; af- v
ter which they drove the cow gently on as before.”
In another place he tells us, that the flefli was.taken
the upper part of the buttock, that the (kin was
flapped over the wround, failened with a Ikcwer, ano.
a cataplafm of clay put over all. Now it is known to
anatomifts, that no piece of flefti can be cut off with¬
out deftroying a mufcle ; and that the mufcles of the
buttocks are fubfervient to the motion of the legs. The
Abyffinians therefore muff have been expert anatomifts
to know how to cut off fuch mufcles as would allow
the creature ftill to go on ; and if their repaft had been
two or three times repeated, it is plainly impoffible that
the cow could at any rate have ftirred a ftep. In his
defcription of their feafts there is more conflftency ;
for there the animal is tied fo that it cannot move : af¬
ter (tripping off the (kin, the flefti of the buttocks is
cut off in folid fquare pieces, without bones or much
effuflon of blood ; and the prodigious noife the animal
makes is a Agnal for the company to fit down to table.
Every man fits between two women, having a long
knife in his hand. With this he cuts the fleffi, while
the motion of its fibres is yet vifible, into pieces like
dice. Thefe are laid upon pieces of bread made of the
grain called tejf, already mentioned, after being ftrong-
iy powdered with Cayenne pepper and foffil fait.
They are then rolled up like as many cartridges ; . the
men open their mouths, (looping and gaping like idiots,
while the women cram them fo lull of thefe cartridges,
that they feem every moment in danger of being chok¬
ed ; and in proportion to the quantity their mouths
can hold, and the noife they make in chewing,
they are held in eftimation by the company. All this
time the animal bleeds but little : but when the large
arteries are cut and it expires, the fleffi becomes
tough ; and the wretches who have the reft to eat,
gnaw it from the bones like dogs !
ABYSSINIAN, in Ecclefia/lical Hijlory, is the
name of a fe& in the Chriftian church, eftabliffied in
the empire of Abyffinia. The Abyffinians are a branch
of the Copts or Jacobites ; with whom they agree in
admitting but one nature in Jefus Chrift, and rejedling
the council of Chalcedon : whence they are alfo called
Eutychians or Monophyfites, and (land oppofed to the
Melchites. They are only diftinguiffied from the
Copts, and other fefts of Jacobites, by fome peculiar
national ufages. The Abyffinian fe& or church is go¬
verned by a bifliop or metropolitan ftyled Ahum, fent
them by the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria refiding
at Cairo, who is the only perfon that ordains priefts.
The next dignity is that of Komos, or Hegumenos,
who is a kind of arch-preffiyter. They have canons
alfo, and monks: the former of whom marry ; the
latter, at their admiffion, vow celibacy,. but with a
refervation : thele, it is faid, make a promife aloud, be¬
fore their fuperior, to keep chaftity; but add. in a low
voice, as you keep it. The emperor has a kind of fu-
premacy in ecclefiaftical matters. He alone takes
cognizance of all ecclefiaftical caufes, except fome
fmaller ones referved to the judges ; and confers all
benefices, except that of Abuna. #
There are twoclaffesof monks among the Abyffinians^
thofe of Debra Libanos, and thofe of St Euftathius.
The
AViyflinian.
A E Y [i
The latter are grofsly ignorant. I heir head is the lupe-
rior of the convent of Mahebar Selaffe, in the north-weft
part of Abyflinia, near Kuara and the Shangalla, to¬
wards Sennaar and the river pender. The chief of the
former is the Itchegue, who is ordained in the following
manner. Two chief priefts hold a white cloth or veil,
over his head, a third repeats a prayer, and then they
all lay their hands on his head, and join together m
finging pfalms. In turbulent times this Itchegue has
more extenfive influence than even the Abuna. I he
monks do not live in convents, but in feparate houfes
round their church ; and each cultivates for himfelf a
portion of the land which is afligned them as their
property.—The churches are built on eminences, in
the vicinity of running water, for the advantage^ of
purifications and ablutions, according to the Levitical
law, and are furrounded with rows of Virginia^ cedar.
They are circular buildings with conical fummits and
thatched roofs, and encompafl'ed on the outfide with
pillars of cedar, to which the roof projeding eight
feet beyond the wall is fixed, and forms an agreeable
walk in the hot or rainy feafon. The internal parti¬
tion and arrangement of the church, is that prefcribed
by the Mofaic law •, and many of the ceremonies and
obfervances in their mode of worftiip, are obyioufly
derived from the ceremonial rites of the Jewifti re-
ligi°n* ». ,
The Aby flinians have at different times expreffed an
inclination to be reconciled to the fee of Rome} but
rather out of intereft of ftate than any other motive.
The emperor David, or the queen regent on his be¬
half, wrote a letter on this head to Pope Clement VII.
full’of fubmiflion, and demanding a patriarch from
Rome to be inUrufted by : which, being complied
with, he publicly abjured the doftrine of Eutychius
and Diofcorus in 1626, and allowed the fupremacy of
the pope. Under the emperor Sultan Seghed all was
undone again; the Romilh miflionaries fettled there,
had their churches taken from them, and their new
converts banilhed or put to death. I he congregation
de propaganda have made feveral attempts to revive
the miflion, but to little purpofe.—The doftrines and
ritual of this feflary form a ftrange compound of Ju-
daifm, Chriftianity, and fuperftition. They praftife
circumcifion \ and are faid to trxteYid the pra£Hce to
the females as well as males: They obferve both Sa¬
turday and Sunday as Subbaths: they eat no meats
prohibited by the law of Mofes : women are obliged to
the legal purifications 5 and brothers marry their bro¬
thers wives, &c. On the other hand, they celebrate,
the epiphany with peculiar feftivity, in memory of
Chrift’s baptifm 5 when they plunge and fport in ponds
and rivers } which has occafioned fome to affirm that
they were baptized anew every year. Among the
faints days is one confecrated to Pilate and his wife \
becaufe Pilate waffled his hands before he pronounced
fentence on Chrift, and his wife defired him to have
nothing to do with the blood of that juft perfon. T hey
have four lents : the great one commences ten days
earlier than ours, and is obferved with much feverity,
many abftaining therein even from fi(h, becaufe St
Paul fays there is one kind of flefti of men, and ano¬
ther of fifties. They allow of divorce, which is eafily
granted among them, and by the civil judge j nor do
their civil laws prohibit polygamy itfelf. They have
7 ] ABY
at leaft as many miracles and legends of faints as the Abjffnun
Romifti church ; which proved no fmall embarraffment Acac;a>
to the Jefuit miflionaries, to whom they produced io  y_
many miracles, wrought by their faints, in. proof of
their religion, and thofe fo well circumftantiated and
attefted, that the Jefuits were obliged to deny miracles
to be any evidence of a true religion ; and in proof
hereof, to allege the fame arguments againft the Abyf-
finians which Proteftants in Europe allege againft Pa-
pifts. They pray for the dead, and invoke iaints and
angels 5 have fo great a veneration for the virgin, that
they charged the Jefuits with not rendering her^ ho
nour enough. They venerate images in painting \
but abhor all thofe in relievo, except the crofs. They
hold that the foul of man is not created ; becaufe, fay
they, God finilhed all his works on the fixth day.
They admit the apocryphal books, and the canons of
the apoftles, as well as the apoftolical conftitutions, for
genuine. Their liturgy is given by Alvarez, and in
Englifti by Pagit; and their calendar by Ludolph.
AC A, Ace, or AcoN, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Phoenicia, on the Mediterranean ; afterwards
called Ptolemais ; now Acre. See Acre.'
ACACALOTL,the Brafilian name of a bird called
by fome corvus aquaticus, or the water raven : proper¬
ly, the pelicanus carbo, or corvorant. See ORNITHO¬
LOGY Index.
ACACIA, Egyptian Thorn, or Binding Bean-
tree, in Botany, a fpecies of mimofa, according to
Linnaeus 5 though other botanifts make it a diftinft ge¬
nus. See Mimosa, Botany Index.
The flowers of a fpecies of the acacia are ufed by
the Chinefe in making that yellow which we fee bears
waffling in their filks and fluffs, and appears with fo
much elegance in their painting on paper. The me¬
thod is this:
They gather the flowers before they are fully open ;
thefe they put in a clean earthen veffel over a gentle
heat, and ftir them continually about as they do the
tea leaves, till they become dryifh and of a yellow co¬
lour j then to half a pound of the flowers they add
three fpoonfuls of fair water, and after that a little
more, till there is juft enough to hold the flowers in¬
corporated together} they boil this for fome time., and
the juice of the flowers mixing with the water, it be¬
comes thick and yellow ", they then take it fiom the
fire, and ftrain it through a piece of coarfe filk. To
the liquor they add half an ounce of common alum,
and an ounce of calcined oyfter fhells reduced to a fir .'1,
powder. All is then well mixed together ; and this is
the fine lafting yellow they have fo long ufed.
The dyers of large pieces ufe the flowers and feeds
of the acacia for dying three different forts of yellow.
They roaft the flowers, as before obferved ; and then
mix the feeds with them, which muft be gathered
for this purpofe when full ripe : by different admixture
of thefe, they give the different fhades of colour, only
for the deepeft of all they add a fmall quantity of Bra¬
zil wood.
Mr Geoffroy attributes the origin of bezoar to the
feeds of this plant •, which being bruited by. certain
animals, and vellicating the ftomach by their great
fournefs and aftringency, caufe a condenfation of. the
juices, till at length they become coated over with a
ftony matter, which we call Bezoar.
' O 2 Falfi
A C A [ 108 ] A C A
Acacia Talfe ACACIA. See RoBINIA, BOTANY Index.
H. Three-thorned ACACIA, or Honey-locujl. See Gle-
Acaclus'. ditsia, Botany Index.
Acacia, in the Materia Medina, the infpiffated juice
of the unripe fruit of the MIMOSA Ni/otica.
The juice is brought to us from Egypt, in roundifh
jnaffes wrapt up in thin bladders. It is outw'ardly of
a deep brown colour, inclining to black j inwardly of
a reddilh or yellowilh brown ; of a firm confiftence,
but not very dry. It foon foftens in the mouth, and
difcovers a rough, not difagreeable tafte, which is fol¬
lowed by a fweetifh relilh. This infpiffated juice en¬
tirely diffolves in watery liquors j but is fcarce fenfi-
bly a£ted on by reflified fpirit.
Acacia is a mild aftringent medicine. The Egyp¬
tians give it in fpitting of blood, in the quantity of a
drachm, diffolved in any convenient liquor •, and repeat
this dofe occafionally : they likewife employ it in col-
lyria for ftrengthening the eyes, and in gargarifms for
quinfeys. Among us, it is little otherwife ufed than
as an ingredient in mithridate and theriaca, and is rare¬
ly met with in the fhops. What is ufually fold for
the Egyptian acacia, is the infpiffated juice of unripe
floes; this is harder, heavier, of a darker colour, and
fomewhat (harper tafte, than the true fort. See the
next article.
German ACACIA, the juice of unripe floes infpiffated
nearly to drynefs over a gentle fire, care being taken
to prevent its burning. It is moderately aftringent,
fimilar to the Egyptian acacia, for which it has been
commonly fubftituted in the (hops. It is given in
fluxes, and other diforders where ftyptic medicines are
indicated, from a fcruple to a drachm.
Acacia, among antiquaries, fomething refembling a
roll or bag, feen on medals, as in the hands of feveral
confuls and emperors. Some take it to reprefent a hand¬
kerchief rolled up, wherewith they made fignals at the
games ; others a roll of petitions or memorials ; and
fome, a purple bag full of earth, to remind them of
their mortality.
ACACIANS, in ecclefiaftical hiftoryq the name of
feveral fefts of heretics; fome of which maintained,
that the Son was only a fimilar, not the fame, fubftance
with the Father; and others, that he was not only a
diftindt but a diffimilar fubftance. Two of thefe fedls
had their denominations from Acacius bifhop of Csefa-
rea, who lived in the fourth century, and changed his
opinions, fo as, at different times, to be head of both.
Another was named from Acacius patriarch of Con-
ftantinople, who lived in the clofe of the fifth cen¬
tury.
ACACIUS, furnamed Luscus, becaufe he was blind
of one eye, was biftiop of Caffarea in Paleftine, and fuc-
ceeded the famous Eufebius : he had a great (hare in
the baniftiment of Pope Liberius, and bringing Felix to
the fee of Rome. He gave name to a fedl, and died
about the year 365. He wrote the life of Eufebius,
which is loft, and feveral other works.
Acacius, Saint,. bi(hop of Amida in Mefopotamia,
in 420, was diftinguiflied by his piety and charity. He
fold the plate belonging to his church, to redeem feven
thoufand Perfian (laves who were periftiing with hunger.
He gave each of them fome money and fent them home.
Veranius their king was fo affedled with this noble in-
ftance of benevolence, that he deftred to fee the biftiop j
and this interview procured a peace between that prince Acacius
and Theodofius I. Academic
There have been feveral other eminent perfons of the
fame name ; particularly, a martyr under the emperor
Decius: a patriarch of Antioch, who fucceeded Bafil
in 458, and died in 459 : a bilhop of Miletum in the
fifth century : a famous rhetorician in the reign of the
emperor Julian: and, a patriarch of Conftantinople in
the fifth century; who was ambitious to draw the whole
power and authority of Rome by degrees to Conftan¬
tinople, for which he was excommunicated by Pope
Felix II. He in his turn paffed fentence of excommuni¬
cation againft the pope. Still, however, he held his
patriarchate till his death in 488.
ACAD, or Achad, in Ancient Geography, the town
in which Nimrod reigned, called by the Seventy;
fituated in Babylonia, to the eaftward of the Tigris.
ACADEMICIAN, or Academist, a member of
an academy. See Academy in the modern fenfe.
ACADEMICS, or Academists, a denomination
given to the cultivators of a fpecies of philofophy ori¬
ginally derived from Socrates, and afterwards illu-
ftrated and enforced by Plato, who taught in a grove
near Athens, confecrated to the memory of Academus,
an Athenian hero ; from which circumftance this phi¬
lofophy received the name of Academical. Before the
days of Plato, philofophy had in a great meafure fal¬
len into contempt. The contradictory fyftems and hy-
pothefes which had fucceflively been urged upon the
world were become fo. numerous, that, from a view
of this inconftancy and uncertainty of human opinions,
many were led to conclude, that truth lay beyond the
reach of our comprehenfion. Abfolute and univerfal
fcepticifm was the natural confequence of this conclu-
fion. In order to remedy this abufe of philofophy
and of the human faculties, Plato laid hold of the
principles of the academical philofophy ; and, in his
Phsedo, reafons in the following manner : “ If we are
“ unable to difcover truth (fays he), it muft be Giving
“ to two circumftances : either there is no truth in
“ the nature of things ; or the mind, from a defe6t
“ in its powers, is not able to apprehend it. Upon the
“ latter fuppofition, all the uncertainty and flufluation
“ in the opinions and judgments of mankind admit of
“ an eafy folution : Let us therefore be modeft, and
“ afcribe our errors to the real weaknefs of our own
“ minds, and not to the nature of things themfelves,
“ Truth is often difficult of accefs : in order to come
“ at it, we muft proceed with caution and diffidence,
“ carefully examining every ftep ; and, after all our
“ labour, ive will frequently find our greateft efforts
44 difappointed, and be obliged to confefs our ignor-
“ ance and weaknefs.”
Labour and caution in their refearches, in oppofi-
tion to rafli and hafty decifions, were the diftinguiffiing
characfteriftics of the difciples of the ancient academy.
A philofopher, poffeffed of thefe principles, will be
flow in his progrefs ; but will feldom fall into errors,
or have occafion to alter his opinion after it is once
formed. Vanity and precipitance are the great fources
of fcepticifm: hurried on by thefe, inftead of attending
to the cool and deliberate principles recommended by
the academy, feveral of our modern philofophers have
plunged themfelves into an abfurd and ridiculous kind
of fcepticifm. They pretend to difcredit fubje&s that
are
A C A [I
/academics, are plain, fimple, and eafily comprehended ; bat give
Academy, peremptory and dectfive judgements upon things that
evidently exceed the limits of our capacity. Oi thete,
Berkeley and Hume are the moft confiderable. Berke¬
ley denied the exiftence of every thing, excepting his
own ideas. Mr Hume has gone a ftep further and
queftioned even the exigence ef ideas ; but at the fame
time has not hefitated to give determined opinions with
regard to eternity, providence, and a future ftate, mi¬
raculous interpofitions of the Deity, &c. fubjefts far
above the reach of our faculties. In his effay on the
academical or fceptical philofophy, he has confounded
two very oppofite fpecies of philofophy. Alter the
days of Plato, indeed, the principles of the firft aca¬
demy were grofsly corrupted by Arcefilas, Carneades,
&c This might lead Mr Hume into the notion that
the academical and fceptlca[ philofophy were fynony-
mous terms. But no principles can be of a more op¬
pofite nature than thofe which were inculcated by
the old academy of Socrates and Plato, and the fcep¬
tical notions which were propagated by Arcefilas,
Carneades, and the other difciples of the fucceeding
academies.
ACADEMY, in antiquity, a garden, villa, or grove,
fituated within a mile of Athens, where Plato and his
followers held their philofophical conferences. It took
its name from one Academus, or Ecademus, who was
the original owner of it, and made it a kind of gymna-
fmm. He lived in the time ef Thefeus ; and, after his
death, it retained his name, and was confecrated to his
memory. Cimon embellilhed it with fountains, trees,
and walks 5 but Sylla, during the fiege of Athens, em¬
ployed thefe very trees in making battering engines
apainft the city. Cicero, too had his villa, or place of
retirement, near Puzzuoli, which he alfo named an aca¬
demy, where he compofed his Academical ^uejhons, and'
his book De Natura Deorum.
Academy, among the moderns, is moft commonly
ufed to fignify a SOCIETY of learned men, eftablilhed for
the improvement of any art or fcience, and generally
under the prote&ion of a prince. Ptolemy Soter, for
the encouragement and improvement of the liberal arts
in his dominions, founded an academy at Alexandria,
and provided it with a colleaion of books, which was the
foundation of the Alexandrian library.
Theodofius the younger eftabljftied an academy at
Conftantinople, and appointed profeffors of every fci¬
ence, with the view of making it a rival inftitution to
that at Rome; which, with the other literary femina-
ries, had been deftroyed by the Goths about the end
of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth cen-
turies. , ,
The firft academy we read of was eftablilhed by
Charlemagne, at the inftigation of AlcuiN. It was
compofed of the chief wits of the court, the. emperor
himfelf being a member. In their academical con¬
ferences, every perfon was to give an account of what
ancient authors he had read : and each even affumed
the name of fome ancient author who pleafed him moft,
or fome celebrated perfon of antiquity. Alcuin, from
whofe letters we learn thofe particulars, took that of
Flaccus, the furname of Horace : a young lord, named
Augilbert took that of Homer: Adelard, bilhop of
Corbie, was called Auguftine : Riculfe, biftiop of
Mentz, was Dametas; and the king hunfelf, David.
09 ] A C A
This (hows the miftake of fome modern writers, who Academy.
relate, that it was in conformity with the genius.of the y
learned men of thofe times, who were great admirers of
Roman names, that Alcuin took the name of Flaccus
Albinus. . .
Moft nations have now their academies ; but Italy
has the greateft number. Many flouriftiing academies
exifted in France before the revolution. Moft of them
were eftabliftied by Louis XIV. We have but few in
Britain ; and thofe of chiefeft note go by a different
name, viz. Society. # . .
In giving an account of the principal academies, it
feems moft proper to arrange them according to their
fubje&s.
I. MEDICAL Academies, as that of the Naturae Cu-
riofi in Germany ; that founded at Palermo in 1645 ;
another at Venice in iyoi, which meets weekly in a hall
near the grand hofpital; another at Geneva in 1^71 j,
in the houfe of M. le Clerc. The colleges of phyfici-
ans at London and Edinburgh, are alfo, by fome, ranked
in the number of academies.
The Academy of Natures Curiofi, called alfo the
Leopoldine Academy, was founded in 1652 by ^ Jo.
Laur. Baufchius, a phyfician ; who, iif imitation of the
Englifti, publilhed an invitation to all phyficians. to
communicate their extraordinary cafes ; and, meeting
with fuccefs, was elefted prefident. Their works were
at firft publilhed feparately ; but in 1670 a new fcheme
was laid for publilhing a volume of obfervations every
year. The firft volume appeared in 1684, under the
title of Ephemerides, and the work has been continued
with fome interruptions and variations of the title, &c.
In 1687, the emperor Leopold took the fociety under
his protedion, granting the members feveral privileges,
particularly that their prefidents Ihould. be counts pa¬
latine of the holy Roman empire. This academy has-
no fixed refidence, or regular affembiies : in Head, of
thefe, there is a kind of bureau, or office, firft eftablilh¬
ed at Brellau, and afterwards removed to Nuremberg,
where letters, obfervations, &c. from correfpondents
or members are taken in. R he academy confifts of a
prefident, two adjunds or fecretaries, and colleagues or
members without reftridion. The colleagues, at then
admiffion, oblige themfelves to two things ; firft., to
chufe fome fubjed out of the animal, vegetable, or mine¬
ral kingdom, for difeuffion, provided it had not been
treated of by any colleague before; the fecond, to ap¬
ply themfelves to furnilh materials for the Annual
Ephemerides. Each member to bear a fymbol of the
academy ; viz. a gold ring ; whereon, inftead of a
ftone, is a book open, and, on the face thereof, an
eye ; on the other fide, the motto of the academy, Nun-
quam otiofus. .
II. ChIRURGICAL Academies ; as that mftituted lome
years ago, by public authority, at Paris : the members
of which were not only to publilh their own and cor¬
refpondents obfervations and improvements ; but to give
an account of all that is publilhed on furgery, and to
compofe a complete hiftory of the art, by their extrads
from all the authors ancient and modern who have
wrote on it. A queftion in furgery was annually pro-
pofed by the academy, and a gold medal, of 200 livres
value was given to the fuccefsful competitor.
Academy of Surgery at Vienna, was inftituted fome
years ago by the prefent emperor, under the diredion
■' of
A C A [
Academies. 0f the celebrated Bratnbilla. In this there were at
firft only two profeffors j and to their charge the in-
itrufUon of 130 young men was committed, 30 of
whom had formerly been furgeons in the army.. But
of late the number both of the teachers and pupils has
been confiderably increafed. Gabrieli has been ap¬
pointed to teach pathology and pradlice j Boecking,
anatomy, phyfiology, and phyfics ; Streit, medical and
pharmaceutical furgery j Hunczorvlky, furgical opera¬
tions, midwifery, and the chirurgia forenfis; and Plenk,
chemiftry and botany. To thefe alfo has been added,
Beindel as profe&or and extraordinary profeflbr of fur¬
gery and anatomy. Befides this, the emperor, with
his ufual liberality, has provided a large and fplendid
edifice in Vienna, which affords habitation both for the
teachers, the ffudents, pregnant women, patients for
clinical ledlures, and fervants. He has alfo purchafed
for the ufe of this academy a medical library, which is
open every day •, a complete fet of chirurgical inftru-
ments j an apparatus for experiments in natural philo-
fophy •, a colle&ion of natural hiftory 5 a number of
anatomical and pathological preparations ; a colle&ion
of preparations in wax brought from Florence j and a
variety of other ufeful articles. Adjoining to the build¬
ing alfo there is a good botanical garden.
Among other parts of this inftitution, three prize
medals, each of the value of 40 florins, are to be an¬
nually bellowed on thofe ftudents who return the bell
anfwer to queftions propofed the year before. Thefe
prizes are not entirely founded by the emperor, but are
in part owing to the liberality of Brendellius, the proto-
chirurgus at Vienna.
III. ECCLESIASTICAL Academies; as that at Bologna
in Italy, inftituted in 1687, employed in the examina¬
tion of the doftrine, difcipline, and hiftory, of each age
of the church.
IV. COSMOGRAPHICAL Academies ; as that at Venice,
called the Argonauts. This was inftituted at the fe¬
licitation of F. Coronelli, for the improvement of
geographical knowledge. Its defign was to publilh
exa£t maps, both celeftial and terreftrial, as well par¬
ticular as general, together with geographical, hiftori-
cal, and aftronomical defcriptions. Each member, in
order to defray the expence of fuch a publication, was
to fubferibe a proportional fum, for which they were
to receive one or more copies of each piece publilhed.
For this end three focieties are fettled *, one under F.
Moro, provincial of the Minorites in Hungary ; an¬
other under the Abbot Laurence au Buy Payenne au
Marais •, the third under F. Baldigiani, Jefuit profef-
for of mathematics in the Roman college. The device
of this academy is the terraqueous globe, with the mot¬
to Elus ultra ; and at its expence all the globes, maps,
and geographical writings, of F. Coronelli have been
publilhed.
V. Academies of SCIENCES—Thefe comprehend fuch
as are ere&ed for improving natural and mathematical
knowledge. They are otherwife called Philofophical
and Phyjical academies.
The firft of thefe was inftituted at Naples, about the
year 1560, in the houfe of Baptifta Porta. It was call¬
ed the Academy Secretorum Natures; and was fucceed-
ed by the Academy of Lyticei, founded at Rome by
Prince Frederic Cefi, towards the end of that century.
Several of the members of this academy rendered it fa-
110 ] A G A
mous by their difeoveries ; among thefe was the cele- Academies-
brated Galileo. Several other academies were inftitut- 't—
ed about that time, which contributed greatly to the
advancement of the fciences j but none of them com¬
parable to that of the Lyncei.
Some years after the death of Torricelli, the Aca¬
demy del Cemento made its appearance, under the pro-
teftion of Prince Leopold, afterwards Cardinal de Me-
dicis. Redi was one of its chief members: and the ftu-
dies purfued by the reft may be colle£led from thofe cu¬
rious experiments publilhed in 1667, by their fecretary
Count Laurence Magulotti, under the title of Saggi di
Naturali Efperien-ze ; a copy of which was prefented to
the Royal Society, tranflated into Englilh by Mr Wal¬
ler, and publilhed at London in 410.
The Academy degPlnquieti, afterwards incorporated
into that of Della Tracia in the fame city, followed
the example of that of Del Cimento. Some excellent
difeourfes on phyfical and mathematical fubjedls, by
Geminiano Montenari, one 'of the chief members, were
publilhed in 1667, under the title of Penferi Fijico-
Matematici.
The Academy of Ro/fano, in the kingdom of Naples,
was originally an academy of belles lettres, founded
in 11?40, and transformed into an academy of fciences
in 1695, at the felicitation of the learned abbot Don
Giacinto Gimma $ who being made prefident, under
the title of Promoter General thereof, gave them a
new fet of regulations. He divided the academifts
into the following claffes : Grammarians, Rhetoricians,
Poets, Hiftorians, Philofophers, Phyficians, Mathema¬
ticians, Lawyers, and Divines, with a clafs apart for
cardinals and perfons of quality. To be admitted a
member, a man mull have fome degrees in the faculty.
The members are not allowed to take the title of Aca-
demifls in the beginning of their books, without a
written permiflion from their prefident, which is not
granted till the work has been examined by the cenfors
of the academy; and the permiflion is the greateft ho¬
nour the academy can confer, as they thereby adopt the
work, and are anfwerable for it againft all criticifms
that may be made upon it. To this law the prefident
or promoter himfelf is fubjefl 5 and no academift is al¬
lowed to publilh any thing againft the writings of an¬
other without leave from the fociety.
Several other academies of Sciences have been found¬
ed in Italy •, but, for want of being fupported by
princes, did not continue long. The lofs of them,
however, was abundantly repaired by the inftitution of
others ftill fubfifting: fuch as, the Academy ofFilartno-
nici at Verona ; of Ricovatri at Padua, where a learned
difeourfe on the origin of fprings was delivered by Sig.
Vallifnieri, firft profeffor of phyfic in the univerfity of
that city, and which was afterwards printed. To the
Academy of the Muti de Reggio, at Modena, the fame
Sig. Vallifnieri prefented an excellent difeourfe on the
fcale of created beings, fince inferted in his hiftory of
the generation of man and ammals, printed at Venice
in the year 1721.
F. Merfenne is faid to have given the firft idea of a
philofophical academy in France, towards the begin¬
ning of the 17th century, by the conferences of natu-
ralifts and mathematicians occafionally held at his
lodgings; at which Gaffendi, Des Cartes, Hobbes,
Roberval, Pafcal, Blondel, and others affifted. F. Mer¬
fenne
A C A . [n
Academic5, fenne propofed to each certain problems to examine, or
u—n/"J certain experiments to be made. Ihefe private affem-
blies were fucceeded by more public ones, formed by
Mr Montmort, and Mr Thevenot the celebrated tra¬
veller. The French example animated feveral Eng-
lidimen of diftinftion and learning to ereft a kind of
philofophical academy at Oxford, towards the clofe of
Oliver Cromwell’s adminiftration ; which, after the
Reftoration, was ere&ed into a Royal Society. See
Society. The Englilh example, in its turn, anima¬
ted the French. Louis XIV. in 1666, affifted by the
counfels of M. Colbert, founded an academy of fciences
at Paris, with a fufficient revenue to defray the charge
of experiments, and falaries to the members.
Royal Academy of Sciences. After the peace of the
Pyrenees, Louis XIV. being defirous of eftablifhing
the arts, fciences, and literature, upon a folid founda¬
tion, dire&ed M. Colbert to form a fociety of men of
known abilities and experience in the different branch¬
es, who fhould meet together under the king’s protec¬
tion, and communicate their refpeftive difcoveries.
Accordingly M. Colbert, having conferred with thofe
who were at that time moft celebrated for their learn¬
ing, refolved to form a fociety of fuch perfons as were
converfant in natural philofophy and mathematics, to
join to them other perfons {killed in hiilory and other
branches of erudition, along with thofe who were en¬
tirely engaged in what are called the Belles Lettres,
grammar, eloquence, and poetry. The geometricians
and natural philofophers were ordered to meet on Tuef-
days and Saturdays, in a great hall of the king’s li¬
brary, where the books of mathematics and natural
philofophy were contained ; the learned in hiftory to
affemble on Mondays and Thurfdays, in the hall where
the books of hiftory were contained ; and the clafs of
belles lettres to affemble on Wednefdays and Fridays.
All the different claffes were likewife ordered to meet
together upon the fir ft Thurfday of every month ; and,
by their refpe&ive fecretaries, make a report of the
proceedings of the foregoing month.
In a ftiort time, however, the claffes of hiftory,
belles lettres, &c. were united to the French Acade¬
my, which was originally inftituted for the improve¬
ment and refining the French language : fo that the
Royal Academy contained only two claffes, viz. that
of natural philofophy and mathematics.
In the 1696, the king, by proclamation dated the
26th of January, gave this academy a new form, and
put it upon a more refpeftable footing. It was now
to be compofed of four kinds of members, viz. hono¬
rary, pen/ion ary, a/facial es, and eleves. Thefe laft were
a kind of pupils, or fcholars, one of whom v'as attach¬
ed to each of the penfionaries. The firft clafs to con¬
tain ten perfons, and each of the reft twenty. rI he
honorary academifts to be all inhabitants of France j
the penfionaries all to refide at Paris : eight of the af-
fociates allowed to be foreigners 5 and the eleves all to
live at Paris. The officers to be, a prefident named
by the king, out of the clslfs of honorary academifts ;
and a fecretary and treafurer to be perpetual. Of the
penfionaries, three to be geometricians, three aftrono-
mers, three mechanics, three anatomifts, three che-
mifts, three botanifts, and the remaining two to be fe¬
cretary and treafurer. Of the twelve affociates, two
to apply themfelves to geometry, two to botany, and
i ] a c A
two to chemiftry. The eleves to apply themfelves to A-cademie^
the fame kind of fcience with the penfionaries they v
were attached to j and not to fpeak, except when call¬
ed by the prefident. No regular or religious to be
admitted, except into the clafs of honorary academifts
nor any perfon to be admitted either for affociate 01
penfionary, unlefs known by forae confiderable printed
work, fome machine, or other difcovery. T-he aiTem-
blies were held on Wednefdays and Saturdays, utilefs
either of them happened to be a holiday, and then the
affembly was held on the preceding day. To encou¬
rage the members to purfue their labours, the king en¬
gaged not only to pay the ordinary penfions, but even
to give extraordinary gratifications according to the
merit of their refpe&ive performances •, furnifhing with¬
al the expence of the experiments and other inquiiies
neceffary to be made. If any member gave in a bill
of charges of experiments he had made, or defired the^
printing of any book, and brought in the charges of
graving, the money was immediately paid by the king,
upon the prefident’s allowing and figning the bill. So
if an anatomift required live tortoifes, for inftance, for
making experiments about the heart, &c. as many as
he pleafed were brought him at the king’s charge.
Their motto was Invenit et perfecit.
In the year 1716, the duke of Orleans, then regent,
made an alteration in their conftitution •, augmenting
the number of honoraries, and of affociates capable of
being foreigners, to 12 •, admitting regulars among
fuch affociates j and fuppreffing the clafs of eleves, as
it appeared to be attended with fome inconveniences,
particularly that of making too great an inequality
among the academifts, and being produflive of iome
mifunderftandings and animofities among the members.
At the fame time he created other two claffes •, one
confifting of 12 adjuncts, who, as well as the affociates,
were allowed a deliberative voice in matters relative
to fcience j and the other fix free affociates, who were
not attached to any particular fcience, nor obliged to
purfue any particular work.
Since its re-eftablilhment in 1699) this academy has
been very exaft in publiftiing, every year, a volume
containing either the works of its own members, 01
fuch memoirs as have been compofed and read to the
academy during the courfe of that year. Io each vo¬
lume is prefixed the hiftory of the academy, or an ex-
trad! of the memoirs, and, in general, of whatever has
been read or faid in the academy ; at the end of the
hiftory, are the eulogiums upon fuch academifts as have
died that year. M. Rouille de Meflay, counfellor to
the parliament of Paris, founded two prizes, one of
2500, and the other of 2000 livres, which were alter¬
nately diftributed by the parliament every year : the
fubjedl for the firft muft relate to phyfical aftronomy,
and thofe for the latter to navigation and commerce.
Notwithftanding the advantages which the members
of this academy enjoyed over others, in having their
expences defrayed, and even being paid for their time
and attendance, they had fallen under fome imputa¬
tions, particularly that of plagiarifm, or borrowing
their neighbours inventions j but with what juftice we
do not fay. This accademy was fuppreffed and abolifti-
ed by the convention in 1793 *, and other inftitutions
have been eftabliftied. See Institute.
The French had alfo confiderable academies in molt
of:'
A C A [n
Academies, of their great cities: as, at Montpelier, a royal aca-
v ■' demy of fciences on the like footing as that of Paris,
being as it were a counterpart thereof j at Thouloufe,
an academy under the denomination of Lanternifts j
others at Nifmes, Arles, Lyons, Dijon, Bourdeaux,
&c.
The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, was founded
in 1700, by Frederic II. king of Pruffia, on the model
of that of England ; excepting that, belides natural
knowledge, it likewife comprehends the belles lettres.
In 1710, it was ordained that the prefident {hall be one
of the counfellors of ftate, and nominated by the king.
The members were divided into four clafles •, the firft
for profecuting phyfics, medicine, and chemiftry ; the
fecond for mathematics, aftronomy, and mechanics ;
the third for the German language and the hiftory of
the country j the fourth for oriental learning, particu¬
larly as it may concern the propagation of the gofpel
■among infidels. Each clafs to eleft a direftor for
themfelves, who (hall hold his poft for life. 1 he mem¬
bers of any of the claffes have free admiflion into the
affemblies of any of the reft.
The great promoter of this inftitution was the cele¬
brated Mr Leibnitz, who accordingly was made the
firft dire&or. The firft volume of their tranfa&ions
was publiflied in 1710, under the title of Mifcellanea
Berolinenfa ; and though they received but few marks
■of the royal favour for fome time, they continued to
publilh new volumes in 1723, 1727, 1734, and 1740.
At laft, however, Frederic III. the late king of .Pruf¬
fia, gave new vigour to this academy, by inviting to
Berlin fuch foreigners as were moft diftinguiftied for
their merit and literature, and encouraged his fubje&s to
profecute the ftudy and cultivation of the fciences by
giving ample rewards ; and thinking that the academy,
which till that time had had fome minifter or opulent
nobleman for its prefident, would find an advantage in
having a man of letters at its head, he conferred that
honour on M. Maupertuis. At the fame time, he gave
a new regulation to the academy, and took upon him-
felf the title of its prote&or.
The academifts hold two public affemblies annually $
one in January, on the late king’s birth day ; and the
other in May, on the day of his acceflion to the throne.
At the latter of thefe is given, as a prize, a gold me¬
dal of 50 ducats value : the fubjeft for this prize is fuc-
ceflively natural philofophy, mathematics, metaphyfics,
and erudition.
The Imperial Academy of Sciences at Peterfhurgh was
proje&ed by Czar Peter the Great. That great mo¬
narch having, during his travels, obferved the advan¬
tage of public focieties for the encouragement and pro¬
motion of literature, formed the defign of founding an
academy of fciences at St Peterlburgh. By the advice
of Wolf and Leibnitz, whom he confulted on this oc-
cafion, the fociety was regulated, and feveral learned
foreigners were invited to become members. Peter
himfelf drew the plan, and figned it on the 10th of
February 17 24} but was prevented, by the fuddennefs
of his death, from carrying it into execution. His de-
ceafe, however, did not prevent its completion : for on
the 21 ft of December 1725, Catharine I. eftabliftied
it according to Peter’s plan j and on the 27th of the
fame month the fociety was firft affembled. On the
.1 ft of Auguft 1726, Catharine honoured the meeting
2 ] A C A
with her prefence, when Profeffor Bulfinger, a German Academies,
naturalift of great eminence, pronounced an oration v 1
upon the advances made by the loadftone and needle
for the difcovery of the longitude.
The emprefs fettled a fund of 4982!./^ annum for
the fupport of the academy 5 and fifteen members, all
eminent for their learning and talents, were admitted
and penfioned, under the title of. Profeffors in the va¬
rious branches of literature and fcience. 1 he moft di¬
ftinguiftied of thefe profeffors were Nicholas and Da-
niel Bernoulli, the two De Liftes, Bulfinger, and
Wolf. .
During the rtiort reign of Peter II. the falanes of
the members were difcontinued, and the academy was
utterly negleded by the court; but it was again pa-
tronifed by the emprefs Anne, who even added a fe-
minary for the education of youth, under the fuperin-
tendence of the profeffors. Both inftitutions flouriflied
for fome time under the direftion of Baron Korf 5 but
upon his death, towards the latter end of Anne s reign,
an ignorant perfon being appointed prefident, many of
the moft; able members quitted Kuffia. At the accef-
fion of Elizabeth, new life and vigour were again re-
ftored to the academy: the original plan was enlarged
and improved j fome of the moft learned foreigners
were again drawn to Peterfburgh 5 and, what was con-
fidered as a good omen for the literature of Rufli.a, two
natives, Lomonofof and Rumovfky, men of genius and
abilities, who had profecuted their ftudies in foreign
unverfities, were enrolled among its members. 1 he
annual income was increafed to 10,659k sod foon af¬
terwards the new inftitution took place.
The late emprefs Catharine II. with her ufual zeal
for promoting the diffufion of knowledge, took this
ufeful fociety under her more immediate prote&ion.
She altered the court of dire&ors greatly to the ad¬
vantage of the whole body } corrected many of its
abufes, and infufed a new vigour and fpirit into their
refearches. By her majefty’s particular recommen¬
dation the moft ingenious profeffors vifited the va¬
rious provinces of her vaft dominions ; and as the fund
of the academy was not fufficient to fupply the whole
expence of thefe feveral expeditions, the emprefs be¬
llowed a largefs of 2000I. which Are renewed as oc-
cafion required.
The purpofe and intent of thefe travels will appear
from the inftruftions given by the academy to the fe¬
veral perfons who were engaged in them. They were
ordered to purfue their inquiries upon the different
forts of earths and waters ; upon the beft methods of
cultivating the barren and defert fpots ; upon the local
diforders incident to men and animals, and the mofl:
efficacious means of relieving them *, upon the breeding
of cattle, and particularly of ffieep j on the rearing
of bees and filk worms ; on the different places and ob-
je£ts for fiffiing and hunting; on minerals j on the arts
and trades, and on forming a Flora RuJJica, or collec¬
tion of indigenous plants •, they were, particularly in-
ftrufled to reftify the longitude and latitude of the prin¬
cipal towns; to make aftronomical, geographical, and
meteorological obfervations j to trace the courfe of the
rivers •, to take the moft exaft charts •, and to be very
diftindl and accurate in remarking and defcribing the
manners and cuftoms of the different people, their
dreffes, languages, antiquities, traditions, hiftory, reli¬
gion 5
A C A _ - [ i:
rrion: and, in a word, to gain every information which
might tend to iiluftrate the real Hate of the whole hut-
fian empire.
In confequence of thefe expeditions, perhaps no
country can boaft, within the fpace of fo .few years,
fuch a number of excellent publications, on its internal
ftate, on its natural produftions, on its topography,
geography, and hiftory, on the manners, cultoms, and
languages of the different people, as have iffued from
the prefs of this academy. ,
The fir If tranfaftions of this fociety were published
in 1728, and entitled Commentarn Academue Scienti-
arum Imperialis PetropoLtance ad arm. .1726, with a
dedication to Peter II. The publication was conti¬
nued under this form until the year 1747, when its
tranfa&ions were called Novi Comment am Academics,
&c. In 1777 the academy again changed the title in¬
to Acia Academia ScienticirUm Imperialis Petropohtana,
and likewife made fome alteration in the arrange¬
ment and plan of the work. The papers, which had
been hitherto publiihed in the Latin tongue, are now
written either in that language or French ; and a pie-
face is added, ftyled Par tie Hijlorique, which contains
an account of its proceedings, meetings, admiffion
of new members, and other remarkable occuirences.
Of the Commentaries, 14 volumes were publifhed .
the firft of the New Commentaries made its appear¬
ance in 1750, and the twentieth in 177^' Under
the new title of ABa Academia, feveral volumes have
been given to the public, and two are printed every
year. Thefe tranfaftions abound with ingenious and
elaborate difquifitions upon various parts of fcience
and natural hiftory, and which refleft the greateft ho¬
nour upon their authors } and it may not be an exag¬
geration to affert, that no fociety in Europe has more
diftinguifhed itfelf for the excellence of its publications,
and particularly in the more abftrufe parts of the pure
and mixed mathematics.
The academy is ftill compofed, as at firft, of fifteen
profeffors, befides the prefident and direftor.. Each of
thefe profeffors has a houfe and an annual ftipend fiom
2001. to 600I. Befide the profeffors, there are four
adjuncts, who are penfioned, and who are prefent at
the fittings of the fociety, and fucceed to the firft va¬
cancies. The direction of the academy is at prefent
configned to the princefs Dalhkof.
The building and apparatus of this academy are ex¬
traordinary. There is a fine library, confifting of 36,000
curious books and manufcripts. Fhere is an extenfiye
mufeum, in which the various branch.es of natural hif¬
tory, &c. are diftributed in different apartments : it is
extremely rich in native productions, having been con-
fiderably augmented with a variety of fpecimens col¬
lected by Pallas, Gmelin, Guldenftaedt, and other
learned profeffors, during their late expeditions through
the Ruffian empire. I he fluffed animals and birds oc¬
cupy one apartment. The chamber of rarities, the ca¬
binet of coins, &c. contain innumerable articles of the
higheft curiofity and value. The fociety has this mo-
deft motto, Paulatim.
The Academy of Sciences at Bologna, called the Injh-
tute of Bologna, was founded by Count Marfigli in 1712,
for the cultivating of phyfics, mathematics, medicine,
chemiftry, and natural hiftory. Its hiftory is written by
Vol. I. Part I.
3 3 A C A
M. de Limiers, from memoirs furniftied by the founder Acadenuey
himfelf. v
The Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, or Royal Swc-
difh Academy, owes its inftitution to fix perfons of di-
ftinguiffied learning, amongft whom was the celebrated
Linnaeus : they originally met on the 2d of June 1739 »
formed a private fociety, in which fome differtations
were read j and in the latter end of the fame year their
firft publication made its appearance. As the meet¬
ings continued and the members increafed, the fociety
attracted the notice of the king, and was, on the 31ft
of March 1741* incorporated under the name of the
Royal Swedifh Academy. Not receiving any penfion
from the crown, it is only under the protection of the
king, being direCted, like our Royal Society, by its
own members. It has now a large fund, which has
chiefly arifen from legacies and other donations j but
a profeffor of experimental philofophy, and tw’o fecre-
taries, are ftill the only perfons who receive any fala-
ries. Each of the members refident at Stockholm be¬
comes prefident by rotation, and continues in office
during three months. There are two fpecies of mem¬
bers, native and foreign : the eleCtion of the former is
held in April, and of the latter in July : no money is
paid at the time of admiffion. The differtations read
at each meeting are colleCted and publiftied four times
in the year5 they are written in the Swedifh language,
and printed in oCtavo 5 and the annual publications
make a volume. The firft 40 volumes, which were
finifhed in 1779, are called the Old TranfaCtions j for
in the following year the title was changed into that
of New TranfaCtions. The king is fometimes prefent
at the ordinary meetings, and particularly at the annual
affembly in April for the eleCtion of members. Any
perfon who fends a treatife which is thought worthy of
being printed, receives the TranfaCtions for that quarter
gratis, and a filver medal, which is not efteemed for
its value, being worth only three fhillings, but for its
rarity and the honour conveyed by it. All the papers
relating to agriculture are publiffied feparately under
the title of Occonomica ASla. Annual premiums, in
money and gold medals, principally for the encourage¬
ment of agriculture and inland trade, are alfo diftribut¬
ed by the academy. The fund for thefe prizes is fup-
plied from private donations.
The Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen owes
its inftitution to the zeal of fix literati, whom. Chri-
ftian VI. in 1742, ordered to arrange his cabinet of
medals. The count of Holftein was the firft prefi¬
dent ; and the fix perfons who firft formed the defign,
were John Gram, Joachim Frederic Ramus, Chriftian
Louis Scheid, Mark Woldickey, Eric Pontopidan, and
Bernard Moelman. Thefe perfons oecafionally meet¬
ing for that purpofe, extended their defigns ; affociated
with them others who were eminent in feveral branches
of fcience ; and forming a kind of literary fociety,. em¬
ployed themfelves in fearching into, and explaining
the hiftory and antiquities of their country. The
count of Holftein warmly patronized this fociety, and
recommended it fo ftrongly to Chriftian.VI. that, in
1743, his Danilh majefty took it under his protection,
called it the Royal Academy of Sciences, endowed it
with a fund, and ordered the members to join to their
former purfuits, natural hiftory, phyfics, and mathe-
P matics.
A C A [n
Academics, matics. In confequence of the royal favour, the mem-
t'—~~v   bers engaged with frelli zeal in their purfuits j and the
academy has publiihed 15 volumes in the Damfli
language, fome of which have been tranflated into
Latin. _
The American Academy of Sciences, was eftablimed
in 1780 by the council and houfe of reprefentatives
in the province of Maffachufet’s Bay, for promoting
the knowledge of the antiquities of America, and of
the natural hiftory of the country; for determining
the ufes to which its various natural productions might
be applied ; for encouraging medicinal difcoveries,
mathematical difquifitions, philofophical inquiries and
experiments, agronomical, meteorological^ and geo¬
graphical obfervations, and improvements in agricul¬
ture, manufactures, and commerce; and, in (hort, for
cultivating every art and feience which may tend to
advance the intereft, honour, dignity, and happinefs of
a free, independent, and virtuous people. The mem¬
bers of this academy are never to be more than 200,
nor lefs than 40. #
Royal Irijb Academy arofe out of a fociety eftablifh-
ed at Dublin, about the year 1782, and confiding of
a number of gentlemen, mod of whom belonged to
the univerflty. They held iveekly meetings, and al¬
ternately read effays on various fubjeCts. The mem¬
bers of this fociety afterwards formed a more exten-
five plan, and admitting only fuch names as might add
dignity to their new inditution, became the founders
of the Royal Irifh Academy, which profeffes to unite
the advancement of fcience with the hidory of man¬
kind and polite literature. The fird volume of their
IranfaCfions for 1787 appeared in 1788, and feven
volumes have been dnce publidied. A fociety was
formed in Dublin, dmilar to the Royal Society in Lon¬
don, as early as the year 1683 ; but the didraCted date
of the country was unpropitious to the cultivation of
philofophy and literature. The plan was refumed about
the beginning of the prefent century, and the earl of
Pembroke, then lord lieutenant, was prefident of a phi¬
lofophical fociety edablithed in Dublin college. In
the year 174O} there was indituted a Phyfico-hidorical
Society ; of which two volumes of minutes are extant:
but this fociety foon declined.
VI. Academies or Schools of ARTS', as that at Peterf-
burgh, which was edabliihed by the emprefs Elizabeth,
at the fuggedion of Count Shuvalof, and annexed to the
Academy of Sciences : the fund was4000l. per annum,
and the foundation for 40 fcholars. The late em¬
prefs formed it into a feparate inditution, enlarged
the annual revenue to 12,000!. and augmented the
number of fcholars to 300 ; fhe alfo condrufted, for
the ufe and accommodation of the members, a large
circular building, which fronts the Neva. The fcho¬
lars are admitted at the age of fix, and continue until
they have attained that of 18: they are clothed, fed,
and lodged, at the expence of the crown. They are
all indru&ed in reading and writing, arithmetic, the
French and German languages, and drawing. At the
age of 14 they are at liberty to choofe any of the fol¬
lowing arts, divided into four claffes : 1. Painting in
all its branches, of hidory, portraits, battles, and land-
fcapes; architecture; mofaic; enamelling, &c. 2. En¬
graving on copperplates, feal-cutting, &c. 3. Carving
on. wood,, ivory, and amber. 4. Watch-making, turn-
4 ] A C A
ing, indrumcnt-making, cading datues in bronze and Academies,
other metals, imitating gems and medals in pade and
other compofitions, gilding, and varnidiing. Prizes
are annually didributed to thofe who excel in any par¬
ticular art; and from thofe who have obtained tour
prizes, twelve are felefted, who are fent abroad at the
charge of the emprefs. A certain fum is paid to de¬
fray their travelling expences ; and when they are fet¬
tled in any town, they receive an annual falary of 60L
which is continued during four years. There is a fmall
affortment of paintings for the ufe of the fcholars ;
and thofe who have made great progrefs are permitted
to copy the pictures in the emprefs’s collection. For
the purpofe of defign, there are models in plader of
the bed antique datues in Italy, all done at Rome, of
the fame fize with the originals, which the artids of
the academy were employed to cad in bronze.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London, was in¬
dituted for the encouragement of Defigning, Painting,
Sculpture, &c. &c. in the year 1768. This academy
is under the immediate patronage of the king, and un¬
der the direftion of 40 artids of the firft rank in their
feveral profeflions. It furnifhes, in winter, living mo¬
dels of different characters to draw after ; and in dim¬
mer, models of the fame kind to paint after. Nine of
the abled academicians are annually eleCted out of the
40, whofe bufinefs is to attend by rotation, to fet the
figures, to examine the performance of the dudents,
and to give them neceffary indruCtions. There are
like wife four profeffors, of Painting, of ArchiteBure, of
Anatomy, and of PerfpeBive, who annually read public
leflures on the fubjeCts of their feveral departments;
befide a prefident, a council, and other officers. The
admiffion to this academy is free to all dudents pro¬
perly qualified to reap advantage from the dudies cul¬
tivated in it ; and there is an annual exhibition of paint¬
ings, fculptures, and defigns, open to all artids of di-
dinguilhed merit.
The Academy of Painting and Sculpture at Paris,
This took its rife from the difputes that happened be¬
tween the mader painters and fculptors in that capi¬
tal ; in confequence of which, M. le Brun, Sarazin,
Corneille, and others of the king’s painters, formed a
defign of inditutinga particular academy ; and, having
prefented a petition to the king, obtained an arr£t
dated January 20. 1648. In the beginning of 1655,
they obtained from Cardinal Mazarine a brevet, and
letters patent, which were regidered in parliament ;
in gratitude for which favour, they chofe the cardinal
for their proteClor, and the chancellor for their vice-
proteClor. In 1663, by means of M. Colbert, they
obtained a penfion of 4000 livres. The academy con¬
fided of a proteClor; a vice proteClor; a direCtor ; a
chancellor ; four reCtors ; adjunCts to the reCtors ; a
treafurer ; four profeffors, one of which was profeffor of
anatomy, and another of geometry ; feveral adjunCts
and counfellors, a hidoriographer, a fecretary, and two
ulhers.
The Academy of Painting held, a public affembly
every day for two hours in the afternoon, to which the
painters reforted either to defign or to paint, and where
the fculptors modelled after a naked perfon. There were
12 profeffors, each of whom kept the fchool for a month :
and there were I 2 adjunCts to fupply them in cafe of
need. The profeffor upon duty placed the naked man
as
A C A [ 'i
Acaaemies. as he thought proper, and fet him in two dilTerent atti-
\   tudes every week. This was what they c^Xe^Jetting the
model. In one week of the month he let two models
together, which was called>/A/^ the group. The paint¬
ings and models made after this model, were called a-
endemics, or academy figures. They had like wile a
woman who flood for a model in the ptfluic Iclnnd.
Every three months, three prizes for defign were diftri-
buted among the eleves or dilciples •, two others for
painting, and two for fculpture, every yeai.
There wasalfo an Academy of Painting, Sculpture, &c.
at Rome, eflabldhed by Lewis XIV. wherein thofe who
had gained the annual prize at Pans were entitled to
be three years entertained at the king’s expence, for
their further improvement.
Mufical Academy, copfifts of the managers and di¬
rectors of the opera. , to j •
The Academy of Ancient Mufic was eftablilhed m
London in 1710, by feveral perfons of diflinCtion, and
other gentlemen, in conjunaion with the molt eminent
mailers of the time, with a view to the ftudy and prac¬
tice of vocal and inflrumental harmony. This intntu-
tion, which had the advantage of a library, confiding
of the molt celebrated compolitions both foreign and
domeftic, in manufeript and in print, and which was
aided by the performances of the gentlemen ol tne
chapel royal, and the choir of St Paul’s, with the boys
belonging to each, continued to flourilh for many years.
In 1731, a charge of plagiarifm brought againft Bo-
noncini, a member of the academy, for claiming a
madrigal of Lotti of Venice as his own, threatened
the exiftence of the inftitution. Dr Greene, who had
introduced the madrigal into the academy, took part
with Bononcini, and withdrew from the fociety, taking
with him the boys of St Paul’s. In 1734 Mr Gates,
another member of the fociety, and. mailer of the
children of the royal chapel, retired in difguft 5 and
it was thus deprived of the affiftance which the boys
afforded it in fmging the foprano parts. From this
time the academy became a feminary for the inftrucuon
of youth in the principles of mufic, and the laws of
harmony. Dr Pepufch, who was one of its founders,
was active in accomplilhing this meafure •, and by the
expedients of educating boys for their purpofe, and
admitting auditor members, the fubfiftence of the aca¬
demy was continued. I he Royal Academy of Mufic
was formed by the principal nobility and gentry of
the kingdom for the performance of operas, compofed
by Mr Handel, and conduced by him at the theatre
in the Haymarket. The fubfeription amounted to
<|0,000l. and the king, belides fubferibing 1000I, al¬
lowed the fociety to affume the title of Royal Academy.
It confided of a governor, deputy governor, and
twenty diredtors. A conteft between Handel and Se-
nefino, one of the performers, in which the diredtors
took the part of the latter, occafioned the diffolution of
the academy, after it had fubfifled with reputation for
more than nine years.
The Academy of ArchiteSlure, eftablilhed by . M.
Colbert in 1671, confifted of a company of Ikilful
architects, under the diredtion of the fuperintendant of
the buildings. # vr-rr
The Academy of Dancing, eredted by Lewis XI v .
with privileges above all the reft.
] a c A
VII. Academies of Law; us that famous one at
Bery ta, and that of the Sitientes at Bologna.
VIII. Academies of HISTORY; as the Royal Academy
of Portuguefe Hifiory at Lijbon. This academy was
inftituted by King John V. in 1720. It conhfts of a
diredtor, four cenfors, a fecretary, and 50 members;
to each of whom is affigned fome part of the ecclehafli-
cal or civil hiftory of the nation, which he is to treat
either in Latin or Portuguefe. In the church-hiftoiy
of each diocefe, the prelates, fynods, councils, churches,
monafteries, academies, perfons illuftrious for fandtity
or learning, places famous for miracles or relics, mult
be diftindlly related in twelve chapters. Ihe civil hi¬
ftory comprifes the tranfadtions of the kingdom from
the government of the Romans down to the pretent
time. The members who refide in the country are
obliged to make colledtions and extradts out of all the
regilters, Sic. where they live. Their meetings to be
once in 11; days. , . , c
A medal was ftruck by this academy in honour , ot
their prince: the front of which was his effigy, with
the infeription Johannes V. Lufitanorum Rex ; and, on
the reverfe, the fame prince is reprefented ftandmg, and
raifing Hiftory almoft proftrate before him, with the le¬
gend Hfioria Refurges. Underneath are the follow¬
ing words in abbreviature: REGia ACADemia HI-
STorite LUSITanse, INSTTTuta VI. Idus Decembns
MDCCXX ■
Academy of Suabian Hifiory at Tubingen was lately
eftabliftied" by fome learned men for publifhing.the belt
hiltorical writings, the lives of the chief hiftonans, and
compiling new memoirs on the feveral points and pe¬
riods thereof. 0
IX. Academies of ANTIQUITIES; as that at Corto¬
na in Italy, and at Upfal in Sweden. The firft is
defigned for the ftudy of Hetrurian antiquities ; the
other for illuftrating the northern languages, and the
antiquities of Sweden, in which notable difeovenes
have been made by it. A he head of the Hetrurian
academy is called Lucomon, by which the ancient go¬
vernors of the country were diftinguifhed. One of their
laws is to give audience to poets only one day m the
year; another is to fix their feffions, and impofe a tax
of a differtation on each member in his turn. #
The Academy of Medals and Infcriptions at Paris was
fet on foot by M. Colbert, under the patronage, of
Lewis XIV. in 1663, for the ftudy and explanation
of ancient monuments, and perpetuating great and
memorable events, efpecially thofe of the French mo¬
narchy, by coins, relievos, infcriptions, &c. ihe
number of members at firft was confined to four or
five, chofen out of thofe of the French academy;
who met in the library of M. Colbert, from whom
they received his majefty’s orders. The days of then-
meetings were not determined ; but generally they
met on Wednefdays, efpecially in the winter feafon ;
but, in 1691, the king having given the infpeaion of
this academy to M. de Pontchartrain comptroller ge¬
neral, &c. he fixed their meetings on Tuefdays and
Saturdays. f T .
By a new regulation, dated the 16th of July 1701
the academy was compofed of ten honorary .members ;
ten officiates ; each of whom had two declarative voices;
ten penfionaries ; and ten eleves, or pupils. They then
A C A [n
Academies, met every Tuefday and Wednefday, in one of the halls
J of the Louvre 5 and had two public meetings yearly,
one the day after Martinmas, and the other the 16th
after Eafter. The clafs of e/eves was fuppreffed, and
united to the affociates. The king nominated their
prefident and vice-prefident yearly j but their fecretary
and treafurer were perpetual. The reft were chofen by
the members themfelves, agreeably to the conftitutions
on that behalf given them.
One of the firft undertakings of this academy, was
to compofe, by means of medals, a connefted hiftory
of the principal events of Louis XIV’s reign : but in
this defign they met with great difficulties, and of con-
fequence it was interupted for many years ; but at
length it was completed down to the advancement of
the duke of Anjou to the crown of Spain.
In this celebrated work, the eftablilhment of the
academy itfelf was not forgotten. The medal on this
fubjeft reprefents Mercury fitting, and writing with
an antique ftylus on a table of brafs j he leans with his
left hand on an urn full of medals, and at his feet
are feveral others placed upon a card : the legend,
Rerum gejlarum Jides ; and on the exergue. Academia re¬
gia inf criptionum et numifmatum, injlituta M.DC.LX 111.
lignifying that the Royal Academy of Medals and In-
fcriptions, founded in 1663, ought to give to future
ages a faithful teftxmony of all great adlions. Befides
this work, we have feveral volumes of their memoirs ;
and their hiftory written and continued by their fecre-
taries.
X. Academies of BELLES LETTRES, are thofe where¬
in eloquence and poetry are chiefly cultivated. Thefe
are very numerous in Italy, and were not uncommon
in France.
The Academy of Umidi at Florence has contributed
greatly to the progrefs of the fciences by the excel¬
lent Italian tranflations given, by fome of its members,
of the ancient Greek and Latin hiftorians. Their
chief attention is to the Italian poetry, at the fame
time that they have applied themfelves to the poliftiing
of their language, which produced the Academy della
Crufca.
The Academy of Humor if s, Umorifli, had its origin
at Rome from the marriage of Lorenzo Marcini, a
Roman gentleman, at Avhich feveral perfons of rank
■were guefts; and, , it being carnival time, to give the
ladies fome diverfion, they took themfelves to the re¬
citing of verfes, fonnets, fpeeches, firft extempore, and
afterwards premeditately ; which gave them the deno¬
mination of Belli Humori. After fome experience, com¬
ing more and more into the tafte of thefe exercifes,
they refolved to form an academy of belles lettres •,
and changed the title of Belli Humori for that of Hu¬
mor i/I i: choofing for their device a cloud, which, after
being formed of exhalations from the fait waters of
the ocean, returns in a gentle fweet (bower j with this
motto from Lucretius, Redit agmine dulci.
In 1690, the Academy of Arcadi was eftablifhed at
Rome for reviving the ftudy of poetry and of the
belles lettres. Befides mod of the politer wits of
both.fexes in Italy, this academy compreliends many
princes, cardinals, and other ecclefiaftics ; and, to a-
void difputes about pre-eminence, all appear mafked
after the manner of Arcadian (hepherds. Within ten
years from its firft eftabliftiment, the number of Aca-
6 ] ACA
demifs amounted to fix hundred. They hold affem- Academies,
blies feven times a year in a mead or grove, or in the » J
gardens of fome noblemen of diftinftion. Six of thefe
meetings are employed in the recitation of poems and
verfes of the Arcadi redding at Rome ; who read their
own compofitions 5 except ladies and cardinals, who
are allowed to employ others. The feventh meeting
is fet apart for the compofitions of foreign or abfent
members.
This academy is governed by a cuftos, who re¬
prefents the whole fociety, and is chofen every four
years, with a power of electing 12 others yearly for
his affiftance. Under thefe are two fub-cuftodes, one
vicar or pro-cuftos, and four deputies or fuperintend-
ants, annually chofen. The laws of the fociety ate
immutable, and bear a near refemblance to the an¬
cient model.
There are five modes of elefling members. The
firft is by acclamation. This is ufed when fovereign
princes, cardinals, and ambafladors of kings, defire to
be admitted *, and the votes are then given viva vocet
The fecond is called annumeration. This was intro¬
duced in favour of ladies and academical colonies,
where the votes are taken privately. The third, re-
prefentation, was eftabliftied in favour of colonies and
univerfities, where the young gentry are bred j wh©
have each a privilege of recommending one or two
members privately to be balloted for. The fourth^
furrogation; whereby new members are fubftituted in
the room of thofe dead or expelled. The laft, dejlina-
tion ; whereby, when there is no vacancy of members,
perfons of poetical merit have the title of Arcadi con¬
ferred upon them till fuch time as a vacancy (hall hap¬
pen. All the members of this body, at their admif-
fion, alfume new paftoral names, in imitation of the
(hepherds of Arcadia. The academy has feveral co¬
lonies of Arcadi in different cities of Italy, who are all
regulated after the fame manner.
XL Academies of LANGUAGES; called by fome,
Grammatical Academies: as,
The Academy della Crufca at Florence, famous for its
vocabulary of the Italian tongue, was formed in 1582,
but fcarce heard of before the year 1584, •when it be¬
came noted for a difpute between Taffo and feveral of
its members. Many authors confound this with the
Florentine academy. The difeourfes which Torricelli,
the celebrated difciple of Galileo, delivered in the af-
femblies, concerning levity, the wind, the power of per-
cuffion, mathematics, and military architefture, are a
proof that thefe academies applied themfelves to things
as well as words.
The Academy of Frucliferi had its rife in 1617 at
an affembly of feveral princes and nobility of the coun¬
try, who met with a defign to refine and perfeft the,
German tongue. It flouriftied long under the direc¬
tion of princes of the empire, who were always chofen
prefidents. In 1668, the number of members arofe to
upwards of 900. It was prior in time to the French
academy, which only appeared in 1629, and was not
eftabliftied into an academy before the year 1635. Its
hiftory is written in the German tongue by George
Neumarck.
The French Acade/ny, which had its rife from a meet¬
ing of men of letters in the houfe of M. Conrart, in 162cy.
In 1635, it was erected into an academy, by Cardinal
Richlieu*
A C A [ii'
Academies. RichlieU, for refining and afcertaining ihe French lan-
u—y   guage and ftyle. The number of its members was li¬
mited to 40 ; out of whom a dire&or, chancellor, and
fecretary, were to be chofen : the two former held their
pofts for two months, the latter was perpetual. The mem¬
bers of this academy enjoyed feveral privileges and im¬
munities, among which was that of not being obliged to
anfwer before any court but that of the king’s houfe-
hold. They met three times a-week in the Louvre •,
at breaking up, 40 filver medals were diftributed among
them, having on one fide the king of France’s head,
and on the reverfe, Prote&eur de l'Academic, with^ lau¬
rel, and this motto, A /’ Immortalite. By this diftri-
bution, the attendance of the Academijis was fecured .
thofe who were prefent received the furplus otherwife
intended for the abfent. To eleft or expel a member,
at lead 18 were required; nor could any be chofen unlefs
he petitioned for it: by this expedient, the affiont of
refufals from perfons ele&ed was avoided. Religious
were not admitted •, nor could any nobleman, or perfon
of diftin&ion, be admitted on another footing than as a
man of letters. None were to be expelled, except for
bafe and dilhoneft praftices; and there were but two
inftances of fuch expulfions, the firft of M. Granier
for refufing to return a depofite, the other of the Abbe
Furetiere for plagiarifm. The defign of this acade¬
my was to giy® not only rules, but examples, of good
writing. They began with making fpeeches on fub-
je£ls taken at pleafure, about 20 of which were print¬
ed. They met with great oppofition from the parlia¬
ment at their firlt inftitution ; it being two years be¬
fore the patents granted by the king could be regifter-
ed. They have been feverely fatirized, and their ftyle
has been ridiculed as enervating inftead of refining the
French language. They are alfo charged with having
furfeited the world by flattery, and having exhaufted
all the topics of panegyric in praife of their founder ;
k being a duty incumbent on every member, at his ad-
miflion, to make a fpeech in praife of the king, the
cardinal, the chancellor Seguier, and the perfon in
whofe place he is ele&ed. The moft remarkable
work of this academy is a di&ionary of the French
tongue ; which, after 50 years fpent in fettling the
words and phrafes to be ufed in writing, was at laft
publilhed in 1694.
The foundation of an academy fimilar to the above
has been propofed at Peterlhurgh by the learned Prin-
cefs Daftikof: it is to confift of 60 members. The
plan was approved by the late emprefs, who gave a fund
for its fupport and eftablifliment.
The Royal Spanijh Academy at Madrid held its firft
meeting in July 1713, in the palace of its founder, the
Duke d’Efcalona. It confifted at firft of eight acade-
mifts, including the duke ; to which number 14 others
were afterwards added, the founder being chofen pre-
fident or diredlor. In 1714, the king granted them
his confirmation and protedHom Their device is a cru¬
cible in the middle of the fire, with this motto, Lim-
pia, Fya, y da Efplendor ; “ It purifies, fixes, and gives
brightnefs.” The number of members is limited to
24 5 the duke d’Efcalona to be director for life, but
his fucceflbrs chofen yearly, and the fecretary to be
perpetual. Their objeift, as marked out by the royal
declaration, was to cultivate and improve the national
language; they were to begin with choofing carefully
r ] a c A
fuch words and phrafes as have been ufed by the beft Acadamie*
Spanilh writers *, noting the low, barbarous, or obfolete Ac^zi]ce,
ones j and compofing a didlionary wherein thefe may >
be diftinguilhed from the former.
XII. Academies of POLITICS ; as that at Paris, which
confifted of fix perfons, who met at the Louvre, in the
chamber where the papers relating to foreign affairs
were lodged. But this academy proved of little fer-
vice, as the kings of France were unwilling to truft
any but their minifters with the infpe&ion of foreign
affairs.
For a further account of fimilar eftablilhments, fee
the article Society.
Academy is alfo a term for fchools and other femi-
naries of learning among the Jews, where their rabbins
and doftors inftrufted their youth in the Hebrew lan¬
guage, and explained to them the Talmud and the fe-
crets of the Cabbala : Thofe of Tiberias and Babylon
have been the moft noted.
The Romans had a kind of military academies, efta-
blilhed in all the cities of Italy, under the name of
Campi Martis. Here the youth were admitted to b&
trained for war at the public expence. The Greeks,
befide academies of this kind, had military profeffors
called TaSiici, who taught all the higher offices of wrar,
&c. &c.
Academy is often ufed with us to denote a kind of
collegiate feminary, where youth are inftru&ed in arts
and fciences. There is one at Portfmouth for teaching
navigation, drawing, &c. which was founded by George
L in 1722 \ another at Woolwich, for fortification, gun¬
nery, &c.; eftabliffied by George II. in 1741.—Befides*
thefe, there are numerous academies, efpecially in Lon¬
don, for teaching mathematics, languages, writing, ac¬
counts, drawing, and other branches of learning.
The nonconformift minifters, &c. are bred up in
private academies j as not approving the common uni-
verfity education. There are feveral academies of this
defcription in different parts of England.
Academy is likewife a name given to a riding-
fchool where young gentlemen are taught to ride the
great horfe, &c. and the ground allotted is ufually call¬
ed the Manege.
Ac ALE MT Figure, a drawing of a naked man or wo¬
man, taken from the life ; which is ufually done on
paper with red or black chalk, and fometimes with paf-
tils or CRAYONS..
ACADIE, or Acady, in Geography, a name for¬
merly given to Nova Scotia, or New Scotland, in Ame¬
rica. See NOVA Scotia.
ACALNA, in antiquity, a Grecian meafure of
length, being a ten-feet rod, ufed in meafuring their
lands.
Acena: in Botany. See Botany Index.
ACAJOU, or Cashew-nut tree. See Ana-
cardium, Botany Index.
ACALANDRUS, a river falling into the bay o£
Tarentum, not far from the Metapontum (Pliny, Stra¬
bo^) } now called Fiume de Rofeto.
ACALEPTIC, in ancient profody, a complete
verfe.
ACALYPHA, the Three-seeded Mercury.
See Botany Index.
ACALZIKE, a town and fortrefs of Afiatic Tar-,
tary, fituated in N. Lat. 41. 30. E. Long. 44. 14.
ACAMANTIS,
A C A [ n8 ] A C A
iA.camantis AC AM ANTIS, the .ancient name of the iiland of
li Cyprus, taken from one of its promontories fituated to
Acapulco.^ tlie wefti and calkd Acamas. Teas in Ionia was alfo
called thus from Acamas the founder.
ACAMAS, Acamantis, in Ancient Geography,
the weft promontory of the ifland of Cyprus, from
whence it took its ancient name 5 now Cape Pifanio,
or Epifanio, Avhere formerly was a town of the fame
name, now a village called Crufocco.
Acamas, fon of Thefeus, followed the reft of the
Grecian princes to the fiege of Troy j and was depu¬
ted, with Diomedes, to the Trojans, in order to get
Helen reftored. Laodice, Priam’s daughter, fell in
love with him, ftole a night with him, and had a fon
by him called Munitus. He was one of the heroes
who concealed themfelves in the wooden horfe. One
of the tribes of Athens was called Acamantides from
him, by the appointment of the oracle*, and he found¬
ed a city in Phrygia Major, called Acamantium. Ho¬
mer mentions two other heroes of this name j one a
Thracian prince who came to fuccour Priam, another
a fon of Antenor.
ACANGIS, that is, Ravagers or Adventurers; a
name which the Turks give their huffars or light
troops, who are generally lent out in detachments to
procure intelligence, harafs the enemy, or ravage the
country.
ACANTHA, in Botany, the prickle of any plant j
in Zoology, a term for the fpine or prickly fins of
fifties.
ACANTHABOLUS, in Surgery, an inftrument
for pulling thorns, or the like, out of the fkin.
ACANTHINE, any thing refembling or belong¬
ing to the herb acanthus. Acanthine garments, among
the ancients, are faid to be made of the down of thittlesj
others think they were garments embroidered in imita¬
tion of the acanthus.
ACANTHOPTERYGIOUS fishes, a term ufed
by Limiceus and others for thofe fifties whofe back fins
are hard, ofleous, and prickly.
ACANTHOS, Acanthus, a town of Egypt, near
Memphis, (Pliny); now Bifalta. Alfo a maritime
town of Macedonia, to the weft of Mount Athos; a
colony of Andrians (Thucydides, Ptolemy) ; now
EriJJb; near which was ftiown Xerxes’s ditch, of feven
ftadia, in order to feparate Mount Athos from the con¬
tinent, and convey his ihips, without doubling Athos,
into the Singitic bay» Acanthos is alfo a town of Epi¬
rus.
ACANTHUS, Bear’s Breech, in Botany. See
Botany Index.
Acanthus, in ArchiteBure, an ornament reprefent-
ing the leaves of the acanthus, ufed in the capitals of
the Corinthian and Compofite orders.
ACAPALA, or Acapula, a town in the province
of Chiapa, in New Spain, which is fituated on Tabaf-
co river, about five leagues north-weft from Chiapa.
A CAP AM, a town of Afia on the Euxine fea.
ACAPULCO, a confiderable town and port in
Mexico, on a bay of the South fea, diftant from the city
of Mexico fouth-eaft 210 miles. It has a fine harbour,
from whence a Ihip annually fails to Manilla in the
Philippine iflands, near the coaft of China in Afia *,
and another returns annually from thence with all the
treafures of the Eaft Indies, fuch as diamond-, rubies, Acapulco
fapphires, and other precious ftones ; the rich carpets
of Perfia ; the camphire of Borneo ; the benjamin and ,
ivory of Pegu and Cambodia; the filks, muflins, and
calicoes, of the Mogul’s country ; the gold dull, tea,
china ware, filk, and cabinets, of China and Japan ;
befides cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmegs, and pepper *,
infomuch that this Angle Ihip contains more riches than
many whole fleets. The goods brought to Acapulco
are carried to the city of Mexico by mules and pack
hoifes ; and from thence to Vera Cruz on the North
fea, in order to be (hipped for Europe. Acapulco it-
felf is a fmall place, confiding of about 200 or 300
thatched houfes. Ships arrive at the port by two in¬
lets, feparated from each other by a fmall ifland ; the
entrance into them in the day time is by means of a
fea breeze, as the failing out in the night time is ef¬
fected by a land breeze. A wretched fort, 42 pieces
of cannon, and a garrifon of 60 men, defend it. It is
equally extenfive, fafe, and commodious. The bafon
which conftitutes this harbour is furrounded by lofty
mountains, which are fo dry, that they are even defti-
tute of water. The air here is hot, heavy, and un-
wholefome *, to which none can habituate themfelves,
except certain negroes that are born under a fimilar
climate, or fome mulattoes. This feeble and miferable
colony is crowded with a vaft acceflion to its numbers
upon the arrival of the galleons traders flocking here
from all the provinces of Mexico, who come to ex¬
change European toys, their own cochineal, and about
ten millions of filver (437,500!. fterling) for fpices,
muflins, printed linens, filk, perfumes, and the gold
works of Afia. W. Long. 102. 20. N. Lat. 17* 22.
ACARAI, a town of Paraguay in South America,
built by the Jefuits in 1624. W. Long. 51. 5. S. Lat.
26.
ACARAUNA, a fmall American fifti, called by
our failors the old wife. See Labrus, Ichthyology
Index.
ACARI, Port, in Geography, lies on the coaft of
Peru, in S. Lat. 15. 50. W. Long. 54. 40.
ACARNANIA, the firft country of Free Greece,
or Greece Proper, bounded on the weft by the Sinus
Ambracius, and feparated from Aitolia by the river
Achelous on the eaft, and by the Sinus Ambracius
from Epirus. The people were called Acarnanes, de¬
noting perfons unihorn; other Etolians, to the eaft of
the Achelous, being called Curetes (Homer) from
being (horn. According to Lucian, they ivere noted
for effeminacy and incontinence ; hence the proverb
Porcellus Acarnunius. This country was famous for
an excellent breed of horfes ; fo that A*«gv<xos <W«?,
is a proverbial faying for a thing excellent in its kind.
It is now called il Carnia and il Defpotato.
AC ARON, or Accaron, a town of Paleftine, call¬
ed Ekron in Scripture. It was the boundary of the
Philiftines to the north ; flood at fome diftance from
the fea, near Bethlhemelh ; and was famous for the
idol of Baalzebub.
ACARUS, the Tick or Mite. See Entomology
Index.
ACASTUS, in claflic j^iftory, the fon of Pelias,
king of Theffaly, and one of the mod famous hunters
of his time, married Hippolita, who falling defperately
in
Acted as.
ACC [ii
Acaftus in love with Peleus her fon-in-law, and he refuting to
gratify her wifhes, ftie accufed him to her hufband of
a rape : on which he flew them both.
ACATALECTIC, a term in ancient poetry for
fuch verfes as have all their feet or fyllables, in con-
tradiftinttion to thofe that have a fyllable too few. The
firft verfe of the two following from Horace is acatalec-
tic or complete, the laft is cataleElic or deficient.
Solvitur acris hyems, grata vice veris et Favonn
Trahuntque Jiccas machines cannas 
ACATALEPSY, fignifies the impoflibility of com¬
prehending fomething. The diftinguifliing tenet of
the Pyrrhonifts was their aflerting an abfolute acata-
lepfy in regard to every thing.
ACATERY, or Accatry, anciently an officer of
the king’s houfehold, defigned for a check betwixt the
clerks of the kitchen and the purveyors.
ACATHARSIA, in Medicine, an impurity of the
blood or humours.
AC ATHISTUS, the name of a folemn hymn or
vigil, anciently fung in the Greek church on the Sa¬
turday of the fifth week of Lent, in honour of the Vir¬
gin, for having thric,e delivered Conftantinople from
the invafions of the barbarous nations. It was deno¬
minated i* e* without Jilting, becaufe, in the
celebration of the praifes of the virgin, the people flood
all night finging.
ACATIUM, in Ancient Navigation, a kind of boat
or pinnace ufed for military purpofes. The acatium
was a fpecies of thofe veflels called naves acluance, i. e.
fuch as were wrought wuth oars. It was fometimes
made ufe of in battle. Strabo deferibes it as a privateer
or pirate floop, and Suidas, as a filhing veffel.
ACAULIS, in Botany, a term applied to certain
plants, the flowers of which have no pedicle or flalk
to fupport them, but reft immediately on the ground,
fuch as the carline thiftle, &c.
ACC A, Saint, biffiop of Haguftaldt, or Hexham,
in Northumberland, fucceeded Wilfrid in that fee in
yop. He ornamented his cathedral in a moft magnifi¬
cent manner j furniffied it with plate and holy veft-
ments; and ere£led a noble library, confifting' chiefly
of ecclefiaftical learning, and a large colleftion of the
lives of the faints, which he was at great pains to pro¬
cure. He was accounted a very able divine, and was
famous for his fkill in church mufic. He wrote feveral
books: particularly, Pqffiones San&orum, I he Sufferings
of the Saints: Pro illujlrundis Scripturis, ad Bedam,
For explaining the Scriptures, addreffed to Bede. He
died in 740, having enjoyed the fee of Hexham 31
years, under Egbert king of the Northumbrians.
ACALIA, in Roman antiquity, folemn feftivals
held in honour ©f Acca Laurentia, Romulus’s nurfe :
they were otherwife called Laurentalia.
ACCAPITARE, in Law, the aft of becoming
vaffal of a lord, or of yielding him homage and obe¬
dience. Hence.
ACCAPITUM fignifies the money paid by a vaf¬
fal upon his admiffion to a feu.
Accapitum, in our Ancient Law, was ufed alfo to
exprefs the relief due to the chief lord. See Relief.
ACCEDAS AD CURIAM, in Englijh Law, a writ
lying where a man has received, or fears, falfe judge-
9 ] ACC
ment in an inferior court. It lies alfo for juftie'e de¬
layed, and is a fpecies of the writ Recordare.
ACCELERATION, in Mechanics, the increafe of
velocity in a moving body. Accelerated motion is that
which continually receives freffi acceffions of velocity.
Acceleration Hands direflly oppofed to retardation,
which denotes a diminution of velocity.
Acceleration is chiefly ufed, in Phyjics, in refpeft
of falling bodies, i. e. of heavy bodies tending towards
the centre of the earth by the force of gravity. . That
natural bodies are accelerated in their defeent, is evi¬
dent from various confiderations, both d prion and po-
Jieriori.—Thus, we actually find, that the greater height
a body falls from, the greater impreffion it makes, and
the more vehemently does it ftrike the lubjedl plane,
or other obftacle.
Various were the fyftems and opinions which philo-
fopliers produced to account for this acceleration. But
the immediate caufe of acceleration is now fufficiently
obvious } the principle of gravitation, which deter¬
mines the body to defeend, determining it to be acce¬
lerated by a neceffary confequence.
Suppofe a body let fall from on high : the primary
caufe of its beginning to defeend is doubtlefs the power
of gravity ; but when once the defeent is commenced,
that ftate becomes in fome meafure natural to the
body ; fo that if left to itfelf, it would perfevere in it
for ever, even though the firft caufe ftiould ceafe : as
we fee in a ftone call with the hand, which continues
to move after it is left by the caufe that gave it mo¬
tion. But, befide the propenfity to defeend imprtfied
by the firft caufe, and which of itfelf were fufficient
to continue the fame degree of motion, once begun,
in injinitum ; there is a conftant acceffion of fubfequent
efforts of the fame principle, gravity, which, continues
to aft on the body already in motion, in the fame man¬
ner as if it were at reft. Here, then, being a double
caufe of motion •, and both afting in the fame direc¬
tion, viz. direftly towards the centre of the earth j
the motion they jointly produce muft neceffarily be
greater than that of any one of them.—And the velo¬
city thus increafed having the fame caufe of increafe
ftill perfifting, the defeent muft neceffarily be conti¬
nually accelerated.
The motion of a body afeending, or impelled up¬
wards, is diminiffied or retarded from the fame prin¬
ciple of gravity afting in a contrary direftion, in the
fame manner as a falling body is accelerated: See Re
TARDA.TION. A body thus projefted upwards, rifes
till it has loft all its motion : which it does in the fame
time that a body falling would have acquired a velo¬
city equal to that wherewith the body was thrown up.
Hence the fame body thrown up, will rife to the fame
height from which falling it would have acquired the
velocity wherewith it was thrown up : and hence the
heights which bodies thrown up with different veloci¬
ties do afeend to, are to one another as the fquares of
thefe velocities.
Acceleration of Bodies on inclined Planes. The
fame general law obtains here as in bodies falling perpen¬
dicularly : the effeft of the plane is to make the motion
flower 5 but the inclination being everywhere equal,
the retardation arifing therefrom will proceed equally
in all parts, at the beginning and the ending of the
motion. See Mechanics.
Acceleration
ACC [120] AC C
Accelera- ACCELERATION of the Motion of Pendulums—'\'\vi
tion- motion of pendulous bodies is accelerated in their de-
fcent but in a lefs ratio than that of bodies falling
perpendicularly. See Mechanics and Pendulum.
Acceleration of the Motion of Projefliles. See
Projectiles.
Acceleration is alfo applied in the ancient aftro-
nomy, in refpeft of the fixed ftars. This acceleration
was the difference between the revolution of thepritnum
mobile and the folar revolution j which was computed
at 3 minutes and 56 feconds.
Acceleration of the Moon, a term ufed to exprefs
the increafe of the moon’s mean motion from the lun,
compared with the diurnal motion of the earth ; fo that
it is now a little fwifter than it was formerly. Dr. Hal¬
ley was the firft who made this difcovery •, and he was
led to it by comparing the ancient eclipfes obferved at
Babylon with thofe obferved by Albatennius in the
ninth century, and fome of his own time. He was
not able to afcertain the quantity of this acceleration,
becaufe the longitudes of Bagdad, Alexandria, and
Aleppo, where the obfervations were made, had not
been acurately determined. But fince his time, the
longitude of Alexandria has been afcertained by Cha-
zelles ; and Babylon, according to Ptolemy’s account,
lies 50' eaft from Alexandria. From thefe data, Mr.
Dunthorn compared feveral ancient and modern eclip¬
fes, with the calculations of them, by his own tables,
and hereby verified Dr Halley’s opinion j for he found
that the fame tables reprefent the moon’s place more
backward than her true place in ancient eclipfes, and
more forward than her true place in later eclipfes, and
thence juftly inferred that her motion in ancient times
was flower, in later times quicker, than the tables
give it. But he did not content himfelf with merely
afcertaining the faft ; he proceeded to determine the
quantity of the acceleration ; and by means of the moft
ancient eclipfe of which any authentic account remains,
obferved at Babylon in the year before Chrift 721, he
concluded, that the obferved beginning of this eclipfe
was not above an hour and three quarters before the
beginning by the tables •, and therefore the moon’s true
place could precede her place by computation but little
more than 50' of a degree at that time. Admitting
the acceleration to be uniform, and the aggregate of
it as the fquare of the time, it will be at the rate of
about io' in 100 years.
Dr Long attributes the acceleration above defcribed
to one or more of thefe caufes : either, 1. The annual
and diurnal motion of the earth continuing the fame,
the moon is really carried round the earth with a greater
velocity than heretofore : or, 2. The diurnal motion
of the earth, and the periodical revolution of the moon,
continuing the fame, the annual motion of the earth
round the fun is a little retarded •, which makes the
fun’s apparent motion in the ecliptic a little flower
than formerly 5 and, confequently, the moon, in palling
from any conjunftion with the fun, fpends lefs time
before Ihe again overtakes the fun, and forms a fubfe-
quent conjunftion : in both thefe cafes, the motion of
the moon from the fun is really accelerated, and the fy-
nodical month attually fliortened. Or, 3. The annual
motion of the earth, and the periodical revolution of
the moon continuing the fame, the rotation of the
earth round its axis is a little retarded : in this cafe,
days, hours, minutes, feconds, &c. by which all pe- Accele?*.
riods of time mull be meafured, are of a longer dura- u^n
tion } and confequently the fynodical month will ap- Accenf,.
pear to be (hortened, though it really contains the fame 1 —.-v 
quantity of abfolute time as it always did. If the quan¬
tity of matter in the body of the fun be lelfened by the
particles of light continually ftreaming from it, the
motion of the earth round the fun may become flower:
if the earth increafes in bulk, the motion of the moon
round the earth may be quickened thereby. See
Astronomy.
Acceleration of a Planet. A planet is faid to
be accelerated in its motion when the real diurnal
motion exceeds the mean diurnal motion. On the
other hand, a planet is faid to be retarded in its motion
when the mean motion exceeds the real diurnal mo¬
tion. This inequality arifes from the change in the
diftance of the planet "from the fun, which is continually
varying; the planet moving always quicker in its or¬
bit when nearer the fun, and flower when farther
off.
ACCELERATOR, in Anatomy,name of two
mufcles nf the penis, which ferve for ejetting the urine
or femen. See Anatomy, Table of the Mufcles.
ACCIDENTES, a lower order of minifters in
the Romilh church, whofe office is to light and trim
the candles.
ACCENDONES, in Roman antiquity, a kind of
gladiators, whofe office was to excite and animate the
combatants during the engagement. The orthogra¬
phy of the word is contefted : the firft edition of Ter-
tullian, by Rhenanus, has it accedones; an ancient
manufcript, accendones. Aquinas adheres to the for¬
mer, Pitifcus to the latter. The origin of the word,
fuppofing it accendones, is from accendo, I kindle; fup-
pofing it accedones, from accedo, I accede, am added
to. The former places their diftinguiffiing chara&er
in enlivening the combat by their exhortations an8
fuggeftions : the latter fuppofes them to be much the
fame with what among us are called feconds, among the
Italians, ,* excepting that thefe latter only ftand
by to fee the laws of the fword duly obferved, without
intermeddling to give advice or inftruftion.
ACCENSI, in the Roman armies, certain fupernu-
merary foldiers, defigned to fupply the places of thofe
who ffiould be killed or anywife difabled. They were
thus denominated, quia accenfebantur, or ad cenfum
adjiciebantur. Vegetius calls them fupernutnerarii legio-
num. Cato calls them ferentarii, in regard they fur-
niffied thofe engaged in battle with weapons, drink,
&c. Though Nonnius fuggefts another reafon of that
appellation, viz. becaufe they fought with ftones, flings
and weapons quce feruntur, fuch as are thrown, not
carried in the hand. rl hey were fometimes alfo called
velites, and velati, becaufe they fought clothed, but not
in armour : fometimes adfcriptitii, and adfcriptivi; fome¬
times rorarii. The accenf, Livy obferves, were placed
at the rear of the army, becaufe no great matter w^as
expefted from them 5 they were taken out of J;he fifth
clafs of citizens.
Accensi, in antiquity, denotes an inferior order of
officers, appointed to attend the Roman magiftrates,
fomewhat in the manner of ulhers, ferjeants or tip-
ftaves among us. They were thus called from accire, to
fend for j one part of their office being to call affemblies
of
ACC [ i ■
Accenfi of the people, fummon parties to appear and anfwer
I! before the judges, &c. # .
Accent. _^cCENSI was alfo an appellation given to a kind ot
_”_v adjutants, appointed by the tribune to aiTiit each cen¬
turion and decurion. In which fenfe accenfus is fyno-
nyraous with option In an ancient infcnption, given by
Torre, we meet with Accensus Equitum Romano-
rum ; an office nowhere elfe heard of. That author
fufpefts it for a corruption j and inftead thereof reads,
A CENS1BUS.
ACCENSION, the aftion of fetting a body on fire:
thus the accenfion of tinder is effected by ftiiking fire
with flint and fteel.
ACCENT, in reading or /peaking, an infle&ion ot
the voice, which gives to each fyllable of a word its
due pitch in refpeft of height or iownefs. See Read-
The word is originally Latin, accentus ; a com¬
pound of ad, to •, and cano, to fing. Accentus, qua/ ad-
cantus, oxjuxta cantum. In this fenfe, accent is fynony-
mous with the Greek roves ; the Latin tenor, or tonor}
and the Hebrew Dins, guftus, tafte.—For the dodlrine
of Accents, in Compo/tion, fee Poetry, Part III.
Accent, among grammarians, is a certain mark or
charailer placed over a fyllable to direct the ftrels of
its pronunciation. We generally reckon three gram¬
matical accents in ordinary ule, all borrowed fiom the
Greeks, viz. the acute accent, ( ' ), which Ihows when
the tone of the voice is to be raifed. The grave ac¬
cent (' ), when the note or tone of the voice is to be
depreffed. The circumflex accent Q, is composed of
both the acute and the grave, and points out a kind of
undulation of the voice. E he Latins have made the
fame ufe of thefe three accents.
The Hebrews have a grammatical, a rhetorical, and
mufical accent: though the firft and laft feem, in effeft,
to be the fame •, both being comprifed under the ge¬
neral name of tonic accents, becaufe they give the pro¬
per tone to fyRabies •, as the rhetorical accents are faid
to be euphonic, becaufe they tend to make the pro¬
nunciation more fweet and agreeable. There are
four euphonic accents, and 25 tonic } of which fome
are placed above, and others below the fyllables -, the
Hebrew accents ferving not only to regulate the rifings
and fallings of the voice, but alfo to diftinguifli the
feftions, periods, and members of periods, in a difeourfe;
and to anfwer the fame purpofes with the points in
other languages. Their accents are divided into empe¬
rors, kings, dukes, &c. each bearing a title anfwerable
to the importance of the diftindlion it makes. Eheir
emperor rules over a whole phrafe, and terminates the
fenfe completely 5 anfwering to our point. Their king
anfwers to our colon 5 and their duke to our comma.
The king, however, occafionally becomes a duke, and
the duke a king, as the phrafes are more or lefs fhort.
It muft be noted, by the way, that the management
and combination of thefe accents differ in Hebrew
poetry from what they are in profe. ’Ihe ufe of the to¬
nic or grammatical accents has been much controvert¬
ed *, fome holding that they diftinguilh the fenfe", while
others maintain that they are only intended to regulate
the mufic, or finging", alleging that the Jews fing, ra-
* Cooper ther than read, the Scriptures in their fynagogues *.
Dow. Mo- ;ge this, how’ever, as it will, it is certain the ancient
Jaic. Clav. jje]3rews were not acquainted with thefe accents. T he
opinion which prevails amongfl; the learned is, that
Yol. I. Part I.
1 ] ACC
they were invented about the fixth century, by the Jew- , Accent, ^
ilh doctors of the fchool of Tiberias, called the Majflo-
rets.
As to the Greek accents, now feen both in manu-
fcripts and printed books, there has been no lefs difpute
about their antiquity and ufe than about thofe of the
Hebrews. Ifaac Voffius endeavours to prove them of
modern invention ; afferting, that anciently they had
nothing of this kind, but only a few notes in their poe¬
try, which were invented by Ariftophanes the gramma¬
rian, about the time of Ptolemy Philopater j and that
thefe were of mufical, rather than grammatical ufe,
ferving as aids in the finging of their poems, and very
different from thofe introduced afterwards. He alto
Ihows from feveral ancient grammarians, that the man¬
ner of writing the Greek accents in thefe days was quite
different from that which appears in our books. The
author of La Methode Greque, p. 546, obferves, that the
right pronunciation of the Greek language being natu¬
ral to the Greeks, it was needlefs for them to mark it by
accents in their writings: fo that, according to all ap¬
pearance, they only began to make ufe of them about
the time, when the Romans, wifliing to learn the
Greek tongue, fent their children to Rudy at Athens,
thinking thereby to fix the pronunciation, and to faci¬
litate it to Rrangers *, which happened, as the fame au¬
thor obferves, a little before Cicero’s time. Wetflein,
Greek profeffor at Bafil, in a learned differtation, en¬
deavours to prove the Greek accents of an older Band¬
ing. He owns that they were not always formed in the
fame manner by the ancients j but thinks that difference
owing to the different pronunciation which obtained in
the different parts of Greece. He brings feveral reafons,
a priori, for the ufe of accents, even in the earlieft
days: as that they then wrote all in capital letters equi-
diftant from each other, without any diflindtion either of
words or phrafes, which without accents could fcarce be
intelligible *, and that accents were neceffary to diflin-
guHh ambiguous words, and to point out their proper
meaning: which he confirms from a difpute on a paf-
fage in Homer, mentioned by Ariffotle in his Poetics,
chap. v. Accordingly, he obferves, that the Syrians,
who have tonic, but no diflin&ive accents, have yet in¬
vented certain points, placed either below or above the
words, to ftiow their mood, tenfe, perfon, or ferife.
Mr Browne of Trinity College, Dublin, has entered
more deeply into this inveftigation ; and as he had an
opportunity of converfing with the crew of a Greek
fhip from Patrals, a town fituated not far diilant from
the ancient Corinth, which had been driven by ffrefs
of weather into the port of Dingle in Ireland, the re-
fult of his inquiries was, that the pradlice of the mo¬
dern Greeks is different from any of the theories that
have been delivered in books. “ It is true, he obferves,
they have not two-pronunciations for profe and for
verfe, and in both they read by accent, but they make
accent the caufe of quantity; they make it govern and
controul quantity ; they make the fyllable long on
which the acute accent falls, and they allow the acute
accent to change the real quality. They always read
poetry as well as profe by accent. Whether any in¬
ference can hence be drawn as to the pronunciation of
the ancients, I mufl leave, after what I have premifed
above, to men of more learning, but I think It at leail
fo probable as to make it worth while to mention the
inftances
Accent.
ACC [12
indances which occurred in proof of this affertion more
particularly. Of the two firft perfons whom I met,
one, the Reward of the (hip, an inhabitant of the illand
of Cephalonia, had had a fchool education : he read
Euripides, and tranflated fome eafier paffages without
much difficulty. By a flay in this country of near two
years, he was able to fpeak Engliffi very tolerably, as
could the captain and feveral of the crew j and almoft
all of them fpoke Italian fluently. The companion,
however, of the Reward could fpeak only modern Greek,
in which I could difcover that he was giving a defcrip-
tion of the diRrefs in which the flrip had been, and
though not able to underfland the context, I could plain¬
ly diflinguiffi many words, Rich as —|vA«v, and a-
mong the reR the found of pronounced, ffiort;
this awoke my curiofity, which wTas Rill more heighten¬
ed when I obferved that he faid Avdaxav long, with the
fame attention to the alteration of the accent with the
variety of cafe, which a boy would be taught to pay
at a fchool in England. Watching therefore more
clofely, and alking the other to read fome ancient
Greek, I found that they both uniformly pronounced
according to accent, without any attention to long or
(hort fyllables where accent came in the w'ay •, and on
their departure, one of them having bade me good day,
by faying to which I anfvvered iCaiAjijtcsgsf, hf-
with Rrong marks of reprobation fet me right, and
repeated and with like cenfure did the cap¬
tain upon another -occafion obferve upon my faying So¬
crates inRead of Socrates.
“ I now had a flrong wifli to know whether they
obferved the diRin&ion in this refpe£t ufually between
verfe and profe, but from the little fcholarffiip of the
two men with whom I had converfed, from the igno¬
rance of a third whom I afterwards met, (who however
read Lucian with eafe, though he did not feem ever
to have heard of the book), and on account of my .im-
perfeft mode of converfing with them all, I had little
hopes of fatisfaftion on the point, nor was I clear that
ttfey perfe&ly knew the difference between verfe and
profe. At length having met with the commander of
the fliip, and his clerk Athanafius Kovo^oj, and finding
that the. latter had been a fchoolmafler in the Morea,
and had here learnt to fpeak Engliffi fluently, I put
the queflion to them in the prefence of a very learned
college friend, and at another time, to avoid any error,
with the aid of a gentleman who is perfectly mafler of
the Italian language. Both the Greeks repeatedly af-
fured us that verfe as well as profe was.read by accent,
and not by quantity, and exemplified it by reading fe¬
veral lines of Homer, with whofe name they feemed
perfeflly well acquainted.
“ I fliall give an inRance or two of their mode of
reading:
Bsj v.Kim rce^oL TroXvtpXcttrZoic SxXclra-Ai,
Tov $ u7rxpu£of.uvas 7r£0<rt<pn TrcSxs duels
’£5 2’ ipzrxs lirflydk uyu^o^v, Is $ UetropSw.
They made the t in uxiav, 7r^o<riJ>n, and ^Itxs long.
But when they read.
KAvfl/^ev, 'Agfi^are!’, «? X^vimv xpQiZiZwas,
they made the fecond fyllable of the firfl word KXvOi
ffiort, notwithflanding the acute accent; on jny affiing
2 ] ACC
why, they defired me to look back on the circumflex Accent,
on the firfl fyllable, and faid it thence neceffarily fol- v v—
lowed ; for it is impoffible to pronounce the firfl lylia¬
ble with the great length which the circumflex denote-
and not to fliorten the fecond. The teflimony of the
fchoolmafler might be vitiated, but what could be
ffronger, than that of thefe ignorant mariners as to tha
vulgar common pra£lice of modern Greece ; and it is
remarkable that this confirms the opinion of Biffiop
Horfley, that the tones of words in connexion are not
always the fame with the tones of folitary words,
though in thofe of more than one lyllable the accentual
marks do not change their pofition. I mufl. here add
that thefe men confirmed an obfervation which I have
heard made, that we are much miflaken in our idea of
the fuppofed lofty found of 7r«Xv<pAe/srSo«) S-xXxrrys j that
the borderers on the coafl of the Archipelago take
their ideas from the gentle laving of the ffiore by a
fummer wave, and not from the roaring of a winter
ocean, and they accordingly pronounced it Polyphlifveo
thalnjfes.
“ I own that the obfervations made by me on the pro¬
nunciation of thefe modern Greeks brought a perfe£ll}
new train of ideas into my mind. I propofe them,
with humility, for the confideration of the learned j but
they have made a flrong impreffion upon me, and ap¬
proached, when compared with other admitted fafls,
nearly to conviftion. In flrort, I am Arongly inclined
to believe, that what the famous treatife fo often men-.
tioned on the profodies of the Greek and Latin lan¬
guages mentions as the peculiarity of the Engliffi, that
we always prolong the found of the fyllable on which
the acute accent falls, is true, and has been true of
every nation upon earth. We know it is true of the
modern Italians—they read Latin in that refpecl .ffiff
as we do, and fay, Arma viriimque cano, and, In nova
fert animus, as much as we. And when we find the
modern Greeks following the fame pra61ice, furely we
have fome caufe to fuppofe that the ancients did the
fame. In the EnglUh language, indeed, quantity is
not affeHed, becaufe accent and quantity always agree.
Bifficp Horfley endeavoured to prove that they did fo
in Greek, but this is on the bold fuppofition that the
accent doth not fall where the mark is placed.. The
obje&ion to this hypothefis, which feems to have been
admitted bv all writers, and confidered as decifive by
fome as to profe, by all as to verfe, is that Rich a mode
of pronunciation or reading mufl deftroy metre, or
rhythnos. From this pofition, however univerfal, or
however it may have been taken for granted, I totally
diffent. That it will oppofe the metre or quantity I
readily agree, but that it will deft.roy the rhythmos,
by which, whatever learned deferiptions there may have
been of its meaning, I underftand nothing more than the
melody or fmooth flowing of the verfes, or their harmony
if you pleafe, if harmony be properly applied to fuc-
ceffive and not fynchronal founds. On the contrary,
nothing can be more difagreeable or unmelodious than
the reading verfe by quantity, or fcanning of it, as it is
vulgarly called. Let us try the line fo often quoted—
Anna virumque cano, Trojce quiprimus ab oris.
inftead of
Arma viruinque cano, Trojce qui primus ab oris.
“ No
ACC [i
te No man ever defined rhythmos Letter than Plato,
ordinem quendam qui in mo!thus cermtur; the motion
or meafure of the verfe may be exa6t, and yet the or¬
der, arrangement, and difpofition of the letters and Syl¬
lables, fuch as to be grating and flnmelodious to the
ear. In like manner the feet of the verfe may be
exaft, but the firefs laid upon particular fyllables of it
which follows the quantity may totally deltroy the me¬
lody : in fliort, the radical error feems to be the con-
fufion of quantity with melody, and the fuppofition that
whatever is at war with quantity and metre mull be at
war with melody.
“ It will be. aficed then what is the ufe of metre or
meafure in verfe, if we are not to read by it; and here
is the grand difficulty, and I own with candour I cannot
anfwer it with perfeft fatisfaftion to my own mind : to
thofe indeed who fay we are to read by accent in profe,
it may be equally alked what is the ufe of long or ffiort
fyllables in profe, if we are not to attend to them when
accent comes in the way : but to thofe who think other-
wife, I can only anfwer, that in the firlt place accent
doth not always interfere, and then quantity is our guide,
and accent often accords with quantity. Secondly, Me¬
tre determines the number oi feet or myafures in each
verfe, and thereby produces a general analogy and har¬
mony through the whole •, and it is to be obferved, that,
as I apprehend, accent doth not change the number of
feet, though it doth the nature or ipecies of them, i hus
when we read
Arma virumque cdno, Trdjte qui primus ob oris,
we do not make more feet than when we fcan the line,
nor employ more time than in pronouncing the next
line in which the accent happens to accord with the
quantity, viz.
Italiam fato profugus, Lavinaque venit.
Thirdly, the poet in meafuring his verfe certainly
tnuft be confined to fome certain number and order of
long and fhort fyllables, in order to produce a concord¬
ance through the whole, and even to regulate the pofi-
tion of accent, which though not fubdued by quantity
will certainly have fome relation to it, euphonicr gratia \
but furely the length or ffiortnefs of a fyllable cannot
determine where emphafis {hall be placed—that muft
depend on the meaning and the thought 5 and it wmuld
be moll abfurd for the poet to fay to the reader, you
{hall not reft upon this emphatic and fignificative word
becaufe its fyllables are ftiort, and wherever there is a
reft, there muft be length and intonation.” {Irijb Tranf*
vol. vii.)
The ufe of accents, to prevent ambiguities, is moft
remarkably perceived in fome eaftern languages, par¬
ticularly the Siamefe and Chinefe. Among the peo¬
ple of China, every word, or (which is the lame thing)
fyliable, admits of five accents, as fpoken more acutely
or remifsly ; and thus ftands for many different things.
The fame found ya, according to the accent affixed to
it, fignifies God, a wall, excellent, Jlupidity, and a goofe.
The Chinefe have but 330 fpoken words in their lan¬
guage ; but thefe being multiplied by the difterent ac¬
cents or tones, which affeft the vowels, furnifti a lan¬
guage tolerably copious. By means hereof, their 330
fimple founds come to denote 1650 things ; but this
being hardly fufficient, they are increafed further by
23 ] A C C
afpirates added to each word to double the ntimbes. A. 01..
The Chinefe only reckon four accents: for which the ^cce{j-oryt
miffionaries ufe the following marks, ad, d, a, a •, to
which they have added a fifth, thus «. They make a
kind of modulation j wherein, prolonging the duration
of the found of the vowel, they vary the tone, raifing
and linking it by a certain pitch of voice : fo that their
talking is a fort of mufic or finging. Attempts have
been made to determine the quantity of the rife or fall
on each accent by means of mufical notes $ but this is
hard to effeif, as being different in different perfons.
Hence the great difficulty of the language to foreigners ;
they are forced to fing moft ferupuloufty : if they de¬
viate ever fo little from the accent, they lay quite a
different thing from what was intended. Thus, mean¬
ing to compliment the perfon you are talking of with
the title Sir, you call him a beaft with the lame word,
only a little varied in the tone. Magalhon makes the
language the eafier to learn on this account. 1 he Sia-
mefe are alfo obferved to fing rather than to talk. I heir
alphabet begins with fix chara&ers, all only equivalent
to a K, but differently accented. For though in the
pronunciation the accents are naturally on the vowels,
yet they have fome to diverfify fuch of their confonants
as are in other refpetfts the fame.
Accent, in Mujic, is a certain enforcement of parti¬
cular founds, whether by the voice or inftruments, gene¬
rally ufed at the beginning of bars.
ACCEPTANCE, in Law, a perfon’s agreeing to
offers made in bargaining, by which the bargain is con¬
cluded.
Acceptance, in the church of Rome, is put for re¬
ceiving the pope’s conftitutions.
Acceptance, in Commerce, is the fubfcribing, fign-
ing, and making one’s felf debtor for the fum contained
in a bill of exchange or other obligation.
ACCEPTATION, in Grammar, the fenfe or mean
ing in which any wrord is taken.
ACCEPTER, or Acceptor, the perfon who ac¬
cepts a BILL of exchange, &c.
ACCEPTILATION, among civilians, an acquit¬
tance or difcbarge given by the creditor to the debtor
without the payment of any value.
ACCESSIBLE, fomething that may be approach¬
ed, or that accefs may be had to. Thus we fay, Such
a place is acceflible on one fide, &c.
ACCESSION, in Law, is a method of acquiring
property, by which, in things that have a clofe connec¬
tion or dependence upon one another, the property of
the principal thing draws after it the property of the
acceffory : Thus, the owner of a cow becomes likewife
the owner of the calf. It fometimes likewife fignifies
confent or acquiefcence.
Accession, among phyficians, is ufed for a paroxyfm
of a difeafe •, among politicians, it fignifies a prince’s
fucceeding to the government upon the death of his pre-
deceffor.
ACCESSORY, or Accessary, fomething that ac¬
cedes, or is added to another more confiderable thing 5
in which fenfe the word ftands oppofed to principal.
Accessor T, or AcceJJary, in Common Law, is chiefiy
ufed for a perfon guilty of a felonious offence, not prin¬
cipally, but by participation: as by advice, command,
or concealment.
There are two kinds of accejfones : before the fa£f,
2 and
ACC [i
Acceflory and after it. The frf is he who commands, or pro-
II . cures another to commit felony, and is not prefent him-
Aceiaioh. ^. £or preient he is a principal. Thefecond
is he who receives, affifts, or comforts any man that has
done murder or felony, whereof he has knowledge.. A
man may alfo be acceffory to an acceffory, by aiding,
receiving, &c. an acceflbry in felony.
An acceffory in felony (hall have judgment of life
and member, as well as the principal who did the fe¬
lony but not till the principal be firft attainted, and
convitt, or outlawed thereon. Where the principal is
pardoned without attainder, the acceffory cannot be
arraigned •, it being a maxim in law, Ubi non efl prin¬
cipalis, non poteji ejfe acceffonus : but if the principal
be pardoned, or have his clergy after attainder, the ac¬
ceffory (hall be arraigned*, 4 and 5 W. et M. cap. 4.
And by flat. I Anne, cap. 9. it is ena&ed, that where
the principal is convidted of felony, or {lands mute, or
challenges above 20 of the jury, it {hall be lawful to
proceed againft the acceffory in the fame manner as if
the principal had been attainted *, and notwithftanding _
fuch principal {hall be admitted to his clergy, pardon¬
ed, or delivered before attainder. In fome cafes alio,
if the principal cannot be taken, then the acceffory may
be profecuted for a mifdemeanour, and punilhed by fine,
imprifonment, &c. In the loweft and higheft offences
there are no aceeffories, but all are principals. as ^
riots, routs, forcible entries, and other trefpaffes, which
are the loweft offences. So alfo in the higheft offence,
which is, according, to the Englifh law, high treafon,
there are no acceflories. ;
Acceffories, in petty treafon, murder, and in felonies
of feveral kinds, are not to have their clergy. There
can be no acceffory before the fad in manflaughter:
becaufe that is hidden and unprepenfed.
ACCESSORY Nerves, in Anatomy, a pair of nerves,
which, arifing from the medulla in the vertebrae of the
neck, afcend, and enter the {Lull, and pafs out of it
again with the par vagum, wrapped up in the fame
common integument, and after quitting them, are do-
ftributed into the mufcles of the neck and flioulders.
See Anatomy.
Accessory, among painters, an epithet given to
fuch parts of a hiftory-piece as ferve chiefly for orna¬
ment, and might have been wholly left out : fuch as
vafes, armour, &c.
ACCI,in Ancient Geography, atown of Tarraconenlis,
formerly called Afli; fuppofed to be Guadix, to the eaft
of the city of Granada in Spain, at the foot of a moun¬
tain near the fource of the rivulet Guadalantin *, now
greatly decayed. It is the Colonia Accitana Gemella,
and was of fome repute among the Roman colonies.
The people were called Gemellenfes, becaufe the co¬
lony confifted of colomfts from the third and fixth le¬
gions.
ACCIAIOLI, Donato, a native of Florence, was
born in 1428, and was famous for his learning and the
honourable employments which he held. He wrote, a
Latin tranflation of forae of Plutarch’s Lives *, Com¬
mentaries on Ariftotle’s Ethics and Politics and the
Lives of Hannibal, of Scipio, and of Charlemagne. He
was fent to France by the Florentines, to folicit aid
from Louis XI. againft Pope Sixtus IV. but on his
journey died at IVIilan in 147^ ? his body was carried
to Florence, and buried in the church of the Carthu-
24] ACC
fians at the public expence.. The.fmall fortune he left Acciaioli
his children is a proof of his probity and difinterefted- Acciljc.nta}f
nefs. His daughters, like thofe of Ariftides, were por- v rmmmt
tioned by his fellow-citizens, as an acknowledgement of
his fervices. His funeral eulogium was Ipoken by Chri-
ftopher Landini j and an elegant epitaph, by Politian,
was infcribed on his tomb.
ACCIDENT, in a general fenfe, denotes any cafual
event. . . . ,
Accident, among Logicians, is uled in a threefold
fenfe. 1. Whatever does not effentially belong. to .a
thing ; as the clothes a man wears, or the money in his
pocket. 2. Such properties in any fubjeft as are not
effential to it 5 thus whitenefs in paper is an acci¬
dental quality. 3* oppofition to lubftance, all
lities whatever are called accidents j as fweetnefs, foft-
nefs, &c. # # ,
Accident, in Grammar, implies a property attach¬
ed to a word, without entering into its effential defi¬
nition j for every word, notwithftanding its fignifica-
tion, will be either primitive, derivative, Ample, or
compound, which are the accidents of words. A word
is faid to be primitive, when it is taken from no other
word in the language in which it isufed thus heaven,
king, good, are primitive words. It is faid to be deri¬
vative, when it is taken from fome other word . thus
heavenly, kingdom, goodnefs, &c. are derivatives. A
fimple word is eafily diftinguilhed from a compound .
thus jujl, jujlice, are fimple words ; unjujl, injujlice*,
are compound : res is a fimple word, as well as pu¬
blico; but refpublica is a compound. Befides thefe ac¬
cidents which are common to all forts of words,, each
particular fpecies has its accidents : thus the accidents
of the noun fubftantive are the gender, declenfion, and
number 5 and the adjeftive has another accident, name¬
ly, the comparifon.. See the articles Grammar and
Language. t # .
Accident, in Heraldry, an additional point or mark
in a coat of arms, which may be either omitted or re¬
tained without altering the eflence of the armour 5 fuch
as abatement, difference, and tindlure.
ACCIDENTAL, in a general fenfe, implies fome-
thing that happens by accident, or that is not effential
to its fubjeft. _ . „ „
Accidental, in Philofophy, is applied to that.eliect
which flows from fome caufe intervening by accident,
without being fubjeft, or at leaft without any appearance
of being fubjecft to general laws or regular returns. In
this, fenfe, accident is oppofed to conjlant anH principal.
Thus the fun’s place is, with refpeft to the earth, the
conftant and principal caufe of the heat in fummer, and
the cold in winter ; whereas winds, fnows, and rai^>
are the accidental caufes which often alter and mooify
the action of the principal caufe.
ACCIDENTAL Colours, are thofe which depend upon
the affedlions of the eye, in contradiftindion to thofe
which belong to light itfelf. The impreffions made
upon the eye by looking ftedfaftly on obje&s of a par¬
ticular colour are various, according to. the Angle co¬
lour or combination of colours in the objed j and they
continue for fome time after the eye is withdrawn, and
give a falfe colouring to other objeds. M. Buffon
has endeavoured to trace the connedions which thefe
accidental colours have with fuch. as are natural,
in a variety of inftances. The fubjed has alfo been
confidered
Aceius.
ACC [i
Accidental confidered by De la Hire and M. ^Epinus 5 and M.
" d’Arcy has contrived a machine for determining the
duration of thofe impreffions on the eye ; and from the
refult of feveral experiments, he inferred, that the ef-
feft of the aaion of light on the eye continued about
eight thirds of a minute. , . .
Accidental Point, in PerfpeBive, is that point m
the horizontal line where the projeaions of two lines
parallel to each other meet the perfpeaive plane.
r ACCIPENSER. See Ichthyology Index.
ACCIPITER, among the Romans, fignified a hawk,
which, from its being very carnivorous, they confider¬
ed as a bird of bad omen :
Oditnus accipitrem, quia fetnper vivit m armis. Ovid.
Pliny, however, tells us, that in fome cafes, particu¬
larly in marriage, it was efteemed a bird of good omen,
becaufe it never eats the hearts of other birds ; intimat¬
ing thereby, that no differences in a married ftate ought
to reach the heart. The accipiter was worHupped as a
divinity by the inhabitants of Tentyra, an illand in the
Nile being confidered by them as the image ol the
fun j’and hence we find that luminary reprefented, in
hieroglyphics, under the figure of a hawk.
ACCIPITRES, the name of Linnaeus’s firit order
of birds. See Ornithology. ^ rri ,,
ACCISMUS denotes a feigned refutal of iome-
thing which a perfon earneftly defires. The word is
Latin: or rather Greek, ? fuppofed to be
formed from Acco, the name of a foolifti old woman
noted in antiquity for an affe£fation of this kind.
Accifmus is fometimes confidered as a virtue 5 lorn®!-
times as a vice, which Auguftus and Oberms prac-
tifed with great fuccefs. Cromwells refufal of the
crown of England may be brought as an inftance of an
accifmus. .
Accismus is more particularly ufed in Khetonc, as a
fpecies of irony. nuT
ACCITUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Liilpa-
nia Bsetica, now Flniana, as appears from an ancient
infeription ; fituated on an eminence of the mountains
Alpuxaras, in the province of Granada in Spain.
ACCIUS, Lucius, a Latin tragic poet, the ion of
a freedman, and, according to St Jerome, born in the
confullhip of Hoftilius Mancinus and Attilms Serra-
nus, in the year of Rome 583: but there apperrs
fomewhat of confufion and perplexity in this chronolo¬
gy. He made himfelf known before the death of ra-
cuvius, by a dramatic piece, which was exhibited the
fame year that Pacuvius brought one upon the it age,
the latter being then eighty years of age, and Accms
only thirty. We do not know the name of this piece
of Acciub’s, but the titles of feveral of his tragedies
are mentioned by various authors. He wrote on the
moft celebrated ftories which had been reprelented on
the Athenian ftage j as Andromache, Andromeda, A-
treus, Clytemneftra, Medea, Meleager, PEilodetes,
the civil wars of Thebes, Tereus, the Troades, &c.
He did not always, however, take his fubjetls from
the Grecian ftory : for he compofed one dramatic piece
wholly Roman : It was entitled Brutus, and related to
the expulfion of the Tarquins. It is affirmed by iome
that he wrote alfo comedies $ which is not unlikely, it
he was the author of two pieces, the Wedding and
the Merchant, which have been aferibed to him. He
25 ] ACC
did not confine himfelf to dramatic writing J for he left
other produdions, particularly his annals, _ mentioned tion> ^
by Macrobius, Prifcian, Feftus, and Nonmus Marcel- t—-y- 1
lus. He has been cenfured for writing in too harfii a
ftyle, but in all other refpeashas been eiteemed a very
great poet. He was fo much efteemed by the public,
that a comedian was puniftied, for only mentioning his
name on the ftage. Cicero fpeaks with great denfion
of one Accius who had written a hiftory ; and, as our
author had wrote annals, fome infill that he is the per¬
fon cenfured : but as Cicero himfelf, Horace, Ouinti-
lian, Ovid, and Paterculus, have fpoken of our author
with fo much applaufe, we cannot think it is the fame
perfon whom the Roman orator cenfures with io much,
feverity. c
There was alfo in this age a pretty good orator of
the fame name, againft whom Cicero defended Cluen-
tius. He was born in Pifaurum, and perhaps was a
relation of our poet.
Accius, a poet of the 16th century, to whom is at¬
tributed A Paraphrafe of iEfop’s.Fables, on which Ju¬
lius Scaliger beftows great encomiums.
ACCLAMATION, a confufed noife or fhout of
joy, by which the public exprefs their applaufe, efteem,
or approbation.
Acclamation, in a more proper fenle, denotes a
certain form of words, uttered with extraordinary ve¬
hemence, and in a peculiar tone fomewhat refembhng
a fong, frequent in the ancient affemblies. Acclama¬
tions were ufually accompanied with applaules with
which they are fometimes confounded : though they
ought to be diftinguiffied j as acclamation was given by
the voice, applaufe by the hands : add, that acclamation
was alfo bellowed on perfons abfent, applaufe only on
thofe prefent. Acclamation was alfo given by women,
whereas applaufe feems to have been confined to men..
Acclamations are of various kinds *, ecclefiaftical, mi¬
litary, nuptial, fenatorial, fynodical, fcholaftical, thea¬
trical, &c. We meet with loud acclamations, muiical
and rhythmical acclamations j acclamations of joy and
refnea, and even of reproach and contumely. 1 he
former, wherein words of happy omen were uled, were
alfo called Laudationes, et bona vota, or good wilhesj
the latter, Execrationes et convicia. Suetonius iurmihes
an inftance of this laft kind in the Roman fenate, on
occafion of the decree for demoliffiing the ftatues oi
Domitian, when the fathers, as the hiftorian reprefents
it could not refrain from contumelious acclamations ot
the deceafed. The like were ffiown after the death ol
Commodus, where the acclamations run in the tollow-
ing ftrain : Hojli patria honores detrahantur, parricide*
honores detrahantur; hojlis Jlatuas undjque, parncidce
Jlatuas undique, gladiatoris Jlatuas undique, etc.. 1 he
formula in acclamations, was repeated, lometimes a
greater, fometimes a leffer, number of times. Hence
we find in Roman writers, accJamalum ejl qumqmes,et
vicies ; five times, and twenty times : fometimes alio
fexagies and even oBuagies; fixty and eighty times. .
Acclamations were not unknown on the theatres in
the earlieft ages of the Roman commonwealth ; but
they were artlefs then, and little other than confufed
(bouts. Afterwards they became a fort of regular con¬
certs. That mentioned by Phaedrus, lectare incolumis
Roma falvoprincipe, which was made for Auguftus and
proved the occafion of a pleafant miftake of a^flute-
ACC [126] ACC
•Acclan'.a- player Called Princeps, (hows lliat tnufical acclamations
t'on. were in ufe in that emperor’s reign. Revcrtcntcm ex
^ v provincia modulntis car minibus profequebantur, fays Sue¬
tonius, who gives another inftance in the time of
Tiberius: a falfe report of Germanicus’s recovery be-
ing fpfead through Home, the people ran in crowds to
the capitol with torches and viftims, finging, Sc,ha
Roma, Saha Pntria, Sahus ejl Gennanicus.— Nero,
paflionatdy fond of mafic, took fpecial Care to improve
and perfed the mufic of acclamations. Charmed with
the harmony with which the Alexandrians, who came
to the games celebrated at Naples, had fung his praifes,
he brought feveral over to inftruft a number of youth,
chofen from among the knights and people, in the dif¬
ferent kinds of acclamations praflifed at Alexandria.
Thefe continued in ufe as long as the reign of Theo-
doric. But the people did not always make a fingle
chorus •, fometimes there were two, who antwered each
other alternately : thus, when Nero played on the
theatre, Burrhus and Seneca, who were on either
hand, giving the fignal by clapping, 5000 foldiers
called Augujlals, began to chant his praife, which the
fpeflators w'ere obliged to repeat. The whole was
conduced by a mufic-mafter called mefochorus or pau-
farius.—The honour of acclamations was chiefly ren¬
dered to emperors, their children, and favourites j and
to the magiilrates who prefided at the games. Per*
fons of difiinguilhed merit alfo fometimes received
them, of which Quintilian gives us inftances in Cato
and Virgil. The moll: ufual forms were, Yeliciter, Lon-
giorem vitam, Annas felices. The a61 ors themfelves,
and they who gained the prizes in the games of the
circus, were not excluded the honour of acclamations.
To theatrical acclamations may be added thofe of
*he foldiery and the people in time of triumph. The
vi6torious army accompanied their general to the capi¬
tol j and, among the verfes they fung in his praifes, fre¬
quently repeated lo Triumfhe, which the people
anfwered in the fame ftrain. It was alfo in the way of
acclamation, that the foldiers gave their general the
title of Imperator, after fome notable viflory : a title
which he only kept till the time of his triumph.
The acclamations of the fenate were fomewhat more
ferious than the popular ones 5 but arofe from the fame
principles, viz. a defire of pleafing the prince or his fa¬
vourites 5 and aimed likewife at the fame end, either
to exprefs the general approbation and zeal of the
company, or to congratulate him on his vi6tories, or to
make him new proteflatxons of fidelity. Thefe accla¬
mations were ufually given after a report made by fome
fenator, to which the reft all exprefled their confent by
crying Omkes, Omnes ; or elfe, ALquum est, Jus*
tum est. Sometimes they began with acclamations,
and fometimes ended with them without other debates.
It was after this manner that all the eledlions and pro¬
clamations of emperors, made by the fenate, were con-
du61:ed ; fomething of which praftice is ftill retained
at modern eleftions of kings and emperors, where Vhat
Rex, and Long live the King, are cuftomary forms of ac¬
clamation.
The Greeks borrowed the cuftom of receiving their
emperors in the public places from the Romans. Luit-
prand relates, that at a proceftion where he was pre-
fent, they fung to the emperor Nicephorus, TccXhct wj? j
that is, Many years ■, which Coddin exprefles thus, by Acelaraa.
r« to TroAiip^oHov, or by to } and the ,
wifti or falutation by 'Aohv^o'n^p.tt,. And at dinner,
the Greeks then prefent wiihed with a loud voice to
the emperor and Bardas, Ut Deus annos multiplied ; as
he tranllates the Greek. Plutarch mentions an accla¬
mation fo loud, upon occafion of Flaoiinius’s reftoring
liberty to Greece, that the very birds fell from heaven
with the thout. The Turks praftife fomething like
this on the fight of their emperors and grand viziers
to this day.
For the acclamations with which authors, poets, &e.
were received, who recited their Works in public j it is
to be obferved, the affemblies for this purpofe were held
with great parade in the moft folemn places, as the ca¬
pitol, temples, the Athenaeum, and the houfes of great
men. Invitations were lent everywhere, in order to
get the greater appearance. The chief care was, that
the acclamations might be given with all the order and
pomp poflible. Men of fortune who pretended to wit,
kept able applauders in their fervice, and lent them to
their friends. Others endeavoured to gain them by
prefents and treats. Philoftratus mentions a young
man named Vavus, who lent money to the men of let¬
ters, and forgave the intereft to fuch as applauded his
exercifes. Thefe acclamations were condu6led much
after the fame manner as thofe in the theatre, both as
to the mufic and the accompaniments : they were to
be fuited both to the fubjeft and to the perfon. There
were particular ones for the philofopbers, for orators,
for hiftorians, and for poets. It would be difficult to re-
hearfe all the forms of them *, one of the moft ufual was
Sophos, which was to be repeated three times. Martial
comprehends feveral other ufual forms in this verfe j
Graviter, Citb, Neqmter, Euge, Beate.
Neither the Greeks nor Romans were barren en this
head. The names of gods and heroes were given thofe
whom they would extol. It was not enough to do it
after each head of difeourfe, chiefly after the exordium;
but the acclamations were renewed at every fine paf-
fage, frequently at every period.
The acclamations with which the fpe61ators honoured
the vi6fories of the athletse, were a natural confequence
of the impetuous motions which attended the gymna-
ftic games. The cries and acclamations of the people,
fometimes expreffing their compaflion and joy, fome¬
times their horror and difguft, are ftrongly painted by
different poets and orators.
Acclamations made alfo a part of the ceremony of
marriage. They were ufed for the omen’s fake; being
the Lceta Omina, fometimes fpoken of before marriage
in Roman writers.
Acclamations, at firft pra61ifed in the theatre, and
palling thence to the fenate, &c. were in procefs of time
received into the a6ts of councils, and the ordinary af¬
femblies of the church. The people expreffed their
approbation of the preacher varioufly ; the more ufua!
forms were, Orthodox l Third dpojlle, Lfc, Thefe ac¬
clamations being fometimes carried to excefs, and often
mifplaced, were frequently prohibited by the ancient
dodlors, and at length abrogated *, though they ap¬
pear to have been in fome ufe about the time of St
Bernard.
Acclamation
ACC [ i:
Acclamation Medals, among Antiquaries, fuch
as reprefent the people expreffing their joy in the pof-
ture of acclamation.
ACCLIVITY, the rife or afcent of a hill, in oppo-
fition to the declivity or defcent of it. Some writers
on fortification ufe it for the talus of a rampart.
ACCOLA, among the Romans, fignified a^ perfon
who lived near fome place ; in which fenfe, it differed
from incola, the inhabitant of fuch a place.
ACCOLADE, a ceremony anciently ufed in the
conferring of knighthood.
Antiquaries are not agreed wherein the accolade
properly confifted. The generality fuppofe it to be the
embrace, or kifs, which princes anciently gave the new
knight, as a token of their affe&ion : whence the word
accolade; q. d. a clafping, or taking round the peck.
Others will rather have it to be a blow on the chine of
the neck, given on the fame occafion. Ehe Accolade
is of fome antiquity, in whichfoever of the two fenfes
it be taken. Greg, de Tours writes, that the kings of
France, even of the firft race, in conferring the gilt
fhoulder belt, kiffed the knights on the left cheek. For
the accolee, or blow, John of Salifbury affures us, it
was in ufe among the ancient Normans : by this it
was that William the Conqueror conferred^the honour
of knighthood on his fon Henry. At firft it was given
with the naked fift ; but was afterwards changed into
a blow with the flat of the fword on the fhoulder oi
the knight.
ACCOLE'E, fometimes fynonymous with Acco¬
lade, which fee.—It is alfo ufed in various fenfes in
heraldry ; fometimes it is applied to two things joined;
at other times, to animals with crowns or collars about
their necks, as the lion in the Ogilvy’s arms-, and, laft-
ly, to kews, battens, maces, fwords, &c. placed faltier-
wife behind the fhield.
ACCOLTI, Benedict, the younger, grandfon of
Benedift Accolti the elder, who flourifhed about the
year 1376, was born at Arezzo in I4I5* About the
year 1450, he was appointed fecretary to the republic
of Florence, when he was greatly diftinguifhed. He
wrote 44 Four Books concerning the \» ar which the
Chriftians carried on againft the infidels to recover
Judaea and the Holy Sepulchre.” _ This work was
printed at Venice in 1532, and it is the-ground-plot
of Taffo’s Jerufalem Delivered. He wrote alfo an ac¬
count of the 44 Excellent Perfonages of his Rime, in
the form of dialogue. He died in 1466.
Accolti, Benedict, was nephew, or according to
fome, grandfon of Peter Accolti, and was born at
Florence in 1497. He was much diftinguifhed for his
knowledge of law, and a moft retentive memory and
was fuch a mafter of the Latin language, that he ob¬
tained the flattering appellation of the Cicero of the age.
He enjoyed very high ecclefiaftical honours: Leo X.
bellowed on him the bifhopric of Cadiz •, Adrian the VI.
gave him that of Cremona, and the archbifhopric of
Ravenna } and Clement VII. raifed him to the rank
of cardinal. At the requeft of Clement, he wrote a
treatife in vindication of the pope’s right to the king¬
dom of Naples. He left feveral other works, and
particularly fome pieces of poetry. He died at Florence
in 1549.
Accolti, Francis, brother of the former, was. born
about the year 1418. He was profeffor of jurifpru-
7 ] ACC
dence in feveral umverfities, and Was.fly led the prince of Accolti
lawyers. His underftanding was vigorous, his know- Aceompa_
ledow was extenfive, and his eloquence powerful \ but njment.
he was fo fordidly parfimonious that he amafled im- ' ■ ■ v ",J
menfe treafures. He died about the year 1470} and
left behind him feveral works on law, and fome trani-
lations of the works of Chryfoftom.
Accolti, Peter, the fon of Benedict the younger,
was born at Arezzo about the year I455’ AVas a
profeffor of law, and taught with great reputation. He
was fucceflively raifed to feveral bifhoprics, and at lai.
to the rank of cardinal in 15 n* He wras created by
Pope Leo X. prince of the. Hate of Nepi. He wrote
a comedy entitled 44 Virginia,” and lome other poems
which were much applauded by his contempories.
He died at Rome in 1532.
ACCOMMODATION, the application of one
thing, by analogy, to another ; or the making two or
more things agree with one another..
To know a thing by accommodation, is to know it
by the idea of a fimilar thing referred thereto.
A prophecy of feripture is faid to be fulfilled vari¬
ous ways } properly, as when a thing foretold comes
to pals', and improperly, or by way of accommoda¬
tion, when an event happens to any place or peopie,
like to what fell out fome time before to another.—
Thus, the words of Ifaiah, fnoken to thofe of his own
time, are faid to be fulfilled in thofe who lived in our
Saviour’s ; and are accommodated to them : “ Re hy¬
pocrites, well did Efaias prophefy of you,” &c. which
fame words St Paul afterwards accommodates to the
Jews of his time. .
The primitive church accommodated multitudes ot
Jewifti, and even heathen ceremonies and pra&ices, to
Chriftian purpofes ; but the Jews had before done the
fame by the Gentiles : fome will even have circumci
fion, the tabernacle, brazen ferpent, &c. to have been
originally of Egyptian ufe, and only accommodated.by
Mofes to the purpofes of Judaifm*. Spencer maintains, * Saurin,
that moft of the rites of the old law were in imitation Diff. 0. Z*
of thofe of the Gentiles, and particularly of the Egyp-tom.i.
tians •, that God, in order to divert the children of If-
rael from the worlhip they paid to their falfe deities,
confecrated the greateft part of the ceremonies per¬
formed by thofe idolaters, and had formed out of them
a body of the ceremonial law; that he had indeed made
fome alterations therein, as barriers againft idolatry ;
and that he thus accommodated his worlhip to the genius
and occafibns of his ancient people. R'o this, conde-
feenfion of God, according to Spencer f, is owing the j. De legil.
origin of the tabernacle, and particularly that of the Htbr.i.
ark. Thefe opinions, however, have been controverted '■ 3- P* 3*-
by later writers.
ACCOMPANIMENT, fomething attending or
added as a circumftance to another, either by way of
ornament, or for the fake of fymmetry.
Accompaniment, Accompagnamento, Accom-
pagnatura, in Mufic, denotes the inllruments which
accompany a voice, in order to fuftain it, as well as to
make the mufic more full. I he accompaniment is ufed
in recitative, as well as in fong; on the ftage, as well
as in the choir, &c. The ancients had likewife their
accompaniments in the theatre •, they had even differ¬
ent kinds of inftruments to accompany the chorus, from
thofe which accompanied the afters in the recitation.
Aceompa.
uiaieat
I!
Accords.
128 ] AC C
a loofe manner, according to the licentious tafte of
that age. His Bigarrures are writen in the fame
{train. He was cenfured for this way of writing,
which obliged him to publifh an apology. The lord-
{hip of Accords is an imaginary fief, or title from the
device of his anceftors, which was a drum, with the
motto a tous accords, “ chiming with all.” He had
fent a fonnet to a daughter of M. Begat, the great
and learned prefident of Burgundy, “ who (fays he)
did me the honour to love me : And inafmuch (con¬
tinues he), I had fubfcribed my fonnet with only my
device d tous accords, this lady firft nicknamed me, in
her anfwer, Seigneur des Accords ; by which title her
father alfo called me feveral times. For this reafon I
chofe this furname, not only in all my writings com-
pofed at that time, but even in thefe books.” He died
in 1595, in the 46th year of his age.
ACCORSO (in Latin Accurfius'), Francis, the el¬
der, an eminent lawyer, was born at Bagnolo, near
Florence, in 1182. He began the ftudy of law at ar
late period of life ; but fuch were his afliduity and
proficiency, that he foon diftinguifhed himfelf. He
was appointed profeffor at Bologna, and became a very
eminent teacher. He undertook the great work of
uniting and arranging into one body the almoft end-
lefs comments and remarks upon the Code, the Infti-
tutes, and Digefts, which, he obferved, only tended to
involve the fubje&s in obfcurity and contradiction.
When he was employed in this work, it is faid, that
hearing of a fimilar one propofed and begun by Odo-
fred, another lawyer of Bologna, he feigned indifpo-
fition, interrupted his public leftures, and Ihut himfelf
up, till he had, with the utmoft expedition, accomplifti-
ed his defign. His work, entitled “ A Perpetual
Commentary,” was much efteemed. It was printed
with the “ Body of Law,” publifiied at Lyons in
1627. He died in 1260, and left very great riches.
the younger Francis Accorfo, fucceeded him
ACC [
The accompaniment, among the moderns, is frequent¬
ly a different part or melody from the fong it accom¬
panies. It is difputed whether it was fo among the
1 ancients. It is generally alleged, that their accompa¬
niments went no farther than the playing in oftave, or
in antiphony to the voice. The Abbe Fraguier, from
a pafiage in Plato, pretends to prove, that they had ac¬
tual fymphony, or mufic in parts : but his arguments
i'eem far from being conclufive.
Accompaniment, in Painting, denotes fuch objefls
as are added, either by wTay of ornament or fitnefs to
the principal figures; as dogs, guns, game, Stc. in a
hunting piece.
Accompaniment, in Heraldry, any thing added to
a fhield by way of ornament 5 as the belt, mantling,
fupporters, &c. It is alfo applied to feveral bearings
about a principal one 5 as a faltier, bend, fefs, chev¬
ron, &c.
ACCOMPLICE, one that has a hand in a bufinefs 5
or is privy in the fame defign or crime with another.
See Accessory.
By the law of Scotland, the accomplice can only be
profecuted after the conviflion of the principal offend¬
er, unlefs the accefhon of the accomplice is immediate,
in ipfo adlu, (fo as in effedt to render them co-principal.
By the general rule, the accomplice fuffers the fame pu-
nifhment with the principal offender j yet if he be re¬
markably lefs guilty, juftice will not permit equal pu-
nilhment.
The council of Sens, and feveral other fynodical fla-
tutes, exprefsly prohibit the revealing of accomplices.
ACCOMPLISHMENT, the entire execution or
fulfilling of any thing.
Accomplishment is principally ufed in fpeaking
of events foretold by the Jewifti prophets in the Old
Teftament, and fulfilled under the New. We fay a
literal accomplifhment, a myftical or fpiritual accom-
plilhment, a fingle accomplifhment, a double accom- His fon,
plilhment, a Jewifh accomplifhment, a Chriflian, a hea- in his profefforfhip, and accompanied Edward I. to
then accomplifhment. The fame prophecy is fome- England, on his return from the crufade in 1237*
times accomplifhed in all, or in feveral of thofe differ- {Gen. Biog').
ent ways. Thus, of fome of the prophecies of the
Old Teftament, the Jews find a literal accomplifhment
in their own hiftory, about the time when the prophe¬
cy was given : the Chriftians find another in Chrift,
or the earlieft days of the church } the heathens ano¬
ther, in fome of their emperors •, the Mahometans ano¬
ther, in their legiflator, &c. There are two principal
wrays of accomplifhing a prophecy, direftly, and by ac¬
commodation. See Accommodation, and Prophe¬
cy.
Accomplishment, is alfo ufed for any mental or
perfonal endowment.
ACCORD, in Painting, is the harmony that reigns
among the lights and fhades of a pidture.
ACCORDS, Stephen Tabourot, seigneur des,
advocate in the parliament of Dijon in France, and king’s
advocate in the bailiwick and chancery of that city, was
born in 1549. He was a man of genius and learn¬
ing ; but too much addidled to trifles, as appears from
his piece entitled, “ Les Bigarrures,” printed at Paris
in 1582. This was not his firft produdtion, for he had
before printed fome fonnets. His work entitled Les
Touches, was publifhed at Paris in 1585; which is
indeed a colledlion of witty poems, but worked up in
Accorso, Mariangelo, a learned and ingenious
critic, was a native of Aquila, in the kingdom of
Naples, and lived about the beginning of the fix-
teenth century. To a perfedl knowledge of Greek
and Latin, he added an intimate acquaintance with
feveral modern languages. Claflical literature was
much improved and promoted by his labours. In
difcovering and collating ancient manufcripts he dif-
played uncommon afliduity and diligence. His work,
entitled “ Diatribes,printed at Rome, in folio, in
1524, is a Angular monument of erudition and cri¬
tical fkill. He beftowed, it is faid, unufual pains
on Claudian, and made above feven hundred correc¬
tions in the works of that poet, from different manu¬
fcripts. Unfortunately the world has been deprived
of the advantage of thefe criticifms •, for they were
never publifhed. Thefe corre6tions were made while
he travelled on horfeback during a tour through Ger¬
many, a circumftance which is ftrongly charafteriftic
of his induftry and afliduity. An edition of Ammia-
nus Marcellinus, which he publifhed at Augfburg in
1533, contains five books more than any former one.
Fie was the firft editor of the “ Letters of Cafliodo-
rus,” -with his “ Treatife on the Soul.” The affe&ed
yfe
ACC [ i
Accorfo ufe of antiquated terms introduced by fome of the
II . Latin writers of that age, is humouroufly ridiculed
Accretion.. a jiaj0gUe published in 1531, entitled, “ Osco, Vo/-
J'co, Romanoque, Eloquentia, Inter locator ibux, Dia/ogus
Ludis Romanis acius. He compofed a book on the
invention of printing. On the firft leaf of a grammar of
Donatus, printed on vellum, there is written with his
own hand : “ This Donatus, with another book en¬
titled Confeffionalia” were the firft books printed ;
and John Fauftus, citizen of Mentz, inventor of the
art, had put them to the prefs m the year 1450.”
He had been accufed of plagiarifm in his notes on
Aufonius ; and the folemn and determined manner in
which he repelled this charge of literary theft, prefents
us with a lingular inftance of his anxiety and care to
preferve his literary reputation unftained and pure.
It is in the following oath : “ In the name of gods
and men, of truth and fincerity, I folemnly fwear, and
if any declaration be more binding than an oath, I
in that form declare, and I defire that my declaration
may be received as ftriftly true, that I have never
read or feen any author, from which my own lucubra¬
tions have received the fmalleft affiftance or improve¬
ment j nay, that I have even laboured, as far as pof-
fible, whenever any writer has publilhed any obferva-
tions which I myfelf had before made, immediately
to blot them out of my own works. If in this decla¬
ration I am forfworn, may the pope punilh my per¬
jury j and may an evil genius attend my writings, fo
that whatever in them is good, or at leaft tolerable,
may appear to the unlkilful multitude exceedingly
bad, and even to the learned trivial and contemptible;
and may the fmall reputation I now poffefs be given to
the winds, and regarded as the worthlefs boon of vul¬
gar levity.” {Gen. Blog.)
ACCOUNT, or Accompt, in a general fenfe, a
computation or reckoning of any thing by numbers.—
Colleftively it is ufed to exprefs the books which mer¬
chants, traders, bankers, &c. ufe for recording their
tranfadlions in bufinefs. See Book-keeping.
Chamber of ACCOUNTS, in the French polity, a fove-
reign court of great antiquity, which took cognizance
of and regiftered the accounts of the king’s revenue ;
nearly the fame with the Englifti Court of Exchequer.
Account is taken fometimes, in a particular fenfe,
for the computation of time : thus we fay, the Julian
account, the Gregorian account, &c. in which fenfe
it is equivalent tofyle.
ACCOUNTANT, or Accomptant, in the moft
general fenfe, is a perfon {killed in accounts. In a more
reftridted fenfe, it is applied to a perfon, or officer, ap¬
pointed to keep the accounts of a public company or
office : as the South Sea, the India Company, the Bank,
the Excife, &c.
ACCOUNTANTSHIP, the art of keeping and
balancing accounts. See Book-keeping.
ACCOUNTANT-general, a new officer in the
court of chancery, appointed by act of parliament to
receive all moneys lodged in court inftead of the mailers,
and convey the fame to the bank of England for fecurity.
ACCOUTREMENT, an old term applied to the
furniture of a foldier, knight, or gentleman.
ACCRETION, in Phyfcs, the increafe or growth
of an organical body, by the acceffion of new parts.
See Nutrition, Plants, and Vegetables.
Vol. I. Part I.
msmJ
29 ] ACC
ACCRETION, among civilians, the property acquired Accretion
in a vague or unoccupied thing, by its adhering to or Acci5rfed>
following another already occupied : thus, if a legacy
be left to two perfons, one of whom dies before the
teftator, the legacy devolves to the furvivor by right of
accretion •
ACCROCHE, in Heraldry, denotes a thing’s being
hooked with another.
ACCUSATION, a pofture of the body, between
fitting and lying. The word comes from the Latin ac-
cubare, compounded of ad, to, and cubo, I lie down.
Accubation, or Accubitus, was the table pofture of the
Greeks and Romans; whence we find the words par¬
ticularly ufed for the lying, or rather (as we call it)
fitting down to meat. The Greeks introduced this
pofture. The Romans, during the frugal ages of the
republic, were ftrangers to it j but as luxury got foot¬
ing, this pofture came to be adopted, at leaft by the
men j for as to women, it was reputed an indecency in
them to lie down among the men : though, afterwards,
this too was got over. Children did not lie down,
nor fervants, nor foldiers, nor perfons of meaner con¬
dition. They took their meals fitting, as a pofture lefs
indulgent. The Roman manner of difpofing themfelves
at table was this : A low round table was placed in
the ccenaculum, or dining room, and, about this,
ufually three, fometimes only two, beds or couches ;
and according to their number, it was called bich-
tiium or triclinium. Thefe were covered with a fort of
bedclothes, richer or plainer according ao the quality
of the perfon, and furniflied with quilts and pillows,
that the guefts might lie the more commodioufly. 1 here
were ufually three perfons on each bed j to crowd
more, was efteemed fordid. In eating, they lay down
on their left fides, with their heads refting on the pil¬
lows, or rather on their elbowrs. The firft lay at the
head of the bed, with his feet extended behind the
back of the fecond ; the fecond lay with the back of
his head towards the navel of the firft, only feparated
by a pillow, his feet behind the back of the third; and
fo of the third or fourth. The middle place was efteem¬
ed the moft honourable. Before they came to table,
they changed their clothes, putting on what they called
ccenatoria vefis, the dining garment; and pulled off
their ffioes, to prevent foiling the couch.
ACCUBITOR, an ancient officer of the emperors
of Conftantinople, whofe bufinefs was to lie near the
emperor. He was the head of the youth of the bed¬
chamber, and had the cubicularius and procubitor under
him.
ACCUMULATION, in a general fenfe, the a£t of
heaping or amaffing things together. Among lawyers,
it is ufed in fpeaking of the concurrence of feveral titles
to the fame thing, or of feveral circumftances to the
fame proof.
Accumulation of Degrees, in a univerfity, is the
taking feveral of them together, or at (hotter intervals
than ufual or than is allowed by the rules of the uni¬
verfity.
ACCURSED, fomething that lies under a curfe,
or fentence of excommunication.
In the Jewiffi idiom accurfed and crucified were fy-
nonymous. Among them, every one was accounted
accurfed who died on a tree. This fcrves to explain
the difficult paffage in Rom. ix. 3. where the apoftle
R Paul
ACC [ i
Accurfed Paul wlfhcd himfelf accurfed after the manner of Chriji,
II . i. e. crucified, if happily he might by fuch a death fave
Accufative. countrymen< The propofition ajr# here made ufe
of, is ufed in the fame fenfe, 2 Tim. i. 3. where it ob-
vioufly fignifies after the manner of
ACCUSATION, the charging any perfon with a
criminal aflion, either in one’s own name, or in that
of the public. The word is compounded of ad, to j
and caufan to plead.
Writers on politics treat of the benefit and the in-
conveniencies of public accufations. Various argu¬
ments are alleged, both for the encouragement and
difcouragement of accufations againft great men. No¬
thing, according to Machiavel, tends more to the pre-
fervation of a Hate, than frequent accufations of per-
fons trufted with the adminiilration of public affairs.
This, accordingly, was llriftly obferved by the Ro¬
mans, in the inftances of Camillus, accufed of corrup¬
tion by Manlius Capitolinus, &c. Accufations, how-
iever, in the judgment of the fame author, are not more
beneficial than calumnies are pernicious j which is alfo
confirmed by the pra£Hce of the Romans. Manlius not
being able to make good his charge againft Camillus,
was call into prifon.
By the Roman law, there was no public accufer for
public crintes j every private perfon, whether interefted
in the crime or not, might accufe, and profecute the
nccufed to punilhment or abfolution. Cato, the moft
innocent perfon of his age, had been accufed 42 times,
and as often abfolved. But the aecufation of private
crimes was never received but from the mouths of
ihofe who were immediately interefted in them : None
(>. £■.) but the hulband could accufe his wife of adul-
tery.
The ancient Roman lawyers diftinguifhed between
pof ulado, delado, and accufatio. For, firft, leave was
defired to bring a charge againft one, which was called
pofulare: then he againft whom the charge was laid
was brought before the judge ; which was called de-
ferre, or nominis delatio: laftly, the charge w'as drawn
up and prefented ; which was properly the accufatio.
The accufation properly commenced, according to Poe-
dianus, when the reus or party charged, being inter¬
rogated, denied he was guilty of the crime, and fubfcrib-
td his name to the delatio made by his opponent.
In the French law, none but the prdcureur general,
or his deputies, can form an accufation, except for high
treafon and coining, where accufation is open to every
body. In other crimes, private perfons can only aft
the part of denouncers, and demand reparation for the
offence, with damages.
In Britain, by Magna Charta, no man fhall be im-
prifoned or condemned on any accufation, without trial
by his peers, or the law } none (hall be vexed with any
accufation, but according to the law of the land ; and
no man may be molefted by petition to the king, &c.
unlefs it be by indiftment or prefentment of lawful men,
or by procefs at common law. Promoters of fuggef-
tlons, are to find furety to purfue them •, and if they do
not make them good, (hall pay damages to the party
accufed, and alfo a fine to the king. No perfon is
obliged to anfwer upon oath to a queftion whereby he
jnay accufe himfelf of any crime.
ACCUSATIVE, in Latin Grammar, is the fourth
30 ] ACE
cafe of nouns, and fignifies the relation of the noun Accufatr
on which the aftion implied in the verb terminates j
and hence, in fuch languages as have cafes, thefe nouns jous>
have a particular termination, called accufative, as,
Augufus vicit Antonium, Auguftus vanquiftied An¬
tony. Here Antonium is the noun on which the ac¬
tion implied in the word vicit terminates j and, there¬
fore, muft have the accufative termination. Ovid, fpeak-
ing of the palace of the fun, fays, Materiem fuperabat
opus, The work furpaffed the materials. Here matc-
riem has the accufative termination 5 becaufe it deter¬
mines the aftion of the verb fuperabat.—In the Englilb
language there are no cafes, except the genitive ; the
relation of the noun being ftiown by the afliftance of
prepofitions, as of to, from, &c.
ACCUSIORUM Colonia, in Ancient Geography,
an inland town in the Cavares, in Gallia Narbonenfisj
now Grenoble, in Dauphine. See Grenoble.
ACE, among gamefters, a card or die marked only
with one point.
ACELDAMA, in Scripture hiftory, a place with¬
out the fouth wall of Jerufalem, beyond the brook of
Siloam, was called the Potters field, becaufe clay of
which pots were made was dug out of it. It was af¬
terwards bought with the money with which the high
priefts and rulers of the Jews purchafed the blood of
Jefus Chrift, and hence it was called Aceldama, the
field of blood.
ACELUM, or Acelium, in Ancient Geography, a
town of the Venetian territory, now called Axolo, fi-
tuated to the weft of Trevigi, at the fource of the ri¬
vulet Mufone. E. Long. 130. N- Lat. 45°*
ACENTETUM, or Acanteta, in Natural Hi-
fory, a name given by the ancients to the pureft and
fineft kind of rock cryftal : They ufed the cryftal
in many ways 5 fometimes engraving on it, and fome-
times forming it into vafes and cups, which were held
next in value to the vafa murrhina of thofe times..
The cryftal they obtained from the ifland of Cyprus
was much efteemed j but often faulty in particular
parts, having hairs, cracks, and foulneffes, which they
called falts, in the middle of the large pieces. Pliny
tells us, that when it wras ufed for engraving on, the
artift could conceal all thefe blemifties among the
ftrokes of his work *, but when it was to be formed
into cups or precious vafes, they always chofe the
acentetum which had no flaws or blemifhes.
ACEPHALI, or Acefhalita:, a term applied to
ieveral fefts who refufed to follow feme noted leader.
Thus the perfons who refufed to follow either John of
Antioch, or St Cyril, in a difpute that happened in the
council of Ephefus, were termed Acephah, without a
head or leader. Such bilhops, alfo, as were exempt
from the jurifdiftion and difcipline of their patriarch,
were ftyled Acephali.
AcEPHALI, the levellers in the reign of King Hen¬
ry I. who acknowledged no head or fuperior. They
were reckoned fo poor, that they had not a tenement
by which they might acknowledge a fuperior lord.
ACEPHALOUS, or Acefhajlus, in a general
fenfe ; without a head.
The term is more particularly ufed in fpeaking of
certain nations, or people, reprefented by ancient na-
turalifts and cofmographers, as well as by fome modem
traveller?,
ACE . f i
Acephalous travellers, as formed without heads; their eyes, mouth,
|| &c. being placed in other parts.
Acerra. 5uch are the Blemmyes, a nation of Africa near the
     head of the Niger, reprefented to be by Pliny and So-
linus; Blemmyes traduntur capita abejfe, ore et oculis
peBore qffixis. Ctefias and Solinus mention others in
India near the Ganges, fine cervice, oculos in humeris
habentes. Mela alf© fpeaks of people, quibus capita et
vultus in peSiore funt. And Suidas, Stephanus Byzan-
tinus, Vopifcus, and others after them, relate the like.
Some modern travellers ftill pretend to find acephalous
people in America.
Several opinions have been framed as to the origin
of the fable of the Acephali. The firft is that of Tho¬
mas Bartholin, who turns the whole into a metaphor;
being convinced, that the name Acephali was anciently
given to fuch as had lefs brain, or conduced them-
felves lefs by the rules of prudence than others. Ole-
arius rather apprehends, that the ancient voyagers,
viewing certain barbarous people from the coafts, had
been impofed on by their uncouth drefs; for that
the Samogitians, being ftiort of ftature, and going in
the feverity of winter with their heads covered in
hoods, feem at a diftance as if they were headlefs. F.
Lafitau fays, that by Acephali are only meant people
whofe heads are funk below their (boulders. In ef-
fe&, Hulfius, in his epitome of Sir Walter Raleigh’s
voyage to Guiana, alfo fpeaks of a people which that
traveller found in the province of Irvipanama, between
the lakes of Panama and Caffipa, who had no head or
neck ; and Hondius, in his map, marks the place with
the %ures of thefe roonfters* Yet De Laet * rejefts
Amei\]L ‘. the (lory ; being informed by others, that the inha-
xvii.c. zz. bitants of the banks of the Caora, a river that flows
out of the lake of Caflipa, have their heads fo far funk
between their fhoulders, that many believed they had
their eyes in their (boulders, and their mouths in their
breads.
But though the exiftence of a nation of Acephali be
ill warranted, naturalifts furnifli feveral inftances of in¬
dividuals born without heads, by fome lufus or devia-
I In Eph. tion of nature. Wepfer gives f a catalogue of fuch
Ger. dec. i. acephalous births, from Schenckius, Licetus, Paraeus,
an. 3. obu \y0]fiUSi Mauriceau, &c.
l)ec *2 18^" Acephalus, an obfolete term for the taenia or
an. 9. tape-worm, which was long fuppofed to be acephalous,
obfer. 148. The firft who gave it a head was Tulprius : and after
P12S8* him, Fehr : The former even makes it biceps, or two-
headed.
Acephalus, is alfo ufed to exprefs a verfe defe£live
in the beginning.
ACER, the. Maple, or Sycamore Tree. See
Botany Index.
ACERB, a four rough aftringency of tafte, fuch as
that of unripe fruit.
ACERINA, in Ichthyology, a name given by Pliny
and other of the old naturalifts, to the fi(h we at this
time call the ruffe. See Perca, Ichthyology Index.
ACERNO, in Geography, a town of Italy, in the
citerior principality of Naples, with a bilhop’s fee. It
is fituated 12 miles north-eaft of Saluno, in E. Long.
15. 46. N. Lat. 40. 45.
ACERRA, in antiquity, an altar erefted among
the Romans, near the bed of a perfon deceafed, on
which his friends daily offered incenfe till his burial*—
!i ] ACE
The real intention probably was to overcome any of- Acevra.
fenfive fmell that might arife about the corpfe. The Ace,tiabu.
Chinefe have ftill a cuftom like this : they eredl an al- lum.
tar to the deceafed in a room hung with mourning ; —y—“
and place an image of the dead perfon on the altar, to
which every one that approaches it bows four times,
and offers oblations and perfumes.
The acerra alfo fignified a little pot wherein were
put the incenfe and perfumes to be burnt on the altars
of the gods and before the dead. It appears to have
been the fame with what was otherwife called thunbu-
lum, and pyxis.
We find mention of acerrce in the ancient church.
The Jews had alfo their acerrce, in our verfion render¬
ed cenfers ; and the Romanifts ftill retain them under
the name of incenfe pots. In Roman writers, we fre¬
quently meet with plena acerra, a full acerra : to un-
derftand which, it is to be obferved, that people were
obliged to offer incenfe in proportion to their eftate and
condition ; the rich in larger quantities, the poor only
a few grains ; the former poured out full acerrce on the
altar, the latter took out two or three bits with their
fingers,
Acerra, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Na¬
ples, and in the Terra di Lavoro ; feated on the river
Agno, feven miles north-eaft of Naples. E. Long. 14;
30. N. Lat. 40. 55.
ACERRAt, in Ancient Geography, the name of a
town on the Clanius, in Campania, not far from
Naples; now Acerra.—The name alfo of another
town, now called la Girola, in the territory and to
the fouth-eaft of Lodi, where the rivulet Serio falls
into the Adda, to the Aveft of Cremona and north of
Placentia.
ACESINES, in Ancient Geography, a large and
rapid river of India which Alexander paffed in his ex¬
pedition into that country. The kingdom of Porus,
which was conquered by Alexander, lay between the
Hydafpes and this river, which, uniting with the for¬
mer and other confiderable rivers, pours its waters into
the Indus. According to Major Rennell, the modern
Jenaub is the Acefines of the ancients.
ACESIUS, a bifliop of Conftantinople in the reign
of Conftantine, was a rigid adherent to the Novatian
doftrines, according to which thofe whom perfecutions
had (haken from the faith, or who were guilty of any
mortal fin after baptifm, could not be admitted to the
communion of the church, even after exhibiting the
mod convincing proofs of fincere repentance. Conftan¬
tine, who was extremely difpleafed with the feverity of
this rigid fe&, in difeouraging and reje&ing repentance,
is faid to have thus expreffed himfelf: “ Then, Ace-
fius, make a ladder for yourfelf, and go up to heaven
alone.” {Gen. Blog.)
ACESCENT, a word ufed to denote any thing
which is turning (®ur, or which is (lightly acid. It is
only applied properly to the former of thefe two mean¬
ings. The fecond may be expreffed by either of the
two words, acidulous, or fub-acid.
ACETABULUM, in antiquity, a meafure ufed by
the ancients, equal to one-eighth of our pint. It feems
to have acquired its name from a veffel in which ace-
tum or vinegar was brought to their tables, and which
probably contained about this quantity.
Acetabulum, in Anatomy, a cavity in any bone
R 2 for
Acetabu¬
lum
11
Aehaeans.
A C H [
for receiving the protuberant head of another,
thereby forming that fpecies of articulation called En-
ARTHROSIS.
Acetabulum, in Botany, the trivial name of a fpe¬
cies of the peziza, or cup peziza, a genus belonging to
the cryptogamia fungi of Linnaeus. It has got the
name of acetabulum, from the refemblance its leaves
bear to a cup. See Peziza, Botany Index.
ACETARY. Grew, in his anatomy of plants, ap¬
plies this term to a pulpy fubftance, in certain fruits,
e. g. the pear, which is enclofed in a congeries of
fmall calculous bodies towards the bafe of the fruit,
and is always of an acid tafte.
ACETOSA, sorrel-, by Linnaeus joined to the
genus Rumex. See Botany Index.
ACETOSELLA, in Botany, a fpecies of Oxalis.
See Botany Index.
ACETOUS, an epithet applied to fuch fubftances
as are four, or partake of the nature of vinegar.
ACETUM, VINEGAR, the vegetable ACID of the
chemifts. See Acetous Acid, Chemistry Index.
ACHABYTUS, in Ancient Geography, a high moun¬
tain in Rhodes, on the top of which Hood a temple of
Jupiter.
ACHiEA, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
illand of Rhodes, in the diftrift of JaljTus, and the firft
and moil ancient of all, faid to be built by the Heli-
ades, or grandfons of the fun.
Achiea, a hamlet of Anatic Sarmatia, on the Euxine.
The inhabitants were called Achat, a colony of the
Orchomenians.
ACIJiEANS, the inhabitants of Achaia Propria,
a Peloponnefian Hate. This republic was not confi-
derable in early times, for the number of its troops,
nor for its wealth, nor for the extent of its^ territories j
but it was famed for its probity, its juftice, and its
love of liberty. Its high reputation for thefe virtues
was very ancient. Ihe Crotonians and Sybarites, to
re-eftablilh order in their towns, adopted the laws and
cuftoms of the Achseans. After the famous battle of
Leudfra, a difference arofe betwixt the Lacedemonians
and Thebans, who held the virtue of this people in
fuch veneration, that they terminuted the difpute by
their decifion. The government of the Achaeans was
democratical. They preferved their liberty dll the
time of Philip and Alexander : But in the reign of
thefe princes, and afterwards, they were either fubjedt
to the Macedonians, who had made themfelves mailers
of Greece, or oppreffed by cruel tyrants. The Achaean
commonwealth confifted of twelve inconfiderable towns
in Peloponnefus. Its fir ft annals are not marked by any
great addon, for they are not graced with one eminent
charadter. After the death of Alexander, this little
republic was a prey to all the evils which flow from po¬
litical difcord. Zeal for the good of the community
was now extinguifhed. Each town was only attentive
to its private intereft. There was no longer any liabi¬
lity in the Hate -, for it changed its mailers with every
revolution in Macedonia. Towards the 124th Olym¬
piad, about the time when Ptolemy Soter died, and
when Pyrrhus invaded Italy, the republic of the A-
chseans recovered its old inftitutions and unanimity.
The inhabitants of Patrae and of Dymae were the firll
affertors of ancient liberty. The tyrants were banifli-
ed, and the towns again made one commonwealth.
132 ] A G H
and A public council was then held, in whicli affairs of Aehxans
importance were difculfed and determined. A regifler Acjjaja>
was appointed to record the tranfadlions of the coun- \ —y—
cil. This aflembly had two prefidents, who were no¬
minated alternately by the different towns. But in-
ftead of two prefidents, they foon eledled but one. Many
neighbouring towns which admired the conftitution
of this republic, founded on equality, liberty, the love
of juftice, and of the public good, were incorporated
with the Achaeans, and admitted to the full enjoyment
of their laws and privileges.—The arms which the
Achaeans chiefly ufed were flings. They were trained
to the art from their infancy, by flinging from a great
diftance, at a circular mark of a moderate circumference.
By long pradtice they took fo nice an aim, that they
were fure, not only to hit their enemies on the head,
but on any part of the face they chofe. Their flings
were of a different kind from thofe of the Balearians,
whom they far furpaffed in dexterity.
ACHiEI, AcHjEANS, the inhabitants of Achaia
Propria. In Livy, the people of Greece; for the moil ^
part called Achivi, by the Roman poets. In Homer,
the general name for Grecians. See AcHjEANS.
ACH/EORUM portus, (Pliny); now Bortu Buon,
a harbour of the Cherfonefus Taurica, on the Euxine :
Another near Sigaeum, into which the Xanthus, after,
being joined by the Simoi's, falls.
ACHiEMENES, according to Herodotus, was
grandfather of Cambyfes, and great-grandfather of
Cyrus the firft, king of Perfia. Moft of the commen¬
tators of Horace are of opinion, that the Achaemenes
whom that poet mentions, ode xii. of his 2d book, was
one of the Perfian monarchs ; but, if that were true,
he muft have reigned before the Medes fubdued the
Perfians ; for we do not hear of any king of that name
from the time that the Perfians founded that great mo¬
narchy, which is looked upon as the fecond univerfal
one. However this be, the epithet Achcemenians is
frequently given to the Perfians, in the old Latin
poets.
Ach.®menes, fon of Darius 1. king of Perfia, and
brother of Xerxes, had the government of Egypt .be¬
llowed on him, after Xerxes had forced the Egyptians
to return to their allegiance. He fome time after com¬
manded the Egyptian fleet in the celebrated expedition
which proved lo fatal to all Greece. T he Egyptians
having again taken up arms after the death of Xerxes,
Achsemenes was fent into Egypt to fupprefs the rebel¬
lion; but was vanquilhed by Inarus, chief of the rebels,
fuccoured by the Athenians.
ACHAiUS, coufin-german to Seleucus Ceraunus
and Antiochus the Great, kings of Syria, became a
very powerful monarch, and enjoyed the dominions he
had ufurped for many years; but at laft he was punifli-
ed for his ufurpations in a dreadful manner, in the
140th year of Rome, as related by Polybius *. * Lib. viii.
ACHAIA, a name taken for that part of Greececap 56.
which Ptolemy calls Hellas; the younger Pliny, Gra¬
cia ; now called Livadia : bounded on the north by
Theffaly, the river Sperchius, the Sinus Maliacus, and
Mount Oeta ; on the weft by the river Achelous; on
the eaft, turning a little to the north, it is walked by
the Archipelago, down to the promontory of Sunium ;
on the fouth, joined to Peloponnefus, or the Morea, by
the ifthmus of Corinth, five miles broad.
Achaia
Achaia
II
Acheen.
A C H [ 133 ]
ACHAIA Propria, anciently a fmall diftrict in the
north of Peloponnefus, running weftward along the bay
of Corinth, and bounded on the weft by the Ionian lea,
' on the fouth by Elis and Arcadia, and on the eaft by
Sicyonia: inhabitants the Ac/ueans, properly fo called;
its metropolis Patrce. It is now called Romania Alta,
in the Morea. .
AcHAIA was alfo taken for all thofe countries that
joined in the Achsean league, reduced by the Romans
to a province. Likewife lor Peloponnefus.
- ACHAIM Prejbyteri, or the Prelbyters of Achaia,
were thofe who were prefent at the martyrdom of St
Andrew the apoftle, A. D. 59 ; and are faid to have
written an epiftle in relation to it. Bellarmin, and te-
veral other eminent writers in the church of Rome al¬
low it to be genuine; while Du Pin, and lome others,
exprefsly rejeft it.
\CHAIUS, fon of Ethwm, was railed to the
crown of Scotland, A. D. 788. The emperor Char¬
lemagne fent an embaffy to this prince, to requeft an
alliance with him againft the Englilb, whofe pirates lo
infefted the feas, that the merchants could not carry on
their trade. The alliance was concluded in France,
upon conditions fo advantageous to the Scots, that
Achaius, to perpetuate the memory of it, added to the
arms of Scotland a double field fowed with lilies. He
died in 819. .
ACHALALACTLI, a fp ecies of king’s-fiftier.
See Alcedo, Ornithology c T j 1
ACHAN, the fon of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah,
at the taking of Jericho, concealed two hundred ftiekels
offilver, a Babylonifti garment, and a wedge of gold,
contrary to the exprefs command ol God. 1 his 1m
proved fatal to the Ifraelites, who were repulfed at the
liege of Ai. In this dreadful exigence, Joiliua proftra-
ted himfelf before the Lord, and begged that he would
have mercy upon his people. Achan was difcovered
by calling lots, and he and his children were (toned
to death. This expiation being made, Ai was taken
by ftratagem. Jolh. vii. 8, 9.
ACHANE, an ancient Perfian corn mealure, con¬
taining 45 Attic medimni.
ACHARACA, anciently a town of Lydia, fituated
between Tralles and Nyfa ; in which were the temple
of Pluto and the cave Charonium, where patients llept
in order to obtain a cure.
ACHAT, in Law, implies a purchafe or bargain.
And hence probably purveyors were called achators,
from their making bargains.
ACHATES, the companion of /Eneas, and his molt
faithful friend, celebrated in Virgil.
Achates, in NaturalHiftory, the fame as Agate.
Achates, in Ancient Geography, a river of Sicily,
now the TArilU ; which runs from north to fouth, al-
moft parallel with, and at no great diftance from, the
Gela; and rifes in the north of the territory of No to.
It gave name to the achates, or agate, faid to be firft
found there. 7
ACHAZIB, or Achzib, in Ancient Geography,
a town of Galilee, in the tribe of Alher, nine miles
from Ptolemais.—Alfo a town in the more fouthern
parts of the tribe of Judah.
ACHEEN, Ache', or Achen, a kingdom of Su¬
matra in the Eaft Indies, fituated in the north-weftern
part of the ifland.
A C H
The capital is fituated on a river which empties it- t Acheeii
felf near the north weft point, or Acheen head, about ^
two miles from the mouth. It lies in a wide valley,
formed like an amphitheatre by two lofty .ranges of hills.
The river is not large, and by emptying itfelf in feveral
channels is rendered very (hallow at the bar. In the
dry monfoon, it will not admit boats of any burthen,
much lefs large veffels, which lie without, in the road
formed by the iflandsoff the point. . Though.no longer
the great mart of eaftern commodities, it ftill carries
on a confiderable trade with the natives of that part , of
the coaft of Indoftan called Tellinga, who fupply it with
the cotton goods of their country, and receive in re¬
turn, gold dull, fapan wood, betel-nut, patch-leaf, a
little pepper, fulphur., camphire, and benzoin. The
country is fupplied with Bengal opium, and alfo with
iron, and many other articles of merchandife, by the
European traders.
Acheen is efteemed comparatively healthy, being
more free from wmods and fwamps than mod other por¬
tions of the idand; and the fevers and dyfenteries to
which thefe are fuppofed to give occafion, are there
faid to be uncommon. The foil is light and fertile;
and the produfts, befide thofe already enumerated as
articles of export trade, and a variety of fine fruits, are
chiefly rice and cotton. There is likewife fome raw
filk procured in the country, of very inferior quality.
Gold duft is collefted in the mountains near Acheen,
but the greateft part is brought from the fouthern ports
of Nalaboo and Soofoo. The fulphur is gathered from
a volcanic mountain in the neighbourhood, which fup-
plies their own confumption for the manuladlure ol
gunpowder, and admits of a large exportation.
In their perfons, the Achenefe differ from the reft of
the Sumatrans, being taller, ftouter, and darker com-
plexioned. They appear not to be a genuine people; but
are thought, with great appearance of reafon, to be a
mixture of Battas, Malays, and Moors, from the weft of
India. In their difpofitions they are more adlive and
induftrious than their neighbours : they poffefs more
penetration and fagacity ; have more general know¬
ledge; and, as merchants, they deal upon a more ex-
tenfive and liberal footing. Their religion is Mahome-
tanifm; and having a great number of mofques and
priefts, its forms and ceremonies are ftridlly oblerved.
The appearance of the town, and the nature of the
buildings, are much the fame as are found in the ge¬
nerality of Malay bazars, excepting that the fuperior
wealth of this place has occafioned a great number
of public edifices, but without the fmalleft pretenfions
to magnificence. The king’s palace, if it deferves the
appellation, is a very rude and uncouth piece of archi-
tedlure, defigned to refill the force of an enemy, and
furrounded for that purpofe by ftrong walls, but with¬
out any regular plan, or view to the modern fyftem of
military attack. The houfes in common are built of
bamboos and rough timber, and raifed fome feet from
the ground on account of the place being overflowed
in the rainy feafon.
A confiderable fabric of a thick fpecies of cotton
cloth, and of (luff for the (hort drawers worn both by
Malays and Achenefe is eftablifhed here, and fupplies
an extenfive demand. 1 hey weave alfo very handsome
filk pieces of a particular form, for that part of the
drefs which is called by the Malays cayen ferrong.
A he
A C H
The Achenefe are expert and bold navigators, and
employ a variety of veffels, according to the voyages
they undertake, and the purpofes for which they defign
them. The river is covered with a multitude of filhing
fampans or canoes, which go to fea with the morning
breeze, and return in the afternoon, with the fea wind,
fully laden.
Having no convenient coins, though moft fpecies of
money will be taken here at a valuation, they common¬
ly make their payments in gold duft, and for that pur-
pofe are all provided with fcales or fmall fteelyards.
They carry their gold about them, wrapped up in
pieces of bladder, and often purchafe to fo fmall an a-
mount, as to make ufe of grains or feeds for weights.
The monarchy is hereditary ■, and the king ufually
maintains a guard of 100 fepoys about his palace.
According to Mr Marfden, “ the grand council
of the nation conlifts of the king or fu/tan, four
oolooba/latigs, and eight of a lower degree, who fit
on his right hand, and fixteen cajoorangs, who fit
on his left. At the king’s feet fits a woman, to
whom he makes known his pleafure : by her it is
communicated to an eunuch, who fits next to her ;
and by him to an officer named cajoorang gondong,
who then proclaims it aloud to the affembly. There
are alfo prefent two other officers, one of whom
has the government of the ba%ar or market, and the
other the fuperintending and carrying into execution
the puniffiment of criminals. All matters relative to
commerce and the cuftoms of the port come under the
iurifdiftion .of the Jhabandar, who performs the cere¬
mony of giving the chap or licenfe for trade; which
is done by lifting a golden-hafted creefe over the head
of the merchant who arrives, and without which he
dares not to land his goods. Prefents, the value of
which are become pretty regularly afcertained, are then
fent to the king and his officers. If the ftranger be in
the ftyle of an ambaffador, the royal elephants are fent
down to carry him and his letters to the monarch’s
prefence ; thefe being firft delivered into the hands of
an eunuch, who places them in a filver diffi, covered
with rich filk, on the back of the largefl elephant,
which is provided with a machine (houder) for that
purpofe. Within about an hundred yards of an open
hall where the king fits, the cavalcade flops, and the
ambaffador difmounts, and makes his obeifance by bend¬
ing his body, and lifting his joined hands to his head.
When he enters the palace, if an European, he is
obliged to take off his flioes j and having made a fe-
cond obeifance, is feated upon a carpet on the floor,
where betel is brought to him. The throne was fome
years ago of ivory and tortoifefhell j and when the place
was governed by queens, a curtain of gauze was hung
before it, which did not obflrudl the audience, but pre¬
vented any perfedl view. The ftranger, after fome ge¬
neral difcourfe, is then conduced to a feparate build¬
ing, where he is entertained with the delicacies of the
country by the officers of ftate, and in the evening re¬
turns in the manner he came, furrounded by a prodi¬
gious number of lights. On high days (aree ryah) the
king goes in great ftate, mounted on an elephant richly
caparifoned, to the great mofque, preceded by his oo/oo-
ballangs, who are armed nearly in the European manner.”
The country under the immediate jurifdidlion of
Acheen, is divided into three diftri&s, named Duo-
A C H
pooloo duo, Duo-pooloo leemo, and Duo-pooloo atlum. Acheen,
Each diftridl is governed by a pangleemo, and under Axhelous.
him an imautn and four pangeeches to each mofque. v ^
“ Acheen has ever been remarkable for the feverity
with which crimes are puniffied by their laws : the
fame rigour ftill fubfifts, and there is no commutation
admitted, as is regularly eftablifhed in the fouthern
countries. There is great reafon, however, to conclude,
that the poor alone experience the rod of juftice; the
nobles being fecure from retribution in the number of
their dependants. Petty theft is puniffied by fufpend-
ing the criminal from a tree, with a gun or heavy
weight tied to his feet j or by cutting off a finger, a
hand, or leg, according to the nature of the theft.
Many of thefe mutilated and wretched objedls are daily
to be feen in the ftreets. Robbery on the highway and
houfe breaking are punifhed by drowning, and after¬
wards expofing the body on a flake for a few days. If
the robbery is committed upon an imaum or prieft, the
facrilege is expiated by burning the criminal alive. A
man who is convi£led of adultery is feldom attempted
to be fcreened by his friends, but is delivered up to the
friends and relations of the injured hufhand. Tbefe
take him to fome large plain, and forming themfelves
in a circle, place him in the middle. A large weapon
called a gadoobong, is then delivered to him by one of
his family; and if he can force his way through thofe
who furround him, and make his efcape, he is not li¬
able to further profecution; but it commonly happens
that he is inflantly cut to pieces. In this cafe his rela¬
tions bury him as they would a dead buffalo, refufing
to admit the corpfe into their houfe, or to perform any
funeral rites.” Thefe difcouragements to vice might
feem to befpeak a moral and virtuous people : yet all
travellers agree in reprefenting the Achenefe as one of
the moft diffioneft and flagitious nations of the Eaft.
Acheen was vifited by the Portuguefe in 1509, only
12 years after they had difcovered the paffage to the
Eaft Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. They made
various attempts to eftabliffi themfelves in the country,
but were expelled with difgrace. See SUMATRA.
ACHELOUS, in fabulous hiftory, wreftled with
Hercules, for no lefs a prize than Deianira, daughter
of King Oeneus : but as Achelous had the power of af¬
firming all lhapes, the conteft was long dubious : at laft:
as he took that of a bull, Hercules tore off one of his
horns; fo that he was forced to fubmit, and to redeem
it by giving the conqueror the horn of Amalthea, the
fame with the cornucopiae or horn of plenty ; which
Hercules having filled with a variety of fruits, confe-
crated to Jupiter. Some explain this fable, by faying.
That Achelous is a winding river of Greece, whofe
ftream was fo rapid, that it roared like a bull, and over¬
flowed its banks ; but Hercules, by bringing it into
two channels, broke off one of the horns, and fo reftor-
ed plenty to the country. See the next article.
Achelous, a river of Acarnania ; which rifes in
Mount Pindus, and, dividing iEtolia from Acarnania,
falls from north to fouth into the Sinus Corinthiacus.
It was formerly called Thoas from its impetuofity, and
king of rivers (Homer). The epithet Ache/oius is
ufed for Aqueus, (Virgil) ; the ancients calling all wa¬
ter Achelous, efpecially in oaths, vows, and facrifices,
according to Ephorus; Now called Afpro Potamo,
Rivers are by the ancient poets called Taurformes,
either
[ «34 1
A C H [ 135 ] A C H
Achelous either from the bellowing of their waters, or from
II. their ploughing the earth in their courfe : Hercules,
Achm. reftraining by dykes and mounds the inundations of the
Achelous, is laid to have broken off one of his horns,
and to have brought back plenty to the country. See
the preceding article.
ACHERI, Luke d’, a learned Bendi£tine of the
congregation of St Maur, was born at St Quintin, in
Picardy, in 1609 j and made himfelf famous by print¬
ing feveral works, which till then were only in manu-
fcript: particularly, the epiftle attributed to St Bar¬
nabas \ the works of Lanfranc, archbilhop of Canter¬
bury *, a colle&icm of fcarce and curious pieces, under
the title of Spicilegium, i. e. Gleanings, in thirteen vo¬
lumes, quarto. The prefaces and notes, which he an¬
nexed to many of thefe pieces, (how him to have been
a man of genius and abilities. He had alfo fome (hare in
the pieces inferted in the firft volumes of The a&s of
the Saints of the order of St BenediA ; the title where¬
of acquaints us that they were colle&ed and publiftied
by him and Father Mabillon. After a very retired life,
till the age of 73, he died at Paris the 29th of April
1685, in the abbey of St Germain in the Fields, where
Be had been librarian.
ACHERNER, or Acharner, a ftar of the firft
magnitude in the. fouthern extremity of the conftella-
tion Eridakus, but invifible in our latitude.
ACHERON, in mythology, a river of Epirus. The
poets feigned it to have been the fon of Ceres, whom
ihe hid in hell for fear of the Titans, and turned into
a river, over which fouls departed were ferried in their
way to Elyfium.
Acheron, in Ancient Geography, a river of Thef-
protia, in Epirus ; which, after forming the lake Ache-
rufia, at no great diftance from the promontory of Chi-
merium, falls into the fea to the weft of the Sinus Ara-
bracius, in a courfe from north to fouth.
Acheron, or Acheros, a river of the Bruttii in
Italy, running from eaft to weft j where Alexander
king of Epirus was (lain by the Lucani, being deceived
by the oracle of Dodona, which bade him beware of
Acheron.
ACHARSET, an ancient meafure of corn, conjec¬
tured to be the fame with our quarter, or eight buftrels.
ACHERUSIA palus, a lake between Cumae and
the promontory Mifenum, now il Logo della Collucia.
(Cluverius). Some confound it with the Lacus Lucri-
nus, and others with the Lacus Averni. But Strabo and
Pliny diftinguifti them. The former takes it to be an
effufion, exundation, or wafties of the fea, and there¬
fore called by Lycophron, Agjngartct —Alfo a lake
of Epirus, through which the Acheron runs.—There
is alfo an Acherujia, a peninfula of Bithynia on the
Euxine, near Heraclea 5 and a cave there of the fame
name, through which Hercules is fabled to have de-
fcended to hell to drag forth Cerberus.
ACHIAR, is a Malayan word, which fignifies all
forts of fruits and roots pickled with vinegar and fpxce.
The Dutch import from Batavia all forts of achiar, but
particularly that of Bamboo, a kind of cane, extreme¬
ly thick, which grows in the Eaft Indies. It is pre-
ferved there, whilft it is ftill green, with very ftrong
vinegar and fpice j and is called bamboo achiar. The
name changes according to the fruit with which the
achiar is made..
ACHICOLUM, is ufed to exprefs the fornix, tho- Achicoluni
lus, or fudatorium of the ancient baths : which was a AcjJ^jnj
hot room where they ufed to fweat. It is alfo called ■, —^ 
architlwlus.
ACHILLEA, Yarrow, Milfoil, Nosebleed,
or Sneezewort. See Botany Index.
ACHILLEID, Achillejs, a celebrated poem of
Statius, in which that author propofed to deliver the
whole life and exploits of Achilles j but being prevent¬
ed by death, he has only treated of the infancy and
education of his hero. See Statius.
ACHILLES, one of the greateft heroes of ancient
Greece, was the fon of Peleus and Thetis. He was
a native of Phthia, in Thelfaly. His mother, it isfaid,
in order to confume every mortal part of his body, ufed
to lay him every night under live coals, anointing him
with ambrofia, which preferved every part from burn¬
ing but one of his lips, owing to his having licked it.
She dipped him alfo in the •waters of the river Styx j
by which his whole body became invulnerable, except
that part of his heel by which (he held him. But this
opinion is not univerfal, nor is it a part of his cha-
ra6ter as drawn by Homer; for in the Iliad (B. xxi.
161.) he is actually wounded in the right arm, by the
lance of Afteropeus, in the battle near the river Sca-
mander. Thetis afterwards intruded him to the care of
the centaur Chiron, who, to give him the ftrength ne-
celfary for martial toil, fed him with honey and the
marrow of lions and wild boars. To prevent his going
to the fiege of Troy, fhediiguifed him in female appa¬
rel, and hid him among the maidens at the court of
King Lycomedes : but Ulyffes difcovering him, per-
fuaded him to follow the Greeks. Achilles diftinguifli-
ed himfelf by a number of heroic aftions at the fiege.
Being difgufted, however, with Agamemnon for the
lofs of Brifeis, he retired from the camp. But return¬
ing to avenge the death of his friend Patroclus, he flew
He&or, faftened his corpfe to his chariot, and dragged
it round the walls of Troy. At laft Paris, the brother
of Hedtor, wounded him in the heel with an arrow,
while he was in the temple treating about his marriage
with Philoxena, daughter of King Priam. Of this
wound he died, and was interred on the promontory of
Sigaeum : and after Troy was taken, the Greeks facri-
ficed Philoxena on his tomb, in obedience to his defire,
that he might enjoy her company in the Elyfian fields.
It isfaid, that Alexander, feeing this tomb, honoured
it by placing a crown upon it; at the fame time cry¬
ing out, that “ Achilles was happy in having, during
his life, fuch a friend as Patroclus ; and, after his death,
a poet like Homer.” Achilles is fuppofed to have
died 1183 years before the Chriftian era.
Achilles Tatius. See Tatius.
Tendo ACHILLIS, in Atiatomy, is a ftrong tendinous
cord formed by the tendons of feveral mufcles, and in¬
ferted into the os calcis. It has its name from the fa¬
tal wound Achilles is faid to have received in that part
from Paris the fon of Priam.
ACHILLINI, Alexander, born at Bologna, and
doctor of philofophy in that univerfity. He flourilhed
in the 15th and 16th centuries, and by wav of emi¬
nence was ftyled the Great Philofopher. ,e was a
ftedfaft follower and accurate interpreter of Averroes
upon Ariftotle, but moft admired for his acutenefs and
ftrength of arguing in private and public deputations.
A C H [i
Aeliillini He made a furprifing quick progrefs in Ills fludies, and
A ^11 f was very early promoted to a profefforilup in the uni-
A C H
verfity j in which he acquitted himfelf with fo much
applaufe that his name became famous throughout all
Italy. He continued at Bologna till the year I 506 ;
when the univerfity of Padua made choice of him to
fucceed Antonio Francatiano in the firft chair of phi-
lofophy, and his fame brought vaft numbers of ftudents
to his le&ures at Padua : but the war, wherein the re¬
public of Venice was engaged againlt the league of
Cambray, putting a flop to the ledtures of that univer¬
fity, he withdrew to his native country, where he was
received with the fame marks of honour and diftindfion
as before, and again appointed profeffor of philofophy
in Bologna. He fpent the remainder of his life in this
city, where he died, and w'as interred with great pomp
in the church of St Martin the Great, which belongs
to the Carmelite friars. Jovius, who knew Achillini,
and heard his lediures, fays, that he was a man of fuch
exceeding fimplicity, and fo unacquainted with addrefs
and flattery, that he was a laughing flock to the pert
and faucy young fcholars, although efteemed on ac¬
count of his learning. He wrote ieveral pieces on phi-
lofophical fubjedls, which he publilhed, and dedicated
to John Bentivogli.
Achillini, Claudius, grandfon of the former, read
ledtures at Bologna, Ferrara, and Parma ; where he
was reputed a great philofopher, a learned divine, an
excellent lawyer, an eloquent orator, a good mathe¬
matician, and an elegant poet. He accompanied Car¬
dinal Ludovino, who went as legate into Piedmont j
but being afterward negledled by this cardinal, when he
became pope under the name of Gregory XV. he left
Rome in difguft, and retired to Parma •, where the
duke appointed him profeffor of law, with a good fa-
lary. A canzone which he addreffed to Louis XIII.
on the birth of the dauphin, is faid to have been re¬
warded by Cardinal Richlieu, with a gold chain of
the value of 1000 crowns. He publiflied a volume of
Latin letters, and another of Italian poems, which
gained him great reputation. He died in 1640, aged 66.
ACHIOTTE, or Achiotl, a foreign drug, ufed
in dying and in the preparation of chocolate. It is
the fame with the fubftance more ufually known by the
name of Arnotto. See Bixa, Botany Index.
ACHIROPOETOS, a name given by ancient writ¬
ers to certain miraculous piflures of Chrift and the
Virgin, fuppofed to have been made without hands.—
The moft celebrated of thefe is the pi&ure of Chrift,
preferved in the church of St John Lateran at Rome 5
faid to have been begun by St Luke, but finiftied by
the miniftry of angels.
ACHMET, fon of Seerim, an Arabian author,
has left a book concerning the interpretation of dreams
according to the do&rine of the Indians, Perfians, and
Egyptians, which was tranflated into Greek and La¬
tin. The original is now loft. He lived about the
4th century.
Achmet I. emperor of the Turks, the third fon and
fucceffor of Mahomet III. afcended the throne before
he reached the age of fifteen. During the period of
his reign, the Turkifh empire enjoyed at one time great
profperity, and at another was depreffed with adverfity.
The Afiatic rebels, who took refuge in Perfia, involv¬
ed the two empires in a war, during which the Turks
36 * ,
loft Bagdad, to recover which every effort proved un-
fuccefsful. In his reign Tranfylvania and Hungaryu
were the fcenes of W'ar between the Turks and Germans.
In addition to the calamities and diftreffes of war abroad,
and internal tumults and broils, a pretender to his
throne difturbed his repofe, and made attempts on his
life. He was much devoted to amufements; and fpent
his time chiefly in the haram and in the fports of the
field. His feraglio confifted of 3000 women •, and
his hunting eftabliftiment was compofed of 40,000 fal¬
coners, and an equal number of huntfmen, in different
parts of his dominions. He expended great fums of
money in building, and particularly on a magnificent
mofque which he erefted in the Hippodrome. Ach¬
met was leff cruel than fome of his predeceffors } but
he was haughty and ambitious. He died in 1617 at
the age of 29. His three fons fucceflively afcended the
throne after him. {Gen. Biogl)
Achmet II. emperor of the Turks, fon of Sultan
Ibrahim, fucceeded his brother Solyman in 1691. The
adminiftration of affairs during his reign was feeble and
unfettled. The Ottoman territory was overrun by
the imperialifts 5 the Venetians feized the Morea, took
the ifle of Chios, and feveral places in Dalmatia ; and
the Arabs attacked and plundered a caravan of pilgrims,
and even laid fiege to Mecca. Though he never difcoyer-
ed the vigour and fagacity that are effentially requifite
in the charafter of a.fovereign, in private life he was
mild, devout, and inoffenfive. He wras fond of poetry
and mufic ; and to thofe about his perfon, he was cheer¬
ful and amiable. He died in 1695 at the age of 50.
Achmet III. emperor of the Turks, fon of Maho¬
met IV. fucceeded his brother Muftapha II. who was
depofed in 1703. After he had fettled the difcontents
of the empire, his great objeft was to amafs wealth.
With this view he debafed the coin, and impofed new
taxes. He received Charles XII. of Sweden, 'who
took refuge in his dominions, after the battle of Pul-
towa in 1709, with great hofpitality 5 and, influenced
• by the fultana mother, he declared war againft the Czar
Peter, Charles’s formidable rival. Achmet recovered
the Merea from the Venetians ; but his expedition in¬
to Hungary wras lefs fortunate, for his army was de¬
feated by Prince Eugene at the battle of Peterwara-
din in 1716. As the public meafures of Achmet were
influenced by minifters and favourites, the empire du¬
ring his reign was frequently diftrafted by political
ftruggles and revolutions. The difcontent and fedi-
tion of his foldiers at laft drove him from the throne.
He was depofed in I73°» an^ fucceeded by his ne¬
phew Mahomet V. He was confined in the fame
apartment which had been occupied by his fucceffor
previous to his elevation to the throne, and died of an
apoplexy in 1736, at the age of 74. The intentions
of this prince, it is faid, were upright ; but his talents
were moderate, never difcovering that vigour of mind
and fteadinefs of aflion which are fo neceffary in the
charadler of a fovereign. Exceflive confidence in
his vizier diminilhed the fplendour of his reign, and
probably tended to fhorten the period of it. {Gen.
Biogl)
Achmet Geduc, a famous general under Ma¬
homet II. and Bajazet II. in the 15th century. When
Mahomet II. died, Bajazet and Zezan both claimed
the throne : Achmet fided with the former, and by his
bravery
Achmet.
A C H [i
Achmet, bravery and. cotiuuft fixed the crown on his head. But
Achmnn, jgajazet took away his life ; fhining virtue being always
an unpardonable crime in the eyes of a tyrant.
ACHMETSCHET, a town of the peninfula of
the Crimea, the refidence of the fultan Galga, who is
eldeft fon of the khan of Tartary. E. Long. 52. 20.
N. Lat. 45. 35.
ACHMIM, a large town of Upper Egypt, fituated
on the eaftern bank of the Nile. ‘ One admires there
(fays Abulfeda, as quoted by M. Savary) a temple
which is comparable to the moft celebrated monuments
of antiquity. It is conftrufted with Hones of a furprif-
ing fize, on which are fculptured innumerable figures.’
Though this town be fallen from its ancient fplendour,
it is ftill one of the moft beautiful of Upper Egypt.
According to M. Savary, an Arab prince commands
there, and the police is well attended to. The ftreets
are wide and clean, and commerce and agriculture flou-
rilh. It has a manufafture of cotton fluffs, and pot¬
tery, which are conveyed over all Egypt. It is the
fame that Herodotus calls Chemmis, and Strabo Pano-
polis, or the city of Pan, who was worfhipped there.
Herodotus fays, that Perfeus was a native of this city,
and that his defendants had eftabliftied feftivals there
in his honour. It has loft its ancient edifices, and much
of its extent; the ruins of the temple, defcribed by
Abulfeda, being without its limits to the north. No¬
thing remains of it but fome ftones, of fuch magnitude
that the Turks have not been able to move them. They
are covered with hieroglyphics. On one of them are
traced four concentric circles, in a fquare. The inner-
moft of thefe contains a fun. The two fucceeding ones,
divided into 12 parts, contain, one, 12 birds, the other,
12 animals, almoft effaced, which appear to be the figns
of the zodiac. The fourth has no divifions, and pre-
fents 12 human figures : which M. Savary imagines to
reprefent the 12 gods, the 12 months of the year, and
the 12 figns of the zodiac. The Egyptians,' fays He¬
rodotus, were the firft who divided the year into 12
months, and employed the namfs of the 12 gods. The
four feafons occupy the angles of the fquare, on the
fide of which may be diftinguifhed a globe with wings.
M. Savary thinks it probable that this ftone belonged
to a temple dedicated to the fun, that the whole of
thefe hieroglyphics mark his paffage into the figns of
the zodiac, and his courfe, whofe revolution forms the
year. The columns of this temple have been partly
broken to make lime and millftones. Some of them
have been tranfported into one of the mofques of Ach-
mim, where they are placed without tafte ; others are
heaped up in the fquares of the town.
M. Savary tells us of a ferpent which is worlhipped
here, and is the wonder of the country. “ Upwards
of a century ago (fays he) a religious Turk called
ScJiet/k Haridi died here. He paffed for a faint among
the iVlahometans ; who raifed a monument to him, co¬
vered with a cupola, at the foot of the mountain. The
people flocked from all parts to offer up their prayers
to him. One of their priefts, profiting by their credu-
_Per^uaded them that God had made the foul of
Scheilk Haridi pafs into the body of a ferpent. Many
of thefe are found in the Thebais, which are harm-
left ; and he had taught one to obey his voice. He
appemed with his ferpent, dazzled the vulgar by his
lurprifing tricks, and pretended to cure all diforders.
Vol. I. Part I.
37 1 A C H
Some lucky inftances of fuccefs, due to nature alone, Achmim
and fometimes to the imagination of the patients, gave II
him great celebrity. He foon configned his ferpent Acht™ma'
Haridi to the tomb, producing him only to oblige u—y—*#
princes and perfons capable of giving him a handfome
recompenfe. The fucceffors of this prieft, brought up
in the fame principles, found no difficulty in giving
fanftion to fo advantageous an error. They added to
the general perfuafion of his virtue that of his immor¬
tality. They had the beldnefs even to make a public
prooi of it. T he ferpent was cut in pieces in prefence
of the emir, and placed for two hours under a vafe.
At the inftant of lifting up the vafe, the priefts, no
doubt, had the addrefs to fubftitute one exactly refem-
bling it. A miracle was proclaimed, and the immor¬
tal Haridi acquired a freffi degree of confideration.
This knavery procures them great advantages. The
people flock from all quarters to pray at this tomb j
and if the ferpent crawls out from under the ftone, and
approaches the fuppliant, it is a fign that his malady
will be cured. It may be imagined that he does not
appear till an offering has been made proportioned to
the quality and riches of the different perfons. In ex¬
traordinary cafes, where the fick perfons cannot be cu¬
red without the prefence of the ferpent, a pure virgin
muft come to folicit him. To avoid inconveniences
on this head, they take care to choofe a very young
girl indeed. She is decked out in her beft clothes,
and crowned with flowers. She puts herfelf in a pray¬
ing attitude ; and as the priefts are inclined, the fer¬
pent comes out, makes circles round the young fup¬
pliant, and goes and repofes on her. The virgin, ac¬
companied by a vaft multitude, carries him in triumph
amidft the general acclamation. No human reafoning
would perfuade thefe ignorant and credulous'Egyp¬
tians that they are the dupes of a few impoftors •, they
believe in the ferpent Haridi as firmly as in the pro¬
phet.” ^
_ ACHONRY, a fmall town of Ireland, in the pro¬
vince of Connaught and county of Sligo, feated on the
river Shannon.
ACHOR, a valley of Jericho, lying along the river
Jordan, not far from Gilgal j fo called from Achan, the
troubler of Ifrael, being there ftoned to death.
Achor, in Medicine, a fpecies of Herpes.
Achor, in Mythology, the god of flies j to whom, ac¬
cording to Pliny, the inhabitants of Cyrene fai rificed
in order to obtain deliverance from the infedls and the
diforders occafioned by them.
ACHRADINA, in Ancient Geography, one of the
four cities or divifions of Syracufe, and the ftrongeft,
largeft, and moft beautiful part of it 5 feparated by a
very ftrong wall from the outer town, Tycha and
polis. It was adorned with a very large forum, with
beautiful porticoes, a moft elegant prytaneum, a fpa-
cious fenate-houfe, and a fuperb temple of Jupiter O-
lympius.
ACHRAS, or Sapota Plum. See Botany In¬
dex.
ACHROMATIC, an epithet exprefling want of co-
lour. The word is Greek, being compounded of « pri¬
mitive, and xzufcx, colour. This term was firft introdu¬
ced into aftronomy by De la Lande.
Achromatic Telefcopes, are telefcopes contrived to
remedy the aberrations in colours. They were invent-
S ed
A C I
t
A C I
Achromatic ed by IVTr John Dollond, optician, and have been fince
improved by bis Ion and others. See A Bf.RRATION.
i A more particular account of the invention and con-
llru&ion of thefe inftruments will be found under Op-
Acidalus.
TICS.
ACHTELING, a meafure for liquids ufed in Ger¬
many. Thirty-two achtelings make a heemer; four
fciltims or fciltins make an achteling.
ACHYR, a ftrong town and caftle of the Ukrain,
fubjeft to the Ruffians finee 1667. It Hands on the
river Uorfklo, near the frontiers of Ruffia, 1 27 miles
weft of Kiow. E. Long. 36. o. N. Lat. 49- 3^*
ACHYRANTHES, in Botany. See Botany
Index.
ACICANTHERA, in Botany, the trivial name of
a fpecies of Rhexia.
ACICULAi, the fmall pikes or prickles of the
hedgehog, echinus marinus, &c.
AC ID ALIUS, Valens, would, in all probability,
have been one of the greateft critics in thefe latter
ages, had he lived longer to perfect thofe talents which
nature had given him. He Avas born at Witftock, in
Brandenburg; and having vifited feveral academies in
Germany, Italy, and other countries, where he Avas
greatly efteemed, he afterwards took up his refidence
at Breflaw, the metropolis of Silefia. Here he remain¬
ed a confiderable time, in expectation of feme employ¬
ment ; but nothing offering, he turned Roman Catho¬
lic, and Avas chofen redtor of a fchool at Nieffa. It is
related, that about four months after, as he Avas fol¬
lowing a proceffion of the holt, he Avas feized Avith a
fudden phrenfy; and being carried home, expired in a
very fhort time. But Thuanus tells us, that his ex-
ceffive application to ftudy Avas the occafion of his un¬
timely death; and that his fitting up in the night com-
pofing his Conjeftures on Plautus, brought upon him a
diflemper Avhich carried him off in three days, on the
,25th of May 1595, being juft turned of 28. He wrote
a Commentary on Quintus Curtius ; alfo, Notes on Ta¬
citus, on the tAvelve Panegyrics ; befides fpeeches, let¬
ters, and poems. His poetical pieces are inferted in
the De/icice of the German poets, and confift of epic
verfes, odes, and epigrams. A little Avork printed in
1595, under the title of Mulieres non ejje homines,
“ That Avomen were not of the human fpecies,” Avas
falfely afcribed to him. But the faCt Avas, that Acida-
lius happening to meet Avith the manufcript, and think¬
ing it very Avhimfical, tranfcribed it, and gave it to the
bookfeller, avIio printed it. The performance Avas
highly cenfured, fo that the bookfeller being feized, he
difcovered the perfon Avho gave him the manufcript,
and a terrible outcry was made againft Acidalius. A
ftory goes, that being one day to dine at a friend’s
houfe, there happened to be feveral ladies at table ;
who fuppofing him to be the author, Avere moved Avith
fo much indignation, that they threatened to throAv
their plates at his head. Acidalius, however, ingeni-
oufly diverted their Avratb. In his opinion, he faid the
author Avas a judicious perfon, the ladies being certainly
more of the fpecies of angels than of men.—Mr Baillet
has given him a place among his Enfuns Celebres ; and
fays, that he Avrote a comment upon Plautus when he
Avas but 17 or 18 years old, and that he compofed fe¬
veral Latin poems at the fame age.
ACIDALUS, a fountain in Orchomenus, a city of
138 ]
Bceotia, in Avhich the Graces, Avho are facred to Venus,
bathed. Hence the epithet Acidalia, given to Venus,
(Virgil.)
ACIDITY, that quality Avhich renders bodies acid.
ACIDOTON, in Botany, the trivial name of a fpe¬
cies of Adelia.
ACIDS, in Chemijlry, a clafs of fubftances which
are diftinguilhed by the following properties :
1. When applied to the tongue, they excite that fen-
fation which is called four or acid.
2. They change the blue colours of vegetables to a
red. The vegetable blues employed for this purpofe
are generally tin&ure of litmus and fyrup of violets or
of radiffies, Avhich have obtained the name of reagents
tejls. If thefe colours have been previoufly Con¬
or
verted to a green by alkalies, the acids reftore them
again
3. They unite Avith Avater in almoft any proportion.
4. They combine with all the alkalies, and moft of
the metallic oxides and earths, and form with them
thofe compounds which are calledyb/fr.
It muft be remarked, hoAvever, that every acid does
not poffefs all thefe properties ; but all of them poffefs
a fufficient number of them to diftinguilh them from
other fubftances. And this is the only purpole which
artificial definition is meant to anfwer.
The acids are by far the moft important clafs of bo¬
dies in chemiftry. It was by their means indeed, by
ftudying their properties, and by employing them as
inftruments in the examination of other bodies, that
men of fcience laid the foundation of chemiftry, and
brought it to that ftate in Avhich Ave find it at prefent.
The^nature and compofition of acids, therefore, be¬
came a very important point of difcuffion, and occu¬
pied the attention of the moft eminent cultivators of
the fcience.
Paracelfus believed that there Avas only one acid
principle in nature, avItMi communicated tafte and fo-
lubility to the bodies in which it Avas combined.
Beecher embraced the fame opinion ; and added to it,
that this acid principle Avas a compound of earth and
Avater, which he confidered as two elements. Stahl
adopted the theory of Beecher, and endeavoured to
prove that his acid principle is fulphuric acid ; of
Avhich, according to him, all the other acids are mere
compounds. But his proofs were only conjeflures or
vague experiments, from which nothing could be de¬
duced. Neverthelefs, his opinion, like every other
Avhich he advanced in chemiftry, continued to have
fupporters for a long time, and Avas even countenanced
by Macquer. At laft its defefls began to be perceiv¬
ed ; Bergman and Scheele declared openly againft it;
and their difeoveries, together Avith thofe of Lavoifier,
demonftrated the falfthood of both parts of the theory,
bv ffieAving that fulphuric acid does not exift in the
other acids’, and that it is not compofed of Avater and
earth, but of fulphur and oxygen.
The opinion, however, that acidity is oAving to fome
principle common to all the falts, Avas not abandoned.
Wallerius, Meyer, and Sage, had advanced different
theories in fucceffion about the nature of this prin¬
ciple ; but as they were founded rather on conjetfture
and analogy than direft proof, they obtained but feiv
advocates. At laft M. Lavoifier, by a number of in¬
genious and accurate experiments, proved that feveral
A C I [i.
Acids, combuftlble fubftances, when united with oxygen, form
'■'■'''““"■“'acids-, that a great number of acids contain oxygen;
and that when this principle is feparated from them,
they lofe their acid properties. He concluded, there¬
fore, that the acidifying principle is oxygen, and that
acids are nothing elfe but combuftible fubftances com¬
bined with oxygen, and differing from one another ac¬
cording to the nature of the combuftible bafe.
This conclufion, as far as regards the greater num¬
ber of acids, is certainly true. All the fimple com-
buftibles, except hydrogen, are convertible into acids;
and thefe acids are compofed of oxygen and the com¬
buftible body combined : this is the cafe alfo with four
of the metals. It muft not, however be admitted
without fome limitation. .
j. When it is faid that oxygen is the acidifying
principle, it is not meant furely to affirm that oxygen
poffeffes the properties of an acid, which would.be con¬
trary to truth ; all that can be meant is, that it enters
as a component part into acids, or that acids contain it
as an effential ingredient. .
2. But, even in this fenfe, the affertion cannot be
admitted : for it is not true that oxygen is an effential
ingredient in all acids, or that no body poffeffes the pro¬
perty of an acid unlefs it contains oxygen. Sulphura¬
ted hydrogen, for inftance, poffeffes all the charaffers of
an acid, yet it contains no oxygen. .
2. When it is faid that oxygen is the acidifying
principle, it cannot be meant furely to affirm that the
combination of oxygen with bodies produces in all
cafes an acid, or that whenever a body is combined
with oxygen, the produft is an acid; for the contrary
is known to every chemift. Hydrogen, for inftance,
when combined with oxygen, forms not. an acid, but
water, and the greater number of metallic bodies form
only oxides. . . r.
All that can be meant, then, when it is laid that
oxygen is the acidifying principle, is merely that it
exifts as a component part in the greater numuer o
acids ; and that many acids are formed by combuftion,
or by fome equivalent procefs. 1 he truth is, that the
clafs of acids is altogether arbitrary; formed when the
greater number of the bodies arranged under it were
unknown, and before any precife notion of what, ought
to conftitute the charaaeriftic marks of an acid had
been thought of. New bodies, when they were difco-
vered, if they poffeffed any properties analogous to the
known acids, were referred without feruple to the fame
clafs, how much foever they differed from them in other
particulars. Hence we find, under the head of acids,
bodies which have fcarcely a fingle property in com¬
mon, except that of combining with alkalies and earths.
What fubftances, for inftance, can be more diffimil.ar
than fulphuric, pruffic and uric acids ? Hence the dif¬
ficulty of affigning the general characters of the clafs
of acids, and the difputes which have arifen about the
propriety of claffing certain bodies among acids. . If
we lay it down as an axiom that oxygen is the acidi¬
fying principle, we muft either include among acids a
great number of bodies which have not the fmalleft re-
femblance to thofe fubftances which are at prefent
reckoned acids, or exclude from the clafs feveral bo¬
dies which have the properties of acids in perfection.
The clafs of acids being perfeCUy arbitrary, there can-
>9 ] A C. 1 . . .
not be fuch a thing as an acidifying principle in the -
rnoft extenfive fenfe of the word. Acis.
The acids at prefent known amount to about 30; u-—y—
and all of them, eight excepted, have been difcovered
within thefe laft 40 years. They may be arranged un¬
der two general heads: 1. Acids compofed oi two in¬
gredients. 2. Acids compofed of more than two com¬
ponent parts. (Thomfon's Chemijlry). See Chemis-
TRY
ACIDULOUS, denotes a thing that is flightly
acid: it is fynonymous with the viox&fub-acid.
ACIDULAL Mineral waters that are bnik and
fparkling without the aftion of heat are thus named ;
but if they are hot alfo, they are called Thermal.
ACIDULATED, a name given to medicines that
have an acid in their compofition.
ACIDUM aereum, the fame with Jixed air ; or,
in modern chemiftry, carbonic acid^ .
AciDUMpingue, an imaginary acid, which fome Ger¬
man chemifts fuppofed to be contained in fire, and by
combining with alkalies, lime, &c. to give them their
cauftic properties; an effeft which is found certainly
to depend on the lofs of their carbonic acid.
ACIL A, in Ancient Geographij, a ftaple or mart town
in Arabia Felix, on the Arabian gulf, from which,
according to Pliny, the Scenitae Sabaei fet fail for In¬
dia. Now Ziden.
ACILISENE, in Ancient Geography, a diftritt ol
the leffer Armenia towards the head of the Euphrates,
having that river on the weft, and on the fouth a n\er
to which Xenophon and Pliny feem to have given the
fame name. . , . ' ,
ACILIUS GLABRIO, Marcus, conful in the
year of Rome 562, and 211 years before the Chriftian
era, diftinguiffied himfelf by his bravery and condua
in lining a complete viftory over Antiochus the
Great, king of Syria, at the ftraits of Thermopylae m
Theffaly, and on feveral other occafions. He built
the temple of Piety at Rome, in confequence of a
vow which he made before this battle. He is men¬
tioned by Pliny, Valerius Maximus, and others.
ACINASIS, in Ancient Geography, a river of Afia,
at the fouthern extremity of Colchis, which difcharges
itfelf into the Euxine fea, between the Bathys and the
Ifis. It is mentioned by Arrian in his Periplus.
ACINIPPO, in Ancient Geography, a town of Bae-
tlca: its ruins, called Ronda la Viega, are to be feen
near Arunda, in the kingdom of Granada. . .
ACINODENDRUM, in Botany, the trivial name
of a fpecies of Melastoma. . r r • c
AC1N0S, in Botany, the trivial name of a fpecies ot
Thymus. See Botany Index.
ACINUS, or Acini, the fmall protuberances of
mulberries, ftrawberries, &c. and by fome applied, to
grapes. Generally it is ufed for thofe fmall grains
growing in bunches, after the manner of grapes, a.^
ligujlrum, &c. , .
ACIS, in Mythology, the fon of Faunus and the
nvmph Simaethis, was a beautiful ffiepherd of Sicily,
Who being beloved by Galatea, Polyphemus the giant
was fo enraged, that he dallied out his brains againft
a rock ; after which Galatea turned him into a liver,
which was called by his name. . f
The Sicilian authors fay, that Acis was a king of
S 2 this
AGO [140] AGO
this part of the ifland, who was (lain by Polyphemus,
one of the giants of iEtna, in a fit of jealoufy.
Acts, a river of Sicily, celebrated by the poets, run¬
ning from a very cold fpring, in the woody and fhady
foot of Mount /Etna, for the fpace of a mile eaftward
into the fea, along green and pleafant banks, with the
fpeed of an arroAV, from which it takes its name. Its
waters are now impregnated with fulphureous vapours,
though formerly they were celebrated for their fweet-
nefs and falubrity, and were held facred by the Sicilian
fhepherds:
^uique per JEtmeos /Jets petit eequora fines,
'Et dulcigratam Nereida perluit unda. SlL. ITAL.
It is now called II Fiume Fredda, Aci, laci, or Chi-
aci, according to the different Sicilian dialefts : An-
tonine calls it Acius. It is allb the name of a hamlet
at the mouth of the Acts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, in a general fenfe, is a
per Ton’s owning or confefling a thing 5 but, more parti¬
cularly, is the expreflion of gratitude for a favour.
AcKNO JYLEDGMENT- Money, a certain fum paid by
tenants, in feveral parts of England, on the death of their
landlords, as an acknowledgment of their new lords. ^
ACLIDES, in Roman antiquity, a kind of mifiile
Weapon, with a thong affixed to it, by which it was
drawn back. ]\Ioft authors defcribe it as a fort of dart
or javelin •, but Scaliger makes it roundiffi or globular,
and full of fpikes, with a {lender wooden ftem to poife
it by. Each warrior was furniffied with two.
ACLOWA, in Botany, a barbarous name of. a fpe-
cies of Colutea. It is ufed by the natives of Guinea
to cure the itch : They rub it on the body as we do
unguents. See Colutea, Botany Index.
ACME, the top or height of any thing. It is ufu-
ally applied to the maturity of an animal juft before it
begins to decline } and phyficians have ufed it to ex-
prefs the utmoft violence or crifis of a difeafe.
ACMELLA, in Botany, the trivial name of a fpe-
cies of Spilanthus. See Botany Index.
ACMOD/E, in Ancient Geography, feven iflands in
the Britifh fea, fuppofed by fome to be the Sciily iflands,
but by others thofe of Shetland near the Orkneys, on
the northern coaft of Scotland.
ACMONIA, and Agmonia, in Peutinger’s map,
a towrn of Phrygia Major, now in ruins. The inhabi¬
tants are called Acmonenfes by Cicero, and the city
Civilas Aanoncnjis. Alfo a city of Dacia (Ptolemy),
on the Danube, near the ruins of Trajan’s bridge, built
by Severus, and called Severicum ; diftant 12 German
miles from Temefwar, to the fouth-eaft.
ACNID A, Virginian Hemp. See Botany Index.
ACNUA, in Roman antiquity, fignified a certain
meafure of land, about an Englifh rood, or fourth part
of an acre.
ACO, in Geography, a town of Peru in South A-
merica. It is alfo the name of a river in Africa, which
rifes in the Abyffinian mountains, runs in a fouth-eaft
courfe, and difeharges itfelf into the Indian ocean.
ACOEMET/E, or Acoemeti, in church hiftory,
or, Men who lived without fleep •, a fet of monks who
chanted the divine fervice night and day in their places
of worfhip. They divided themfelves into three bo¬
dies, who alternately fucceeded one another, fo that
the fervice in their churches was never interrupted.
This pra£lice they founded upon the precept, Pray with- AccernetK
out ceajing. They flourifiied in the eaft about the mid-
die of the 5th century. There are a kind of acoemeti ■ .
ftill fubfifting in the Romifli church, viz. the religious
of the holy facrament, who keep up a perpetual ado¬
ration, fome one or other of them praying before the
holy facrament day and night.
ACOLA, in Ancient Geography, a town in Media,
on the borders of the Hyrcanian fea.
ACOLUTHI, or Acoluthists, in antiquity, was
an appellation given to thofe perfons who were fteady
and immoveable in their refolutions $ and hence the
Stoics, becaufe they would not forfake their principles,
nor alter their refolutions, acquired the title of acolu-
thi. The word is Greek, and compounded of <* priva¬
tive, and KoXtvSt?, way j as never turning from the ori¬
ginal courfe.
Acoluthi, among the ancient Chriftians, implied
a peculiar order of the inferior clergy in the Latin
church, for they were unknown to the Greeks for above
400 years. They were next to the fubdeacon } and
we learn from the fourth council of Carthage, that the
archdeacon, at their ordination, put into their hands a
candleftick with a taper, giving them thereby to under-
ftand that they were appointed to light the candles of
the church } as alfo an empty pitcher, to imply that
they were to furnifh wine for the eucharift. Some
think they had another office, that of attending the
bifhop wherever he went. The word is Greek, and
compounded of et privative, and ku^vm, to hinder or
difturb.
ACOLYTHIx\, in the Greek church, denotes the
office or order of divine fervice ; or the prayers, cere¬
monies, hymns, &c. whereof the Greek fervice is com-
pofed.
ACOMA, a town of New Mexico, feated on a hill
with a ftrong caftle. To reach the town, you walk up
50 fteps cut out of the rock. It is the capital of that
province, and was taken by the Spaniards in 1599.
W. Long. 104. 15. Lat. 35. O.
ACOMAC, the name of a county in Virginia. It
is on the eaftern fide of Chefapeak bay, on a flip of
land, by the Virginians called the eajlern JJjore. It
contains 13,959 inhabitants.
ACOMINATUS, Nicetas, was fecretary to A-
lexius Comnenus and to Ifaacus Angelus fucceffively ;
he wrote a hiftory from the death of Alexius Comnenus
in 1118, where Zonaras ended his, to the year 1203,
which has gone through many editions, and has been
much applauded by the beft critics.
ACONCROBA, in Botany, the indigenous name
of a plant which grows wild in Guinea, and is in great
efteem among the natives for its virtues in the fmall-
pox. They give an infufion of it in wine. The leaves
of this plant are opaque, and as ftiff as thofe of the
philyrea : they grow in pairs, and ftand on ftiort foot-
ftalks ; they are fmall at each end, and broad in the
middle ; and the largeft of them are about three inches
in length, and an inch and a quarter in breadth in the
middle. Like thofe of our bay, they are of a dufky
■colour on the upper fide, and of a pale green under¬
neath.
ACONITE. See Aconitum, Botany Index.
Winter Aconite. See Hellebores, Botany Index.
ACONITI, in antiquity, an appellation given to
foms
Acomtx
II
Acofta
AGO [ H
feme of the Athlete, but 'differently interpreted.
Mercurial is underilands it of thofe who only anointed
I heir bodies with oil, but didnotfmear themfelves over
with duff, as was the ufual pra6tice.
ACONITUM, Aconite, Wolfsbane, or Monks¬
hood. See Botany Index.
ACONTIAS, in Zoology, an obfolete name of the
anguis jaculus, or dart-fnake, belonging to the order
of amphibia ferpentes. See Anguis.
ACONTIUM, eiKtfliay, in Grecian antiquity, akind
of dart or javelin, refembling the Roman pilum.
A CONTI US, a young man of the iiland Cea, who
having gone to Delos, to fee the facred rites which
were performed there by a crowd of virgins in the
temple of Diana, fell defperately in Jove with Cydippe;
but not daring to afk her in marriage, on account of
the meannefs of his birth, infidioully threw down at her
feet an apple, on which were inferibed thefe words, Me
tibi nupturam, (fehx eat omen,') Aconti, Juro, quarn
colimus, numinu magna Deae. Or according to others,
Juro tibi facrae per myjlica facra Dianae, Me tibi Ven¬
tura jh comitem, Jponfamque futuram. The virgin hav¬
ing taken up the apple, inadvertently read the. M'ords,
and thus apparently bound herfelf by a promife; for
by law, every thing uttered in that temple was held to
be ratified. When her father, a little after, ignorant
of what had happened, betrothed her to another man,,
fhe was fuddenly feized with a fever. Whereupon
Acontiusfent her a letter, (expreffedby Ovid, Ep. 20.)
to perfuade her that her fever was caufed by Diana for
not having fulfilled the promife which fhe had made to
him in the temple of that goddefs. Cydippe therefore
refolved to comply with the wifhes of Acontius, even
againft the inclination of her father. Her anfwer is
the fubjeft of Ovid’s 21ft epiftle. [Adands Claf. Biog.)
Acontius, James, a philofopher, civilian, and di¬
vine, born at Trent in the 16th century.. He em¬
braced the reformed religion-; and coming into Eng¬
land in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, he was favour¬
ably received and much honoured by that princefs,
which he acknowledges in a book dedicated to her.
This work is his celebrated Colleftion of the Strata¬
gems of Satan, which has been fo often tranflated, and
paffed through fo many editions.
ACORN, the fruit of the oak tree. See Quercus,
Botany Index.
Acorn, in fea language, a little ornamental piece
of wood, fafhioned like a cone, and fixed on the upper-
mofl point of the fpindle, above the vane, on the mail-
head. It is ufed to keep the vane from being blown off
from the fpindle in a whirlwind, or when the flrip leans
much to one fide under fail.
ACORUS, Calamus Aromaticus, Sweet Flag,
or Sweet Rush. See Botany Index.
AcoRUS, in the Materia Median, a name fometimes
given to the great galangal. See Kemfferia.
Acorus, in Natural Hi/lory, blue coral. I he true
fort is very fcarce ; fome, however, is fifhed on the
coafts of Africa, particularly from Rio del Re to the
river of the Camarones. This coral is part of the mer-
chandife which the Dutch trade for with the Cama¬
rones : that of the kingdom of Benin is alfo very much
efteemed. It grows in form of a tree on a rocky bot¬
tom.
ACOSTA, Uriel, a Portuguefe, born at Oporto
i ] AGO
towards the clofe of the 16th century. He was edu- Ac Aa
cated in the Romifh religion, wdiich his father alfo
profelfed, though defeended from one of thofe Jewifh fa¬
milies who had been in a manner forced to receive bap-
tifm. Uriel had a liberal education. He wasinftruft-
ed in feveral fciences ; and at laft he ftudied law. He
had by nature a good temper and mild difpofition ; and
religion had made fo deep an impreffion on his mind,
that he ardently defired to conform to all the precepts
of the church, to avoid eternal death, which he. dread¬
ed. He applied with great afliduity to reading the
Scriptures and other religious books, carefully confult-
ing alfo the creed of the confeffors ; but the more he
ftudied, the more difficulties occurred, which perplexed
him at length to fuch a degree, that, being unable to
folve them, he fell into the moft terrible, agonies, of
mind. He thought it impoffible to fulfil his duty with
regard to the conditions required for abfolution ; fo
that he defpaired of falvation, if he could find no other
means of attaining it ; and it proved difficult to aban¬
don a religion in which he had been bred up from his. in¬
fancy, and which had been deeply rooted in his mind.
However he began to inquire, whether feveral parti¬
culars mentioned about the other life Avere agreeable
to reafon ; and, upon inquiry and deliberation, he
imagined that reafon fuggefted many arguments againft
them. Acofta was about two and twenty, when he
was thus perplexed with doubts : and the refult of his
reflexions was, that he could not be faved by the reli¬
gion which he had imbibed in his infancy. Neverthc—
lefs he profecuted his ftudies in the law ; and at the
age of five and twenty, was made treafurer in a colle¬
giate church. Being naturally of a religious dilpofi--
tion, and now made uneafy by the popifli doXrines, he
began to ftudy Mofes and the prophets ; where he
thought he found more fatisfaXion than in the gofpel,
and at length became convinced that Judaifm was the
true religion : and, as he could not profefs it in Portu¬
gal, he refolved to leave the country. He accordingly
refigned his place, and embarked for Amfteraam with
his mother and brothers ; whom he had ventured to in-
ftruX in the principles of the Jewiffi religion, even
when in Portugal. Soon after their arrival in Amfter-
dam, they became members of the fynagogue ; were
circumcifed according to cuftom ; and he changed his
name of Gabriel for that of Uriel. A little time was
fuffieient to fhew him, that the Jews did neither in
their rites nor morals conform to the law of Mofes, of
which he could not but declare his difapprobation :
but the chiefs of the fynagogue gave him to underfland,
that he muft exaXly obferve their tenets and cuftoms;
and that he would be excommunicated, if he deviated
in the leaf! from them. This threat, however, had no
effeX ; for he thought it would be a moft mean beha¬
viour in him, who had left the fweets of his native
country purely for liberty of confcience, to fubmit to a
fet of Rabbis without any proper jurifdiXion ; and that
it would ffiew both want of courage and piety, if he
fliould ftifle hisfentiments on this occafion. He there¬
fore perfifted in his inveXives, and in confequence was
excommunicated : the effeX of which was fuch, that
his own brothers durft not fpeak to him, nor falute him
when they met him in the ftreets. Finding himfelf
thus fituated, he wrote a book in his juftification ;
wherein he endeavours to ftiew, that the rites and tra¬
ditions
Acofta.
AGO [i
ditions of the Pharifees are contrary to the writings of
Mofes, and foon after adopted the opinion of the Sad-
dacees : for he had worked himfelf up to a belief, that
the rewards and punifhments of the old law relate only
to this life ; and this, becaufe Mofes nowhere men¬
tions the joys of heaven, or the torments of hell. His
adverfaries were overjoyed at his embracing this tenet;
forefeeing, that it would tend greatly to juftify, in the
fight of Chriltians, the proceedings of the fynagogues
againft him. Before his book was printed, there ap¬
peared a piece upon the immortality of the foul, writ¬
ten by a phyfician, who omitted nothing he could fug-
gelt to make Acofta pafs for an atheift. The very
children were encouraged to infult him in the ftreets,
and to batter his houfe with ftones •, all which however
did not prevent him from writing a treatife againft the
phyfician, wherein he endeavoured to confute the doc¬
trine of the foul’s immortality. The Jews now made
application to the magiftrates of Amfterdam ; and in¬
formed againft him, as one who wanted to undermine
the foundation of both Jewifti and Chriftian religions.
He was thrown into prifon, but bailed out within a
week or ten days after ; however all the copies of his
works were feized, and he himfelf fined in 300 florins.
Neverthelefs, he proceeded ftill farther in his fcepti-
cifm. He now began to examine, whether the law of
Mofes came from God j and he fuppofed he had at
length found reafons to convince him, that it was only
a political invention. Yet, inftead of drawing this in¬
ference from thence, “ I ought not to return to the
Jewifti communion,” he thus argued with himfelf,
Why fliould I continue all my life cut off from the
communion, expofed to fo many inconveniencies, efpe-
cially as I am in a country where I am a flranger, and
unacquainted with the language ? Had I not better
play the ape among apes ?” He accordingly return¬
ed to the Jewifti church, after he had been excommu¬
nicated 15 years 3 and, after having made a recanta¬
tion of what he had written, fubfcribed every thing as
they direfted. A few days after, he was accufed by
a nephew, who lived in his houfe, that he did not, as
to his eating and many other points, conform to the
laws of the fynagogue. This accufation was attended
with very bad confequences ; for a relation of Acofta,
who had got him reconciled to the fynagogue, thought
he was in honour bound to perfecute him with the ut-
moft violence. The Rabbis and the reft of the Jews
were animated with the fame fpirit 3 efpecially, when
they found that Acofta had diffuaded two Chriftians,
42 ] AGO
who had come from London to Amfterdam, from turn¬
ing Jews. He was fummoned before the grand coun¬
cil of the fynagogue j when it was declared to him,
that he muft again be excommunicated, it he did not
give fuch fatisfa&ion as ftiould be required. He found
the terms fo hard, that he could not comply, ihe
Jews thereupon again expelled him from their commu¬
nion 3 and he afterwards fuffered various hardftiips and
great perfecutions, even from his own relations.. After
remaining feven years in a moft wretched fituation, he
at length declared he was willing to fubmit to the fen-
tence of the fynagogue, having been told that he might
eafily accommodate matters 3 for, that the judges, be¬
ing fatisfied with his fubmiflion, would foften the fe-
verity of the difcipline. Acofta, however, was caught
in a fnare 3 for they made him undergo the moft ri¬
gorous penance. Thefe particulars relating to the
life of Acofta, are taken from his work, entitled,
“ Exemplar humance Vitee^ publiftied and refuted by
Limborch. It is fuppofed that he compofed it a tew
days before his death, after having determined to lay-
violent hands on himfelf. He executed this horrid re¬
futation a little after he had failed in his attempt to
kill his principal enemy ; for the piftol, with which he
intended to have (hot him as he paffed his houfe, having
miffed fire, he immediately ftiut the door, and ftiot him¬
felf with another piftol. This happened at Amfterdam,
but in what year is not exadfly known.
ACOSTAN, a mountainous ifland in the north feas
between Afia and America, obferved by Captain Cook.
ACOUSMATICI, fometimes alfo called AcouJIici,
in Grecian antiquity, fuch of the difciples of Pytha¬
goras as had not completed their five years probation.
ACOUSTIC, in general, denotes any thing that
relates to the ear, the fenfe of hearing, or the doflrine
of founds.
ACOUSTIC DuB, in Anatomy, the fame with meatus
auditorius, or the external paffage of the ear. See Ana¬
tomy.
ACOUSTIC Injlrument, or auricular tube. See Acou¬
stics.
Acoustic Vejfels, in the ancient theatres, were a
kind of veffels made of brafs, fhaped in the bell fafhion,
which being of all tones within the pitch of the voice
or even of inftruments, rendered the found more au¬
dible, fo that the a&ors could be heard through all parts
of theatres which were even 400 feet in diameter.
ACOUSTIC Difciples, among the ancient Pythagoreans,
thofe more commonly called Acousmatici.
Aeofta
Acouftics
ACOUSTICS,
Preliminary TN PJiyJics, is that fcience which inftrufts us in the
Obferva- nature of found. It is divided by fome writers in-
. tlons‘ , to Diacoujlics, which explains the properties of thofe
^ founds that come direftly from the fonorous body to the
ear 3 and Catacoujlics, which treats of refle&ed founds 3
but fuch diftin&ions do not appear to be of any real
utility.
Sound is a term of which it would be prepofterous
to offer any definition, as it may almoft be faid to ex-
prefs a Ample idea : But when we confider it as a SEN¬
SATION, and ftill more when we confider it as a per¬
ception, it may not be improper to give a defcrip-Prelimina!
tion of it 3 becaufe this muft involve certain relations e^m.
of external things, and certain trains of events in the ■ y
material world, which make it a proper object of phi-
lofophical difcuflion. Sound is that primary informa¬
tion which we get of external things by means of the
fenfe of hearing. This, however, does not explain it 3
for were we in like manner to defcribe our fenfe of
hearing, we fliould find ourfelves obliged to fay, that it
is the faculty by which we perceive found. Languages
are not the invention of philofophers 3 and we muft not
expeft
A C O U
Preliminary expert precifion, even in the fimpleft cafes. Our me-
Obferva- thocis 0f exprefling the information given us by our
ttions. djfferent fenfes are not fimilar, as a philofopher cau-
^ ^' tioufly contriving language, would make them. We
have no word to exprefs the primary or generic objeft
of our fenfe of feeing j for we believe, that even the
vulgar confider light as the medium, but not the objeft.
This is certainly the cafe (how juftly we do not lay)
with the philofopher. On the other hand, the words
fmell, found, and perhaps tafte, are conceived by moft
perfons as exprefling the immediate obje&s of the fenfes
of fmelling, hearing, and tailing. Smell and found are
haftily conceived as feparate exillences, and as mediums
of information and of intercourfe with the odoriferous
and founding bodies; and it is only the very cautious
philofopher who diftinguilhes between the fmell which
he feels and the perfume which fills the room. Thofe
of the ancients, therefore, who taught that founds were
beings wafted through the air, and felt by our eais,
Ihoufd not, even at this day, he confidered as awkward
obfervers of nature. It has required the long, patient,
and fagacious confideration of the moll penetrating ge-
niufes, from Zeno the Stoic to Sir Ifaac Newton, to
difeover that what we call found, the immediate exter¬
nal objeft of the fenfe of hearing, is nothing but a par¬
ticular agitation of the parts of furrounding bodies, a fl¬
ing by mechanical impulfe on our organs 5 and that it
is not any feparate being, nor even a fpecific quality
inherent in any particular thing, by which it can af-
fe£t the organ, as we fuppofe with refpefl to a perfume,
but merely a mode of exiftence competent to. every
atom of matter. And thus the defeription which we
propofed to give of found mull be a defeription of that
Hate of external contiguous matter which is the caufe
of found. It is not therefore prefatory to any theory
or fet of doftrines on this fubjeft ; but on the contra¬
ry, is the fum or refult of them all.
To difeover this Hate of the external body by which,
without any farther intermedium of jubilance or of ope¬
ration, it affefts our fenfitive faculties, mull be confi¬
dered as a great Hep in fcience. It will Ihow us at
leall one way by which mind and body may be eon-
nefled. It is fuppofed that we have attained this know¬
ledge with refpeft to found. Our fuccefs, therefore, is
a very pleafing gratification to the philofophic mind.
It is Hill more important in another view : it has en¬
couraged us to make fimilar attempts in other cafes,
and has fupplied us with a faft to which an ingenious
mind can eafily fancy fomething analogous in many ab-
firufe operations of nature, and thus it enables us to
give fome fort of explanation of them. Accordingly
this ufe has been moll liberally made of the mechanical
theory ©f found j and there is now fcarcely any pheno¬
menon, either of matter or mind, that has not been
explained in a manner fome what fimilar. But we are
forry to fay that thefe explanations have done no credit
to philofophy. They are, for the moll part, llrongly
marked with that precipitate and felf-conceited impa¬
tience which has always chara£lerifed the invelligations
conduced folely by ingenious fancy. The confe-
quences of this procedure have been no lefs fatal to
the progrefs of true knowledge in modern times than
in the fchools of ancient Greece *, and the ethereal
philofophers of this age, like the followers of Arillotle
of old; have filled ponderous volumes with nonfenfe
S T I C S. H3
and error. It is llrange, however, that this Ihould be Preliminary
the effect of a great and fuccefsful Hep in philofophy : °™^a'
But the fault is in the philofophers, not in the fcience.
Nothing can be more certain than the account which
Newton has given of the propagation of a certain clafs
of undulations in an elaltic fluid. But this procedure
of nature cannot be feen with diltinClnefs and precifion
by any but well-informed mathematicians. They alone
can reft with unlhaken confidence on the conclufions
legitimately deduced from the Newtonian theorems j
and even they can infure fuccefs only by treading with
the moll fcrupulous caution the Heps of this patient
philofopher. But few have done this 5 and we may
venture to fay, that not one in ten of thofe who em¬
ploy the Newtonian do&rines of elallic undulations for
the explanation of other phenomena have taken the
trouble, or indeed were able, to. go through the Heps
of the fundamental propofition (Prin. II. 50, &c.). But
the general refults are fo plain, and admit of fuch im-
preflive illullration, and they, draw the affent of the
moll carelefs reader > and all imagine that they under-
lland the explanation, and perceive the whole proce¬
dure of nature. Emboldened therefore by this luc-
cefsful ilep in philofophy, they, without hefitation,
fancJj fimilar intermediums in other cafes 5 and as air
has been found to be a vehicle for found, they have
fuppofed that fomething which they call ether, fome-
how refembling air, is the vehicle of vifion. Others
have proceeded farther, and have held that ether, or
another fomething like air, is the vehicle of fenfation
in general, from the organ to the brain : nay, we have
got a great volume called A Theory of Man, where
all our fenfations, emotions, affections, thoughts, and
purpofes or volitions, are faid to be fo many vibrations
of another fomething equally unfeen, gratuitous, and
incompetent} and to crown all, this exalted doftrine,
when logically profecuted, muff terminate in the dif-
covery of thofe vibrations which pervade all others,
and which conllitute what we have been accuftomed to
venerate by the name Deity. Such mujl be the ter¬
mination of this philofophy ; and a truly philofophical
differtation on the attributes of the Divine Being can
be nothing elfe than an accurate defeription of thefe vi¬
brations [ , r j rr
This is not a needlefs and declamatory rhaplody. it
the explanation of found can be legitimately transferred
to thofe other claffes of phenomena, thefe are certain
refults; and if fo, all the difeoveries made by Newton
are but the glimmerings of the morning, when compar¬
ed with this meridian fplendour. But if, on the other
hand, found logic forbids us to make this transference
of explanation, we muff continue to believe, for a little
while longer, that mind is fomething different from vi¬
brating matter, and that no kind of ofcillations will con-
ilitute infinite wifdom.
It is of immenfe importance therefore to underftand
thoroughly this doftrine of found, that we may fee
clearly and precilely in what it confifts, what aie the
phenomena of found that are fully explained, what , are
the data and the affumptions on which the explanations
proceed, and what is the precife mechanical fuel in
which it terminates. For this, or a faCl perfeClly fimi¬
lar, mull terminate every explanation which we derive
from this by analogy, however perfect the analogy may¬
be. This previous knowledge muff be completely pof-
s feffed,
144
ACOUSTICS.
Firfl: no
tions of
found.
Preliminary feffed by every perfon who pretends to explain other
Obferva- phenomena in a fimilar manner. Then, and not till
, tl0ns‘ , then, he is able to fay what claffes of phenomena will
admit of the explanation : and, when all this is done,
his explanation is flill an hypothecs, till he is able to
prove, from other indifputable fources, the exiftence
and agency of the fame thing analogous to the elaftic
fluid, from which all is borrowed.
At prefent therefore we {hall content ourfelves with
giving a fliort hiftory of the fpeculations of philofophers
on the nature of found, tracing out the fteps by which
we have arrived at the knowledge which we have of it.
We apprehend this to be of great importance •, be-
•caufe it (hows us what kind of evidence we have for its
truth, and the paths which we mufl: Aiun if we wilh to
proceed farther : and we truft that the progrefs which
we have made will appear to be fo real, and the ob-
jeft to be attained fo alluring to a truly philofophical
mind, that men of genius will be incited to exert their
utmoft efforts to pafs the prefent boundaries of our real
progrefs.
In the infancy of philofophy, found was held to be
a feparate exiftence, fomething which would be, al¬
though no hearing animal exifted. This was con¬
ceived as wafted through the air to our organ of hear¬
ing, which it was fuppofed to affeft in a manner refem-
bling that in which our noftrils are affefted when they
give us the fenfation of fmell. It was one of the Pla¬
tonic species, fitted for exciting the intelleftual fpe-
cies, which is the immediate objeft of the foul’s con¬
templation.
Yet, even in thofe early years of fcience, there were
fome, and, in particular, the celebrated founder of the
Stoic fchool, who held that found, that is, the caufe of
found, wras only the particular motion of external grofs
matter, propagated to the ear, and there producing that
agitation of the organ by which the foul is immediate¬
ly affefted with the fenfation of found. Zeno, as quot¬
ed by Diogenes Laertius *, fays, “ Hearing is pro¬
duced by the air which intervenes between the thing
Zeno’s opi- founding and the ear. The air is agitated in a fpheri-
cal form, and moves off in waves j and falls on the ear,
in the fame manner as the water in a ciftern undulates
in circles when a ft one has been thrown into it.” The
ancients were not remarkable for precifion, either of
conception or argument, in their difcuftions, and they
-were contented with a general and vague view of things.
Some followed the Platonic notions, and many the opi¬
nion of Zeno, but without any further attempts to give
a diftinft conception of the explanation, or to compare
it with experiment.
But in later times, during the ardent refearches in the
laft century into the phenomena of nature, this became
Air the ve- an interefting fubjeft of inquiry. The invention of the
hide of air-pump gave the firft opportunity of deciding by expe-
iound pio- rjment whether the elaftic undulations of air were the
caufes of found : and the trial fully eftabliftied this
point; for a bell rung in vacuo gave no found, and one
rung in condenfed air gave a very loud one. It was
therefore received as a dodtrine in general phyfics that
air was the vehicle of found.
The celebrated Galileo, the parent of mathematical
difcovery of pbilofophy, difcovered the nature of that connexion be-
“f tween lengths of mufical chords and the notes which
chords." they produced, which had been obferved by Pythago¬
* B. vii.
$158
ved by the
air-pump.
Galileo’s
ras, or learned by him in his travels in the eaft, and Prelimina
which he made the foundation of a refined and beauti-
ful fcience, the theory of mufic. Galileo fhowed, that i-.f
the real connexion fubfifted between the tones and the
vibrations of thefe chords, and that their different degrees
of acutenefs correfponded to the different frequency of
their vibrations. The very elementary and familiar de-
monftration which he gave of this connexion did not
fatisfy the curious mathematicians of that inquifitiveage j
and the mechanical theory of mufical chords was profe-
cuted to a great degree of refinement. In the courfe of
this inveftigation, it appeared that the chord vibrated in
a manner precifely fimilar to a pendulum vibrating in
a cycloid. It muft therefore agitate the air contiguous
to it in the fame manner 5 and thus there is a particu¬
lar kind of agitation which the air can receive and
maintain, which is very interefting.
Sir Ifaac Newton took up this queftion as worthy of^0'^0^1
his notice ; and endeavoured to afcertain with mathe- unc[LjatiQ
matical precifion the mechanifm of this particular clafs
of undulations, and gave us the fundamental theorems
concerning the undulations of elaftic fluids, which make
the 47th, &c. propofitions of Book II. of the Principles
of Natural Philofophy. They have been (perhaps ha-
ftily) confidered as giving the fundamental dodlrines
concerning the propagation of found. A variety of fafts cotrefponl
are narrated in the article Pneumatics, to {how that
fuch undulations actually obtain in the air of our atmo- Gf found.
fphere, and are accompanied by a let of phenomena of
found which precifely correfpond to all the mechanical
circumftances of thefe undulations.
In the mean time, the anatomifts and phyfiologifts^f^1^ 1
were bufily employed in examining the ftrudture of ourmjp.s>
organs of hearing. Impreffed with the validity of this
do6trine of aerial undulations being the caufe of found,
their refearches were always directed with a view to dif-
cover thofe circumftances in the ftruflure of the ear
which rendered it an organ fufceptible of agitations
from this caufe $ and they difcovered many which ap¬
peared as contrivances for making it a drum, on which
the aerial undulations from without muft make very for¬
cible impulfes, fo as to produce very fonorous undula¬
tions in the air contained in it. Thefe therefore they
confidered as the immediate objects of fenfation, or the
immediate caufes of found.
But fome anatomifts faw that this would not be a full
account of the matter: for after a drum is agitated, it
has done all that it can do $ it has produced a noife.
But a farther procefs goes on in our ear : There is
behind the membrane, which is the head of this drum,
a curious mechanifm, which communicates the agitations
of the membrane (the only thing afted on by the un¬
dulating air) to another chamber of moft fingular con-
ftruftion, where the auditory nerve is greatly expanded.
They conceive, therefore, that the organ called theStnnfturi
drum does not a£l as a drum, but in fome other way. In- the e;!
deed it feems bad logic to fuppofe that it afts as a drum
merely by producing a noife. This is in no refpeft dif¬
ferent from the noife produced out of the ear •, and if it
is to be heard as a noife, we muft have another ear by
which it may be heard, and this ear muft be another
fuch drum *, and this muft have another, and fo on for
ever. It is like the inaccurate notion that vifion is the
contemplation of the pi&ure on the retina. Thefe ana¬
tomifts attended therefore to the ftru£ture. Here they
obferved
A C O U S
preliminary obfervetl a prodigious unfolding of the auditory nerve
Obferva- 0p ear? which is curiouily diftributed through every
l_t‘0l:‘s, : part of this cavity, lining its fides, hung acrofs it like
a curtain, and fending off fibres in every diredlion, fo as
to leave hardly a point of it unoccupied. They thought
the machinery contained in the drum peculiarly fitted
for producing undulations of the air contained in this
labyrinth, and that by thefe agitations of the air the
contiguous fibres of the auditory nerve are impelled,
and that thus we get the fenfation of found.
Of the hu- The cavity intervening between the external ear and
man. this inner chamber appeared to thefe anatomifts to have
no other ufe than to allow a very free motion to the
Jlapes or little pifton that is employed to agitate the air
in the labyrinth. This pifton condenfes on a very fmall
furface the impulfe which it receives from a much lar¬
ger furface, drained by the malleus on the entry of the
tympanum, on purpofe to receive the gentle agitations
of the external air in the outer canal. 1 his membra¬
nous furface could not be agitated, unlefs completely
detached from every thing round it 5 therefore all ani¬
mals which have this mechanifm have it in a cavity
containing only air. But they held, that nature had
even taken precautions to prevent this cavity from a£t-
ing as a drum, by making it of fuch an irregular ram¬
bling form 5 for it is by no means a cavity of a fymme-
trical ftiape, like a veffel, but rather refembles the ram¬
bling holes and blebs which are often feen in a piece of
bread, fcattered through the fubftance of the cranium,
and communicating with each other by fmall paffages.
The whole of thefe cavernulse are lined with a foftiih
membrane, which ftill farther unfits this cavity for pro¬
ducing found. This reafoning is fpecious, but not very
conclufive. We might even affert, that this anfraftuous
form, with narrow pafiages, is well fitted for producing
noife. If we place the ear clofe to the fmall hole in
the fide of a military drum, we (hall hear the frnalleft
tap of the drumftick like a violent blow. The lining
of the cavernulae is nervous, and may therefore be
ftrongly affe&ed in the numerous narrow paffages be¬
tween the cells.
Of other While thefe fpeculations were going on with refpeft
animals. to the ear of the breathing animals, obfervations were
occafionally made on other animals, fuch as reptiles,
ferpents, and fifties, which give undoubted indications
of hearing \ and many very familiar fa£ts wrere obferved
or recollected, where founds are communicated through
or by means of folid bodies, or by water : therefore,
without inquiring how or by what kind of mechanifm
it is brought about, it became a very general belief
among phyfiologifts, that all fifties, and perhaps all ani¬
mals, hear, and that water in particular is a vehicle of
found. Many experiments are mentioned by Kircher
and others on the communication of found through
folid bodies, fuch as mafts, yards, and other long
beams of dry fir, with fimilar refults. Dr Monro has
publiftied a particular account of very curious expe¬
riments on the propagation of found through water ir>
his Differtation on the Phyfiology of Fifties \ fo that it
now appears that air is by no means the only vehicle
of found.
Water dif- I7^° Cotuni publiftied his important difcovery,
covered in that the labyrinth or inmoft cavity of the ear in ani-
tbe inter- mals is completely filled with water. This, after feme
ualear. COnteft, has been completely demonftrated (fee in
Vol. I. Part I.
TICS.
particular Meckel Junior de Labyrinth! Conten^^J
tif, Argentor. 1777), and it feems now to be admitted tions.
by all. _ . . ,-1 “v
This being the cafe, our notions of the immediate
caufe of found muft undergo a great revolution, and a
new refearch muft be made into the way in which
the nerve is affeded : for it is not enough that we
fubftitute the undulations of water for thole of air in
the labyrinth. The well-informed mechanician will fee Increafes _
at once, that the vivacity of the agitations of the nerve torce «
will be greatly increafed by this fubftitution •, for n wa- tjons>
ter be perfeftly elaftio through the whole extent of the
undulatory agitation which it receives, its effedt will be
greater in proportion to its fpecific gravity : and this is
confirmed by an experiment very ealily made. Immerfe
a table-bell in water contained in a large thin glals vef¬
fel. Strike it with a hammer. The found will be
heard as if the bell had been immediately ftruck on the
fides of the veffel. The filling of the labyrinth of the
ear with water is therefore an additional mark of the
wifdom of the Great Artift. But this is not enough for
informing us concerning the ultimate mechanical event
in the procefs of hearing. I he manner in which the
nerve is expofed to thefe undulations muft be totally
different from what was formerly imagined. The fila¬
ments and membranes, which have been deferibed^ by
former anatomifts, muft have been found by them in a
ft ate quite unlike to their fituation and condition in the
living animal. Accordingly the moft eminent anato¬
mifts of Europe feem at prefent in great uncertainty as
to the ftate of the nerve, and are keenly occupied in
obfervations to this purpofe. The deferiptions given by
Monro, Scarpa, Camper, Comparetti, and others, are
full of moft curious difeoveries, which make almoft a to¬
tal change in our notions of this fubje£t, and will, we
hope, be productive of moft valuable information. ?
Scarpa has difeovered that the folid cavity called thej^pa s ^
labyrinth contains a threefold expanfion of the auditory the exp:an(
nerve. One part of it, the cochlea, contains it in a fi-fion of the
brillous ftate, ramified in a moft fymmetrical manner nerve in the
through the whole of the %ona mollis of the lamina fpi- labyrinth.
ralis, where it anaftomifes with another production of
it diffufed over the general lining of that cavity. An¬
other department of the nerve, alfo in a fibrous ftate, is
fpread over the external furface of a membranaceous
bag, which nearly fills that part of the veftibule into
which the femicircular canals open, and alfo that orifice
which receives the impreffions of the ftapes.. This ba|>
fends off tubular membranaceous dmfts, which, in like
manner, nearly fill thefe femicircular canals. A third
department of the nerve is fpread over the external fur¬
face of another membranaceous bag, which lies between
the one juft now mentioned and the cochlea, but ha¬
ving no communication with either, almoft completely
filling the remainder of the veftibule. Thus the veftibule
and canal feem only a cafe for protefting this fenfitive
membranaceous veffel, which is almoft, but not altoge¬
ther, in contatl with the offeous cafe, being feparated
by a delicate and almoft fluid cellular fubftance._ The
fibrillous expanfion of the^ierve is not indiferiminately
diffufed over the furface of thefe facculi, but evidently
direfted to certain foci, where the fibres are conftipated.
And this is the laft appearance of the fibrous ftate of
the nerve ; for when the infide of thefe facculi isinfeft-
ed, no fibres appear, but a pulp (judged to be nervous
T from
,46 A C O U
Preliminary from its (imilanty to other pulpy produ&ions of the
Obferva- brain) adhering to the membranaceous coat, and notfe-
. tlons' , parable from it by gently wafhing it. It is more abun-
” v dant, that is, of greater thicknels, oppofite to the ex¬
ternal fibrous foci. No organical ftru&ure could be
difcovered in this pulp, but it probably is organized j
for, befides this adhering pulp, the water in the facculi
was obferved to be clammy or mucous } fo that in all
probability the vafcular or fibrous ftate of the nerve is
fucceeded by an uninterrupted produftion (perhaps
columnar like bafalt, though not cohering^ 5 and this at
laft ends in fimple diffemination, fymmetrical however,
where water and nerve are alternate in every direction.
Comparet- '-T0 thefe obfervations of Scarpa, Comparetti adds
ti’s, of a the curious circumftance of another and regular ty m-
tympanum panum in the foramen rotundum, the cylindric cavity
in the fora- js enclofed at both ends by a fine membrane,
chim r°tUn' The membrane which feparates it from the cochlea ap¬
pears to be in a ftate of variable tenfion,. being drawn
up to an umbo by a cartilaginous fpeck in its middle,
which he thinks adheres to the lamina fpiralis, and thus
ferves to ftrain the drumhead, as the malleus ftrains the
great membrane known to all.
Thefe are moft important obfervations, and muft
greatly excite the curiofity of a truly philofophical
mind, and deferve the moft careful inquiry into their
juftnefs. If thefe are accurate deferiptions of the or¬
gan, they feem to conduft us farther into the fecrets of
nature than any thing yet known.
We think that they promife to give us the greateft
ftep yet made in phyfiology, viz. to (how us the laft
mechanical faft which occurs in the long train intei-
pofed between the external body and the incitement of
our fenfitive fyftem. But there is, as yet, great and
ftonfTna- effential differences in the deferiptions given by thofe
turalifts dif-celebrated naturalifts. It cannot be otherwife.. I he
ferent. containing labyrinth can be laid open to our view in
no other way than by deftroying it 5 and its moft; deli¬
cate contents are the firft fufferers in the fearch.^ They
are found in very different fituations and conditions by
different anatomifts, according to their addrefs or their
good fortune. Add to this, that the natural varieties
are very confiderable. Faithful deferiptions muft there¬
fore give very different notions of the ultimate adlion
and reaction between the unorganized matter in the la¬
byrinth and t^e ultimate expanfion of the auditory
nerve.
The progrefs which has been made in many parts
of natural fcience has been great and wonderful •, and
perhaps we are not too fanguine, when we exprefs
our hopes that the obfervations and experiments of
anatomifts and mechanicians will foon furnilh us with
fuch a colledlion of fa&s refpefting the ftrudture and
the contents of the organ of hearing, as might enable
us to give a jufter theory of found than is yet to
be found in the writings of philofophers. There feems
to be no abatement of ardour in the refearches of
the phyfiologifts •, and they will not remain long, ig¬
norant of the truth or miftake in the accounts given
by Scarpa and Comparetti. A colleflion of accurate
obfervations on the ftru&ure of the ear would give us
principles on which to proceed in explaining the
various methods of producing external founds. The
nature, of continued founds might then be treated of,
and would appear, we believe, very different from
S T I C S.
what it is commonly fuppofed. Under this head Preliminarj
animal voices might be particularly confidered,. and °'^a'
the elements of human fpeech properly afeertained. ^ 5
When the produ&ion of continued founds is once
fhown to be a thing regulated by principle, it may be
fyftematically treated, and this principle may be con-
fidered as combined with every mechanical ftate of
body that may be pointed out. This will fuggeft
to us methods of producing found which have not
yet been thought of, and may therefore give us
founds with which we are unacquainted. Such an
acquifition is not to be defpifed nor rejedled. The
bountiful Author of our being and of all our fa¬
culties has made it an objeft of moft enchanting re-
lilh to the human mind. The Greeks, the moft culti¬
vated people who have ever figured on the ftage of life,
enjoyed the pleafures of mufic with rapture. Even the
poor negro, after toiling a whole day beneath a tropi¬
cal fun, will go ten miles in the dark to dance all
night to the fimple mufic of the balafoe, and return
without fleep to his next day’s toil. The penetrating
eye of the anatomift has difcovered in the human la¬
rynx an apparatus evidently contrived for tempering
the great movements of the glottis, fo as to enable us
to produce the intended note with the utmoft precifion.
There is no doubt therefore that the confummate Ar-
tift has not thought it unworthy of his attention. We
ought therefore to receive with thankfulnefs this pre-
fent from our Maker—this laborum dulce lenimen ; and
it is furely worthy the attention of the philofopher to
add to this innocent elegance of life.
Chap. I. Different Theories of Sound.
Most founds, we all know, are conveyed to us on Of the ve-
the bofom of the air. In whatever manner they either hides of
float upon it, or are propelled forward in it, certain itfoun *
is, that, without the vehicle of this or fome other fluid,
we Ihould have no founds at all. Let the air be ex-
haufted from a receiver, and a bell lhall emit no found
when rung in the void ; for, as the air continues to grow
lefs denfe, the found dies away in proportion, fo that
at laft its ftrongeft vibrations are almoft totally filent.
Thus air is a vehicle for found. However, we muft Air not the
not, with fome philofophers affert, that it is the only only one•
vehicle; that, if there were no air, we Ihould have no
founds whatfoever: for it is found by experiment, that
founds are conveyed through water with the fame faci¬
lity with which they move through air. A bell rung
in water returns a tone as diftin£t as if rung in air.
This was obferved by Derham, who alfo remarked that
the tone came a quarter deeper. It appears, from the
experiments of naturalifts, that fifties have a ftrong per¬
ception of founds, even at the bottom of deep rivers.
From hence, it would feem not to be very material in
the propagation of founds, whether the fluid which
conveys them be elaftic or otherwife. Water, which,
of all fubftances that we know, has the leaft elafticity,
yet ferves to carry them forward ; and if we make al"
lowance for the difference of its denfity, perhaps the
founds move in it with a proportional rapidity to what
they are found to do in the elaftic fluid of air. But
though air and water are both vehicles of found, yet
neither of them according to fome philofophers feems
to.
Chap.
L A C O U
Different to be fo by itfelf, but only as It contains an exceeding-
Theories of j fubtle fluid capable of penetrating the moft folid bo-
Sound' dies. Hence, by the medium of that fluid, founds can
' V"~"Jbe propagated through wood, or metals, even more
readily than through the open air. By the fame means,
deaf people may be made fenfible of founds if they hold
a piece of metal in the mouth, one end of which is ap¬
plied to the founding body. And as it is certain, that
air cannot penetrate metals, the medium of found, fay
they muft be of a more fubtle nature; and thus the
electrical fluid will naturally occur as the proper one.
But why then is found no longer heard m an exhaufted
receiver, if the air is not the fluid by which it is con¬
veyed, feeing the eleaHcal matter cannot be excluded /
The reply to this is obvious: The electrical fluid is jo
exceedingly fubtle, and pervades folid bodies with fo
much eafe, that any motion of a folid body in a quan¬
tity of eledric matter by itfelf, can never excite a de¬
cree of agitation in it fufficient for producing a found j
but if the elearic fluid is entangled among the parti¬
cles of air, water, wood, metal, &c. whatever affeas
their particles will alfo affea this fluid, and produce
an audible noife. In the experiment of the air-pump,
it is alleged there may be an ambiguity, as Sra*
dual exhaufting of the air creates an increafmg ditter-
ence of preffure on the outfide, and may occafmn in the
crlafs a difficulty of vibrating, fo as to render it lefs fit
to communicate to the air without the vibrations that
ftrike it from within. From this caufe the diminution
of found in an exhaufled receiver may be fuppofed to
proceed, as well as from the diminution of the air. But
if any internal agitation of its parts fliould happen to
the eleftrical fluid, exceeding loud noifes might be pro¬
pagated through it, as has been the cafe when large
meteors have kindled at a great diftance from the earth.
It is alfo difficult, they fuppofe, to account for the ama¬
zing velocity of found, upon the fuppofition that it is
propagated bv means of air alone , for nothing is more
certain, than that the ftrongeft and moft violent gale is,
in its courfe, inert and fluggiffi, compared with the mo¬
tion of found. # , a .,
One thing however is certain, that whether the fluid
which conveys the note be elaftic, or nonelaftic,. what¬
ever found we hear is produced by a ftroke, which the
founding body makes againft the fluid, whether air. or
water. The fluid being ftruck upon, carries the im-
preffion forward to the ear, and there produces its fen-
Whatfoundation. Philofophers are fo far agreed, that they all
is, and how allow that found is nothing more than the impretlion
propagated, made by an elaftic body upon the air or water, and
this impreflion carried along by either fluid to the or¬
gan of hearing. But the manner in which this con¬
veyance is made, is ftill difputed : Whether the found
is diffufed into the air, in circle beyond circle, like
the waves of water when we difturb the fmoothnefs of
its furface by dropping in a ftone ; or whether it tra¬
vels along, like rays diffufed from a centre, fomewhat
in the fwift manner that electricity runs along a rod
of iron $ thefe are the queftions which have divided the
learned. _
Newton was of the firft opinion. He has explained
the progreffion of found by an undulatory, or rather a
vermicular, motion in the parts of the air. If we have
an exaCt idea of the crawling of fome infeCts, we ftiall
have a tolerable notion of the progreffion of found upon
S T I C S.
this hypothec,s. This infefl, for inflance, in its motion,
Newton’s
theory.
iiiia uj    , . . / . • Theories of
firft carries its contractions from the hinder part, ,T1 or- Sound,
der to throw its fore part to the proper diftance, then y»
it carries its contractions from the fore part, to the hin¬
der to bring that forward. Something fimilar to this
is the motion of the air when ftruck.upon by a found¬
ing body. To be a little more precife, fuppofe AbC,
Plate I. fig. i. the ftriking of a harpfichord fcrewed to
a proper pitch, and drawn out of the right line by the
finger at B. We (hall have occafion elfewhere to ob-
ferve, that fuch a firing would, if let go, vibrate to E •,
and from E to D, and back again j that it would con¬
tinue thus to vibrate like a pendulum, for ever, ii .not
externally refifted, and, like a pendulum., all its little
vibrations would be performed in equal times, the laft
and the firft being equally long in performing ; aho
that, like a pendulum, its greateft fwittnefs would al¬
ways be when it arrived at E, the middle part of its
motion. Now then, if this firing be fuppofed to fly
from the finger at B, it is obvious, that whatever be
its own motion, fuch alfo will be the motion of. the
parts of air that fly before it. Its motion, as is obvious,
is firft uniformly accelerated forward irom B to E,
then retarded as it goes from E to D, accelerated back
again as it returns from D to E, and retarded from E
to B. This motion being therefore fucceffively pro¬
duced through a range of elaftic air, it muft happen,
that the parts of one range of air will be fent forward
with accelerated motion, and then with a retarded mo¬
tion. This accelerated motion reaching the remoteft
end of the firft range will be communicated to a fecond
range, whilft the neareft parts of the firft range being
retarded in their motion, and falling back with the re-
ceffion of the firing, retire firft with an accelerated,
then with a retarded motion, and the remoteft parts
will foon follow. In the mean time, while the parts
of the firft range are thus falling back, the parts of the
fecond range are going forward with an accelerated
motion. Thus there will be an alternate condenfation
and relaxation of the air, during the time of one vibra¬
tion ; and as the air going forward ftrikes any oppofing^
body with greater force than upon retiring, fo each of
thefe accelerated progreffions has been called by New¬
ton a of found. #
Thus will the air be driven forward in the direction
of the firing. But now we muft obferve, that thefe
pulfes will move every way •, for all motion impreffed
upon fluids in any direftion whatfoever, operates all
around in a fphere : fo that founds will be driven in aft
direftions, backwards, forwards, upwards, downwards,
and on every fide. They will go on fucceeding each
other, one on the outline of the other, like circles in
difturbed water ; or rather, they will lie one without
the other, in concentric fhells, (hell above (hell, as we
fee in the coats of an onion.
All who have remarked the. tone of a bell, while its
founds are decaying away, muft have an idea of the
pulfes of found, which, according to Newton, are form¬
ed by the air’s alternate progreffion and receffion. And
it muft be obferved, that as each of thefe pulfes is
formed by a Angle vibration of the firing, they muft
be equal to each other ; for the vibrations of the firing
are known to be fo.
Again, As to the velocity with which founds travel,
this Newton determines, by the moft difficult calcula-
T 7 tion
148
ACOUSTICS.
Chap. I.
Preceding
theory op¬
posed.
■Different tion that can be imagined, to be in proportion to the
Theories ofthicknefs of the parts of the air, and the diftance of
. Sm‘n ‘ , thefe parts from each other. From hence he goes on
to prove, that eacli little part moves backward and for¬
ward like a pendulum ; and from thence he proceeds
to demonftrate, that if the atmofphere were of the fame
denlity everywhere as at the furface of the earth, in
fuch a cafe, a pendulum, that reached from its higheft
furface down to the furface of the earth, would by its
vibrations difeover to us the proportion of the velocity
with which founds travel. The velocity with which
each pulfe would move, he Ihows, would be as much
greater than the velocity of fuch a pendulum fwinging
with one complete vibration, as the circumference of
a circle is greater than the diameter. From hence he
calculates, that the motion of found will be 979 feet
in one fecond. But this not being confonant to ex¬
perience, he takes in another confideration, which de-
ilroys entirely the rigour of his former demonftration,
namely, vapours in the air } and then finds the motion
of found to be 1142 feet in one fecond, or near 13
miles in a minute •, a proportion which experience had
eftablilhed nearly before.
This much will ferve to give an obfeure idea of a
theory which has met with numerous oppofers. Even
John Bernoulli, Newton’s greateft diiciple, modeftly
owns that he did not pretend to underftand this, part
of the Principle. He attempted therefore to give a
more perfpicuous demonftration of his own, that might
confirm and illuftrate the Newtonian theory. . The
fubjedl feemed to rejedt elucidation 5 his theory is ob-
vioufly wrong, as D’Alembert has proved in his Theo¬
ry of Fluids.
Various have been the objedlions that have been
made to the Newtonian fyftem of founds. It is urged,
that this theory can only agree with the motion of
found in an elaftic fluid, whereas founds are known to
move forward through water that is not elaftic. lo
explain their progrefs therefore through water, a fe¬
cond theory muft be formed 5 fo that two theories muft
be made to explain a fimilar effedt; which is contrary
to the fimplicity of true philofophy, for it is contrary
to the fimplicity of nature. It is further urged, that
this flow vermicular motion but ill reprefents the velo¬
city with which founds travel, as we know by experi¬
ence that it is almoft 13 miles in a minute. In Ihort,.
it is urged, that fuch undulations as have been deferib-
ed, when coming from feveral fonorous bodies at once,
would crofs, obftrudl, and confound each other ; fo
that, if they were conveyed to the. ear by this means
we ftiould hear nothing but a medley of difeord and
broken articulations.. But this is equally with the reft
contradidlory to experience, fince we hear the fulleft
concert, not only without confufion, but with the high¬
eft pleafure. Thefe objedlions, whether well found¬
ed or not, have given rife to another theory : which
we (hall like wife lay before the reader *, though it too
appears liable to objedlions, which ftiall be afterwards
mentioned.
Every found may be confidered as driven off from
the founding body in ftraight lines, and impreffed upon
the air in one diredlion only : but whatever impreffion
is made upon a fluid in one diredtion, is diffufed upon
its furface into all diredtions: fo that the found firft
driven diredfly forward foon fills up a wide fphere, and
The objec
tions.
Another
theory.
is heard on every fide. Thus, as it is impreffed, it in- Different
ftantaneoufly travels forward with a very fwift motion,
refembling the velocity with which w e know eledlricity t
flies from one end of a line to another.
Now, as to the pulfes, or clofe {hakes as the mufi-
cians exprefs it, which a founding body is known to
make, each pulfe (fay the fupporters of this theory)
is itfelf a diftindl and perfedl found, and the interval
between every two pulfes is profoundly filent. Con¬
tinuity of found from the fame body is only a decep¬
tion of the hearings for as each diftindl found fucceeds
at very fmall intervals, the organ has no time to trani-
mits its images with equal fwiftnefs to the mind, and
the interval is thus loft to fenfe : juft as in feeing a
flaming torch, whirled rapidly round, it appears as a
ring of fire. In this manner a beaten drum, at fame
fmall diftance, prefents us with the idea of continuing
found. When children run with their flicks along a
rail, a continuing found is thus reprefented, though it
need fcarce be obferved that the ftroke againft each
rail is perfedlly diftindl and infulated.
According to this theory, therefore, the pulfes are-
nothing more than diftindl founds repeated by the fame
body, the firft ftroke or vibration being, ever the loud-
eft, and travelling farther than thofe that follow j while
each fucceeding vibration gives a new found, but with
diminiflred force, till at laft the pulfes decay away to¬
tally, as the force decays that gives them exiftence.
All bodies whatfoever that are ftruck return more or
lefs a found : but fome, wanting elafticity, give back
no repetition of the found 5 the noife is at once produ¬
ced and dies: while other bodies, however, there are,
which being more elaftic and capable of vibration, give
back a found, and repeat the fame feveral times fuc-
ceflively. Thefe laft are faid to have a tone j the others
are not allowed to have any.
This tone of the elaftic ftring, or bell, is notwith-
ftanding nothing more than a limilar found of what
the former bodies produced, but with the difference of
being many times repeated, while their note is but
fingle. So that, if we would give the former bodies a
tone, it will be neceffary to make them repeat their
found, by repeating our blows fwiftly upon them. Ihis
will effedlually give them a tone ; and even an unmufi-
cal inftrument has often had a fine effedt by its tone in
our concerts.
Let us now go on then to fuppofe, that by fwift
and equably continued ftrokes we give any nonelaftic
body its tone : it is very obvious, that no alterations
will be made in this tone by the quicknefs of the ftrokes,
though repeated ever fo fall. Thefe will only render
the tone more equal and continuous, but make no al¬
teration in the tone it gives. Gn the contrary, if we
make an alteration in the force of each blow, a differ¬
ent tone will then undoubtedly be excited. The dif¬
ference will be fmall, it muft be confeffed; for the tones
of thefe inflexible bodies are capable but of fmall va¬
riation ; however, there will certainly be a difference.
The table on which we write, for inftance, will return
a different found when ftruck with a club, from what
it did when ftruck only withafwitch. Thus nonelaftic
bodies return a difference of tone, not in proportion
to the fwiftnefs with which their found is repeated, but
in proportion to the greatnefs of the blow which pro¬
duced it j for in two equal nonelaftic bodies, that body
produced
aap. I. A C O U S
Different produced ttie deepeft tone which was {truck by the
'heories of eatefl. t>low.
Sound. ° We novv tjien come to a critical queftion, What is
—¥ jt that produces the difference of tone in two elaftic
founding bells or firings ? or, what makes one deep and
the other {brill ? This queftion has always been hither¬
to anfwered by faying, that the depth or height of the
note proceeded from the flownefs or fwiftnefs of the
times of the vibrations. The floweft vibrations, it has
been faid, are qualified for producing the deepelt tones,
while the fwifteft vibrations produce the higheft tones.
In this cafe, an efTeft has been given for a caufe. It is
in faa the force with which the founding firing firikes
the air when ftruck upon, that makes the true diftinc-
tion in the tones of founds. It is this force, with greater
or lefs impreflions, refembling the greater or lefs force
of the blows upon a nonelaftic body, which produces
correfpondent afteaions of found. The greateft forces
produce the deepeft founds j the high notes are the ef-
fea of fmall efforts. In the fame manner a bell, wide
at the mouth, gives a grave found; but if it be very
jnaffy withal, that will render it ftill graver j but it
maffy, wide, and long or high, that will make the
tone deepeft of all. . n r j
Thus, then, will elaftic bodies give the deepeft found
in proportion to the force with which they ftrike the
air: but if we fhould attempt to increafe their force by
giving them a ftronger blow, this will be in vain j they
will ftill return the fame tone j for fuch is their forma¬
tion, that they are fonorous only becaufe they are elaf¬
tic, ’and the force of this elafticity is not increafed by
our ftrength, as the greatnefs of a. pendulum’s vibra¬
tions will not be increafed by falling from a greater
llClfrllt# ^ ^
Now as to the frequency with which elaftic firings vi¬
brate the deepeft tones, it has been found, that the long-
eft firings have the wideft vibrations, and confequently
go backward and forward floweft ; while, on the con¬
trary, the fhorteft firings vibrate the quickeft, or come
and go in the fhorteft intervals. From hence thofe
who have treated of founds have afferted, as was faid
before, that the tone of the firing depended upon the
length or the fhortnefs of the vibrations. 1 his, however,
is not the cafe. One and the fame firing, when ftruck,
muft always, like the fame pendulum, return precifely
fimilar vibrations : but it is well known, that one and
the fame firing, when ftruck upon, does not always re¬
turn precifely the fame tone : fo that in this cafe^ the
vibrations follow one rule, and the tone another. The
vibrations muft be invariably the fame in the fame firing,
which does not return the fame tone invariably^ as is
well known to muficians in general. In the violin, for
inftance, they can eafily alter the tone of the firing an
o£lave or eight notes higher, by a fofter method of draw¬
ing the bow $ and fome are known thus to bring out
the moft charming airs imaginable. Fhefe peculiar
tones are by the Englifh fiddlers calledJIute-notes. The
only reafon, it has been alleged, that can be afligned
for the fame firing thus returning different tones, muft
certainly be the different force of its ftrokes upon the
In one cafe, it has double the tone of the other j
TICS. H9
becaufe upon the foft touches of the bow, only half its
air.
elafticity is put into vibration. Sound.
This being underftood (continue the authors of u—^ 1
this theory), we {hall be able clearly to account for
many things relating to founds that have hitherto
been inexplicable. Thus, for inftance, if it be afk-
ed, When two firings are ftretched together of equal
lengths, tenflons, and thicknefs, how does it happen,
that one of them being ftruck, and made to vibrate
throughout, the other fhall vibrate throughout alfo ?
the anfwer is obvious *, The force that the firing ftruck
receives is communicated to the air, and the air com¬
municates the fame to the fimilar firing •, which there¬
fore receives all the force of the former } and the force
being equal, the vibrations muft be fo too. Again :
Put the queftion, If one firing be but half the length
of the other, and be ftruck, how will the vibrations
be ? The anfw'er is, The longeft firing will receive all
the force of the firing half as long as itfelf, and there¬
fore it will vibrate in proportion, that is, through hair
its length. In the fame manner, if the longeft firing
were three times as long as the other, it would only
vibrate in a third of its length ; or if four times, in a
fourth of its length. In fhort, whatever force the
fmaller firing impreffes upon the air, the air will im-
prefs a fimilar force upon the longer firing, and par¬
tially excite its vibrations. r i r r v
From hence alfo wre may account for the caufe of thole Eohan
charming melancholy gradations of found in the Eolian "J'0,
lyre, Plate I. fig. 2. j an inftrument (fays Sir John Haw¬
kins) lately obtruded upon the public as a new invention, ^
though defcribed above a century ago by Kircher *• K/-r^r,s
This inftrument is eafily made, being nothing more
than a long narrow box of thin deal, about 30 inches]pDi ix,
long, 5 inches broad, and inches deep, with a cir¬
cle in the middle of the upper fide or belly about
inch diameter pierced with fmall holes. On this fide are
feven, ten or (according to Kircher) fifteen or more
firings of very fine gut, ftretched over bridges at each
end^like the bridge of a fiddle, and fere wed up or re¬
laxed with ferew-pins (b). The firings are all tuned
to one and the fame note •, and the inftrument is pla¬
ced in fome current of air, where the Avind can brufti
over its firings with freedom. A window with the
fafh juft raifed to give the air admiflion will anfwer
this purpofe exaftly. Now when the entering air
blows upon thefe firings with different degrees of force,
there will be excited different tones o.f found ; fome-
times the blaft brings out all the tones in full concert}
fometimes it finks them to the fofteft murmurs j it
feels for every tone, and by its gradations of ftrength
folieits thofe gradations of found which art has taken
different methods to produce.
It remains, in the laft place, to confider (by this
theory) the loudnefs and lownefs, or, as the muficians
fpeak, the ftrength and foftnefs of found. In vibrat¬
ing elaftic firings, the loudnefs of the tone is in pro¬
portion to the deepnefs of the note 5 that is, in two
firings, all things in other circumflances. alike, the
deepeft tone will be loudeft. In mufical inftruments
upon a different principle, as in the violin, it is other-
r wife ;
(B) The figure reprefents the inftrument tvith ten chords ; of which fome direft only eight to be tuned
tons, and the two outermoft octaves below them. But this feems to be not ma ena ,
uni*
15o A C O U S
Oifferent wife j tlie tones are made in fuch inflruments, by a
Theories of ^5^^ of fmall vibrations crowded into one ftroke.
* S°imdS‘ - The rofined bow, for inftance, being drawn along a
firing, its roughneffes catch the firing at very fmall
intervals, and excite its vibrations. In this inftrument,
therefore, to excite loud tones, the bow mull be drawn
quick, and this will produce the greateft number of
vibrations. But it muft be obferved, that the more
quick the bow paffes over the firing, the lefs apt will
the roughnefs of its furface be to touch the firing at
every inflant *, to remedy this, therefore, the bow muft
be preffed the harder as it is drawn quicker, and thus
its fullefl found will be brought from the inftrument.
If the fwiftnefs of the vibrations in an inftrument thus
rubbed upon, exceed the force of the deeper found in
another, then the fwift vibrations will be heard at a
greater diftance, and as much farther off as the fwift¬
nefs in them exceeds the force in the other.
By the fame theory (it is alleged) may all the phe-
The nature nomena 0f mulical founds be eafily explained.—The
fables of the ancients P^tend, that mufic was firft
luftrated found out by the beating of different hammers upon
according the fmith’s anvil. Without purfuing the fable, let us
to the fame encleavour to explain the nature of mufical founds by
theory. & meth0d. Let us fuppofe an anvil, or feveral
fimilar anvils, to be ftruck upon by feveral hammers of
different weights or forces. The hammer, which is
double that of another, upon linking the anvil will
produce a found double that of the other . this double
found muficians have agreed to call an odftave. The
ear can judge of the difference or refemblance of thefe
founds with great eafe, the numbers being as one and
two, and therefore very readily compared. Suppofe
that a hammer, three times lefs than the firft, flrikes
the anvil, the found produced by this will be three
times lefs than the firft: fo that the ear, in judging
the fimilitude of thefe founds, will find fomewhat more
difficulty •, becaufe it is not fo eafy to tell how often
one is contained in three, as it is to tell how often it
is contained in two. Again, Suppofe that a hammer
four time lefs than the firft ftrikes the anvil, the ear
will find greater difficulty flill in judging precifely the
difference of the founds; for the difference of the num¬
bers four and one cannot fo foon be determined with
precifion as three and one. If the hammer be live
times lefs, the difficulty of judging will be ftill greater.
If the hammer be fix times lefs, the difficulty flill in-
creafes, and fo alfo of the feventh, fo that the ear can¬
not always readily and at once determine the precife
gradation. Now, of all comparifons, thofe which the
mind makes moft eafily, and with leaft labour, are the
moft pleafing. There is a certain regularity in the
human foul, by which it finds happinefs in exadl and
ftriking, and eafily made comparifons. As the ear is
but an inftrument of the mind, it is therefore moft
pleafed with the combination of any two founds, the
difference of which it can moft readily diftinguifh. It
is more pleafed with the concord of two founds which are
to each other as one and two, than of two founds which
are as one and three, or one and four, or one and five,
or one and fix or feven. Upon this pleafure, which
TICS.' Chap I
the mind takes in comparifon, all harmony depends.Of Muficai
The variety of founds is infinite : but becaufe the ear ounds
cannot compare two founds fo as readily to diftinguifh
their diferiminations when they exceed the proportion
of one and feven, muficians have been content to con¬
fine all harmony within that compafs, and allowed but
feven notes in mufical compofition.
Let us now then fuppofe a flringed inftrument fitted
up in the order mentioned above. For inftance : Let
the firft firing be twice as long as the fecond let the
third firing be three times fhorter than the firft; let the
fourth be four times, the fifth firing five times, and
the fixth fix times as fhort as the firft. Such an in¬
ftrument would probably give us a reprefentation of
the lyre as it came firfl from the hand of the inven¬
tor. This inftrument will give us all the feven notes
following each other, in the order in which any two
of them will accord together moft pleafingly *, but yet
it will be a very inconvenient and a very difagreeable
inftrument : inconvenient, for in a compafs of feven
firings only, the firft muft be feven times as long as
the laft ; and difagreeable, becaufe this firft firing will
be feven times as loud alfo: fo that when the tones are
to be played in a different order, loud and foft founds
would be intermixed with moft difgufting alternations.
In order to improve the firfl inftrument, therefore,
fucceeding muficians very judicioufly threw' in all the
other firings between the two firft, or, in other words,
between the two o6taves, giving to each, however, the
fame proportion to what it would have had in the firft
natural inftrument. This made the inftrument more
portable, and the founds more even and pleafing. They
therefore difpofed the founds between the odlave in their
natural order, and gave each its own proportional di-
menfions. Of thefe founds, where the proportion be-
ween any two of them is moft obvious, the concord
between them will be moll pleafing. Thus o&aves,
which are as two to one, have a moft harmonious effedl j
the fourth and fifth alfo found fweetly together, and
they will be found, upon calculation, to bear the fame
proportion to each other that o&aves do. Let it
not be fuppofed (fays M. Sauveur), that the mufical
fcale is merely an arbitrary combination of founds j
it is made up from the confonance and differences of
the parts which compofe it. Thofe who have often
heard a fourth and fifth accord together, will be na¬
turally led to difeover their difference at once 5 and the
mind unites itfelf to their beauties.” Let us then ceafe
to aflign the coincidences of vibrations as the caufe of
harmony, fince thefe coincidences in two firings vibrat¬
ing at different intervals, muft at beft be but fortuitous;
whereas concord is always pleafing. The true caufe
why concord is pleafing, muft arife from our power, in
fuch a cafe, of meafuring moft eafily the differences of
the tones. In proportion as the note can be meafured
with its fundamental tone by large and obvious diftinc-
tions, then the concord is moft pleafing ; on the con¬
trary, when the ear meafures the diferiminations of two
tones by very fmall parts, or cannot meafure them at
all, it lofes the beauty of their refemblance : the whole
is difeord and pain (c).
But
(c) It is certain, that in proportion to the fimplicity of relations in found, the ear is pleafed with its combi¬
nations ; but this is not to be admitted as the caufe why muficians have confined all harmony to an odave,
Difcriminated
Chap. L
Of Mufical But there is another property in the vibration of a
Sounds, jflyfical firing not yet taken notice of, and which is al-
L_ * ' Jeged to confirm the foregoing theory. If we ftrike
the firing of a harpfichord, or any other elaftic found¬
ing chord whatever, it returns a continuing found.
This till of late was confidered as one Ample uniform
tone ; but all muficians now confefs, that inftead of
one tone it a&ually returns four tones, and that con-
fiantly. The notes are, befide the fundamental tone,
an oftave above, a twelfth above, and a feventeenth.
One of the bafs notes of a harpfichord has been dif-
fe£ted in this manner by Rameau, and the a&ual exift-
ence of thefe tones proved beyond a poflibility of being
controverted. In faft, the experiment is eafily tried ;
for if we fmartly ftrike one of the lower keys of a
harpfichord, and then take the finger brifkly away, a
tolerable ear will be able to diftinguifli, that, after the
fundamental tone has ceafed, three other ftiriller tones
will be diftinftly heard; firft the oftave above, then
the twelfth, and laftly the feventeenth : the oaave a-
bove is in general almoft mixed with the fundamental
tone, fo as not to be eafily perceived^ except by an ear
long habituated to the minute difcriminations of founds.
So that we may obferve, that the fmalleft tone is heard
laft, and the deepeft and largeft one firft : the two o-
thers in order.
In the whole theory of founds, nothing has given
greater room for fpeculation, conje&ure, and djfap-
pointment, than this amazing property in elaftic firings.
The whole ftring is univerfally acknowledged to be in
vibration in all its parts, yet this fingle vibration re¬
turns no lefs than four different founds. They who
account for the tones of firings by the number of their
vibrations, are here at the greateft lofs. Daniel Ber¬
noulli fuppofes, that a vibrating ftring divides itfelf
into a number of curves, each of which lias a peculiar
vibration j and though they all fwing together in the
common vibration, yet each vibrates within itfelf.
This opinion, which was fupported, as moft geometri¬
cal fpeculations are, with the parade of demonftration,
was only born foon after to die. Others have afcribed
this to an elaftic difference in the parts of the air, each
of which, at different intervals, thus received different
impreffions from the ftring, in proportion to their ela-
fticity. This is abfurd. If we allow the difference of
tone to proceed from the force, and not the frequency,
of the vibrations, this difficulty will admit of an eafy
folution. Thefe founds, though they feem to exift to¬
gether in the ftring, aflually follow each other in fuc-
ceffion: while the vibration has greateft force, the fun¬
damental tone is brought forward : the force of the vi¬
bration decaying, the o&ave is produced, but almoft
only inftantaneoufly j to this fucceeds, with diminithed
force, the twelfth'j and, laftly, the feventeenth is heard
to vibrate with great diftinftnefs, while the three other
tones are always filent. Thefe founds, thus excited,
are all of them the harmonic tones, whofe differences
from the fundamental tone are, as was faid, ftrong and
I5]
diftinfl. On the other hand, the difcordant tones cati-Of Mufical
not be heard. Their differences being but very fmall, ~ ^ lS' .
they are overpowered, and in a manner drowned in the
tones of fuperior difference 5 yet not always neither ;
for Daniel Bernoulli has been able, from the fame
ftroke, to make the fame ftring bring out its harmo¬
nic and its difcordant tones alfo (o). So that from
hence we may juftly infer, that every note whatfoever
is only a fucceffion of tones 5 and that thofe are moft:
diftinflly heard, whofe differences are moft eafily per¬
ceivable.
To this theory, however, though it has a plaufible
appearance, there are ftrong and indeed infuperable
objedlions. The very fundamental principle of it is
falfe. No body whatever, whether elaftic or nonela-
ftic, yields a graver found by being ftruck with a lar¬
ger inftrument, unlefs either the founding body, or that
part of it which emits the found, is enlarged. In this
cafe, the largeft bodies always return the graveft
founds.
In fpeaking of elaftic and nonelaftic bodies in a mu- objeft
fical fenfe, we are not to pulh the diftin&ion fo far astothepre.
when we fpeak of them philofophically. A body is ceding
tnujically elaftic, all of whofe parts are thrown into vi-theor>'
bralions fo as to emit a found when only part of their
furface is ftruck. Of this kind are bells, mufical
firings, and all bodies whatever that are confiderably
hollow. Mufical nonelaftics are fuch bodies as emit a
found only from that particular place which is ftruck :
thus, a table, a plate of iron nailed on wood, a bell
funk in the earth, are all of them nonelaftics in a mu¬
fical fenfe, though not philofophically fo. When a
folid body, fuch as a log of wood, is ftruck with a
fwitch, only that part of it emits a found which comes
in contaft with the fwitch ; the note is acute and loud,
but would be no lefs fo though the adjacent parts of
the log were removed. If, inftead of the fwitch, a
heavier or larger inftrument is made ufe of, a larger
portion of its furface then returns a found, and the note
is confequently more grave ; but it would not be fo
if the large inftrument wras ftruck with a (harp edge,
or a furfaee only equal to that of the fmall one.
In founds of this kind, wffiere there is only a fingle
thwack, without any repetition, the immediate caufe
of the gravity or acutenefs feems to be the quantity of
air difplaced by the founding body ; a large quantity
of air difplaced, produces a grave found, and a fmaller
quantity a more acute one, the force wherewith the air
is difplaced fignifying very little. What we here ad¬
vance is confirmed by fome experiments made by Dr
Prieftley, concerning the mujlcul tone of eledlrical dif-
charges. The paffage being curious, and not very
long, we ftiall here tranfcribe it.
“ As the courfe of my experiments has required a
great variety of ele£lrical explofions, I could not help
obferving a great variety in the mufical tone made by
the reports. This excited my curiofity to attempt to
reduce this variation to fome meafure. Accordingly,
by
ACOUSTICS.
Difcriminated founds, whofe vibrations either never coincide, or at leaft very rarely, do not only ceafe to pleafe,
but violently grate the ear. Harmony and difcord, therefore, are neither difcriminated by the judgement o
hearers, nor the inftitution of muficians, but by their own effential and immutable nature,
(d) Vid. Memoires de I’Acaderaie de Berlin, 1753, p. 153.
i^2 A C O U S
Of Mufical the help of a couple of fpinets, and two perfons who
Sounds. jia(j g00Cj ears for 1Tluf1C} I endeavoured . to afcertain the
i tone of feme eleftrical difeharges; and obferved that
every difeharge made feveral firings, particularly thofe
that were chords to one another to vibrate j but one
note was always predominant, and founded after the
reft. As every explofion was repeated feveral times,
and three of us feparately took the fame note, there
remained no doubt but that the tone we fixed upon
Avas at leaf! very near the true one. The refult Avas
as follows :
“ A jar containing half a fquare foot of coated glafs
founded F {harp, concert pitch. Another jar of a dif¬
ferent form, but equal furface, founded the fame.
“ A jar of three fquare feet founded C below F fharp.
A battery confiding of fixty-four jars, each containing
half a fquare foot, founded F below the C.
“ The fame battery, in conjunction Avith another of
thirty-one jars, founded C (harp, bo that a greater
quantity of coated glafs always gave a deeper note.
“ Differences in the degree of a charge in the fame
jar made little or no difference in the tone of the ex¬
plofion ; if any, a higher charge gave rather a deeper
note.”
Thefe experiments {hew us how much the gravity or
acutenefs of founds depends on the quantity of air put
in agitation by the founding body. We knoAV that the
noife of the ele&ric explofion, arifes from the return of
the air into the vacuum produced by the eleftric flafh.
The larger the vacuum, the deeper Avas the note : for
the fame reafon, the difeharge of a mufket produces a
more acute note than that of a cannon 5 and thunder is
deeper than either.
Befides this, however, other circumftances concur
to produce different degrees of gravity or acutenefs in
founds. The found of a table ftmek upon with a piece
of wood, Avill not be the fame Avith that produced from
a plate of iron ftruck by the fame piece of Avood, even
if the bloAVs fhould be exa&ly equal, and the iron per-
feftly kept from vibrating. Here the founds are gene¬
rally faid to differ in their degrees of acutenefs, accord¬
ing to the fpecific gravities or denfities of the fubftan-
ces which emit them. Thus gold, which is the mofl
denfe of all metals, returns a much graver found than
filver •, and metalline wires, which are more denfe than
therms, return a proportionably graver found. But
neither does this appear to be a general rule in which
Ave can put confidence. Bell-metal is denfer than cop¬
per, but it by no means appears to yield a graver found:
on the contrary, it feems very probable, that copper
Avill give a graver found than bell-metal, if both are
ftruck upon in their non-elaftic ftate j and Ave can by
no means think that a bell of pure tin, the leaft denfe
of all the metals, Avill give a more acute found than one
of bell-metal, Avhich is greatly more denfe. In fome
bodies hardnefs feems to have a eonfiderable effefl:.
Glafs, Avhich is confiderably harder than any ’metal,
gives a more acute found •, bell-metal is harder than
gold, lead, or tin, and therefore founds much more a-
cutely : though hoAV far this holds Avith regard to other
fubftances, there is not a fufficient number of experi¬
ments for us to judge.
In bodies mufically elaftic, the whole fubftance vi¬
brates Avith the flighteft ftroke, and therefore they al¬
ways give the fame note Avhether they are ftruck Avith
TICS. Chap. I.
a large or Avith a fmall inftrument j fo that linking a Of Mulka!
part of the furface of any body mufically elaftic is equi¬
valent in it, to ftriking the Avhole furface of a non-
elaftic one. If the whole furface of a table was ftruck
Avith another table, the note produced Avould be neither
more nor lefs acute Avhatever force was employed ; be-
caufe the Avhole furface would then yield a found, and
no force could increafe the furface : the found Avould
indeed be louder in proportion to the force employed,
but the gravity would remain the fame. In like man¬
ner, Avhen a bell or mufical firing is ftruck, the Avhole
fubftance vibrates, and a greater ftroke cannot increafe
the fubftance. Hence we fee the fallacy of what is faid
concerning the Pythagorean anvils. An anvil is a
body mufically elaftic, and no difference in the tone can
be perceived Avhether it is ftruck with a large or vyitli
a fmall hammer j becaufe either of them are fufficient
to make the whole fubftance vibrate, provided nothing
but the anvil is ftruck upon : fmiths, hoAvever, do not
ftrike their anvils, but red-hot iron laid upon their an¬
vils *, and thus the vibrations of the anvil are flopped,
fo that it becomes a non-elaftic body, and the differ¬
ences of tone in the ftrokes of different hammers pro¬
ceed only from the furface o%f the large hammers cover¬
ing the Avhole furface of the iron, or at leaft a greater
part of it than the fmall ones. If the fmall hammer is
fufficient to cover the whole furface of the iron as Avell
as the large one, the note produced will be the fame,
whether the large or the fmall hammer is ufed.
Laftly, The argument for the preceding theory,
grounded on the produftion of Avhat are called flute-
notes on the violin, is built on a falfe foundation j tor
the boAV being lightly draAvn on an open ftring, pro¬
duces no flute-notes, but only the harmonies of the note
to Avhich the ftring is tuned. The flute-notes are pro¬
duced by a particular motion of the boAV, quick and
near the bridge, and by fingering very gently. By this
management the fame founds are produced, though at
certain intervals only, as if the vibrations Avere tranf-
ferred to the fpace between the end of the finger-board
and the finger, inftead of that betAveen the finger and
the bridge. Why this fmall part of the ftring ffiould
vibrate in fuch a cafe, and not that which is under the
immediate aflion of the boAV, we muft oAvn ourfelves
ignorant j nor dare Ave affirm that the vibrations really
are transferred in this manner, only the fame founds are
produced as if they Avere.
Though thefe objections feem fufficiently to over¬
turn the foregoing theory, Avith regard to acute founds
being the efteCts of weak ftrokes, and grave ones of
ftronger impulfes, Ave cannot admit that longer or
ffiorter vibrations are the occafions of gravity or acute¬
nefs in found. A mufical found, however lengthened,
either by a ftring or bell, is only a repetition of a Angle
one, whofe duration by itfelf is but for a moment, and
is therefore termed inappretiabie, like the imack of a
whip, or the explofion of an eleftrical battery. The
continuation of the found is nothing more than a re¬
petition of this inftantaneous inappretiabie noife after the
manner of an echo, and it is only this echo that makes
the found agreeable. For this reafon, mufic is much
more agreeable Avhen played in a large hall where the
found is reverberated, than in a fmall room where there
is no fuch reverberation. For the fame reafon, the
found of a ftring is more agreeable Avhen put on a hol-
Ioav
Sounds.
Chap. IT. ACOUSTICS.
propaga- ioW v’10i;n tlian when faftened to a plain board, &c. .
tion of jn the foun(i 0f a bell we cannot avoid obferving this
echo very diftinftly. The found appears to be made
^ up of diilina pulfes, or repetitions of the fame note
produced by the ftroke of the hammer. It can by no
means be allowed, that the note would be more acute
though thefe pulfes were to fucceed one another more
rapidly ; the found would indeed become more fimple,
but would ftill preferve the fame tone.—In mufical
firings the reverberations are vaftly more quick than
in bells j and therefore their found is more uniform or
fimple, and confequently more agreeable than that of
# See Har- bells. In mufical glaffes *, the vibrations, muft be in-
monica. conceivably quicker than in any bell or flringed inflila¬
ment : and hence they are of all others the mod: fimple
and the mod agreeable, though neither the mod acute
nor the louded.—As far as we can judge, quicknefs
of vibration contributes to the uniformity, or fimphci-
ty, but not to the acutenefs, nor to the loudnefs, ot
a mufical note.
It may here be objected, that each of the different
pulfes, of which we obferve the found of a bell to be
compofed, is of a very perceptible length, and far from
being indantaneous ; fo that it is not fair to infer that
the found of a bell is only a repetition of a fingle .in¬
dantaneous droke, feeing it is evidently the repetition
of a lengthened note.—To this it may be replied,, that
the inappretiable found which is produced by.diiking
a bell in a non-eladic date, is the very fame which, be¬
ing fird propagated round the bell, forms one of thele
diort pulfes that is afterwards re-echoed as long as the
vibratipns of the metal continue, and it is impodible
that tfye quicknefs of repetition , of any found can ei¬
ther increafe or diminidi its gravity.
Chap. II. Of the Propagation of Sound. Newton's
Dohrine explained and ’^indicated.
Propa- The writers on found have been betrayed into thefe
gation of difficulties and obfcurities, by rejeiting the 47th pro-
lound. p0fltion, B. II. of Newton, as inconclufive reafoning.
Of this propofition, however, the late ingenious Dr
Matthew Young biffiop of Clonfert, formerly of Tri¬
nity college, Dublin, has given a clear, explanatory,
and able defence. He candidly owns that the demon-
dration is obfcurely dated, and takes the liberty of
varying, in fome degree, from the method purfued by
Newton.
“ 1, The parts of all founding bodies (he obfervesj,
vibrate according to the law of a cycloidal pendulum .
for they may be confidered as compofed of an indefi¬
nite number of eladic fibres 5 but thefe fibres vibrate
according to that law. Vide Uelfhatn, p. 270.
“ 2. Sounding bodies propagate their motions on all
fides in diredlum, by fucceffive condenfations and rare-
fa&ions, and fucceffive goings forward and returnings
backward of the particles. Vide Prop. 43. B. II. New¬
ton Princip.
“ 3. The pulfes are thofe parts of the air which vi¬
brate backwards and forwards •, and which, by going
forward, drike (pu/fant) againd obdacles. The lati¬
tude of a pulfe is the reftilineal fpace through which
the motion of the air is propagated during one vibra¬
tion of the founding body.
4. All pulfes move equally fad. This is proved
VOL. LPartl.
153
by experiment} and it is feund that tiny deferibe 1070 rmps»-
Paris feet, or 1142 London feet in a fecond, whether
the found be loud or low, grave or acute. i >
“ c. Prob. To determine the latitude or a pulle.
Divide the fpace which the pulfe defcribes in a given
time (4) by the number of vibrations performed in the
fame time by the founding body, (Cor. I. Prop. 24.
Smith's Harmonics'), the quotient is the latitude. .
“ M. Sauveur, by fome experiments on organ pipes,
found that a body, which gives the graved harmonic
found, vibrates 12 times and a half in a fecond, .and
that the dirilled founding body vibrates 51.100 times
in a fecond. At a medium, let us take the body which
gives what Sauveur calls his fxed found: it periorms
100 vibrations in a fecond, and in the fame time the
pulfes deferibe 1070 Parifian feet ; therefore the fpace
deferibed by the pulfes whild the body vibrates once,
that is, the latitude, or interval of the pulfe, will be
10.7 feet. .
“ 6. Prob. To find the proportion which the great-
p(l fpace, through which the particles of the air vi¬
brate, bears to the radius of a circle, whole perimeter
is equal to the latitude of the pulfe.
“ During the fird half of the progrefs of the eladic
fibre, or founding body, it is continually getting near¬
er to the next particle 5 and during the^ latter half of
its progrefs, that particle is getting farther from the
fibre, and thefe portions of time are equal (Helfjam) :
therefore we may conclude, that at the end of the pro¬
grefs of the fibre, the fird particle of. air will be nearly
as far didant from the fibre as when it began to move,
and in the fame manner we may infer, that all the par¬
ticles vibrate through fpaces nearly equal to that run
over by the fibre.
“ Now M. Sauveur (Acad. Scienc. ann. 1700, p.
141.) has found by experiment, that the middle point
of a chord which produces Ws fixed found, and whofe
diameter is \ of a line, runs over in its fmalled.fen-
fible vibrations of a line, and in its greated vibra¬
tions 72 times that fpace ; that is, 72XtV a line, or
4 lines, that is, ^ of an inch.
“ The latitude of the pulfes of this fixed found is
10.7 feet (5) ; and fince the circumference of a circle
is to its radius as 710 is to 113, the greated fpace de-
feribed by the particles will be to the radius of a cir¬
cle, whofe periphery is equal to the latitude of the
pulfe as \d of an inch is to 1.7029 feet, or 20.4348
inches, that is, as 1 to 61.3044. , .
“ If the length of the didng be increafed or dimi-
nifhed in any proportion, cceteris paribus, the greated
fpace deferibed by its middle point will vary in thq
fame proportion. For the indexing force is to the
tending force as the didance of the dring from the
middle point of vibration to half the length of the
dring (fee Heljham and Martin); and therefore the
inflecting and tending forces being given,, the dring
will vibrate through fpaces proportioned to its length *,
but the latitude of the pulfe is inverfely as the number
of vibrations performed by the dring in a given time
(5), that is, direCtly as the time of one vibration, or
direCtly as the length of the dring (Prop. 24. Cor. 7.
Smith's Harmonics) ; therefore the greated . fpace
through which the middle point of the dring vibrates
will vary in the direCt ratio of the latitude of the pulfe,
or of the radius of a circle whofe circumference is equal
U to
154
Propaga¬
tion of
Sound.
V*-
IM
A € O U S T
to the latitude, that is, it will be to that radius as i to
61.3044.
, “ 7. If the particles of the aerial pulfes, during any
part of their vibration, be fucceffively agitated, accord¬
ing to the law of a cycloidal pendulum, the compara¬
tive elaftic forces arifing from their mutual aftion, by
•which they will afterwards be agitated, will be fuch as
will caufe the particles to continue that motion, accord¬
ing to the fame law, to the end of their vibration.
“ Let AB, BC, CD, &c. fig. 3. denote the equal
diftances of the fucceffive pulfes } ABC the dire£tion
of the motion of the pulfes propagated from A to¬
wards B 5 E, F, G, three phyfical points of the
quiefcent medium, fituated in the right line AC at
equal diftances from each other •, E*?, F/, G^, the very
fmall equal fpaces through which thefe particles vi¬
brate ; t, <p, y, any intermediate places of thefe points.
Draw the right line PS, fig. 4. equal to Ee, bifeft it
in O, and from the centre O with the radius OP de-
fcribe the circle SIP/;. Let the whole time of the
vibration of a particle and its parts be denoted by
the circumference of this circle and its proportional
parts. And fince the particles are fuppofed to be at
firft agitated according to the law of a cycloidal pen¬
dulum, if at any time PH or PHS/;, the perpendi¬
cular HL or /;/, be let fall on PS, and if Ee be taken
equal to PL or P/, the particle E fhall be found in s.
Thus will the particle E perform its vibrations accord¬
ing to the law of a cycloidal pendulum. Prop. 52. B. I.
Principia.
“ Let us fuppofe now, that the particles have been
fucceftively agitated, according to this law, for a cer¬
tain time, by any caufe whatfoever, and let us examine
what will be the comparative elaftic forces arifing from
their mutual a£Hon, by which they will afterwards con¬
tinue to be agitated.
“ In the circumference PHS^ take the equal arches
HI, IK in the fame ratio to the whole circumference
which the equal right lines EF, FG, have to BC the
whole interval of the pulfes $ and let fall the per¬
pendiculars HL, IM, KN. Since the points E, F, G
are fucceftively agitated in the fame manner, and per¬
form their entire vibrations of pro'grefs and regrefs
while the pulfe is propagated from B to C, if PH be
the time from the beginning of the motion of E, PI
will be the time from the beginning of the motion of
F, and PK the time from the beginning of the motion
of G ; and therefore Es, It?1, Gy will be refpeftively
equal to PL, PM, PN in the progrefs of the particles.
Whence or EF-fFp—Es is equal to EF—LM. But
ip is the expanfion of EF in the place ip, and therefore
tliis expanfion is to its mean expanfion as EF—LM to
EF. But LM is to IH as IM is to OP •, and 1H is
to EF as the circumference PHSZ is to BC ; that is,
as OP is to V, if V be the radius of a circle whofe
circumference is BC ; therefore, ex cequo, LM is to
EF as IM is to Vj and therefore the expanfion of EF
in the place ip is to its mean expanfion as V—IM is to
V ; and the elaftic force exifting between the phyfical
points E and F is to the mean elaftic force as
I C s.
Chap. II.
to —", and
V—KN
forces is to the mean elaftic force as
IM—KN
the difference between thefe
Propaga¬
tion of
Sound. #
is to
that
-V . IM—V. KN+IM.KN
“KN is to 4; or as IM—KN is to V ;
_ ,       if on-
V1 V ...
ly (upon account of the very narrow limits of the vi¬
bration) we fuppofe IM and KN to be indefinitely lefs
than V. Wherefore fince V is given, the difference
of the forces is as IM—KN, or as HL—IM (becaufe
KH is bifefted in I) ; that is, (becaufe HL—IM is
to IH as OM is to OI or OP, and IH and OP are
given quantities) as OM ; that is, if P/be bifefted in
12 as 12<p.
“ In the fame manner it may be fhown, that if PHS/;
be the time from the beginning of the motion of E,
PHS/ will be the time from the beginning of the mo¬
tion of F, and PHS£ the time from the beginning of
the motion of G •, and that the expanfion of EF in
the place ip is to its mean expanfion as EF-fFp—Eg,
or as EF-f-Z/tt is to EF, or as V-f// is to V in its re¬
grefs : and its elaftic force to the mean elaftic force as
—-—is to ; and that the difference of the elaftic
V-f-/;/ V ?
forces exifting between E and F, and between F and
G is to the mean elaftic force as kn—im is to V 5 that
is, direftly as 12<p.
“ But this difference of the elaftic forces, exifting
between E and F, and between F and G, is the compa¬
rative elaftic force by which the phyfical point p is agi¬
tated : and therefore the comparative accelerating force,,
by which every phyfical point in the medium will con¬
tinue to be agitated both in progrefs and regrefs, will
be directly as its diftance from the middle point of its
vibration 5 and confequently will be fuch as will caufe
the particles to continue their motion undifturbed, ac¬
cording to the law of a cycloidal pendulum. Prop.
38. 1. 1. Newton. Principia.
“ Newton rejects the quantity X 1M -}- KN-{-
IMxKN, on fuppofition that IM and KN are inde¬
finitely lefs than V. Now, although this may be a
reafonable hypothefis, yet, that this, quantity may be
fafely rejected, will, I think, appear in a more fatisfac-
tory manner from the following confiderations derived
from experiment: PS, in its greateft poflible ftate, is
to V as 1 is to 61.3044 (6) •, and therefore IM, or
KN, in its greateft poflible ftate, (that is, when the vi¬
brations of the body are as great as poflible, and the
particle in the middle point of its vibration) is to V as
1 is to 122.6. Hence X 5030.76,— V X 1M + KN
= 245.2 and IM X KN = i 5 therefore V* is to V*—
i . I
  —— is to -r—
V—IM V
[Cotes Pneum. LeB. 9.) By the fame
aro-ument, the elaftic force exifting between the phy¬
fical points F and G is to the mean elaftic force as
V x IM -f KN 4-IM x KN as 15.03076 is to 14786.565
that is, as 61 is to 60 nearly.
“ Hence it appears, that the greateft poflible error
in the accelerating force, in the middle point, is the
^rfl; part of the whole. In other points it is much
lefs 5 and in the extreme points the error entirely va-
nifhes.
“ We fhould alfo obferve, that the ordinary founds
we hear are not produced by the greateft poflible vi¬
brations of which the founding body is capable 5 and
that in general IM and KN are nearly evanefeent with
refpeft
t
Chap. II. A C O U
Propaga- refpect to V. And very probably the difagreeable fen-
tion ot fations we feel in very loud founds, arife not only from
Sound, or bearing a fenfible proportion to V, by which
~v means the cycloidal law of the pulfes may be in fome
me^fure difturbed, but alfo from the very law of the
motion of the founding body itfelf being ditturbed.
For the proof of this law’s being obfervcd by an elaftic
fibre is founded on the hypothefis that the fpace, through
which it vibrates, is indefinitely little with refpeft to
the length of the firing. See Smith''s Harmonics, p. 237.
Heljham, p. 270.
“ 8. If a particle of the medium be agitated accord¬
ing to the law of a cycloidal pendulum, the compara¬
tive elafiic force, asfiing on the adjacent particle, from
the inftant in which it begins to move, will be fuch as
will caufe it to continue its motion according to the
fame law.
For let us fuppofe, that three particles of the me¬
dium had continued to move for times denoted by the
arches PK, PI, PH, the comparative elaftic force,
adding on the fecond during the time of its motion,
would have been denoted by HL—-IM, that is, would
have been direidly as MO (7)* And if this time be
diminilhed till I becomes coincident with P, that is, if
you take the particles in that ftate when the fecond is
juft beginning to move, and before the third particle
has yet been fet in motion ; then the point M will fall
on P, and MO become PO ; that is, the comparative
elaftic force of the fecond particle, at the inftant in
which it begins to move, will be to the force with
which it is agitated in any other moment of time, be¬
fore the fubfequent particle has yet been fet in mo¬
tion, direflly as its diftance from the middle point of
vibration. Now this comparative elaftic force, with
which the fecond'particle is agitated in the very mo¬
ment in which it begins to move, arifes from the pre¬
ceding particle’s approaching it according to the law
of a pendulum *, and therefore, if the preceding par¬
ticle approaches it in this manner, the force by which
it will be agitated, in the very moment it begins to
move, will be exaftly fuch as ftiould take place in order
to move it according to the law of a pendulum. It there¬
fore fets out according to that law, and confequently
the fubfequent elaftic forces generated in every fuccef-
five moment, will alfo continue to be of the juft magni¬
tude which Ihould take place, in order to produce fuch
a motion.
“ 9. The pulfes of the air are propagated from
founding bodies, according to the law of a cycloidal
pendulum. The point E, fig. 3, of any elaftic fibre
producing a found, may be confidered as a particle of
air vibrating according to the law of a pendulum (1).
This point E will therefore move according to this law
for a certain time, denoted by the arch IH, fig. 4.
before the fecond particle begins to move j for found
is propagated in time through the fucceflive particles
of air (4). Now from that inftant, the comparative
elaftic force which agitates F, is (8) direftly as its
diftance from the middle point of vibration, F there¬
fore fets out with a motion according to the law of a
pendulum: and therefore the comparative elaftic force
by which it will be agitated until G begins to move,
will continue that law (8). Confequently F will
approach G in the fame manner as E approached F,
and the comparative elaftic force of G, from the in-
S T I C S. 155
ftant in which it begins to move will be dire&ly as p‘^agoaf'
its diftance from the middle point of vibration toun4.
on in fucceflion. Therefore all the particles of air in
the pulfes fucceflively fet out from their proper places
according to the law of a pendulum, and therefore (7)
will finiftr their entire vibrations according to the fame
law.
“ Cor. 1. The number of pulfes propagated is the
fame with the number of vibrations of the tremulous
body, nor is it multiplied in their progrefs j becaufe
the little phyfical line »y, fig. 3. as loon as it returns
to its proper place, will there quiefee: for its velocity,
which is denoted by the fine IM, then vanifties, and
its denfity becomes the lame with that of the ambient
medium. This line, therefore, will no longer move,
unlefs it be again driven forwards by the impulfe of the
founding body, or of the pulfes propagated from it.
“ Cor. 2. In the extreme points of the little fpace
through which the particle vibrates, the expanfion of
the air is in its natural ftate ; for the expanfion of the
phyfical line is to its natural expanfion as Vrp=IM is
to V •, but IM is then equal to nothing. In the middle
point of the progrefs the condenfation is greateft : for
IM is then greateft, and confequently the expanfion
V—IM leaft. In the middle of the regrefs, the rare-
faclion is greateft:, for i m, and confequently V-f-z tn, is
then greateft.
“ 10. To find the velocity of the pulfes, the denfity
and elaftic force of the medium being given.
“ This is the 49th Prop. B. II. Newton, in which he
fhows, that whillt a pendulum, whofe length is equal
to the height of the homogeneous atmofphere, vibrates
once forwards and backwards, the pulfes will deferibe
a fpace equal to the periphery of a circle deferibed with
that altitude as its radius.
“ Cor. 1. He thence (hows, that the velocity of the
pulfes is equal to that which a heavy body would ac¬
quire in falling down half the altitude of that homoge¬
neous atmofphere j and therefore, that all pulfes move
equally faft, whatever be the magnitude of PS, or the
time of its being deferibed } that is, whether the tone
be loud or low, grave or acute. See Hales de Sonis,
§ 49*
“ Cor. 2. And alfo, that the velocity of the pulfes
is in a ratio compounded of the dire£t fubduplicate ra¬
tio of the elaftic force of the medium, and the inverfe
fubduplicate of its denfity. Hence founds move fome-
what fafter in fummer than in winter. See Hales de
Sonis, p. 141.
“ 11. The ftrength of a tone is as the moment of
the particles of air. The moment of thefe particles
(the medium being given) is as their velocity ; and the
velocity of thefe particles is as the velocity of the firing
which fets them in motion (9). The velocities of two
different firings are equal when the fpaces which they
deferibe in their vibrations are to each other as the
times of thefe vibrations : therefore, two different tones
are of equal ftrength, when the fpaces, through which
the firings producing them vibrate, are direftly as the
times of their vibration.
“ 12. Let the ftrength of the tones of the two
firings AB, CD, which differ in tenfion only (fig. 5.
6.) be equal. Quere the ratio of the inflecting forces
F and f? From the hypothefis of the equality of the
ftrength of the tones, it follows (11), that the fpace
U 2 GE
j ^5 A C O U
Velocity of GE muft be to the fpace HE asto (Smith's
Sound. Harm. Prop. 24. Cor. 4.). Now the forces infleftmg
CD, through the equal fpaces GE, HP, are to
each other as the tending forces, that is, as F to J.
(Malcom's Treatifc on Mufic, p. 52.). But the force
inflefting CD through HP is to the force mfledting it
through HF as HP of GE to HF (ib. p. 47.). thfat 1S»
by the hyp. as /4 to F^- Therefore, ex aquo, the forces
inflefting AB and CD, when the tones are equally
ftrong, are to each other as F x/t to/xF^, or as f 5-
to/4. That is, the forces neceffary to produce tones
of equal ftrength in various firings which differ only in
tenfion, are to each other in the fubduplicate ratio ot
the tending forces, that is, inverfely as the time of one
vibration, or direaiy as the number of vibrations per¬
formed in a given time. Thus, if CD be the acute
oa.ave to AB, its tending force will be quadruple that
of AB, (Ma/com's Treatife on Mufic, p. 53.) : and
therefore to produce tones of equal ftrength in the e
firings, the force impelling CD muft be double that
impelling AB and fo in other cafes.
“ Suopofe, now, that the firings AB, CD (%^.
7.) differ in length only. The force infleaing AB
through GE is to the tending force, which is given, as
GE to AG 5 and this tending force is to the force
inflefting CD through the fpace HP equal to GE, as
HD to HP. Therefore, ex cequo, the forces inflecting
AB and CD through the equal fpaces GE and HP,
are to each other as HD to AG, or as CD to AB.
But the force inffeaing CD through HP is to the force
infleaing it through HF, as HP or GE to HF, that
is, becaufe thefe fpaces are as the times C11 % as
to CD. Therefore, <?* cequo, the forces infleaing AB
and CD, when the tones are equally ftrong, are to each
other in a ratio of equality. Hence we (hould juppole,
that in this cafe, an equal number of equal impulles
would generate equally powerful tones in thefe strings.
But ive are to obferve, that the longer the firing, the
greater, cceteris paribus, is the fpace through which a
given force infleas it {Malcolm); and therefore Avhat-
‘ ever diminution is produced in the fpaces through which
the firings move in their fucceffive vibrations, arifing
either from the want of perfea elafticity in the firings,
or from the refiftance of the air, this diminution will
bear a greater proportion to the lefs fpace through
which the ftiorter firing vibrates. And this is confirm¬
ed by experience *, for Ave find that the duration of the
tone and motion of the whole firing exceeds that of any
of its fubordinate parts. Therefore, after a given in¬
terval of time, a greater quantity of motion Avill remain
in the longer firing : and confequently, after the fuc-
ceflive equal impulfes have been made, a greater degree
of motion will ftill fubfift in it. That is, a given num¬
ber of equal impulfes being made on various firings dif¬
fering in length only, a ftronger found will be produced
in that Avhich is the longer.”
Chap. III. Of the Velocity, Sec. of Sound. Axioms.
„ . . f BY the experiments of fome philofophers it has been
found proved, that found travels at about the. rate of 1142
feet in a fecond, or near 13 miles in a minute ;, nor do
any obftacles hinder its progrefs, a contrary wind only
a fmall matter dimimfhmg its velocity. The method
of calculating its progrefs is eafily made known. W hen
S T I C S. ^hap. IV.
a gun is difeharged at a diflance, we fee the fire long Keverbc-
before we hear the found. If then Ave know the di- gountjs
fiance of the place, and know the time of the interval v_j_J
between our firft feeing the fire and then hearing the its progrefs
report, this will iliew us exaftly the time the found has calculated,
been travelling to us. For inftance, if the gun is dif¬
eharged a mile off, the moment the flafh is feen, you
take a Avatch and count the feconds till .you hear the
found ; the number of feconds is the time the found
has been travelling a mile. Again, By the above
axiom, we are enabled to find the diftance betAveen ob-
iedts that Avould be otherwife immeafurable. For ex-j);(iaBces
ample, fuppofe you fee the flafh of a gun in the night calculated
at fea, and tell feven feconds before you hear the. re'“deans 0$
port, it follows therefore that the diftance is feven times
1142 feet, that is, 24 yards more than a mile and a
half. In like manner, if you obferve the number of
feconds betAveen the lightning and the report of the
thunder, you knoAV the diftance of the cloud from
Avhence it proceeds.
But according to another philofopher, Dr A nomas
Young, the velocity of found is not quite fo great. “ It
has been demonftrated, he obferves, by M. de la Grange
and others, that any impreflion Ayhatev.er communicated
to one particle of an elaftic fluid, Avill be tranfmitted
through that fluid with an uniform velocity, depend¬
ing on the conftitution of the fluid, without reference
to any fuppofed Havs of the continuation of.that im.pref-
fion. Their theorem for afeertaining this velocity is
the fame as NeAVton has deduced from the. hypothefis
of a particular law of continuation : but it muft be
confeffed, that the refult differs fomewhat too widely
from experiment, to give us full confidence in the per-
feftion of the theory. Correfted by the experiments
of various obfervers, the velocity of any impreflion
tranfmitted by the common air, may, at an average,
be reckoned x 130 feet in a fecond.” (PJnl. Tranf. vol.
XC. p« 116.). r 'v j
Derham has proved by experiment, that all founds All founds
Avhatever travel at the fame rate. The found of a gun^av^a^
and the ftriking of a hammer, are equally fwift in their
motions j the fofteft Avhifper flies as fvviftly, as far as it
goes, as the loudeft thunder.
To thefe axioms Ave may add the folloAving : .
Smooth and clear founds proceed from bodies that
are homogeneous, and of an uniform figure.; and harfti
or obtufe founds, from fuch as are of a mixed matter
and irregular figure.
The velocity of founds is to that of a bnlk xvind as
fifty to one. . j . r
The ftrength of founds is greateft in cold and denie
air, and leaft in that Avhich is Avarm and rarefied.
Every point againft Avhich the pulfes of lound ftrike,
becomes a centre from which a neAV feries of pulfes are
propagated in every dire&ion.
Sound deferibes equal fpaces in equal times.
Chap. IV. Of Reverberated Sounds.
SOUND, like light, after it has been reflefted from
feveral places may be colletted in one point, as into a
focus ; and it will be there more audible than in any
other part, even than at the place from Avhence it pro¬
ceeded. On this principle it is that a Avhifpering gal¬
lery is conftrufled.
Chap. IV.
A C O U
Reverbe- The form of a whifperlng gallery muft be that of a
rated COncave hemifphere (e) as ABC, fig. 8.*, and if a low
Sounds- found or whtfper be uttered at A, the vibrations ex-
J^Cioanding themfelves every way will impinge on the
gallery. points DDD, &c. and from thence be refleaed to
EEE, and from thence to the points F and Or, till at
laft they all meet in C, where, as we have faid, the
found will be the molt difthaiy heard.
c _ The augmentation of found by means of fpeaking-
tS'etf' trumpets, is ufually illultrated in the following manner :
Let ABC, fig. 9* be the tube, BD the axis, and B the
mouth-piece for conveying the voice to the tube.
Then it is evident when a perfon /peaks at B in the
trumpet, the whole force of his voice is fpent upon the
air contained in the tube, which will be agitated
through its whole length, and, by various refleftions
from the fide of the tube to the axis, the air along the
middle part of the tube will be greatly condenled and
its momentum proportionably increafed, fo that whew it
comes to agitate the air at the orifice of the tube A ,
its force will be as much greater than what it would
have been without the tube, as the furface of a fphere,
whofe radius is equal to the length of the tube, is greater
than the furface of the fegment of fuch a fphere whofe
bafe is the orifice of the tube. For a perfon fpeaking
at B, without the tube, will have the force oi his voice
fpent in exciting concentric fuperficies of air all round
the point B ; and when thofe fuperficies or pulfes of
air are diffufed as far as D every way, it is plain the
force of the voice will there be diffufed through the
whole fuperficies of a fphere whofe radius is BD ; but
in the trumpet it will be fo confined, that at its exit it
will be diffufed through fo much of that fphencal iur-
face of air as correfponds to the orifice of the tube.
But lince the force is given, its intenfity will be always
inverfely as the number of particles it has to move •, and
therefore in the tube it will be to that without, as the
fuperficies o^fuch a fphere to the area of the large end
of the tube nearly. . .
“ But it is obvious, Dr M. Young obferves, that the
confinement of the voice can have little effeft in in-
creafing the ftrength of the found, as this ftrength de¬
pends on the velocity with which the particles mwe.
Were this reafoning conclufive, the voice ihould ihue
through the fmalleft poffible orifice ; cylindrical tubes
would be preferable to any that increafed in diameter ;
and the lefs the diameter, the greater would be the
effeft of the inftrument; becaufe the plate or mats ot
air to be moved, would, in that cafe, be lefs, and con-
fequently the effea of the voice the greater j all which
is contradi&ed by experience. .
“ The caufe of the increafe of found in thefe tubes
muft therefore be derived from fome other principles :
and among thefe we ftiall probably find, that what the
ingenious'Kircher has fuggefted in his Phonurgia is the
moft deferving of our attention. He tells us, that “the
augmentation of the found depends on its reflection
from the tremulous fides of the tube } which reflexions,
confpiring in propagating the pulfes in the fame direc¬
tion, muft increafe its intenfity.” Newton alfo feems
S T I C S.
to have confidered this as the principal caufe, in the R^erJe-
fcholium of Prop. 50. B. II. Princip. when he lays, Sounds.
“ we hence fee why founds are fo much increaled in 1
ftentorophonic tubes, for every reciprocal motion is, in
each return, increafed by the generating caule.
“ Farther, When we fpeak in the open air, the ettett
on the tympanum of a diftant auditor is produced mere¬
ly by a Angle pulfe. But when we ufe a tube, all the
pulfes propagated from the mouth, except thofe in the
direXion of the axis, ftrike againft the fides of the tube,
and every point of impulfe becoming anew centre, from
whence the pulfes are propagated in all direXions, a
pulfe will arrive at the ear from each of thole points ;
thus, by the ufe of a tube, a greater number of pulies
are propagated to the ear, and confequently the lound
increafed. The confinement too of, the voice may have
a little effeX, though not fuch as is afcribed to it by
fome; for the condenfed pulfes produced by the naked
freely expand every way j but in tubes, the la¬
teral expanfion being diminilhed, the direX .expanfion
will be increafed, and confequently the velocity of the
particles, and the intenfity of the found. Ihe fubtlance
alfo of the tube has its effeX j for it is found by expe¬
riment, that the more elaftic the fubftance of the tube,
and confequently the more fufceptible it is of thefe tre¬
mulous motions, the ftronger is the found.
« If the tube be laid on any nonelaftic fubftance, it
deadens the found, becaufe it prevents the vibratory
motion of the parts. The found is increafed in fpeaking-
trumpets, if the tube be fufpended in the air ^ becaufe
the agitations are then carried on without interruption.
Thefe tubes ihould increafe in diameter from the mouth¬
piece, becaufe the parts vibrating m direXions perpen¬
dicular to the furface will confpire in impelling for¬
ward the particles of air, and confequently, by increal-
ing their velocity, will increafe the intenfity of the
found: and the furface alfo increafing, the number oi
points of impulfe and of new propagation will increafe
proportionally. The feveral caufes, therefore, of the
increafe of found in thefe tubes, Dr Young concludes
to be, 1. The diminution of the lateral, and confequent¬
ly the increafe of the direX, expanfion and velocity of
the included air. 2. The increafe of the number of
pulfes, by increafing the points of new propagation.
V. The refieXions of the pulfes from the tremulous fides
of the tube, which impel the particles of air forward,
and thus increafe their velocity.” {Enquiry into the
principal Phenomena of Sound, p. 56.)
An echo is a refleXion of found ftriking againft/ome Echoes.
objeX, as an image is refleXed in a glafs : but it has
been difputed what are the proper qualities in a body
for thus refleXing founds. It is in general known, that
caverns, grottoes, mountains, and ruined buildings, re¬
turn this refleXion of found.. We have heard of a very
extraordinary echo, at a ruined fortrefs near Louvain,
in Flanders. If a perfon [ung, he only heard his own
voice, without any repetition : on the contrary, thofe
who flood at fome diftance heard the echo but not
the voice ; but then they heard it with furprifing va¬
riations, fometimes louder, fometimes fofter, nowf moie
(e) A cylindric or elliptic arch will anfwer ftifl better than one that is circular.
rated
Sounds.
158 A C O U S
Reverbe- near, ilien more diilant. There is an account in the
memoirs of the French Academy, of a fimilar echo near
Rouen.
It has been already obferved that every point againfl:
which the pulfes of found {trike becomes the centre of
a new feries of pulfes, and found defcribes equal di-
ftances in equal times ; therefore, when any found'is
propagated from a centre, and its pulfes ftrike againft
a variety of obftacles, if the fum of the right lines drawn
from that point to each of the obftacles, and from each
obitacle to a fecond point, be equal, then will the lat¬
ter be a point in which an echo will be heard. “ Thus
let A fig. 10. be the point from which the found is pro¬
pagated in all direflions, and let the pulfes ftrike againft
the obftacles C, D, E, F, G, H, I, &c. each of thefe
points becomes a new centre of pulfes by the firft prin¬
ciple, and therefore from each of them one feries of
pulfes will pafs through the point B. Now if the
feveral fums of the right lines AC-f-CB, AI3-f-EC,
AE + EB, AG+GB, AH+HB, AI + IB, &c. be
all equal to each other, it is obvious that the pulfes
propagated from A to thefe points, and again from
thefe points to B, will all arrive at B at tne fame in-
ftanf, according to the fecond principle } and there¬
fore, if the hearer be in that point, his ear will at the
fame inftant be ftruck by all thefe pulfes. Now it ap¬
pears from experiment (fee Mujjchenbroek, vol. ii.
p. 210.), that the ear of an exercifed mufician can only
diftinguilh fuch founds as follow one another at the
rate of 9 or 10 in a fecond, or any flower rate : and
therefore, for a diftindl perception of the diredt and
refle&ed found, there (hould intervene the interval of
’-th of a fecond ; but in this time found defcribes
or 127 feet nearly. And therefore, unlefs the
fum of the lines drawn from each of *the obftacles to
the points A and B exceeds the interval AB by 127
feet, no echo will be heard at B. Since the feveral
fums of the lines drawn from the obftacles to the points
A and B are of the fame magnitude, it appears^ that
the curve pafling through all the points C, I), E, F,
G, H, I, &c. will be an ellipfe, {Prop. 14. b. ii.
Ha?n. Con.'). Hence all the points of the obftacles
which produce an echo, muft lie in the {urface of the
oblong fpheroid, generated by the revolution of this
ellipfe round its major axis.
“ As there may be feveral fpheroids of different
magnitudes, fo there may be feveral different echoes of
the fame original found. And as there may happen to
be a greater number of refledting points in the furface
of an exterior fpheroid than in that of an interior, a
fecond or a third echo may be much more powerful
than the firft, provided that the fuperior number of re-
fledting points/that is, the fuperior number of remedied
pulfes propagated to the ear, be more than fufficient to
compenfate for the decay of found which arifes from its
being propagated through a greater fpace. This is
finely illuftrated in the celebrated echoes at the lake of
Killarney in Kerry, where the firft return of the found
is much inferior in ftrength to thofe which immediately
fucceed it.
“ From what has been laid down it appears, that for
the moft powerful echo, the founding body ftiould be
in one focus of the ellipfe which is the fedtion of the
TICS. Ch:
echoing fpheroid, and the hearer in the other. How¬
ever, an echo may be heard in other fituations, though
not fo favourably 5 as fuch a number of refiedted pulfes
may arrive at the fame time at the ear as may be fufli-
cient to excite a diftindt perception. Thus a perfon
often hears the echo of his own voice; but for this pur-
pofe he {hould ftand at leaft 63 or 64 feet from the re-
fledting obftacle, according to what has been faid be¬
fore. At the common rate of fpeaking, we pronounce
not above three fyllables and a half, that is, feven half
fyllables in a fecond ; therefore, that the echo may re¬
turn juft as foon as three fyllables are expreffed, twice
the diftance of the fpeaker from the refledting objedt
muft be equal to 1000 feet; for as found defcribes
1142 feet in a fecond, °f that fpace, that is, icoo
feet nearly, will be defcribed while fix half or three
whole fyllables are pronounced ; that is, the fpeaker
muft ftand near 500 feet from the obftacle. And in
general, the diftance of the fpeaker from the echoing
lurface, for any number of fyllables, muft be equal to
the feventh part of the produdt of 1142 feet multiplied
by that number.
“ In churches we never hear a diftind! echo of the
voice, but a confufed found when the fpeaker utters
his words too rapidly ; becaufe the greateft difference
of diftance between the diredt and refledled courfes of
fuch a number of pulfes as would produce a diftindl
found, is never in any church equal to 127 feet, the-
limit of echoes.
“ But though the firft refledled pulfes may produce
no echo, both on account of their being too few in
number, and too rapid in their return to the ear ; yet
it is evident, that the refledfing furface may be fo
formed, as that the pulfes which come to the ear after
two refledtions or more, may, after having defcribed
127 feet or more, arrive at the ear in fufficient num¬
bers, and alfo fo nearly at the fame inftant, as to pro¬
duce an echo, though the diftance of the refledling fur¬
face from the ear be lefs than the limit of echoes. This
is confirmed by a lingular echo in a grotto on the banks
of the little brook called the Dinan, about two miles
from Caftlecomber, in the county of Kilkenny. As
you enter the cave, and continue fpeaking loud, no re¬
turn of the voice is perceived ; but on your arriving at
a certain point, which is not above 14 or 15 feet from
the refledling furface, a very diftindl echo is heard.
Now this echo cannot arife from the firft courfe of pul¬
fes that are refledted to the ear, becaufe the breadth of
the cave is fo fmall, that they would return too quick¬
ly to produce a diftindl fenfation from that of the ori¬
ginal found : it therefore is produced by thofe pulfes,
which, after having been refledled feveral times from
one fide of the grotto to the other, and having run
over a greater fpace than 127 feet, arrive at the ear
in confiderable numbers, and not more diftant from
each other, in point of time, than the ninth part of a
fecond.”
To what has been faid of refledled founds, we {hall
add an extradl on the fame fubjedl from the ingenious
paper which we have already quoted.
“ M. de la Grange has alfo demonftrated, that all
impreffions are refledled by an obftacle terminating an
elaftic fluid, with the fame velocity with which they
arrived at that obftacle. When the walls of a paffage,
Chap.
a IV. ACOU
Amufing or of an unfurnifhed room, are fmooth and perfeaiy pa-
Experi- railelj any explofion, or a damping with the foot, com¬
ments, &c. mun;cate's an impreffion to the air, which is reflefted
1-J ’ from one wall to the other, and from the fecand again
towards the ear, nearly in the fame direftion with the
primitive impulfe : this takes place as frequently in a
fecond, as double the breadth of the paffage is contain¬
ed in 1130 feetj and the ear receives a perception of
a mufical found, thus determined in its pitch by the
breadth of the paffage. On making the experiment,
the refult will be found accurately to agree with this
explanation. If the found is predetermined, and the fre¬
quency of vibrations fuch as that each pulfe, when doubly
reflefted, may coincide with the fubfequent impulfe pro¬
ceeding directly from the founding body, the intenfity of
the found will be much increafed by the reflexion j and
alfo, in a lefs degree, if the refle&ed pulfe coincides
with the next but one, the next but two, or more, of
the diredt pulfes. The appropriate notes of a room may
readily be difcovered by linging the fcale in it; and
they will be found to depend on the proportion of its
length or breadth to 1130 feet. The found of the flop¬
ped diapafon pipes of an organ is produced in a man¬
ner fomewhat fimilar to the note from an explofion in
a paffage } and that of its reed pipes to the refonance
of the voice in a room : the length of the pipe in one
cafe determining the found in the other, increafing its
ftrength. The frequency of the vibrations does not at
all immediately depend on the diameter of the pipe. It
mud be confeffed, that much remains to be done in
explaining the precife manner in which the vibration of
the air in an organ pipe is generated. M. Daniel Ber¬
noulli has folved feveral difficult problems relating to
the fubjeft; yet fome of his affumptions are not only
gratuitous, but contrary to matter of fadl.” ~PhL Tranf.
vol. xc. p. 118.)
We {hall now clofe this article with defcribing a
few inventions founded on fome of the preceding prin*
ciples, which may perhaps amufe and not be altogether
uninftruftive to a number of our readers.
Amufing Experiments and Contrivances..
S T I C S. J59
aftly in the focus of the firft mirror : his lower jaw muft ^u£-_g
be made to open by a wire, and ffiut by a fpring ; and ment^
there may be another wire to move the eyes ; thefe v——y—
wires muft pafs through the figure, go under the floor,
and come up behind the partition.
Let a perfon, properly inftrudled, be placed behind
the partition near the mirror. You then propofe to
any one to fpeak foftly to the ftatue, by putting his
mouth to the ear of it, affuring him that it will anfwer
inftantly. You then give the fignal to the perfon be¬
hind the partition, who, by placing his ear to the fo¬
cus I, of the mirror GH, will hear diftinaiy what the
other faid j and, moving the jaw and eyes ot the ftatue
by the wires, will return an anfwer diredlly, which
will in like manner be diftinaiy heard by the firft
fpeaker.
This experiment appears to be taken from the Cen¬
tury of Inventions of the Marquis of Worcefter ; whofe
defigns, at the time they were publiftied, were treated
with ridicule and neglea as being impraaicable, but
are now known to be generally, if not univerfally, prac¬
ticable. The words of the marquis are thefe : “ How
to make a brazen or ftone head in the midft of a great,
field or garden, fo artificial and natural, that though a
man fpeak ever fo foftly, and even whifper into the ear
thereof, it will prefently open its mouth, and refolve
the queftion in French, Latin, Welfti, Irifh, or Eng-
liffi, in good terms, uttering it out of its mouth, and
then ftiut it until the next queftion be alked.”—The
two following, of a fimilar nature, appear to have been
inventions of Kircher, by means of which (as he in¬
forms us *) he ufed to “ utter feigned and ludicrous* Phonur-
confultations, with a view to {how the fallacy and im-^1" Yo-aa,
pofture of ancient oracles.”
II. Let there be two heads of plafter of Paris, pla-The com-
ced on pedeftals, on the oppofite fides of a room. There j»unicative
muft be a tin tube of an inch diameter, that muft pafs n‘ s'
from the ear of one head, through the pedeftal, under
the floor, and go up to the mouth of the other. Ob-
ferve that the end of the tube which is next the ear of
the one head, ffiould be confiderably larger than that
end which comes to the mouth of the other. Let the
bo fo difnofed that there may not be the leaft
The con- J, Place a concave mirror of about two feet diame-
veriing ter as fig. u. in a perpendicular diredlion. 1 he
ftatUe’ focus .of this mirror may be at 15 or 18 inches diftance
from its furface. At the diftance of about five or fix
feet let there be a partition, in which there is an open¬
ing EF, equal to the fize of the mirror ; againft this
opening muft be placed a picture, painted in water
colours, or a thin cloth, that the found may eafily pafs
through it (g).
Behind the partition, at the diftance of two or three
feet, place another mirror GH, of the fame fize as the
former, and let it be diametrically oppofite to it (h).
At the point C let there be placed the figure of a
man feated on a pedeftal, and let his ear be placed ex-
fufpicion of a communication.
Now, when a perfon fpeaks quite low, into the ear
of the buft, the found is reverberated through the
length of the tube, and will be diftin&ly heard by any
one who ffiall place his ear to the mouth of the other.
It is not neceffary that the tube ffiould come to the lips
of the buft.—If there be two tubes, one going to the
ear, and the other to the mouth of each head, two
perfons may converfe together by applying their mouth
and ear reciprocally to the mouth and ear of the bufts;
and at the fame time other perfons that ftand in the
middle of the chamber, between the heads, will not hear
any part of their converfation.
HI. Place a buft on a pedeftal in the corner of aTheoracu-
room,larheacL
(o) The more effeftually to conceal the caufe of this illufion, the mirror AB may be fixed in the wainfcot,
and a gauze or any other thin covering thrown over it, as that will not in the leaft prevent the found from being
reflefted. An experiment of this kind may be performed in a field or garden, between two hedges, in one of which
the mirror AB may be placed, and in the other an opening artfully contrive . . . r ,
(h_) Both the mirrors here ufed may be of tin or gilt pafteboard, this experiment no requiring ue 1 . . y
accurate,.
t6o
A folar fo-
nata.
A C O U
Amufing r0(!)n5j and let there be two tubes, as in the foregoing
Experi' amuferaent, one of which muft go from the mouth and
rnems, other from the ear of the buft> through the pe-
deftal and the floor, to an under apartment. 1 here
may be likewife wires that go from the under jaw
and the eyes of the buft, by which they may be eaiily
rn°A<perfon being placed in the under room, and at a
fignal given applying his ear to one of the tubes, will
hear any queftion that is afked, and immediately re¬
ply : moving at the fame time, by means of the wires,
the mouth and the eyes of the buft, as if the reply
came from it. . . , r t
IV. In a large cafe, fuch as is ufed for dials and
furing clocks, the front of which, or at leaft the lower
part of it, muft be of glafs, covered on the inlide with
gauze, let there be placed a barrel organ, which, when
wound up, is prevented from playing, by a catch that
takes a toothed wheel at the end of the barrel, lo
one end of this catch there muft be joined a wire, at
the end of which there is a flat circle of cork, of the
fame dimenfion with the infide of a glafs tube, in which
it is to rife and fall. This tube muft communicate
with a refervoir that goes acrofs the front part ot_ the
bottom of the cafe, which is to be filled with fpmts
fuch as is ufed in thermometers, but not coloured, that
it may be the better concealed by the gauze..
* This cafe being placed in the fun, the fpmts will be
Rarefied by the heat; and rifing in the tube, will lift up
the catch or trigger, and fet the organ in play : which
it will continue to do as long as it is kept in the iun,
for the fpirits cannot run out of the tube, that part of
the catch to which the circle is fixed being prevented
from rifing beyond a certain point by a check placed
°V When the machine is placed againft the fide of a
room on which the fun fhines ftrong, it may conftantly
remain in the fame place, if you enclofe it in a fecond
cafe, made of thick wood, and placed at a little diftance
from the other. When you want it to perform, it will
be only neceffary to throw open the door of the outer
tfafe, and expofe it to the fun. . .
But if the machine be moveable, it will perform in all
feafons by being placed before the fire 5 and in the win¬
ter it will more readily flop when removed into the cold.
A machine of this fort is faid to have been invented
by Cornelius Dreble, in the laft century. What the
conftru&ion of that was, we know not j it might very
likely be more complex, but could fcarcely aniwer t e
intention more readily. . , , .
V. Under the keys of a common harpiichord let
there be fixed a barrel, fomething like that in a cham¬
ber organ, with flops or pins correfponding to the tunes
you would have it play. Thefe flops muft be moveable
fo that the tunes may be varied at pleafure. From each
of the keys let there go a wire perpendicular down :
Automa-
tous harp-
fichord.
S T I C S. Chap. IV.
the ends of thefe wires muft be turned up for about Amufmg
one-fourth of an inch. Behind thefe wires ^t there
be an iron bar, to prevent them from going too far  
back. Now, as the barrel turns round, its pins take
the ends of the wires, which pull down the keys, and
play the harpfichord. The barrel and wires are to be
all enclofed in a cafe. , r
In the chimney of the fame room where the harpti-
chord Hands, or at leaft in one adjacent, there muft be
a fmoke jack, from whence comes down a wire, or
cord, that, pafling behind the wainfcot adjoining t e
chimney, goes under the floor, and up one ol the legs
of the harpfichord, into the cafe, and round a imall
wheel fixed on the axis of that firft mentioned. 1 here
fhould be pulleys at different diftances, behind the wain¬
fcot and under the floor, to facilitate the motion ot the
This machinery may be applied to any other keyed
inflruraent as well as to chimes, and to many other pur-
pofes where a regular continued motion is required.
An inftrument of this fort may be confidered as a
perpetual motion, according to the vulgar acceptation
of the term ; for it will never ceafe going till tne fire
be extinguifhed, or fome parts of the machinery be
worn out. r mj-
VI. At the top of a fummer-houfe, or other building, A ventofai
let there be fixed a vane AB, fig. 12. on which is the fymphoDJ.
pinion C, that takes the toothed wheel D, fixed on the
axis EF, which at its other end carries the wheel <cr,
that takes the pinion H. All thefe wheels and pinions
are to be between the roof and the ceiling of the build¬
ing. The pinion H is fixed to the perpendicular axis
IK, which goes down very near the wall of the room,
and may be covered after the fame manner as are bell-
wires. At the lower end of the axis IK there is a irnaU
pinion L, that takes the wheel M, fixed on the axis of
[he great wheel NO. In this wheel there muft be placed
a number of flops, correfponding to the tunes it is to
play Thefe flops are to be moveable, that the tunes
may be altered at pleafure. Againft this wheel there
muft hang 12 fmall bells, anfwering to the notes of the
gamut. Therefore, as the wheel turns round, the flops
ftriking againft the bells play the feveral tunes. There
fhould be a fly to the great wheel, to regulate ^s mo¬
tion when the wind is ftrong. The wheel NO, and the
bells, are to be enclofed in a cafe.
There may be feveral fets of bells, one of which may
anfwer to the tenor, another to the treble, and a
third to the bafs ; or they may play different tunes, ac¬
cording to the fize of the wheel. As the bells are
fmall, if they are of filver, their tone will be the more
^Tnftfad of bells, glaffes may be here ufed, fo difpof-
ed as to move freely at the ftroke of the flops. Ihis
machinery may likewife be applied to a barrel-organ j
and to many other ufes.
A c q
ACQS, in Geography, a town at the foot of the Py-
' renean mountains, in the department of Arriege and
late province of Foix in Trance. It takes its name
from the hot waters in thefe parts. E. Long. I. 40.
N. Lat. 43. 0.
A C Q
ACQUAPENDENTE, a pretty large town otAcquapen-
Italy, m the territory of the church, and patrimony of ^ dente.^
St Peter, with a bifhop’s fee. It is feated on a moun¬
tain, near the river Paglia, ten miles W. of Ometto,
and O N. by W. of Rome. It takes its name from k
J1 ' fall
\ ji a <11: s
PLATE I
Fu/.l.
T/ion satu/s
JTun i/re</s
Tens
L'ru/s
/'>y.
A
AC OTJ S TIC S
TV1- Ei</. 2.
Tit/. 4. D I | M I I
s
C I I I I I I
A! Afilc/ //?
At'
d
A<
A C R [ 16
fall of water near it, and is now almoft defolate. E.
Long. ii. 53. N. Lat. 42. 43.
ACQUARIA, a fmall town of Italy, in Fngana, a
diftrift of Modena, which is remarkable for its medi¬
cinal waters. It is 12 miles fouth of the city of Mo¬
dena. E. Long. II. 17. N. Lat. 44. 24.
ACQUEST, or AcquIst, in Law, fignifies goods
got by purchafe or donation. See Conquest.
ACQUI, a town of Italy, in the duchy of Mont-
ferrat, with a biftiop’s fee and commodious baths. It
was taken by the Spaniards in 1 745, and retaken by the
Piedmontefe in 1746-, but after this it was taken again
and difmantled by the French, who afterwards for-
fook it. It is feated on the river Bormia, 25 miles
N. W. of Genoa, and 30 S. of Cafal. E. Long. 8. 30.
N. Lat. 44. 40.
ACQUISITION, in general, denotes the obtaining
or procuring fomething. Among lawyers, it is ufed for
the right or title to an eftate got by purchafe or dona¬
tion.
ACQUITTAL, a difcharge, deliverance, or fet-
ting of a perfon free from the guilt or fufpicion of an
offence.
ACQUITTANCE, a releafe or difcharge in writ¬
ing for a fum of money, witneffing that the party has
paid the faid fum.—No man is obliged to pay a fum of
money if the demandant refufes to give an acquittance,
which is a full difcharge, and bars all actions, &c. An
acquittance given by a fervant for a fum of money re¬
ceived for the ufe of his matter, (hall be a good dif¬
charge for that fum, provided the fervant ufed to re¬
ceive his matter’s rents, debts, &c.
ACRA, a town of Africa, on the coaft of Guinea,
where the Englifh, Dutch, and Danes, have ftrong forts,
and each fort has its particular village. W. Long,
o. 2. N. Lat. 5. o.
Acra, in Ancient Geography, one of the hills of Je-
rufalem, on which ftood the lower town, which was the
old Jerufalem j to which was afterwards added Zion,
or the city of David. Probably called Acra, from
the fortrefs which Antiochus built there in order to
annoy the temple, and which Simon Maccabaeus took
and razed to the ground.
Acra Japygia, in Ancient Geography, called Sa/entia
by Ptolemy ; now Capo di San Marta di Leuca : A
promontory in the kingdom of Naples, to the fouth-eaft
of Otranto, where formerly was a town, now lying in
ruins, on the Ionian fea, over againft the Montes Aero-
ceraunii of Epirus.
ACRiE, in Ancient Geography, atown of Sicily, whofe
inhabitants were called Acrenfcs. It ftood to the fouth
of Syracufe, at the diftance of 24 miles, near the place
now called the monaftery of Santa Maria d'Arcia, on
an eminence, as appears from Silius Italicus. 1 he Sy-
racufans were the founders of it, according to Thucy¬
dides, 70 years after the building of Syracufe, or 665
before Chrift. Hence the epithet Acrceus.
ACRAGAS, or AGRAGAS, in Ancient Geography,
fo called by the Greeks, and fometimes by the Romans,
but more generally* Agrigentum by the latter *, a town
of Sicily. In Greek medals the inhabitants are called
AKPIFANTINOI, and Agrigentini by Cicero. The
town ftood upon a mountain, at the confluence of the
Acragas and Hypfa, near the port called E^^re^ev by
Ptolemy, but Eirmiev, or the Dock, by Strabo j and in
Vox. I. Part I.
i ] A C &
the time of the latter, fcarce a trace of all that fide Acragas
remained. In the year before Chrift 384, the people A(['re>
of Gela built Acragas, 108 years after building their
own city. It took its name from the river running by
it; and being but two miles from the fea, enjoyed the
conveniences of a fea port. It was a place of great
ftrength, Handing on the top of a very fteep rock, and
walked on the fouth fide by the river Acragas, now call¬
ed Finnic di Gergenti, and on the fouth-weft by the My p-
fa, with a citadel to the fouth-eaft, externally furrounded
by a deep gulf, which made it inacceflible but on the
fide next the town. It was famousfor the tyrant Phalaris
and his brazen bull. The Agrigentines were a people
luxurious in their tables, and magnificent in their dwell¬
ings ; of whom Empedocles, in Diogenes Laertius,
fays, that they lived to-day as if they were to die to¬
morrow, and built as if they were to live forever. The
country round the city was laid out in vine and olive
yards, in the produce of which they carried on a great
and profitable commerce with Carthage. E. Long.
13. 30. N. Lat. 37. 20.
ACRAM AR, or Van, in Geography, atown and lake
of the greater Armenia in Alia. The town, which is
large, populous, and commercial, is the capital of the
government of Van, is fituated at the foot of the moun¬
tains of Diarbekir, and is faid to have been built by Se-
miramis. The lake abounds with filh. There are two
i{lands in it which are inhabited by religious Arme¬
nians. E. Long. 44. 14. N. Lat. 36. 30.
ACRASIA, among phyficians, implies the predo¬
minancy of one quality above another, either with re¬
gard to artificial mixtures, or the humours of the hu¬
man body. The word is Greek, and compounded of
u privative, and to mix ; q. d. not mixed in a
juft proportion.
ACRASUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Afia
Minor in Lydia. Some imperial Greek medals of this
city ft ill exift, which were ftruck under the prtetors, in
honour of Severus, and feveral other emperors.
AC RATH, in Ancient Geography, a place in Mau¬
ritania Tingitana, now fuppofed to be Velex de Goma-
ra: A fortified town in the kingdom of Fez, with a
citadel and commodious harbour on the Mediterranean,
fcarce a mile diftant from Penon de Velez, a Spanifti
fort. W. Long. 5. N. Lat. 34. 45.
ACRE, or Acra, in Geography, a fea port town
in Syria. It was formerly called Pto/emais, from one
of the Ptolemys : and Acra on account of its fortifica¬
tions *, whence the knights of St John of Jerufalem
called it St John d’Acre. This city was fuccefllvely un¬
der the dominion of the Romans and the Moors; and
was famous in the time of the crufades, and underwent
feveral fieges both by the Chriftians and Saracens. It
is fituated at the north angle of a bay, which extends
in a femicircle of three leagues, as far as the point of
Carmel.
During the crufades, the poffeflion of this town was
long difputed by the Chriftians and Saracens. In 1192
it was taken from the latter by Richard I. of England
and Philip of France, after a fiege of two years, and
the {laughter of 100,000 Chriftians, befide a greater
number who perilhed by Ihipwreck or difeafe, who
gave it to the knights of St John of Jerufalem. They
kept poffeflion of it 100 years, when it was retaken by
the Saracens, and almoft entirely deftroyed. This
X event
A C R [ 162 ] A C R
event is rendered memorable by an a& of lingular re-
folution with which it was accompanied. A number
of beautiful young nuns, terrified at the profpeft of
being expofed to the brutal lull of the infidels, deter¬
mined to avoid the violation of their chaftity, by ren¬
dering themfelves objefts of averfion. With this view
they cut off their nofes and mangled their faces. The
Saracens, inflamed with refentmentat a fpedlacle which
prevented the gratification of their appetites, imme¬
diately put them all to the fword. After the expulfion
of the crufaders, it remained almoll deferted till about
the year 1750, when it was fortified by Daher, an
Arabian fcheik, who maintained his independence
againft the Ottoman power, till the year I775> when
he was bafely affaffinated by the emiffaries of that go¬
vernment at the age of 86 years. He was adored by
his people, whom his prudence and valour had through
life protedied againft the tyranny and oppreflion of the
pacha. More lately the works eredled by Djezzar,
within the laft ten years, have rendered it one of the
principal towns upon the coaft. The mofque of this
pacha is boafte.d as a mafterpiece of eartern tafte. The
bazar, or covered market, is not inferior even to thofe
of Aleppo •, and its public fountain furpaffes in elegance
thofe of Damafcus, though the water is of a very indif¬
ferent quality. The pacha has derived the more ho¬
nour from thefe works, as he was himfelf both the en¬
gineer and architedl : he formed the plans, drew the
defigns, and fuperintended the execution.
The port of Acre is one of the belt fituated on the
coaft, as it is flieltered from the north and north-weft
winds by the town itfelf j but it is greatly choked up
lince the time of Fakr el-din. Djezzar contented him¬
felf with making a landing place for boats. The for¬
tifications, though more frequently repaired than any
other in all Syria, are of no importance: there are
only a few wretched low towers near the port, on which
cannon are mounted ; and thefe rufty iron pieces are
fo bad, that fome of them burft every time they are
fired. Its defence on the land fide is merely a garden
wall without any ditch.
In the year 1799 Acre was again the fcene of war,
when it was bravely defended by our gallant country¬
man Sir Sidney Smith, againft the military fkill and
extraordinary exertions of Bonaparte, and fome of his
ableft generals. The pacha Djezzar was preparing to
evacuate the place, and make good his retreat with
his women and treafure, when Sir Sidney with his
fquadron anchored in the road of Caiffa. The fortifi¬
cations were repaired under the diredtion of a fkilful
engineer, which, with the affiftance of the Englifh ma¬
rines, encouraged and animated the pacha to hold out.
After the French had renewed and varied the attack,
and been as often repulfed with great daughter, Bo¬
naparte, defpalring of fuccefs, raifed the fiege on the
20th of May, the 61ft day after breaking ground.
Corn and cotton form the bafis of the commerce of
Acre, which is becoming more flourifhing every day.
Of late, the pacha, by an abufe common throughout
all the Turkifh empire, has monopolized all the trade
In his own hands , no cotton can be fold but to him,
and from him every purchafe muft be made. In vain
have the European merchants claimed the privileges
granted them by the fultan ; Djezzar replied, that he
was the fultan in his country, and continued his mo¬
nopoly. The merchants were generally French, and
they had fix houfes at Acre, with a conful : an impe¬
rial agent too was lately fettled there ; alfo a refident
Acre.
for Ruflia.
That part of the bay of Acre in which (hips anchor
with the greateft fecurity lies to the north of Mount
Carmel, below the village of Haifa (commonly called
Caiffa). The bottom is good holding ground, and
does not chafe the cables j but the harbour is open to
the north-weft wind, which blows violently along all
this coaft. Mount Carmel, which commands it to the
fouth, is a flattened cone, and very rocky j it is about
1000 feet high. We dill find among the brambles
wild vines and olive trees, which prove that induftry
has formerly been employed even in this ungrateful
foil: on the fummit is a chapel dedicated to the pro¬
phet Elias, which affords an extenfive profpedl over the
fea and land. It is 20 miles fouth of Tyre, and 37
north of Jerufalem. E. Long. 39. 25. N. Lat. 32. 40.
Acre, in the Mogul’s dominions, the fame with
lack, and fignifies the fum of 100,000 rupees j the ru¬
pee is of the value of the French crown of three livres,
or 30 fols of Holland; 100 lacks of rupees make a
couron in Indoftan, or 10,000,000 rupees: the pound
fterling is about eight rupees; according to which
proportion, a lack of rupees amounts to 12,500 pounds
fterling.
Acre, the univerfal meafure of land in Britain.
The word (formed from the Saxon acher, or the Ger¬
man aker, a field), did not originally fignify a deter¬
minate quantity of land, but any open ground, efpe-
cially a wide champaign ; and in this antique fenfe it
feems to be preferved in the names of places, as Caftle-
acre, Weft-acre, &c. An acre in England contains
four fquare roods, a rood 40 perches or poles of 162
feet each by ftatute. Yet this meafure does not pre¬
vail in all parts of England, as the length of the pole
varies in different counties, and is called cujiotnary mea¬
fure, the difference running from the 16^ feet to 28.
The acre is alfo divided into 10 fquare chains, of 22
yards each, that is, 4840 fquare yards. An acre in
Scotland contains four fquare roods; one fquare rood
is 40 fquare falls; one fquare fall, 36 fquare ells; one
fquare ell, nine fquare feet and 73 fquare inches ; one
fquare foot, 144 fquare inches. The Scots acre is alfo
divided into jo fquare chains ; the meafuring chain
(hould be 24 ells in length, divided into 100 links,
each link 8 fwia inches ; and fo one fquare chain will
contain 10,000 fquare links. The Englifti ftatute acre
is about three roods and fix falls ftandard meafure of
Scotland.
The French acre, arpent, contains Englifti acre,
or 54,450 fquare Englifti feet, whereof the Englifti
acre contains only 43,560.—The Straftnirg acre is
about half an Englifti acre.—The Welfti acre contains
commonly two Englifti ones.—The Irifti acre is equal
to one acre two roods and 19 perches tYt Englifti.
ACRE-Fight, an old fort of duel fought by Englifti
and Scottifti combatants, between the frontiers of their
kingdoms, with fvvord and lance : it was alfo called
camp-fight , and the combatants champions, from the
open field being the ftage of trial.
j/iCRE Tax, a tax laid on land at fo much per acre.
In fome places this is alfo called acrefihot. Impofitions
on lands in the great level are to be raifed by a pro¬
portionable
Acre
II
Acridopha-
g>-
A C R [ 1
portionable acre-tax, 20 Car. II. cap. 8.--An acr^-
tax of 2s. 6d. per acre, for draining Hadenham-level,
^ACKIBEIA, a term purely Greek, literally denot¬
ing an exquilite or delicate accuracy • fometimes uled
in^ur language, for want of a word of equal hgmfica-
ACRID, a name for any thing that is of a (harp or
pungent tafte. See Materia MeDICA.
1 ACRIDOPHAGI, in Ancient Geography, an E-
thiopian people, reprefented as inhabiting near the de-
ferts^ andPto have fed on locufts. I his latter arcum-
ftance their name imports 5 the word being compound¬
ed of the Greek locujl, and to eat. We
have the following account of them by Diodorus Si¬
culus*. Their ftature was lower than that of other
and xxxix. men*, they were meagre and extremely black. In the
Alfo Stm- fpring, high weft winds drove from the defert to their
ho, lib. xvi. T S’ ,a f _ eviranrHinarv fize. and remarkable
# Lib. iii.
and xxxix.
qS; Srof an extraordinary ftze, and remarkable
for the fqualid colour of their wings. So great was
the number of thefe infeas, that they were the only
fuftenance of the barbarians, who took them in the f-
lowing manner : At the diftance of fome ftadia from
their habitations there was a "’lde jandmdrPhVail;Ri
They filled this valley with wood and wdd herbs, wi
which their country abounded.^ When the cloud f
locufts appeared, which was driven on by thyvind
they fet fire to the fuel which they had colleaed. The
fmoke which arofe from this immenfe fire was fo thick
that the locufts in crofting the valley, were (lifted by
it, and fell in heaps on the ground. Ihe paffage of
the locufts being thus intercepted for many days, they
made a large provifion of thofe infeas. Astheir coun¬
try produced great quantities of fait, they falted them,
to^render them more palatable, and to make them keep
till the next feafon. This peculiar fupply was their
foie food: they had neither herds nor docks. 1 hy
were unacquainted with fiftiing *, for they lived at a di¬
ftance from the fea. They were very adive, and ran
with great fwiftnefs. But their life was not of long
duration*, it exceeded not forty years The dofe of
their life was extremely miferable *, for in their old
age, winged lice of different, but all of ugly forms,
bred in their bodies. This malady which began in
the bread and belly, foon fpread through the whole
frame. The patient at firft felt an itching 5 and the
agreeable fenfation produced by his fcratching of him-
felf, preceded a mod deplorable calamity. Tor when
thofePlice, which had bred in his body forced then
way out, they caufed effufions of corrupt blood, with
excruciating pains in the (kin. The unhappy man,
with lamentable cries, was induftrious himfelf to make
paffages ftir them with his nails. In ftiort thefe lice
iffued forth fucceflively from the wounds made by the
hands of the patient, as from a veflel full of holes,_ and
in fuch numbers that it was impoflible to exterminate
them.—Whether this extraordinary and dreadful dii-
temper was occafioned by the food of the inhabitants
of this country, or by a peftilential quality of their
climate, it is difficult to determine. Indeed, as to the
credibility of the whole account, we muft leave the
^^ut though the circumftances of thefe people (hould
be deemed fabulous, yet may the acridophaguite true
It is well known, that to this day the inhabitants of
63 ] A C R
Ethiopia, Arabia, &c. frequently ufe locufts for food. Aendopha-
The reader will not be difpleafed if we lay before him
the refult of Dr Haffelquitt’s inquiries as to this parti¬
cular, who travelled in Syria and Egypt fo late as the
year 1752. This ingenious gentleman, who travelled
with a view to improve natural hiftory, informs us,
that he alked Franks, and many other people who had
lived long in thefe countries, whether they had ever
heard that the inhabitants of .Arabia, Ethiopia, &c.
ufed locufts as food? 'Ihey anfwered that they had.
He likewife alked the fame queftion of Armenians,
Copts and Syrians, who lived in Arabia, and had
travelled in Syria, and near the Red fea 5 fome of whom
faid they heard of fuch a praftice, and others that they
had often feen the people eat thefe infe&s. He at laft
obtained complete fatisfadlion on this head from a
learned fcheik at Cairo, who had lived fix years m
Mecca. This gentleman told him, in prefence of M.
le Grand the principal French interpreter at Cairo, and
others, that a famine frequently rages at Mecca when
there is a fcarcity of corn in Egypt, which obliges the
inhabitants to live upon coarfer food than ordinary :
That when corn is fcarce, the Arabians grind the lo¬
cufts in hand mills, or (lone mortars, and bake them
into cakes, and ufe thefe cakes in place of bread : I hat
he has frequently feen locufts ufed by the Arabians,
even when there was no fcarcity of corn } but then
they boil them, (lew them with butter, and make them
into a kind of fricaffee *, which he fays is not difagree-
ably tafted, for he had fometimes tailed thefe locuft
frieaffees out of curiofity. ,
A later traveller, Dr Sparrman, informs us *,* Voyage Jo
“ That locufts fometimes afford a high treat to the^
more unpoliftied and remote hordes of the Hottentots ;
when, as fometimes happens, after an interval of 8, 10,
15, or 20 years, they make their appearance in incre¬
dible numbers. At thefe times they come from the
north, migrating to the fouthward, and do not fuffer
themfelves to be impeded by any obftacles, but fly bold¬
ly on, and are drowned in the fea whenever they come
to it.’ The females of this race of infefts, which are
mod apt to migrate, and are chiefly eaten, are faid noi
to be able to fly *, partly by reafon of the fliortnefs of
their w'ings, and partly on account of their being hea¬
vy and diftended with eggs j and ffiortty after they have
laid thefe in the fand, they are faid to die. It is parti¬
cularly of thefe that the Hottentots make a brown cof¬
fee-coloured foup, which at the fame time acquires
from the eggs a fat and greafy appearance. The Hot¬
tentots are highly rejoiced at the arrival of thefe lo¬
cufts, though they are fure to deftroy every bit of ver¬
dure on the ground : but the Hottentots make them¬
felves ample amends for this lofs, by falling foul on the
animals themfelves, eating them in fuch quantities as in
the fpace of a few days to get vifibly fatter and in bet¬
ter condition than before.” T r n
The Abbe Poiret, alfo, in his Memoir on the Infers
of Barbary and Numidia, informs us, “ That the Moors
make locufts a part of their food ; that they go to hunt
them } fry them in oil and butter } and fell them pub¬
licly at Tunis, at Bonne,” &c.
From thefe accounts, we may (ee the tolly ot that
difpute among divines about the nature of St John’s
food in the wildernefs: fome maintaining the original
word to fignify the fruits of certain trees 5 others, a kind
*V r\¥
A C R [ 164 ] • A C R
Acridopha- of birds, &c. : but tbofe who adhered to the literal
meaning of the text were at lead the mod orthodox,
Acrobates. although their arguments were perhaps not fo ftrong
> as they might have been, had they had an opportunity
of quoting fuch authors as the above.
ACRII montes, in Ancient Geography, mountains
in the illand of Sicily which are alfo called Hercei.
ACRILLiE, a city of Sicily between Acrae and
Agrigentum, not far from Syracufe, fuppofed to be
the fame with Acila which is mentioned by Plu¬
tarch.
ACRISIUS, in fabulous hidory, king of Argos, be¬
ing told by the oracle that he diould be killed by his
grandchild, ftiut up his only daughter Danae in a bra¬
zen tower : but Jupiter coming down in a golden
fhower, begot Perfeus upon her. After Perfeus had
flain the Gorgons, he carried Medufa’s head to Argos j
which Acrifius feeing, was turned into a datue..
ACRISTIA, in Geography, a town of Sicily, 23
miles wed-north-wed of Magara. It is built on the
ruins of the ancient town of Schritea.
ACRITAS, in Ancient Geography, a promontory^ of
Meffenia, running into the fea, and forming the begin¬
ning of the bay of Meffene. Now called Capo de Gallo,
between Methone to the wed, and Corone to the ead,
where the Sinus Coronseus begins.
ACROAMATIC, or Acroatic, in general, de¬
notes a thing fublime, profound, or abdrufe.
ACROAMATICI, a denomination given to the dif-
ciples or followers of Aridotle, &c. who were admit¬
ted into the fecrets of the inner or acroamatic philofo-
phy.
ACROATHOUM, or Acrothoum, in Ancient
Geography, a town fituated on the top of Mount Athos,
where the inhabitants, according to Mela, were longer
lived by half than in any other country ; called by
the modern Greeks, Ayiov ego? } by the Italians La Citna
di Monte Santo.
ACROiYTIC is a name given to Aridotle’S lec¬
tures to his difciples, which were of two kinds, exoteric
and acroatic. The acroatic were thofe to which only
his own difciples and intimate friends were admitted ;
whereas the exoteric were public and open to all.
Rut there are other differences. The acroatic were
let apart for the higher and more abdrufe fubje&s
the exoteric were employed in rhetorical and civil fpe-
culations. Again, The acroatics were more fubtle and
exacl, evidence and demondration being here aimed
at •, the exoterics chiedy aimed at the probable and
plaufible. The former were the fubjeft of the morning
exercifes in the Lyceum, the latter of the evenings.
Befides, the exoterics were publidied : whereas the
acroatics were kept fecret; being either entirely con¬
cealed, or, if they were publidied, it was in fuch ob-
fcure terms, that few but his own difciples could be
the wifer for them. Hence, when Alexander com¬
plained of his preceptor for publidiing his acroatics,
and thus revealing what diould have been referved to
his difcioles, Aridotle anfwered, that they were made
public and not public •, for that none who had not heard
them explained by the author viva voce, could under-
dan d them.
ACROBATES, in antiquity, were rope-dancers
who performed various feats by vaulting or tumbling
on a rope j Aiding down on a rope from a lofty Ration
Acronius.
with arms and legs extended, in imitation of dying ; Acrobate*
and running, dancing, and leaping, on a rope dretched
horizontally.
ACROBATICA, or Acrobaticum, from xx.eos,
high, and Retina, or I go ; an ancient engine
whereby people were raifed aloft, that they might fee
more conveniently about them. The acrobatica among
the Greeks amounted to the fame with what they call
fcanforium among the Latins. Authors are divided as
to the ufe of this engine. Turnebus and Barbarus take
it to have been of the military kind, raifed by bedegers,
high enough to overlook the walls, and difeover the
date of things on the other fide. Baldus rather fup-
pofes it a kind of moveable fcaffold, or cradle, contrived
for raifing painters, pladerers, and other workmen, to
the tops of houfes, trees, &c. Some fufpeft that it
might have been ufed for both purpofes , which is the
opinion of Vitruvius and Aquinas.
ACROCERAUNIA, or Montes Ceraunii, in
Ancient Geography, mountains running out into the fea
(fo called from their being often thunderdruck), fepa-
rating the Ionian fea from the Adriatic*, where Illyria
ends and Epirus begins; now called Monti della Chi-
mera.
ACROCHERISMUS, among the Greeks, a fort
of gymnadic exercife, in which the two combatants
contended with their hands and fingers only, without
clofing or engaging the other parts of the body.
ACROCORINTHUS, m Ancient Geography, a high
and deep hill, hanging over the city of Corinth, which
was taken within the walls, as an acropolis, or citadeL
On its top dood a temple of Venus ; and lower dowiv
iffued the fountain Priene.
ACROMION, in Anatomy, the upper part of the
fcapula or fhoulder blade. See Anatomy.
ACROMONOGRAMMATICUM, in Poetry,, a
kind of poem, wherein every fubfequent verfe begins
with the letter wherewith the immediately preceding
one terminated.
ACRON, a celebrated phyfician of Agrigentum, in
Sicily, who lived about the middle of the fifth century
before Chrid. He fird thought of lighting large fires,
and purifying the air with perfumes, to put a dop to
the pedilence that ravaged Athens, and which was at¬
tended with fuccefs. He wrote two treatifes, accord¬
ing to Suidas, in the Doric dialefl 5 the one on phyfic,
and the other on abdinence or diet.
AcroN, in Geography, a territory on the Gold coad
of Guinea, in Africa, bordering on the Fantynean
country. The Dutch have a fort here called Fort Pa¬
tience j and under it is a village, inhabited only by
fidiermen. The other inhabitants are addiided to huf-
bandry, and fell their corn to other countries. There
is plenty of game, which is very commodious for the
Dutch faftory. The people are very ignorant, and go
naked like the red of the negroes. This is called Lit¬
tle Acron •, for Great Acron is farther inland, and is
a kind of a republic.
ACRONICAL, Achronycal, or Achronical,
in AJlronomy, is a term applied to the rifing of a dar,
when the fun is fet in the evening j but has been pro-
mifeuoufly ufed to exprefs a dar’s rifing at funfet, or
fetting at funrife.
ACRONIUS lacus (Mela) j a fmall lake formed
by the Rhine, foon after its rife out of the Alps, and
after
#
A C R
[ 16
Acronius after paffing the greater lake at Conftance, called Ve-
1! nelus, and now the Bodengee, or lake of Conftance.
Acroftoli- ACROPOLIS, in Ancient Geography, the citadel,
. an(l one of the divifions of Athens *, called Polis, becaufe
, conftituting the firft and original city j and the Upper
Polis, to ditiinguilh it from the lower, which was af¬
terwards built round it in a large open plain, the Acro¬
polis Handing on a rock or eminence in the heart of
this plain •, and hence its name : To the north it had a
wall built by the Pelafgi, and therefore called Pelafgic ;
and to the fouth a wall, by Cimon the fon of Miltiades,
out of the Perfian fpoils, many ages after the building
of the north wall. It had nine gates, and was there¬
fore called Enneapylon; yet but one principal gate or
entrance, the afcent to which was by a flight of fteps
of white marble, built in a magnificent manner by Pe¬
ricles, (Plutarch). . .
ACROPOLITA, George, one of the writers in
the Byzantine hiftory, was born at Conftantinople, in
the year 1220, and educated at the court of the em¬
peror John Ducas at Nice. He was employed in the
xnoft important affairs of the empire ; being fent am-
baffador to Lariffa, to eftablilh a peace with Michael
of Epirus; and was conftituted judge to try Michael
Comnenus, who was fufipefted of engaging in a con-
fpiracy. Theodorus Lafcaris, the fon of John, whom
he had taught logic, appointed him governor of all the
weftern provinces in his empire. In l 255, he was taken
prifoner in a war with Michael Angelus; but gaining
his liberty in 1260, by means of the emperor Palaeo-
logus, he was fent by him ambaffador to Conftantme
prince of Bulgaria ; and was employed in feveral other
negotiations. He wrote, A Continuation of the Greeic
Hiftory, from the taking of Conftantinople by the La¬
tins till it was recovered by Michael Palaeologus in
1261, which makes part of the Byzantine hiftory ; A
Treatife concerning Faith, Virtue, and the Soul; An
Expofition of the Sermons of St Gregory Nazianzen,
and other pieces. Gregory Cyprian, patriarch of Con¬
ftantinople, in his encomium upon him, prefixed to
Acropolita’s hiftory, is perhaps fomewhat extravagant
in his praife, when he fays he was equal to Anftotle
in philofophy, and to Plato in the knowledge of divine
things and Attic eloquence.
ACROSPIRE, a vulgar term for what botanifts call
Pas plumes. .
ACROSPIRED, in malt-making, is the grains'
(hooting both at the root and blade end.
ACROSTIC, in Poetry, a kind of poetical compo-
fition difpofed in fuch a manner, that the initial let¬
ters of the verfes form the name of fome perfon, king¬
dom, place, motto, &c. The word is compounded
of the Greek extremity, and verfe. The
acroftic is confidered by the critics as a fpecies of falte
wit, and is therefore very little regarded by the mo¬
derns.
ACROSTICHUM, Rustyback, Wall-rue, or
Fork-fern. See Botany Index.
ACROSTOLIUM, in ancient naval architeaure,
the extreme part of the ornament ufed on the prows
of (hips, which was fometimes in the ftiape of a buckler,
helmet, animal, &c. but more frequently circular, or
fpiral. It was ufual to tear them from the prows 01
vanquilhed veffels, and fix them to the conquerors, as a
5 3 act
fignal of viaory. They were frequently reprefented on A"“"0-
the reverfe of ancient medals. _ |j
ACROTELEUTIC, among ecclefiaftic writers, an A(ft>
appellation given to any thing added to the end of a
pfalm ; as the Gloria Patri, or Doxology.
ACROTERI, in Geography, a fmall town in the
ifland of Santorin. N. Lat. 36. 25. E. Long. 26. 1.
ACROTERIA, in ArchiteElure, fmall pedestals,
ufualiy without bafes, anciently placed at the middle
or two extremes of pediments or frontifpieces, ferving
to fupport the ftatues, &c. It alfo fignifies the figures
placed as ornaments on the tops of churches, and the
ftiarp pinnacles that ftand in ranges about flat buildings
with rails and balufters.
Among ancient phyficians, it fignified the larger ex¬
tremities of the body, as the head, hands, and feet. t
has alfo been ufed for the tips of the fingers, and fome¬
times for the eminences or proceffes of bones.
ACROTHYMION, from **£«?, extreme, and tvpoi,
thyme. A fort of wart defcribed by Celfus as hard and
rough, with a narrow bafis and broad to|>; the top is
of the colour of thyme ; it eafily fplits and bleeds. This
tumour is alfo called thymus.
ACT, in general, denotes the exertion ot power ;
and differs from power, as the effeft from the caufe.
Act, in Logic, is particularly underftood of an ope¬
ration of the human mind. Thus to difcern and exa-
are afts of the underftanding ; to judge and af
firm, are a&s of the will. There are voluntary and
fpontaneous afts; the former are produced by the
operation of the foul, the latter without its privity or
participation. # . . ,
Act, in the univerfities, fignifies a thefis maintained
in public by a candidate for a degree; or to fhow the
capacity and proficiency of a ftudent. The candidates
for a degree of bachelor and mafter of arts are to hold
philofophical aas ; and thofe for bachelor of divinity,
theological afts, &c. At Oxford, the time when ma-
fters or dodors complete their degrees, is alfo called the
a&; which is held with great folemnity. At Cam¬
bridge, they call it the commencement.
AcT of Faith, Auto da Fe, in the Romifti church,
is a folemn day held by the inquifition, for the pumfli-
ment of heretics, and the abfolution of the innocent
accufed *. They ufualiy contrive the Auto to fall on * See /«-
fome great feftival, that the execution may pafs with quifition.
the more awe and regard; at lead it is always on a
ThJ Auto da Fe may be called the laft ad of the
inquifitorial tragedy ; it'is a kind of gaol-delivery, ap¬
pointed as oft as a competent number of pnfoners in
the inquifition are convided of herefy, either by their
own voluntary or extorted confeflion, or on the evi¬
dence of certain witneffes. The procefs is thus : In the
morning they are brought into a great hall, where
they have certain habits put on, which they are to wear
in the proceffion. The proceflion is led up by Domi¬
nican friars; after which come the penitents, fome with
fan benitoes, and fome without, according to the na¬
ture of their crimes; being all in black coats without
fleeves, and barefooted, with a wax candle in their
hands. Thefe are followed by the penitents who have
narrowly efcaped being burnt, who over their black
coats have flames painted with their points turned down-
wards,-.
n
ACT [ 166 ] ACT
Act. ■wards, Fuego revo/to. Next come the negative and
“’V—relapfed, who are to be burnt, having flames on their
habits pointing upwards. After thefe come fuch as pro-
fefs dodlrines contrary to the faith of Rome, who, be-
fides flames pointing upwards, have their picture paint¬
ed on their breafts, with dogs, ferpents, and devils, all
open-mouthed, about it. Each prifoner is attended
Avith a familiar of the inquifition j and thofe to be burnt
have alfo a Jefuit on each hand, who are continually
preaching to them to abjure. After the prifoners comes
a troop of familiars on horfeback j and after them the
inquifitors, and other officers of the court, on mules;
laft of all, the inquifitor-general on a Avhite horfe, led
by two men with black hats and green hat-bands. A
fcaffold is ere&ed in the Terriero de Paco, big enough
for two or three thoufand people ; at one end of which
are the prifoners, at the other the inquilitors. After
a fermon made up of encomiums of the inquifltion, and
inveftives againft heretics, a priefl: afcends a defk near
the middle of the fcaffold, and having taken the abjura¬
tion of the penitents, recites the final fentence of thofe
Avho are to be put to death ; and delivers them to the
fecular arm, earneftly befeeching at the fame time the
fecular power not to touch their blood, or put their
lives in danger. The prifoners being thus in the hands
of the civil magiftrate, are prefently loaded Avith chains,
and carried firfi: to the fecular gaol, and from thence in
an hour or two brought before the civil judge j who,
after alking in Avhat religion they intend to die, pro¬
nounces fentence, on fuch as declare they die in the
communion of the church of Rome, that they {hall be
firft ftrangled, and then burnt to aflies; on fuch as die
in any other faith, that they be burnt alive. Both are
immediately carried to the Ribera, the place of execu¬
tion ; Avhere there are as many flakes fet up as there are
prifoners to be burnt, Avith a quantity of dry furze
about them. The flakes of the profeffed, that is, fuch
as perfift in their herefy, are about four yards high,
having a fmall board toAvards the top for the prifoner
to be feated on. The negative and relapfed being firft
ftrangled and burnt, the profeffed mount their flakes
by a ladder ; and the Jefuits, after feveral repeated ex¬
hortations to be reconciled to the church, part Avith
them, telling them they leave them to the devil, Avho
is {landing at their elboAV to receive their fouls, and
carry them with him into the flames of hell. On this
a great ftiout is raifed •, and the cry is, Let the dogs
beards be made; Avhich is done by thrufting flaming
furzes fattened to long poles againft their faces, till
their faces are burnt to a coal, Avhich is accompanied
with the loudeft acclamations of joy. At laft, fire is fet
to the furze at the bottom of the flake, over Avhich the
profeffed are chained fo high, that the top of the flame
feldom reaches higher than the feat they fit on ; fo that
they rather feem roafted than burnt. There cannot
be a more lamentable fpedlacle j the fufferers conti¬
nually cry out, while they are able, Mifericordia per
amor de Dios, “ Pity for the love of God !” yet it is
beheld by all fexes and ages Avith tranfports of joy and
fatisfaftion.
Act, in dramatic poetry, fignifies a certain divifion
or part of a play, defigned to give fome refpite both
to the adlors and fpeftators. The Romans Avere the
firft who divided their theatrical pieces into afts 5 for
•no fuch divifions appear in the Avorks of the firft dra¬
matic poets. Their pieces indeed confifted of feveral Ad,
parts or divifions, which they called protajis, epitajis,, A '
catajiajis, and catajlrophe ; but thefe divifions were not
marked by any real interruptions in the theatre. Nor
does Ariftotle mention any thing of adls in his Art of
Poetry. But, in the time of Horace, all regular and
finiffied pieces were divided into five afts.
Neve minor, nea Jit quinto produElior a flu
Tabula, quce pofci vult, et fpeflata reponi.
If you Avould have your play deferve fuccefs,
Give it five afts complete, nor more nor lefs.
Francis.
The firft aft, according to fome critics, befides in¬
troducing upon the ftage the principal charafters of the
play, ought to propofe the argument or fubjeft of the
piece ; the fecond, to exhibit this to the audience, by
carrying the fable into execution 5 the third, to raile ob-
ftacles and difficulties ; the fourth, to remove thefe, or
raife new ones in the attempt 5 and the fifth, to con¬
clude the piece, by introducing fome accident that may
unravel the whole affair. This divifion, however, is
not effentially neceffary ; but may be varied according
to the humour of the author, or the nature of the fub¬
jeft. See Poetry.
Act of Grace. See Grace.
Act, among laAvyers, is an inftrument in Avriting
for declaring or juftifying the truth of any thing. In
Avhich fenfe, records, decrees, fentences, reports, certifi¬
cates, &c. are called afls.
Acts alfo denote the deliberations and refolutions of
an affembly, fenate, or convention j as afts of parlia- .
ment, &c. Likewife matters of faft tranfmitted to
pofterity in certain authentic books and memoirs.
Acta Confjlorii, the edifts or declarations of the
council of ftate of the emperors. Thefe edifts Avere
generally expreffed in fuch terms as thefe : “ the au-
guft emperors, Dioclefan and Maximin, in council de¬
clared, That the children of decurions ffiould not be
expofed to Avild beafts in the amphitheatre.”
The fenate and foldiers often fAvore, either through
abjeft flattery or by compulfion, upon the edifts of the
emperor, as Ave do upon the Bible. And the name of
Apidius Merula Avas erafed by Nero out of the regifter
of fenators, becaufe he refufed to fwear upon the edifts
of the emperor Auguftus.
Acta Diurna, was a fort of Roman gazette, contain¬
ing an authorized narrative of the tranfaftions worthy
of notice which happened at Rome. Petronius has gi¬
ven us a fpecimen of the afla diurna in his account of
Trimalchis ; and as it may not perhaps be unentertain¬
ing to fee hoAV exaftly a Roman neAvfpaper runs in the
ftyle of an Englifti one, the folloAving is an article or
two out of it:
“ On the 26th of July, 30 boys and 40 girls were
born at Trimalchi’s eftate at Cuma.
“ At the fame time a Have Avas put to death for ut¬
tering difrefpeftful Avords againft his lord.
“ The fame day a fire broke out in Pompey’s gar¬
dens, which began in the night, in the fteward’s apart¬
ment.”
ACTA Populi, among the Romans, were journals or
regifters of the daily occurrences j as affemblies, trials,
executions, buildings, births, marriages, deaths, &c.
of
ACT [ 167 ] • ACT
A&s. oi illuftrious perfons, and the like. T hefe were other-
—\r—^ wife called ABa Publica and ABa Diurna, or limply
ABa. The Acta differed from Annals, in that only
the greater and more important matters were in the
latter, and thofe of lefs note were in the former. Their
origin is attributed to Julius Caefar, who firft ordered
the keeping and making public the atts of the people.
Some trace them higher, to Servius Tullius ; who, to
difcover the number of perfons born, dead, and alive,
ordered that the next of kin, upon a birth, fhould put
a certain piece of money into the treafury of Juno Lu-
cina 5 upon a death, into that of Venus Libitina : the
like was alfo to be done upon affuming the toga, virilis,
&c. Under Marcus Antoninus, this was carried fur¬
ther : perfons were obliged to notify the births of their
children, with their names and furnames, the day, con-
ful, and whether legitimate or fpurious, to the prefers
of the JKrarium Saturni, to be entered in the public
a&s 5 though before this time the births of perfons of
quality appear thus to have been regiftered.
ACTA Senatus, among the Romans, were minutes
of what paffed and was debated in the fenate houfe.
Thefe were alfo called Commentarii, and by a Greek
name 1 hey had their origin in the con-
fulihip of Julius Csefar, who ordered them both to be
kept and publiihed. The keeping them was continued
under Auguftus, but the publication was abrogated.
Afterwards all writings, relating to the decrees or fen-
tences of the judges, or what paffed and was done be¬
fore them, or by their authority, in any caufe, were
alfo called by the name ABa : In which fenfe we read
of civil a£ls, criminal a£ts, intervenient a£ts 5 aBa ci-
'uilia^ criminaha, intervenientia, iss'c.
Public Acts. The knowledge of public afts forms
part of a peculiar fcience, called the Diplomatic,
of great importance to a hifforian, ftatelman, chro-
nologer, and even critic. T he prefervation of them
was the firft occafion of ere£ting libraries. 1 he ftyle
of a£ts is generally barbarous Latin. Authors are di¬
vided as to the rules of judging of their genuinenefs,
and even whether there be any certain rules at all. F..
Germon will have the greater part of the a£ts of former
ages to be fpurious. Fontanini afferts, that the num¬
ber of forged a£ts now extant, is very fmall. It is cer¬
tain there were fevere puniftiments inflidted on the for¬
gers and falfifiers of adls.-:— I he chief of the Englilh
adts, or public records, are publiftied by Rymer, under
the title of Fcedera, and continued by Saunderfon ; an
extradt whereof has been given in French by Rapin, and
tranflated into Englifh under the title of ABa Regia.
Great commendations have been given this work : alfo
fome exceptions made to it} as that there are many fpu¬
rious adts, as well as errors, in it} fome have even char¬
ged it with falfifications—1 he public adts of France
fell into the hands of the Englifh after the battle, of
Poidtiers, and are commonly faid to have been carried
by them out of the country. But the tradition is not
fupported by any fufficient teftimony.
ACTS of the Apojlles, one of the facred books of the
New Teftament, containing the hiftory of the infant
church, during the fpace of 29 or 30 years from the
afcenfion of our Lord to the year of Chrift 63.—It was
written by St Luke} and addreffed to Theophilus, the
perfon to whom the evangelift had before dedicated his
Gofpel. We here find the accomplifhment of feveral of
the promifes made by our Saviour ; his afcenfion ; the |
defcent of the Holy Ghoft ; the firft preaching of the v
apoftles, and the miracles whereby their dodtrines were
confirmed ; an admirable pidfure of the manners of the
primitive Chriftians ; and, in fhort, every thing that
paffed in the church till the difperfion of the apoftles,
Avho feparated themfelves in order to propagate the
gofpel throughout the world. From the period of that
feparation, St Luke quits the hiftory of the other apo-
ftles, who were then at too great a diftance from him,
and confines himfelf more particularly to that of St
Paul, who had chofen him for the companion of his
labours. He follows that apoftle in all his miffions,
and even to Rome itfelf; for it appears that the Adis
were publiftied in the fecond year of St Paul’s refidence
in that city, or the 36th year of the Chriftian era, and
in the 9th or 10th year of Nero’s reign. The ftyle of
this work, which was originally compofed in Greek, is
much purer than that of the other canonical writers j
and it is obfervable, that St Luke, who was much better
acquainted with the Greek than with the Hebrew lan¬
guage, always, in his quotations from the Old Tefta¬
ment, makes ufe of the Septuagint verfion. The coun¬
cil of Laodicea places the Adis of the Apoftles among
the canonical books, and all the churches have acknow¬
ledged it as fuch without any controverfy.
There were feveral Spurious Acts of the Apo¬
stles ; particularly, 1. ABs, fuppofed to be written
by Abdias *, the pretended biftiop of Babylon, who * See Ah-
gave out that he was ordained biftiop by the apoftles dias.
themfelves when they were upon their journey into
Perfia. 2. The ABs of St Peter: this book came o-
riginally from the fchool of the Ebionites. 3. The
ABs of St Paul; which is entirely loft. Eufebius, who
had feen it, pronounces it of no authority. 4. 1 he
ABs of St John the Evangeli/l; a book made ufe of by
the Encratites, Manichaeans, and Prifcillianifts. 5. The
ABs of St Andrew; received by the Manichseans, En¬
cratites, and Apotadlics. 6. The ABs of St Thomas
the Apojlle; received particularly by the Manichaeans.
7. The ABs of St Philip. This book the Gnoftics
made ufe of. 8. The ABs of St Matthias. Some
have imagined that the Jews for a long time had con¬
cealed the original adts of the life and death of St Mat¬
thias written in Hebrew, and that a monk of the ab¬
bey of St Matthias at Treves, having got them out of
their hands, procured them to be tranfiated into Latin,
and publiflied them ; but the critics will not allow them
to be authentic.
Acts of Pilate ; a relation fent by Pilate to the em¬
peror Tiberius, concerning Jefus Chrift, his death, re-
furredlion, afcenfion, and the crimes of which he was
convidled before him f. It was a cuftom among the j £^3^
Romans, that the proconfuls and governors of provin- Hift.Ecclef
ces ftiould draw up adls, or memoirs, of what happenedllb- .caP-
in the courfe of their government, and fend them to the 2' an 1X’
emperor and fenate. The genuine aBs of Pilate were
fent by him to Tiberius, who reported them to the fe¬
nate ; but they were rejedled by that affembly, becaufe
not immediately addreffed to them : as is teftified by
Tertullian, in his Ap°l- cap. and 20, 21. I he
heretics forged adls in imitation of them : in the reign
of the emperor Maximin, the Gentiles, to throw, an
odium on the Chriftian name, Ipread about fpurious
Adls of Pilate ; which the emperor, by a folemn edidl,
ordered
ACT
[
Act
il
Actio.
Hol
ordered to be Tent into all the provinces of the empire,
and enjoined the fchoolmafters to teach and explain
them to their fcholars, and make them learn them by
v heart. Thefe afts, both the genuine and the fpurious,
are loft. There is indeed extant, in the Pfeudo-Hege-
fippus, a letter from Pilate to the emperor Claudius,
* Ca-'e Hi ft concerning Jefus Chrift * j but it difcovers itfelf at
Literar. ^ hrft fight not to be authentic.
Scec. Apo- Ad' of 'Parliament is a pofitive law, confiding of
two parts, the words of the a£t, and its true fenfe and
meaning', which being joined, make the law. 1 he
words of adds of parliament ftiould be taken in a lawful
fenfe. Cafes of the fame nature are within the inten¬
tion, though without the letter, of the act: and fome
a£ts extend by equity to things not mentioned therein.
See Parliament.
ACTiE, were meadows of remarkable verdure and
luxuriancy near the fea-ftiore, where the Romans ufed
to indulge themfelves to a great degree in loftnefs and
delicacy of living. The word is ufed in this fenfe by
Cicero and Virgil ; but Voflius thinks it can only be
ufed in fpeaking of Sicily, as thefe two authors did.
ACT ALA, PIerb-christopher, or Bane-berries:
See Botany Index.
ACTALON, in fabulous hiftory, the fon of Ariftaeus
and Autonoe : a great hunter. He was transformed by
Diana into a flag, becaufe he looked on her while bath¬
ing *, and was devoured by his own dogs. The effedts
of impertinent curiofity and cxpenfive pleafures feem
to be the moral of the fable.
ACTANIA, an ifiand, according to Pliny, in the
North fea. It lies to the weft of Holftein and Dit-
merfch, not far from the mouth of the Eyder and Elbe,
and is now called Heyligland.
ACTE. See Sambucus.
ACTIAN GAMES, in Roman antiquity, were fo-
lemn games inftituted by Auguftus, in memory of his
vidlory over Mark Antony at Adtium, held every fifth
year, and celebrated in honour of Apollo, fince called
ABius. Hence ABian Years, an era commencing from
the battle of Adtium, called the Era of Auguf us.
Virgil infinuates them to have been inftituted by
/Eneas ; from that paflage, ALn. III. v. 280.
ABiaque Iliads celebramus littora ludis.
ALn. III. 280.
But this he only does by way of compliment to Au¬
guftus : attributing that to the hero from whom he
defcended, which was done by the emperor himfelf; as
is obferved by Servius.
ACTINIA, in Zoology, a genus belonging to the
order of Vermes mollufca, called Animal Flowers, and
Sea Anemonies. See Vermes.
ACTING LITE, in Mineralogy. SeeMlNERALOGY
Index.
ACTIO, in Roman antiquities, an adtion at law in
a court of juftice. The formalities ufed by the Romans,
in judicial adlions, were thefe : If the difference failed
to be made up by friends, the injured perfon proceeded
in jus ream vocare, to fummon the offending party to
the court, who was obliged to go, or give bond for his
appearance.
The offending party might be fummoned into court
viva voce, by the plaintiff hirnfelf meeting the defend¬
ant, declaring his intention to him, and commanding
168 ] ACT
him to go before the magiftrate and make his defence.
If he would not go willingly, he might drag and force
him along, unlefs he gave fecurity for his appearance
on fome appointed day. If he failed to appear on the
day agreed on, then the plaintiff, whenfoever he met
him, might take him along with him by force, calling
any by-ftanders to bear witnefs, by alking them vifne
antejlari ? the by-ftanders upon this turned their ear to¬
ward him in token of their confent: To this Horace
alludes in his fatire again ft the impertinent, Lib. i.
Sat. 9. See this further explained under the article
Antestari.
Both parties being met before the praetor, or other
fupreme magiftrate prefiding in the court, the plaintiff
propofed the adtion to the defendant, in which he de-
figned to profecute him. This they ierxned. edere ac¬
tionem; and was commonly performed by writing it in
a tablet, and offering it to the defendant, that he might
fee whether he had better ftand the fuit or com¬
pound.
In the next place came the pojlulatio aBionis, or the
plaintiff’s petition to the praetor, for leave to profecute
the defendant in fuch an a&ion. The petition was
granted by writing at the bottom of it aBionem do, or
refufed by writing in the fame manner aBionem non
do.
The petition being granted, the plaintiff vadabatur
ream, i. e. obliged him to give fureties for his appear¬
ance on fuch a day in the court; and this was all that
was done in public, before the day fixed upon for the
trial.
In the mean time, the difference was often made up,
either tranfaBione, by letting the caufe fall as dubious j
or paBione, by compofition for damages amongft
friends.
On the day appointed for hearing, the preetor or¬
dered the feveral bills to be read, and the parties fum¬
moned by an accenfus, or beadle. See AccENSI.
Upon the nonappearance of either party, the de¬
faulter loft his caufe : if they both' appeared, they
were faid fe Jletiffe ; and then the plaintiff proceeded
litem Jive aBionem intendere, i. e. to prefer his fuit,
which was done in afet form of words, varying accord¬
ing to the difference of the a£tions. After this the
plaintiff defired judgment of the praetor, that is, to be
allowed a judex or arbiter, elfe the recuperatores or cen-
tumviri. Thefe he requefted for the hearing and decid¬
ing the bufinefs : but none of them could be defired
but by the confent of both parties.
The praetor having afligned them their judges, de¬
fined and determined the number of witneffes to be ad¬
mitted, to hinder the protra&ing of the fuit; and
then the parties proceeded to give their caution, that
the judgment, whatever it was, fhould ftand and be
performed on both fides. The judges took a folemn
oath to be impartial: and the parties took the jura-
mentum calumnies. Then the trial began with the af-
fiftance of witneffes, writings, &c. which was called
difceptatio caufe.
ACTION, in a general fenfe, implies nearly the
fame thing with Act.—Grammarians, however, ob-
ferve fome diftinftion between aBion and aB ; the for¬
mer being generally reftri&ed to the common or ordi¬
nary tranfaclions, whereas the latter is ufed to exprefs
thofe which are remarkable. Thus, we fay it is a good
aBion
Aiftio,
Adtion.
ACT [i
Adtton. action to comfort the unhappy ; it is a generous act to
«—-y• deprive ourfelves of what is neceffary tor their lake.
The wife man propofes to himielf an honeft end in all
his -aftions *, a prince ought to mark every day of his
life with fome aft of greatnefs. The abbe Girard
makes a further diftinftmn between the words action
and aB. The former, according to him, has more re¬
lation to the power that afts than the latter*, whereas
the latter has more relation to the effeft produced than
the former : and hence the one is properly the attribute
of the other. Thus we may properly fay, “ Be fure to
preferve a prefence of mind in all your aftions j and
take care that they be all afts of equity.”
Action', in Mechanics, implies either the effort
which a body or power makes againft another body or
power, or the elfeft itfelf of that effort.
As it is neceffary, in works of this kind, to have a
particular regard to the common language of mecha¬
nics and philofophers, we have given this double defi¬
nition ; but the proper fignification of the term is the
motion which a body really produces, or tends to pro¬
duce, in another j that is, fuch is the motion it would
have produced, had nothing hindered its effeft.
All power is nothing more than a body aftually in
motion, or which tends to move itfelf 5 that is, a body
which would move itfelf if nothing oppofed it. The
aftion therefore of a body is rendered evident to us by
its motion only j and confequently we mult not fix any
other idea to the word aftion, than that of aftual mo¬
tion, or a fimple tendency to motion, ihe famous
queftion relating to vis viva and vis mortua, owes, in
all probability, its exiftence to an inadequate idea of
the word aftion : for had Leibnitz and his followers
obferved, that the only precife and diftinft idea we can
give to the word force or aftion, reduces it to its ef¬
feft, that is, to the motion it aftually produces or tends
to produce, they would never have made that curious
diftinftion.
Quantity of ACTION, a name given by M. de Mau-
pertuis, in the Memoirs of the Parifian Academy of
Sciences for 1744, and thofe of Berlin for I74^»
produft of the mafs of a body by the fpace which it
runs through, and by its celerity. He lays it down as
a general law, “ that, in the changes made in the ftate
“ of a body, the quantity of aftion neceffary to pro-
** duce fuch change, is the leaf! poffible.” i his prin¬
ciple he applies to the inveftigation of the laws of re-
fraftion, of equilibrium, &c. and even to the ways of
afting employed by the Supreme Being. In this man¬
ner M. de Maupertuis attempts to conneft the meta-
phyfics of final caufes rvith the fundamental truths of
mechanics, to fhow the dependence of the collifion of
both elaflic and hard bodies upon one and the fame law,
which before had always been referred to feparatelaws;
and to reduce the laws of motion, and thofe of equili¬
brium, to one and the fame principle.
Action, in Ethics, denotes the external figns or
expreflions of the fentiments of a moral agent. See
ACTIVE Power, infra.
Action, in Poetry, the fame with fubjeft or fable.
Critics generally diftinguifh two kinds, the principal
and the incidental. The principal aftion is what is ge¬
nerally called the fable ; and the incidental an epifode.
See Poetry.
Action, in Oratory, is the outward deportment of
Yol. I. Part I.
69 ] a c r
the orator, or the accommodation of his countenance,
voice, and geflure, to the fubjeft of which he is treat¬
ing. See Oratory.
Action, in a theatrical fenfe. See Declama¬
tion.
Action for the Pulpit. See Declamation
Action, in Painting and Sculpture, is the attitude
or pofition of the feveral parts of the face, body, and
limbs, of fuch figures as are reprefented, and whereby
they feem to be really aftuated by paflions. Thus we
fay, the aftion of fuch a figure finely expreffes the paf-
fions with which it is agitated j we alio ufe the fame
expreffion with regard to animals.
Action, in Phyfiology, is applied to the funftions of
the body, whether vital, animal, or natural.
The vital funftions, or aftions, are thofe which are
abfolutely neceffary to life, and without which there is
no life : as the aftion of the heart, lungs, and arteries.
On the aftion and reaftion of the folids and fluids on
each other, depend the vital funftions. The pulfe and
refpiration are the external figns of life. Vital difeafes
are all thofe which hinder the influx of the venous blood
into the cavities of the heart, and the expulfion of the
arterial blood from the fame.—The natural funftions
are thofe which are inflrumental in repairing the feye-
ral Ioffes which the body fuftains ; for life is deflruftive
of itfelf, its very offices occafioning a perpetual wafte.
The manducation of food, the deglutition and digeftion
thereof, alfo the feparation and diftribution of the chyle
and excrementitious parts, &c. are under the head o£
natural funftions, as by thefe our aliment is converted
into our nature. They are neceffary to the continuance
of our bodies.—The animal funftions are thofe which
we perform at will, as mufeular motion, and all the
voluntary aftions of the body : they are thofe which-
conftitute the fenfes of touch, tafte, fmell, fight, hear-
ing, perception, reafoning, imagination, memory, judge¬
ment, affeftions of the mind. Without any or all of
them, a man may live, but not fo comfortably as with
them.
Action, in Commerce, is a term ufed abroad for a
certain part or (hare of a public company’s capital
ftock. Thus, if a company has 400,000 livres capital
ftock, this may be divided into 400 aftions, each con-
fifting of 1000 livres. Hence a man is faid to have two,
four, &c. aftions, according as he has the property of
two, four, &c. IOOO livres capital ftock. The trans¬
ferring of aftions abroad is performed much in the fame
manner as flocks are with us. See Stocks.
Action, in Law, is a demand made before a judge
for obtaining what we are legally entitled to demand,
and is more commonly known by the name of lawfuit
or procefs. See Suit.
ACTIONARY, or Actionist, a proprietor of
ftock in a trading company.
ACTIONS, among merchants, fometimes fignify
moveable effefts ; and we fay the merchant’s creditors
have feized on all his aftions, when we mean that they
have taken poffeflion of all his aftive debts.
ACTIVE, denotes fomething that communicates
aftion or motion to another 5 in which acceptation it
Hands oppofed to paffive.
Active, in Grammar, is applied to fuch words as
exprefs aftion } and is therefore oppofed to paffive. The
aftive performs the aftion, as the paffive receives it.
Y Thus.
A ft ion
II
Aiftive.
Active
H.
Adtion.
ACT [ 17°
Tims we fay, a verb aBive, a conjugation aBive, &c.
or an aBive participle.
^ ACTIVE Verbs, are fuch as do not only figmfy doing,
or adting, but have alfo nouns following them, to be
the fubjedt of the adlion or impreflion : Thus, To love,
to teach, are verbs aBive ; becaufe we can fay, To love
a thing, to teach a man. Neuter verbs alfo denote an
adlion, but are diftinguilhed from adtive verbs, in that
they cannot have a noun following them : fuch are,
To bleep, to go, &c. Some grammarians, however, make
three kinds of adive verbs : the tranjitive, where the
aftion paffes into a fubjedt different from the agent •,
refieBed, where the aftion returns upon the agent; and
reciprocal, wrhere the adhon turns mutually upon the
two agents who produced it.
ACTIVE Power, in Metaphysics, the power of exe¬
cuting any work or labour in contradiftindlion. \.o fpe
* Dr Reid dilative powers *, or the powers of feeing, hearing, re-
on the Ac- membering, judging, reafoning, &c.
tive Powers eXertion of adfive power we call aBion ; and as
of Man, every aftion produces fome change, fo every change
f' I2‘ muff be caufed by fome effeft, or by the ceffation of
fome exertion of power. _ That which produces a
change by the exertion of its power we call the cauje
of that change; and the change produced, the effeB
of that caufe. See Metaphysics.
ACTIVE Principles, in Chemijlry, fuch as are fuppo-
fed to adt without any afliflance from others ; as mer¬
] ACT
ACTOR, in general, fignifies a perfon who adb or
performs fomething.
Actor, among civilians, the prodlor or advocate
in civil courts or caufes } as, AlBor ecclefice has been
fometimes ufed for the advocate of the church } aBot
dominicus for the lord’s attorney ; aBor vilhe, the
Reward or head bailiff of a village.
Actor, in the drama, is a perfon who reprefents
fome part or charadfer in the theatre. J he drama
confifled originally of nothing more than a Ample cho¬
rus, who fung hymns in honour of Bacchus j fo that
the primitive aftors were only fingers and rnuficians.
Thefpis was the firft that, in order to eafe this un¬
formed chorus, introduced a declaimer, who repeated
fome heroic or comic adventure. ALfchylus, finding
a fingle perfon tirefome, attempted to introduce a fe-
cond, and changed the ancient recitals into dialogues.
He alfo dreffed his aftors in a more majeflic manner,
and introduced the cothurnus or bufkin. Sophocles
added a third, in order to reprefent the various inci¬
dents in a more natural manner : and here the Greeks
flopped, at leaft we do not find in any of their tra¬
gedies above three perfons in the fame fcene. Perhaps
they looked upon it as a rule of the dramatic poem
never to admit more than three fpeakers at a time on
the flage j a rule which Horace has expreffcd in ths
following verfe :
TUer nunrtn. Innui verCona laboret.
Aftor,
Adtorum
cury, fulphur, &c.
ACTIVITY, in general, denotes the power of act¬
ing, or the aftive faculty. See Active..
Sphere of ACTIVITY, the whole fpaoe m which the
virtue, power, or influence, of any objeft is exerted.
ACTIUM, in Ancient Geography, a town fituated
on the coaft of Acarnania, in itfelf inconfiderable, but
famous for a temple of Apollo, a fafe harbour, and an
adjoining promontory of the fame name, in the mouth
of the Sinus Ambracius, over againft Nicopolis, on
the other fide of the bay : it afterwards became more
famous on account of Auguflus’s viftory over Antony
and Cleopatra ; and for quinquennial games infiituted
there, called ABia or Ludi ABiaci. Hence the epi¬
thet ABius, given to Apollo (Virgil). Athaca err a, a
computation of time from the battle of Aftium. Ihe
promontory is now called Capo di Figalo. The medals
of A&ium were filver, gold and bronze j and the ordi-
nary type is a flying pegafus. p . r
ACTIUS, in mythology, a furname of Apollo, trom
Aftium, where he was worfhipped.
ACTON, a town near London, where is a well that
affords a purging water, which is noted for the pun¬
gency of its fait. This water is whitilh 5 to the talle
ft is fweetilh, with a mixture of the fame bitter which
Is in the Epfom water. The fait of this water is not
quite fo foft as. that of Epfom ; and is more calcareous
than it, having more of the fait of lime : for a.quarttity of
the Aflon water being boiled high, and mixed with a
folution of fublirnate in pure water, threw down a yel¬
low fediment. The fait of the Afton water is more
nitrous than that of Epfom *, it ftrikes a deep red, or
purple with the tinfture of logwood in brandy, as is
ufual with nitrous falls 5 it does not precipitate filver
out of the fpirit of nitre, as common fait does : I ^ lb.
of this water yields 48 grains of fait.
This, however did not prevent their increafing the
number of aftors in comedy. Before the opening of a
play, they named their aClors in full theatre, together
with the parts they were to perform. The ancient ac¬
tors were mafleed, and obliged to raife their voice ex¬
tremely, in order to make themfelves heard by the innu¬
merable crowd of people who filled the amphitheatres .
they were accompanied with a player on the flute,
who played a prelude, gave them the tone, and played
while they declaimed. Horace fpeaks of a kind of fe-
condary aftors in his time, whofe bufinefs was to imi¬
tate the firft ; and leffen themfelves, to become better
foils to their principals. ,
The moderns have introduced an infinite .number of
aftors upon the flage. This heightens the trouble and
diftrefs that ftiould reign there, and.makes a diverfity,
in which the fpeftator is fure to be interefted.
Aftors were highly honoured at Athens. At Rome
they were defpifed, and not only denied all rank among
the citizens, but even when any citizen appeared upon
the ftage, he was expelled his tribe, and deprived of the
right of fuffrage by cenfors. Cicero, indeed, efteems
the talents of Rofcius : but he values his virtues ftill
more ; virtues which diftinguifhed him fo remarkably
above all others of his profeffion, that they feemed to
have excluded him from the theatre. The French have,
in this refpeft, adopted the ideas of the Romans 5 and
the Englifh thofe of the Greeks.
Actor, the name of feveral perfons in fabulous hi-
ftory. One ABor among the Aurunci is deferibed by
Virgil as a hero of the firft rank. Ain. xii.
ACTORUM tabuete, in antiquity, were tables in-
ftituted by Servius Tullius, in which the.births of chil¬
dren were regiftered. They were kept in the treafury
of Saturn.
ACTRESS*
A <3 refs
II
Aftuarius.
ACT [i
ACTRESS, in a general fenfe, a female who afts
or performs fomething. „ , r
Actress, in the Drama, a female performer. Wo¬
men aftors were unknown to the ancients, among
whom men always performed the female charafterj
and hence one reafon for the ufe of malks among
^A&reffes are faid not to have been introduced on the
Enclilh ftage till after the reftoration of King Charles
II who has been charged with contributing to the
corrupting of our manners by importing this ulage
from abroad. But this can be but partly true : the
aueen of James I. afted'h' part in a paftoral-, and P/ynn,
in his Hiftriomaftix, fpeaks of women aftors in his
time as proftitutes-, which was one occafion of the ievere
profecution brought again ft him for that book.
There are fotne very agreeable and beautiful talents,
of which the poffeffion commands a certain fort of ad¬
miration : but of which the exercife for tne fake of
o-ain is cortftdered, whether from reafon or prejudice,
as a fort of public proftitution. The pecuniary recom-
oenfe, therefore, of thofe who exercife them in this
manner, muft be fufficient, not only to pay for the
time labour, and expence of acquiring the talents,
but for the difcredit which attends the employment of
them as the means of fubfiftence. The exorbitant re¬
wards of players, opera-fingers, opera-dancers, 6ic. arc
founded upon thefe two principles; the rarity and
beauty of the talents, and the difcredit of employing
them in this manner. It feems abfurd at firft fight
that we fhould defpife their perfons and yet reward
their talents with the moft profufe liberality. While
we do the one, however, we muft of necefiity do the
other. Should the public opinion or prejudice ever al¬
ter with regard to fuch occupations, their pecuniary re-
compenfe would quickly diminifh. More people would
apply to them, and the competition would quickly re¬
duce the price of their labour. Such talents, though
far from being common, are by no means fo rare as
is imagined. Many people poffefs them in great per-
feaion, who difdain to make this ufe of them j and
many more are capable of acquiring them, if any thing
could be made honourably by them.
ACTUAL, fomething that is real and efteChve or
that exifts truly and abfolutely. Thus philofophers
ufe the terms a'aual heat, aBuul cold, &c. in oppofi-
tion to virtual or potential. Hence, among phyficians,
a red hot iron, or fire, is called an aftual cautery,
in diftinaion from cauteries, or cauftics, that have
the power of producing the fame effha upon the ani¬
mal folids as aaual fire, and are called caute¬
ries. Boiling water is aaually hot •, brandy, produ¬
cing beat in the body, is potentially hot, though of it-
ACTUAL Sin, that which is committed by the perfon
himfelf •, in oppofition to original Jin, or that which he
'contraaed from being a child of Adam.
ACTUARIAL STAVES, a kind of long and light
(hips among the Romans, thus denominated, becauie
they were chiefly defigned for fwiftnefs and expedition.
They correfpond to what the French call brigantines.
ACTUARIUS, a celebrated Greek phyfician ot
the 13th century, and the firft Greek author w 10 la^
treated of mild purgatives, fuch as caflia, manna, iena,
&,c. He is the firft alfo who mentions diftuled waters.
71 1 A C U
His werks were printed in one volume folio, by Henry
Stephens in 1567. Acuna.
Actuarius, or Actarius, a notary or officer ap-1- v   
pointed to write the ads or proceedings of a court, or
the like. In the Eaftern empire, the aduani were pro¬
perly officers, who kept the military accounts, received,
the corn from the fufeeptores or ftorekeepers, and deli¬
vered it to the foldiers. . .
ACTUATE, to bring into ad, or put a thing in
adion. Thus an agent is faid, by the fchoolmen, to
aauate a power, when it produces an ad m a lubjett.
Thus the mind may be faid to aBuate the body *, and
thus a medicine is faid by feme ancient phyficians to
be aduated or brought into adion, when by means ot
the vital heat it is made to produce its efted.
ACTUS, in Ancient Architeaure, a mealure m
length equal to 120 Roman feet. In Ancient Agncu -
ture the word fignified the length of one furrow, or the
diftance a plough goes before it turns.
Acrm Minimus was a quantity of land 1 20 leet m
length, and four in breadth. . r j
Actus Major, or Aaus ^uadratus, a piece of ground
in a fquare form, whofe fide was equal to 120 feet,
equal to half the jugerum.
ACTUS Intervicinalis, a fpace of ground four teet m
breadth, left between the lands as a path or way.
ACUANITES, in Ecclejiajhcal Hi/lory, the lame
with thofe called more frequently Manichees. They
took the name from Acua, a difciple of Ihomas one
of the twelve apoftles. .
ACULEATE, or AcuLEATI, a term applied to
any plant or animal armed with prickles.
ACULEI, the prickles of animals or of plants. _
ACULER, in the Manege, is ufed for the motion
of a horfe, when, in working upon volts, he does not
00 far enough forward at every time or motion, io that
his (boulders embrace or take in too little ground, and
his croupe comes too near the centre of. the volt.
Horfes are naturally inclined to this fault m making
demi-volts. ...
ACUMINA, in Antiquity, a kind of military omen,
moft generally fuppofed to have been taken from the
points or edges of darts, fwords, or other weapons.
ACUNA, Christopher de, a Spamlh Jeluit, born
at Burgos. He was admitted into the fociety.m 1612,
being then but I ? years of age. After having devo¬
ted ffime years to ftudy, he went to America, where
he affifted in making converts m Chili and Peru. In
1640 he returned to Spain, and gave the king an ac¬
count how far he had fucceeded.in the comrmffion he
had received to make difeovenes on the river of the
Amazons •, and the year following he pubhffied a de~
feription of this river at Madrid. Acuna was lent to
Rome, as procurator of his province He returned to
Spain with the title of Qualificator of the Inquifition ;
but foon after embarked again for the W <?ft Indies,
and was at Lima in 1675, when Father Southwell
publilhed at Rome the Bibliotheque of the Jefiut wa¬
fers. Acuna’s work is entitled, Aetroo defeubnmento
del gran rio de las Amazonas; i. e. “A new dilcove-
ry of the great river of the Amazons. He was 10
months together upon this river, having had mftruc-
tions to inquire into every thing with the greateft ex-
aftnefs, that his majefty might thereby be enabled to
render the navigation more eafy and commodious. He
0 -y- ? went
AD [ i;
went aboard a fliip at Q^uito with Peter Texiera, who
had already been fo far up the river, and was there¬
fore thought a proper perfon to accompany him in this
expedition. They embarked in February 1639, but
did not arrive at Para till the December following.. It
is thought that the revolution of Portugal, by which
the Spaniards loft all Brazil, and the colony of Para at
the mouth of the river of the Amazons, were the caufe
that the relation of this Jefuit was fuppreffed; for, as
It could not be of any advantage to the Spaniards, they
were afraid it might prove of great fervice to the Por-
tuguefe. The copies of this work became extremely
fcarce, fo that the publiftiers of the French tranflation
at Paris afferted, that there was not one copy of the
original extant, excepting one in the poffeftion of the
tranftator, and perhaps that in the Vatican library.
M. de Gomberville was the author of this tranflation :
It was publilhed after his death, with a long diflerta-
tion. An account of the original may be feen in the
Paris Journal, in that of Leipfic, and in Cheverau’s
.Hiftory of the World.
ACUPUNCTUHE, the name of a furgical opera¬
tion among the Chinefe and Japanefe, which is per¬
formed by pricking the part affefted with a filver needle.
They employ this operation in headachs, lethargies,
convulfions, colics, &c.
AC US, in Ichthyology, the trivial name of a fpecies
of fyngnathus. See Syngnathus.
ACUSIO COLONIA, now Ancone, according to
Holftenius, between Orange and Valence, near Mon-
telimart, on the banks of the Rhone.
ACUTE, an epithet applied to fuch things as ter¬
minate in a tharp point or edge. And in this fenfe it
ftands oppofed to obtufe.
Acute Angle, in Geometry, is that which is lefs
than a right angle, or which does not fubtend 90 de¬
grees.
AcUTE-ang/ed Triangle, is a triangle whofe three
angles are all acute.
AcUTE-angled Cone, is, according to the ancients, a
■right cone, whofe axis makes an acute angle with its
fide.
Acute, in Mujic, is applied to a found or tone that
Is (harp or high in comparifon of fome other tone.
In this fenfe, acute ftands oppofed X.o grave.
Acute Accent. See Accent.
ACUTE Difeafes, fuch as come fuddenly to a crifis.
This term is ufed for all difeafes which do not fall un¬
der the head of chronic difeafes.
ACUTIATOR, in writers of the barbarous ages,
denotes a perfon that whets or grinds cutting inftru-
ments ; called alfo in ancient gloffaries acutor, xxovyitk,
famiarit/s, coharius, &c. In the ancient armies there
were acutiatores, a kind of fmiths, retained for whet¬
ting or keeping the arms fharp.
AD, a Latin prepofition, originally fignifying to,
and frequently ufed in compofition both with and with¬
out the d, to exprefs the relation of one thing to an¬
other.
Ad Bejlias, in antiquity, is the puniftiment of crimi¬
nals condemned to be thrown to wild beafts.
Ad Hominem, in Logic, a kind of argument drawn
from the principles or prejudices of thofe with whom
wTe argue.
An Ludos, in antiquity, a fentence upon criminals
2 ] ADA
among the Romans, whereby they were condemned to
entertain the people by fighting either with wild beafts
or with one another, and thus executing juftice upon
themfelves.
Ad Melalla, in antiquity, the puniftiment of fuch
criminals as were condemned to the mines, among the
Romans •, and therefore called Metallic!.
Ad Valorem, a term chiefly ufed in fpeaking of the
duties or cuftoms paid for certain goods : I he duties
on fome articles are paid by the number, ■weight, mea-
fure, tale, &c.; and others are paid ad valorem, that
is, according to their value.
ADAGE, a proverb, or flmrt fentence, containing
fome wife obfervation or popular faying. Erafmus has
made a very large and valuable colledtion of the Greek
and Roman adages; and Mr Ray has done the fame
with regard to the Englifh. We have alfo Kelly’s
Colle&ion of Scots Proverbs.
ADAGIO, in Mujic. Adverbially, it fignifiesJoft-
hf, leifurely : and is ufed to denote the floweft of all
times. Ufed fubftantively, it fignifies a flow move¬
ment. Sometimes this word is repeated, as adagio, ada¬
gio, to denote a ftill greater retardation in the time of
the mufic.
ADALIDES, in the Spanith policy, are officers
of juftice, for matters touching the military forces.
In the laws of King Alphonfus, the adalides are fpo.-
ken of as officers appointed to guide and direft the
marching of the forces in time of war. Lopez repre-
fents them as a fort of judges, who take cognizance of
the differences rifing upon exeurfions, the diftribution
of plunder, &c.
ADAM, the firft of the human race, was formed
by the Almighty on the fixth day of the creation. His
body was made of the duff; of the earth : after which,
God animated or gave it life, and Adam then became
a rational creature. His heavenly Parent did not leave
his offspring in a deftitute ftate to ftiift for himfelf; but
planted a garden, in which he caufed to grow not only
every tree that was proper for producing food, but
likewife fuch as were agreeable to the eye, or merely
ornamental. In this garden wTere affembled all the
brute creation ; and, by their Maker, caufed to pafs
before Adam, who gave all of them names, which were
judged proper by the Deity himfelf.—In this review
Adam found none for a companion to himfelf. This
folitary ftate was feen by the Deity to be attended with
fome degree of unhappinefs; and therefore he threw
Adam into a deep fleep, in which condition he took a
rib from his fide, and healing up the wound formed a
woman of the rib he had taken out. On Adam’s
awaking, the woman was brought to him j and he im¬
mediately knew her to be one of his own fpecies, call¬
ed her his bone and his flefti, giving her the name of
woman becaufe fhe was taken out of man.
The firft pair being thus created, God gave them
authority over the inferior creation, commanding them
to fubdue the earth, alfo to increafe and multiply and
fill it. They were informed of the proper food for the
beafts and for them ; the grafs, or green herbs, being
appointed for beafts } and fruits, or feeds, for man.
Their proper employment alf© was affigned them)
namely, to drefs the garden, and to keep it.
Though Adam was thus highly favoured and inftrufl-
ed by his Maker, there was a fingle tree, which grew
ADA [i
Adam. ;n the middle of the garden, of the fruit of which they
—v ' -were not allowed to eat j being told that they (hould
furely die in the day they ate of it. -This tree was
named the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This prohibition, however, they foon broke through.
The woman having entered into converfation with the
Serpent, was by him perfuaded, that by eating of the
tree (he (hould become as wife as God himfelf: and ac¬
cordingly, being invited by the beauty of the fruit, and
its defirable property of imparting wifdom, (he plucked
and ate ; giving her hulband of it at the fame time,
who did likewife eat.
Before this tranfgreflion of the divine command,
Adam and his wife had no occafion for clothes, neither
had they any fenfe of fhame ; but immediately on eat¬
ing the forbidden fruit, they were afhamed of being
naked, and made aprons of fig leaves for themfelves.
On hearing the voice of God in the garden, they were
terrified, and hid themfelves : but being queftioned by
the Deity, they confeffed what they had done, and re¬
ceived fentence accordingly ; the man being condemn¬
ed to labour ; the woman to fubjection to her hufband,
and to pain in child-bearing. They were now driven
out of the garden, and their accefs to it prevented by
a terrible apparition. They had clothes given them by
the Deity made of the (kins of beads. In this date
Adam had feveral children ; the names of only three
of whom we are acquainted with, viz. Cain, Abel,
and Seth. He died at the age of 930 years.
Thefe are all the particulars concerning Adam s
life, that we have on divine authority : but a vad
multitude of others are added by the Jews, Mahome¬
tans, and Papids ; all of which mud be at bed conjec¬
tural : mod of them, indeed, appear downright falfe-
hoods or abfurdities. The curiofity of our readers, it is
prefumed, will be diffidently gratified by the few which
are here fubjoined.
According to the Talmudids, when Adam was cre¬
ated, his body was of immenfe magnitude. When he
finned, his dature was reduced to a hundred ells, ac¬
cording to fome •, to nine hundred cubits, according
to others •, who think this was done at. the requed of
the angels, who were afraid of fo gigantic a creature.
In the idand of Ceylon is a mountain^ called the Teak
or mountain of Adam, from its being, according to
the tradition of the country, the refidence of our hrd
parents. Here the print of his footdeps, above two
palms in length, are dill pointed out.
Many reveries have been formed concerning the per-
fonal beauty of Adam.. That he was a handfome well-
Ihaped man is probable 5 but fome writers, not content
with this, affirm, that God, intending to create m^n»
clothed Himfelf with a perfedly beautiful human body,
making this his model in the formation of the body of
Adam. .
Nor has the imagination been lefs indulgent con¬
cerning the formation of the human fpecies male an
female.—It would be endlefs to recount all the fancies
that have been wrote on this fubjefl •, but as Madame
Bourignon has made a confiderable figure in the reli¬
gious, or rather fuperfitious, world, we cannot help 111-
ferting fome of her opinions concerning the fird man,
which are peculiarly marvellous. According to the
revelations of this lady, Adam before his fall poffefied
in himfelf the principles of both fexes, and the virtue
Adam.
-V
73 ] ADA
or power of producing his like, without the coneur-
rent affidance of woman. The divifion into^two fexes, ^ preface
die imagined *, was the confequence of man s fin 5 and a k0ok,
now, die obferves, mankind are become fo many man- entitled
fers in nature, being much lefs perfeft in this refpeft
than plants or trees, which are capable of producing
their like alone, and without pain or mifery. She even Terr^
imagined, that, being in an ecdacy, die faw the figure Amft. 1679.
of Adam before he fell, with the manner how, by him¬
felf, he was capable of procreating other men. “ God,”
fays (he, “ reprefented to my mind the beauty of the
fird world, and the manner how he had drawn it from
the chaos : every thing was bright, tranfparent and^
darted forth life and inedable glory. T he body Oj
Adam was purer and more tranfparent than crydal,and
vadly deet; through his body were feen veffels and
rivulets of light, w'hich penetrated fiom the inward
to the outward parts, through all his pores. In fome
veffels ran fiuids of all kinds and colours, vadly bright,
and quite diaphanous. The mod raviffiing harmony
arofe from every motion j and nothing redded, or could
annoy him. His dature was taller than the prefenl
race of men ; his hair was ffiort, curled, and of a colour
inclining to black $ his upper lip covered with ffiort
hair: and indead of the bedial parts which modefty
will not allow us to name, he was fadiioned as our bo-
dies will be in the life eternal, which. I know not whe¬
ther I dare reveal. In that region his nofe was form¬
ed after the manner of a face, which diffufed the mod
delicious fragrancy and perfumes j whenc.e aho men
were to iffue, all whofe principles were inherent in
him : there being in his belly a veffel, where little
eggs were formed j and a fecond veffel filled with a
duid which impregnated thofe eggs : and when man
heated himfelf in the love of God, the defire he had
that other creatures drould exid befide himfelf, to
praife and love God, caufed the fluid above mentioned
(by means of the fire of the love of GodJ, to drop on
one or more of thefe eggs, with inexpreffible delight j
which being thus impregnated, iffued, fome time after,
out of man by this canal f, in the ffiape of an egg, f
whence a perfeft man was hatched by mfenfible de-c-al
grees. Woman was formed by taking out of Adam s above de_
fide the veffels that contained the eggs \ which (lie fcr;bed.
ftill poffeffes, as is difeovered by anatomifts.”
Many others have believed that Adam at his firft
creation was both male and female : others, that he had
two bodies joined together at the (boulders, and their
faces looking oppofite ways like thofe of Janus.
Hence, fay thefe, when God created Eve, he had no
no more to do than to feparate the two bodies from one
another % Of a11 others, however, the opinion of { Sea An-
Paracelfus feems the mod ridiculous ||. Negabat primes f f
parentes ante lapfum habuijfe partes generatiom homims^^-
neceffarias; credebat pofea accejjijje^ ut frumam gut tin 1. y0f}uim (je
Extravagant things are afferted concerning Adam’s philofo-
knowledge. It is very probable that he was inftru<ffed/>^Vz, c. ix,
by the Deity how to accomplifh the work appointedP-71-
him, viz. to drefs the garden, and keep it from being
deftroyed by the brute creatures; and it is alfo proba¬
ble that he had likewife every piece of knowledge com¬
municated to him that was either neceffary or pleafing :
but that he was acquainted with geometry, mathema¬
tics, rhetoric, poetry, painting, fculpture, &c. is too
ridiculous to be credited by any fober perfon. borne
rabbles,.
the
ADA
[ 174 1
ADA
A'dam.
* This is
juft the
pidture of
the Orion
or Polyphe
mus of the
poets.
JEneid. iii.
663, 664.
x. 763.
rabbles, Indeed, have contented tbemfelves with equal¬
ling Adam’s knowledge to that of Mofes and Solomon-,
■while others, again, have maintained that he excelled
the angels themfelves. Several Chriftians feem to be
little behind thefe Jews in the degree of knowledge
they afcribe to Adam, nothing being hid from him,
according to them, except contingent events relating
to futurity. One writer indeed (Pinedo) excepts poli¬
tics j but a Carthufian friar, having exhaufted in favour
of Ariftotle, every image and comparifon he could
think of, at laft afferted that Ariftotle’s knowledge was
as exteniive as that of Adam.—In confequence of this
furprifing knowledge with which Adam was endued,
he is fuppofed to have been a confiderable author. 1 he
Jews pretend that he wrote a book on the creation, and
another on the Deity. Some rabbies afcribe the Q2d
pfalm to Adam and in fome manufcripts the Chaldee
title of this pfalm exprefsly declares that this is the
fong of praife which the fird man repeated for the Sab¬
bath day. • .1
Various conje&ures have been formed concerning the
place where man was firft created, and where the gar¬
den of Eden was iituated ; but none of thefe have any
folid foundation. The Jews tell us, that Eden was fe-
parated from the reft ef the world by the ocean 5 and
■ that Adam, being baniftied therefrom, walked acrols
the fea, which he found every way fordable, by reafon
of his enormous ftature *. The Arabians imagined pa-
radife to have been in the air ; and that our firft pa¬
rents were thrown down from it on their tranfgreffion,
as Vulcan is faid to have been thrown down headlong
from heaven by Jupiter. #
Strange ftories are told concerning Adam’s.children.
That he had none in the ftate of innocence, is certain
from Scripture ; but that his marriage with Eve was
not confummated till after the fall, cannot be proved
from thence. Some imagine, that, for many years af¬
ter the fall, Adam denied himfelf the connubial joys
by way of penance ; others, that he cohabited with
another woman, whofe name was Ltllith. I he
Mahometans tell us, that our firft parents having been
thrown headlong from the celeftial paradife, Adam
fell upon the ifle of Serendib, or Ceylon, in the Eaft
Indies 5 and Eve on lodda, a port of the Red fea, not
far from Mecca. After a reparation of upwards of
200 years, they met in Ceylon, where they multiplied :
according to fome Eve had twenty, according to others
only eight, deliveries bringing forth at each time
twins, a male and a female, who afterwards married.
The rabbins imagine that Eve brought forth Cain
and Abel at a birth that Adam wept for Abel a
hundred years in the valley of tears near Hebron, du¬
ring which time he did not cohabit with his wife and
that this reparation would probably have continued
longer, had it not been forbid by the angel Gabriel.
The inhabitants of Ceylon affirm, that the fait lake on
•the mountain of Colombo confifts wholly of the tears
which Eve for one hundred years together ffied becaufe
of Abel’s death.
Some of the Arabians tell us, that Adam was bu¬
ried near Mecca on Mount Abukobeis others, that
Noah, having laid his body in the ark, caufed it to
be carried after the deluge to Jerufalem by Melchife-
deck the fon of Shem : of this opinion are the eaftern
Chriftians 5 but the Perfians affirm that he was interred
in the Hie of Serendib, where his corpfe was guarded by
lions at the time the giants warred upon one another.
St Jerome imagined that Adam was buneu at Hebron j
others, on Mount Calvary. Some are of opinion that
he died on the very fpot where Jerufalem was after¬
wards built ; and was buried on the place where Chrift
fuffered, that fo his bones might be fprinkled with the
Saviour’s blood.
Adam, Melchior, lived in the 17th century. He
was born in the territory of Grotkaw in Silefia, and
educated in the college of Brieg, where the dukes of
that name, to the utmoft of their power, encouraged
learning and the reformed religion as profeffed by Cal¬
vin. Here he became a firm Proteftant ; and was
enabled to purfue his ftudies by the liberality of a per-
fon of quality, who had left feveral exhibitions for
young ftudents. He was appointed reaor of a col¬
lege at Heidelberg, where he publiftied his firft volume
of illuftrious men in the year 1615- I his voiume,
which confided of philofophers, poets, writers on po- •
lite literature, and hiftorians, &c. was followed by
three others : that which treated of divines was printed
in 1619 j that of the lawyers came next 5 and, finally,
that of the phyficians : the two laft were publiffied in
1620. All the learned men, whofe lives are contain¬
ed in thefe four volumes, lived in the 16th, or begin¬
ning of the 17th century, and are either Germans or-
Flemings; but he publiffied in 1618 the lives of twenty
divines of other countries in a feparate volume. All
his divines are Proteftants. The Lutherans were not
pleafed with him, for they thought him partial; and
will not allow his work to be a proper ftandard of the
learning of Germany. He was the author of feveral
other works befides his lives. His induftry as a bio¬
grapher is commended by Bayle, who acknowledges
his obligations to his labours. He died in 1622.
Adam, Robert, an eminent architeft, was born at
Edinburgh in the year 1728. He was the fecond fon
of William Adam, Efq. of Maryburgh, in the county
of Fife, who has alfo left fome refpe&able fpecimens
of his genius and abilities as an architeft in Hope-
toun houfe, and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh,
which were ere&edfrom defigns executed by him. And^
it was perhaps owing to the fortunate circumftance ot
his father’s example that young Adam firft dire&ed
his attention to thofe ftudies, in the profecution. of
which he afterwards rofe to fuch diftinguiffied celebrity.
He received bis education at the univerfity of Edin¬
burgh, where he had an opportunity of improving and
enlarging his mind, by the converfation and acquaint¬
ance of fome of the firft literary chara&ers of the age
Avho were then rifing into reputation, or have fince efta-
bliffied their fame as hiftorians and philofophers. A-
mong thefe were Mr Hume, Dr Robertfon, Dr Smith,
and Dr Fergufon, who were the friends and compa¬
nions of the father, and who continued through life
their friendfhip and attachment to the fon.
In the year 1754 Mr Adam travelled to the conti¬
nent, with a view to extend his knowledge and im¬
prove his tafte in archite&ure, and refided in Italy for
three years. Here he furveyed and ftudied thofe noble
fpecimens of ancient grandeur which the magnificent
public edifices of the Romans, even in ruins, ftill ex¬
hibit. But he faw with regret, that the public build¬
ings, conftru&ed with more durable materials and
greater
Adfjn.
Adam.
ADA [175
greater flrength and folidity, liad alone been able to
' refill, during the lapfe of ages, the injuries of time,
and the more deftrudtive hand of the northern barba¬
rians, whofe progrefs was marked with ruin and defo-
lation. Not a veftige of any of the private buildings
of the wealthy citizens, which have been defcribed and
celebrated by their writers for their magnificence, now
remains •, and even the fituation of fome of the fplendid
villas of the luxurious Romans is fcarcely known. In
tracing the progrefs of architefture and the other fine
arts among the Romans, Mr Adam obferved that they
had vifibly declined previous to the time of Dioclefian j
but he was alfo convinced that the liberal patronage
and magnificence of that emperor had revived during
his reign a better tafte for architedlure, and had form¬
ed artitts who were capable of imitating the more ele¬
gant ftile of a purer age. He had feen this remark¬
ably exemplified in the public baths at Rome, which
were ereaed by him, the moll entire and the nobleft
of the ancient buildings. Admiring the extent and
fertility of genius of the artifls, from whofe defigns
fuch magnificent ftruaures had been executed, he was
anxious to fee and ftudy any remains that yet exiiled
of thofe mailers whofe works are linking monuments
of an elegant and improved tafte, but whofe names,
amid the wrecks of time, have funk into oblivion. It
was with this view that he undertook a voyage to Spa-
latro, in Dalmatia, to vifit and examine the private pa¬
lace of Dioclefian, in which that emperor refided for
nine years previous to his death, and to which he re¬
tired in the year 305, when he refignedthe government
of the empire. Mr Adam failed from Venice in July
accompanied by M. Cleriffeau, a french artift
and antiquarian, and two experienced draughtfmen. On.
their arrival at Spalatro, they found that though the pa¬
lace had fuffered much from the injuries of time, yet it
had fuftained no lefs from the dilapidations of the inha¬
bitants to procure materials for building, and even the
foundations of the ancient ftru&ure were covered with
modern houfes. With high expe&ations of fuccefs,
they commenced their labours, but were foon inter¬
rupted by the jealous vigilance of the government.
Sufpe&ing that their obje£l was to view and make plans
of the fortifications, an immediate and peremptory or¬
der was iffued by the governor, commanding them to
defift. This order, however, was foon countera&ed
through the mediation of General Graeme, the com¬
mander in chief of the Venetian forces ^ and they were
permitted to proceed in their undertaking. They re¬
fumed their labours with double ardour, and in five
weeks finilhed plans and views of the fragments which
remain, from which they were enabled to execute per-
fett defigns of the entire building.
Mr Adam now returned to England, and foon rofe
to very confiderable profeflional eminence. In 1762
he was appointed architefl to the king, and the year
following he prefented to the public the fruit of his
voyage to Spalatro, in a fplendid work dedicated to his
majefty, which contains engravings and defcriptions of
the ruins of the palace. A later traveller, the Abbd
Fortis, fpeaking of the ruins of this palace, fays, “ I
will not pretend to mention the great Roman remains,
for which this noble city is chiefly known and cele¬
brated. The lovers of architefture and antiquity are
fufficiently acquainted with them by the work of Mr
] ADA
Adam, who has done full juftice to thefe fuperb vefti- ^
ges by his elegant drawings and engravings. In gene¬
ral, however, the coarfenefs of the work, and the bad
tafte of the age are equal to the magnificence of the
buildings. For all this, I do not mean to detra£l from
the merit of the auguft remains of Dioclefian’s palace.
I count them among the moll refpeftable monuments
of antiquity now extant.” And the hiftorian of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in confequence
of this obfervation, after having exprefted a high com¬
mendation of the work, has thrown out a lufpicion ol
the accuracy of the reprefentations and delcriptions.
“ For the account of Dioclefian’s palace, fays Mr Gib¬
bon, rve are indebted to aa ingenious artift of our own
time and country, whom a very liberal curiofity had car¬
ried into the heart of Dalmatia. But there is room to
fufpe£t that the elegance of his defigns and engravings
has fomewhat flattered the obje£ls which it was their
purpofe to reprefent. We are informed by a more re¬
cent and very judicious traveller, that the awful ruins
of Spalatro are not lefs expreflive of the decline of the
Adam.
arts, than of the greatnefs of the Roman empire in the
time of Dioclefian.” IVIr Gibbon’s criticifm is fcarccly
fupported by the obfervation of the Abbe Fortis \ and
what the latter has advanced on this fubjedl is not pcr-
feftly confiftent with itfelf: for while he cenfur.es the
coarfenefs of the work and the bad tafte of the age, he
bellows fomething like indire£l praife, when he adds
that, he means not to detract from the merit of the
auguft remains of this edifice, and regards it as one of
the moil refpecfable monuments of antiquity now ex¬
tant. The apparent coarfenefs of the work is probably
owdng to the effefls of the weather, which have de-
ftroyed the fmooth polifh of the chifiel which it origi¬
nally received 5 and Mr Adam allows, that, previous
to this period of the Roman empire, the aits had vdi-
bly declined, but at the fame time contends, that the
buildings ere6ted in the reign of Dioclefian, exhibit
convincing proofs of the ftile and manner ol a purer
aae. But of this, the admirer of this elegant art may
judge for himfelf, by confulting the engravings and
defcriptions, the accuracy and faithfulnefs of which
there feems to be no reafon to doubt.
In the year 1768 Mr Adam obtained a feat in par¬
liament. He was chofen to reprefent the county of.
Kinrofs •, and about the fame time he refigned his of¬
fice of architea to the king. But he continued las *
profeflional career with increafing reputation ; and a-
bout the year 1773, in conjunaion with his brother
James, who alfo rofe to confiderable eminence as an ar¬
chitea, he publiflred another fplendid work, confifting
of plans and elevations of public and private buildings
which were ereaed from their defigns. Among thefe
are Lord Mansfield’s houfe at Caen wood, Luton houfe
in Bedfordftnre belonging to Lord Bute, the new Gate¬
way of the Admiralty Office, the Regiiler Office at
Edinburgh, &c. which are univerfally admired as pre¬
cious monuments of elegant defign and correa tafte.
The Adelphi buildings at London, which are alfo ftrik-
ing examples of the inventive genius of the Meffrs A-
dam, proved an unfuccefsful fpeculation. The wealth
and power of a nation were perhaps only equal to fo
extenfive an undertaking: it was too great to be at¬
tempted by private citizens.
The buildings which have been more lately ereaed
from
Adam.
ADA [ i?6
from the defigns of Mr Adam, afford additional proofs
of the unlimited extent of his invention, and the amaz¬
ing fertility of his genius. Ihofe parts of the new
Univerfity of Edinburgh which have been completed,
and the Infirmary at Glafgow, need only be mentioned
in proof of our remark. The latter edifice we have
often beheld and contemplated with thole feelings of
admiration, elevated to a kind of rapturous enthufiafro,
which the rare union of perfeft fymmetry and elegant
difpofition of parts combined with inexprefiible beauty
and lightnefs into one whole feldom fails to infpire.
We have alfo feen and admired elegant defigns execu¬
ted by Mr Adam, which were intended for the South
Bridge and South Bridge Street of Edinburgh, and if
they had been adopted, would have added much to the
decoration of that quarter of the town ; but being con-
fidered unfuitable to the tafle or economy of the times,
they were rejeffed.
Strange incongruities appear in buildings which have
been ere£led from defigns by Mr Adam. But of thefe
it muft be obferved, that they have been altered and
mutilated in the execution, according to the capricious
fancy and vulgar tafte of the owners 5 and it is well
known that a flight deviation changes the charafter
and mars the effect of the general defign. A lady of
rank was furnifhed by Mr Adam with a defign of a
houfe, which, after being executed, he was altonifhed
to find out of all proportion. On inquiring the caufe,
he was informed that the pediment which he had de-
figned would not admit a piece of rude fculpture which
reprefented the arms of the family, and by the date
which it bore iaconteftably proved its antiquity. It
was therefore abfolutely neceffary to enlarge the di-
menfions of the pediment, to receive this ancient badge
of family honour, and facrifice the beauty and propor¬
tion of the whole building. We have feen a large
public edifice which was alfo defigned by Mr Adam j
but when it was erefled, the length was curtailed of
the fpace of two windows, while the other parts re¬
mained according to the original plan. It now pre-
fents a heavy unfightly pile, inflead of that elegance
of proportion and correftnefs of ftyle which the faith¬
ful execution of Mr Adam’s defign would have pro¬
bably exhibited.
To the laft period of his life, Mr Adam difplayed
an increafing vigour of genius and refinement of tafte 5
for, in the fpace of one year preceding his death, he
defigned eight great public works, befides twenty-five
private buildings, fo various in their ftyle, and beautiful
in their compofition, that they have been allowed by the
beft judges, fufficient of themfelves to eftablilh his
fame unrivalled as an artift. The prelent improved
tafte, which now pretty generally prevails in our pub¬
lic and private edifices, undoubtedly owes much to the
elegant and corre& ftyle introduced by Mr Adam.
His fertile genius was not confined merely to the ex¬
ternal decoration of buildings j it difplayed itfelf with
equal effed! in the internal arrangement and difpofition
of the apartments, and in the varied, elegant,. and
beautiful ornaments of chimney pieces and ceilings.
But not only did he introduce a total change in the
architedlure of the country, the manufactures alfo
which are in any way connedted with decoration, ex¬
perienced a confiderable degree of improvement by the
]
A D
A
exercife of his inventive powers. His talents extend¬
ed beyond the line of his own profetlion he difplayed
in his numerous drawings in landfcape, a luxuriance^ of
compofition, and an effedt of light and ftiadow which
have rarely been equalled.
He died on the 3d of March 1792, by the burfting
of a blood-veffel, in the 64th year of his age, and was
buried in Weftminfter Abbey. His funeral was at¬
tended by a felea number of friends,, feme of them of
diftinguilhed rank, who efteemed him while living,
and who wilhed to exprefs this laft mark of regard.
The many elegant buildings, public and private, eredt-
ed in various parts of the kingdom, from the defigns
of Mr Adam, will remain lafting monuments of his
tafte and genius ^ and the natural fuavity of his man¬
ners, joined to the excellence of his moral character,
fecured to him the affedlionate regard of his friencs,
and the efteem of all who enjoyed his acquaintance.
James Adam, whom we have already mentioned as
affociated with his brother in many of his labours, died
on the 20th Odtober 1794. _ .
ADAM’S Apple, a name given to a fpecies of ClTRUS.
See Botany Index.
Adam’s Bridge, or Rama's Bridge, in Geography, a
ridge of fands and rocks, extending acrofs the north
end of Manara gulf, from the ifland of that name, on
the north-weft coaft of Ceylon, to Ramencote or Ra-
mankoil ifland, off Raman point.
Adam’S Needle. See Yucca, Botany Index.
ADAM’S Peak, a high mountain of the Eaft Indies,
in the ifland of Ceylon, on the top of which it is be¬
lieved the fir ft man was created. It is in the form of
a fugar loaf, and terminates in a circular plain about
200 paces in diameter. The fummit is covered with
trees, and has a deep lake which fupplies the princi¬
pal rivers of the ifland. The mountain is feen at the
diftance of twenty leagues from fea. It is fituated in
N. Lat. 5. 55. E. Long. 80. .39. See Adam.
Adam or Adom, a town in the Peraea, or on the
other fide of the Jordan, over againft Jericho, where the
Jordan began to be dried up on the paffage of the Ifrae-
lites, (Jolhua).
ADAMA, or Admah, one of the towns that were
involved in the deftrudfion of Sodom ; (Mofes).
ADAMANT, a name fometimes given to the dia¬
mond. (See Diamond). It is likewife applied to the
fcoriae of gold, the magnet, &c.
ADAMARA, in Geography, a diftridt of Abyl-
finia, near the province of Waldubba, containing fe-
veral confiderable villages, that are inhabited by Mo-
hometans ; who by their number and ftrength contri¬
bute to the fafety of the monks in that part of the
country. It is fo called from Adama, which in the
Amharic dialed; fignifies pleafant, the name of an.ad¬
jacent mountain. The river Anzo runs.in a contigu¬
ous valley. {Bruce’s Travels, 410, vol. iii. p. 179)*
ADAMIC earth, a name given to common red
clay, alluding to that fpecies of earth of which the firft
man is fuppofed to have been made.
AD AM I pomum, in Anatomy, a protuberance in
the fore part of the throat, formed by the os hyoides.
It is thought to be fo called upon a ftrange conceit,
that a piece of the forbidden apple, which Adam ate,
ftuck by the way, and occafioned it. ___
^ ' ADAMITES,
Adam
Ad ami.
A T> A [ i
Adamites ADAMITES, or Adamians, in ecclefiaftical hi-
llory, the name of a fe6t of ancient heretics, fuppofed
to have been a branch of the Bafilidians and Carpocra-
Adamibn.
tians.
Epiphanius tells us, that they were called Adamites
from their pretending to be re-eftablifhed in the ftate
of innocence, and to be fuch as Adam was at the mo¬
ment of his creation, whence they ought to imitate him
in his nakednefs. They rejected marriage ; maintain¬
ing, that the conjugal union would never have taken
place upon earth had fin been unknown.
This obfcure and ridiculous feft did not at firft laft
long ; but it was revived, with additional abfurdities,
in the twelfth century, by one Tandamus, fince known
by the name of Tanchelin, who propagated his errors
at Antwerp, in the reign of the emperor Henry V.
He maintained, that there ought to be no diftin&ion
between priefts and laymen, and that fornication and
adultery were meritorious aftions. Tanchelin had a
great number of followers, and was conftantly attended
by 3000 of thefe profligates in arms. His feft did not,
however, continue long after his death 5 but another
appeared under the name of Turlupins, in Savoy and
Dauphiny, where they committed the molt brutal ac¬
tions in open day.
About the beginning of the fifteenth century, one
Picard, a native of Flanders, fpread thefe errors in
Germany and Bohemia, particularly in the army of
the famous Zifca, notwithftanding the fevere difcipline
he maintained. Picard pretended that he was fent into
the world as a new Adam, to re-eftabli(h the law of
nature ; and which, according to him, confifted in ex-
pofing every part of the body, and having all the wo¬
men in common. This fe£l: found alfo fome partizans
in Poland, Holland, and England : they aflembled in
the night; and it is afferted, that one of the funda¬
mental maxims of their fociety was contained in the
following verfe:
Jura, perjura, fecretum prodere noli.
ADAMS, in Geography, a townfhip of Berkfhire
county, in the ftate of Maffachufets in North America.
It is 140 miles north-weft of Bofton, and contains 204O
inhabitants. In the northern part of this diftridl, a
ftream called Hudfon’s brook, has worn a channel
through a ftratum of white marble, and over the chan¬
nel the rocks form a fine natural bridge, which is 12 or
15 feet long, 10 feet broad, and more than 60 feet
above the water.
ADAMSHIDE, a diftrilft of the circle of Raften-
burg, belonging to the king of Pruflia, which, with
Dombrolken, was bought, in 1737, for 42,000 dollars.
ADAMSON, Patrick, a Scottifti prelate, arch-
bifhop of St Andrew’s, was born in the year 1543 in
the town of Perth, where he received the rudiments of
his education •, and afterwards ftudied philofoph'y, and
took his degree of mafter of arts at the univerfity of
St Andrew’s. In the year 1566, he fet out for Paris,
as tutor to a young gentleman. In the month of
June of the fame year, Mary queen of Scots being de¬
livered of a fon, afterwards James VI. of Scotland and
I. of England, Mr Adamfon wrote a Latin poem on
the occafion. In this poem he gave the prince the
title of king of France and England, and this proof
of his loyalty involved him in difficulties) for the
¥ol, I. Part I.
y J A. D A
French court was offended, and ordered him to be ar
refted ; and he was confined for fix months. He wa
releafed only through the interceflion of Queen Mary,
and fome of the principal nobility, who interefted them-
felves in his behalf. As foon as he recovered his li¬
berty, he retired with his pupil to Bourges. He was
in this city during the maffacre at Paris; and the fame
perfecuting fpirit prevailing among the Catholics at
Bourges as at the metropolis, he lived concealed for
feven months in a public houfe, the mafter of which,
upwards of 70 years of age, was thrown from the top
thereof, and had his brains dallied out, for his charity
to heretics. Whilft Mr Adamfon lay thus in his fe-
pulchre, as he called it, he wrote his Latin poetical
verfion of the book of Job, and his tragedy of Herod
in the fame language. In the year 1573, he returned
to Scotland ; and, having entered into holy orders, be¬
came minifter of Paifley. In the year 1575, he was
appointed one of the commiffioners, by the general af-
fembly, to fettle the jurifditlion and policy of the
church ; and the following year he was named, with
Mr David Lindfay, to report their proceedings to the
earl of Morton, then regent. About this time the
earl appointed him one of his chaplains; and, on the
death of Bilhop Douglas, promoted him to the archie-
pifcopal fee of St Andrew’s, a dignity which brought
upon him great trouble and uneafinefs: for now the
clamour of the Prelbyterian party rofe very high againft
him, and many inconfiftent abfurd flories were propa¬
gated concerning him. Soon after his promotion, he
publilhed his catechifm in Latin verfe, a work highly
approved even by his enemies; but, neverthelefs, they
ftill continued to perfecute him with great violence.
In 1578, he fubmitted himfelf to the general affembly,
which procured him peace but for a very little time %
for the year following, frefli accufations were brought
againft him. In the year 1582, being attacked with
a grievous difeafe, in which the phyficians could give
him no relief, he happened to take a fimple medicine
from an old women, which did him fervice. The wo¬
man, whofe name was Alifon Pearfon, was thereupon
charged with witchcraft, and committed to prifon, but
efcaped out of her confinement; however, about four
years afterwards, (he was again found and burnt for a
witch. In 1583, King James came to St Andrews;
and the archbiftiop, being much recovered, preached
before him, and difputed with Mr Andrew Melvil, in
prefence of his majefty, with great reputation ; which
drew upon him frefti calumny and perfecution. The
king, however, was fo well pleafed with him, that he
fent him ambaffador to Queen Elizabeth, at whofe
court he refided for fome years. His conduct, during
his embaffy, has been varioufly reported by different
authors. Two things he principally laboured, viz. the
recommending the king his mafter to the nobility and
gentry of England, and the procuring fome fupport for
the epifcopal party in Scotland. His eloquent preach¬
ing drew after him fuch crowds of people, and raifed
in their minds fuch a high idea of the young king his
mafter, that Queen Elizabeth forbade him to enter the
pulpit during his ftay in her dominions. In 1584, he
was recalled, and fat in the parliament held in Auguft
at Edinburgh. The Prefbyterian party was ftill very
violent againft the archbiftiop. A provincial fynod
was held at St Andrew’s in April 1586: the arch-
Z biftiop
Arlamfbn-
ADA [ 178 ]
ADD
Adamfon bifhop was here accufed and excommunicated : he ap-
II pealed to the king and the ftates, but this availed him
Ac‘inLOn little ; for the mob being excited againft him, he durft
fcarcely appear in public. At the next general affembly,
a paper being produced, containing the archbifhop s
fubmiflion, he was abfelved from the excommunication.
In 1588, frelh accufations were brought againft him.
The year following he publiftied the Lamentations of
the prophet Jeremiah in Latin verfe ; which he dedi¬
cated to the king, complaining of his hard ufage. In
the latter end of the fame year, he publiftied a tranfta-
tion of the Apocalypfe in Latin verfe j and a copy
of Latin verfes, addreffed alfo to his majefty, de¬
ploring his diftrefs. The king, however, was not
moved by his application ; for the revenue of his lee
was granted to the duke of Lennox ; fo that the pre¬
late and his family were literally reduced to the want
of bread. During the remaining part of his unfortu¬
nate life he was fupported by charitable contribution,
and he died in 1591. The charafter of this prelate
has been varioufly reprefented, according to the fenti-
ments of religion and politics which prevailed. But
there is little doubt that he encouraged and fupported,
under the authority of the king, oppreflive and injuri¬
ous meafures. Bigotted and timid, he wanted that
firmnefs and intrepidity, which promife fteadinefs and
uniformity of conduct in the confpicuous charadters of
turbulent times. His learning was unqueftioned j and
he acquired great reputation as a popular preacher. In
his adverfity he fubmitted with pious refignatibn to his
hard fate. The panegyric of the editor of his works,
Mr Wilfon, is extravagant and abfurd. He lays, that
“ he was a miracle of nature, and rather feemed to be
the immediate production of God Almighty, than born
of a woman.”
ADAMUS. The philofopher’s ftone is fo called by
alchemifts ; they fay it is an animal, and that it has
carried its invifible Eve in its body, fince the moment
they were united by the Creator.
ADANA, in Geography, a town of Alia Minor, in
Natolia, and in the province of Caramania. It is fi-
tuated on the river Choquen *, on the banks of which
Hands a fmall but ftrong caftie built on a rock. It has
a great number of beautiful fountains brought from the
river by means of water-works. Over the river there
is a ftately bridge of fifteen arches, which leads to the
water-works. The climate is pleafant and healthy,
and the winter mild and ferene : but the fummer is fo
hot as to oblige the principal inhabitants to retire to
the neighbouring mountains, where they fpend fix
months among lhady trees and grottos, in a moft deli¬
cious manner. The adjacent country is rich and fer¬
tile, and produces melons, cucumbers, pomegranates,
pulfe, and herbs of all forts, all the year round j be¬
sides corn, wine, and fruits in their proper feafon. It
is 30 miles north-eaft of Tarfus, on the road to Alep¬
po. E. Long. 36. 1 2. N. Lat. 38. 10.
ADANSjDN, Michael, a celebrated naturalift,
was born at Aix in Provence in the year 1717. He
was lent to Paris in early life, and devoted his ftudies
with great afliduity to medicine, botany, and aftr'o-
nomy, and was a pupil of the celebrated Reaumur.
He went to Senegal in the year 1738, where he re¬
mained fix years examining the natural produftions of
that country. He prefented the fruits of his. difcove-
ries in geography and natural hiftory to the Royal Adanfon
Academy ; and in confequence of thefe communica- A^er
tions he was appointed one of their correfponding ,
members. In the year 1759* on death of Reau¬
mur he was elected a member in his place •, and about
the fame time he was admitted an honorary member of -
the Royal Society of London. Having fpent fix years
in Senegal, he returned to Paris, where he publifhed a
work entitled Hijloire Nature/le du Senegal, in qdo \
and in 1763 his Families des Plantes, 2 vols 8vo. In
the year 1775 he prefented to the academy the plan of
a natural hiftory, which he did not live to execute.
He died foon after ; but the time of his death is not
exaflly known.
ADANSONIA, Ethiopian Sour-gourd, Mon-
KEYS-BREAD, or AFRICAN CALABASH TREE. See Bo-
TANY Index.
ADAR, the. name of a Hebrew month, anfwering
to the end of February and beginning of March, the
12th of their facred, and 6th of their civil year. On
the 7th day of it, the Jews keep a faft for the death of
Mofes j on the 13th, they have the feaft of Efther :
and on the 14th, they celebrate the feaft of Purim, for
their deliverance from Haman’s confpiracy. As the
lunar year which the Jews followed in their calcula¬
tions, is ftiorter than the folar by about 11 days, which
at the end of three years make a month, they then in¬
tercalate a 13th month, which they call Veadar, or the
fecond Adar.
ADARCE, a kind of concreted falls found on reeds
and other vegetables, and applied by the ancients as a
remedy in feveral cutaneous difeafes.
ADARCON, in Jewifti antiquity, a gold coin men¬
tioned in Scripture, worth about 15s. fterling..
ADARME, in Commerce, a fmall weight in Spain,
which is alfo ufed at Buenos Ayres, and in all Spanifh
America. It is the 16th part of an ounce, which at
Paris is called the demi-gros. But the Spanifti ounce
is feven per cent, lighter than that of Paris. Stephens
renders it in Engliih by a drachm.
ADATAIS, Adatsi, or Adatys, in Commerce,
a muflin or cotton cloth, very fine and clear, of which
the piece is ten French ells long, and three quarters
broad. It comes from the Eaft Indies j and the fineft
is made in Bengal.
ADCORDABILIS denarii, in old law books,
fignify money paid by the vaffal to his lord, upon the
felling or exchanging of a feud.
ADCRESCENTES, among the Romans, denoted
a kind of foldiery, entered in the army, but not yet put
on duty ; from thefe the (landing forces were recruited.
See Accensi.
ADDA, in Geography, a river of Switzerland and
Italy, which rifes in Mount Branlio, in the country of
the Grifons, and, pafling through the Valteline, tra-
verfes the lake Como and the Milanefe, and falls into
the Po, near Cremona.
ADDEPH AGIA, in Medicine, a term ufed by fome
phylicians, for gluttony, or a voracious appetite.
ADDER, in Zoology, a name for the Viper. See
Coluber.
ADDER Bolts, or Adder-Jlies. See LiBELLULA.
Sea ADDER, the Englifh name for a fpecies of SYN-
GNATHUS.
Water ADDER, a name given to the Coluber Natrix.
Adder-
/
t
ADD
[ 179 1
ADD
ADDER jlung, is ufed in refpe£t of cattle, when
ftuno- by any kind of poifonous reptiles, as adders,
fcorpions, &c. or bit by a hedgehog or threw.—For
the cure of fuch bites, fome ufe an ointment made ot
dragon’s blood, with a little barley meal, and the whites
of eggs.
ADDER-wort, or Snakeweed. See Polygonum.
AUDEXTRATORES, in the court of Rome, the
pope’s mitre-bearers, fo called according to Ducange,
becaufe they walk at the pope’s right hand when he
rides to vifit the churches.
ADD ICE, or Adze, a kind of crooked axe uied
by fhipwrights, carpenters, coopers, &.c.
' ADDICTI, in antiquity, a kind of flaves, among
the Romans, adjudged to ferve fome creditor whom
they could not otherwife fatisfy, and whofe Haves they
became till they could pay or work out the debt.
ADDICTION, among the Romans, was the ma¬
king over goods to another, either by fale or by legal
fentence *, the goods fo delivered were called bona ad-
diSia. Debtors were fometimes delivered over in the
fame manner ; and thence caMeA fervi addi&i.
ADDICTIO IN DIEM, among the Romans, the ad¬
judging a thing to a perfon for a certain price, unlefs
by fuch a day the owner, or fome other, give more
for it- ._
ADDISON, Lancelot, fon of Lancelot Additon
a clergyman, was born in the parilh of Crolby-Ravenf-
worth in Weftmorland, in the year 1632. He was
educated at Queen’s College, Oxford ; and at the re-
ftoration of King Charles II. accepted of the chaplain-
fhip of the garrifon of Dunkirk : but that fortrefs
being delivered up to the French in 1662, he return¬
ed to England, and was foon after made chaplain to
the garrifon of Tangier j where he continued feven
years, and was greatly efteemed. In 1670, he re¬
turned to England, and was made_chaplain in_ ordinary
to the king; but his chaplainlhip of Tangier being
taken from him on account of his abfence, he found
himfelf ftraitened in his circumftances, when he fea-
fonably obtained the reftory of Million in Wiltlhire,
worth about I2ol. per annum. He afterwards became
a prebendary of Sarum ; took his degree of doflor of
divinity at Oxford ; and in 1683 was made dean of
Litchfield, and the next year archdeacon of Coventry.
His life was exemplary ; his converfation pleafing, and
greatly inftru£tive ; and his behaviour as a gentleman,
a clergyman, and a neighbour, did honour to the place
of his refidence. He wrote, 1. A Short Narrative of
the Revolutions of the Kingdoms of Fez and Morocco :
2. The prefent hillory of the Jews: 3. A Difcourfe
on Catechifing: 4. A Modeft Plea for the Clergy:
5. An Introdu6lion to the Sacrament: 6. The firft
State of Mahometifm : and feveral other pieces. This
worthy divine died on the 20th of April I7°3’ an(^
left three fons: Jofeph, the fubjea of the next article ;
Gulfton, who died while governor of Fort St George;
Lancelot, mailer of arts, and fellow of Magdalen col¬
lege in Oxford : and one daughter, firll married to Dr
Sarte, prebendary of Weltminller, and afterwards to
Daniel Combes, Efq.
Addison, Jofeph, the fon of the preceding Dean
Addifon, was born at Million, near Ambrelbury, in
Wiltfhire, on the 11th of May 1672; and not being
thought likely to live, was baptized the fame day. He
received the firll rudiments of his education at tne Addifon-
place of his nativity under the reverend Mr Nailh ;
but was foon removed to Salilbury under the care of
Mr Taylor; and from thence to the Charter houfe,
where his acquaintance with Sir Richard Steele com¬
menced. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at
Queen’s college, Oxford, where he applied very clofely
to the Itudy of claffical learning, in which he made a
furprifing proficiency. c n/r j
In the year 1687, Dr Lancalter, dean of Magda¬
len college, having by chance feen a Latin poem of
Mr Addifon’s, was fo pleafed with it, that he imme¬
diately got him eleaed into that houfe, where he took
up his degrees of bachelor and mailer of arts. His La¬
tin pieces in the courfe of a few years, were exceedingly
admired in both univerfities; nor were they lefs elleem-
ed abroad, particularly by the celebrated Boileau, whe
is reported to have faid, that he would not have written
again!! Perrault, had he before feen fuch excellent pieces
by a modern hand. He publilhed nothing in Englilh
before the twenty-fecond year of his age ; when there
appeared a Ihort copy of verfes written by him, and ad-
dreffed to Mr Dry den, which procured him great re¬
putation from the bell judges. This was foon follow¬
ed by a tranllation of the Fourth Georgic of Virgil,
(omitting the llory of Ariltseus), much commended by
Mr Dryden. He wrote alfo the Elfay on the Geor¬
gies, prefixed to Mr Dryden’s tranllation. 1 ker® are'’
feveral other pieces written by him about this time ;
amongll the rell, one dated the third of April 1694,
addreffed to H. S. that is, Dr Sacheverel, who be¬
came afterwards fo famous, and with whom Mr Addi¬
fon lived once in the greatell friendlhip; but their in¬
timacy was fome time after broken off by their difagree-
ment in political principles. In the year 1695 he wrote
a poem to King William on one of his campaigns, ad¬
dreffed to Sir John Somers, lord-keeper of the great
feal. This gentleman received it with great pleafure,
took the author into the number of his friends, and be¬
llowed on him many marks of his favour.
Mr Addifon had been clofely preffed, while at the
univerfity, to enter into holy orders ; and had once re-
folved upon it: but his great modelly, his natural dif¬
fidence, and an uncommonly delicate fenfe of the im¬
portance of the facred funftion, made him afterwards
alter his refolution ; and having expreffed an inclina¬
tion to travel, he was encouraged thereto by his patron
above-mentioned, who by his interell procured him
from the crown a penfion of 300I. per annum to fup-
port him in his travels. He accordingly made a tour
to Italy in the dear 1699; and in 1701, he wrote a
poetical epillle from Italy to the earl of Halifax, which
has been univerfaliy elteemed as a moll excellent per¬
formance. It was tranllated into Italian verfe by the
abbot Antonio Maria Salvini, Greek profeffor at Flo¬
rence. In the year 1705, he publilhed an account of
his travels, dedicated to Lord Somers ; which, though
at firll but indifferently received, yet in a little time
met with its deferved applaufe.
In the year 1702, he was about to return to Eng¬
land, when he received advice of his being appointed
to attend Prince Eugene, who then commanded for the
emperor in Italy; but the death of King William hap¬
pening foon after, put an end to this affair as well as ms
penfion; and he remained for a confiderable time un-
r Z 2 employed.
1
ADD [ 180 ] ADD
employed. But an unexpe&ed incident at once raifed
him, and gave him an opportunity of exerting his fine
talents to advantage : for in the year 1704, the lord
treafurer Godolphin happened to complain to Lord Ha¬
lifax, that the duke of Marlborough’s victory at Blen¬
heim had not been celebrated in verfe in the manner it
deferved j and intimated, that he would take it kindly
if his lordlhip, who was the known patron of the poets,
would name a gentleman capable of doing juftice to fo
elevated a fubjedt. Lord Halifax replied, fomewhat
haftily, that he did know fuch a perfon, but would
not mention him j adding, that long had he feen with
indignation, men of no merit maintained in luxury at
the public expence, whilft thofe of real worth and mo-
defty were fuffered to languilh in obfeurity. The
treafurer anfwered very coolly, that he was forry there
ftiould be occafion for fuch an obfervation, but that he
would do his endeavour to wipe off fuch reproaches for
the future j and he engaged his honour, that whoever
his lordfhip named, as a perfon capable of celebrating
this viftory, fftould meet with a fuitable recompenfe.
Lord Halifax thereupon named Mr Addifon ; infilling,
however, that the treafurer himfelf Ihould fend to him j
which he promifed. Accordingly he prevailed on Mr
Boyle (afterwards Lord Carlton) then chancellor of
the exchequer, to make the propofal to Mr Addifon 5
which he did in fo polite a manner, that our author
readily undertook the talk. The lord-treafurer had a
fight of the piece, when it was carried no farther than
the celebrated fimile of the angel 5 and was fo pleafed
with it, that he immediately appointed Mr Addifon a
commiffioner of appeals, vacant by the promotion of,
Mr Locke, chofen one of the lords commiffioners for
trade. The Campaign is addreffed to the duke of
Marlborough j it gives a Ihort view of the military
tranfaftions in 1704, and contains a noble defeription
of the two great actions at Schellemberg and Blenheim.
In 1705, he attended Lord Halifax to Hanover; and
the enfuing year was appointed under fecretary to Sir
Charles Hedges fecretary of flate; in which office he
acquitted himfelf fo well, that the earl of Sunderland,
who fucceeded Sir Charles in December,, continued
Mr Addifon in his employment.
A tafte for operas beginning at this time to prevail
in England, and many perfons having folicited Mr Ad¬
difon to write one, he complied with their requeft, and
compofed his Rofamond. This, however, whether
from the defedl of the mufic, or from the prejudices
in favour of the Italian tafte, did not fucceed upon the
ilage ; but the poetry of it has been, and always will be
juftly admired. About this time, Sir Richard Steele
compofed his comedy of the Tender Hulband, to which
Mr Addifon wrote a prologue. Sir Richard furprifed
him with a dedication of this play, and acquainted the
public, that he was indebted to him for fome of the
moft excellent ftrokes in the performance. The mar¬
quis of Wharton, being appointed lord lieutenant of
Ireland in 1709, took Mr Addifon with him as his
fecretarv. Her majefty alfo made him keeper of the
records of Ireland, and, as a farther mark of her fa¬
vour, confiderably augmented the falary annexed to
that place. Whilft he was in this kingdom, the Tat-
ler was firft publiihed ; and he difeovered his friend
Sir Richard Steele to be the author, by an obfervation
on, Virgil, which he had communicated to him. He
afterwards affifted confiderably in carrying on this pa- Addifoiv.
per, which the author acknowledges. The Taller be- *
ing laid down, the Speftator was fet on foot, and Mr
Addifon furniftied great part of the moft admired pa¬
pers. The Spectator made its firft appearance in March
1711, and was brought to a conclufion in September
1712.
His celebrated Cato appeared in 1713. He formed
the defign of a tragedy upon this fubjedt when he was
very young, and wrote it when on his travels; he re¬
touched it in England, without any intention of bring¬
ing it on the ftage ; but his friends being perfuaded it
would ferve the caufe of liberty, he was prevailed on
by their folicitations, and it was accordingly exhibited
on the theatre, with a prologue by Mr Pope, and an
epilogue by Dr Garth. It was received with the moft
uncommon applaufe, having run thirty-five nights with¬
out interruption. The Whigs applauded every line
in which liberty was mentioned, as a fatire on the To¬
ries ; and the Tories echoed every clap, to (how that
the fatire was unfelt. When it was printed, notice
was given that the queen would be pleafed if it was
dedicated to her ;” but as he had defigned that com¬
pliment elfewhere, he found himfelf obliged,” fays
Tickell,” by his duty on the one hand, and his ho¬
nour on the other, to fend it into the world without
any dedication.” It was no lefs efteemed abroad, hav¬
ing been tranffated into French, Italian, and German;,
and it was a£ted at Leghorn, and feveral other places,
with vaft applaufe. The Jefuits of St Omers made a.
Latin verfion of it, and the ftudents a£led it with great
magnificence.
About this time, another paper called the Guardian^
was publilhed by Steele, to which Addifon was a prin¬
cipal contributor. It was a continuation of the Spec¬
tator, and was diftinguiftied by the fame elegance and
the fame variety ; but, in confequence of Steele’s pro-
penfity to politics, was abruptly difeontinued in order
to write the Engliftiman.
The papers of Addifon are marked in the Spectator
by one of the letters in the name of Clio, and in the
Guardian by a Hand. Many of thefe papers were
written with powers truly comic, with nice diferimi-
nation of chara£lers, and accurate obfervation of na¬
tural or accidental deviations from propriety : but it
was not fuppofed that he had tried a comedy on the
ftage, till Steele, after his death, declared him the au¬
thor of “ The Drummer.” This, however, he did
not know to be true by any cogent teftimony : for
when Addifon put the play into his hands, he only
told him it was the work of a gentleman in the com¬
pany ; when it was received, as is confeffed, with
cold difapprobation, he was probably lefs willing to
claim it. Tickell omitted it in his colleflion; but the
teftimony of Steele, and the total filence of any other
claimant, has determined the public to affign it to Ad¬
difon, and it is now printed with his other poetry.,
Steele carried “ The Drummer” to the playhoufe, and
afterwards to the prefs, and fold the copy for 50 gui¬
neas. To Steele’s opinion may be added the proof
fupplied by the play itfelf, of which the characters are
fuch as Addifon would have delineated, and the ten¬
dency fuch as Addifon would have promoted.
It is faid that Mr Addifon intended to have com-
pofed an Englilh dictionary upon the plan of the Italian
*' - (Della
A D D [ i
uldifbn. (Della Crufca) ; but, upon the death of the queen,
-Y—being appointed fecretary to the lords juftices, he had
not leifure to carry on fuch a work. When the earl of
Sunderland was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland,
Mr Addifon was again made fecretary for the affairs
of that kingdom : and, upon the earl’s being removed
from the lieutenancy, he was cbofen one of the lords
of trade.
Not long afterwards an attempt was made to revive
the Spe&ator, at a time indeed by no means favour¬
able to literature, when the acceffion of a new family
to the throne filled the nation with anxiety, difcord,
and confufion ; and either the turbulence of the times
or the fatiety of the readers put a flop to the publica¬
tion, after an experiment of 80 numbers, which were
afterwards collefted into an eighth volume, perhaps
more valuable than any of thofe that went before it:
Addifon produced more than a fourth part,
In 1715, he began the Freeholder, a political pa¬
per, which was much admired, and proved of great
ufe at that jundture. He publifhed alfo, about this
time, verfes to Sir Godfrey Kneller upon the king’s
pidlure, and fome to the princefs of Wales with the
tragedy of Cato.
Before the arrival of King George be was made fe¬
cretary to the regency, and was required by his office
to fend notice to Hanover that the queen was dead,
and that the throne was vacant. To do this would
not have been difficult to any man but Addifon, who
was fo overwhelmed with the greatnefs of the event,
and fo diftradled by choice of expreffion, that the lords,
who could not wait for the niceties of criticifm, called
Mr Southwell, a clerk in the houfe, and ordered him
to defpatch the meffage. Southwell readily told what
was neceffary, in the common ftyle of bufinefs, and
valued himfelf upon having done what was too hard for
Addifon.
In 1716, he married the countefs dowager of War¬
wick, whom he had folicited by a very long and anxi¬
ous courtflu’p. He is faid to have firft known her by
becoming tutor to her fon. The marriage, if uncon-
tradifted report can be credited, made no addition to
his happinefs; it neither found them nor made them
equal. She always remembered her own rank, and
thought herfelf entitled to treat with very little cere¬
mony the tutor of her fon. It is certain that Addifon
has left behind him no encouragement for ambitious
love. The year after, 1717, he rofe to his higbeft
elevation, being made fecretary of date ; but is repre-
fented as having proved unequal to the duties of his
place. In the houfe of commons he could not fpeak,
and therefore was ufelefs to the defence of the govern¬
ment. In the office he could not iffue an order with¬
out lofing his time in queft of fine expreffions. At
laft, finding by experience his own inability for public
bufinefs, he was forced to folicit his difmiffion, with a
penfion of 1500I. a year. Such was the account of
thofe who were inclined to detradl from his abilities 5
but by others his relinquiffiment was attributed to de¬
clining health, and the neceffity of recefs and quiet.
In his retirement, he applied himfelf to a religious
work *, which he had begun long before •, part of
which, fcarce finiffied, has been printed in his works.
iftian He intended alfo to have given an Engliffi paraphrafe
zi<m. of fome of David’s pfalms. But his ailments increafed,
81 ] ADD
and cut ffiort his defigns. He had for fome time been Addifen,
oppreffed by an afthmatic diforder, which was now ag- '““■'V"""
gravated by a dropfy, and he prepared to die conform¬
ably to his precepts and profeffions. He fent, as Pope
relates, a melfage by the earl of Warwick to Mr Gay,
defiring to fee him : Gay, who had not vifited him for
fome time before, obeyed the fummons, and found
himfelf received with great kindnefs. The purpofe for
which the interview had been folicited was then difco-
vered : Addifon told him, that he had injured him ;
but that, if he recovered, he would recompenfe him.
What the injury was he did not explain, nor did Gay
ever know : but fuppofed that fome preferment defign-
ed for him had by Addifon’s intervention been with¬
held.—Another deathbed interview, of a more folemn
nature, is recorded : Lord Warwick was a young man
of very irregular life, and perhaps of loofe opinions.
Addifon, for whom he did not want refpeft, had very
diligently endeavoured to reclaim him ; but his argu¬
ments and expoftulations had no effedl : One experi¬
ment, however, remained to be tried. When he found
his life near its end, he directed the young lord to be
called : and when he defired, with great tendernefs, to
hear his laft injunftions, told him, “ I have fent for
you that you may fee how a Chriftian can die.” What
effeft this awful fcene had on the earl’s behaviour is
not known : he died himfelf in a ffiort time. Having
given diredlions to Mr Tickell for the publication of
his works, and dedicated them on his deathbed to his
friend Mr Craggs, he died June 17. I7i9j at Holland-
houfe, leaving only one child, a daughter, by his mar¬
riage.
Addifon’s courfe of life before his marriage has been
detailed by Pope. He had in the houfe with him
Budgell, and perhaps Philips. His chief companions
were Steele, Bugdell, Philips, Carey, Davenant, and
Colonel Brett. With one or other of thefe he always
breakfafted. He ftudied all morning ; then dined at
a tavern, and went afterwards to Button’s. From the
coffeehoufe he went again to the tavern, where he often
fat late and drank too much wine.
Dr Johnfon, in delineating the charafter of Addi¬
fon, obferves with Tickell, that he employed wit on
the fide of virtue and religion. He not only made the
proper ufe of wit himfelf, but taught it to others j
and from his time it has been generally fubfervient to
the caufe of reafon and truth. He has diffipated the
prejudice that had long conne&ed gaiety with vice,
and eafinefs of manners with laxity of principles. He
has reftored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence
not to be affiamed. This is an elevation of literary
charadler, “ above all Greek, above all Roman fame.”
No greater felicity can genius attain than that of ha¬
ving purified intelle£tual pleafure, feparated mirth from
indecency, and wit from licentioufnefs; of having
taught a fucceffion of writers to bring elegance and
gaiety to the aid of goodnefs ; and, to ufe expreffions
yet more awful, of having “ turned many to righte-
oufnefs.” As a defcriber of life and manners, he
muft be allowed to ftand perhaps the firft of the firft
rank. His humour, which as Steele obferves, is pe¬
culiar to himfelf, is fo happily diffufed as to give the
grace of novelty to domeftic fcenes and daily occur¬
rences. He never “ outfteps the modefty of nature,”
nor raifes merriment or wonder by the violation of
truth*
ADD [
Addifon. truth. H!s figures neither divert by diftortion, nor
1 " V" 1' amaze by aggravation. He copies life with fo much
fidelity, that he can hardly be faid to invent 5 yet his
exhibitions have an air fo much original, that it is dif¬
ficult to fuppofe them not merely the produft of imagi¬
nation. As a teacher of wifdom he may be confidently
followed. His religion has nothing in it entbufiaftic or
fuperflitious ; he appears neither weakly credulous nor
wantonly fceptical 5 his morality is neither dangeroufly
lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of
fancy and all the cogency of argument are employed to
recommend to the reader his real intereft, the care of
pleafing the Author of his being. Truth is Ihown
ibmetimes as the phantom of a vifion, fometimes ap¬
pears half-veiled in an allegory ; fometimes attraCts re¬
gard in the robes of fancy, and fometimes fteps forth in
the confidence of reafon. She wears a thoufand dreffes,
and in all is pleafing.
The doCtor, however, has related the following anec¬
dote, which every admirer of Addifon, every man of
feeling, mult be reluftant to believe. “ Steele (fays
the doftor), whofe imprudence of generofity, or vanity
of profufion, kept him always incurably neceflfitous, up¬
on fome prefling exigence, in an evil hour ; borrowed
a hundred pounds of his friend, probably without much
purpofe of repayment 5 but Addifon, who feems to
have had other notions of a hundred pounds, grew im¬
patient of delay, and reclaimed his loan by an execu¬
tion. Steele felt, with great fenfibility, the obduracy
of his creditor •, but with emotions of forrow rather
than of anger.” It is much to be wiflied, fays Dr Kip-
pis, that Dr Johnfon had produced his authority for
this narration. It is very poflible, that k may be only
a ftory the doClor had fomewhere heard in converfation,
and which is entirely groundlefs : “ and this I am the
rather inclined to believe, as I have been allured,. by
one of the moft refpeaable charaClers in the king¬
dom, that the faCt hath no foundation in truth.” Mr
Potter, in a late publication, hath informed us, that he
is told by the bell authority that the ftory is an abfo-
lute falfehood.
Mr Tyers, in “ A hiftorical Effay on Mr Addi¬
fon,” printed, but not publilhed, has mentioned fome
faCls concerning him, with which we were not before
acquainted. Thefe are, That he was laid out for dead
as foon as he was born : that, when he addrefled his
verfes on the Englilh poets to Henry Sacheverell, he
courted that gentleman’s After *, that, whenever Ja¬
cob Tonfon came to him for the SpeClator, Bayle’s
French Hiftorical and Critical DiClionary lay always
open before him : that, upon his return to England,
after his travels, he difcharged fome old debts he had
contracted at Oxford, with the generofity of good
intereft : that he was put into plentiful circumftances
by the death of a brother in the Eaft Indies : that,
having received encouragement from a married lady,
of whom he had been formerly enamoured, he had the
integrity to refill the temptation : that he refufed a
gratification of a three hundred pounds bank-note,
and afterwards of a diamond-ring of the fame value,
from a Major Dunbar, whom he had endeavoured to
ferve in Ireland by his intereft with Lord Sunderland:
and that his daughter by Lady Warwick died a few
years ago unmarried, refidingat Bilton near Rugby, and
182 ] ADD
poffeflxng an income of more than twelve hundred a-
year.
The following letter, which probably relates to the
cafe of Major Dunbar, reflefts great honour on Mr
Addifon’s integrity. “ June 26. I7I5»—^
there is a very ftrong oppofition formed againft you j
but I (hall wait on my lord lieutenant this morning,
and lay your cafe before him as advantageoufly as I
can, if he is not engaged in other company. I am
afraid what you fay of his grace does not portend you
any good. And now, Sir, believe me, when I allure
you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence what-
foever, take more than the ftated and cuftomary fees
of my office. I might keep the contrary praftice
concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but 1
could not from myfelf-, and I hope I lhall always fear
the reproaches of my own heart more than thofe of all
mankind. In the mean time, if I can ferve a gentle¬
man of merit, and fuch a charaa^er as you bear in the
world, the fatisfaaion I meet with on fuch an occa-
fion is always a fufficient, and the only reward to, Sir,
your moft obedient, humble fervant, J. Addison. —
The anecdote which follows was told by the late Dr
Birch. Addifon and Mr Temple Stanyan were very
intimate. In the familiar converfations which palled
between them, they were accuftomed freely to difpute
each other’s opinions. Upon fome occafion, Mr Addi¬
fon lent Stanyan five hundred pounds. After this, Mr
Stanyan behaved with a timid referve, deference, and
refpefl ; not converfing with the fame freedom as for¬
merly, or canvaffing his friend’s lentiments. I his gave
great uneafinefs to Mr Addifon. One day they hap¬
pened to fall upon a fubjeft, on which Mr Stanyan had
always been ufed ftrenuoully to oppofe his opinion.
But, even upon this occafion, he gave way to what his
friend advanced, without interpofing his own view of
the matter. This hurt Mr Addifon fo much, that he
faid to Mr Stanyan, “ Either contradift me, or pay me
the money.”
In Tickell’s edition of Mr Addifon’s works there
are feveral pieces hitherto unmentioned, viz. The Dif-
fertation on Medals ; which, though not publilhed till
after his death, yet he had colkaed the materials, and
began to put them in order, at Vienna, in 1702. A
pamphlet, entitled, dhe prefent State of the War,
and the Neceffity of an Augmentation, confidered.
The late Trial and Convi&ion of Count Tariff. I he
Whig Examiner came out on the 14th of September
1 <716 ; there were five of thefe papers attributed to
Mr Addifon, and they are the fevereft pieces he ever
wrote. He is faid alfo to have been the author of a
performance entitled Differtatio de mjignioribus Roma-
norum Poetis, and of a Difcourfe on Ancient and Mo¬
dern Learning.
ADDITAMENT, fomething added to another.
Thus phylicians call the ingredients added to a medi¬
cine already compounded, additaments.
ADDITION, is the joining together or uniting
two or more things, or augmenting a thing by the ac-
ceffion of others thereto.
Addition, in Arithmetic, Algebra, &c. See thefe
articles.
Addition, in Mufic, a dot marked on the right fide
of a note, fignifying that it is to be founded or length¬
ened
Addifon
II.
Addition.
A D E [ i
ened half as much more as it would have been without
fuch mark.
Addition, in Law, is that name or title which is
aiven to a man over and above his proper name and
furname, to (how of what eftate, degree, or myftery he
is; and of what town, village, or country.
Additions of EJlate, or Quality, are, Yeoman,
Gentleman, Efquire, and fuch like.
ADDITIONS of Degree, are thofe we call names of
dignity, as Knight, Lord, Earl, Marquis, and Duke.
bADDITIONS of Myfery, are fuch as Scrivener, Paint¬
er, Mafon, and the like.
ADDITIONS of Place, are, of Thorp, of Dale, of
Woodftock.—Where a man hath houfehold in two
places, he {hall be faid to dwell in both *, fo that his
addition in either may fuffice. Knave was anciently a
regular addition. By flat. I. Hen. V. cap. 5. it was
ordained, that in fuch fuits or aftions where procefs of
outlawry lies, fuch addition ftiould be made to the
name of the defendant, to (how his eftate, myftery,
and place where he dwells; and that the writs not hav¬
ing fuch additions ftiould abate if the defendant take
exception thereto; but not by the office of the court.
The reafon of this ordinance was, that one man might
not be troubled by the outlawry of another ; but by
reafon of the certain addition, every perfon might bear
his own burden.
Additions, in diftilling, a name given to luch
things as are added to the wafti, or liquor, while in a
ftate of fermentation, in order to improve the vinofity
of the fpirit, procure a larger quantity of it, or give it
a particular flavour. All things, of whatever kind,
thus added in the time of fermentation, are called by
thofe of the bufinefs who fpeak moft intelligently addi¬
tions ; but many confound them with things of a very
different nature, under the name of ferments. See
Distilling.
Additions, in Heraldry, fome things added to a
coat-of-arms, as marks of honour ; and therefore di¬
rectly oppofite to abatements. Among additions we
reckon Bordure, Quarter, Canton, Gyron, Pile,
&c. See thefe articles.
ADDRESS, in a general fenfe, is ufed for {kill and
good management, and of late has been adopted from
the French. It is ufed alfo in commerce, as fynony-
mous with direction to a perfon or place. The word
is formed of the French verb, addrejfer, To direB any
thing to a perfon.
ADDUCENT muscles, or Adductors, in Ana¬
tomy, thofe mufcles which pull one part of the body to¬
wards another. See Anatomy, Table of the Mufcles.
ADEB, in Commerce, the name of a large Egyp¬
tian weight, ufed principally for rice, and confiftmg of
210 okes, each of three rotolos, a weight of about two
drams lefs than an Englifti pound. But this is no cer¬
tain weight; for at Rofetto the adeb is only 150 okes.
ADEL, a kingdom on the eaftern coaft of Africa,
which reaches as far- as the ftraits of Babelmandel,
which unite the Red sfea to the fea of Arabia. This
country produces corn, and feeds a great number of
cattle. The inhabitants carry on a trade in gold, fil-
ver, ivory, oil, frankincenfe, a fort of pepper, and other
inerchandifes of Arabia and the Indies. The king was
formerly a vaffal to the grand negus of Abyffinia : but
being Mahometans, and the Abyffinians a fort of Chri-
83 ] A D E
ftians, they could not agree; and in 1535 came to an
open rupture, when the Adelians threw off the yoke,
feeking protection from the Grand Signior. The prin- _
cipal places are, Adela, leated in the centre of the
country, and the town where the king reftdes: Zeila,
near the Arabian fea, is a rich town, and has a good
trade : Barbora, near the fea-coaft, is an ancient trad¬
ing town. It rains very feldom in this country.
&ADELIA. See Botany Index.
ADELME, or Aldhelm, fon to Kenred, nephew
to Ina king of the Weft Saxons, after having been
educated abroad, was abbot of Malmlbury 30. years.
He was the firft Engliftiman who wrote in Latin, the
fir ft who brought poetry into England, and the firft
biffiop of Sherburn. He lived in great efteem till his
death, which happened in 709. He was canonized,
and many miracles were afcribed to him. He is men¬
tioned with great honour by Camden and Bayle, and
his life was written by William of Malmfbury.
ADELPHIANI, in church hiftory, a feCt of an¬
cient heretics, who failed always on Sundays.
ADELSCALC, in ancient cuftoms, denotes a fer-
vant of the king. The word is alfo written ade/fcalche,
and adelfcalus. It is compounded of the German adel,
or edel, “ noble,” and fcalc, “ fervant.” Among the
Bavarians, adelfcalcs appear to have been the fame w'ith
royal thanes among the Saxons, and thofe called mini-
Jlri regis in ancient charters.
ADEMPTION, in the Civil Law, implies the re¬
vocation of a grant, donation, or the like.
ADEN, formerly a rich and confiderable town of
Arabia the Happy. It is feated by the fea fide, a little
eaftward of the ftraits of Babelmandel. N. Lat. 12. 40.
E. Long. 46. 13.
ADENANTHERA, Bastard Flower-fence.
See Botany Index.
ADENBURG, or Aldenburg, a town of Weft-
phalia, and in the duchy of Berg, fubjeCt to the Elec¬
tor Palatine. It is 12 miles north-eaft of Cologne, and
17 weft of Bonn. E. Long. 7* -baL 51 • 2*
ADENIA. See Botany Index.
ADENOGRAPHY, that part of anatomy which
treats of the glandular parts. See Anatomy.
ADENOIDES, glandulous or of a glandular form ;
an epithet applied to the trostatac.
ADENOLOGY, the fame with Adenography. .
ADENOS, a kind of cotton ; otherwife called ma¬
rine cotton. It comes from Aleppo by the way of Mar-
feilles, where it pays 20 per cent. duty.
AD EON A, in mythology, the name of a goddefs
invoked by the Romans when they fet out upon a jour-
ney.
ADEPHAGIA, in mythology, the goddefs of glut¬
tony, to whom the Sicilians paid religious worftiip.
ADEPS, in Anatomy, the fat found in the abdo¬
men. It alfo fignifies animal fat of any kind.
ADEPTS, a term among alchemifts for thofe who
pretended to have found the panacea and philofophers
ftone. “ Such is the nature, fays Paracelfus, of this
higher philofophy, that one mortal can no more com¬
municate it to another, than the paper on which letters
are traced can of itfelf declare their meaning. It ori¬
ginates not from man, but from heaven.”
ADERBIJAN. See Adirbeitsan.
ADERNO, a ftnall place in the Val di Demona in
the
Adel
il
Aderno.
A D H [ s
Ailerno the kingdom of Sicily. E. Long. 1-5* •5*
Adhoa.
Anciently Adranum, at the foot of Mount Gibel
, The ruined walls of this ancient city ftill exhibit an air
of its former grandeur.
ADES, or Hades, denotes the invifible date. In
the heathen mythology, it comprehends all thofe re¬
gions that lie beyond the river Styx, viz. Erebus, T ar-
tarus, and Elyfium. See Hell.
ADESSENARIANS, Adessenarii, in church
hiftory, a fed of Cbriftians who hold the real prefence
of Chrift’s body in the eucharift, though not by way
of tranfubftantiation. They differ confiderably as to.this
prefence ; fome holding that the body of Chrift is in
the bread j others, that it is about the bread 5 and o-
thers that it is under the bread.
ADFILIATION, a Gothic cuftom, whereby the
children of a former marriage are put upon the fame
footing with thofe of the fecond. This is alfo called
unio prolium, and ftill retained in fome parts of Germa¬
ny, though Heineccius obferves that this is not adop-
tion. , _
AD FINES, ( Antonine"), a town of Swifferland, iup-
pofed to be the modern Pjin, in the north of the dif-
tri£l of Turgow, on the rivulet Thur, not far from
the borders of Suabia, about half way between Con-
■ftance and Frauenfield. So called, becaufe when Ce-
cinna, general of the emperor Vitellius, with the auxi¬
liary Rhetians, defeated the Helvetii, the former ex¬
tended their borders thus far, their territory ending
here; and in the time of the Romans, it was the laft
town in this quarter, and of fome repute.
ADHA, a feftival which the Mahometans celebrate
on the 10th day of the month Dhoulhegiat, which is
the 12th and laft of their year. This month being par¬
ticularly deftined for the ceremonies which the pilgrims
obferve at Mecca, it takes its name from thence, for
the word fignifies the month of Pilgrimage. On that
day they facrifice with great folemnity, at Mecca, and
nowhere elfe, a fheep, which is called by the fame
name as the feftival itfelf. The Turks commonly call
the feftival the Great Pairam, to diftinguifh it frotri
the leffer, which ends their fall, and which the Chrifti-
ans of the Levant call the Eafer of the Turks. .The
Mahometans celebrate this feftival, out of the city of
Mecca, in a neighbouring valley j and fometimes they
facrifice there a camel. See Bairam.
ADHATODA, in Botany. See Justicia, Bota-
2sY •
Action of ADHERENCE, in Scots Law ; an ac¬
tion competent to a huftmnd or wife, to compel either
party to adhere, in cafe of defertion.
ADHESION, in a general fenfe, implies the flick¬
ing or adhering of bodies together.
Adhesion, in Philofophy. See Cohesion.
Adhesion, in Anatomy, a term for one part flicking
to another, which in a natural ftate are feparate. For
the moft part, if any of thofe parts in the thorax or
belly lie in contaft, and inflame, they grow together.
The lungs very frequently adhere to the pleura.
ADHIL, in Aflr$nomy, a ftar of the fixth magni¬
tude, upon the garment of Andromeda, under the laft
ftar in her foot.
ADHOA, in ancient cuftoms, denotes what we
-otherwife call relief. In which fenfe we fometimes alfo
84 ] ADI
find the word written aHoha, adhoamentum, and adho-
gamentum. #
ADIANTUM, Maiden-hair j in Botany. See i.
Botany Index.
ADIAPHORISTS, in church hiftory, a name im¬
porting lukewarmnefs, given, in the 16th century, to
the moderate Lutherans, who embraced the opinions
of Melandthon, whofe difpofition was much more paci¬
fic than that of Luther.
ADJAZZO, Adrazzo, or Ajaccio, in Geogra¬
phy, a handfome town and caftle of Corfica in the Me¬
diterranean, with a biftiop’s fee, and. a good harbour.
It is populous, and fertile in wine. It is 27 miles fouth-
weft of Corte. E. long. 41* 54‘ Eat. 38. 5*
ADJECTIVE, in Grammar, a kind, of noun joined
with a fubftantive, either exprefled or implied, to de¬
note its qualities or incidents. See Grammar.
ADIGE, a river in Italy, which taking its rife fouth
of the lake Glace among the Alps, runs fouth by I rent,
then eaft by Verona in the territory of Venice, and
falls into the gulf of Venice, north of the mouth of
the Po.
ADJOURNMENT, the putting off a court, or
other meeting, till another day. There is a.difference
between the adjournment and the prorogation ot the
parliament; the former not only being for a ftiorter
time, but alfo done by the houfe itfelf j whereas the
latter is an aft of royal authority.
ADIPOCIRE, derived from adeps, fat, and cera,
wax, denotes a fubftance which has been lately exami¬
ned by chemifts. It is formed by a certain change
which the foft parts of animal bodies undergo, when
kept for fome time in running water, or when a great
number of dead bodies are heaped together in the fame
place. Great quantities of this fubftance were found
on removing the animal matters from the burial ground
of the Innocens at Paris in the year 17^7* ^u"
rial-ground, 1200 or 1500 bodies were thrown toge¬
ther into the fame pit, and being decompofed, were con¬
verted into this fubftance. It has fome of the proper¬
ties of wax or fpermaceti. See Chemistry Index.
ADIPOSE, a term ufed by anatomifts for any cell,
membrane, &c. that is remarkable for its fatnefs.
ADIRBEITSAN, in Geography, a province of Per-
fia, in Afia, and part of the ancient Media.. It is bound¬
ed on the north by the province of Schirvan, on the
fouth by Irac-Agemi and Curdiftan, on the eaft by Ghi-
lan and the Cafpian fea, and on the wjeft by Turcoma-
Adhoa
Adit.
nia. E. Long. 420. to 4?°* N* Eat. 36 • to 39.
ADIT, in a general fenfe, the paffage to, or entrance
of, any thing. .
ADIT of a Mine, the hole, or aperture, whereby it
is entered and dug, and by which the water and ores
are carried away. The term amounts to the fame with.
cuniculus or drift, and is diftinguiftied from air-fhaft.
The adit is ufually made on the fide of a hill, towards
the bottom thereof, about four, five, or fix. feet high,
and eight wide, in form of an arch j fometimes cut in
the rock, and fometimes fupported with timber, fo con-
dufted as that the foie or bottom of the adit may an-
fwer to the bottom of the (haft, only fomewhat lower,
that the water may have a fufficient current to pafs
away without the ufe of the pump. Damps and the
impurity of the air are the great impediments againft
driving
A D J
[ 185 ]
ADM
Adit driving adits above 20 or 30 fathoms, by reafon of the
ii neceffity, in this cafe, of letting down air-lhafts from
Adjutant.. ^ day to meet the adjt? which are often very expen-
_ 1 f1Ve, both on account of the great depth of mines, and
the hardnefs of the mineral ftrata to be cut through.
The bell remedy againft this is that pra&ifed in the
coal mines near Liege, where they work their adits
without air-fhafts ; the manner of which is defcribed by
Sir James Moray. (P/n7. Tranf. vol. i. p. 79.)
Adit of a MzW is fometimes ufed for the air-fhaft,
itfelf, being a hole driven perpendicularly from the fur-
face of the earth into feme part of the mine, to give en¬
trance to the air. To draw off the ftanding water in
winter, in deep mines, they drive up an adit, or air-
Ihaft, upon which the air difengages itfelf from the
water, when it begins to run with fuch violence as pro¬
duces a noife equal to the burfting of a cannon, dallies
thing in the way againll the iides of the mine,
and loofens the very rocks at a diftance. (Ibid).
ADJUDICATION, implies the aft of adjudging,
or determining, a caufe in favour of fome perfon.
Adjudication, in Scots Law, the name of that ac¬
tion by which a creditor attaches the heritable eftate
of his debtor, or his debtor’s heir, in order to appro¬
priate it to himfelf, either in payment or fecurity of his
debt •, or that aftion by which the holder of an herit¬
able right, labouring under any defeft in point of form,
may fupply that defeat.
ADJUNCT, among philofophers, fignifies fome-
thing added to another, without being any neceffary
part of it. Thus water abforbed by cloth or a fponge,
is an adjunft, but no neceffary part of either of thefe
fubftances.
Adjunct, in Metaphyjics, fome quality belonging to
either the body or mind, whether natural or acquired.
Thus thinking is an adjunft of the mind, and growth an
adjun£t of the body.
Adjunct, in Mujic, a word which is employed.to
denominate the connexion or relation between the prin¬
ciple mode and the modes of its two-fifths, which, from
the intervals that conftitute the relation between them
and it, are called its adjunBs.
Adjunct is alfo ufed to fignify a colleague, or fome
perfon affociated with another as an afliflant.
Adjunct Gods, or Adjuncts of the. Gods, among
the Romans, were a kind of inferior deities, added as
afliftants to the principal ones, to eafe them in their func¬
tions. Thus, to Mars was adjoined Bellona and Ne-
mefisj to Neptune, Salacia 5 to Vulcan, the Cabiri •,
to the Good Genius, the Lares j to the Evil, the X^e-
mureg, &c.
Adjuncts, in Rhetoric and Grammar, fignify cer¬
tain words or things added to others, to amplify or
augment the force of the difcourfe.
Adjuncts, or Adjoints, in the Royal Academy
of Sciences at Paris, denoted a clafs of members, at¬
tached to the purfuit of particular fciences. The clafs
of AdjunBs was created in ly1^, in lieu of the E/eves :
they were twelve in number j two for geometry, two
for mechanics, two for aftronomy, two for anatomy,
two for chemiftry, and two for botany. The E/eves
not taken into this eftablilhment W'ere admitted on the
footing of fupernumerary AdjunBs.
ADJUTANT, in the military art, is an officer
whofe bufinefs it is to affift the major. Each battalion
Vol. I. Part I.
of foot and regiment of horfe has an adjutant, who re- Adjutant,
ceives the orders every night from the brigade-major ; Admea-
which, after carrying them to the colonel, he delivers furer! ent.
out to’ the ferjeants. When detachments are to be - ,
made, he gives the number to be furniffied by each
company or troop, and affigns the hour and place of
rendezvous. He alfo places the guards ; receives and
ditlributes the ammunition to the companies, &c.; and,
by the major’s orders regulates the prices of bread,
beer, and other provifions. The word is fometimes
ufed by the French for an aid-du-camp.
ADJUTANTS-general, among the Jefuits, a fele£t
number of fathers, who reiided with the general of the
order, each of whom had a province or country affign-
ed him, as England, Holland, &c. and their bufinefs
was to inform the father-general of Hate occurrences
in fuch countries. To this end they had their corref-
pondents delegated, emiffaries, vifitors, regents, pro¬
vincials, &c.
ADJUTORIUM, a term ufed by phyficians for any
medicine in a prefcription but the capital one.
ADLE-eggs, fuch as have not received an impreg¬
nation from the femen of the cock.
ADLEG ATION, in the public law of the German
empire, a right claimed by the ftates of the empire of
adjoining plenipotentiaries, in public treaties and nego¬
tiations, to thofe of the emperor, for the tranfafting of
matters which relate to the empire in general. In
which fenfe adlegation differs from legation, which is
the right of fending ambaffadors on a perfon’s own ac¬
count.—Several princes and ftates of the empire enjoy
the right of legation, which have not that of adlegation,
and vice verfa. The bilhops, for inftance, have the
right of adlegation in the treaties which concern the
common intereft, but no right of legation for their own
private affairs. The like had the duke of M^antua.—
The emperor allows the princes of Germany the privi¬
lege of legation, but difputes that of adlegation. They
challenge it as belonging to them jure regni, which
they enjoy in common with the emperor himfelf.
ADLOCUTION, Adlocutio, in Antiquity,
chiefly underftood of fpeeches made by Roman gene¬
rals to their armies, to encourage them before a battle.
We frequently find thofe adlocutions expreffed on me¬
dals by the abbreviature Adlocut. Coh.—The ge¬
neral is fometimes reprefented as feated on a tribunal,
often on a bank or mound of turf, with the cohorts
ranged orderly round him, in manipuh and turmce.
The ufual formula in adlocutions was, Fortis ejfet at
fdus.
ADMANUENSES, in ancient law books, denote
perfons who fwore by laying their hands on the book.
 In which fenfe, admanuenfes amount to the fame
with laymen •, and (land oppofed to clerks, who were
forbid to fwear on the book, their word^ being reputed
as their oath ; whence they were alfo denominated
fde digni.
ADMEASUREMENT, ADMENSuRATio,in Law,
a writ which lies for the bringing thofe to reafon, 01
mediocrity, who ufurp more of any thing than then
ffiare. This writ lies in two cafes j termed,
ADMEASUBEMENTiof Dower, Admenfuratio dotis,
where the widow of the deceafed holds more from the
heir, or his guardian, on account of her dower, than of
right belongs to her. And,
A a
Admeasurement
Admea-
furement
II .
Admini-
ftrator.
ADM [ i86
Admeasurement of Pajlure, Admenfttrttuo pnjlu-
r*; this lies between thofe who have COMMON of pa-
ftures appendant to their freehold, or common by vici¬
nage, in cafe any of them furcharge the common with
- more cattle than they ought. .
ADMINICLE, a term ufed chiefly in old law¬
books, to imply an aid, help, afliftance or fupport.
The word is Latin, adtniniculum; and derived from
adminicular, to prop or lupport.
Adminicle, in Scots Law, figmfies any writing or
deed referred to by a party, in an aftion of law, tor
proving his allegations. . f .
ADMINICULATOR, an ancient officer of the
church, whofe bufinefs it was to attend to and defend
the caufe of the widows, orphans, and others deltitute
of help. . , .
ADMINISTRATION, in general, the govern¬
ment direction, or management ot affairs, and particu¬
larly the exercife of diftributive juftice. Among eccle-
fiaftics, it is often ufed to exprefs the giving or difpen-
jing the facraments, &c. .
Administration, is alfo the name given by the
Spaniards in Peru to the Itaple magazine, or warehoute,
eftablifhed at Callao, a fmall town on the South iea
which is the port of Lima, the capital of that part ot
South America, and particularly of Peru. The foreign
fhips which have leave to trade along that coaft are
obliged to unload here, paying 13 percent, of the price
they fell for, if the cargo be entire, and even 16 per
cent, if other wife} befides which, they pay 3 per 1000,
duty, for confulfhip and fome other fmall royal rights
ADMINISTRATOR, in Law, he to whom the
ordinary commits the adminiftration of the goods^ a
perfon deceafed, in default of an executor.—An aftion
lies for or againft an adminiftrator, as for or agamft
an executor; and lie fhall be accountable to the value
of the goods of the deceafed, and no farther unleis
there be wafte, or other abufe chargeable on him. It
the adminiftrator die, his executors are not admimitra-
tors : but the court is to grant a new adminiftration.
 If a ft ranger, who is neither adminiftrator nor exe¬
cutor, take the goods of the deceafed and admimfter,
he (hall be charged and fued as an executor, not as an
adminiftrator. The origin of adminiftrators is derived
from the civil law. Their eftablilhment in England
is owing to a ftatute made in the 31ft year of Ed¬
ward III. Till then, no office of this kind was known
befide that of executor : in cafe of a want of which,
the ordinary had the difpofal of goods of perfons in-
Administrator, in Scats Law, a perfon legally
empowered to aft for another whom the law prefumes
tnranable of afting for himfelf. Thus tutors or cura-
incapable of afting for himfelf. Thus tutors or cura¬
tors are fometimes ftyled admini/lrators in law to pu¬
pils, minors, or fatuous perfons. But more generally
the’term is ufed to imply that power which is confer¬
red by the law upon a father over the perfons and
property of his children during their minority. See
Administrator is fometimes ufed for the preli-
dent of a province : for a perfon appointed to receive,
manage, and diftribute, the revenues of an hofpital or
religious houfe ; for a prince who enjoys the revenues
of a fecularized biffiop; and for the regent of a king-
y , ADM
dom during the minority of a prince, or a vacancy of
the throne. . , „ ,
ADMIRABILIS sal, the fame with Glauber s
^ADMIRAL, a great officer or magiftrate, who has
the government of a navy, and the hearing of all mari¬
time caufes. . .
Authors are divided with regard to the origin and
denomination of this important officer, whom we find
eftabliffied in molt kingdoms that border on the lea.
But the moft probable opinion is that 01 oir xienry
Spelman, who thinks, that both the name and dignity
were derived from the Saracens, and, by reaion 01 the
holy wars, brought amongft us; for admiral, m the
Arabian language, fignifies a prince, or chief ru ei,
and was the ordinary title of the governors of cities,
provinces, &c. and therefore they called the com¬
mander of the navy by that name, as a name of dignity
and honour. And indeed there are no inftances oi
admirals in this part of Europe before the year 1284,
when Philip of France, who had attended St Lewis in
the wars againft the Saracens, created an admiral. Du
Cange affures us, that the Sicilians were the firft, and
the Genoefe the next, who gave the denomination ot
admiral to the commanders of their naval armaments;
and that they took it from the Saracen or Arabic frar,
a general name for every commanding officer. As tor
the exaft time when the word was introduced among
us, it is uncertain ; fome think it was m the reign ot
Edward I. Sir Henry Spelman is of opinion that it
was firft ufed in the reign of Henry HI. becaufe nei¬
ther the laws of Oleron, made in 1266, nor Brafton,
who wrote about that time, make any mention ot it ;
and that the term admiral was not ufed in a charter in
the eighth of Henry III. where he granted this office
to Richard de Lacy, by thefe words Mantimam Anghw;
but in the 56th year of the fame reign, not only the
hiftorians, but the charters themfelves, very frequently
ufed the word admiral. , .
Anciently there were generally threem four ad™‘-
rals appointed in the Englift. Teas, all of them holding
the office durante beneplaceto; and each of them having
particular limits under their charge and government ;
as admirals of the fleet of ffiips, from the mouth of the
Thames, northward, fouthward, or weftward. Belides
thefe there were admirals of the Cinque Ports, as in the
reign of Edward III. when one William Latimer was
ftyled admiralis quinque portuumand we fometimes
find that one perfon has been admiral of the fleets ^0
the fouthward, northward, and weftward: but the title
of admiralis Anglia was not frequent till the. reign of
Henry IV. when the king’s brother had that title given
him, which in all commiffions afterwards was granted
to the fucceeding admirals. It may be obferved, that
there was a title above that of admiral of England,
which was, locum tenens regis fuper mare, the king s
lieutenant general of the fea ; this title we find men¬
tioned in the reign of Richard II. Before the ufe of
the word admiral was known, the title of cujlos mans
was made ufe of. _ .
Lord High Admiral of England, in fome ancient re¬
cords called capitanus maritimarum, an officer ot great
antiquity and truft, as appears by the laws of Oleron, lo
denominated from the place at which they were made by
Richard I. The firft title of admiral of England, vl?
Admini-
ftrator
II
Admiral.
Admiral.
ADM [
prefsly conferred upon a fubjeft, was given by patent of
Richard II. to Richard Fitz-Allen, jun. earl ot Arun¬
del and Surrey ; for thofe who before enjoyed this of¬
fice were {imply termed admirals, though their ju-
rifdi&ion feems as extenfive, efpecially in the reign of
Edward III. when the court of admiralty was hrlt
erefled. . r n •
This great officer has the management of all mari¬
time affairs, and the government of the royal navy
wth power of decifion in all maritime caufes both civil
and criminal: he judges of all things done upon or be¬
yond the fea, in any part of the world; upon the lea
coafts, in all ports and havens, and upon all rivers be¬
low the firft bridge from the fea. By him, vice-admi¬
rals, rear admirals, and all fea captains, are commii-
fioned : all deputies for particular coads, and coroners
to view dead bodies found on the fea coads or at lea :
he alfo appoints the judges for his court of admiralty,
and may imprifon, releafe, &c. All ports and havens
are infra corpus comitatus, and the admiral hath no ju-
rifdiftion of any thing done in them. Between high
and low water mark, the common law and the high
admiral have jurifdiaion by turns, one upon the water,
and the other upon the land.
The lord admiral has power, not only over the tea¬
men ferving in his ffiips of war, but over all other iea-
men, to arred them for the fervice of the date ; and,
if any of them run away, without leave of the admiral,
he hath power to make a record thereof, and certify
the fame to the ffieriffs, mayors, bailiffs, &c. who fliall
caufe them to be apprehended and imprifoned. .
To the lord high admiral belong all penalties’ and
amercements of all tranfgreffions at fea, on the^a ffiore,
in ports and havens, and all rivers below the fird bridge
from the fea ; the goods of pirates and felons condemn¬
ed or endaved, fea wrecks, goods floating on the lea,
or cad on the ffiore (not granted to lords of manors
adjoining to the fea), and a fliare of lawful prizes ; alfo
all great fifties, commonly called royal fijhes, except
whales and durgeons : to which add, a falary of 7000 .
3 ^In ffiort, this is fo great an office, in point of trud,
honour, and profit, that it has been ufually given to
princes of the blood, or the mod eminent perfons among
the nobility. We have had no high admiral for iome
years ; the office being put in commiffion, or under the
adminidration of the lords commiffioners of the admi¬
ralty, who by datute have the fame power and autho¬
rity as the lord high admiral.
Lord High Admiral of Scotland, one of the great
officers of the crown, and fupreme judge in all mari¬
time cafes within that part of Britain. See Law.
Admiral alfo implies the commander in chiet ot
any fingle fleet or fquadron ; or, in general, any flag-
officer whatever. The commander of a fleet carries
his flag at the main-top-mad head. Thus we lay, ad¬
miral of the red, of the white, of the blue.
Vice Admiral, is the commander of the fecond iqua-
dron, and carries his flag at the fore-top-mad head.
Rear ADMIRAL, is the commander of the third fqua-
dron, and carries his flag at the mizen-top-mad head.
Vice Admiral, is alfo an officer appointed by the
lords commiffioners of the admiralty. There are feve-
ral of thefe officers eftabliftred in different parts ot
87 ] ADM
Great Britain, with judges and marlhals under them,
for executing jurifdidion within their refpethve limits.  ^  
Their decrees, however, are not final, an appeal lying
to the court of admiralty in London. .
Admiral is alfo an appellation given to the molt
confiderable ffiip of a fleet of merchantmen, or of the
veffels employed in the cod fiftiery of Newfoundland.
This lad has the privilege of choofing what place he
pleafes on the fliore to dry his fiffi ; gives proper orders,
and appoints the fiftiing places to thofe who come alter
him ; and as long as the fiftiing feafon continues, he
carries a flag on his main-mad. .
Admiral, in Concho logy, the Engliffi name of a
fpecies of the voluta, a {hell fifti belonging to the order
of vermes teftacea. See Conchology Index.
ADMIRALTY properly fignifies the office of lord
high admiral, whether difcharged by one fingle per-
fon, or by joint commiffioners called lords of the admi-
ralty. . , , ,
Court of Admiralty, is a fovereign court, held by
the lord high admiral, or lords of the admiralty, where
cognizance is taken in all maritime affairs, whether ci¬
vil or criminal.—All crimes committed on the high
feas, or on great rivers below the fird bridge next the
fea, are cognizable in this court only, and before which
they mud be tried by judge and jury. But in civil
cafes the mode is different, the decifions being all made
according to the civil law. From the fentences of the
admiralty judge an appeal always lay, in ordinary
courfe, to the king in chancery, as may be colkaed
from datute 25 Hen. VIII. c. 19. which direas the
appeal from the archbifhop’s courts to be determined
by perfons named in the king’s commiffion, “ like ^siu
cafe of appeal from the admiral court. ’ But this, is
alfo ex prefsly declared by datute 8 Eliz. c. g. which
enaa.s, that upon an appeal made to the chancery, the
fentence definitive of the delegates appointed by com¬
miffion ffiall be final.
Appeals from the vice-admiralty courts in Ameri¬
ca, and our other plantations and fettlements, may be
brought before the courts of admiralty in England, as
being a branch of the admiral’s jurifdiaion, though
they may alfo be brought before the king in council.
But in cafe of prize veffels, taken in time of war, in
any part of the world, and condemned in any courts
of admiralty or vice-admiralty as lawful prize, the ap¬
peal lies to certain commifftoners of appeals confiding
chiefly of the privy council, and not to judges dele¬
gates. And this by virtue of divers treaties with fo¬
reign nations, by which particular courts are eflablifhed
in all the maritime countries of Europe for the decifion
of this quedion, Whether lawful prize or not ? for this
being a quedion between fubje&s of different dates,
it belongs entirely to the law of nations, and not to
the municipal laws of either country, to determine it.
Court of Admiralty, in Scotland. See Law.
Admiralty Bay, in Geography, a fpacious bay with
good anchorage on the wed coad of Cook s draits, in.
the fouthern ifland of New Zealand. S. Lat. 40. 37.
E. Long. 174. 54.
There is a bay of the fame name on the north-wed
coad of America, in N. Lat. 59. 31- W- Lrong-r3 4n‘ ^
Admiralty Inlet, the entrance to the fuppofed drajts
of Juan de Fuca, on the wed coad of New Georgia,
A a 2 Id
ADO [ 188 ] ADO
In N. Lat. 48. 30. W. Long. 1 24. 15. It was vifited
by Captain Vancouver in 1792» 'v^° f°uncI the foil on
the fhores rich and fertile, well watered, and clothed
with luxuriant vegetation.
ADMIRALTT IJlanih, lie in about 2° 18' S. Lat. and
146° 44' E. Long. There are between 20 and 30
i(lands laid to be fcattered about here, one of which
alone would make a large kingdom. Captain Carteret,
who firft difcovered them, was prevented from touching
at them, although their appearance was very inviting,
on account of the condition of his (hip, and of his being
entirely unprovided with the articles of barter which
fuit an Indian trade. He defcribes them as clothed
with a beautiful verdure of woods, lofty and luxuriant,
interfperfed with fpots that have been cleaied for plan¬
tations, groves of cocoa nut trees, and houtes oi the na¬
tives, who feem to be very numerous. The larged of
thefe idands is 18 leagues long in the direftion of eaft
and weft. The difcoverer thinks it highly probable
that thefe iflands produce feveral valuable articles of
trade, particularly fpices, as they lie in the fame climate
and latitude as the Moluccas.
ADMIRATION, in ethics, is that pflion of the
mind which is excited by the contemplation of fuperior
and rare excellence, as fuperior or uncommon wifdom,
ingenuity, or benevolence.
ADMONITION, in ecclefiaftical affairs, a part
of difcipline much ufed in the ancient church. It was
the firft aft, or ftep, towards the puniftiment or expul-
fion of delinquents. In cafe of private offences, it was
performed, according to the evangelical rule, private¬
ly : in cafe of public offence, openly, before the church.
If either of thofe fufficed for the recovery of the fallen
perfon, all further proceedings in the way of cenfure
ceafed : if they did not, recourfe was had to excommu¬
nication.
AdMONITIO Fujlium, a military punilhment among
the Romans, not unlike our whipping, but it was per¬
formed with vine branches.
ADMORTIZATION, in the feudal cuftoms, the
reduaion of the property of lands or tenements to mort¬
main. See Mortmain.
ADNATA, in Anatomy, one of the coats of the eye,
which is alfo called conjunBiva and albuginea.
Adnata is alfo ufed for any hair, wool, or the like,
which grows upon animals or vegetables.
Adnata, or Adnafcentia, among gardeners, denote
thofe offsets, which by a new germination under the
earth, proceed from the lily, narciffus, hyacinth, and
other flowers, and afterwards become true roots.
ADNOUN, is ufed by fome grammarians to exprefs
what we more ufually call an adje&ive.—The word is
formed by way of analogy to adverb *, in regard adjeftives
have much the fame office and relation to nouns that ad¬
verbs have to verbs. Biffiop Wilkins ufes the word
adname in another fenfe, viz. for what we otherwife call
a prepofition.
ADOLESCENCE, the ftate of growing youth -,
or that period of a perfon’s age, commencing from his
infancy, and terminating at his full ftature or manhood.
The word is formed of the Latin adolefcere; “ to
urow.” The ftate of adolefcence lafts fo long as the
fibres continue to grow, either in magnitude or firm-
nefs The fibres being arrived at the degree of firm-
nsfs’and tenfion. fufficlent to Main the parts, no longer
yield or give way to the efforts of the nutritious mat- Adolef.
ter to extend them 5 fo that their farther accretion is ce|jce
flopped, from the very law of their nutrition. Ado- Ad“B;a>
lefcence is commonly computed to be between 15 and —y—
25, or even 30 years of age j though in different con-
ftitutions its terms are very different.—The Romans
ufually reckoned it from 12 to 25 in boys*, and to 21
in girls, &c. And yet, among their writers, juvenis
and adolefcens are frequently ufed indifferently for any
perfon under 45 years.
ADOLLAM, orODOLLAM, in Ancient Geography,
a town in the tribe of Judah, to the eaft of Eleuthero-
polis. David is faid to have hid himfelf in a cave near
this town, (Bible).
ADOM, in Geography, a ftate or principality of the
Gold coaft, in Africa. It is a populous, rich, and fer¬
tile country, abounding with corn and fruits.
ADON, a populous village in the province of Stuhl-
Weiffemberg, belonging to Hungary. It lies in afruiU
£ul country, towards the river Danube. E. Long,
jp. 20. N. Lat. 47. 30.
ADONAI, one of the names of the Supreme Being
in the Scriptures. The proper meaning of the word
is my lords, in the plural number j as Acloni is my lord,
in the fingular. The Jews, who either out of refpeft,
or fuperftition, do not pronounce the name of Jehovah,
read Adonai, in the room of it, as often as they meet
with Jehovah in the Hebrew text. But the ancient
Jews were not fo fcrupulous } nor is there any law
which forbids them to pronounce the name of God
(Calmet.)
ADONIA, in antiquity, folemn feafts in honour of
Venus, and in memory of her beloved Adonis. The
Adonia were obferved with great folemnity by moft
nations *, Greeks, Phoenicians, Lycians, Syrians, E-
gyptians, &c. From Syria, they are fuppofed to have
paffed into India. The prophet Ezekiel * is underftood * €h. viii.
to fpeak of them. They were ftill obferved at Alex-xiv.
andria in the time of St Cyril; and at Antioch in that
of Julian the Apoftate, who happened to enter that city
during the folemnity, which was taken for an ill omen.
The Adonia lafted two days : on the firft of which cer¬
tain images of Venus and Adonis were carried, with all
the pomp and ceremonies pradlifed at funerals : the
women wept, tore their hair, beat their breads, &c.
imitating the cries and lamentations of Venus for the
death of her paramour. This lamentation they called
A'&tmxrpv;. The Syrians were not contented with weep¬
ing, but fubjedted themfelves tofevere difcipline, ffiaved
their heads, &c. Among the Egyptians, the queen her-
felf ufed t@ carry the image of Adonis in proceflion.
St Cyril mentions an extraordinary ceremony pradlifed
by the Alexandrians : A letter was written to the wo¬
men of Byblus, to inform them that Adonis was found
again : this letter was thrown into the fea, which
(it was pretended) did not fail pundtually to convey it
to Byblus in feven days ; upon the receipt of which,
the Byblian women ceafed their mourning, fung his
praifes, and made rejoicings as if he were raifed to life
again : Or rather, according to Meurfius, the two of¬
fices of mourning and rejoicing made two diftindt feafts,
which were held at different times of the year, the one
fix months after the other, Adonis being fuppofed to
pafs half the year with Proferpine, and half with Venus.
>—The Egyptian Adonia are faid to have been held in
memory
ADO
[ 189 1
ADO
* See Add'
nia.
memory of the death of Ofiris; by others of his fick-
nefs and recovery. BiOiop Patrick dates their origin
from the daughter of the firft born under Mofes.
ADONIDES, in Botany, a name given to botamfts
Avho defcribed or made catalogues of plants cultivated
in any particular place.
ADONIS, fon of Cynaras king of Cyprus, the dar¬
ling of the goddefs Venus : being killed by a wild boar,
in the Idalian woods, he was turned into a flower of a
blood-colour, fuppofed to be the anemone. Venus was
inconfolable j and no grief was ever more celebrated
than this, moft nations having perpetuated the memory
of it by a train of aniverfary ceremonies*. Among
Shakefpeare’s poems, is a long one on the fubject ot
Venus’s affe£Iion for Adonis.. . #t.
The text of the vulgate in Ezekiel^ vm. 14. lays,
that this prophet faw women fitting in the temple, and
weeping for Adonis: but according to the reading ot
the Hebrew text, they are faid to weep for 1 hammuz,
or the hidden one. Among the Egyptian;, Adonis
was adored under the name of Ofiris the hulband of
Ifis. But he was fometimes called by the name ot
Ammuz, or Thammuz, the concealed, to denote pro¬
bably his death or burial. The Hebrews, m denfion,
call him fometimes the dead, Pfal. cvi. 28. and Lev.
xix. 28. becaufe they wept for him, and repreiented
him as one dead in his coffin •, and at other times, they
call him the image of jealoufy, Ezek. viii. 3. 5. c-
caufe he was the objed of the god .Mars’s jealoufy.
o • ■ni Cvnn a ns. called him
heretics, followers of Felix of Urge), and Elipand of AJoptiani,
Toledo, who, towards the end of the eighth centui y, ^ ,
advanced the notion, that Jefus Chrift, in his hu¬
man nature, is the Son of God, not by nature, but by
adoption. .
ADOPTION, an ad by which any one takes an¬
other into his family, owns him for his fon, and appoints
him for his heir.
The cuftom of adoption was very common among
the ancient Greeks and Romans ■, yet it was not prac-
tifed, but for certain caufes expreffed in the laws, and
with certain formalities ufual in fuch cafes. It was a
fort of imitation of nature, intended for the comfort
of thofe who had no children : wherefore he that was
to adopt was to have no children of his own, and to be
paft the age of getting any j nor were eunuchs allow¬
ed to adopt, as being under an adual impotency oi
begetting children ; neither was it lawful for a young
man to adopt an elder, becaufe that it would have been,
contrary to the order of nature j nay, it was even re¬
quired that the perfon who adopted fliould be eighteen
years older than his pdopted fon, that there might at
leaft appear a probability of his being the natuial ia-
Among the Greeks it was called hum,filiation. It
was allowed to fuch as had no iffue of their own 5 ex¬
cepting thofe who were not iccvray, their own ma¬
ilers e. g. flaves, women, madmen, infants, or perfons
under twenty years of age } who being incapable of
 J • .1 •   „A^X1 <1Vo rxrvfr
£3i'i ;=tircsss=
Adonis and F. Calmet is of opinion, that the Ammo
nites and Moabites gave him the name of Baal-peor.
See Baal-peor. . .
Adonis, Adonius, in Ancient Geography, a river ot
Phoenicia, riling in Mount Lebanon, and falling into
the fea, after a north-weft courfe, at Byblus ; famous in
fable, as a beautiful ffiepherd youth (Virgil) 5 Ion ot
Cynaras, king of the Cyprians, loved by Venus, flam
by a boar, and turned into a river. Theocritus laments
him dead in an idyllion, or rather ode, as did the
women yearly, when, in flood time, the river rolled
down a red earth, which tinged its waters, deemed to
be his wound bleeding afreffi. In the Phoenician lan¬
guage Adan fignifies a willow, and Adon lord, with
the fame radical letters. Hence Irum A$uy«, Sahgnus,
and er aWs for Kt/gios. Adonis horti, are
gardens beautifully arranged, but more adapted for plea-
fure than profit. .
Adonis, Bird's eye, or Pheafiant's eye, in Botany.
See Botany Index. _ # .
ADONISTS, a fe<ft or party among divines and cri¬
tics, who maintain, than the Hebrew points ordinarily
annexed to the confonants of the word Jehovah, are not
the natural points belonging to that word, nor exprefs
the true pronunciation of it ", but are the vowel points,
belonging to the words Adonai and Elohim, applied to
the confonants of the ineffable name Jehovah, to warn
the readers, that inftead of the word Jehovah, which
the Jews were forbidden to pronounce, and the true pro¬
nunciation of which had been long unknown to them,
they are always to read Adonai. They are oppofed to
Jehovifis: of whom the principal are Drufius, Capellus,
Buxtorf, Alting, and Reland, who has publiffied a col-
leftion of their writings on this fubjefh
ADOPTIANI, in church hiftory, a fe£t of ancient
allowed to adopt heirs to them. Foreigners being in¬
capable of inheriting at Athens, if any fuch were
adopted, it was neceffary firft to make them free o*
the city. The ceremony of adoption being over, the
adopted had his name enrolled in the tribe and ward
of his new father •, for which entry a peculiar time was
allotted, viz. the feftival prevent rath
and inconfiderate adoptions, the Lacedemonians had a
law, that adoptions ffiould be tranfaded, or at lealt
confirmed, in the prefence of their kings.. The chil¬
dren adopted were invefted with all the privileges, and
obliged to perform all the duties, of natural children ,
and being thus provided for in another family, ceated
to have any claim of inheritance, or kindred, in the
family which they had left, unlefs they firft renounced
their adoption ; which, by the laws of Solon, they
were not allowed to do, unlefs they had firft begotten
children, to bear the name of the perfon who had
adopted them : thus providing againft the ruin of fa¬
milies, which would otherwife have been extingudhed
by the defertion of thofe who had been adopted to
preferve them. If the children adopted happened to
die without children, the inheritance could not be alie¬
nated from the family into which they had been adopt¬
ed, but returned to the relations of the adopter. It
ffiould feem, that by the Athenian law, a perfon, after
having adopted another, was not allowed to marry with¬
out permiffion from the magiftrate : in effeft, there are
inftances of perfons, who being ill ufed by their adop¬
tive children, petitioned for fuch leave. However this
be, it is certain fome men married after they had adopt¬
ed fons : in which cafe, if they begat legitimate chil¬
dren, their eftates were equally ffiared between the be¬
gotten and adopted.
The Romans had two forms of adoption ; one be-
Adoption.
ABO [ 190 ] ABO
fore the prsetor ; the other at an affembly of the people,
in the times of the commonwealth, and afterwards by
a refcript of the emperor. In the former, the natural
father addreffed himfelf to the praetor, declaring that
he emancipated his fon, refigned all his authority over
him, and confented he thould be tranflated into the fa¬
mily of the adopter. The latter was pra&ifed, where
the party to be adopted was already free; and this was
called adrogation. The perfon adopted changed all his
names ; affuming the prename, name, and furname, of
the perfons who adopted him.
Befides the formalities prefcribed by the Roman law,
various other methods have taken place ; which have
■nven denominations to different fpecies of adoption,
among the Gothic nations, in different ages. As,
ADOPTION by arms, was when a prince made a pre-
fent of arms to a perfon, in confideration of his merit
and valour. Thus it was that the king of the Heruli
was adopted by Bheodoric ; Athalaric by the emperor
.luftinian ; and Cofroes, nephew of the king of Perfia,
by the emperor Juftin.—T-he obligation here laid on
the adoptive fon was, to protect and defend the father
from injuries, affronts, &c. And hence, according to
Selden, the ceremony of dubbing knights took its ori¬
gin as well as name. ^ #
ADOPTION by baptifm, is that fpiritual affinity which
is contrafted by god-fathers and god-children in the
ceremony of baptifm. 1 his kind of adoption was in¬
troduced into the Greek church, and came afterwards
into ufe among the ancient Franks, as appears by the
Capitulars of Charlemagne.
In reality, the god-father was fo far confidered as
adoptive father, that his god-children were fuppofed
to be entitled to a (hare in the inheritance of his
eftate. _ .
Adoption by hair, was performed by cutting off the
hair of a perfon, and giving it to the adoptive father.
It was thus that Pope John VIII. adopted Bofon. king
of Arles; which, perhaps, is the only inftance in hi-
ftory of adoption, in the order of the ecclefiaftics ; a
law that profeffes to imitate nature, not daring to give
children to thofe in whom it would be thought a crime
to beget any.
ADOPTION by matrimony, is the taking the children
of a wife or hufband, by a former marriage, into the
condition of proper or natural children ; and admitting
them to inherit on the fame footing with thofe of the
preient marriage. I his is a practice peculiar to the
Germans : among whom, it is more particularly known
by the name of einkindfchaft; among their writers in
Latin, by that of unio prolium, or union of ijfues. But
the more accurate writers obferve, that this is no adop¬
tion. See Adfiliation.
Adoption by tejlament, that performed by appoint¬
ing a perfon heir by will, on condition of his affuming
the name, arms, &c. of the adopter. Of which kind
we meet with feveral inftances in the Roman hiftory.
Among the Turks, the ceremony of adoption is per¬
formed by obliging the perfon adopted to pafs through
the ffiirt of the adopter. Hence, among that people,
to adopt, is expreffed by the phrafe, to draw another
through my Jhirt. It is faid, that fomething like this
has alfo been obferved among the Hebrews ; where the
prophet Elijah adopted Eliffia for his fon and fucceffor,
and communicated to him the gift of prophecy, by let¬
ting fall his cloak or mantle on him. But adoption, Adoption
properly fo called, does not appear to have been prac- II .
tifed among the ancient Jews : Mofes fays nothing of A orat1^.
it in his laws; and Jacob’s adoption of his two grand-
fons, Ephraim and Manaffeh, is not fo properly an
adoption, as a kind of fubftitution, whereby thofe two
fons of Jofeph were allotted an equal portion in Ifrael
with his own fons.
Adoption is alfo ufed, in Theology, for a federal a£l
of God’s free grace ; whereby thofe who are regene¬
rated by faith, are admitted into his houfehold, and en¬
titled to a ffiare in the inheritance of the kingdom of
heaven.
Adoption is fometimes alfo ufed, in fpeaking of the
ancient clergy, who had a cuftom of taking a maid or
widow into their houfes, under the denomination of an
adoptive or fpiritual ffer or niece.
Adoption is alfo ufed in fpeaking of the admiffion
of perfons into certain hofpitals, particularly that of
Lyons, the adminiftrators whereof have all the power
and rights of parents over the children admitted.
Adoption is alfo ufed for the reception of a new
academy into the body of an old one.—-Ihus
The French academy of Marfeilles was adopted by
that of Paris : on which account, we find a volume of
fpeeches extant, made by feveral members of the aca¬
demy of Marfeilles, deputed to return thanks to that of
Paris for the honour.
In a fimilar fenfe, adoption is alfo applied by the
Greeks, to the admitting a monk, or brother, into a
monaftic community; fometimes fpintual adop¬
tion.
ADOPTIVE, denotes a perfon or thing adopted
by another.
Adoptive children, among the Romans, were on the
fame footing with natural ones ; and accordingly were
either to be inftituted heirs, or exprefsly difinherited,
otherwife the teftament was null. The emperor Adrian
preferred adoptive children to natural ones ; becaufe we
choofe the former, but are obliged to take the latter
at random.
M. Menage has publiffied a book of eloges, or verfes
addreffed to him ; which he calls Liber Adoptivus, .an
adoptive book ; and adds it to his other works.—Hein-
fius, and Furftemburg of Munfter, have likewife pu¬
bliffied adoptive books.
In ecclefiaftical writers we find adoptive women, or
fillers, {adoptivce fcemince or forores), ufed for thofe
handmaids of the ancient elergy, otherwife called fub-
introduSce. _ r • u
ADOPTIVE arms, are thofe which a perfon enjoys by
the gift or conceffion of another, and to which he w'as
not otherwife entitled. They Hand contradillinguiffied
from arms of alliance.
We fometimes meet with adoptive heir, by way of
oppofition to natural heir; and adoptive gods, by way
of contradiftinflion to domeftic ones. The Romans,
notwithftanding the number of their domellic, had
their adoptive gods, taken chiefly from the Egyptians :
fuch were Ifis, Ofiris, Anubis, Apis, Harpocrates, and
Canopus. .
ADORATION, the aft of rendering divme. ho¬
nours ; or of addreffing a being, as fuppofing it a
god. The word is compounded of ad, “ to,” and os,
oris, “ mouth and literally fignifies to apply the hand
to
ADO
[.oration, to the mouth *, Manum ad os admo'vere, __ _
the hand 5” this being, in the eaftern countries, one ot
the great marks of relpedl and fubmiflion. ihe Ro¬
mans praftifed adoration at facrihces, and other fo-
lemnities j in paffing by temples, altars, groves, &.c.
at the fight of ftatues, images, or the like, _ whether
of ft one or wood, wherein any thing of divinity was
fuppofed to refide. Ufually there were images of the
gods placed at the gates of cities, for thofe who went
fn or out, to pay their refpeas to—The ceremony of
adoration among the ancient Romans was thus : The
devotee having his head covered, applied his right hand
to his lips, the fore finger refting on his thumb, which
was eredt, and thus bowing his head, turned himfelf
round from left to right. The kifs thus given was
called ofculum labratum ; for ordinarily they were afraid
to touch the images of their gods themfelves with their
profane lips. Sometimes, however, they would kifs
their feet, or even knees, it being held an incivility to
touch their mouths *, fo that the affair paffed at fome
diftance. Saturn, however, and Hercules, were adored
with the head bare; whence the worlhip of the laft
was called injlitutum peregnnum, and ntus Grcecani-
cus, as departing from the cuftomary Roman method,
which was to facrifice and adore with the face veiled,
and the clothes drawn up to the ears, to prevent any
interruption in the ceremony by the fight of unlucky
objects. The Jewifti manner of adoration was by pro-
ftration, bowing, and kneeling.— I he Chriftians adopt¬
ed the Grecian rather than the Roman method, and a-
dored always uncovered. The ordinary pofture of the
ancient Chriftians was kneeling, but on Sundays Hand¬
ing : and they had a peculiar regard to the eaft, to
which point they ordinarily direfted their prayers.
Adoration is more particularly ufed for the aft of
praying or preferring our requefts or thankfgivings to
Almighty God.
Adoration is alfo ufed for certain extraordinary
civil honours or refpefts which refemble thofe paid to
the deity, yet are given to men.
The Perfian manner of adoration, introduced by
Cyrus, was by bending the knee, and falling on the
face at the prince’s feet, ftriking the earth with the
forehead, and killing the ground. Phis ceremony,
which the Greeks called TTgea-ximn', Conon refufed to
perform to Artaxerxes, and Callifthenes to Alexander
the Great, as reputing it impious and unlawful.
The adoration performed to the Roman and Grecian
emperors confifted in bowing or kneeling at the prince s
feet, laying hold of his purple robe, and prefently with¬
drawing the hand and clapping it to the lips.. Some
attribute the origin of this praftice to Conftantius. It
was only perfons of fome rank or dignity that were en¬
titled to the honour. Bare kneeling before the empe¬
ror to deliver a petition, was alfo called adoration.
The praftice of adoration may be faid to be ftill.fub-
fifting in England, in the ceremony of killing the king’s
or queen’s hand, and in ferving them at table, both be¬
ing performed kneeling.
Adoration is more particularly ufed for killing one’s
hand in prefence of another, as a token of reverence.
The Jews adored by killing their hands and bowing
down their heads j whence, in their language, kijjing
5 > properly ufed for adoration.
Adoration is alfo ufed among Roman writers for
[ 191 1 ADO
q. d, “ to kifs a high fpecies of applaufe given to perfons tvho had A^,at'"n-
- fpoken or performed well in public.. See Acclama- , J
tion). We meet with adoration paid to orators, ac¬
tors, muficians, &c. The method of exprefling it was,
by rifing, putting both hands to their mouth, and then
returning them towards the perfon intended to be ho¬
noured. # p r. r
Adoration is alfo ufed in the court of Rome, tor
the ceremony of killing the pope’s feet.—Ihe intro-
duftion of adoration among the Romans is afcribed to
the low flattery of Vitellius, who, upon the return of C.
Csefar from Syria, would not approach him otherwife
than with his head covered, turning himfelf round, and
then falling on his face. Heliogabalus reftored the
praftice, and Alexander Severus again prohibited it.
Dioclefian redemanded it j and it was, in fome mea-
fure, continued under the fucceeding princes, even, af¬
ter the eftablilhment of Chriftianity, as Conftantine,
Conftantius, &c. It is particularly laid of Dioclefian,
that he had gems faftened to his Ihoes., that divine ho¬
nours might be more willingly paid him, by killing his
feet. The like ufage was afterwards adopted by the
popes, and is obferved to this day. fhefe prelates,
finding a vehement difpofition in the people to fall
down before them and kifs their feet, procured cruci¬
fixes to be faftened on their flippers j by which ftrata-
gem, the adoration intended for the pope’s perfon is
fuppofed to be transferred to Chrift. Divers afts of this
adoration we find offered even by princes to the pope.
Adoration is alfo ufed for a method of elefting a
pope. The eleftion of popes is performed two ways ;
by adoration and by fcrutiny. In eleftion by adora¬
tion, the cardinals ruth haftily, as if agitated by fome
fpirit, to the adoration of fome one among them, to
proclaim him pope. WJien the eleftion is carried by
fcrutiny, they do not adore the new pope till he is
placed on the altar.
Barbarous ADORATION is a term ufed, in the laws of
King Canute, for that performed after the manner of
the Heathens who adored idols. 1 he Romilh church
is charged with the adoration of faints, martyrs, images,
crucifixes, relics, the virgin, and the holt j all which
by Proteftants are generally aggravated into idolatry,
on a fuppofition, that the honour thus paid to them
is abfolute and fupreme, called by way of diftinftion
Latria, which is due only to God. The Roman Catho¬
lics, on the contrary, explain them, as only a relative
or fubordinate worlhip, called Duha and Hyperduha,
which terminates ultimately in God alone. But may
not the fame be faid of the idol worlhip of the hea¬
thens ? The Phoenicians adored the winds, on account
of the terrible effefts produced by them j the fame was
adopted by moft of the other nations, Perfians, Greeks,
Romans, &c. The Perfians chiefly paid their adora¬
tions to the fun and fire 5 fome fay alfo to rivers, the
wind, &c. The motive of adoring the fun was the
benefits they received from that glorious luminary,
which of all creatures has doubtlefs the beft preten-
fions to fuch homage.
ADORE A, in Roman antiquity, a word ufed in
different fenfes j fometimes for all manner of grain,
fometimes for a kind of cakes made of fine flour, and
offered in facrifice j and finally for a dole or diftribu-
tion of corn, as a reward for fome fervicej whence by
metonymy it is put for praife or rewards in general.
J ] r ADOSCULATION,
Adofcuk'
tion
ADR [19
ADOSCUL ATION, a term ufed by Dr Grew, to
  imply a kind of impregnation, without intromiflion j
M and in this manner he fuppofes the impregnation of
Adranum. is effeaed by tiie falling of the farina foecundans
on the piitil.
AD OSS EE', in Heraldry, fignifies two figures or
bearings being placed back to back.
ADOUR, the name of a river of France, which
rifes in the mountains of Bigorre, in the department of
the Upper Pyrenees, and running north by 1 arbes
through Gafcony, afterwards turns eaft, and pafling by
Dax,"falls into the bay of Bifcay, below Bayonne..
ADOWA, the capital of Tigre in Abyffima, is fi-
tuated on the declivity of a hill, on the weft fide of a
fmall plain, which is furrounded on every fide by moun¬
tains. The name, fignifying yafs or pajfage, is cha-
ra&eriftie of its fituation ; for the only road from the
Red fea to Gondar paffes by Adowa. I he town con-
lifts of 300 houfes, is the refidence of the governor^and
has a manufa&ory of coarfe cotton cloth which circu¬
lates in Abyflinia as the medium of exchange in place
of money. N. Lat. 14. 7. E. Long. 38. 50.
ADOXA, Tuberous Moschatel, Hollow-
root, or Inglorious, in Botany. See Botany
Index.
AD PONDUS OMNIUM, among phyficians, an ab¬
breviation in their prefcriptions, fignifying that the laft
mentioned ingredient is to weigh as much as all the
reft together.
Ad ^uod Damnum, in the Englijh Law, a writ di-
retted to the Iheriff, commanding him to inquire into
the damage which may arife from granting certain pri¬
vileges to a place, as a fair, a market, or the like.
ADRA, in Geography, a fea-port town of the pro¬
vince of Granada, in Spain, 47 miles fouth-eaft of Gra¬
nada. N. Lat. 36. 42. E. Long. 2. 37*
ADRACHNE, in Botany, a fpecies of the ftraw-
berry tree. See Arbutus, Botany Index.
ADRAMMELECH, one of the gods of the inha¬
bitants of Sepharvaim, who were fettled in the country
of Samaria, in the room of thofe Ifraelites who were
carried beyond the Euphrates. The Sepharvaites made
their children pafs through the fire, in honour of this
idol and another called Anamelech. It is fuppoled,
that Adrammelech meant the fun, and Anamelech the
moon : the firft fignifies the magnificent king ; the fe-
eond the gentle king.
ADRAMYTTTUM, in Ancient Geography, now
Andramiti, a town of Myfia Major, at the foot of
Mount Ida, an Athenian colony, with a harbour and
dock near the Cai'cus. Adramyttenus the epithet $ as,
Adramyttenus Sinus, a part of the Egean fea, on the
coaft of Myfia; Adramyttenus Convent us, feflions or af-
fizes, the eighth in order of the nine Conventus Jurtdici
of the province of Afia.
ADRANA, a river of Germany (Polybius) •, now
the Eder, rifing on the borders of the county of .Naf-
fau, to the north-eaft of, and not far from Dillen-
burg, running through the landgraviate of Helfe, the
county of Waldeck, by Fritzlar, and then again
through the landgraviate, and, together with the Fulda,
falling into the Wefer, to the fouth of, and not far
from Caffel. .
ADRANUM, or Hadranum, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, now Aderno, which fee.
2 3 ADR
ADRASTEA, in mythology, was the daughter of Adraftea
Jupiter and Neceflity, and, according to Plutarch, the ^
only fury who executed the vengeance of the gods.
The name is derived from King Adraftus, who firft
ere&ed a temple to that deity.
ADRASTEA Certamina, in antiquity, a kind of Py¬
thian games, inftituted by Adraftus king of Argos, in
the year of the world 2700, in honour of Apollo, at
Sicyon. Thefe are to be diftinguifhed from the Py¬
thian games celebrated at Delphi.
ADRASTUS, in ancient hiftory, king of Argos,
fon of Talaus and Lyfianiffa, daughter of Polybius
king of Sicyon, acquired great honour in the famous
war of Thebes, in fupport of Polynices his fon-in-law,
who had been excluded the fovereignty of Thebes by
Eteocles his brother, notwithftanding their reciprocal
agreement. Adraftus, followed by Polynices, and Ty-
deus his other fon-in-law, by Capaneus and Hippome-
don his fitter’s fons, by Amphiaraus his brother-in-law,
and by Parthenopseus, marched againft the city^ of
Thebes *, and this is the expedition of the Seven Wor¬
thies, which the poets have fo often fung. They all
loft their lives in this war except Adraftus, who was
faved by his horfe called Arion. This war was revived
ten years after by the fons of thofe deceafed warriors,
which was called the war of the Epigones, and ended
with the taking of Thebes. None of them l°ft their
lives except TEgialeus fon of Adraftus *, which affhaed
him fo much that he died of grief in Megara, as he was
leading back his viaorious army.
ADRAZZO, or Ajaccio. The fame with Ad-
jazzo, which fee. . z ,
ADRIA, or Hadria, in Ancient Geography, the
name of two towns in Italy. One in the country of
the Veneti, on the river Tartarus, between the Padus
and the Athefis, called Atria by Pliny and Ptolemy,
but Adrias by Strabo. Another on the river Votna-
in the territory of the Piceni (to which Anto-
nus, ui nit — — —/ _ c
nine’s Itinerary from Rome is direaed), the country or
the anceftors of the emperor Adrian. From which of
thefe the Adriatic fea is denominated, is matter of
doubt. A third opinion is, that it is fo called from
Adrias the fon of Joan, of Italian origin ; (Euftathms
in Dionyfium). ^
ADRIAN, or Hadrian, Publius A^lius, the
Roman emperor. He was born at Rome the 24th of
January, in the 76th year of Chrift, A. U. C. 829.
His father left him an orphan, at ten years of age,
under the guardianftiip of Trajan, and Coelius Tatianus
a Roman knight. He began to ferve very early m
the armies, having been tribune of a legion before tie
death of Domitian. He was the perfon chofen by the
armv of Lower Mcefia, to carry the news of Nerya s
death to Trajan, fucceffor to the empire. lraJaiL
however, conceived fome prejudices againft him, and
Adrian perceiving that he was no favourite with the
emperor, endeavoured to ingratiate himfelf with the
emprefs Plotina, by which means he fucceeded m ob¬
taining for his wife, Sabina, the emperor’s grand niece
and next heirefs. This was probably the firft ftep to
his future advancement, and facilitated his afcent to
the throne. As quaeftor he accompanied^ Trajan m
moft of his expeditions, and particularly diftinguilhed
himfelf in the fecond war againft the Dacians. After¬
wards he was fucceflively tribune of the people, praetor,
tmvernor
ADR
Adrian, governor of Pannonia, and conful. After
 v  of Atra in Arabia was raifed, Irajan, who had al¬
ready given him the government of Syria, left him
the command of the army: and at length, when he
found death approaching, it i_s faid he adopted him.
Adrian who was then in Antiochia, as foon as he re¬
ceived the news thereof, and of Trajan’s death, declared
himfelf emperor, on the nth of Auguft, A. D- 117-
No fooner had he arrived at the imperial dignity,
than he made peace with the Perfians to whom he
yielded up great part of the conquefts of his predecei-
fors ; and from generofity, or policy, he remitted the
debts of the Roman people, which, according to the
calculation of thofe who have reduced them to modern
money, amounted to 22,500,000 golden crowns > and
he burnt all the bonds and obligations relating to theie
debts, that the people might be under no apprehenfion
of being called to an account for them afterwards.
There are medals in commemoration of this lad:, in
which he is reprefented holding a flambeau m his
hand, to fet fire to all thofe bonds which he had made
void. He went to vifit all the provinces ; and did not
return to Rome till the year 118, when the fenate de¬
creed him a triumph, and honoured him with the title
of Father of his country ; but he refufed both, and de-
fired that Trajan’s image might triumph. No prince
travelled more than Adrian -, there being hardly one
province in the empire which he did not viiit. In
I2o he went into Gaul j from thence he went over to
Britain, in order to fubdue the Caledonians, who were
making continual inroads into the provinces. Upon his
arrival they retired towards the north : he advanced,
however, as far as York, where he was diverted from
his intended conqueft by the defcnption fome old
foldiers he found there, who had ferved under A-
gricola, gave him of the country. In hopes, there¬
fore, of keeping them quiet, by enlarging their
bounds, he delivered up to the Caledonians all the
lands lying between the two friths and the iyne
and, at the fame time, to fecure the Roman pro¬
vince from their future incurfions, built_ the famous
wall which ftill bears his name (a). Having thus let-
tied matters in Britain, he returned to Rome where
he was honoured with the title of Reftorer of Britain,
as appears by fome medals. He foon after went into
Spain, to Mauritania, and at length into the Bal ,
where he quieted the commotions raifed by the Par-
thians. After having vifited all the provinces of Alia,
he returned to Athens in 125, where he paffed the
Vol. I. Part I.
r 103 ] ADR
the fieve winter, and was initiated in the myfteries of Eleufiman ^
^ Ceres. He went from thence to Sicily, chiefly to view
Mount /Etna, contemplate its phenomena, and enjoy
the beautiful and extenfive profpea afforded from its
top. He returned to Rome the beginning of the year
1 20 ; and, according to fome, he went again, the fame
year, to Africa and, after his return from thence, to
the eaft. He was in Egypt in the year 13 2, revifited
Syria the year following, returned to Athens in 134,
and to Rome in 135. The perfecution againft the
Chriftians was very violent under his reign ; but it was
at length fufpended, in confequence of the remon ft ranees
of Quadratus bifhop of Athens, and Ariftides, two Chri-
ftian philofophers, who prefented the emperor with fome
books in favour of the Chriftian religion. He c«n-
quered the Jews and, by way of infult, erefted a
temple to Jupiter on Calvary, and placed a ftatue of
Adonis in the manger of Bethlehem ; he caufed alfo
the images of fwine to be engraven on the gates of Je-
rufalem. At laft he was feized with a droply, which
vexed him to fuch a degree, that he became almolt
raving mad. A great number of phyficians were lent
for, and to the multitude of them he afenbed his death.
He died at Baim in the 63d year of his age, having
reigned 21 years. The Latin verfes he addreffed to
his foul, which he compofed a fhort time before his
death, in a ftrain of tender levity, have been much
criticifed, and have been the fubjedl of numerous trans¬
lations and imitations.
Adrian.
Animula vagula, blandula,
Hofpes, comefque corporis,
^uce nunc abibis in loca
Pallidula, rigid a, nudula,
Nee, ut foies, dabis jocos ?
Ah ! fleeting fpirit ! wand’ring fire,
That long haft warm’d my tender breaft,
Muft thou no more this frame infpire ?
No more a pleafing cheerful gueft ?
Whither, ah whither art thou flying ?
To what dark undifeover’d (hore ?
Thou feem’ft all trembling, fhiv’ring, dying,
And wit and humour are no more !
Pope.
Some fragments of his Latin poetry are ftill extant,
and there are Greek verfes of his in the Anthology.
He alfo wrote the hiftory of his own life j to which,
however, he did not choofe to put his name ; but that
B b of
W This work, though ca„ed by the hiftonans „=, ^h hgnifies a waU ™
pofed of earth covered with green . to the river Tyne on the eaft, at the place where the
of Burgh tm the Sands, tn “ Xe ^ EngHth, and’near ,0 Roman miles in
town of Newcaftle now ftands , fo that it ‘ “ mound of eafth or rarapart, on the brink of the
length. It confifted of four Pa^s • • h P Part_ §S, Another rampart on the fouth fide of the principal
irtainty. From their appearance, it feems probable that the pnnctpal rampart was at lead to t^ieet
ADR [ 194 ] ADR
Adrian. 0f Phlegon, one of his freed-men, a very learned per-
' * Vide ^on’ was Pie^xec^ #* -^e great wit and a
Spartian, retentive memory, and he diftinguifhed himfelf in the
in Adriano, various branches of literature and feience. In his na¬
tural difpofition he was fufpicious, envious, cruel, and
lafcivious. In his charafter there was a ftrange com-
pofition of virtues and vices. He was affable, courteous,
and liberal j but he was capricious and unfteady in his
attachments, and violent in his refentment. Thus he
was diftrufted by his friends, and dreaded by his ene¬
mies. Antoninus his fucceffor obtained his apothe-
olis ; and prevented the refcifion of his a£ts, which the
fenate once intended.
Adrian I. Pope, afcended the papal throne, A. D.
772. He was the fon of Theodore, a Roman noble¬
man, and poffeffed confiderable talents for bufinefs.
He maintained a fteady attachment to Charlemagne,
which provoked Defiderius, a king of the Lombards, to
invade the (late of Ravenna, and to threaten Rome it-
felf. Charlemagne rewarded his attachment, by march¬
ing with a great army to his aid ; and having gained
many confiderable advantages over Defiderius, he vi-
fited the pope at Rome, and expreffed his piety, by the
humiliating ceremony of kifling each of the fteps, ashe
afcended to the church of St Peter. The affairs of
the church now claimed Adrian’s particular attention :
for Irene, who, in 780, affumed the regency at Conftan-
tinople, during the minority of her fon Conftantine, wifli-
ing to reftore the vvorfiiip of images, applied to Adrian
for his concurrence. The pontiff readily acquiefced in
her propofal for calling a council, and commiffioned
two legates to attend it. The firft council, however,
was diiperfed by an infurreftion of the citizens 5 but at
the next meeting in the city of Nice, in 787, which
was protected by a military force, a decree was paffed
for reftoring the worfhip of images. Adrian approved
the decree, but in the weftern church it was deemed
heretical and dangerous. Charlemagne condemned
the innovation, and the French and Englilh clergy con¬
curred in oppofing it. A treatife, containing 120
heads of refutation, was circulated, as the work of
Charlemagne, under the title of “ The Caroline Books,”
in oppofition to the decree of the council. This work
was prefented to the pope by the king’s ambaffador,
and the pope wrote a letter to Charlemagne by way of
reply. The king, and alfo the Gallican and Englifh
churches, retained their fentiments ; and, in 794, a
council was held at Frankfort on the Maine, confifting
of about 300 weftern bilhops, by which every kind of
image-worftnp was condemned. Adrian did not live
to fee a termination of this conteft ; for after a pontifi¬
cate of nearly twenty-four years, he died in 795. A-
drian feeras to have direfted his chief attention to the
embelliftiment of the churches, and the improvement
of the city of Rome j and he was probably furniftied
by Charlemagne, out of the plunder of his conquefts,
with ample means for this purpofe.
Adrian II. Pope, fucceeded Nicholas I. A. D.
867- Having twice refufed the dignity, he accepted Adrian,
it in the 76th year of his age, at the united requeft of'"“‘“v"'"*
the clergy, nobility, and people. The conteft for power
between the Greek and Latin churches had been very
violent fome years before his acceffion to the papal
chair.
Adrian, during this conteft with the eaftern patriarch,
was extending his authority over the kings and princes
of the weft. He employed his whole intereft to induce
Charles the Bald, who had taken poffeffion of the king¬
dom of Lorraine, and who had been crowned at Rheims
by the archbilhop Hincmar, to relinquifti it in favour
of the emperor j and he even fent legates to the king,
after having attempted to engage Hincmar, the clergy,
and the nobility to defert him, ordering him to furren-
der to the emperor’s right. The king was invincible ;
and the pope was obliged to give up the conteft. He
alfo farther interfered in the concerns of princes, by
taking Charles’s rebellious fon Carloman, and the
younger Hincmar, bifhop of Laon, under the protec¬
tion of the Roman fee. He proceeded in this bufinefs
fo far, that he was under a neceffity of fubmitting
without gaining his point. Death terminated his am¬
bitious projects and his life of inquietude, A. D. 872,
after a pontificate of five years.
Adrian IV. Pope, the only Englilhman who ever
had the honour of fitting in the papal chair. His
name was Nicholas Brekefpere j and he was born at
Langley, near St Alban’s, in Hertfordftiire. His
father having left his family, and taken the habit of
the monaftery of St Alban’s, Nicholas wTas obliged to
fubmit to the loweft offices in that houfe for daily fup-
port. After fome time, he defired to take the habit in
that monaftery, but was rejected by the abbot Richard.
Upon this he refolved to try his fortune in another coun¬
try, and accordingly went to Paris ; where, though in
very poor circumftances, he applied himfelf to his
ftudies with great affiduity, and made a wonderful pro¬
ficiency. But having ftill a ftrong inclination to a re¬
ligious life, he left Paris, and removed to Provence,
where he became a regular clerk in the monaftery of
St Rufus. He was not immediately allowed to take
the habit •, but paffed fome time, by way of trial, in re¬
commending himfelf to the monks by a ftrift attention
to all their commands. This behaviour, together with
the beauty of his perfon, and prudent converfation,
rendered him fo acceptable to thofe religious, that af¬
ter fome time they entreated him to take the habit of
the canonical order. Here he diftinguiffied himfelf fo
much by his learning and ftri£I obfervance of the mo-
naftic difcipline, that upon the death of the abbot, he
was chofen fuperior of that houfe; and we are told
that he rebuilt the convent. Pope Eugenius III.
being apprifed of the great merit of Nicholas, and
thinking he might be ferviceable to the church in a
higher ftation, created him cardinal-biffiop of Alba
in 1146. In 1148, his holinefs fent him legate to
Denmark and Norway 5 where, by his fervent preach¬
ing
high, and the fouth one not much lefs j but the north one was confiderably lower. From the dimenfions of
the ditch, taken as it paffes through a lime-ftone quarry near Harlow hill, it appears to have been 9 feet deep,
and n wide at the top, but fomewhat narrower at the bottom. The north rampart was about 20 feet diftant
from the ditch.
Adrian.
ADR r 39
Ing and diligent inftru&ions, he converted thofe bar-
■•■'v ' Jjarous nations to the Chriftian faith, and erected Up-
fal into an archiepifcopal fee. When he returned to
Rome, he was received by the pope and cardinals with
great marks of honour j and Pope Anaftafius, who
fucceeded Eugenius, happening to die at this time,
Nicholas was unanimoufly chofen to the holy fee, in
November 1154, and he took the name of Adrian.
When the news of his promotion reached England,
King Henry II. fent Robert abbot of St Alban’s, and
three bilhops, to Rome, to congratulate him on his
ele&ion; upon which occafion Adrian granted very
confiderable privileges to the monaftery of St Alban’s,
particularly an exemption from all epifcopal juriidic-
tion, excepting to the fee of Rome. Adrian, in the
beginning of his pontificate, boldly withftood the at¬
tempts of the Roman people to recover their ancient
liberty under the confuls, and obliged thofe magiftrates
to abdicate their authority, and leave the government
of the city to the pope. In 1155, he drove the he¬
retic Arnaud of Breffe, and his followers, out. of
Rome. The fame year he excommunicated William
king of Sicily, who ravaged the territories of the
church, and abfolved that prince’s fubjedls from their
allegiance. About the fame time, Frederick king of
the Romans, having entered Italy with a powerful
army, Adrian met him near Sutrium, and concluded
a peace with him. At this interview, Frederick con-
fented to hold the pope’s ftirrup whilft he mounted on
horfeback. After which, his holinefs conduced that
prince to Rome, and in St Peter’s church placed the
imperial crown on his head, to the great mortification
of the Roman people, who affembled in a tumultuous
manner, and killed feveral of the Imperialifts. The
next year a reconciliation was brought about between
the pope and the Sicilian king, that prince taking an
oath to do nothing farther to the prejudice of the.
church, and Adrian granting him the title of King of
the two Sicilies. He built and fortified feveral cattles,
and left the papal dominions in a more flourithing con¬
dition than he found them. But notwithftandmg all
his fuccefs, he was extremely fenfible of the difquietudes
attending fo high a ftation , and declared to his coun¬
tryman John of Salitbury, that all the former hardthips
of his life were mere amufement to the misfortunes of
the popedom 5 that he looked upon St Peter s chair to
be the moft uneafy feat in the world} and that his
* Baronius crown feemed to be clapped burning on his head*. He
foz/i died September 1. U59j in the fourth year and tenth
month of his pontificate j and was buried in St Peter’s
church, near the tomb of his predecelfor Eugenius.
There are extant feveral letters, and fome homilies,
written by Pope Adrian.
Adrian V. Pope, a Genoefe, whofe name was Ot-
toboni Fiefci, fucceeded Innocent V. A. D. 1276. He
was by his uncle Innocent IV. created cardinal deacon
of St Adrian, and in 1254 fent by him to England,
to fettle the difputes between Henry III. and his ba¬
rons. He was employed again for the fame purpofe,
by Clement III. when he iffued a fentence of excom¬
munication againft the king’s enemies. When he was
congratulated on his acceffion to the papal chair, he
faid, “ I wi(h you had found me a healthy cardinal,
rather than a dying pope.” After his ele&ion he
went to Viterbo to meet the emperor Rodolphus, for
xu. an
1154
5 ] AD R
the purpofe of oppofing the ufurpation of Charles, king
of the Two Sicilies; but died foon after his arrival,^
having enjoyed his dignity only thirty-eight days. He
zealoufly encouraged the crufade to the Holy Land,
and upon his eledion fent a large fum to Conftantinople
towards building galleys.
Adrian, cardinal prieft, of the title of St Chry-
fogonus, was a native of Cornetto in lufeany. In¬
nocent VIII. fent him nuncio into Scotland and into
France; and after he had been clerk and treafurer of
the apoftolic chamber, Pope Alexander VI. whofe fe-
cretary he had been, honoured him with the cardinal s
hat. His life was a continued fcene of odd alteration®.
He narrowly efcaped death the day Alexander VI.
poifoned himfelf by miftake. Afterward he drew upon
bimfelf the hatred of Julius II fo that he was obliged
to go and hide himfelf in the mountains of Trent.
Having been recalled by Leo X. he was fo ungrate¬
ful, that he engaged in a confpiracy againft him. I he
pope pardoned his fault; but the cardinal, not caring
to truft to this, made his efcape, and it could never
be known exa&ly what was become of him. He was
one of the firft who effedually reformed the Latin
ftyle. He ftudied Cicero with great fuccefs, and
made many excellent obfervations on the propriety of
the Latin tongue. The treatife he compofed De Ser-
mone Latino, is a proof of this. He had begun a I^a-
tin tranflation of the Old Teftament.. He wrote De
Vera Philofophia : This treatife was printed at Cologne,
1548.
Adrian VI. Pope, was born at Utrecht in 1459.
His father was not able to maintain him at fchool, but
he got a place at Louvain, in a college in which a cer¬
tain number of fcholars were maintained gratis. It is
reported that he ufed to read in the night time by the
light of the lamps in the churches or ftreets. He made
a confiderable progrefs in all the fciences ; led an ex¬
emplary life; and there never was a man lefs intriguing
and forward than he was. He took his degree of doc¬
tor of divinity at Louvain ; was foon after made canon
of St Peter’s, and profeflbr of divinity at Utrecht, and
then dean of St Peter’s and vice-chancellor of the uni-
verfity. He was obliged to leave an academical life,
to be tutor to the archduke Charles. . This young
prince made no great progrefs under him : however,
never was a tutor more confiderably rewarded ; for it.
■was by Charles V.’s credit he was raifed to the papal
throne. Leo X. had given him the cardinal’s hat in
1517. After this pope’s death, feveral cabals in the
conclave ended in the elettion of Adrian, with which
the people of Rome were very much difpleafed. He
would not change his name, and in every thing he
fhowed a great diflike for all oftentation and fenfual
pleafures, though fuch an averfion had been long ago
out of date. He was very partial to Charles V. and
did not enjoy much tranquillity under the triple crown.
He lamented much the wicked morals of the clergy,
and wilhed to eftablilh a reformation of manners among
them. He died September 14. 1523.
ADRIAN!, Joanni Battista, was born of a pa¬
trician family at Florence in 1511. He wrote a Hi-
ftory of his own Times in Italian ; which is a continua¬
tion of Guicciardini, beginning at the year 153^ ?
to which Thuanus acknowledges himfelf greatly in¬
debted : befides which, he compofed fix funeral ora-
B b 2 tions,
Adrian,
Adrian i.
ADR
[ i96 ]
A D V
Adiianum.
Adriani tions, on the emperor Charles V. and other noble
perfonages; and is thought to have been the author of
n" a long letter on ancient painters and fculptors, prefix¬
ed to the third volume of Vafari. He died at Florence
in 1579. r cl c
ADRIANISTS, in ecclefiaftical hiftory, a iedt of
heretics divided into two branches, the firft were dif-
ciples of Simon Magus, and flourilhed about the year
34. Theodoret is the only perfon who has preferved
their name and memory ; but he gives us no account of
their origin. Probably this fe6f, and the fix others
■which fprung from the Simonians, took their name from
the particular difciples of Simon. I he fecond were
the followers of Adrian Hamftead the anabaptift j and
held fome particular errors concerning Chrift.
ADRIANOPLE, a city of Turkey in Europe, in
the province of Romania, and the fee of an archbitbop
under the patriarch of Conftantinople. It is about
feven or eight miles in circumference, including the old
city and fome gardens. T he houfes are low, moftly
built of mud and clay, and fome of brick: and the
flreets are exceedingly dirty. 1 he walls and towers are
in a great meafure fallen to decay. However, there is
a beautiful bazar, or market, half a mile long, called
Ali Baffa. It is a vaft arched building, with fix gates,
and 365 well furnilhed fhops, kept by Turks, Arme¬
nians, and Jews, who pay five crowns a-month for
each fhop. The number of inhabitants of all nations
and religions may be about 100,000 j but it is dear
living here, becaufe the provifions are brought from
diftant places. The air is wholefome, and the coun¬
try very pleafant in the fummer time, on account of
the river and ftreams that run near and about the city •,
the chief of which is the Mariza. Thefe promote
and preferve the verdure of the gardens, meadows, and
fields, for a confiderable part of the year. In the win¬
ter there is plenty of game. Near the principal ba¬
zar there is another, about a mile in length, covered
with boards, with holes on each fide to let in the light.
It is full of good {hops, which contain all kinds of
commodities. Sultan Selim’s mofque Hands on the
fide of a hill, in the midft of the city 5 and hence this
magnificent ftru&ure may be feen on all Tides. Every
thing made of gold and (ilver, jewels, piftols, fcimi-
tars, &c. are fold in another part of the city, called
by travellers the bi%ejlein, though it differs little, from
a bazar. This contains about 200 fhops, and is co¬
vered like the former : but the covering is fupported
by two rows of large pillars. 1 he grand ^vizier’s pa¬
lace is nothing more than a convenient houfe, after the
Turkifb manner of building. The emperor’s feraglio
is a regular ftrudlure, in a plain near the river Tungia.
It is two miles in compafs, and has feven gates, befides
thofe of the gardens, which are feveral miles in circum¬
ference. The city is governed by a mullah cadi, who
has an abfolute authority both in civil and criminal mat¬
ters In the time of the plague, or war, the grand fig-
nior fometimes refides here. The Turks took this city
from the Greeks in 1362, and made it the capital of
empire, till Mahomet II. took Confiantinople in 1453.
E. Long. 26. 27. N. Eat. 41. 41. .
ADRIANUM (or Adriaticum) mare, in Jln-
clent Geography, now the gulf of Venice., a large bay
in the Mediterranean, between Dalmatia, Sclavoma,
Greece, and Italy. It is called by the Greeks
KoA7r«5 j and Adria by the Romans, (as Arbiter Adria
Notus, Hor.) Cicero calls it Hadrianum Mare; Virgil
has Hadriaticas Undas. It is commonly called Mare —
Adriaticum without an afpiration j but whether it
ought to have one, is a difpute : if the appellation is
from Hadria, the town of the Piceni, it muft be writ¬
ten Hadriaticum, becaufe the emperor’s name, who
thence derives his origin, is on coins and (tones Hadn-
anus ; but if from the town in the territory of Venice.,
as the more ancient, and of which that of the Piceni
is a colony, this will juftify the common appellation
Adriaticum.
ADROGATION, in Roman antiquities, a fpecies
of adoption, whereby a perfon who was capable of
choofing for himfelf was admitted by another into the
relation of a fon. The word is compounded of ad,
“ to,” and rogare, “ to aflc on account of a queftion
put in the ceremony of it, Whether the adopter would
take fuch a perfon for his fon ? and another to the
adoptive, Whether he confented to become fuch a per-
fon’s fon ? . ,
ADSIDELLA, in antiquity, the table at which the
flamens fat during the facrifices.
ADSTRICTION, among phyficians, a term ufed
to denote the rigidity of any part.
ADUACA, or Atuaca, anciently a large and fa¬
mous city of the Tungri ; now a fmall and inconfider-
able village, called Tongeren, in the biftiopric of Liege,
to the north-weft of the city of Liege, in the territory
of Hafpengow, on the rivulet Jecker, that foon af¬
ter falls into the Maefe. E. Long. 5. 52. N. Lat. 50.
54.
ADVANCE, in the mercantile ftyle, denotes money
paid before goods are delivered, work done, or bufinefs
performed.
ADVANCED, in a general fenfe, denotes fome-
thing polled or fituated before another. Thus,.
Advanced Ditch, in Fortification, is that which fur-
rounds the glacis or efplanade of a place.
ADVANCED Guard, or Vanguard, in the art of war,
the firft line or divifion of an army, ranged or marching
in order of battle ; or, it is that part which is next the
enemy, and marches firft towards them.
ADVANCED Guard, is more particularly ufed for a
fmall party of horfe ftationed before the main guard.
ADVANCER, among fportfmen, one of the ftarts
or branches of a buck’s attire, between the back antler
and the palm.
ADUAR, in the Arabian and Moorifti cuftoms., a
kind of ambulatory village, confifting of tents, which
thefe people remove from one place to another, as fuits
their conveniency.
ADVENT, in the calendar, properly fignifies the
approach of the feaft of the nativity. It includes four
Sundays, which begins on St Andrew’s day or on the
Sunday before or after it. During advent, and.to the
end of the odtaves of epiphany, the folemnizing of
marriage is forbidden without a fpecial licenfe. It is
appointed to employ the thoughts of Chriftians on the
firft advent or coming of Chrift in the flefti, and his
fecond advent or coming to judge the world. The pri¬
mitive Chriftians pradtifed great aufterity during this
feafon. . , , . .
Ad ventrem inspiciendum, inLaxo,a writ by which
a woman is to be fearched whether (he be with child
hy
Adrianum
\dvent.
A D V [i
Advent, by a former hurtinnd, on bet withholding of lands from
adventure. tiie next, failing iffue of her own body.
—V   ADVENTURE, in a general fenfe, fome extraor¬
dinary or accidental event. It alfo denotes a hazardous
or difficult undertaking.
Bill of Adventure, among merchants, a writing
figried by a merchant, teftifying the goods mentioned
in it to be (hipped on board a certain veffel belonging
to another perfon, who is to run all hazards 5 the mer¬
chant only obliging himfelf to account to him for the
^ Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen’s land. “ There
is a beautiful fandy beach, about two miles long, at the
bottom of Adventure bay, formed to all appearance
by the particles which the fea waffies from a fine white
fand-ftone. This beach is very well adapted for hau-
ing a feine. Behind it is a plain, with a brackiffi
lake, out of which we caught, by angling, fome bream
and trout. The parts adjoining the bay are moftly
hilly, and are an entire foreft of tall trees rendered
almoft impaffable by brakes of fern, dtrubs, &c. 1 he
foil on the flat land, and on the lower part of the
hills, is fandy, or confifts of a yellowiffi earth, and
jn fome parts of a reddiffi clay ; but further up e
hills, it is of a gray tough caft. This country, upon
the whole, bears many marks of being very dry, a
the heat appears to be great No mineral bodies, nor
ftones of any other kind than the white fand-ftone,
were obferved by us •, nor could we find any vegetables
that afforded fubfiftence for man. The foreft trees
are all of one kind, and generally quite ftraight : they
bear clufters of fmall white flowers The principal
plants obferved, are wood-forrel, milkwort, cudweed,
bell-flower, gladiolus, famphire, and feveral kinds of
fern ; the only quadruped, a fpecies of opoffum, about
twice the fize of a large rat. The kangooroo, tound
further northward in New Holland may alfo be fup-
pofed to inhabit here, as fome of the inhabitants had
pieces of the (kin of that ammah i u „
V “ The principal forts of birds in the woods are biown
hawks or eagles, crows, large pigeons, yellowilh parro-
quets, and a fpecies which they called motaalla cyanea,
from the beautiful azure colour of its head and neck.
On the ffiore were feveral gulls, black oyfter-catchers,
or fea pies, and plovers of a done colour.
“ The inhabitants feemed mild and cheerful, with
little of that wild appearance that favages in general
have. They are almoft totally devoid of perfonal ac¬
tivity or genius, and are nearly upon a par with the
wretched natives of Terra del Fuego. They difp ay,
however, fome contrivance in their method of cutting
their arms and bodies in. lines of ^rent direaions,
raifed above the furface of the (kin. Their indiffer¬
ence for prefents, their general inattention and want
of curiofity, were very remarkable, and teflified. no
acutenefs of underftanding. Their complexion is a
dull black, which they fometimes heigh ten by imut-
ting their bodies, as was fuppofed, from their leaving
a mark behind on any clean fubftance. Their hair is
perfe&ly woolly, and is clotted with greafe and red
ochre, like that of the Hottentots. Their notes, are
broad and full, and the lower part of the face projects
confiderably. Their eyes are of a moderate fize j. ana
though they are not very quick or piercing, they give
the countenance a frank, cheerful, and pleafing ca .
07 1 A D U
Their teeth are not very white, nor well fet, and their Adventure
mouths are too wide : they wear their beards long, and Adult<
clotted with paint. They are, upon the whole, well    
proportioned, though their belly is rather protuberant.
Their favourite attitude is to (land with one fide tor-
ward, and one hand grafping, acrofs the back, the op-
pofite arm, which on this occafion hangs down by the
fide that projeas.” Cook's Voyages.
ADVENTURER, in a general fenfe, denotes one
who hazards fomething. .
Adventurers, is particularly ufed for an ancient
company of merchants and traders, ereaed for the dii-
covery of lands, territories, trades, &c. unknown. 1 he
fociety of adventurers had its rife in Burgundy, and
its firft eftabliffiment from John duke of Brabant in
1248, being known by the name of The brotherhood
of St Thomas a Beckct. It was afterwards tranflated
into England, and fucceffively confirmed by Edward
III. and IV. Richard HI. Henry IV. V. VI. and
VII. who gave it the appellation of Merchant Adven-
^ADVERB, in Grammar, a particle joined to a verb,
adiedtive, or participle, to explain their.manner of act¬
ing or fufferingi or to mark fome circumftance or
quality fignified by them. The word is formed from
the prepofition ad, “ to,” and verbum, “ a verb J and
fignifies literally a word joined to a verb, to (how how,
when, or where, one is, does, or fuffers ; as the boy
paints neatly, writes ill; the houfe (lands there, &c.
See Grammar. . , , f
ADVERSARIA, among the ancients, a book ot
accounts, not unlike our journals, or day books. I t is
more particularly ufed for a kind of common-place
book. See Common-place book.
ADVERSATIVE, in Grammar, a word expreifing
fome difference between what goes before and what
follows it. Thus, in the phrafe, he is an honejt man,
but a great enthuftajl, the word but is an adverfative
coniundlion. . , .
ADVERSATOR, in antiquity, a fervant .who at¬
tended the rich in returning from flipper, to give them
notice of any obftacles in the way, at which they
might be apt to (fumble. , r r a v
ADVERTISEMENT, m a general fenfe, denotes
any information given to perfons interefted in an affair j
and is more particularly ufed for a brief account of an
affair inferted in the public papers, for the information
of all concerned. . .
ADULA, in Ancient Geography, a mountain in
Rhsetia, or the country of the Grifons, part of the Alps,
in which are the fountains of the Rhine ; now St Go-
^ ADULE, or Adulis, v\ Ancient Geography,, a town
of Egypt built by fugitive (laves, diftant from its. port
on the Red fea 20 ftadia. Pliny calls the inhabitants
Adulitce. The epithet is either Aduhtanus; ^, Mo-
numentum Adulitanum, on the pompous mfcription of
the ftatue of Ptolemy Euergetes, publiffied by Leo
Alatius, at Rome in 1631, and to be found in Spon
and Thevenot: ox Adulicus ; as Adulicus Sinus, a part
of the Red fea. # . .1 •
ADULT, an appellation given to any thing that is
arrived at maturity : Thus we fay an. adult perfon, an
adult plant, &c. Among civilians, it denotes a youth
between 14 and 25 years of age. ADIjt,TERER.
Adulterer
II .
Adulterine,
A D U
ADULTERER, a man who commits
See Adultery.
ADULTERESS, a woman guilty of Adultery.
An adulterefs, by our law, undergoes no temporal pu-
nilhment whatever, except the lofs of her dower; and
the does not lofe even that, if her hufband is weak
enough to be reconciled to her, and cohabit with her
after the offence committed. 13 Ed. I. cap. 34.
But it is to be obferved that adultereffes are fuch
either by the canon or civil law. According to the
former, a woman is an adulterefs who, either being
herfelf married, converfes carnally with another man ;
or being fingle herfelf, converfes with a man that is
married. According to the latter, fhe is not an adul-
trefs, if fire be not herfelf in the married date, though
fhe converfes with a man that is. The crime, in this
cafe, was more properly called Jluprum than adulterium.
Hence, among the Romans the word adultera, “ a-
dulterefs,” differed from pellex, which denoted a fingle
woman who cohabited with a married man : and pe/-
iex differed from concubina, which fignified her who had
only intercourfe with an unmarried roan. The former
was reputed infamous, and the other innocent.
ADULTERATION, the aft of debafing, by an
improper mixture, fomething that was pure and ge¬
nuine.
The word is Latin, formed of the verb adulterare,
“ to corrupt,” by mingling fomething foreign to any
fubftance. We have laws againft the adulteration of
coffee, tea, tobacco, fnuff, wine, beer, bread, wax,
hairpowder, &c.
Adulteration of coin, properly imports the making
or cafting of a wrong metal, or with too bafe or too
much alloy.
Adulterations of coins are effefted differs ways : as,
by forging another flamp or infcription } by mixing
impure metals with the gold or filver : moft properly,
by making ufe of a wrong metal, or an undue alloy,
or too great an admixture of the bafer metals with
gold or filver. Counterfeiting the ftamp, or clipping
and leffening the weight, do not fo properly come
under the denomination of adulterating. Evelyn gives
rules and methods both of adulterating and detefting
adulterated metals, &c.—Adulterating is fomewhat lefs
extenfive than debafing, which includes diminifhing,
clipping, &c.
To adulterate or debafe the current coin, is a capi¬
tal crime in all nations.—The ancients punifhed it with
great feverity : among the Egyptians both hands were
cut off: and by the civil law, the offender was thrown
to wild beafts. The emperor Tacitus enafted, That
counterfeiting the coin fhould be capital •, and under
Conftantine it was made treafon, as it is alfo among
us. The adulterating of gems is a curious art, and
the methods of detefting it no lefs ufeful. Nichols
Lapid. p. 18.
ADULTERINE, in the Civil Law, is particularly
applied to a child iffued from an adulterous amour or
commerce. Adulterine children are more odious than
the illegitimate offspring of fingle perfons.—The Ro¬
man law even refufes them the title of natural children j
as if nature difowned them.—Adulterine children are
not eafily difpenfed with for admiffion to orders. Thofe
are not deemed adulterine, who are begotten of a wo¬
man openly married, through ignorance of a former
[ 198 ] A D U
adultery, wife being alive.—By a decree of the parliament of Adulterir*.
Paris, adulterine children are declared not legitimated Adultery,
by the fubfequent marriage of the parties, even though 'r '
a papal difpenfation be had for fuch marriage, wherein
is a claufe of legitimation.
ADULTERINE Marriages, in St Augufline’s fenfe,
denote fecond marriages, contrafted after a divorce.
ADULTERY, an unlawful commerce between one
married perfon and another, or between a married and
unmarried perfon.
Punifhments have been annexed to adultery in moil
ages and nations, though of different degrees of feve¬
rity. In many it has been capital : in others venial,
and attended only with flight pecuniary mulfts. Some
of the penalties are ferious, and even cruel j others of
a jocofe and humorous kind. Even contrary things
have been enafted as punifhments for adultery. By feme
laws, the criminals are forbidden marrying together,
in cafe they became fingle $ by others, they are forbid¬
den to marry any befides each other •, by fome, they are
incapacitated from ever committing the like crime
again -, by others, they are glutted with it till it be¬
comes downright naufeous.
Among the rich Greeks, adulterers were allowed to
redeem themfelves by a pecuniary fine *, the woman’s
father, in fuch cafes, returned the dower he had receiv¬
ed from her hufband, which fome think was refunded
by the adulterer. Another punilhment among thofe
people, was putting out the eyes of adulterers.
The Athenians had an extraordinary way of puniflr-
ing adulterers, called frxgdliXfictf praftifed
at lead on the poorer fort who wrere not able to pay
the fines. This was an aw7kward fort of empalement,
performed by thrutiing one of the largeft radifhes up
the anus of the adulterer, or, in defeft thereof, a fifh
with a large head, called mugil, “ mullet.” Alcaeus is
faid to have died this way, though it is doubted whe¬
ther the punifhment was reputed mortal. Juvenal and
Catullus fpeak of this cuftom as received alfo among
the Romans, though not authorized by an exprefs law
as it was among the Greeks.
There are various conjeftures concerning the ancient
punifhment of adultery among the Romans. Some
will have it to have been made capital by a law of Ro-"
mulus, and again by the twelve tables. Others, that
it was firft made capital by Auguflus j and others, not
before the emperor Conftantine. The truth is, the pu¬
nifhment in the early days was very various, much be¬
ing left to the diferetion of the hufband and parents of
the adulterous wife, who exercifed it differently, rather
with the filence and countenance of the magiftrate than
any formal authority from him. Thus we are told, the
wife’s father was allowed to kill both parties, when
caught in the faft, provided he did it immediately, kill¬
ed both together, and as it were with one blow. The
fame power ordinarily was not indulged the hufband,
except the crime were committed with fome mean or
infamous perfon ; though, in other cafes, if his rage
carried him to put them to death, he was not punifhed
as a murderer. On many occafions, however, revenge
was not carried fo far •, but mutilating, caftrating, cut¬
ting off the ears, nofes, &c. ferved the turn. The pu¬
nifhment allotted by the lex Julia, was not, as many
have imagined, death j but rather banifhment, or de¬
portation, being interdifted fire and water : though
Oftavius
A D U [ 199 ] A D U
.dultery. Oftavius appears, in feveral inftances, to have gone
beyond his own law, and to have put adulterers to
death. Uuder Macrinus, many were burnt at a flake.
Conftantine firft by law made the crime capital. Un¬
der Conftantius and Cenftans, adulterers were burnt, or
fevved in facts and thrown into the fea. Under Leo
and Marcian, the penalty was abated to perpetual ba-
niftiment, or cutting off the nofe. Under Juftinian, a
farther mitigation was granted, at leaft in favour of the
wife, who was only to be fcourged, lofe her dower, and
be fliut up in a monaftery : after two years, the huf-
band was at liberty to take her back again ; if he re-
fufed, ftie was (haven, and made a nun for life: But it
ftill remained death in the huthand. The reafon al¬
leged for this difference is, that the woman is the weak¬
er veffel. Matthseus declaims againff the emprefs
Theodora, who is fuppofed to have been the caufe of
this law, as well as of others procured in favour of that
fex from the emperor.
Under Theodofius, women convifted of this crime
were puniffied after a very Angular manner, viz. by a
public conflupration} being locked up in a narrow
cell, and forced to admit to their embraces all the men
that would offer themfelves. To this end, the gallants
were to drefs themfelves on purpofe, having feveral lit¬
tle bells fattened to their clothes, the tinkling of which
gave notice to thofe without of every motion. This
cuftom was again aboliftied by the fame prince.
By the Jewifti law, adultery was puniftied by death
in both parties, where they were both married, or on¬
ly the w'oman. The Jews had a particular method of
trying, or rather purging, an adulterefs, or a woman
fufpe&ed of the crime, by making her drink the bit¬
ter waters of jealoufy 5 which, if ftie were guilty, made
her fwell.
Amongft the Mingrelians, according to Chardin,
adultery is punilhed with the forfeiture of a hog, which
is ufually eaten in good friendftiip between the gallant,
the adulterefs, and the cuckold. In fome parts of the
Indies, it is faid any man’s wife is permitted to pro-
ftitute herfelf to him who will give an elephant for the
ufe of her ; and it is reputed no fmall glory to her to
have been rated fo high. Adultery is faid to be fo
frequent in Ceylon, that not a woman but pra&ifes it,
notwithftanding its being puniftiable with death. A-
mong the Japanefe, and divers other nations, adultery
is only penal in the woman. Among the Abyflinians,
the crime of the hufband is faid to be only puniftied on
the innocent wife. In the Marian iflands, on the con¬
trary, the woman is not puniftiable for adultery ; but
if the man go aftray he pays feverely : the wife and
her relations wafte his lands, turn him out of his houfe,
&c. Among the Chinefe, there is reafon to conclude
that adultery is not capital j for it is faid that fond pa¬
rents will make a contraft with their daughters future
hulbands to allow them the indulgence of a gallant.
In Spain, they puniftied adultery in men by cutting
off that part which had been the inftrument of the
crime. In Poland, before Chriftianity was eftabliftied,
they puniftied adultery and fornication in a very parti¬
cular manner: the criminal they carried to the mar¬
ket-place, and there fattened him by the tefticles with
a nail; laying a razor within his reachj and leaving
him under a neceflity, either of doing juftice upon
himfelf, or of periftiing in that condition.
The Saxons formerly burnt the adulterefs, and over
her allies erefted a gibbet, whereon the adulterer was
hanged. In this kingdom, likewife, adultery, by the
ancient laws, was feverely puniftied. King Edmund
the Saxon ordered adultery to be puniftied in the fame
manner as homicide ; and Canute the Dane ordered
that a man who committed adultery ftiould be banifti-
ed, and that the woman ftiould have her nofe and ears
cut off. In the time of Henry I. it was puniftied with
the lofs of eyes and genitals.
In Britain, adultery is reckoned a fpiritual offence,
that is, cognizable by the fpiritual courts, where it is
puniflied by fine and penance. The common law takes
no farther notice of it, than to allow the party griev¬
ed an adtion and damages. This praftice is often cen-
fured by foreigners, as making too light of a crime,
the bad confequences of which, public as well as pri¬
vate, are fo great. It has been anfwered, that per¬
haps this penalty, by civil adtion, is more wifely cal¬
culated to prevent the frequency of the offence, which
ought to be the end of all laws, than a feverer punifti-
ment. He that by a judgement of law is, according
to circumftances, flripped of great part of his fortune,
thrown into prifon till he can pay it, or forced to fly
his country, will, no doubt, in moft cafes, own that he
pays dearly for his amufement.
As to the moral turpitude of this offence, fome have
vainly endeavoured to deny or explain it away by va¬
rious arguments, and even by an appeal to Scripture.
On the part of the man who folicits the chattily of a
married woman, it certainly includes the crime of Se¬
duction, and is attended with mifehief ftill more
complicated and extenfive : It creates a new fufferer,
the injured hufband, upon whofe fimplicity and affec¬
tion is inflidted a wound the moft painful and incura¬
ble that human nature knows. The infidelity of the
woman is aggravated by cruelty to her children, who
are generally involved in their parents ftiame, and al¬
ways made unhappy by their quarrel.
It has been argued, that thefe confequences ought
lefs to be attributed to the crime than to the difcovery.
But, in the firft place, the crime could not be difco-
vered unlefs it were committed, and the commiflion is
never fecure from difcovery. 2dly, If adulterous con-
nedfions were allowable whenever the parties could
hope to efcape detedfion, which is the conclufion to
which this argument leads, the hufband would be left
no other fecurity for his wife’s chaftity, than in her
want of opportunity or temptation ; which would pro¬
bably deter moft men from marrying ; or render mar¬
riage a ftate of continual jealoufy and alarm to the huf¬
band, which would end in the flavery and confinement
Adultery.
of the wife.
The marriage vow is “ witneffed before God,” and
accompanied with circumftances of folemnity and reli¬
gion which approach to the nature of an oath. The
married offender, therefore, incurs a crime little (hort
of perjury, and the fedudlion of a married woman is
little lefs than fubornation of perjury:—and this guilt
is independent of the difcovery.
But the ufual apology for adultery is the prior tranf-
greffion of the other party •, and fo far indeed, as the
bad effects of adultery are anticipated by the conduit
of the hulband or wife who offends firft, the guilt of
the fecond offender is extenuated. But this can never
amount
A D U [200
Adultery, amount to a juftification; unlefs it could be fhown that
th& obligation of the marriage vow depends^ upon the
condition of reciprocal fidelity *, a conftru£tion which
appears founded neither in expediency, nor in the terms
of the vow, nor in the defign of the legiflature which
prefcribed the marriage rite. The way of confidenng
the offence upon the footing of provocation and retaha-
-tion, is a childifh trifling with words.
“ Thou (halt not commit adultery,” was an inter-
di£t delivered by God himfelf j yet Scripture has been
adduced as giving countenance to the crime. As Chn
told the woman taken in adultery, “ Neither do / con¬
demn thee'' we muft believe, it is faid, that he deemed
her conduct either not criminal, or at leaft not a crime
of the heinous nature we reprefent it to be. . But from
a more attentive examination of the cafe, it will be
evident that nothing can be concluded from it favour¬
able to fuch an opinion. The tranfa&ion is thus re-
] A D U
fubjeft. ‘ Jefus faith unto her, Woman, where are Adultery,
4 thofe thine accufers ? Hath no man condemned thee ? *
‘ She faid, No man, Lord. And Jefus faid unto her,
‘ Neither do I condemn thee j go and fin no more.’
Now, when Chrift afked the woman, ‘ Hath no man
‘ condemned thee ?’ he certainly fpoke, and was under-
ftood by the woman to fpeak, of a legal and judicial
condemnation } otherwife heranfwer, 4 No man, Lord,
was not true. In every other fenfe of condemnation,
as blame, cenfure, reproof, private judgment, and the _
like, many had condemned her j all thofe, indeed, who
brought her to Jefus. If then a judicial fentence was
what Chrift meant by condemning in the queftion, the
common ufe of language _ requires us to fuppofe that
he meant the fame in his reply, 4 Neither do I con-
4 demn thee i. e. I pretend to no judicial charafter
or authority over thee j it is no office or bufinek of
lated * : ‘Earl} in ^morning Jefua came again in- When Chrift add,, ‘ Go and fin no more,’ he in efifea
mine to pronounce or execute the fentence of the law.
wucm rtirlft arlfls. 4 Go and fin no more’ he in effedt
? rL^^tfTthe temple, and all the people came unto him;
chap. viii. 4 and he fat down and taught them. And the Scribes
4 and Pharifees brought unto him a woman taken in
4 adultery; and when they had fet her in the midft,
4 they fay unto him, Mafter, this woman was taken
4 in adultery in the very a£t. Now Mofes in the law
4 commanded us that fuch fhould be ftoned, but what
« fayeft thou ? This they faid, tempting him, that they
4 might have to accufe him. But Jefus ftooped down,
4 and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though
4 he heard them not. So when they continued afking
4 him, he lifted up himfelf, and faid unto them, He
4 that’is without fin amongft you, let him firft caft a
4 ftone at her ; and again he ftooped down and wrote
4 on the ground: and they which heard it, being con-
4 vidted by their own confcience, went out one by one,
4 beginning at the eldeft, even unto the laft ; and Je-
4 fus was left alone, and the woman {landing in the
4 midft. When Jefus had lifted up himfelf, and faw
4 none but the woman, he faid unto her, Woman,
4 where are thofe thine accufers ? Hath no man con-
4 demned thee ? She faid. No man, Lord : and Jefus
4 faid unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; go and fin
4 no more.’ _
4 This they faid tempting him, that they might
4 have to excufe him that is, to draw him into an ex-
ercife of judicial authority, that they might have to ac¬
cufe him before the Roman governor of ufurping or in¬
termeddling with the civil government. .
, 44 This was their defign ; and Chrift’s behaviour
Moral and throughout the whole affair proceeded from a know-
Political ledge of this defign, and a determination to defeat it.
Philofophy- pje gives them at firft a cold and fullen reception, well
p 258. 3d to the Odious intention with which they came :
edit. 410. t he fto0pe(1 down, and with his finger wrote on the
4 ground as though he heard them not.’ 4 When they
4 continued afking him,’ when they teafed him to fpeak,
he difmiffed them with a rebuke, which the imperti¬
nent malice of their errand, as well as the fecret cha-
ra&er of many of them, deferved : 4 he that is with-
4 out fin (that is, this fin) among you, let him firft
4 caft a ftone at her.’ This had its effea.. Stung
with the reproof, and difappointed of their aim, they
ft ole away one by one, and left Jefus and the woman
alone. And then follows the converfation, which is
the part of the narrative moft material to our prefent
tells her that fhe had finned already ; but as to the
degree or quality of the fin, or Chrift’s opinion con¬
cerning it, nothing is declared, or can be inferred, ei¬
ther way.”
It has been controverted, whether adultery may be
lawfully committed in war, with the enemies wives ?
The anfwer is in the negative, and the authorized prac¬
tice of civilized nations is agreeable to this. It has
alfo been a famous queftion, whether it be lawful for
a woman to commit adultery with the confent of her
hufband, and for the procuring fome great good to
him ? St Auftin apparently allows of it; at leaft, does
not condemn it *. . • 1 1 r 1 *
It has likewife been a difpute, whether it be law ml j)0TTU in
for one of the parties married to commit adultery, with Mont. lib.
the confent of the other, for the fake of having chil-«-caP-^
dren ? Of which we have inftances in Abraham, who, ^ ^
on this account, converfed with Hagar ; and likewife lib xvi,
among the Greeks and Romans. Pullman, a German Cap. 25-
profeffor, has a differtation on the hufhand’s right to
alienate his wife’s body to another’s ufe. .
It is much difputed, whether adultery diffolves the
bond of matrimony, and be a fufficient caufe of di¬
vorce, fo that the parties may marry again. This was
allowed in the ancient church, and is ftill continued in
the Greek, as well as the Lutheran and Calvinift
churches. Romanifts, however, difallow of it, and the
council of Trent even anathematized thofe. who main¬
tain it; though the canon of anathematization was
mitigated in deference to the republic of Venice, m
fome of whufe dominions, as Zant, Cephalonia, &c.
the contrary ufage obtains. The ecclefiaftical courts
in England fo far agree with the Papifts, that they
only grant a divorce d menfa et thoro, in cafe of adul¬
tery ; fo that a complete divorce, to enable the parties
to marry again, cannot be had without an a£t of par¬
liament. > f ,
ADULTERY is alfo ufed in ancient cuftoms, tor the
punilhment or fine impofed for that offence, or the
privilege of profecuting for it. In which fenfe, adul¬
ter ium\mo\ints to the fame with what the Saxons call
legerwita. #
Adultery is fometimes ufed in a more extemive
fenfe, for any fpecies of impurity or crime againft
the virtue of chaftity ; and in this fenfe divines under-
ftand the feventh commandment.
Adultery
A D V [ 201 ] A D V
ADULTERY is alfo’uftd, efpecially in Scripture, for
idolatry, or departing from the true God to the worfhip
of a falfe one.
Adultery is alfo ufed, in ecclefiaftical writers, for
a perfon’s invading or intruding into a bilhoprie du¬
ring the former bifhop’s life. The reafon of the ap¬
pellation is, that a bifhop is fuppofed to contract a
kind of fpiritual marriage with his church. The tranf-
lation of a bithop from one fee to another was alfo re¬
puted a fpecies of adultery ; on the fuppofition of its be¬
ing a kind of fecond marriage, which, in thofe days,
was efteemed a degree of adultery. This conclufion was
founded on the text of St Paul, Let a bijhop be the huf-
band of one wife, by a forced conitruction of church for
wife, and of bifhop for hulband. (Du Cange).
Adultery is alfo ufed by ancient naturalifts, for the
aft of ingrafting one plant upon another. In which
fenfe, Pliny fpeaks of the adulteries of trees, arborum
adukeria, which he reprefents as contrary to nature,
and a piece of luxury or needlefs refinement.
ADVOCATE, among the Romans, a perfon {kill¬
ed in their law, who undertook the defence of caufes at
the bar. The Roman advocates anfwered to one part
of the office of a barrifter in England, viz. the pleading
part; for they never gave counfel, that being the bufi-
nefs of t\w jurifconfultt.
The Romans, in the firfl: ages of their ftate, held
the profeffion of an advocate in great honour ; and
the feats of their bar were crowded with fenators and
confuls ; they, whofe voices commanded the people,
thinking it an honour to be employed in defending
them. They were fly led comites, honorati, clarijjimi,
and even patroni; as if their clients were not lefs o-
bliged to them than freed men to their mafters. The
bar was not at that time venal. Thofe who afpired
to honours and offices took this way of gaining an in-
terefl in the people, and always pleaded ^ra/zir. But
no fooner were luxury and corruption introduced into
the commonwealth, than the bar became a {barer in
them. Then it was that the fenators let out their
voices for pay, and zeal and eloquence were fold to
the higheft bidder. To put a flop to this abufe, the
tribune Cincius procured a law to be pafled, called from
him Lex Cincia, whereby the advocates were forbid
to take any money of their clients. It had before this
been prohibited the advocates to take any prefents or
gratuities for their pleading. The emperor Auguftus
added a penalty to it : notwithftanding which, the ad¬
vocates played their part fo well, that the emperor
Claudius thought it an extraordinary circumftance,
Yvhen he obliged them not to take above eight great
federces, which are equivalent to about 64I. fterling,
for pleading each caufe.
Advocate is {till ufed in countries and courts where
the civil law obtains, for thofe who plead and defend
the caufes of clients trufted to them.
ADVOCATE of a city, in the German polity, a ma-
giltrate appointed in the emperor’s name to adminilter
juftice.
Advocate is more particularly ufed in church hi-
Itory, for a perfon appointed to defend the rights and
revenues of a church or religious houfe. The word
advocalus or advowee, is {till retained for what we ufu-
ally call the patron, or he who has the advowfon, or
• ight of prefentation in his own name.
VOL. I. Part I.
Confforial Advocates ; officers of the confiftory at
Rome who plead in all oppolitions to the difpofal ot
benefices in that court : they are ten in number.
EleBive ADVOCATES, thofe chofen by the abbot,
bifhop, or chapter; a particular licenfe being had from
the king or prince for that purpofe. The eleftions were
originally made in the prefence of the count of the pro¬
vince.
Feuda/Advocates. Thefe were of the military kind,
who, to make them more zealous for the intereft of the
church, had lands granted them in fee, which they
held of the church, and did homage, and took an oath
of fidelity to the bifhop or abbot. Thefe were to lead
the vaffals of the church to war, not only in private
quarrels of the church itfelf, but in military expeditions
for the king’s fervice, in which they were the ftandard-
bearers of their churches.
Fifca/ ADVOCATE, ffci advocatus, in Roman antiqui¬
ty, an officer of ftate under the Roman emperors, who
pleaded in all caufes wherein the ffcus, or private trea-
fury, was concerned.
Juridical ADVOCATES, in the middle age, were thofe
who from attending caufes in the court of the comes,
or count of the province, became judges themfelves,
and held courts of their vaffals thrice a-year, under the
name of the tria placita generalia. In confideration
of this further fervice, they had a particular allowance
of one-third part of all fines, or mulfts, impofed on de¬
faulters, &c. befides a proportion of diet for themfelves
and fervants.
Matricular ADVOCATES, were the advocates of the
mother or cathedral churches.
Military ADVOCATES, thofe appointed for the de¬
fence of the church, rather by arms and authority than
by pleading and eloquence. Thefe were introduced
in the times of confufion, when every perfon was obli¬
ged to maintain his own property by force ; biftiops
and abbots not being permitted to bear arms, and the
fcholaftic or gowned advocates being equally unac¬
quainted with them, recourfe was had to knights, no¬
blemen, foldiers, or even to princes.
Nominative ADVOCATES, thofe appointed by a king
or pope. Sometimes the churches petitioned kings, &c.
to appoint them an advocate : at other times this was
done of their own accord. By fome regulations, no
perfon was capable of being elefted advocate, unlefs he
had an eftate in land in the fame county.
Regular ADVOCATES, thofe duly formed and qualified
for their profeffion, by a proper courfe of ftudy, the re-
quifite oath, fubfcription, licenfe, &c.
Subordinate ADVOCATES, thofe appointed by other fu-
perior ones, adting under them, and accountable to them.
There are various reafons for the creation of thefe fub-
ordinate advocates ; as, the fuperior quality of the prin¬
cipal advocate, his being detained in w'ar, or being in¬
volved in other affairs; but chiefly the too great di-
ftance of fome of the church lands, and their lying in
the dominions of foreign princes.
Supreme Sovereign ADVOCATES, were thofe who
had the authority in chief; but adled by deputes or
fubordinate advocates. Thefe were called alfo princi¬
pal, greater, and fometimes general advocates. Such
in many cafes were kings, &c. when either they had
been chofen advocates, or became fuch by being-
founders or endowers of churches. Princes had alfo
C c another
A D V
l
Advocate, another title to advocateftiip, fome of them pretending
Advoca- t0 n(lvocati nati of the churches within their domi-
tion.
i mons.
v Advocates, in the Engliih courts, are more gene¬
rally called cotinfel. See Counsel.
Faculty of ADVOCATES, in Scotland, a re-fpeftable
body of lawyers, who plead in all caufes before the
courts of feffion, judiciary, and exchequer. 1 hey are
alfo entitled to plead in the houfe of peers, and other
fupreme courts in England.
In the year 1660, the faculty founded a library
upon a very extenfive plan, fuggefted by that learned
and eminent lawyer Sir George Mackenzie of Rofe-
haugh, advocate to King Charles II. and King James
VII. who enriched it with many valuable books. It
lias been daily increafmg fince that time, and now con¬
tains not only the bed collection of law books in Eu¬
rope, but a very large and feledd collection of books in
all fubjeCts. Befides, this library contains a great
number of original manufcripts, and a vad variety of
Jewidi, Grecian, Roman, Scots, and Englifh coins and
medals.
A. candidate for the office of an advocate undergoes
three feveral trials : The fird is in Latin, upon the ci¬
vil law and Greek and Roman antiquities-, the fecond,
in Englidi, upon the municipal law of Scotland and,
in the third, he is obliged to defend a Latin thefis,
which is impugned by three members of the faculty.
Immediately before putting on the gown, the candidate
makes a fhort Latin fpeech to the lords, and then takes
the oaths to the government and deficleh.
The faculty at prefent confids of abovef 2CO mem¬
bers. As an advocate or lawyer is edeemed the gen-
teeled profeffion in Scotland, many gentlemen of for¬
tune take the degree of advocate, without having any
intention of praftidng at the bar. 1 his circumdance
greatly increafes their number, gives dignity to the pro-
feflion, and enriches their library and public fund. It
is from this refpeaable body that all vacancies on the
bench are generally fupplied.
Lord Advocate, or King's Advocate, one of the
eight great officers of date in Scotland, who as fuch
fat in parliament without eleftion. He is the princi¬
pal crown lawyer in Scotland. His bufinefs is to aft
as a public profecutor, and to plead in all caufes that
concern the crown ; but particularly in fuch as are of
a criminal nature. I he office of king’s advocate is
It feems to have been edablifhed
not very ancient
about the beginning of the i6th century. Originally
he had no power to profecute crimes without the con¬
currence of a private party-, but, in the year 1597,
he was empowered to profecute crimes at his own in-
ftance. He has the privilege of pleading in court with
his hat on. This privilege was fird granted to Sir
Thomas Hope -, who having three fons lords of fef-
fion, it was thought indecent that the father fhould
plead uncovered before the fons, who as judges fat co¬
vered.
Bill of ADVOCATION, in Scots Law, a writ¬
ing drawn up in the form of a petition -, whereby a
party, in an aftion before an inferior court, applies to
the fupreme court, or court of feflion, for calling the
aftion from the inferior court before itfelf.
Letters of ADVOCATION, in Scots Law, the decree or
warrant of the court of feflion upon cognizance of the
202 ] - A D V
fafts fet forth in the bill, drawn up in the form of a
fummons, and pafling under the fignet, difcharging the
inferior judge and all others from further procedure in
the caufe, and advocating it to itfelf.
ADVOWEE, in ancient cudoms and law books,
denotes the advocate of a church, religious houfe, or
the like. There were advowees of cathedrals, abbeys,
monaderies, &c. Tims, Charlemagne had the title
of advowee of St Peter’s 5 King Hugh, of St Riquier :
and Bolandus mentions fome letters of Pope Nicholas,
by which he condituted King Edward the Confeffor,
and his fucceffors, advowees of the monadery at Wed-
minder, and of all the churches in ilngland, Thefe
advowees were the guardians, proteftors, and admini-
drators of the temporal concerns of the churches, &c.
and under their authority were paffed all contrafts
which related to them. It appears alfo, from the mod
ancient charters, that the donations made to churches
were conferred on the perfons of the advowees. They
always pleaded the caufes of the churches in court,
and "didributed jufirce for them, in the places under
their jurifdiftion. They alfo commanded the forces
furnifhed by their monaderies, &c. lor the war -, and
even were their champions, and fometimes maintained
duels for them. _ # N -
This office is faid to have been fird introduced in the
fourth century, in the time of Stillico 3 though tire Be-
nediftines do not fix its origin before the eighth cen¬
tury. By degrees, men of the fird rank were brought
into it, as it was found neceffary either to defend with
arms or to proteft with power and authority. In fome
monaderies they were only called confervators; but
thefe, without the name, had all the funftions of ad¬
vowees. There were alfo fometimes feveral fub-ad-
vowees, or fub-advocates, in each monadery, who offi¬
ciated indead of the advowees themfelves -, which, how¬
ever, proved the ruin of monaderies 5 thofe inferior of¬
ficers running into great abufes.
Hence alfo, hulbands, tutors, and every perfon in ge¬
neral, who took upon him the defence of another, were
denominated advowees, or advocates. Hence feveral
cities had their advowees j which were edabliffied long
after the ecclefiadical ones, and doubtlefs from their
example. rl hus we read m hidory of the advowees of
Augfburg, of Arras, &c.
The vidames aflumed the quality of advowees j and
hence it is, that feveral hidorians of the eighth century
confound the two funftions together. Hence alfo it is,
that feveral fecular lords in Germany bear mitres for
their creds, as having anciently been advowees of the
great churches.
Spelman didinguiffies two kinds of ecclefiadical ac-
vowees.—The one, of caufes or procefles, advocati
caufarum; the other, of territory or lands, advocati foil.
The former were nominated by the king, and were
ufually lawyers, who undertook to plead the caufes Ol
the monaderies. The other, which did fubfid, and
are fometimes called by their primitive name, advowees,
though more ufually were hereditary-, as being
the founders and endowers of churches, &c. or their
heirs. _ ,
Women were fometimes advowees, advocatijfce. And,
in effeft, the canon law mentions lome who had this
title, and who had the fame right of prefentation, &c.
in their churches which the advowees themfelves had.
Ail voca¬
tion,
A dvowee.
A D U [ 2c
I advowee, In a flat. 25 Edw. III. we meet with advowee para-
Aduft. mount for the higheft patron j that is, the king.
—v   ADVOWSON, or Advowzen, in Common Law,
fignifies a right to prefent to a vacant benefice. Ad-
vowfon is fo called, becaufe the right of prefenting to
the church was firft gained by fuch as were founaers,
benefactors, or maintainers of the church.
Though the nomination of fit perfons to officiate in
every diocefe was originally in the bifliop, yet they
were content to let the founders of churches have the
nomination of the perfons to the churches fo founded,
referving to themfelves a right to judge of the fitnefs
of the perfons nominated.
Advowfans formerly were moft of them appendant
to manors, and the patrons were parochial barons :
the lordlhip of the manor and patronage of the church
were feldom in different hands, until advowfons were
given to religious houfes. But of late times the lord-
ffiip of the manor and advowfon of the church have
been divided. _ .
Advowfons are prefentative, collative, or donative :
prefentative, where the patron prefents or offers his
clerk to the biffiop of the diocefe, to be inllituted in
his church •, collative, where the benefice is given by
the bifliop, as original patron thereof, or by means of
a right he has acquired by lapfe ; donative, as where
the king or other patron does, by a Angle donation in
writing, put the clerk into poffeffion, without prefenta-
tion, inftitution, or induction.
Sometimes, anciently, the patron had the foie nomi¬
nation of the prelate, abbot, or prior ; either by inve-
fliture (2. e. delivery of a pafforal ftaff), or by direct
prefentation to the diocefan ; and if a free election was
left to the religious, yet a conge d'elire, or licenfe of
election, was firft to be obtained of the patron, and the
perfon eleCted was confirmed by him. If the foun¬
der’s family became extinfl, the patronage of the con¬
vent went to the lord of the manor. Unlefs the feve-
ral colleges in the univerfities be reftrained in the num¬
ber of advowfons they may receive, it is argued they
will in time acquire fuch a ftock as to fruftrate the de-
fign of their foundation (which is the education of
youth), by creating too quick a fucceffion of fellows 5
fo that there will‘ not be in the colleges a fufficient
number of perfons of competent age, knowledge, and
experience, to inftrutt and form the minds of the youth.
In fome colleges the number of advowfons is faid to be
already two-thirds, or more, of the number of fellows.
It is objected, on the other fide, that the fucceffion of
fellows may be too flow as well as too quick •, where¬
by perfons well qualified may be detained fo long in
colleges as not to have ftrength or a&ivity enough left
for the difeharge of parochial funftions.
Colleges holding more advowfons in number than a
moiety of the fellows, are not capable of purchafing
more. Grants of advowfons by Papifts are void.
9 Geo. II. c. 36. §5.n Geo. II. c. 17. § 5.
Advowfons are temporal inheritances and lay fees 5
they may be granted by deed or will, and are affets in
the hands of heirs or executors. Prefentations to ad¬
vowfons for money, or other reward, are void. 31 Eliz.
cap. 6. _ o d
In Scotland, this right is called patronage. See Pa¬
tronage.
ADUST, Adustus, among phyficians, &c. is ap-
s ] A E A
plied to fuch humours as by long heat become of a hot
and fiery nature. Such is choler fuppofed to be. Me-
lancholy is ufually confidered as black and aduft bile.
Blood is faid to be aduft, when, by reafon of fome ex¬
traordinary heat, its more fubtle parts are all evaporat¬
ed, leaving the groffer, with all the impurities therein,
half terrified. .
ADY, in Natural Hi/lory, a name given to the palm
tree of the ifland of St Thomas. It is a tall tree with
a thick, bare, upright ftem, growing Angle on its root,
of a thin light timber, and full of juice. I he head of
this tree ffioots into a vaft number of branches, which
being cut off, or an incifion being made therein, afford
a great quantity of fweet juice, which fermenting iup-
plies the'place of wine among the Indians. 1 he fruit
of this tree is called by the Portuguefe caryoces, and
cariojje; and by the black natives, abanga. This
fruit is of the fize and fliape (ft’ a lemon ; and contains
a kernel, which is good to eat. The fruit itfelf is eaten
mailed, and the raw kernels are often mixed with man-
dioc meal. Thefe kernels are fuppofed very cordial.
An oil is alfo prepared from this fruit, which anfwers
the purpofe of oil or butter. 1. his oil is alfo Uitd for
anointing ftiff and contracted parts of the body.
ADYNAMIA, in Medicine, of * privative, and
Jlrength, want of power, debility, or weaknefs,
from ficknefs.
ADYNAMIA, the fecond clafs of Dr Cullen s
nofological arrangement, which includes thofe difeafes
in which the involuntary motions, whether vital or na¬
tural, are diminiffied.
ADYNAMON, among ancient phyficians, a kind
of weak fadlitious wine, prepared from muft boiled
down with water; to be given to patients to whom
genuine wine might be hurtful.
ADYTUM, in Pagan antiquity, the moft retired
and lacred place of temples, into which none but the
priefts were allowed to enter, ihe SanClum Sanc^
torutn of the temple of Solomon was of the nature of
the pagan adytum, none but the high prieft being ad¬
mitted into it, and he but once a-year.
ADZE, or Addice, a cutting tool of the axe kind ;
having its blade made thin and arching, and its edge
at right angles to the handle ; chiefly ufed for taking
off thin chips of timber or boards, and for paring away
certain irregularities which the axe cannot come at.
The adze is ufed by carpenters, but more by coopers,
as being convenient for cutting the hollow fides of
boards, &c. It is ground from a bafe on its inflde to
its outer edge; fo that, when it is blunt, they cannot con¬
veniently grind it without taking its helve out of the eye,
AE, or ZE, a diphthong compounded of A and E.
Authors are by no means agreed as to the ufe of the
cc in Englifli words. Some, out of regard to etymo¬
logy, infill on its being retained in all words, particu¬
larly technical ones, borrowed from the Greek and
Latin ; while others, from a confideration that it is no
proper diphthong in our language, its found being no
other than that of the Ample e, contend that it ought
to be entirely difufed ; and, in fa£l, the Ample Mias of
late been adopted inftead of the Roman ce, as in the
word equator, &c. .
ALACEA, in Grecian antiquity, folemn feftivals and
games celebrated at Atgina, in honour of Alacus. ^
A AC US, the fon of Jupiter by Agina. When
C c 2
A E D [ 204 ] AEG
the ifle of ./Egina was depopulated by a plague, his fa¬
ther, in compafTion to his grief, changed all the ants
upon it into men and women, who were called Mi/rmi-
dones, from fivgptvi!', an ant. The foundation of the
fable is faid to be, that when the country had been de¬
populated by pirates, who forced the few that remained
to take thelter in caves, ^Eacus encouraged them to
come out, and by commerce and induftry recover what
they had loft. His chara£ter for juftice was fuch, that,
in a time of univerfal drought, he was nominated by
the Delphic oracle to intercede for Greece, and his
prayer was anfwered. See the article ^Egina. The
Pagans alfo imagined that /Eacus, on account of his
impartial juftice, w^as chofen by Pluto one of the three
judges of the dead \ and that it was his province to
judge the Europeans.
A,BUDiE, a name anciently given to the Weftern
iflands of Scotland.
TEBURA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Spain,
in Eftremadura, on the river Guadiana, to the wTeft of
Merida; now called Talavera. W. Long. 7. 1 c.
N- Lat. 38. 40.
jEiCHMALOTARCHA, in Jewifti antiquity, a
title given to the principal leader or governor of the
Hebrew captives refiding in Chaldea, Aflyria, and the
neighbouring countries. This magiftrate was called
by the Jews, rofch-galath, i. e. the chief of the captivi¬
ty : but the above term, of like import in the Greek,
is that ufed by Origen and others who wrote in the
Greek tongue.
The Jewifti writers allure us, that the cechmalotarcha:
were only to be chofen out of the tribe of Judah. The
eaftern Jews had their princes of the captivity, as the
weftern Jews their patriarchs. The Jews are ftill faid
to have an cechnnlotarcha at Babylon, but without the
authority of the ancient ones. {Bafnage HJl. Jews,
and Prideaux's Conn eel ion.^
jEICIDIUM, in Botany. See Botany Index.
/EC UL AN Q M, in Ancient Geography, a town of
the Hirpini in Italy, at the foot of the Apennines, to
the eaft of Abellinum, contrafted JEclanum, fituated
between Beneventum and Tarentum. The inhabitants
are called JEculani by Pliny ; and JEc/anenfes, in an
ancient infeription (Gruter). The town is now called
Fricento, (Cluverius), 43 miles eaft of Naples. E. Long.
15. 38. N. Lat. 41. 15.
/EDES, in Roman antiquity, befides its more ordi¬
nary fignification of a houfe, like wife fignified an infe¬
rior kind of temple, confecrated to fome deity.
iEDICULA, a term ufed to denote the inner part
of the temple, where the altar and ftatue of the deity
flood.
/EDILATE, the office of aedile, fomelimes called
JEdility. See the next article.
^EDILE Qcedilis'), in Roman antiquity, a magiftrate
whofe chief buftnefs was to fuperintend buildings of
all kinds, but more efpecially public ones, as temples,
aquediufts, bridges, &c. To the eediles likewife be¬
longed the care of the highways, public places, weights
and meafures, &c. They alfo fixed the prices of pro-
vifions, took cognizance of debauches, punifhed lewd
women, and fuch perlbns as frequented gaming houfes.
The ettftody of the plebifcita, or orders of the people,
was likewife committed to them. They had the in-
fpe&ion of comedies and other pieces of wit j and were
obliged to exhibit magnificent games to the people, at /Edile
their own expence, whereby many of them were ruin- II
ed. To them alfo belonged the cuftody of the pie- ' g:j§roI)‘’
bifeita, and the cenfure and examination of books. j
They had the power, on certain occafions, of iffuing
edifts \ and, by degrees, they procured to themfelves
a confiderable jurifdiction, the cognizance of various
caufes, &c. This office ruined numbers by its expen -
fivenefs; fo that, in Auguftus’s time, even many fena-
tors declined it on that account.
All thefe fun£fions which rendered the aedilesfo con¬
fiderable belonged at firft to the sediles of the people,
adi/es p/ebeii, or minores : thefe were only two in num¬
ber, and were firft created in the fame year as the tri¬
bunes : for the tribunes, finding themfelves opprefled
with the multiplicity of affairs, demanded of the fe-
nate to have officers, to whom they might intruft
matters of lefs importance: and accordingly two aediles
were created j and hence it was that the aediles were
ele£led every year at the fame affembly as the tribunes.
But thefe plebeian aediles having refufed, on a fignal
occafion, to treat the people with ftiows, as pleading
themfelves unable to fupport the expence thereof, the
patricians made an offer to do it, provided they would
admit them to the honours of the cedilate. On this
occafion there "were two new’ aediles created, of the
number of the patricians, in the year of Rome 388;
they were called cediles curules, or majores ; as having
a right to fit on a curule chair, enriched with ivory,
when they gave audience ; whereas the plebeian aediles
only fat on benches.—Befides that the curule aediles
fhared all the ordinary funflions with the plebeian, their
chief employ was, to procure the celebration of the
grand Roman games, and to exhibit comedies, (hows
of gladiators, &c. to the people ; and they were alfo
appointed judges in all cafes relating to the felling or
exchanging eftates.
To eafe thefe four firft aediles, Caefar created a new
kind, called eediles cereales, as being deputed chiefly to
take care of the corn, which was called donum Cereris ;
for the Heathens honoured Ceres as the goddefs who
prefided over corn, and attributed to her the invention
of agriculture. Thefe aediles cereales were alfo taken
out of the order of patricians. In the municipal ci¬
ties there were aediles, and with the fame authority as
at Rome.
We alfo read of an cedilis alimentarius, expreffed in
abbreviature by H'.dil. alim. whofe bufinefs feems to
have been to provide diet for thofe who were maintain¬
ed at the public charge, though others affign him a
different office.—In an ancient infeription we alfo meet
with cedile of the camp, cedilis cajlrorum.
iEDILITIUM Edictum, among the Romans, wras
that whereby a remedy was given to a buyer in cafe a
vicious or unfound beaft, or flave, was fold to him. It
was called cedilitium, becaufe the preventing of frauds
in fales and contra£ls belonged efpecially to the curule
aediles.
jfEDITUUS, in Roman antiquity, an officer belong¬
ing to the temple, who had the charge of the offerings,
treafure, and facred utenfils. The female deities had a
female officer of this kind called JFditua.
iEGAGROPILA, a ball compofed of hair, gene¬
rated in the ftomach of the chamois goat, which is fi-
milar to thofe found in cows, hogs, &c. There is
another
AEG [ 205 ] AEG
iEgagro- another fpecles of ball found in fome animals, particular-
P''a ly horfes, which is a calculous concretion,
a, 11 s TiLGjfiL, or JEiGMA, in Ancient Geography, the name
l"- of JEdeffa, fo called from the following adventure :
Caranus, the firft king of Macedonia, being ordered by
the oracle to feek out a fettlement in Macedonia, under
the conduct of a flock of goats, furprifed the town of
./Edtffa, during a thick fog and rainy weather, in fol¬
lowing the goats that fled from the rain; which goats
ever after, in all his military expeditions, he caufed to
precede his ftandard •, and in memory of this he called
/Edeffa jEgea, and his people JEgeadce. And hence
probably, in the prophet Daniel, the he-goat is the fym-
bol of the king of Macedon,
AEGEAN SEA, in Ancient Geography, now the
Archipelago, a part of the Mediterranean, feparating
Europe from Afia \ wafhing, on the one hand, Greece
and Macedonia ; on the other, Caria and Ionia. The
origin of the name is greatly difputed. Feftus ad¬
vances three opinions : one, that it is fo called from the
many iflands therein, at a diflance appearing like fo
many goats: another, becaufe iEgea queen of the
Amazons perilhed in it: a third opinion is, becaufe
vEgeus, the father of Thefeus, threw himfelf headlong
into it.
vEGEUS, in fabulous hiftory, was king of Athens,
and the father of Thefeus. The Athenians having
bafely killed the fon of Minos king of Crete, for carry¬
ing away the prize from them, Minos made war upon
the Athenians j and being victorious, impofed this fe-
vere condition on zEgeus, that he fhould annually fend
into Crete feven of the noblefl: of the Athenian youths,
chofen by lot, to be devoured by the Minotaur. On
the fourth year of this tribute, the choice fell on The¬
feus •, or, as others fay, he himfelf entreated to be fent.
The king, at his fon’s departure, gave orders, that as
the (hip failed with black fails, it fhould return with the
fame in cafe he perilhed ; but, if he became victorious,
he (hould change them into white. When Thefeus re¬
turned to Crete, after killing the Minotaur, and for¬
got to change the fails in token of his victory, accord¬
ing to the agreement with his father \ the latter, who
watched the return of the velfel, fuppofing by the black
fails that his fon was dead, call himfelf headlong into
the fea, which afterwards obtained the name of the
JEgean fea. The Athenians decreed Aigeus divine
honours ; and facrificed to him as a marine deity, the
adopted fon of Neptune.
JEGIAS, among phyficians, a white fpeck on the
pupil of the eye, which occafions a dimnefs of fight.
iEGIDA, (Pliny) •, now Capo d' IJiria, the principal
town on the north of the territory of Iftria, fituated in
a little ifland, joined to the land by a bridge. In an in-
fcription, (Gruter), it is called JEgidis Infu/a. E. Long.
14. 20. N. Lat. 45. 50. It was afterwards called Ju-
Jlinopolis, after the emperor Juftinus.
jEGILOPS, the name of a tumour in the great
angle of the eye •, either with, or without, an inflam¬
mation. The word is compounded of and
eye; as goats are fuppofed extremely liable to this
diftemper.
Authors frequently ufe the words cegi/ops, anchilops,
and fifula lachrymalis, promifcuoufly ; but the more ac¬
curate, after TEgineta, make a difference.—The tu¬
mour, before it becomes ulcerous, is properly called
anchilops ; and, after it is got into the lachrymal paf- vEgilops
fages, and has rendered the os lachrymale carious,
lachrymalis. » . ^ 
If the gegilops be accompanied with an inflamma¬
tion, it is fuppofed to take its rife from the abundance
of blood which a plethoric habit difcharges on the cor¬
ner of the eye. If it be without an inflammation, it
is fuppofed to proceed from a vifcous pituitous humour,
thrown upon this part.
The method of cure is the fame as that of the oph¬
thalmia. But before it has reached the lachrymal paf-
fages, it is managed like other ulcers. If the aegilops
be neglefted, it burfts, and degenerates into a fiftula,
which eats into the bone.
AEgilops, in Botany. See Botany Index.
iEGIMURUS, in Ancient Geography, an ifland in
the bay of Carthage, about 30 miles diftant from that
city, (Livy) ; now the Goletta : This ifland being after-
wrards funk in the fea, two of its rocks remained above
water, which were called Arce, and mentioned by Vir¬
gil, becaufe the Romans and Carthaginians entered in¬
to an agreement or league to limit their refpe£tive
boundaries by thefe rocks.
tEGINA, in fabulous hiftory, the daughter of
ALfopus, king of Boeotia, was beloved by Jupiter, who
debauched her in the fimilitude of a lambent flame,
and then carried her from Epidaurus to a defert ifland
called Oenope, which afterwards obtained her own
name.
angina, in Ancient Geography, an ifland in the Sa¬
ronic bay, or bay of Engia, 20 miles diftant from the
Piraeus, formerly vying with Athens for naval power,
and at the fea-fight of Salamis difputing the palm of
viftory with the Athenians. It was the country and
kingdom of Abacus, who called it JEgina from his mo¬
ther’s name, it being before called Oenopia, (Ovid.)
The inhabitants were called JEginetce, and JEginenfes.
The Greeks had a common temple dedicated to Jupi¬
ter in Angina. The ALginetae applied to commerce ;
and were the firft who coined money called
AtyHxiov ; hence JEgineticum ces, formerly in great re¬
pute. The inhabitants were called Myrmidones, or a
nation of ants, from their great application to agricul¬
ture. See Abacus.
The ifland was furrounded by Attica, the territory
of Megara, and the Peloponnefus, each diftant about
100 ftadia, or 1 2 miles and a half. In circumference
it was reckoned 180 ftadia, or 22 miles and a half. It
was wafhed on the eaft and fouth by the Myrtoan and
Cretan feas.
It is now called JEi/ina or JEgina, the g foft and the 1
ftrort. The temple above mentioned is fituated upon
the fummit of a mountain called Panhellenius, at fome
diftance from the (bore. The Aiginetans affirmed it
was ere&ed by Abacus 5 in whofe time Greece being
terribly oppreffed by drought, the Delphic oracle was
confulted 5 and the refponfe was, That Jupiter muft be
rendered propitious by Atacus. The cities entreated
him to be their mediator : He facrificed and prayed to
Jupiter Panhellenius, and procured rain.
The temple was of the Doric order, and had fix co¬
lumns in front. Twenty-one of the exterior columns
are yet ftanding, with two in the front of the pronaos
and of the pofticum, and five of the number which
formed the ranges of the cell. The entablature, except
AEG
[ 206 ]
AEG
JEgina.
the architrave, is fallen. The Hone is of a light brown-
1 i(h colour, much eaten in many places, and indicating
a very great age. Some of the columns have been in-
]ured by boring to their centres for the metal. In le-
veral, the junction of the parts is fo exact, that each
feems to confift of one piece. I his ruin Mr Chandler
confiders as fcarcely to be paralleled in its claim to a
remote antiquity. The fituation on a lonely mountain,
at a didance from the fea, has preferved it from total
demolition, amid all the changes and accidents of nu¬
merous centuries.
Near the Ihore is a barrow, raifed, it is related, tor
Phocus upon the following oceafion. Telamon and
Peleus, fons of iEacus, challenged their halt brother
Phocus to contend in the Pentathlum. In throwing
the ftone, which ferved as a quoit, Peleus hit Phocus,
who was killed ; when both of them ded. Afterwards
Telamon fent a herald to affert his innocence. TEacus
would not fuffer him to land, or to apologize, except
from the veffel j or, if he chofe rather, from a heap call
up in the water. Telamon, entering the private port
by night, raifed a barrow, as a token, it is likely, of
a pious regard for the deceafed. He was afterwards
condemned, as not free from guilt and failed away
again to Salamis. The barrow in the fecond century,
when feen by Paufanias, was furrounded with a^ fence,
and had on it a rough done. The terror of fome
dreadful judgment to be infliaed from heaven had pre¬
ferved it' entire and unaltered to his time ; and in a
country depopulated and neglefted, it may dill endure
for many ages.
The foil of this idand is, as defcribed by Strabo,
very dony, efpecially the bottoms, but in fome places
not unfertile in grain. Befides corn, it produces olives,
crapes, and almonds ; and abounds in pigeons and par¬
tridges. It has been related, that the /Eginetans an¬
nually wage wTar with the feathered race, carefully
colleaing or breaking their eggs, to prevent their mul¬
tiplying, and in confequence a yearly famine. They
have no hares, foxes, or wolves. The rivers in dimmer
are all dry. The waiwode or governor farms the re¬
venue of the Grand Signior for iz purfes, or 6000 pi-
adres. About half this fum is repaid yearly by the ca-
ratch-money, or poll tax.
AEgiNA, the capital of the above ifland. Its fite has
been long forfaken. Indead of the temples mention¬
ed by Paufanias, there are 13 lonely churches, all
very mean ; and two Doric columns fupporting their
architrave. Thefe dand by the fea-fide toward the
low cape ; and, it has been fuppofed, are a remnant
of a temple of Venus, which was fituated by the port
principally frequented. The theatre, which is record¬
ed as worth feeing, refembled that of the Epidaurians
both in fize and workmandiip. It was not far from the
private port-, the dadium, which, like that at Priene,
was condrmded with only one fide, being joined to it
behind, and each drufture mutually fudaining and
propping the other. The walls belonging to the ports
and arfenal were of excellent mafonry, and may be tra¬
ced to a confiderable extent, above, or nearly even with
the water. At the entrance of the mole, on the left,
is a fmall chapel of St Nicholas; and oppofite, a fquare
tower with deps before it, detached from which a bridge
was laid acrofs, to be removed on any alarm. This
drufture, which is mean, was ere&ed by the Venetians,
while at war with the Turks in 1693.
iEGINETA, Paulus, a celebrated furgeon of the
ifland of iEgina, from whence he derived his name.
According to Mr Le Caere’s calculation, he lived in
the fourth century ; but Abulpharagius the Arabian,
who is allowed to give the bed account of thole time-’,
places him with more probability in the feventh. His
knowledge in furgery was very great, and his works are
defervedly famous. Fabricius ab Aquapendente has
thought fit to tranferibe him in a great variety of places.
Indeed the do&rim of Paulus vEgineta, together with
that of Celfus and Albucafis, make up the whole text
of this author. He is the fird 'writer who takes notice
of the cathartic quality of rhubarb j and, according to
Dr Milward, is the fird in all antiquity who deferves
the title of man-midwife.
iEGINHARD, the celebrated feeretary and fup-
pofed fon-in-law of Charlemagne. He is laid to nave
been carried through the fnow on the {boulders of the
affeiEHonate and ingenious Imma, to prevent his being
tracked from her apartments by the emperor her fa¬
ther: a dory which the elegant pen of Addifon has
copied and embelliflied from an old German chronicle,
and inferted in the 3d volume of the Spe&ator.— J his
happy lover (fuppofmg the dory to be true) feems to
have poffeffed a heart not unworthy ol fo enchanting a
midrefs, and to have returned her affetlion with the
mod faithful attachment; for there is a letter of z£gin-
hard’s dill extant, lamenting the death of his wife,
which is written in the tendered drain of connubial af-
fiiaion -, it does, not, however, exprefs that this lady
was the affedlionate princefs; and indeed fome late critics
have proved that Imma was not the daughter of Char¬
lemagne.—But to return to our hidorian : He was a
native of Germany, and educated by the munificence
of his imperial mader, of which he has left the mod
prateful tedimony in his preface to the life of that
monarch. iEginhard, after the lofs of his lamented
wife, is fuppofed to have palfed the remainder of his
days in religious retirement, and to have died foon af¬
ter the year 840. His life of Charlemagne,^ his annals
from 741 to 889, and his letters, are all inferted m
the 2d volume of Duchefne’s Scriptures Francorutn.
There is an improved edition of this valuable hido¬
rian, with the annotations of Hermann Schmincke, in
4t», 1711. . .
fEGIPAN, in Heathen Mythology, a denomination
given to the god Pan, becaufe he was reprefented with
the horns, legs, feet, &c. of a goat.
iEGIPHIL A, Goat-friend, in Botany. See Bo¬
tany Index.
iEGIS, in the Ancient Mythology, a name given to
the ftiield or buckler of Jupiter and Pallas.
The goat Amalthea, which had fuckled Jove, being
dead, that god is faid to have covered his buckler with
the {kin ; whence the appellation cegis, from
fhe-goat. Jupiter, afterwards redored the animal to
life, covered it with a new {kin, and placed it among
the'dars. He made a prefent of his buckler to Mi¬
nerva : whence that goddefs’s buckler is alfo called
Minerva having killed the Gorgon Medufa, nailed
her head in the middle of the aegis, which henceforth
had
/Eg'3
II .
Egopodi-
um.
AEG [ 207
had the faculty of converting into ftone all thofe who
looked upon it; as Medufa herfelf had done during her
]
AEG
^GOPRICON. See Botany Index.
iEGOSPOTAMOS, in Ancient Geography, a river
life.
Others fuppofe the aegis not to have been a buckler,
but a cuirafs, or breaftplate ; and it is certain the ae¬
gis of Pallas, defcribed by Virgil, iEn. lib. vii. ver.
43 ij, muft have been a cuirafs ■, fince that poet fays ex-
prefsly, that Medufa’s head was on the bread of the
goddefs. But the aegis of Jupiter, mentioned a little
higher, ver. 354, feems to have been a buckler : the
words
Cum fepe nigrantem
yEgida concuteret dextra,
are deferiptive of a buckler ; but not at all of a cuirafs
or bread plate.
Servius makes the fame didimdion on the two paf-
fages of Virgil-, for on verfe 354, he takes the *gis
for the buckler of Jupiter, made, as above mentioned,
of the Ikin of the goat Amalthea ; and on verfe 435,
he deferibes the aegis as the armour which covers the
bread, and which in fpeaking of men is called cm-
rafs, and <egis in fpeaking of the gods. Many authors
have overlooked thefe didin&ions for want of going to
the fources.
jEGISTHUS, in ancient hidory, was the fon of
Thyedes by his own daughter Pilopeia, who, to con¬
ceal her diame, expofed him in the woods ; fome fay
he was taken up by a diepherd, and fuckled by a goat,
whence he was called TEgiJihus. He feduced Clytem-
nedra the wife of Agamemnon, and lived with her dur¬
ing the liege of Troy. Afterwards with her affidance
he flew her hufband, and reigned feven years in My-
cence. He was, together with Clytemneflra, (lain by
Orefles. Pompey ufed to call Julius Csefar /Egifllius,
on account of his having feduced his wife Mutia, whom
he afterwards put away, though he had three children
by her.
TEGITHALLUS, in Ancient Geography, a pro¬
montory and citadel of Sicily, between Drepanum and
the Emporium JEgidanum, afterwards called Ace/-
lus; corruptly written TEgitharfos, in Ptolemy ; fitu-
ated near Mount Eryx, and now called Capo di Santo
Teodoro.
./EG HIM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Achaia
Propria, five miles from the place where Helice flood,
and famous for the council of the Acheans, which ufu-
ally met there on account either of the dignity or com¬
modious fituation of the place. It wras alfo famous for
the worlhip of Zeuj, Conventional Jupiter,
and of Panachcean Ceres. The territory of vEgium was
watered by two rivers, viz. the Phoenix and Megani-
tes. The epithet is JEgienJis. There is a coin in the
cabinet of the king of Pruflia, with the infeription AIFI,
and the figure of a tortoife, which is the fymbol of Pe-
loponnefus, and leaves no doubt as to the place where
it was druck.
/EGOBOLIUM, in antiquity, the facrifice of a
goat offered to Cybele. The aegobolium was an ex¬
piatory facrifice, which bore a near refemblance to the
taurobolium and criobolium, and feems to have been
fometimes joined with them.
tEGOPODIUM, Small Wild Angelica, Goat-
wort, Goatsfoot. See Botany Index.
jEgopri-
con,
/EGUSFUl AIVIUO, in anciem Kjeugrupntj, « ^gofpota.
in the Thracian Cherfonefus, falling with a fouth-ead nios.
courfe into the Hellefpont, to the north of Sefios; alfo y—
a town, flation, or road for (hips at its mouth. Here
the Athenians, under Conon, through the fault of his
colleague Ifocrates, received a fignal overthrow from
the Lacedaemonians under Lyfander, which was follow¬
ed by the taking of Athens, and put an end to the Pe~
loponnefian war. The Athenian fleet having followed
the Lacedaemonians, anchored in the road, over againfi
the enemy, who lay before Lampafcus. J he Hellel-
pont is not above two thoufand paces broad in that
place. The two armies feeing themfelves fo near each
other, expefted only to red that day, and were in hopes
of coming to a battle on the next.
But Lyfander had another defign in his view. He
commanded the feamen and pilots to go on board then-
galleys, as if they were in reality to fight the next
morning at break of day, to hold themfelves in readi-
nefs, and to wait his orders with profound filence. He
commanded the land army in like manner to draw up
in order of battle upon the coad, and to wait the day
without noife. On the morrow, as foon as the fun was
rifen, the Athenians began to row towards them with
their whole fleet in one line, and to bid them defiance.
Lyfander, though his {hips were ranged in order of
battle, with their heads towards the enemy, lay dill
without making any movement. In the evening, when
the Athenians withdrew, he did not fuffer his foldiers to
go afliore, till two or three galleys, which he had font
out to obferve them, were returned with advice that
they had feen the enemy land. The next day paffed in
the fame manner, as did the third and fourth. Such a
conduft, which argued referve and apprehenfion, ex¬
tremely augmented the fecurity and boldnefs of the A-
thenians, and infpired them with an extreme contempt
for an army, which fear, in their fenfe, prevented from
{howing themfelves, and attempting any thing.
Whilft this paffed, Alcibiades, who was near the
fleet, took horfe, and came to the Athenian generals :
to whom he reprefented, that they kept upon a very
difadvantageous coad, where there were neither ports
nor cities in the neighbourhood \ that they ivere ob¬
liged to bring their provifions from Seflos with great
danger and difficulty -, and that they were very much
in the wrong to fuffer the foldiers and mariners of
the fleet, as foon as they were afliore, to draggle and
difperfe themfelves at their own pleafure, whilff they
were faced in view by the enemy’s fleet, aecuflomed to
execute the orders of their general with the readied
obedience, and upon the flighted fignal. He offered
alfo to attack the enemy by land with a flrong body of
Thracian troops, and to force them to a battle. The
generals, efpecially Tydeus and Menander, jealous of
their command, did not content themfelves with refu-
fing his offers, from the opinion, that if the event pro¬
ved unfortunate, the whole blame would fall on them,
and if favourable, that Alcibiades alone would have the
honour of it but rejected alfo with infult his wife and
falutary counfel, as if a man in difgrace lod his fenfe
and abilities with the favour of the commonwealth.
Alcibiades withdrew.
The fifth day the Athenians prefented themfelves
again,
AEG [ 208 1 A E L
jEgofpota- again, and oflFered battle j retiring in the evening ac-
mos cording to cudom with more infulting airs than the
^t;j|a days before. Lyfander, as ufual, detached fome gal-
^ gyP je^s t(j (jbfgj-ve them, with orders to return w'ith the
utmoft diligence when they faw the Athenians land¬
ed, and to put up a brazen buckler at each fhip’s head
as foon as they reached the middle of the channel.
He in the mean time ran through the whole line in
his galley, exhorting the pilots and officers to hold
the feamen and foldiers in readinefs to row and fight
on the firft fignal.
As foon as the bucklers were put up in the ffiips
heads, and the admiral galley had given the fignal by
the found of trumpet, the whole fleet fet forward in
good order. The land army at the fame time made
all poffible hafte to the top of the promontory to fee
the battle. The ftrait that feparates. the two conti¬
nents in this place is about fifteen fladia, or three quar¬
ters of a league in breadth ; which fpace was prefently
cleared through the a&ivity and diligence of the row¬
ers. Conon the Athenian general was the firft who
perceived from (hore, that fleet advance in good order
to attack him } upon which he immediately cried out
for the troops to embark. In the height of forrow and
trouble, fome he called by their names, fome he con¬
jured, and others he forced to go on board their gal¬
leys ; but all his endeavours and emotions were ineffec¬
tual, the foldiers being difperfed on all fides. For they
were no fooner come on {hore, than fome ran to the
futlers, fome to walk in the country, fome to fleep in
their tents, and others had begun to drefs their fuppers.
This proceeded from the want of vigilance and experi¬
ence in their generals, who, not fufpefting the leaft
danger, indulged themfelves in taking their repofe, and
gave their foldiers the fame liberty.
The enemy had already fallen on with loud cries and
a great noife of their oars, when Conon, difengaging
himfelf with nine galleys, of which number was the fa-
cred {hip called the Paralian, flood away for Cyprus,
where he took refuge with Evagoras. The Pelopon-
nefians, falling upon the reft of the fleet, took imme¬
diately the galleys which were empty, and difabled
and deftroyed fuch as began to fill with men. The
foldiers, who ran without order or arms to their relief,
were either killed in their endeavour to get on board, or
flying on {hore were cut to pieces by the enemy, who
landed in purfuit of them. Lyfander took 3000 pri-
foners, with all the generals, and the whole fleet. Af¬
ter having plundered the camp, and faftened the ene¬
my’s galleys to the fterns of his own, he returned to
Lampfacus amidft the found of flutes and fongs of
triumph. It was his glory to have achieved one of the
greateft military exploits recorded in hiftory with little
or no lofs, and to have terminated a war in the fmall
fpace of an hour, which had already lafted 27 years,
and which perhaps, without him, had been of much
longer continuance.
iEGYPT. See Egypt.
iEGYPTIACUM, in Pharmacy, the name of feve-
ral detergent ointments ; as black, red, white, Ample,
and compound.
iEGYPTILL A, in Natural Hijlory, the name of a
ftone defcribed by the ancients, and faid, by fome au¬
thors, to have the remarkably quality of giving water
the colour and tafte of wine. This feems a very ima¬
ginary virtue, as are indeed too many of thofe in for- Ag)ptilla.
mer ages attributed to {tones. The defcriptions left us
of this remarkable foffil tell us, that it was variegated
with, or compofed of, veins of black and white, or
black and bluiffi, with fometimes a plate or vein of
whitiffi red. The authors of thefe accounts feem to
have underftood by this name the feveral {tones of the
onyx, fardonyx, and cameo kind ; all which we have
at prefent common among us, but none of which pof-
feffes any fuch ftrange properties.
iEGYPTUS, in fabulous hiftory, was the fon of
Belus, and brother of Danaus. See Belides.
TEINAUTvE, in antiquity, ccuvctvrxi, always ma¬
riners, a denomination given to the fenators oi Mile¬
tus, becaufe they held their deliberations on board a
ffiip, and never returned to land till matters had been
agreed on.
tELFRIC, an eminent ecclefiaftic of the 10th cen¬
tury, was the fon of an earl of Kent, and a monk of
the Benedidtine order in the monaftery of Abingdon.
In 963, he was fettled in the cathedral of Ns inchef-
ter, under Athelwold the biftiop, and undertook the
inftrudlion of the youth of the diocefe, for which pur-
pofe he compiled a Latin Saxon vocabulary, and fome
Latin colloquies. He alfo tranflated from the Latin
into Saxon many of the hiftorical books of the Old
Teftament. While he refided at Wfnchefter he drew
up Canons, which are a kind of charge to be delivered
by the bifhops to their clergy. He was afterwards
abbot of St Alban’s, biffiop of Wilton, and, finally,
in 994, tranflated to the fee of Canterbury. Here he
had a hard ftruggle for fome years in bravely defend¬
ing his diocefe againft the incurfions of the Danes.
He died in 1005, and wras buried at Abingdon j but
his remains were removed to Canterbury in the reign
of Canute. iElfric is held up as one of the moft di-
ftinguiihed prelates of the Saxon church. His learn¬
ing, for the times, was confiderable, his morals were
pure, and his religious fentiments were untainted with
many of the corruptions of the age in which he lived.
Befides the works already mentioned, he tranflated two
volumes of Homilies from the Latin Fathers.
^Elfric, furnamed Bata, pupil of the former, was
promoted to the archbiffiopric of ^ ork in 1023, and
died in 1051.
tElfric, an abbot of Malmfbury in 974> was creaG
ed biffiop of Crediton in 974, and died in 981.
iELIA Cap/to/rhfl, a name given to the city built
by the emperor Adrian, A. D. I 34» near the fpot where
the ancient Jerufalem flood, which he found in ruins
when he vifited the eaftern parts of the Roman empire.
A Roman colony was fettled here, and a temple, in
place of that of Jerufalem, was dedicated to Jupiter Ca-
pitolinus. Hence the name is derived, to which he pre¬
fixed that of his own family.
JELIAN, Claudius, born at Praenefte in Italy.
He taught rhetoric at Rome, according to Perizonius,
under the emperor Alexander Severus. He was fur-
named M.tXiy^.ua'irog, Honey-mouth, on account of the
fweetnefs of his ftyle in his difcourfes and writings. To
this excellence the poet alludes:
0 jocunda, Covine, folitudo,
Carrucd magis, ejfedoque gratum,
Facundi mihi munus FPhani. Martial.
He
A E N
[ 209 ]
A E N
He was likewife honoured with the title of Sophift, an
appellation in his days given only to men of learning
and vvifdom. He loved retirement, and devoted him-
felf to ftudy. He greatly admired and fludied Plato,
Ariftotle, Ifocrates, Plutarch, Homer, Anacreon,
Archilochus, &c. and, though a Roman, gives the pre¬
ference to the writers of the Greek nation. His two
mod celebrated works are, his Various Hiftory, and
Hiftory of Animals. He compofed likewife a book
on Providence, mentioned by Euftathius 5 and another
on Divine Appearances, or The Declarations of Pro¬
vidence. There have been feveral editions of his Va¬
rious Hiftory.
/£L LI pons, in Ancient Geography, one of the for-
trefles near the wall or rampart, or, in the words of
the Notitia, through the line of the hither wall j built,
as is thought, by Adrian: now named Portland, in
Northumberland, between Newcaftle and Morpeth,
(Camden.)
ALL I US PONS, now il Ponte St Angelo, a ftone
bridge at Rome, over the Tiber, which leads to the
Burgo and Vatican from the city, along Adrian’s mole,
built by the emperor Adrian.
ALFRED. See Alfred.
ALURUS, in Egyptian Mythology, the deity or
god of cats j reprefented fometimes like a cat, and
fometimes like a man with a cat’s head. The Egyp¬
tians had fo fuperftitious a regard for this animal, that
the killing it, whether by accident or defign, was pu-
nifhed with death \ and Diodorus relates, that, in the
time of extreme famine, they chofe rather to eat one
another than touch thefe facred animals.
AEM, Am, or Ame, a liquid meafure ufed in moft
parts of Germany \ but different in different towns :
the aem commonly contains 20 vertils, or 80 maffes j
that of Heidelberg is equal to 48 maffes $ and that of
Wirtemberg to 160 maffes. See Aam.
AMIL1US Paulus, the fon of Amilius Paulus
who was killed at the battle of Cannae. He was twice
Conful. In his firft confulate he triumphed over the Li¬
gurians ; and in the fecond fubdued Perfeus king of
Macedonia, and reduced that country to a Roman pro¬
vince, on which he obtained the furname of Macedoni-
cus. He returned to Rome loaded with glory, and
triumphed for three days. He died 168 years before
Chrift.
Amilius, Paulus, a celebrated hiftorian, born at
Verona, who obtained fuch reputation in Italy, that he
was invited into France by the cardinal of Bourbon, in
the reign of Louis XII. in order to write the hiftory
of the kings of France in Latin, and was prefented to a
canonry in the cathedral of Paris. He was near 30 years
in writing that hiftory, which has been greatly admir¬
ed ; and died at Paris on the 5th of May 15 29.
AMOBOLIUM, in antiquity, the blood of a bull
or ram offered in the facrifices, called tauroboha and
eriobolia; in which fenfe the word occurs in ancient
infcriptions.
AN ARIA, in Ancient Geography, an ifland in the
bay of Cumae, or over-againft Cumae in Italy, (Tliny).
It is alfo called Inarime (Virgil) } and now Ifchia;
fcarce three miles diftant from the coaft, and the pro¬
montory Mifenus to the weft ; 20 miles in compafs ;
called Pithecufa by the Greeks. It is one of the Oeno-
trides, and fenced round by very high rocks, fo as to
Vol. I. Part I.
^Enaria
iEngirw.
be inacceflible but on one fide : it was formerly famous
for its earthen-ware. See Ischia.
ANEAS, in fabulous hiftory, a famous Irojan
prince, the fon of Anchifes and Venus. At the de-
ftru&ion of Troy, he bore his aged father on his back,
and faved him from the Greeks *, but being too felici¬
tous about his fon and houfehold gods, loft his wife
Creufa in the efcape. Landing in Africa, he was
kindly received by Queen Dido : but quitting her
coaft, he arrived in Italy, where he married Lavinia
the daughter ol King Latinus, and defeated I ui nus,
to whom Ihe had been contradled. After the death,
of his father-in-law, he was made king of the Latins,
over whom he reigned three years: but joining with
the Aborigines, he was {lain in a battle againft the
Tufcans. Virgil has rendered the name of this prince
immortal, by making him the hero of his poem. See
Aneid.
Aneas Sylvius, Pope. See Pius II.
ANEATORES, in antiquity, the muficians in an
army, including thofe that played trumpets, horns, &c.
The word is formed from ceneus, on account of the bra¬
zen inftruments ufed by them.
ANEID, the name of Virgil’s celebrated epic poem, mair's
The fubjeft of the Aneid, which is the eftabliftiment Uaures.
of Aneas in Italy, is extremely happy. Nothing could
be more interefting to the Romans than to look back to
their origin from fo famous a hero. While the objeft
was fplendid itfelf, the traditionary hiftory of his coun¬
try opened interefting fields to the poet j and he could
glance at all the future great exploits of the Romans,
in its ancient and fabulous ftate.
As to the unity of aftion, it is perfe&ly well pre-
ferved in the ALneid. Fhe fettlement of ALneas, by
the order of the gods, is conftantly kept in view.
The epifodes are linked properly with the main fub-
je£t. The nodus, or intrigue of the poem, is happily
managed. The wrath of Juno, who oppofes Aneas,
gives rife to all his difficulties, and connefts the hu¬
man with the celeftial operations throughout the whole
poem.
One great imperfection of the /Eneid, however,
that there are almoft no marked charafters in it. A-
chates, Cloanthes, Gyges, and other Trojan heroes who
accompanied ALneas into Italy, are infipid figures.
Even Aneas himfelf is without intereft. Xhe charac¬
ter of Dido is the beft fupported in the whole Aneid.
The principal excellency of Virgil is tendernefs. His
foul was full of fenfibility. He muft have felt himfelf
all the affefting circumftances in the fcenes he de-
fcribes and he knew how to touch the heart by a
fingle ftroke. In an epic poem this merit is the next
to fublimity. The fecond book of the Aneid is one of
the greateft mafterpieces that ever was executed. The
death of old Priam, and the family-pieces of Aneas,
Anchifes, and Creufa, are as tender as can be conceiv¬
ed. In the fourth book, the unhappy paffion and death
of Dido are admirable. The epifodes of Pallas and
Evander, of Nifus and Euryalus, of Laufus and Me-
zentius, are all fuperlatively fine.
In his battles Virgil is far inferior to Homer. But
in the important epifode, the defcent into hell, he has
outdone Homer by many degrees. There is nothing in
antiquity to equal the fixth book of the ALneid.
ANGINA, one of the iflands of the Archipelago.
D d It
A E N [21
iEngina, It lies in the bay of Engia, and the town of that name
iCnigma. contains about 800 houfes and a caftle*, and near it are
the ruins of a magnificent ftru&ure, which was formerly
a temple.
7ENIGMA denotes any dark faying, wherein fome
well known thing is concealed under obfcure language.
The word is Greek, Aivtypet, formed of euyflTtrOut, ob¬
fcure innuere, to hint a thing darkly, and of unef, an
obfcure fpeech or difcourfe. The popular name is
riddle; from the Belgic raeden, or the Saxon araethan,
to interpret. F. Bouhours, in the memoirs of Tre-
voux, defines an aenigma, a difcourfe or painting, in¬
cluding fome hidden meaning, which is propofed to be
gueffed.
Painted /ENIGMAS, are reprefentations of the works
of nature or art, concealed under human figures, drawn
from hiftory or fable. v
A Verbal /ENIGMA, is a witty, artful, and abftrufe
defcription of any thing.—In a general fenfe, every
dark faying, every difficult queftion, every parable, may
pafs for an cenigma. Hence obfcure laws are called
ZEnigmaia Juris. The alchemifts are great dealers in
the aenigmatic language, their proceffes for the philofo-
pher’s done being generally wrapt up in riddles : e. g.
Fnc ex mare et fee min a circulum, hide quadrangulum,
hinc triangulum, fac circulum, et habebis lapidem philo-
fophorum.—F. Meneftrier has attempted to reduce the
compofition and refolution of aenigmas to a kind of art,
with fixed rules and principles, which he calls the phx-
lofophy of enigmatic images.
The SubjeSl of an /ENIGMA, or the thing to be
concealed and made a myflery of, he juftly obferves,
ought not to be fuch in itfelf; but, on the contrary,
common, obvious, and eafy to be conceived. It is to
be taken, either from nature, as the heaven or ftars;
or from art, as painting, the compafs, a mirror, or the
like.
The Form of /ENIGMAS confifts in the words, which,
whether they be in profe or verfe, contain either fome
defcription, a queftion, or a profopopceia. The laft
kind are the moft pleafing, inafmuch as they give life
and a&ion to things which otherwife have them not.
To make an aenigma, therefore, two things are to be
pitched on which bear fome refemblance to each other,
as the fun and a monarch •, or a ffiip and a houfe j
and on this refemblance is to be raifed a fuperftru&ure
of contrarieties to amufe and perplex. It is eafier
to find great fubje&s for aenigmas in figures than in
words, inafmuch as painting attva&s the eyes and ex¬
cites the attention to difeover the fenfe. The fubjefls
of aenigmas in painting are to be taken either from
hiftory or fable: the compofition here is a kind of me-
tamorphofis, wherein, e. g. human figures are changed
into trees, and rivers into metals. It is efiential to
Eenigmas, that the hiftory or fable, under which they
are prefented, be known to every body •, otherwife it
will be two senigmas inftead of one ; the firft of the
hiftory or fable, the fecond of the fenfe in which it is
to be taken. Another effential rule of the senigma is,
that it only admits of one fenfe. Every aenigma which
is fufeeptive of different interpretations, all equally na¬
tural, is fo far imperfeft. What gives a kind of erudi¬
tion to an aenigma, is the invention of figures in fitua-
tions, geftures, colours, &c. authorifed by paffages of
o ] A E N
the poets, the cuftoms of artifts in ftatues, baffo relie- ^Enigma,
vos, inferiptions, and medals.—In foreign colleges, > ^
The Explication of /ENIGMAS makes a conliderable
exercife *, and that one of the moft difficult and amu-
fing, where wit and penetration have the largeft field.
—By explaining an aenigma, is meant the finding a
motto correfponding to the a&ion and perfons repre-
fented in a pifture, taken either from hiftory or my¬
thology. The great art of this exercife confifts in the
choice of a motto, which either by itfelf, or the cir-
cumftances of time, place, perfon who fpeaks, or thofe
before whom he is fpeaking, may divert the fpedlators,
and furnifh occafion for ftrokes of wit j alfo in ffiowing
to advantage the conformities between the figure and
thing figured, giving ingenious turns to the reafons
employed to fupport what is advanced, and in artfully
introducing pieces of poetry to illuftrate the fubjeft and
awaken the attention of the audience.
As to the folution of enigmas, it may be obferved,
that thofe expreffed by figures are more difficult to ex¬
plain than thofe confilting of words, by reafon images
may fignify more things than words can $ fo that to
fix them to a particular fenfe, we muft apply every fitu-
ation, fymbol, &c. and without omitting a circum-
ftance.—As there are few perfons in hiftory, or my¬
thology, but have fome particular character of vice or
virtue, we are, before all things, to attend to this cha-
rabfer, in order to divine what the figure of a perfon
reprefented in a painting fignifies, and to find what
agreement this may have with the fubjeift whereof we
would explain it. Thus, if Proteus be reprefented in
a picture, it may be taken to denote inconfancy, and
applied either to a phyfical or moral fubjedl, whofe
chara&er is to be changeable, e. g. an almanack, which
expreffes the weather, the feafons, heat, cold, ftorms,
and the like. The colours of figures may alfo help to
unriddle what they mean : white, for inftance, is a
mark of innocence, red of modefty, green of hope,
black of forrow, &c. When figures are accompanied
with fymbols, they are lefs precarious j thefe being, as
it were, the foul of aenigmas, and the key that opens
the myftery of them. Of all the kinds of fymbols
which may be met with in thofe who have treated pro-
feffedly on the fubjeft, the only true enigmatical are -
thofe of Pythagoras, which, under dark proverbs, hold
forth leffons of morality ; as when he fays Stateram ne
tranjilias, to fignify, Do no injuftice.
But it muft be added, that we meet with fome enig¬
mas, in hiftory, complicated to a degree which much
tranfeends all rules, and has given great perplexity to
the interpreters of them. Such is that celebrated an¬
cient one, /Elia Leelia Crifpis, about which many of the
learned have puzzled their heads. There are two ex¬
emplars of it: one found 140 years ago, on a marble
near Bologna 5 the other in an ancient MS. written
in Gothic letters at Milan. It is controverted be¬
tween the two cities, which is to be reputed the more
authentic.
The Bononian /Enigma.
D. M.
/Elia Lcelia Crifpis,
Nec vir, nec mulier,
Nec androgyna;
Nec puella, nec juvenis,
Nec
A E N [2
Nec anus ;
Nec cajla, nec meretrix,
Nec pudica ;
Sed omnia:
Subiata
Neque fame, neque ferro,
Neque veneno ;
Sed omnibus :
Nec ccelo, nec terris,
Nec aquis,
Sed ub'que jacet.
Lucius Ngat ho Prifcius,
Nec maritus, nec amator,
Nec necejfarius ;
Neque nicerens, neque gaudens,
Neque fens ;
Hanc,
Nec molem, nec pyramidem,
Nec fepulchrum,
Sed omnia,
Scit et nefcit, cui pofuerit.
That is to fay, To the gods manes, JElia Lcelia Crifpis,
neither man, nor woman, nor hermaphrodite; neither
girl, nor young woman, nor old; neither chafe, nor a
whore i but all thefe: killed neither by hunger, nor
feel, nor poifon ; but by all thefe: refs neither in hea¬
ven, nor on earth, nor in the waters ; but everywhere.
Lucius Agatha Prifcius, neither her hujband, nor lover,
nor friend; neither for rowful, nor joyful, nor weeping,
certain, or uncertain, to whom he rears this monument,
neither ereEls her a temple, nor a pyramid, nor a tomb,
but all thefe. In the MS. at Milan, inftead of D. M.
we find A. M. P. P. D. and at the end the following
addition :
Hoc ef fepulchrum intus cadaver non habeas.
Hoc ef cadaver fepulchrum extra non habeas,
Sed cadaver idem ef et fepulchrum.
We find near 50 feveral folutions of this aenigma
advanced by learned men. Marius Michael Ange¬
lo maintains JElia I.eelia Crifpis to fignify rain wa¬
ter falling into the fea. Ri. Vitus firft explained it of
Niobe turned to a ftone, afterwards of the rational
foul, and afterwards of the Platonic idea ; Jo. Turrius,
of the materia pnma ; Fr. Schottus, of an eunuch ",
Nic. Bernardus, of the philofopher’s ftone, in which he
is followed by Borrichius j Zach. Pontinus, of three
human bodies in the fame fituation, and buried by
three different men at the fame time ; Nefmondius, of
a law-fuit 5 Jo. Gaf. Gerartius, of love j Zu. Boxhor-
nius, of a thadow ; P. Terronus, of mufk ; Fort. Li-
cetus, of generation, friendftrip and privation M. Ov.
Montalbanus, of hemp j Car. Caef. Malvafia, of an
abortive girl promifed in marriage *, Pet. Mengulus, of
the rule of chaftity, preferibed by the founder of the
military religion of St Mary ; M. de Ciconia, of Pope
Joan j Heumannus, of Lot’s wife; and laftly, J. C. S.
an anonymous writer in the Leipfic Afts, of the Chri-
ftian church.
ALNIGMATOGRAPHY, or^NiGMATHOEOGY,
the art of refolving or making aenigmas.
./ENONA, in Ancient Geography, a city of Libur-
nia, called by Pliny Civitas Prafni, the reafon of
which is unknown; alfo Enona, and is new called
! i ] A E O
Nona ; on the Adriatic, by which it is for the greater
part furrounded 5 over againft the illand Giffa, from
which it is diftant four miles to the weft. E. Long.
16°. N. Lat. 28°.
./ENUS, in Ancient Geography, now the Inn, a river
of Germany, which, rifing in the country of the Gri-
fons, out of the. Alps, in the diftri£t called Gottes-
haus-punt, runs through the Grifons, the county of I y-
xol, the duchy of Bavaria, and through Paffau into the
Danube.
iExus, Enos, or Emm, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Thrace, fituated on the eaftmoft mouth of the
Hebrus, which has two mouths j and faid to be built
by the Cumeans. It was a free town, in which flood
the tomb of Polydorus, (Pliny) j Emus is the epithet.
Here the brother of Cato Uticenfis died, and was ho¬
noured with a monument of marble in the forum of the
ALnii, (Plutarch)•, called Enei, (Stephanus). Livy
fays that the town was otherwife called Abfynthus.
Now Eno.
ALNITHOLOGIUS, in Poetry, a verfe of two
dadlyls and three trochasi j as Prcelia dira placent truci
juventce.
iEOLIiE insula:, now Jfoli Lipari, in Ancient
Geography, feven iflands, fituated between Bicily and
Italy, fo called from iEolus, who reigned there about
the time of the Trojan war. The Greeks call them
Hephcef tades; and the Romans Vulcanite, from their
fiery eruptions. They are alfo called Liparceorum In-
fulce, from their principal ifland Lipara. Dionyfius Pe-
riegetes calls them mvloti, becaufe circumnavigable.
ALOLIC, in a general fenfe, denotes fomething be¬
longing to iEolis.
Alolic, or Aiolian, in Grammar, denotes one
of the five dialefts of the Greek tongue. It was firft
ufed in Boeotiaj whence it paffed into ALolia, and was
that which Sappho and Alcceus wrote in. The iEolic
dialeft generally throws out the afpirate or (harp fpirit,
and agrees in fo many things with the Doric dialed!,
that the two are ufually confounded together.
The Eolic digamma is a name given to the letter F,
which the ALolians ufed to prefix to words beginning
with vowels, as F«<v«s, for mvos j alfo to infert between
vowels, as «F<s, for <><?.
EOLIC Verfe, in Profody, a verfe confifting of an
iambus, or fpondee 5 then of two anapefts, feparated
by a long fyllable ; and, laftly, of another fyllable.
Such as, 0 felliferi conditor orbis. This is otherwife
called eulogic verfe } and, from the chief poets who ufed
it Archilochian and Pindaric.
^EO LI PILE, in Hydraulics, is a hollow ball of
metal, generally ufed in courfes of experimental philo-
fophy, in order to demonftrate the poffibility of con¬
verting water into an elaftic fteam or vapour by heat.
The inftrument, therefore, confifts of a llender neck,
or pipe, having a narrow orifice inferted into, the bali
by means of a fhouldered ferew. 1 his pipe being taken
out, the ball is filled almoft full of water, and the pipe
being again ferewed in, the ball is placed on a pan of
kindled charcoal, where it is well heated, and there
iflues from the orifice a vapour, with prodigious vio¬
lence and great noife, which continues till all the in¬
cluded water is difeharged. The ftronger the fire is,
the more elaftic and violent will be the fteam; but care
muft be taken that the fmall orifice of tire pipe be not,
D d 2 by
A E O
JEolipile Ijy any accident, flopped up j becaufe the inftrument
Avould in that cafe infallibly burft in pieces, with fuch
' "1>n' . violence as might greatly endanger the lives of the per-
fons near it. Another way of introducing the water
is to heat the ball red hot when empty, which will drive
out almoft all the air 5 and then by fuddenly immer-
ging it in water, the preflure of the atmofphere will
force in the fluid, till it is nearly full. Des Cartes and
others have ufed this inftrument to account for the na¬
tural caufe and generation of the wind : and hence it
■was called JELolipila : q. d. pi/a JKohy the ball of Aiolus
or of the god of the winds.
vEOLIS, or /Eolia, in Ancient Geography, a coun¬
try of the Hither Afia, fettled by colonies of iEolian
Greeks. Taken at large, it comprehends all Troas,
and the coaft of the Hellefpont to the Propontis, be¬
caufe in thofe parts there were feveral Aiolian colo¬
nies: more ftriftly, it is fituated between Troas to the
north, and Ionia to the fouth. The people are called
JEo/es or JEohi.
7EOLIUM MARE, in Ancient Geography, a part
of the Egean fea, walking zEolis ; called alfo Mysium,
from Myfia. Now called Golfo di Smyrna.
iEOLUS, in heathen mythology, the god of the
winds, was faid to be the Ion of Jupiter by Acafta, or
Sigefia, the daughter of Hippotus : or, according to
others, the fon of Hippotus by Meneclea, daughter of
Hyllus king of Lipara. He dwelt in the ifland
Strongyle, now called Strombolo, one of the feven
illands called JEolian from their being under the do¬
minion of iEolus. Others fay, that his refidence was
at Rhegium, in Italy ; and others again place him in
the ifland Lipara. He is reprefented as having au¬
thority over the winds, which he held enchained in a
vaft cavern, to prevent their continuing the devafta-
txons they had been guilty of before they were put un¬
der his dire&ion. Mythologifts explain the original of
thefe fables, by faying, that he was a w'ife and good
prince j and, being {killed in aftronomy, was able, by
the flux and reflux of the tides, and the nature of the
volcano in the ifland Strongyle, to foretel ftorms and
tempefts.
Harp of JEolus, or the iEolian lyre. See Acou¬
stics.
iEON, a Greek word, properly fignifying the age
or duration of any thing.
iEoN, among the followers of Plato, was ufed to
fignify any virtue, attribute, or perfe£tion : hence they
reprefented the deity as an aflemblage of all pofflble
aeons5 and called him p/eroma, a Greek term fignify-
\ng fitIJnefs. The Valentinians, who, in the firft ages
of the church, blended the conceits of the Jewifh ca-
balifts, the Platonifts, and the Chaldean philofophers,
with the fimplicity of the Chriftian doftrine, invented
a kind of Thepgony, or Genealogy of Gods (not un¬
like that of Hefiod), whom they called by feveral glo¬
rious names, and all by. the general appellation of
./Eons : among which they reckoned Zav\, Life, A#yej,
Word; Mcwyorn, Only-begotten ; ntogapx, Fulnefs ; and
many other divine powers and emanations, amounting
in number to thirty j which they fancied to be fuccef-
fively derived from one another j and all from on.e felf-
originated deity, named Bythus, i. e. profound or un¬
fathomable ; whom they called likewife, The mojl high
and ineffable Father. See VALENTINIANS.
A E R
iEORA, among ancient writers on medicine, is ufed iEora
for geftation j which fort of exercife was often prefcrib- 11
ed by the phyficians of thofe days. Other exercifes , ra‘
conlifted principally in the motion of the body j but
in the ceora the limbs were at reft, while the body was
carried about and moved from place to place, in fuch
a manner as the phyfician prefcribed. It had there¬
fore the advantages of exercife, without the fatigue of
it.—This exercife was promoted feveral ways : fome-
times the patient was laid in a fort of hammock, fup-
ported by ropes, and moved backward and forward $
fometimes his bed run nimbly on its feet. And befide
thefe, the feveral ways of travelling were accounted
fpecies of the ceora, whether in the litter, in a boat or
{hip, or on even ground in a chariot.—Afclepiades wTas
the firft who brought geftation into practice, which
was ufed as a means to recover ftrength after a fever,
&c.
/EQUANA JuGA, in Ancient Geography, moun¬
tains of Picenum, in the kingdom of Naples, now
called Montagna di Sorrento, denominated from the
town /Equa, which being deftroyed, was replaced by
Vicus, now Vico di Sorrento : called alfo JEquana, (SiL
Italicus),
/EQUIMELIUM, in antiquity, a place in Rome,,
where flood the houfe of Spurius Melius, who, by lar-
gefles corrupting the people, affe£ted the fupreme
power : refufing to appear before the di&ator Cincin-
natus, he wras flain by Servilius Ahala, mafter of the
horfe $ his houfe was razed to the ground 5 and the
fpot on which it flood was called Area Equimelii
(Livy).
/ERA, in chronology, a fixed point of time from
whence any number of years is begun to be counted.
It is fometimes alfo written in ancient authors Era.
The origin of the term is contefted, though it is ge¬
nerally allowed to have had its rife in Spain. Sepul¬
veda fuppofes it formed from A. ER. A. the notae or
abbreviatures of the words, annus erat Augujh, occa-
fioned by the Spaniards beginning their computation
from the time their country came under the dominion
of Auguftus, or that of receiving the Roman calender.
This opinion, however ingenious, is rejected by Sca-
liger, not only on account that in the ancient abbrevia¬
tures A never flood for annus, unlefs when preceded by
V for vixit; and that it feems improbable they (hould
put ER for erat, and the latter A, without any difcri-
mination, both for annus and Augufus. Voflius never-
thelefs favours the conjedture, and judges it at leaft as
probable, as either that of Ifidore, who derives cera
from ces, the “ tribute-money,” wherewith Auguftus
taxed the world : or that of Scaliger himfelf, who de¬
duces it likewife from ces, though in a different manner.
JEs, he obferves, was ufed among the ancients for an
article or item in an account ; and hence it came alfo
to ftand for a fum or number itfelf. From the plural
cera, came by corruption cera, ceram, in the lingular :
much as Ofia, Ofiam, the name of a place, from Ofia,
the mouths of the Tyber.
The difference between the terms cera and epoch is,
that the seras are certain points fixed by feme people,
or nation ; and the epochs are points fixed by chrono-
logifts and hiftorians. The idea of an aera comprehends
alfo a certain fucceflion of years proceeding from a fixed
point of time, and the epoch is that point itfelf. Thus
[ 212 ]
A E R [21
jEra the Chriftian sera began at the epoch of the birth of
II. Jefus Chrift. See CHRONOLOGY, where the different
Aeria. £ras^ are enumerated and explained.
iERARIUM, the treafury or place where the pub¬
lic money was depofited amongft the Romans.
JERAMUM SanBius contained the monies arifing
from the twentieth part of all legacies : this was kept
for the extreme neceflities of the Rate.
JEBARIUM Privatum was the emperor’s privy purfe,
or the place where the money arifing from his private
patrimony was depofited.
JEBARIUM Vicejtmarum, the place where the money
arifing from the taxes levied from foreign countries was
laid up, fo called becaufe it mofl commonly confifted
of a twentieth part of the produce.
JErARIUM Ilitlnjce, or Junonis Lucmce, was where
the monies were depofited which parents paid for the
birth of each child.
There are feveral other treafuries mentioned in hi-
ftory, as the cerarium Juventutis, Veneris, &c. The
temple of Saturn was the public treafury of Rome,
either becaufe Saturn firft taught the Italians to coin
money, or, which is moft likely, becaufe this tempie
was the ftrongeft and moft fecure, and therefore the
fitteft, place for that purpofe.
JErarium differs from Jifcus, as the firft contained
the public money, the fecond that of the prince. The
two are, however, fometimes indifcriminately ufed for
each other.
iERARIUS, a name given by the Romans to a de¬
graded citizen, who had been ftruck off the lift of his
century. Such perfons were fo called, becaufe they
were liable to all the taxes (^ro), without enjoying
any of its privileges.
The eerarii were incapable of making a will, of in¬
heriting, of voting in affemblies, of enjoying any poft
of honour or profit in effetf:, were only fubjeft to the
burdens, without the benefits of fociety •, yet they re¬
tained their freedom, and were not reduced to the con¬
dition of flaves. To be made an cerarius was a pu-
nifhment infli&ed for fome offence, and reputed one
degree more fevere than to be expelled a tribe, tnbu
moveri.
.ZEiRARius wasalfo an officer inftituted by Alexander
Severus, for the diftribution of the money given in lar-
geffes to the foldiery or people.
^Erarius was alfo ufed for a perfon employed in
coining or working brafs.
Thefe are fometimes called cerarii fufores: at other
times, eerarius is diftinguifhed from ./w/or ; the former
anfwering to what we now call copperfmiths, the latter
to founders.
.^Erarius was likewife applied to a foldier who re¬
ceives pay.
AERIA, or Eeria, in Ancient Geography, the an¬
cient name of Egypt. The fcholiaft on Apollonius
Rhodius, fays, that not only Theffaly, but Egypt, was
called Hsg<« by the Greeks, which Eufebius alfo con¬
firms : and hence Apollinarius, in his tranflation of the
114th Pfalm, ufes it for Egypt. Hefychius applies this
name to Ethiopia.
3 ] A E R
AERIAL, in a general fenfe, denotes fotnething Aerial
partaking of the nature of air; thus aerial fubftances, Aer"phjf_
aerial particles, &c. lacea.
Aerial PerfpeBive. See Perspective and Paint- ' ■ > —y " >''
ING. .
AERIANS, in church hiftory, a branch of Anans,
who, to the doarines of that fea, added fome pecu¬
liar dogmas of their own 5 as, that there is no .differ¬
ence between biffiops and priefts; a doarine maintain¬
ed by many modern divines, particularly of the pref-
byterian and reformed churches* The fea received its
denomination from Aerius an Armenian prieft of the
fourth century. He founded his doarine chiefly upon
fome paffages in St Paul ; and, among others, upon
that in 1 Tim. iv. 14. where the apoftle exhorts him
not to neglea the gift he had received by the laying ^ on
of the hands of the Prefbytery. Here, obferves Aerius,
is no mention of biffiops: on the contrary, Timothy
evidently received his ordination from the preffiyters.or
priefts.—Epiphanius zealoufly maintains the fuperiority
of biffiops againft the Aerians. The word prefbytery,
ufed by the apoftle, he obferves, includes both bifliops
and priefts •, the whole fenate or afiembly of the eccle-
fiaftics of the place.
Flos iERIS, among alchemifts, fmall fcales procu¬
red from copper melted by a ftrong heat $ it is fome¬
times ufed for aerugo or verdigris.
AEROGRAPHY, from *»]£, air, and y^u, ! de¬
fer ibe ; a defeription of the air or atmofphere, its li¬
mits, dimenfions, properties, &c. This amounts to
much the fame with aerology, unlefs we fuppofe tha
latter to enter into the rational, and the former to con¬
fine itfelf to a defeription of the more obvious affedlions
thereof. See Meteorology.
AEROMANCY, a fpecies of divination performed
by means of air, wind, &c. See Divination.
AEROMETRY, the fcience of meafuring the air.
It comprehends not only the doflrine of the air itfelf,
conlidered as a fluid body *, but alfo its preffure, elafti-
city, rarefaftion, and condenfation. But the term is
at prefent not much in ufe, this branch of natural phi-
lofophy being more frequently called Pneumatics. See
Pneumatics.
AERONAUT, a perfon who navigates or floats in
the air by means of an air balloon. See Aerosta¬
tion.
AERONAUTICA, from ««£, and vatmxef, derived
from wvs, fhip ; the art of failing in a veffel or machine
through the atmofphere, fuftained as a ffiip in the fea.
See Aerostation.
AEROPHYLACEA, a term ufed by naturalifts
for caverns or refervoirs of air, fuppofed to exift in
the bowels of the earth. Kircher fpeaks much of aero-
phylacea, or huge caverns replete with air, difpofed
under ground ; from whence, through numerous oc¬
cult paffages, that element is conveyed either to fub-
terraneous receptacles of water, which, according to
him, are hereby raifed into fprings or rivers, or into
the funds of fubterraneous fire, which are hereby fed
and kept alive for the reftoration of metals, minerals,
and the like.
AEROSTATION,
[ 214 ]
AEROSTATION,
TN its primitive fenfe, denotes the fcience of weights
fufpended in the air ; but in its modern accepta¬
tion, it fignifies aerial navigation, or the art of navi¬
gating through the atmofphere. Hence alfo the ma¬
chines which are employed for this purpofe are called
aerojlats, or aerojlatic machines ; and from their globu¬
lar ill ape, air balloons.
The romances of almoft every nation have recorded
inftances of perfons being carried through the air,
both by the agency of fpirits and by mechanical inven-
Friar Ba- tions j but till the time of Friar Bacon, who died in
??, ■ ’ 1 292 > no rational principle appears ever to have been
the true thought of by which this might be accomplilhed. He
principles had written upon the fubjecl, and not only affures us
of aerofta- of the pra£licability of the art, but that he knew how to
tlon' conftruft a machine in which a man might tranfport
himfelf through the air like a bird j and he affirms
that the experiment had been fuccefsfully made by ano¬
ther perfon. The machine confifted of two large thin
fhells, or hollow globes of copper, which were exhauft-
ed of air ; and thus being lighter than air, would fup-
port a chair on which a perfon might fit.
Many had been of opinion, that by means of arti¬
ficial wings, fixed to the arms or legs, a man might
fly as well as a bird : but thefe opinions were tho¬
roughly refuted by Borelli in his treatife De Motu Ani-
Impoffibili- malium, where, from a comparifon between the power
ty ot flying 0£ mufcles -which move the wings of a bird, and
qv mecna* _ _ t o
nicai thofe which move the arms of a man, he demonftrates
means. that the latter are utterly rnfufficient to ftrike the air
with fuch force as to raife him from the ground. It
cannot be denied, however, that wings of this kind,
if properly conftrufled, and dexteroufly managed,
might be fufficient to break the fall of a human body
from a high place, fo that fome adventurers in this way
might pofiibly come off with fafety 5 though by far the
greateft number of thofe who have raflily adopted fuch
fchemes, have either loft their lives or limbs in the
attempt.
Scheme of In the year 1672, Bifhop Wilkins publilhed a trea-
Sifhop Wil-tife, entitled, The Difcovery of the New World j in
Albertus de w^c^1 mentions, though in a very indiftindl and
Saxonia. confufed manner, the true principle on which the air
is navigable 5 quoting, from Albertus de Saxonia and
Francis Mendoza, “ that the air is in fome part of it
navigable: and upon this ftatic principle, any brafs or
iron veffel (fuppofe a kettle), whofe fubftance is much
heavier than that of water, yet being filled with the
lighter air, it will fwim upon it and not fink. So fup¬
pofe a cup or wooden veffel upon the outward borders
of this elementary air, the capacity of it being filled
with fire, or rather ethereal air, it muft neceffarily, upon
the fame ground, remain fwimming there, and of itfelf
can no more fall than an empty (hip can fink.” This
idea, however, he did not by any means purfue, but
refted his hopes entirely upon mechanical motions, to
be accomplilhed by the mere ftrength of a man, or by
fprings, &c. and which have been demonftrated inca¬
pable of anfwering any ufeful purpofe.
The only perfon who brought his fcheme of flying Bifl
to any kind of rational principle was the Jefuit Francis Lana’s
Lana, cotemporary with Bilhop Wilkins. Flis method fcheme
was fimilar to briar Bacon’s. He was acquainted with
the real weight of the atmofphere, and", juftly con¬
cluded, that if a globular veffel were exhaufted of air,
it would weigh Ids than before 5 and confidering that
the folid contents of veffels increafe in much greater
proportion than their furfaces ; he fuppofed that a me¬
talline veffel might be made fo large, that, when emptied
of its air, it would be able not only to raife itfelf in
the atmofphere, but to carry up paffengers along with
it : and he made a nnmber of calculations necefiary fur
putting the proje£t in execution. But though the
theory was here unexceptionable, the means propofed
were certainly infufficient to accomplilh the end ; for a
veffel of copper, made fo thin as was neceffary to make
it float in the atmofphere, would be utterly unable to
refill: the external preffure j which being demonftrated
by thofe {killed in mechanics, no attempt was made on
that principle.
In the year 1709, however, as we are informed by Strange
a letter publilhed in France in 1784, a Portuguefe pro-propofal oi
je&or, Friar Gufman, applied to the king for encou-Friar Gui
ragement to his invention of a flying machine. Theman'
principle on which his was conftru&ed, if indeed it
had any principle, feems to have been that of the pa¬
per kite. The machine was conftrufted in form of a
bird, and contained feveral tubes through which the
wind was to pafs, in order to fill a kind of fails, which
were to elevate it $ and when the wind w'as deficient,
the fame effeift was to be performed by means of bel¬
lows concealed within the body of the machine. The
afeent was alfo to be promoted by the ele&ric attrac¬
tion of pieces of amber placed in the top, and by two
fpheres enclofing magnets in the fame fituation.
Thefe childifli inventions ftiow the low ftate of Icience
at that time in Portugal, efpecially as the king, in or¬
der to encourage him to farther exertions in fuch an
ufeful invention, granted him the firft vacant place in
his college of Barcelos or Santarem, with the firft pro-
fefforlhip in the univerfity of Coimbra, and an annual
penfion of 600,000 reis during his life. Of this De
Gufman, it is alfo related, that, in the year 1736, he
made a wicker balket of about feven or eight feet dia¬
meter, and covered with paper, which raifed itfelf about
200 feet in the air, and the effedl was generally atri-
buted to witchcraft.
In the year 1766, Mr Henry Cavendilh afeertained p^^ty
the weight and other properties of inflammable air, de-of bodies
termining it to be at leaft feven times lighter thandfingin
common air. Soon after which it occurred to Dr t|*e f
Black, that perhaps a thin bag filled with inflammable
air might be buoyed up by the common atmofphere, and Mr Ca-
and he thought of having the allantois of a calf prepar-vallo.
ed for this purpofe : but his other avocations prevent¬
ed him from profecuting the experiment. The fame
thought occurred fome years afterwards to Mr Cavalloj
and he has the honour of being the firft who made ex¬
periments
215
Hiftory.
A E R O S
perxments on the fubjeft. He firft tried bladders; but
the thinned of thefe, however well fcraped and prepar¬
ed, were found too heavy. He then tried Chinefe pa¬
per ; but that proved fo permeable, that the vapour paf-
fed through it like water through a fieve. His experi¬
ments, therefore, made in the year 1782, proceeded no
farther than blowing up foap bubbles with inflammable
air, which afcended rapidly to the ceiling, and broke
againft it.
Awofta- But while the difcovery of the art of aeroftation
tion difro- feemed thus on the point of being made in Britain, it
Monfby WaS at °nce announced in France, and that from a
Montgol- <luarter whence nothing of the kind was to have been
ger, expe&ed. Two brothers, Stephen and John Mont¬
golfier, natives of Annonay, and matters of a confider-
able paper manufadtory there, had turned their thoughts
towards this projedt as early as the middle of the year
1782. The idea was firft fuggefted by the natural
afcent of the fmoke and clouds in the atmofphere •, and
their defign was to form an artificial cloud, by enclofing
the fmoke in a bag, and making it carry up the cover¬
ing along with it. lowards the middle of November
Account of that year the experiment was made at Avignon with
'nentsi>en" a ^ a parallelepiped lhape. By applying
burning paper to the lower aperture, the air was rare¬
fied, and the bag afcended in the atmofphere, and ftruck
rapidly againft the ceiling. On repeating the experi¬
ment in the open air, it rofe to the height of about 70
feet.
An experiment on a more enlarged fcale was now
projected j and a new machine, containing about 650
cubic feet was made, which broke the cords that con¬
fined it, and rofe to the height of about 600 feet. An¬
other of 35 feet in diameter rofe about 1000 feet
high, and fell to the ground three quarters of a mile
from the place where it afcended. A public exhibition
was next made on the 3th of June 1783, at Annonay,
where a vaft number of fpeftators affembled. An im-
menfe bag of linen, lined with paper, and containing
upwards of 23,000 cubic feet, was found to have a
power of lifting about 500 pounds, including its own
weight. The operation was begun by burning chop¬
ped ft raw and wool under the aperture of the machine,
which immediately began to fwell : and after being fet
at liberty afcended into the atmofphere. In ten minutes
it had afcended 6000 feet; and when its force was ex-
haufted, it fell to the ground at the diftance of 7668 feet
from the place from whence it fet out.
Soon after this, one of the brothers arrived at Paris,
where he. was invited by the Academy of Sciences to
repeat his experiments at their expence. In confe-
quence of this invitation, he conftru&ed, in a garden
in the fauxbourg of St Germain, a large balloon of an
elliptical form. In a preliminary experiment, this ma¬
chine lifted up from the ground eight perfons who held
it, and Avould have carried them all off if more had not
quickly come to their afliftance. Next day the experi¬
ment was repeated in prefence of the members of the
academy ; the machine was filled by the combuftion of
50 pounds of ftraw made up in fmall bundles, upon
which about 12 pounds of chopped wool were thrown
at intervals. Fhe ufual fuccefs attended this exhi¬
bition : the machine foon fwelled 5 endeavoured to
afcend ; and immediately after fuftained itfelf in the air,
together with the charge of between 400 and 500
T A T I O N.
pounds weight. It was evident that it would have
afcended to a great height j but as it was defigned to
repeat the experiment before the king and royal fami¬
ly at Verfailles, the cords by which it was tied down
were not cut. But in confequence of a violent rain and
wind which happened at this time, the machine was
fo far damaged, that it became neceffary to prepare a
new one for the time that it had been determined to
honour the experiment with the royal prefence $ and
fuch expedition was ufed, that this vaft machine, of
near 60 feet in height and 43 in diameter, was made,
painted with water colours both within and without,
and finely decorated, in no more than four days and
four nights. Along with this machine was fent up a Some ani-
wicker cage, containing a ftieep, acock, and a duck, malsfafe|y
which were the firft animals ever fent through the at- [h1etatihr0,
mofphere. The full fuccefs of the experiment was pre- ^
vented by a violent guft of wind which tore the cloth
in two places near the top before it afcended ; how¬
ever, it rofe to the height of 1440 feet; and after re¬
maining in the air about eight minutes, fell to the
ground at the dirtance of 10,200 feet from the place
of its fetting out. The animals were not in the leaft
hurt.
The great power of thefe aeroftatic machines, andM. Pilatre
their very gradual defcent in falling to the ground, had(le Cozier
originally fhowed that they were capable of tranfport-th£^ firft aew
ing people through the air with all imaginable fafety ; ^ navi&a-
and this was-further confirmed by the experiment al¬
ready mentioned. As M. Montgolfier, therefore, pro-
pofed to make a new aeroftatic machine of a firmer
and better conftruftion than the former, M. Pilatre
de Rozier offered himfelf to be the firft aerial adven¬
turer.
This new machine was conftrufted in a garden in
the fauxbourg of St Antoine. It was of an oval lhape,
about 48 feet in diameter, and 74 in height, elegantly
painted on the outfide with the figns of the zodiac,
cyphers of the king’s name, and other ornaments. A
proper gallery, grate, &c. were appended in the man¬
ner aftenvards defcribed; fo that it was eafy for the
perfon who afcended to fupply the fire with fuel, and
thus keep up the machine as long as he pleafed. The
weight of the whole apparatus was upwards of 1600
pounds. The experiment was performed on the 15th
of O£tober 1783. M. Pilatre having placed himfelf ^ccount of
in the gallery, tne machine was inflated, and permit-
ted to afcend to the height of 84 feet, where he keptges/0^*
it afloat for about four minutes and a half: after"1
which he defeended very gently : and fuch was its
tendency to afcend, that it rebounded to a confiderable
height after touching the ground. Two days after,
he repeated the experiment with the fame fuccefs as
before j but the wind being ftrong,. the machine did
not fuftain itfelf lo well as formerly. On repeating
the experiment in calmer weather, he afcended to the
height of 210 feet. His next afcent was 262 feet;
and in the delcent, a guft of wind having blown the
machine over fome large trees of an adjoining garden,
M. Pilatre fuddenly extricated himfelf from fo dan¬
gerous a lituation, by throwing fome ftraw and chop-
ed wool on the fire, which raifed him at once to a
fufficient height. On defcending again, he once more
raifed himlelf to a proper height by throwing ftraw on
the fire. Some time after, he afcended in company with.
M. Girond
i6 AERO S T A T
IVI. Girond de Villette to the height of 330 feet •, ho- diameter
vering over Paris at leaft nine minutes in fight of all
the inhabitants, and the machine keeping all the while
perfe&ly fteady.
Thefe experiments had fhown, that the aeroftatic
machines might be raifed or lowered at the pleafure of
the perfyns who afcended : they had likewife dilcover-
ed, that the keeping them fall with ropes was no
advantage; but, on the contrary, that this was attend¬
ed with inconvenience and hazard. On the 2ill of
November 1783, therefore, M. Pilatre determined to
undertake an aerial voyage in which the machine
fiiould be fully fet at liberty. Every thing being got
in readinefs, the balloon was filled in a few minutes •,
and M. Pilatre placed himfelf in the gallery, counter-
poifed by the marquis d’Arlandes, who occupied the
other fide. It was intended to make fome prelimina¬
ry experiments on the afcending power of the ma¬
chine y but the violence of the wind prevented this
from being done, and even damaged the balloon ef-
fentially $ fo that it would have been entirely deftroy-
ed had not timely afliftance been given. The extra¬
ordinary exertions of the workmen, however, repaired
it again in two hours, and the adventurers fet out.
They met with no inconvenience during their voyage,
which lailed about 25 minutes; during which time
they had paffed over a fpace of above five miles.—
From the account given by the marquis d’Arlandes,
it appears that they met with feveral different cur¬
rents of air ; the effedl of which was, to give a very
fenfible fhock to the machine, and the diredlion of the
motion feemed to be from the upper part downwards.
It appears alfo that they were in fome danger of hav¬
ing the balloon burnt altogether ; as the marquis ob-
ferved feveral round holes made by the fire in the low¬
er part of it, which alarmed him confiderably, and in¬
deed not without reafon. However, the progrefs of
the fire was eafily flopped by the application of a wet
fponge, and all appearance of danger ceafed in a very
ihort time.
This voyage of M. Pilatre and the marquis d’Ar¬
landes may be faid to conclude the hiftory of thofe aero¬
ftatic machines which are elevated by means of fire; for
ION. Hiftory
Many difficulties occurred in filling it with
the inflammable air, chiefly owing to their ignorance
of the proper apparatus ; infomuch, that, after a
whole day’s labour from nine in the morning, they
had got the balloon only one-third part full. Next
morning they were furprifed to find that it had fully
inflated of itfelf during the night ; but, upon inquiry, In what
it was found, that they had inadvertently left open^ a manner a
flop-cock connect'd with the balloon, uy wuiv-u l-llv'partiy pip
accefs, had mixed itlelf with the^^yj^^^-
Montgol¬
fier’s ma¬
chines fu-
perfeded by th0Ugh many other attempts have been made upon the
with in C ^ame Principle> m°ft °f them have either proved unfuc-
flammable cefsful or were of little confequence. They have there-
air. fore given place to the other kind filled with inflam¬
mable air {hydrogen gas'); which,by reafon ofitsfmall-
er fpecific gravity, is both more manageable and ca¬
pable ofperforming voyages of greater length, as it does
not require to be fupplied with fuel like the others. This
was invented a very fhort time after the difeovery had
been made by M. Montgolfier. This gentleman had
indeed defigned to keep his method in fome degree a
fecret from the world ; but as it could not be conceal¬
ed, that a bag filled with any kind of fluid lighter than
the common atmofphere would rife in it, inflammable
air was naturally thought of as a proper fuccedaneum
for the rarefied air of M. Montgolfier. The firfl ex¬
periment was made by two brothers MefTrs Roberts,
and M. Charles a profeflbr of experimental philofo-
phy. The bag which contained the gas was compof-
ed of lutefiring, varnifhed over with a folution of the
elaflic gum called and that with which they
made their firfl effay was only about 13 Englifli feet in
Experi¬
ment of
MefTrs
Charles and
/Roberts.
by which the
common air gaining accefs, had mixed itlelf with themay
inflammable air; forming a compound ftill lighter thanhfelf.
the common atmofphere, but not fufficiently light to
anfvver the purpofes of aeroflation. 11ms they were
obliged to renew their operation; and, by fix o’clock
in the evening of next day, they found the machine
confiderably lighter than the common air ; and, in an
hour, after, it made a confiderable effort to afeend.
The public exhibition, however, had been announced
only for the third day after ; fo that the balloon was
allowed to remain in an inflated flate for a whole day;
during which they found it had loft a power of alcentLofsof
equal to about three pounds, being one-feventh
of the whole. When it was at laft let at liberty, after
having been well filled with inflammable air, it was 35
pounds lighter than an equal bulk of common air. It
remained in the atmofphere only three quarters of an
hour, during which it had traverfed 15 miles. Its
fudden defeent was fuppofed to have been owing to a
rupture which had taken place when it afcended into
the higher regions of the atmofphere.
The fuccefs of this experiment, and the aerial voy-pj^ aer;J
age made by Meffrs Rozier and Arlandes, naturally voyage of
fuggefted the idea of undertaking fomething of the Meffrs I
fame kind with a balloon filled with inflammable |
The machine ufed on this occafion was formed of gores
®f filk, covered over with a varnifh made of caoutckoucy
of a fpherical figure, and meafuring 27^ feet in dia¬
meter. A net was fpread over the upper hemiiphere,
and was faftened to a hoop which paiftd round the
middle of the balloon. To this a lort of car, or ra¬
ther boat was fufpended by ropes, in fuch a manner
as to hang a few feet below the lower part of the bal¬
loon : and, in order to prevent the hurtling of the ma¬
chine, a valve was placed in it; by opening of which,
fome of the inflammable air might be occafionally let
out. A long filken pipe communicated with the bal¬
loon, by means of which it was filled, ihe boat was
made of balket work, covered with painted linen, and
beautifully ornamented ; being 8 feet long, 4 broad,
and 3-^ deep; its weight 130 pounds. At this time,
however, as at the former, they met with great difficul¬
ties in filling the machine with inflammable air, owing
to their ignorance of the moft proper apparatus. But
at laft, all obftacles being removed, the two adventur¬
ers took their feats at three quarters after one in the
afternoon of the firft of December 1783* Perfons
{killed in mathematics were conveniently ftationed \vith
proper inftruments to calculate the height, velocity,
8cc. of the balloon. The weight of the whole appa¬
ratus, including that of the two adventurers, was found
to be 604^ pounds, and the power of afeent when they
fet out was 20 pounds ; fo that the whole difference
betwixt the weight of this balloon and an equal bulk
of common air was 624 pounds. But the weight of
common atmolphere difplaced by the inflammable gas
was
IHiftory.
AEROSTATION.
217
this firft
voyage.
himfelf.
Specific ^as calculated to be 771 pounds, fo that there remains
|gravity of for weight of the latter ; and this calculation
the inflam- maj.es jt onjy times lighter than common air.
At the time the balloon lett the ground, the ther¬
mometer flood at 590 of Fahrenheit’s fcale j and the
quickfilver in the barometer at 30.18 inches j and, by
means of the power of afcent with which they left the
ground, the balloon rofe till the mercury fell to 27
inches, from which they calculated their height to be
about 6co yards. By throwing out ballaft occafional-
ly as they found the machine defcending by the
efcape of fome of the inflammable air, they found it
practicable to keep at pretty near the fame diftance
from the earth during the reft of their voyage ; the
quickfilver fluctuating between 27 and 27.65 inches,
and the thermometer between 530 and 570, the whole
time. They continued in the air for the fpace of an
hour and three quarters, when they alighted at the
diftance of 27 miles from Paris: having fuffered no
inconvenience during their voyage, nor experienced
any contrary currents of air, as had been felt by MeflT.
Mr Charles Pilatre and Arlandes. As the balloon ftill retained
afcends by a great quantity of inflammable gas, Mr Charles de¬
termined to take another voyage by himfelf. Mr
Robert accordingly got out of the boat, which was
thus lightened by 130 pounds, and of confequence
the aeroftatic machine now had nearly as much power
of afcent. Thus he was carried up with fuch velocity,
that in twenty minutes he was almoft 9000 feet high,
and entirely out of fight of terreftrial objeCts. At
the moment of his parting with the ground, the
globe had been rather flaccid j but it foon began to
fwell, and the inflammable air efcaped from it in great
quantity through the filken tube. He alfo frequent¬
ly drew the valve that it might be the more freely
emitted, and the balloon effedually prevented from
burfting. The inflammable gas being confiderably
warmer than the external air, dififufed itfelf all round,
and was felt like a warm atmofphere j but in ten mi¬
nutes the thermometer indicated a variation of tem¬
perature as great as that between the warmth of
fpring and the ordinary cold of winter. His fingers
were benumbed by the cold, and he felt a violent pain
in his right ear and jaw, which he afcribed to the di¬
latation of the air in thefe organs, as well as to the ex¬
ternal cold. The beauty of the profpeCt which he
now enjoyed, however, made amends for thefe incon¬
veniences. At his departure the .fun was fet on the
valleys; but the height to which Mr Charles was got
in the atmofphere, rendered him again vifible, though
only for a (hort time. He faw, for a few feconds, va¬
pours rifing from the valleys and rivers. The clouds
feemed to afcend from the earth, and collefl one upon
the other, ftill preferving their ufual form •, only their
colour was gray and monotonous for want of fufficient
light in the atmofphere. By the light of the moon,
he perceived that the machine was turning round with
him in the air', and he obferved that there were con¬
trary currents which brought him back again. He ob¬
ferved alfo, with furprife, the eflfe&s of the wind, and
that the ftreamers of his banners pointed upwards ;
which, he fays, could not be the effeft either of his
afcent or defcent, as he was moving horizontally at the
time. At laft, recollefring his promife of returning
to his friends in half an hour, he pulled the valve, and
Vol. I. Part I.
Has a pain
in his car
and jaw
when in
the higher
regions.
v anous
urrents of
vind and
'ddies in
hefe
egions.
dreamers
I f his ban¬
kers ft and
pwards.
accelerated his defcent. When within 200 feet of the
earth, he threw out two or three pounds of ballaft,
which rendered the balloon again ftationary \ but, in
a little time afterwards, he gently alighted in a field
about three miles diftant from the place whence he fet
out ; though, by making allowance for all the turnings
and windings of the voyage, he fuppofes that he had
gone through nine miles at lead. By the calculations
of M. de Meunier, he rofe at this time not lefs than
10,500 feet high j a height fomewhat greater than that
of Mount ALtna. A fmall balloon, w hich had been
fent off before the two brothers fet out on their yoyage,
took a dire6!ion oppofite to that of the large one, hav¬
ing met with an oppofite current of air, probably at a
much greater height.
The fubfequent aerial voyages differ fo little from Attempts
that juft now related, that any particular defeription of^^^^
them feems to be fuperfluous. It had occurred to Mr machines
Charles, however, in his laft flight, that there might be in the at-
a poflibility of directing the machine in the atmo- mofphere.
fphere; and this was foon attempted by Mr Jean
Pierre Blanchard, a gentleman who had, for feveral
years before, amufed himfelf with endeavours to fly by
mechanical means, though he had never fucceeded in
the undertaking. As foon as the difeovery of the ae¬
roftatic machines was announced, however, he refolved
to add the wings of his former machine to a balloon,
and made no doubt that it would then be in his power
to diredl himfelf through the air at pleafure. In his Two firft
firft attempt he was fruftrated by the impetuofity of av°ya?eso*
young gentleman, who infifted, right or wrong, on af-
cending along with him. In the feuffle which enfued
on this occafion, the wings and other apparatus were
entirely deftroyed $ fo that M. Blanchard was obliged
to commit himfelf to the direction of the wind ; and in
another attempt it was found, that all the ftrength he
could apply to the wings was fcarce fufficient to eoun-
teraiff the impreffion of the wind in any degree. In
his voyage, he found his balloon, at a certain period,
afted upon by two contrary winds j but, on throwing
out four pounds of ballaft, he afeended to a place
where he met with the fame current he had at fetting
out from the earth. His account of the fenfations he His fenfa-
felt during this voyage, was fomewhat different from d°n5 while
that of Mr Charles; having, in one part of it, found in b*1® at"
the atmofphere very wrarm, in another cold ; and hav- *
ing once found himfelf very hungry, and at another
time almoft overcome by a propenfity to fleep. The
height to which he arofe, as meafured by feveral ob-
fervations with mathematical inftruments, was thought
to be very little lefs than 10,000 feet; and he remain¬
ed in the atmofphere an hour and a quarter.
The attempts of Mr Blanchard to direct his machine
through the atmofphere, were repeated in the month ofWtfl M®r"
April 1784 by Meff. Morveau and Bertrand, at Di- Bertrand,
jon, who raifed themfelves with an inflammable air
balloon to the height, as it was thought, of 13,000
feet; pafling through a fpace of 18 miles in an hour
and 25 minutes. Mr Morveau had prepared a kind
of oars for dire&ing the machine through the air; but
they were damaged by a guft of wind, fo that only
two of them remained ferviceable ; by working thefe,
however, they were able to produce a fenfible effedl
on the motion of the machine. In a third aerial voy-Third voy¬
age performed by Mr Blanchard, he feemed to pro- aSe of M-
E e , duceBJanchard*
2l8
AEROSTATION.
Hiftory.
Second
voyage of
Meflrs
ning into
thunder
clouds.
duce feme effect by the agitation of his wings, both in
afeending, defeending, moving tideways, and even in
fome meafure againft the wind •, however, this is fup-
pofed, with fome probability, to have been a miftake,
as, in all his fucceeding voyages, the effedls of his ma¬
chinery could not be perceived.
The fuccefs of Meffrs Charles and Robert in their
former experiments, encouraged them foon to repeat
them, with the addition of fome machinery to direft
Robert* anC'^e‘r CGUr^e* Having enlarged their former balloon to
the (ize. of an oblong fpheroid 46^- feet long and 27-1
in diameter, they made it to float with its longeft part
parallel to the horizon. The wings were made in the
lhape of an umbrella without the handle, to the top of
which a flick was faftened parallel to the aperture of
the umbrella. Five of thefe were difpofed round the
boat, which was near 17 feet in length. The balloon
was tilled in three hours, and, with the addition of
450 pounds of ballad, remained in (equilibria with the
atmofphere. About noon, on the 19th of September
1784, they began to afeend very gently in confequence
of throwing out 24 pounds of ballad:, but were foon
obliged to throw out eight pounds more, in order to
Are in dan- avoid running againfl fome trees. Thus they rofe to
ger of run- 0f 1400 feet, W'hen they perceived fome
thunder clouds near the horizon. On this they afeend-
ed and defeended, to avoid the danger, as the wind
blew direflly towards the threatening clouds j but,
from the height of 600 feet to that of 4200 above the
furface of the earth, the current was quite uniform and
in one dire£l:ion. During their voyage they loft one
of their oars ; but found, that by means of thofe which
remained, they confiderably accelerated their courfe.
From the account of their voyage, it would feem that
they had paffed fafely through the thunder clouds ; as
we are informed, that, about 40 minutes after three
they heard a loud clap of thunder ; and three minutes
after, another much louder*, at which time the ther¬
mometer funk from 77 to 59 degrees. This fudden
cold, occafioned by the approach of the clouds, con-
denfed the inflammable air fo that the balloon defeend¬
ed very low, and they were obliged to throw out 40
Heat of the p0Unds of ballaft ; yet on examining the heat of the
their bal11 a*r ^ie balloon, they found it to be 104°, when
that of the external atmofphere was only 63°. When
they had got fo high that the mercury in the barome¬
ter flood only at 23.94 inches, they found themfelves
becalmed \ fo that the machine did not go even at the
rate of two feet in a fecond, though it had before gone
at the rate of 24 feet in a fecond. On this they de¬
termined to try the eftedfl: of their oars to the utmoft ;
and, by working them for 35 minutes, and marking
the fhadow of the balloon on the ground, they found,
in that time, that they had deferibed the fegment of
an ellipfis whofe longeft diameter was 6000 feet. Af¬
ter having travelled about 150 miles, they defeended,
only on account of the approach of night, having ftill
200 pounds of ballaft: left.
Their conclufion, with regard to the effeft of their
Avings, is as follows: “Thofe experiments {how, that
far from going againft the wind, as is faid by fome
perfons to be poflible in a certain manner,1 and fome
aeronauts pretend to have actually done, we only ob¬
tained, by means of two oars, a deviation of 22 de¬
crees : it is certain, hewever, that if we could have
loon.
Effecft of
their oars
in moving
the ma¬
chine.
ufed our four oars, we might have deviated about 40
degrees from the direction of the wind ; and as our ma¬
chine would have been capable of carrying feven per¬
fons, it would have been eafy for five perfons to have
gone, and to have put in action eight oars, by means of
which a deviation of about 80 degrees Avould have been
obtained.
“ We have already obferved (fay they), that if we
did not deviate more than 22 degrees, it Avas becaufe
the wind carried us at the rate of 24 miles an hour j
and it is natural to judge, that if the Avind had been
twice as ftrong as it was, we ftiould not have devia¬
ted more than one-half of Avhat we adfually did j
and on the contrary, if the wind had been only half
as ftrong, our deviation Avould have been proportion-
ably greater.”
Having thus related all that has been done with re- Contrivan-
gard to the conducting of aeroftatic machines through ces uie<*
the atmofphere, we fhall now relate the attempts that ^vafte of ^ !
have been made to leflen their expence, by falling upon flammable
fome contrivance to afeend without throAving out bal- air.
laft, and to defeend Avithout lofing any of the inflam¬
mable air. The firft attempt of this kind Avas made Voyage of
by the duke de Chartres j who, en the 15th of July
1784, afeended with the tAvo brothers, Roberts, and atree<i ar'
fourth perfon, from the park of St Cloud. The balloon
Avas of an oblong form, made to afeend Avith its longeft
diameter horizontally, and meafured 55 feet in length
and 24 in breadth. It contained within it a fmaller
balloon filled with common air ; by bloAving into Avhich
with a pair of belloAvs, and thus throwing in a confi-
derable quantity of common air, it Avas fuppofed that
the machine would become fufficiently heavy to de¬
feend, efpecially, as, by the inflation of the internal bag,
the inflammable air in the external one Avould be con-
denfed into a fmaller fpace, and thus become fpecifically
heavier. The voyage, hoAvever, Avas attended Avith
fuch circumftanees as rendered it impoflible to know
Avhat would have been the event of the fcheme. The
power of afeent Avith which they fet out, feems to have
been very great; as, in three minutes after parting Avith
the ground, they Avere loft in the clouds, and involved ^
in fuch a denfe vapour that they could fee neither the cj0U(js
Iky nor the earth. In this fituation they feemed to be and at-
attacked by a whirl Avind, Avhich, befides turning the tacked by
balloon three times round from right to left, fhockeda
and beat it fo about, that they Avere rendered incapable
of ufing any of the means propofed for direCHng their
courfe, and the filk fluff of Avhich the helm had been
compofed Avas even torn away. No feene can be con¬
ceived more terrible than that in which they Avere now
involved. An immenfe ocean of (hapelefs clouds rolled
one upon another beloAV them, and feemed to prevent
any return to the earth, Avhich ftill continued invifible,
Avhile the agitation of the balloon became greater every
moment. In this extremity they cut the cords which
held the interior balloon, and of confequence it fell
doAvn upon the aperture of the tube that came from
the large balloon into the boat, and flopped it up.
They Avere then driven upAvards by a guft of Avind from
below, which carried them to the top of that ftormy
vapour in which they had been involved. They noAV
faw the fun without a cloud j but the heat of his rays,
with the diminiftied denfity of the atmofphere, had fuch
an effeift on the inflammable air, that the balloon feemed
every
219
AEROSTATION.
Hiftory.
every moment ready to burft. To prevent this, they
introduced a (tick through the tube, in order to pu(h
away the inner balloon from its aperture j but the ex-
panfion of the inflammable air puflied it fo clofe, that
all attempts of this kind proved ineffectual. It was
now, however, become abfolutely neceffary to give vent
to a very conliderable quantity of the inflammable air;
for which purpofe the duke de Chartres himfelf bored
two holes in the balloon, which tore open for the length
of feven or eight feet. On this they defcended with
great rapidity ; and would have fallen into a lake, had
they not haftily thrown out 60 pounds of ballaft, which
enabled them juft to reach the water’s edge.
The fuccefs of the fcheme for raifing or lowering
aeroftatic machines by means of bags filled with com¬
mon air being thus rendered dubious, another method
was thought of. This was to put a fmall aeroftatic
machine with rarefied air under an inflammable air
balloon, but at fuch a diftance that the inflammable air
of the latter might be perfectly out of the reach of the
fire ufed for inflating the former; and thus, by increaf-
ing or diminiftiing the fire in the (mall machine, the
abfolute weight of the whole would be confiderably di-
Unfortu- minifhed or augmented. The fcheme was unhappily
nate voy^Se put in execution by the celebrated M. Pilatrede Rozier,
of Mefi'rs anc^ another gentleman named Mr Romaine. i heir
Rozier and inflammable air balloon was about 37 feet in diameter,
Romaine. and the power of the rarefied-air one was equivalent to
about 60 pounds. They afcended without any appear¬
ance of danger or finifter accident: but had not been
long in the atmofphere when the inflammable air bal¬
loon was feen to fwell very confiderably, at the fame
time that the aeronauts were obferved, by means of te-
lefcopes, very anxious to get down, and bufied in pull¬
ing the valve and opening the appendages to the bal¬
loon, in order to facilitate the efcape of as much in¬
flammable air as poffible. A (hort time after this the
whole machine was on fire, when they had then attain¬
ed the height of about three quarters of a mile from
the ground. No explofion was heard *, and the filk
which compofed the air balloon continued expanded,
and feemed to refill the atmofphere for about a minute j
after which it collapfed, and the remains of the appa¬
ratus defcended along with the two unfortunate travel¬
lers f« rapidly, that both of them were killed. Mr Pi-
latre feemed to have been dead before he came to the
ground •, but Mr Romaine was alive when fome perfons
came up to the place where he lay, though he expired
immediately after.
Thefe are the moft remarkable attempts that have
been made to improve the fcience of aeroftation $ though
a great number of other expeditions through the at-
MdTrP rr,°fphere have taken place. But of all the voyages
Blanchard which had been hitherto projeCted or put in execution,
and Jeffries the moft daring was that of Mr Blanchard and Dr
acrofs the Jeffries acrofs the (traits of Dover, which feparate
fftaus °f Britain from France. This took place on the 7th of
January 1785, being a clear frofty morning with a
wind, barely perceptible, at N. N. W. The operation
of filling the balloon began at 10 o’clock, and, at three
quarters after 12, every thing was ready for their de¬
parture. At one o’clock Mr Blanchard defired the
boat to be puftied off, which now flood only two feet
did ant from that precipice fo finely defcribed by Shake-
fpeare in his tragedy of King Lear. As the balloon
was fcarcely fufficient to carry two, they were obliged
to throw out all their ballad except three bags of 10
pounds each j when they at laft rofe gently j though
making very little way on account of there being fo
little wind. At a quarter after one o’clock, the ba¬
rometer, which on the clift' flood at 29.7 inches, tvas
now fallen to 27.3, and the weather proved fine and
warm. They had now a moft beautiful profpedl of
the fouth coall of England, and were able to count
37 villages upon it. After palling over feveral vtf-
(els, they found that the balloon, at 50 minutes after
one, was defcending, on which they threw’ out a fack
and a half of ballaft j but as they faw that it ftill de¬
fcended, and with much greater velocity than be¬
fore, they now threw out all the ballaft. This dill
proving ineffectual, they next threw out a parcel of
books they carried along with them, which made the
balloon afcend, when they were about midway between
France and England. At a quarter pad two, finding
themfelves again defcending, they threw away the re¬
mainder of their books, and, ten minutes after, they
had a moft enchanting view of the French coaft. Still,
however, the machine defcended j and as they had
now no more ballaft, they were obliged to throw
away their provifions, the wings of their boat, and e-
very thing they could poflibly fpare. “ We threw away
(fays Dr Jeffries) our only bottle, which, in its de-
fcent caft out a (learn like fmoke, with a rufhing noife;
and when it llruck the water, we heard and felt the
(hock very perceptibly on our car and balloon.” All
this proving infuflicient to (lop the defcent of the bal¬
loon, they next threw out their anchors and cords,
and at laft dripped off their clothes, faftening them¬
felves to certain flings, and intending to cut away the
boat as their laft refource. They had now the fatisfac-
tion, however, to find that they were riling •, and as
they paffed over the high lands between Cape Blanc
and Calais the machine rofe very fad, and carried them
to a greater height than they had been at any former
part of their voyage. They defcended fafely among
fome trees in the foreft of Guiennes, where there was
juft opening enough to admit them.
It would be tedious as well as unneceffary to recount
all the other aerial voyages that have been performed
in our own or other countries: It appeared fufficient
for the purpofe of this article to notice thofe which
were moft remarkable and intereftingj and therefore
an account of the ingenious Mr Baldwin’s excurfion
from Chefter, alluded to above, mud not be omitted in
our enumeration.
On the 8th of September 1785, at forty minutes pad Baldwin’s
one P. M. Mr Baldwin afcended from Cheller in Mr voyage.
I.unardi’s balloon. After traverfing in a variety of
different direftions, he firft alighted, at 28 minutes
after three, about twelve miles from Chefter, in the
neighbourhood of Frodftiam ; then reafcending and
purfuing his excurfion, he finally landed at Rixton
mofs, five miles N. N. E. of Wavington, and 25 miles
from Chefter. Mr Baldwin has publiftied his Obferva-
tions and remarks made during his voyage, and taken
from minutes. Our limits will not admit of relating
many of his obfervations $ but the few following are
fome of the moft important and curious. “ The fen-
fation of afcending is compared to that of a ftrong
preffure from the bottom of the car upwards againft
E e 2 the
220 A E R O S
the foies of his feet. At the diftance of what appeared
to him feven miles from the earth, though by the ba¬
rometer fcarcely a mile and a half, he had a grand and
moft enchanting view of the city of Chefter and its
View from adjacent places below. The river Dee appeared of a
the balloon, red colour •, the city very diminutive; and the town
entirely blue. The whole appeared a perfeft plain,
the higheft building having no apparent height, but
reduced all to the fame level ; and the whole terreftrial
profpeft appeared like a coloured map. Jult after his
firft afcent, being in a well watered and maritime part
of the country, he obferved a remarkable and regular
tendency of the balloon towards the fea ; but ftiortly
after riling into another current of air, he efcaped the
danger : this upper current, he fays, was vifible to him
at the time of his afcent, by a lofty found ftratum of
clouds flying in a fafe direftion. The perfpe&ive ap¬
pearance of things to him was very remarkable. The
lowelt bed of vapour that firlt appeared as cloud was
anceofthe Pure white, in detached fleeces, increafing as they
clouds. rofe : they prefently coalefced, and formed, as he ex-
prefles it, a fea of cotton, tufting here and there by
the action of the air. In the undilturbed part of the
clouds, the whole became an extended white floor
of cloud, the upper furface being fmooth and even.
Above this white floor he obferved, at great and un¬
equal diftances, a vaft aflemblage of thunder clouds,
each parcel confifting of whole acres in the denfeft
form : he compares their form and appearance to the
fmoke of pieces of ordnance, which had confolidated as
it were into maffes of fnow, and penetrated through the
upper furface or white floor of common clouds, there
remaining vifible and at reft. Some clouds had mo¬
tions in fhm and various directions, forming an appear¬
ance truly ftupendous and majeftic.” He endeavours
to convey fome idea of the fcene by a figure; (and from
this fig. i. Plate II. is copied. A reprefents a cir¬
cular view he had from the car of the balloon, himfelf
being over the centre of the view, looking down on
the white floor of clouds, and feeing the city of Chefter
through an opening, which difcovered the landfcape be¬
low, limited by furrounding vapour to lefs than two
miles in diameter. The breadth of the outer margin
defines his apparent height in the balloon (viz. 4 miles)
above the white floor of clouds. Mr Baldwin alfo gives
a curious defcription of his tracing the fhadow of the
balloon over tops of volumes of clouds. At firft it
was fmall, in fize and ftiape like an egg ; but foon in-
creafed to the magnitude of the fun’s difc, ftill grow¬
ing larger, and attended with a moft capivating ap¬
pearance of an iris encircling the whole ftiadow at fome
diftance round it, the colours of which were remarkably
brilliant. The regions did not feel colder, but rather
warmer than below. The fun was hotteft to him when
the balloon was ftationary. The difcharge of a can¬
non, when the balloon was at a confiderable height,
was diftinftly heard by the aeronaut ; and a difcharge
from the fame piece when at the height of thirty yards,
fo difturbed him as to oblige him for fafety to lay hold
firmly of the chords of the balloon. At a confiderable
height he poured down a pint bottle full of water ; and
as the air did not oppofe a refiftance fufficient to break
the fleam into fmall particles, it moftly fell down in large
drops. In the courfe of the balloon’s track it was
foupd much affctted by the water (a circumftance ob-
' A T I O N. Hiftory.
ferved in former aerial voyages). At one time the
direction of the balloon kept continually over the wa¬
ter, going direflly towards the fea, fo much as to en¬
danger the aeronaut ; the mouth of the balloon was
opened, and in two minutes’ he defeended into an under
current blowing from the fea : he kept defcending, and
landed at Bellair farm in Rinlley, I 2 miles from Chefter.
Here he lightened his car by 31 pounds, and inftantly
reafcending, was carried into the interior part of the
country, performing a number of different manoeuvres.
At his greateft altitude he found his refpiration free
and eafy. Several bladders which he had along with
him crackled and expanded very confiderably. Clouds
and land, as before, appeared on the fame level. By
way of experiment, he tried the upper valve two or
three times, the neck of the balloon being clofe: and
remarked, that the efcape of the gas was attended with
a growling noife like millftones, but not near fo loud.
Again, round the fhadow of the balloon, on the clouds
he obferved the iris. A variety of other circumftances
and appearances he met with, is fancifully defcribed ;
and at 53 minutes paft three he finally landed.
The following is an account of an eftahlifhment
formed in France during the late war for the improve¬
ment of aerial navigation :
“ The aeroftatic inftitute, founded by the commit-^ero^atjc
tee of public fafety, and enveloped in the moft pro-inflitute
found fecreey at Meudon, to which alfo was added a France,
camp for the exercife of the artillery, is even yet
looked upon as a fecret arrangement of the repub¬
lic, refpe&ing which the greateft precautions are
taken ; the doors being fhut againft the public and all
foreigners.
It was impoflible to have felefted a more convenient
fpot for the eftablifhment of the aeronautic inftitute
than the royal lodge of Meudon. From its elevated
fite on a mountain, it commands a beautiful and exten-
five profpeft over a plain covered with villages and cul¬
tivated fields, interfered by the Seine, and terminated
by the city of. Paris.
The perfedflion and the rational application of aero-objeds of
nautics are the objects of the labours of this eftablifti-it.
ment, to which the celebrated natural philofopher Guy¬
ton Morveau has in particular rendered the moft import¬
ant fervices. But the inftitution flood in need of fuch a
direftor as Conte, for whom Guyton Morveau has pro¬
cured the appointment. With a love of the fcience
Conte unites a penetrating genius for refearch and in¬
vention, accompanied by indefatigable afliduity.
The corps of aeronauts, intended to ferve in the ar-£mpi0y.
mies of the republic, and confifting of fifty courageous ment of the
youths, is trained at the fchool of Meudon : it is there Pupfls'
the balloons are prepared which are fent off to the ar¬
mies ; and every day in fummer the pupils are em¬
ployed, at one time in performing their exercifes, at
another in making refearches, in natural philofophy,
with a balloon which is kept conftantly filled for the
purpofe.
The improvement in the preparation of the balloon,
the difcovery of a new mode of filling it with inflam¬
mable air from the fubftanoe of w7ater (hydrogen gasj),
difcovered by Lavoifier, the invention of a new tele¬
graph, conne£ted with the balloon, are the principal
advances which have been made in aeroftatics at Meu¬
don under the direftion of Conte,
The
Hiftory
221
Mode of
preparing
the bal¬
loons.
The gas.
AEROSTATION.
The old lodge of Meudon ferves as a manufa&ory
for the preparation of the balloons, and of all the ap¬
paratus neceffary to accompany them to the armies.
The new lodge is appropriated to the inftitute, and to
the accommodation of the pupils, and of the director and
his family. There were prepared the Entreprenant for
the army of the north, by means of which the hoftile
army was reconnoitred at the battle of I leurus j the
Celejle for the army of the Sambre and Maefe ; the Her-
cule and the Intrepide for the army of the Rhine and
Mofelle.
The filk for the balloons is manufadlured at Lyons,
and is very thick and ftrong : and Conte has rendered
them much more durable by the precaution of only var-
nifhing the outer furface. The varnilh is of an excel¬
lent quality $ it fufficiently hardens the outfide, and
does not make the filk flick together when the balloon
is folded. Moreover, experience has proved that the
inner coat of varnifli cannot refill the operation of fil¬
ling the balloon, that it is corroded by the gas, and
that this friilion renders the filk flabby.
The filling of the balloon with hydrogen gas is the
refult of the difcoveries made by the great Lavoilier,
and has for its balls his important experiment of the de-
compofition of water. The gas is prepared by the fol¬
lowing Ample and unexpenfive procefs.
Six or more hollow iron cylinders are fet in br ck
work, befide and over each other, in a furnace which
may be conftrufled in twelve hours $ and both ends of
each cylinder are made to project from the furnace.
The openings of thefe cylinders are flopped with ftrong
iron covers, through which metal tubes are let in.
The tube at one end ferves for pouring water, pre-
vioufly heated, into the cylinders when red hot $ that
on the oppofite fide is deftined to condu£t the air which
firft prefents itfelf, through a refervoir filled with a
cauftic lixivium, and to convey it into the balloon.
The cylinders are partly filled with coarfe iron filings,
which the exceffive heat of the furnace, kept up with
pit coal during the whole time of the operation, re¬
duces to a ftate of excandefcence. At this ftage of
the procefs, the valve of one of the tubes of each cy¬
linder is opened, and a fmall quantity of boiling war
ter is gently poured into the heated cylinder. As foon
as the vapour of the water touches the heated iron, the
two fubftances which compofe the w'ater are feparated:
the one (the oxygen) attaches itfelf to the iron, which
it calcines, and which after the operation, is found
partly cryftallized, after the manner of volcanic pro-
duftions : the other of the component fubftances of
the water (the hydrogen) combines with a quantity of
the igneous fubftance termed cctlorique, and becomes
inflammable air (hydrogen gas), which continues in a
permanent ftate of elaftic fluidity, and weighs feven or
eight times lefs than the atmofpheric air.
As the water contains a fmall portion of the fub¬
ftance of carbone {carbonique') which would render the
air in the balloon heavy, the air, as it firft ruflies out
of the cylinders is made to pafs through a refervoir of
water impregnated with a cauftic alkali. This fluid
attracts to itfelf all the carbonique, and nothing rifes
into the balloon but very pure and inflammable air.
During the operation, it has fometimes happened
that the cylinders, heated to excandefcence, melted. To
guard againft this accident, the proje&ing end of the
cylinder is furnilhed with a pyrometer, and a fcale,
which, by means of an iron rod, indicates the degrees
of rarefaction of the air. A particular point on the
fcale announces the moment when the cylinders are
heated in the degree neareft to fufion : when fuclf is
the cafe, the fire is immediately diminifhed. The ope¬
ration of filling a balloon of thirty feet diameter employs
one third of a day.
The exercifing balloon at Meudon is of a fpherical
form, and thirty-two feet in diameter. Its upper halt
is covered with a linen cafe to keep off the rain from
the balloon and its netting. This netting, woven with
ftrong cords, embraces the upper part of the balloon,
and is deftined to fupport the car for the reception of
the aeronauts. The balloon, kept conftantly full and
ready for afcent, and expofed in the open air in all
weathers, preferves its buoyant ftation in the atmo-
fphere, being fattened on the great terrace of the lodge.
When the weather is favourable, the aeronautic exer-
cifes are begun. The balloon is fet free from its faft- Exercifes
enings, and elevated to a certain height j when theot t*l5i
car is made faft to the cords which hang down from s’
the net : the whole of this is done in five minutes. A
colonel then mounts the car with one of the pupils,
and the balloon rifes to the height, generally, of from
a hundred and fixty to two hundred and forty yards.
The pupils feparate into divifions, for the purpofe of
holding the balloon in the air, fuffering it to mount,
and drawing it down, by means of three principal
ropes fattened to the net, and ramified with feverai
others : in thefe manoeuvres they employ the aid of a
capftern. When the balloon has been newly filled,
has yet fuffered no evaporation, and ftill retains all its
force, it requires the ftrength of twenty perfons to
hold it j and in that ftate it will bear eight hundred
weight. After a fpace of two months, though much
evaporated, it is ftill capable of bearing two perfons
with their inftruments, and even a confidtrable ballaft,
at the fame height in the air : but then ten perfons are
fuflicient to hold it.
The car is conftruffed of a light lattice work porm 0f
wood, lined with prepared leather, and hangs about car
fixteen feet beneath the balloon : it affords convenient
room for two perfons feated oppofite each other, with
the neceffary inftruments for making obfervations.
The balloon afcends as often in the day as is requi-
fite for the fucctflion of obfervations which are to be
made •, but thefe afcents take place only in calm and fe-
rene weather. Whenever any unforefeen accident oc¬
cur^ the aerial machine is hauled down in five mi¬
nutes. In ftrong gufts of wind which fuddenly arife,
the aeronauts are always expofed to fome danger: the
balloon, held by the ropes, cannot rife freely j and its
vibrations and fluctuation referable thofe of a paper
kite which has not yet reached a certain degree of al¬
titude. This fpeCtacle, neverthelefs, is more terrific
to the fpeClator than to the aeronaut, who, feated in
his car, which its own weight preferves in a perpendi¬
cular pofition under the balloon, is but (lightly affeCted
by its defultory motion. No inftance of any unfortu¬
nate accident has yet occurred at Meudon.
All fear, all idea of danger, vanifties on examining
the folidity of the whole apparatus, the precautionary
meafures adopted with the mod prudent forefight and
the utmoft fecurity, and efpecially when we are more
particularly
.2 2 2
A E R O S T
particularly acquainted with the cool unafluming ftea-
dinefs of Conte, the director of the whole.
When the return of peace (hall allow more leifure,
and (hall favour the employment of this apparatus in
other experiments than thofe immediately conne&ed
with the military fervice, we may expert to derive
from it the moft important and diverfified advantages
to natural fcience. The experiments will then be con¬
duced under the dire&ion of a committee of natura-
lifts from the national inftitute, with a view of making
difcoveries in natural philofophy, meteorology, and
Utility of other branches. When the la'bours of the aeroftatic
aeroftatic inftitute (hall have accomplilhed ends fo important to
experi- ^[ie arts} and 0f fo great general utility, there will be
ments. printed a particular account of the eftablilhment, and
of the courfe of experiments purfued : at prefent, thefe
matters are kept from the knowledge of the public.
Acroftatic The moft recent invention of Conte, admirable for
telegraph, its fimplicity and precifion, is the aeroftatic telegraph.
In confifts of eight cylinders of varnilhed black filk,
ftretched on hoops, and refembling thofe little pocket
lanterns of crimped paper, which draw out and fold
down again on themfelves. Thefe eight moveable cy¬
linders, each three feet in diameter, and of a propor¬
tionate length, are fufpended from the bottom of the
car, conneCed together with cords, and hanging one
above another, at the diftance of four feet. By means
of cords palling through the bottom of the car, the ae¬
ronautic obfervers direC thofe cylinders, give them dif¬
ferent pofitions at will, and thus carry on their telegra¬
phic correfpondence from the regions of the air.
Conte has further applied his thoughts to the inven¬
tion of a fimilar aeroftatic telegraph, which, without
the afliftance of a great balloon, or an aerial corref-
pondent, Ihould be managed by a perfon ftanding on
the ground, by means of cords j the apparatus being
fufpended to a fmall balloon, of only twelve feet di¬
ameter.
Afcent of a Coutel, captain of the aeronautic corps, was the man
balloon at who afcended with the Entreprenant balloon on the
the battle of 26th of June, 1794, and who conduced the wonder-
Fleurus. £u^ important fervice of reconnoitring the hoftile
armies at the battle of Fleurus, accompanied by an ad¬
jutant and a general. He afcended twice on that day,
to obferve, from an elevation of four hundred and
forty yards, the polition and manoeuvres of the enemy.
On each occafion he remained four hours in the air,
and, by means of preconcerted fignals with flags, carried
on a correfpondence with General Jourdan, the com¬
mander of the French army.
His intended afcent had been made known to the
enemy, who, at the moment when the balloon began
to take its flight, opened the fire of a battery againft
the aeronauts. The firft volley was direfted too low :
one ball, neverthelefs, paffed between the balloon and
the car, and fo near to the former, that Coutel ima¬
gined it had ftruck it. When the fubfequent difcharges
were made, the balloon had already reached fuch a de¬
gree of altitude, as to be beyond the reach of cannon
(hot, and the aeronauts faw the balls flying beneath
the car. Arrived at their intended height, the ob¬
fervers, remote from danger, and undifturbed, viewed
all the evolutions of their enemies, and, from the peace¬
ful regions of the air, commanded a diftinft and com-
A T I O N. Hiftory.
prehenfive profpeft of two formidable armies engaged
in the work of death.” [Month. Mag. vol. vi. p. 3370
On the 28th of June 1802, M. Garnerin, a French Garnerin’s
aeronaut, in company with an Englifti gentleman, af-^3^^
cended in a balloon of 20 feet diameter from Banelaghma°kabjee
gardens. They palled over London, rofe to the height for its rapi.
of 10,000 feet, and landed in three quarters of an bourdity.
from the time of their afcent on a common near Col-
chefter, a diftance of near 60 miles from London. I he
temperature of the air when they afcended to the clouds
was 13 degrees lower than on the furface of the earth j
but when they rofe above the clouds, it became fenfi-
bly milder. The rapidity of M. Garnerin’s voyage is
unequalled in the hiftory of aeroftation.
The frequency of aerial voyages, accompanied with ofae>
particular details of trifling and uninteretting circum-^oltaUon•
fiances, and apparently made with a view to promote
the interefts of particular perfons, regardlefs of any ad¬
vancement in knowledge, had funk the fcience of aero¬
ftation fo low in the opinion of moft people, that before
we give an account of the moft proper methods of con-
ftrufting thefe machines, it is neceffary to premife
fomething concerning the ufes to which they may pof-
fibly be applied. Thefe, according to Mr Cavallo,
are the following :—
“ The fmall balloons, efpecially thofe made of paper,
and raifed by means of fpirit of wine, may ferve to ex¬
plore the direction of the winds in the upper regions
of the atmofphere, particularly when there is a calm
below } they may ferve for fignals in various circum-
ftances, in which no other means can be ufed ; and
letters or other fmall things may be eafily fent by them,
as for inftance from (hips that cannot fafely land on
account of ftorms, from befieged places, iflands, or the
like. The larger aeroftatic machines may anfwer all
the above mentioned purpofes in a better manner \ and
they may, befides, be ufed as a help to a perfon who
wants to afcend a mountain, a precipice, or to crofs a
river } and perhaps one of thefe machines tied to a boat
by a long rope, may be, in fome cafes, a better fort of
fail than any that is ufed at prefent. The largeft fort
of machines, which can take up one or more men, may
evidently be fubfervient to various economical and phi-
lofophical purpofes. Their conveying people from
place to place with great fwiftnefs, and without trouble,
may be of eflential ufe, even if the art of guiding them
in a direflion different from that , of the wind fliould
never be difcovered. By means of thofe machines the
fhape of certain feas and lands may be better afcertain-
ed ; men may afcend to the tops of mountains they
never vifited before j they may be carried over marfliy
and dangerous grounds ; they may by that means come
out of a befieged place, or an ifland ', and they may, in
hot climates, afcend to a cold region of the atmofphere,
either to refrefti themfelves, or to obferve the ice, which
is never feen below \ and, in fliort, they may be thus
taken to feveral places, to which human art hitherto
knew of no conveyance.
“ The philofophical ufes, to which thefe machines
may be fubfervient, are numerous indeed : and it may
be fufficient to fay, that hardly any thing which paffes
in the atmofphere is known with precifion, and that
principally for Avant of a method of afcending into it.
The formation of rain, of thunder ftorms, of vapours,
hail,
223
rinciples. A E R O S
hail, fnow, and meteors in general, require to be atten¬
tively examined and afcertained. 1 he aftion of the
barometer, the refraftion and temperature of the air in
various regions, the defcent of bodies, the propagation
of found, &c. are fubjefts which all require a feries of
obfervations and experiments, the performance of which
could never have been properly expe&ed before the dif-
covery of aeroftatic machines.”
To thefe ufes we may add the gratification of curio-
fity and pleafure, as a very ftrong inducement to the
pra&iee of an art, in which, with any tolerable degree
of caution, there appears not to be the fmalleft danger.
Every one who has tried the experiment tellifies, that
the beauty of the profpedt afforded by an afcent, or
the pleafure of being conveyed through the atmofphere,
cannot be exceeded. No one has felt the lead of that
giddinefs conlequent upon looking from the top of a
very high building or of a precipice, nor have they any
of the ficknefs arifing from the motion of a veffel at
fea. Many have been carried by balloons at the rate
of 30, 40, or even 50 miles an hour, without feeling
the lead inconvenience, or even agitation of the wind ;
the reafon of which is, that as the machine moves with
nearly the velocity of the wind itfelf, they are always
in a calm, and without uneafinefs. Some have appre¬
hended danger from the eleftricity of the atmofphere;
and have thought, that a droke of lightning, or the
fmalled ele&ric fpark, happening near a balloon, might
fet fire to the inflammable air, and dedroy both the
machine and the adventurers. Mr Cavallo has fug-
geded feveral confiderations for diminiddng apprehen-
iions of this kind. Balloons have been already raifed
in every feafon of the year, and even when thunder has
been heard, without injury. In cafe of danger, the
aeronauts may either defeend to the earth, or afeend
above the region of the clouds and thunder dorms.
Befides, as balloons are formed of materials that are not
conductors of eleCtricity, they are not like to receive
drokes, efpecially as by being eneompaiTed with air,
they dand infulated. Moreover, inflammable air by
itfelf, or unmixed with a certain quantity of common
air, will not burn ; fo that if an eleCtric fpark diould
happen to pafs through the balloon, it would not fet fire
to the inflammable air, unlefs a hole was made in the
covering.
The general principles of aerodation are fo little
different from thofe of hydrodatics, that it may feem
fuperfluous to infid much upon them. It is a faCI
univerfally known, that when a body is immerfed in any
fluid, if its weight be lefs than an equal bulk of that
fluid, it will rife to the furface ; but if heavier, it will
fink; and if equal, it will remain in the place where it
is left. For this reafon fmoke afeends into the atmo¬
fphere, and heated air in that which is colder. The
tmpulfe a^cent th® latter is drown in a very eafy and fatisfac-
feated tory manner by bringing a red-hot iron under one of
the feales of a balance, by which the latter is inflantly
made to afeend ; for as foon as the red-hot iron is
brought under the fcale, the hot air being lighter than
that which is colder, afeends, and drikes the bottom,
which is thus impelled upwards, and the oppofite fcale
defeends, as if a weight had been put into it.
Upon this Ample principle depends the whole theo¬
ry of aeroflation ; tor it is the fame thing whether we
render the air lighter by introducing a quantity of
bciples
erofta-
leri.
its
T A T I O N.
heat into it, or enclofing a quantity of gas fpecifically
lighter than the common atmofphere in a certain fpacej
both will afeend, and for the fame reafon. A cubic
foot of air, by the mod accurate experiments, has
been found to weigh about 554 grains, and to be ex¬
panded by every degree of heat, marked on Fahren¬
heit’s thermometer, about part of the whole.
By heating a quantity of air, therefore, to 500 de¬
grees of Fahrenheit, we fliall jud double its bulk when
the thermometer dands at 54 in the open air, and in
the fame proportion we fliall diminifli its weight; and
if fuch a quantity of this hot air be encloftd in a bag,
that the excefs of the weight of an equal bulk of com¬
mon air weighs more than the bag with the air con¬
tained in it, both the bag and air will rife into the at¬
mofphere, and continue to do fo until they arrive at a
place where the external air is naturally fo much rare¬
fied that the weight becomes equal: and here the whole
will float.
The power of hot air in raifing weights, or rather
that by which it is itfelf impelled upwards, may be
ftiown in the following manner : Roll up a (beet of
paper into a conical form, and, by thrufling a pin in¬
to it near the apex, prevent it from unrolling. Faden
it then, by its apex, under one of the feales of a ba¬
lance by means of a thread, and, having properly coun-
terpoifed it by weights, put it into the oppofite fcale j
apply the flame of a candle underneath, you will in¬
flantly perceive the cone to arife, and it will not be
brought into equilibrium with the other but by a much
greater weight than thofe who have never feen the ex¬
periment would believe. If we try this experiment
with more accuracy, by getting proper receptacles
made which contain determinate quantities of air, we
fhall find that the power of the heat depends much
more on the capacity of the bag which contains it than
could well be fuppofed. Thus, let a cubical recep¬
tacle be made of a fmall wooden frame covered with
paper capable of containing one foot of air, and let the
power of a candle be tried with this as above dire6ted
for the paper cone. It will then be found that a cer¬
tain weight may be raifed j but a much greater one will
be raifed by having a receptacle of the fame kind which .
contains two cubic feet j a dill greater by one of three
feet ; a yet greater by one of four feet, &c. and this
even though the very fame candle be made ufe of; nor
is it known to what extent even the power of this fmall
flame might be carried.
From thefe experiments it appears, that in the aero-Rarefied
flatic machines conflrufted on Montgolfier’s plan, it ah baJJoons
mud be an advantage to have them as large as pofliblej^1^11't0^e
becaufe a fmaller quantity of fire will then have a great-
er effeift in raifing them, and the danger from that ele- poffible.
ment, which in this kind of machine is chiefly to be
dreaded, will be in a great meafure avoided. On this ^ow/ haj
fubjeft it may be remarked, that as the cubical con-^n^rn^t
tents of a globe, or any other figure of which balloonscominon ^
are made, increafe much more rapidly than their fur-beat of the
faces, there mud ultimately be a degree of magnitude atindphere*
at which the fmalled imaginable heat would raife any
weight whatever. Thus, fuppofing any aeroflatic ma¬
chine capable of containing 500 cubic feet, and the air
within it to be only one degree hotter than the exter¬
nal atmofphere ; the tendency of this machine to rife,
even without the application of artificial heat, would
be
224
be near an ounce. Let its capacity be increafed 16
times; and the tendency to arife -will be equivalent to
a pound, though this may be done without making
the machine 16 times heavier than before. It is cer¬
tain, however, that all aeroftatic machines have a ten¬
dency to produce or preferve heat within them, which
would by no means be imagined by thofe who have
not made the experiment. When Meffrs Charles and
Roberts made their longeft aerial voyage of 150 miles,
they had the curiofity to try the temperature of the air
within their balloon, in comparifon with that of the
external atmofphere ; and at this time they found,
that when the external atmofphere was 63°, the ther¬
mometer within the balloon flood at 104°. Such a
difference of temperature muff have given a machine
of the magnitude which carried them a confiderable
afcending power independent of any other caufe, as it
amounted to 41 grains on every cubic foot; and there¬
fore in a machine containing 50,000 fuch feet would
have been almofl 200 pounds. Hence we may ealily
account for what happened at Dijon, and is recorded
A balloon by Mr Morveau. “ A balloon, intended to be filled
at. with inflammable air, being completed, was, by way of
into theSat-w‘t^1 con3mon a‘r> anc* in that ftate expofed
mofphere. to the atmofphere. Now it was obferved, and indeed
a fimilar obfervation had been made before, that the
air within the balloon was much hotter than the cir¬
cumambient air ; the thermometer in the former flood
at 120° } whereas in the latter, even when the fun
fhone upon it, the thermometer flood at 84°. This
fhowed a confiderable degree of rarefaftion within the
balloon ; and confequently it was fufpefled, that, by
means of this rarefaftion alone, efpecially if it rvere to
increafe a little, the balloon might afcend. On the
30th of May, about noon, the wind being rather
flrong, agitated the balloon fo that two men were em¬
ployed to take care of it; but, notwith flan ding all
their endeavours, it efcaped from its confinement j and,
lifting up about 65 pounds weight of cords, equatorial
circle, &c. rofe many feet high, and palling over fome
houfes, went to the diftance of 250 yards, where at
length it was properly facured.”
Internal This difference between the external and internal
heat of the heat being fo very confiderable, mull have a great in¬
balloons fluence upon aeroflatic machines, and will undoubtedly
influence influence thofe filled with inflammable air as well as
on aerial the other kind. Nor is it unlikely, that the fhort
voyages. time which many aerial voyagers have been able to
continue in the atmofphere may have been owing to
the want of a method of preferving this internal heat.
It may naturally be fuppofed, and indeed it has always
been found, that balloons, in paffing through the high¬
er regions of the atmofphere, acquire a very confider¬
able quantity of moiflure, not only from the rain or
fnoW they fometimes meet with, but even from the dewT
and vapour which condenfes upon them. On this an
evaporation will inflantly take place ; and, as it is the
property of this operation to produce a very violent
cold, the internal heat of the balloon mull be foon ex-
haufted in fuch a manner as to make it become fpeci-
fically heavier than the common atmofphere, and con¬
fequently defcend in a much fhorter time than it would
have done by the mere lofs of air. To this, in all pro¬
bability, we are to afcribe the defcent of the balloon
which carried Meffrs Blanchard and Jeffries j and
Practit
which feemed fo extraordinary to many people, that Great td
they were obliged to have recourfe to an imaginary
attraction in the waters of the ocean, in order to L>lve(,lmrcl,,,''|
the phenomenon. This fuppofition is rejeCted by Mr loon to c|
Cavallo ; who explains the matter, by remarking, thatfcer.d arJ!
in two former voyages made with the fame machine,
it could not long fupport two men in the atmofphere j
fo that we had no occafion to wmnder at its weaknefs
on this occafion. “ As for its rifing higher (fays he),
jull when it got over the land, that may be eafily ac¬
counted for. In the firft place, the two travellers
threw out their clothes juft about that time ; fecondly,
in confequence of the wind’s then increafing, the bal¬
loon travelled at a much greater rate than it had done
whilft over the fea \ which increafe of velocity leffen-
ed its tendency to defcend : befides which, the vicifli-
tudes of heat and cold may produce a very confider¬
able effeft ; for if we fuppofe, that the air over the
land was colder than that over the fea, the balloon
coming into the latter from the former, continued to
be hotter than the circumambient air for fome time
after j and confequently, it was comparatively much
lighter when in the cold air over the land, than
when in the hotter air over the fea j hence it floated
eafier in the former than in the latter cafe.”
It feems indeed very probable, that there was fome-
thing uncommon in the cafe of Mr Blanchard’s bal¬
loon while pafling over the fea ; for, as it rofe higher
after reaching the land than in any former period of
the voyage, and likewife carried them to a diftance
over land more than half of that which they had paf-
fed over water, we can fcarce avoid fuppofing, that it
had a tendency to defcend when over the water more
than when over land, independent of any lofs of air.
Now, it does not appear that the air over the fea is at
all warmer than that above land j on the contrary, there
is every reafon to believe, that the fuperior refledlive
power of the land renders the atmofphere above it warm¬
er than the fea can do : but it is very natural to fup¬
pofe, that the air above the fea is more moift than that
above land •, and confequently, by letting fall its moi-
fture upon the balloon, muft have occafioned an evapo¬
ration that would deprive the machine of its internal
heat, which it would partly recover after it entered
the warmer and drier atmofphere over land.
We fliall now proceed to the conftrudlion of aero-^on^™c'
ftatic machines; of which the fmaller are only for^aticn
amufement, or fome flight experiments, and are very chines,
eafily made. As in all of them, however, it is of the
utmoft confequence to have the weight as little as pof-
fible, the fhape becomes an objedl of great confidera-
tion. For this purpofe a fpherical figure has been ma-|?^t*ieir
thematically demonftrated to be the bell; as capable of a^e*
containing a greater quantity under a fmaller furface
than any other. Thus a perfedl fphere contains lefs
furface in proportion to its folidity than a fpheroid ; a
fpheroid lefs than a cylinder ; the latter lefs than a
cube ; and a cube ftill lefs than a parallelepiped. In
all cafes, therefore, where we can fill the whole capa¬
city of the balloon with air equally light, the fpherical
figure is undoubtedly to be preferred : and this holds
good with regard to all inflammable air balloons, whe¬
ther their fize be great or fmall; but in the rarefied
air ones, where the under part muft neceffarily be much
colder than the upper, the globular ftiape feems not fo
proper.
aerostation.
jl?ra&ice.
proper. An inverted cone, or truncated pyramid, with
the fmaller part undermoft, feems then to be moft pro¬
per, as it allows the heated air (which has a great ten¬
dency to expand as well as to afcend) to colledt in the
wide part at the top, while the ufelefs furface, in the
lower part, and which, in any other figure, would con¬
tain only the colder and heavier air, is thus thrown
afide. In fa# it has been found, that aeroftatic ma¬
chines, raifed by means of rarefied air, when made of
the fliape of a parallelepiped, or even one deviating
fiill more from the (hape of a globe, have anfwered the
purpofe as well as they could have been fuppofed to
do, had ever fo much care been taken in forming them
exaftly to that lhape. The very firft machine made
by Mr Montgolfier was in form of a parallelepiped ;
and though it contained only 40 cubic feet, fliowed a
very confiderable power of afeent. A very large one,
74 feet high, which Mr Montgolfier had defigned to
exhibit before the royal family, had the middle part of
it prifmatic for about the height of 25 feet ; its top
was a pyramid of 29 feet ; and its lower part was a
truncated cone of near 20 feet. It weighed 1000
pounds 5 and, notwithftanding its fhape, in a very Ihort
time manifefted a power of afeent equal to 500 pounds.
Another aeroftatic machine of a fmall fize, but of the
figure of a parallelepiped, being fuffered to afcend with
30 flieets of oiled paper fixed in a wire frame, and fet
on fire, rofe to a great height, and in 22 minutes could
not be feen. It feems therefore, that, with regard to
the fliape of thefe machines, it is by no means necef-
fary to adhere rigidly to that of a fphere ; but that any
oblong form anfwers very well.
Materials. For experimental purpofes, both the inflammable
and rarefied air balloons may be made of paper *, the
former being made of that kind called thin pojl, var-
niflied over with linfeed oil ; the latter either of that
or any other kind, without varnifh. In order to avoid
the danger of burning, however, it has been propofed
to impregnate the paper of which thefe fmall rarefi¬
ed air balloons are made with a folution of fal ammo¬
niac, alum, or feme other fait : but this does not
feem to be neceffary. Thofe filled with inflammable
air have been made of gold-beaters Ikin or peeled blad¬
ders ; but the cheaper material of paper is undoubted¬
ly preferable.
Belt var- For aeroftatic machines of a larger fize, the material
nilhforin- univerfally employed is varnilhed filk ; and for thofe of
afrbaU ^ ^ie rarefieil air kind, linen painted over with fome fize
loons. colour, or lined with paper. The beft varnilh for an
inflammable air balloon is that made with birdlime,
and recommended by Mr Faujas de Saint Fond, in a
treatife publilhed on the fubjedt. The following is his
method of preparing it : “ Take one pound of bird¬
lime, put it into a new proper earthen pot that can re¬
fill: the fire, and let it boil gently for about an hour,
viz. till it ceafe to crackle j or, which is the fame
thing, till it is fo far boiled, as that a drop of it being
let fall upon the fire will burn : then pour upon it a
pound of fpirit of turpentine, ftirring it at the fame
time with a wooden fpatula, and keeping the pot at a
good diftance from the flame, left the vapour of this
effential oil Ihould take fire. After this, let it boil for
about fix minutes longer \ and then pour upon the whole
three pounds of boiling oil of nuts, linfeed, or poppy,
rendered drying by means of litharge j ftir it well, let
Vol. I. Part I.
2 25
it boil for a quarter of an hour longer, and the varnifli
is made. After it has refted for 24 hours, and the
fediment has gone to the bottom, decant it into ano¬
ther pot •, and when you want to ufe it, warm, and ap¬
ply it with a flat brulh upon the filk ftuflF, whilft that
is kept well ftretched. One coat of it may be fufti-
cient} but if two are neceffary, it will be proper to
give one on each fide of the filk, and to let them dry
in the open air while the filk remains extended.”
Mr Cavallo gives the following method of preparing Mr Caval-
this varnifti, which he prefers to that of M. de Stlo’s me'
Fond.—“ In order to render linfeed oil drying, boil1, n '
it with two ounces of faccharum faturni and three
ounces of litharge, for every pint of oil, till the oil
has diffolved them, which will be accompliftied in half
an hour j then put a pound of birdlime and half a pint
of the drying oil into a pot (iron or copper pots
are the fafeft for this purpofe), the capacity of which
may be equal to about one gallon, and let it boil very
gently over a flow charcoal fire till the birdlime ceafes
to crackle, which will be in about half or three quar¬
ters of an hour •, then pour upon it two pints and a
half more of drying oil, and let it boil for one hour
longer, ftirring it very frequently with an iron or
wooden fpatula. As the varnifti, whilft boiling, and
efpecially when it is nearly done, fwells very much,
care ftiould be had to remove, in thofe cafes, the pot
from the fire, and to replace it when the varnifti fub-
fides, otherwife it will boil over. Whilft the fluff is
boiling, the operator ftieuld, from time to time, ex¬
amine whether the varnifti has boiled enough 5 which
is thus known :—Take fome of it upon the blade of a
knife, and then, after rubbing the blade of another
knife upon it, feparate the knives •, and when, on this
feparation, the varnifli begins to form threads between
the two, you may conclude that it is done 5 and,
without lofing time, it muft be removed from the fire.
When it is almoft, though not quite, cold, add about
an equal quantity of fpirit of turpentine 5 mix it
well together, and let it reft till the next day •, when,
having warmed it a little, ftrain and bottle it. If
it is too thick, add fome more fpirit of turpentine.
When this varnilh is laid upon the filk, the fluff
fhould be made perfectly dry, and ftretched ; fo that
the varnifli, which ought to be ufed lukewarm, may
fill up the pores of the fluff. The varnifli fhould be
laid once very thin upon one fide of the fluff; and,
about 12 hours after, two other coats of it fhould be
laid on, one on each fide*, and, 24 hours after, the
filk may be ufed, though, in cold weather, it may be
left to dry fome time longer.”
Much has been faid in France of their elaftic gum
varnifh, and its compofition kept a fecret \ but Mr
Baldwin, after many expenfive trials, declares to the
world what he confiders as the fecret j and it is merely
this : “ Take any quantity of caoutchouc, as two ounces
avoirdupois 5 cut it into fmall bits with a pair of feif-
fars ; put a ftrong iron ladle (like that ufed by plum¬
bers) ov.tr a common pitcoal or other fire. The fire
muft be gentle, glowing, and without fmoke. When
the ladle is hot, much below a red heat, put a Angle
bit into the ladle. If blach fmoke iffues, it will pre-
fently flame and difappear, or it will evaporate with¬
out flame : the ladle is then too hot. When the
ladle is lefs hot, put in a fecond bit, which will pro-
F f duce
AEROSTATION.
226 A E R O S "
cluce a volute fmoke. This white fraoke will continue
during the operation, and evaporate the caoutchouc :
therefore no time is to be loft j but little bits are to
be put in, a few at a time, till the whole are melted.
It fhould be continually and gently ftirred with an
iron or brafs fpoon. Two pounds or one quart of the
beft drying oil (or of raw linfeed oil, which together
with a few drops of neats foot oil, has flood a month,
or not fo long, on a lump of quicklime, to make it more
or lefs drying), is to be put into the melted caoutchouc,
and ftirred till hot, and the whole poured into a glazed
veffel through a coarfe gauze or fine fieve. When fet¬
tled and clear, which will be in a few minutes, it will
be fit for ufe either hot or cold.” Mr Baldwin is not
at liberty, he obferves, to publifh the art of laying on
the varnifti: but fays, that it confifts in making no in-
teJHne motion in the varnifh, which would create minute
bubbles •, that therefore bruflies are improper. Mr
Blanchard’s method of making elaftic gum varnifti for
the filk of a balloon, is the following. “ Diflblve ela-
flic gum (caoutchouc) cut fmall, in five times its weight
of fpirit of turpentine, by keeping them fome days to¬
gether ; then boil one ounce of this folution in eight
ounces of drying linfeed oil for a few minutes; laftly,
ftrain it. It muft be ufed warm.” The pieces of filk
for the balloon muft be cut out of a proper fize, accord¬
ing to the dimenfions, after the varnifti is fufficiently
dry. They may be joined by laying about half an inch
of the edge of one piece over the edge of the other, and
fewing them by a double Hitching. Mr Blanchard
ufes expeditioufly the following method : He lays about
half an inch of the edge of one piece flat over the edge
of the other, and pafles a hot iron over it; in doing
which a piece of paper ought to be laid both underand
over the filk. The joining may be rendered more fe-
cure by running it with a filk thread, and flicking a
ribband over it. The ribbands laid over feams may be
ftuck with common glue, provided the varnifli of the
filk is properly dried. When the glue is quite dry,
the ribbands fhould be varniftied over, to prevent their
being unglued by the rain.
Of cutting The beft method of cutting the pieces of filk that are
the gores to form a balloon, is to defcribe a pattern of wood or
for a globe, ftjfp card-paper, and then to cut the filk upon it. As
the edges of fuch a pattern are not perfect circles, they
cannot be defcribed by a pair of compafles ; but the
beft method of drawing them is as follows. Firft, Draw
on a flat furface two right lines AE and BC, fig. 2. per¬
pendicular to each other. Secondly, Find the circum¬
ference anfwering to the given diameter of the balloon
in feet and decimals of a foot; and make AD and DE
each equal to a quarter of the circumference, fo that
the whole length AE of the pattern may be equal to
half the circumference. Thirdly, Divide AD into 18
equal parts ; and to the points of divifion apply the
lines j(§-, hi, kl, &c. parallel to each other, and perpen¬
dicular to AD. Fourthly, Divide the whole circum¬
ference in twice the given number of pieces, and make
DC and BB each equal to the quotient of this divi¬
fion : fo that the whole, BC, is equal to the greateft
breadth of one of thefe pieces. Fifthly, Multiply the
above-mentioned quotient by the decimals annexed to
fg, viz. 0.99619, and then the produft exprefles the
length-of/g ; again, multiply the fame length of DE
by the decimals annexed to hi, and the product ex-
A T I O N. Praftif.
prefles the length of hi ; and, in ftiort, the produdt
arifing from the multiplication of the length of DC by
the decimals annexed to each of the parallel lines,
gives the length of that line. Laftly, Having found
the lengths of all thefe lines, draw by hand a curve
line palling through all the extremities of the faid
lines, and that is the edge of one quarter of the pat¬
tern. The other quarters may be eafily defcribed, by
applying to them a piece of paper cut according to
that already found. Suppofe, for example, that the
diameter of the balloon to be conftrufted is 20 feet,
and that it is required to make it of 12 pieces; then,
in order to draw the pattern for thofe pieces, find the
circumference of the balloon, which is 62.85 feet, and
dividing it by four, the quotient is 15.7 feet; make
therefore AD equal to 15.7 feet, and DE like wife of
the fame length. Divide the circumference 62.83 by
24, which is double the number of pieces that are to
form the balloon, and the quotient, 2.618 feet, is the
length of DC and likewife of BD ; fo that BC is
equal to 5.236 feet. Then having divided the line
AD into 18 equal parts, and having drawn the paral¬
lel lines from thofe points of divifion, find the length
of each of thofe lines by multiplying 2.618 by the de¬
cimals annexed to that line. Thus, 2.618 multiplied
by 0.996x9, gives 2.608 feet for the length ofy^,- and
again, multiplying 2.618 by 0.98481, gives 2.578
feet for the length of hi; and fo of the reft. In cut¬
ting the pieces after fuch a pattern, care ftiould be
taken to leave them about three quarters of an inch all
round larger than the pattern, which will be taken up
by the feams.
To the upper part of the balloon there ftiould be
adapted, and well fitted in, a valve, opening inwards;
to which ftiould be fattened a firing pafiing through
a hole made in a fmall piece of round wood fixed in
the loweft part of the balloon oppofite to the valve, and
the end of this firing fattened in the car below, fo that
the aeronaut may open the valve when occafion requires.
The a£tion of this valve may be underftood from fig. 3.
A round brafs plate AB has a round hole CD, about
two or three inches diameter, covered on both fides
with ftrong fmooth leather. On the infide there is a
fhutter E, alfo of brafs, covered with leather, which is
to clofe the hole CD ; being about two inches larger
in diameter than the hole. It is fattened to the lea¬
ther of the plate AB ; and by a fpring, which need
not be very ftrong, it is kept againft the hole. The
elafticity of the gas itfelf will help to keep it ftvut.
To this fhutter the firing is faftened, by which it is
occafionally opened for the efcape of gas. A fmall
firing or other fecurity fhould be fixed to the fhutter
and the plate, fo as not to admit the fhutter to be
opened beyond a certain fafe diftance. To the lower
part of the balloon two pipes fhould be fixed, made of
the fame fluff as the envelope ; 6 inches diameter for
a balloon of 30 feet, and proportionably larger for bal¬
loons of a greater capacity. They muft be long enough
for the car. For balloons of 18 feet and lefs diameter,
one neck or pipe will be fufficient. Thefe pipes are
the apertures through which the inflammable gas is ins’
troduced into the balloon.
The car or boat is bell made of wicker work, cover¬
ed with leather, and well painted or varnifhed over;
and the proper method of fufpending it, is by ropes pro¬
ceeding
i Pra6tice. A L K O S T
ceeding from tbe net wliich goes over the balloon.
This net fhould be formed to the fliape of the balloon,
and fall down to the middle of it, with various
cords proceeding from it to the circumference of a
circle about two feet below the balloon ; and from
that circle other ropes fhould go to the edge of the
boat. This circle may be made of wood, or of feve-
ral pieces of {lender cane bound together. The meflies
of the net may be fmall at top, againft which part of
the balloon the inflammable air exerts the greateft
force j and increafe in fize as they recede from the top.
A hoop has fometimes been applied round the middle
of the balloon to fallen the net. This, though not
abfolutely neceflary, is bell made of pieces of cane
bound together, and covered with leather.
With regard to the rarefied air machines, Mr Ca-
vallo recommends firlt to foak the cloth in a folution
of fal-ammoniac and common fize, ufing one pound of
each to every gallon of water •, and when the cloth is
quite dry, to paint it over in the infide with fome
earthy colour, and llrong fize or glue. When this
paint has dried perfectly, it will then be proper to
varnilh it with oily varnilh, which might dry before it
could penetrate quite through the cloth. Simply dry¬
ing linfeed oil will anfwer the purpofe as well as any,
provided it be not very fluid.
Of filling jt now oniy remains to give fome account of the
mShles. method by which aeroftatic machines may be filled
with their proper gas, in order to give them their
power of afcending into the atmofphere ; and here we
are enabled to determine with much greater precifion
Methods of concerning the inflammable air balloons than the others.
I procuring With regard to them, a primary confideration is, the
inflamma- moft proper method of procuring the inflammable air.
bleair’ It may be obtained in various ways, as will be fhown un¬
der the article Chemistry. But the moft advantageous
methods are, by applying acids to certain metals; by
expofing animal, vegetable, and fome mineral fub-
llances, in a clofe veflel to a ftrong fire ; or by tranf-
mitting the vapour of certain fluids through red-hot
tubes.
I. In the firft of thefe methods, iron, zinc, and
fulphuric acid are the materials moft generally ufed.
The fulphuric acid muft be diluted with five or fix
parts of water. Iron may be expelled to yield in the
common way 1700 times its own bulk of gas; or one
cubic foot of inflammable air to be produced by 4!
ounces of iron, the like weight of fulphuric acid, and
224- ounces of water. Six ounces of zinc, an equal
weight of fulphuric acid, and 30 ounces of water, are
neceflary for producing the fame quantity of gas. It
is more proper to ufe the turnings or chippings of great
pieces of iron, as of cannon, &c. than the filings of
that metal, becaufe the heat attending the eflfervefcence
will be diminiftied ; and the diluted acid will pafs more
readily through the interftices of the turnings when
thev are heaped together, than through the filings,
which flick clofer to one another. The weight of the
inflammable air thus obtained by means of fulphuric
acid, is in the common way of procuring it, gene¬
rally one-feventh part of the weight of common air ;
but with the neceflary precautions for philofophical
experiments, lefs than one-tenth of the weight of
common air. Two other forts of elaftic fluids are
fometimes generated with the inflammable air. Ihefe
A T I O N. 227
may be feparated from it by pafllng the inflammable
air through water in which quicklime has been diilol-
ved. The water will abforb thefe fluids, cool the in¬
flammable air, and prevent its over-heating the bal¬
loon when introduced into it.
fig. 4. of Plate II. reprefents an apparatus defcrib-
ed by Mr Cavallo as proper for filling balloons of
the fize of two or three feet in diameter with inflam¬
mable air, after palling it through water.—A is the
bottle with the ingredients ; BCD a tube fattened in
the neck at B, and patting through C, the cork of the
other bottle, in which there is another hole made to re¬
ceive the tube on which the balloon is tied. 1 bus it
is plain, that the inflammable air coming out of the
tube D will pafs firil through the water of the bottle
E and then into the balloon. Two fmall calks may
be ufed inftead of the bottles A and E.
2. Inflammable air may be obtained at a much
cheaper rate by the action of fire on various fubftances;
but the gas which thefe yield is not fo light as that
produced by the effervefcence of acids and metals. The
fubftances proper to be ufed in this way are, pitcoal,
afphaltum, amber, rock-oil, and other minerals; wood,
and efpecially oak, camphor-oil, fpirits of wine, aether,
and animal lubftances, which yield air in different de¬
grees, and of various fpecific gravities : but pitcoal is
the preferable fubftance. A pound of this expofed to
a red heat, yields about three cubic feet of inflammable
air, which, whether it be paflfed through water or not,
weighs about one-fourth of the weight of common air.
Dr Prieftley found, as we have elfewhere noticed, that
animal or vegetable fubftances will yield fix or feven
times more inflammable air when the fire is fuddenly
increafed than when it is gently raifed, though it be-
afterwards made very ftrong. Mr Cavallo obferves,
that the various fubftances above enumerated generally
yield all their inflammable air in about one hour’s time.
The general method is, to enclofe the fubftances in
iron or earthen veffels, and thus expofe them to a ftrong
fire fufficient to make the velfels red hot ; the inflam¬
mable air proceeding from the aperture of the vefiel is
received into a tube or refrigeratory, and, pafling through
the tube or worm, is at lait colle£led in a balloon or
other veffel. A gun-barrel has often been ufed for ef-
fays of this kind. The fubftance is put into it fo as
to fill fix or eight inches of its loweft part, the re¬
mainder filled with dry fand : a tube, adapted to
the mouth of the barrel, is brought into a bafon of
w'ater under an inverted receiver ; and the part of the
barrel containing the fubftance being put into the
fire and made red-hot, the inflammable air is coE
lefled in the inverted receiver. As the gun-barrel can¬
not ferve for producing a large quantity of inflammable
air, Mr Cavallo recommends, as the moft advantageous
fhape, the following contrivance : Let the veflel be
made of clay, or rather of iron, in the fhape of a Ilo-
rence flalk, fomewhat larger, and whofe neck is longer
and larger (See ABC, fig. yO* fubftance to be
ufed into this veffel, fo as to fill about four-fifths or lefs
of its cavity AB. If the fubftance is of fuch a nature
as to fwell much by the a£tion of the fire, lute a tube
of brafs, or firft a brafs and then a leaden tube, to the
neck C of the veffel; and let the end D of the tube be
ftiaped as in the figure, fo that going into the water of a
tube HI, it may terminate under a fort of inverted vef-
F f 2 ffl
228
A E R O S ']
fel EF, to the upper aperture of which the balloon G
is adapted. Things thus prepared, if the part AB of
the veffel is put into the fire, and made red hot, the in¬
flammable air produced will come out of the tube CD,
and pading through the water will at laft enter into the
balloon G. Previous to the operation, as a confider-
able quantity of common air remains in the inverted
veffel EF, which it is more proper to expel, the veffel
EF fhould have a ftop-cock K, through which the
common air may be fucked out, and the water afcend
as high as the ftop-cock. The dimenfions of fuch an
apparatus Mr Cavallo gives thus : Diameter of largeft
part of the veffel ABC feven inches, length of whole
vefl’el 16 inches-, diameter of its aperture one inch, dia¬
meter of the cavity of the tube CD three-fourths of an
inch ; lower aperture of the veffel EF fix inches, leaft
height of the veffel EF 24 inches ; its aperture F about
two inches. The aperture of the veffel EF fhould be
at leaft one foot below the furface of the water in HI.
Care muft be taken that the fire ufed in this procefs be
at a fufficient diftance, otherwife it may happen to fire
the inflammable air which may efcape out of the vef-
iel EF.
3. The laft method of obtaining inflammable air
was difcovered by Mr Lavoifier, and alfo by Dr
Prieftley. Mr Lavoifier made the fleam of boiling wa¬
ter pafs through the barrel of a gun, kept red hot by
burning coals. Dr Prieftley ufes, inftead of the gun-
barrel, a tube of red-hot brafs, upon which the fteam
of water has no effeft, and which he fills with the
pieces of iron which are feparated in the boring of
cannon. By this method he obtains an inflammable air,
the fpecific gravity of which is to that of common air
as 1 to 13. In this method, not yet indeed reduced
to general praftice, a tube about three quarters of an
inch in diameter, and about three feet long, is filled
with iron turnings ; then the neck of a retort, or clofe
boiler, is luted to one of its ends, and the worm of a
refrigeratory is adapted to its other extremity. The
middle part of the tube is then furrounded with burn¬
ing coals, fo as to keep about one foot in length of it
red hot, and a fire is always made under the retort or
boiler fufficient to make the water boil with vehemence.
In this procefs a confiderable quantity of inflammable
air comes out of the worm of the refrigeratory. It is
faid that iron yields one-half more air by this means
than by the a£Hon of fulphuric acid.
For filling large balloons, a greater apparatus is ne-
ceffary ; and the only materials that can, with any cer¬
tainty of fuccefs, be employed for producing the proper
gas, are, fulphuric acid, and iron filings or turnings.
It has indeed been recommended to ufe zinc inftead
of iron filings, becaufe white vitriol, the fait produced
by the union of the fulphuric acid and zinc, is much
more valuable than the green fort produced by the
union of the fame acid with iron. But though this is
undoubtedly the cafe, it will as certainly be found, up¬
on trial, that tjie fuperior price of the zinc will be more
than an equivalent for all the advantage that can be
derived from the additional price of the white vitriol.
Mr Caval- For a balloon of 30 feet diameter, Mr Cavallo recom-
k>’s re- mends 3900 pounds of iron turnings, as much fulphu-
ric acid, and 19,500 pounds of water. Thefe pro¬
portions, however, appear too great with refpeft to
the acid and metal, and too little with refpeft to the
A T T O N. Pradice
water. Sulphuric acid will not exert its power upon
iron unlefs it be diluted with five or fix times its quan¬
tity of water ; in which cafe, a much fmaller quantity
of both acid and metal will ferve. Mr Lunardi, who Mr Lunar 1
from the number of his voyages had certainly much ch’s me- j
practical knowledge in aeroftation, filled his balloon
at Edinburgh and Glafgow with about 2000 pounds
of iron (the borings of cannon procured from Carron),
as much fulphuric acid, and 12,000 pounds of water.
The iron was placed in his veffels in layers, with ftraw
between them, in order to increafe the furface. His
apparatus was not materially different from that of
Mr Cavallo, fig. 6. where AA are two tubs, about
three feet in diameter and nearly two feet deep, in¬
verted in large tubs BB filled with water. In the
bottom of each of the inverted tubs a hole is made,
and a tube E of tin adapted, which is about feven
inches in diameter, and feven or eight long. To
thefe tubes the filken ones of the balloon are to be
tied. Round each of the tubs B, five, fix, or more
ftrong calks are placed j in the top of each two holes
are made, and to one of thefe holes a tin tube is
adapted, and fo ffiaped, that, palling over the edge
of the tub B, and through the w-ater, it may ter¬
minate with its aperture under the inverted tub A.
The other hole of thefe calks ferves for the introduc¬
tion of materials, and is flopped with a wooden plug.
When the balloon is to be filled, put the net over it,
and let it be fufpended as Ihown by CDF ; and having
expelled all the common air from it, let the filken tube
be faftened round the tin ones EE ; and the materials
being put into the calks, the inflammable air, palling
into the balloon, will foon diftend, and render it ca¬
pable of fupporting itfelf j after which the rope GH
may be flipped oft’. As the balloon continues to be
filled, the net is adjufted properly round it j the cords
that furround it are faftened to the hoop MN; then
the boat IK being placed between the two fets of
calks, is faftened to the hoop MN, and every thing
that is required to be fent up, as ballaft, inftruments,
&c. is placed in it. At laft when the balloon is little
more than three quarters full, the filken tubes are fe¬
parated from the tin ones of the inverted tubs, and
their extremities being tied up, are placed in the boat.
Laftly, The aeronauts being feated in the boat, the la¬
teral ropes are flipped off, and the machine is aban¬
doned to the air. (See B/anchard',s Balloon, Plate III.)
This apparatus was at laft reduced by Mr Lunardi to
its utmoft fimplicity, by ufing only two large calks,
and fuffering the vapour to go into the balloon with¬
out palling through water. Thus his balloon was filled
in lefs than half an hour, when before, it had required
two hours at leaft. The finking of his calks in the
ground was alfo an additional convenience, as it created
no confufion, and rendered the materials much more
eafily conveyed into them.
With regard to the rarefied air balloons, the method Of filling
of filling them is as follows. A fcaffold ABCD, fig. 7. rarefied an-
the breadth of which is at leaft two-thirds of the dia-^a 00nS*
meter of the machine, is elevated about fix or eight
feet above the ground. From the middle of itdefeends
a well E, riling about two or three feet above it, and
reaching to the ground, furnilhed with a door or two,
through which the fire in the well is fnpplied with fuel.
I he well Ihould be conftru&ed of brick or of plaftered,
wood.
a A.
AEROSTATION
PLATE H.
// . .. // r/l r A si /<•/
229
AEROSTATION.
Pra&ice.
wood, and its diameter (hould be fomewbat lefs than
that of the machine. On each fide of the fcaffold are
ere£ted two mafts HI, KL, each of which hai. a pulley
at the top, and rendered firm by means of ropes KG,
KP, HP, HG. The machine to be filled is to be pla¬
ced on the fcaffold, with its neck round the aperture
of the well. The rope palling over the pulleys of the
two mafts, ferves, by pulling its two ends, to lift the
balloon about 15 feet or more above the fcaffold ; and
the reft of the machine is reprefented by the dotted
lines in the figure MNO. The machine is kept fteady,
and held down, whilft filling, by ropes palling through
loops or holes about its equator ; and the ropes may
eafily be diftngaged from the machine, by flipping
them through the loops when it is able to fuftain it-
felf. The proper combuftibles to be lighted in the
well, are thofe which burn quick and clear, rather than
fuch as produce much fmoke ; becaufe it is hot air,
not hot fmoke, that is required to be introduced into
the machine. Small wood and ftraw have been found
to be very fit for this purpofe. Mr Cavallo oblerves,
as the refult of many experiments with fmall machines,
that fpirit of wine is upon the whole the bell com-
buftible ; but its price may prevent its being ufed for
large machines. As the current of hot air afcends, the
machine will foon dilate, and lift itfelf above the fcaf¬
fold and gallery which was covered by it. The paffen-
gers, fuel, inftruments, &c. are then placed in the gal¬
lery. When the machine makes efforts to afcend,-its
aperture mull be brought, by means of the ropes an¬
nexed to it, towards the fide of the well a little above
the fcaffold ; the fire place is then fufpended in it, the
fire lighted in the grate, and the lateral ropes being
flipped off, the machine is abandoned to the air. (See
Montgolfier'shalloon, Plate IIIJ. It has been determined
by accurate experiments, that only one-third of the com¬
mon air can be expelled from thefe large machines: and
therefore the afcending power of the rarefied air in
them can be eftimated as only equal to half an ounce
avoirdupoife for every cubic foot.
The conduft of balloons, when conftrudled, filled,
and actually afcending in the atmofphere, is an objeft
of great importance in the practice of aeroftation. I he
method generally ufed for elevating or lorvering the
balloons with rarefied air, has been the increafe or di¬
minution of the fire : and this is entirely at the com¬
mand of the aeronaut, as long as he has any fuel in the
gallery. The inflammable air balloons have been ge¬
nerally railed or lowered by diminifhing the weight in
the boat, or by letting out fome of the gas through
the valve: but the alternate efcape of the air in de¬
fending, and difcharge of the ballaft for afcending,
will by degrees render the machine incapable of float¬
ing ; for in the air it is impoffible to fupply the lofs of
ballaft, and very difficult to fupply that of inflammable
air. Thefe balloons will alfo rife or fall by means of
the rarefaftion or condenfation of the enclofed air, oc-
cafioned by heat and cold. It has been propofed to
aid a balloon in its alternate motion of afcent and de-
fcent, by annexing to it a veffel of common air, which
might be condenfed for lowering the machine, and ra¬
refied again, by expelling part of it, for railing the
machine : But a veffel adapted to tins purpofe muff
be very ftrong j and, after all, the afliftance afforded by
it w'ould not be very confiderable. M. Meunier, in or¬
der to attain this end, propofes to enclofe one balloon
filled with common air in another filled with inflam¬
mable air: as the balloon afcends, the inflammable air
is dilated, and of courfe compreffes the internal balloon
containing the common air : and by diminifhing its
quantity, leffens its weight. If it fliould be neceffary
to fupply this lofs, he fays it may be eafily done by
a pair of bellows fixed in the gallery. Others have
propofed to annex a fmall machine with rarefied air
to an inflammable air balloon by ropes, at fuch a di¬
ll ance that the fire of the former might not affeft the
inflammable air of the latter : the whole apparatus,
thus combined, of balloons formed on the two princi¬
ples of heated and inflammable air, might be raifed or
lowered by merely increafing or diminifhing the fire in
the lower balloon.
Wings or oars are the only means of this fort that
have been ufed with fome fuccefs: and, as Mr Cavallo
obferves, they feem to be capable of confiderable im¬
provement j although great effe6ts are not to be expect¬
ed from them, when the machine goes at a great rate.
The beft methods of moving thofe wings are by the
human ftrength applied fimilarly to the oars of a water¬
man. They may be made in general of filk ftretched
between wires, tubes, or flicks j and when ufed, muff
be turned edge wife when they are moved in the direc¬
tion in which the machine is intended to be impelled,
but flat in the oppofite diredion. Fig. 8. is the repre-
fentation of one of Mr Blanchard’s wings. Fig. 9. is
one of thofe ufed by Mr Lunardi, which confifts of
many filk fhutters or valves, ABCD, DECF, &c.
every one of which opens on one fide only, viz. ADBC
opens upon the line AB, DECF opens upon the line
DC, &c. In confequence of this conftruflion, this fort
of oars does not need being turned edgewife. Fig. 10.
reprefents one of the wings ufed by the brothers Ro¬
berts in the aerial voyage of the 19th September 1784 >
and fig. 11. reprefents one of the wings conftruCled by
Count Zambeccari, which confifts of a piece of filk
ftretched between two thin tubes fet at an angle; but
thefe wings are fo contrived as to turn edgewife by
themfelves when they go on one direftion. Other con¬
trivances have been made to direCl aeroftatic machines,
but they have moftly been invented to effeCl a power
upon them as upon a fhip. It appears, however, that
they can have no effeft when a machine is only moved
by the wind alone, becaufe the circumambient air is at
reft in refpeft to the, machine. The cafe is quite dif¬
ferent with a veffel at fea, becaufe the water on which
it floats Hands ftill whilft the veffel goes on j but it muff:
be time and experience that can realize the expectations
fuggefted by thefe contrivances.
AERSCHOT,
AES [ 230 ] AES
Aen'diot AERSCHOT, a town of the Auftrian Netherlands
. N. in the duchy of Brabant, and capital of the duchy of
t -Jc^incs-i Aerfchot. It is feated on the river Demur, ten miles
eaft of Malines or Mechlin, and eight north of Lou¬
vain. E. Long. 5. 44. N. Lat. 51.
iERUGINOUS, an epithet given to fuch things as
referable or partake of the nature of the ruft of copper.
iERUGO, in Natural Hi/lory, properly fignifies
the rutt of copper, whether natural or artificial. The
former is found about copper mines, and the latter,
called verdigris, made by corroding copper plates with
C ALRUSCATORES, in Antiquity, a kind of ftrol-
ling beggars, not unlike gypfies, who drerv money from
the credulous by fortune-telling, &c. It was alfo a
denomination given to griping exa&or.s, or colledtors
of the revenue. The Galli, or priefts of Cybele, were
called cerufcatores magnce matris; and (tYiT^ctyvQcti, on
account of their begging or collefting alms in the
ftreets j to which end they had little bells to draw
people’s attention, fimilar to fome orders of mendicants
abroad.
AERY, or Airy, among fportfmen. See Airy.
ALS UXOR1UM, in Antiquity, a fum paid by bache¬
lors, as a penalty for living Angle to old age. This
tax for not marrying feems to have been firft impofed
in the year of Rome 350, under the cenforthip of M.
Furius Camillus and M. Pofthumus. At the cenfus,
or review of the people, each perfon was alked, Et tu
ex anima fentenlia uxorem habes liberum qucerendorum
caufa ? He who had no wife was hereupon fined after a
certain rate, called ees uxorium.
JEs per et libram was a formula in the Roman law,
whereby purchafes and fales were ratified. Originally
the phrafe feems to have been only ufed in fpeaking of
things fold by weight, or by the fcales: but it after¬
wards was ufed on other occafions. Hence even in
adoptions, as there was a kind of imaginary purchafe,
the formula thereof expreffed, that the perfon adopted
was bought per ces et libram.
JEs Flavum, yellow copper, among the Romans, an
appellation given to the coarfer kinds of brafs.
The ancients had different kinds of brafs, as tes can-
didum, tes Corinthium, denoting probably different metal¬
lic alloys or mixtures.
JEs Caldarium, a term ufed by the German minera-
lifts, for a fubftance which fometimes occurs to thofe
who work upon cobalt, and is ufed for making the fine
blue colour called fmalt.
JEs UJlum, a chemical preparation, made of thin
leaves of copper, fulphur, and nitre, placed Jlratum fu-
per Jlratum in a crucible, and fet in a charcoal fire till
all the fulphur is confirmed 5 after which, the copper
is taken out of the crucible, and reduced to powder.
Some quench the leaves of copper in vinegar, and re¬
peat the calcination.—Its principal ufe is in colouring
glafs, to which it gives a beautiful tin&ure. The fur-
geons ufe it as a deterfive, and fome have given it in¬
ternally j but it is certainly a very dangerous medicine,
and fhould be avoided.
ALSCHINES, an Athenian, a Socratic philofopher,
the fon of Charinus a faufage-maker. He was conti¬
nually with Socrates •, which occafioned this philofo¬
pher to fay, that the faufage-maker’s fon was the only
perfon who knew how to pay a due regard to him.
It is faid that poverty obliged him to go to Sicily to
Dionyfius the tyrant •, and that he met with great
contempt from Plato, but was extremely well received
by Ariftippus j to whom he fhowed fome of his dia¬
logues, and received from him a handfome reward.
He would not venture to profefs philofophy at Athens,
Plato and Ariftippus being in fuch high efteem ; but
he opened a fchool in which he taught philofophy to
maintain himfelf. He afterwards wrote orations for
the forum. Phrynicus, in Photius, ranks him amongft
the belt orators, and mentions his orations as the ftan-
dard of the pure Attic ftyle. Hermogenes has alfo
fpoken very highly of him. He wrote befides feveral
Dialogues, of which there are only three extant :
1. Concerning virtue, whether it can be taught.
2. Eryxias, or Erafiftratus : concerning riches, whe¬
ther they are good. 3. Axiochus 5 concerning death,
whether it is to be feared. Mr Le Clerc has given a
Latin tranflation of them, with notes and feveral dif-
fertations, entitled Sylvee Philologicce.
AESCHINES, a celebrated Grecian orator, was born
at Athens 327 years before the Chriftian era. Ac¬
cording to his own account, he was of diftinguiftied
birth ; according to that of Demofthenes, he was the
fon of a courtezan, and a humble performer in a com¬
pany of comedians. But whatever was the true hiftory
of his birth and early life, his talents, which W'ere con-
fiderable, procured him great applaufe, and enabled him
to be a formidable rival to Demofthenes himfelf. The
two orators, infpired probably with mutual jealoufy
and animofity, became at laft the ftrenuous leaders of
oppofing parties. ALfchines was accufed by Demof¬
thenes of having received money as a bribe, when he
was employed on an embaffy to Philip of Macedon.
He indireftly retaliated the charge, by bringing an ac-
cufation againft Cteiiphon the friend of Demofihenes
for having moved a decree, contrary to the laws, to con¬
fer on Demofthenes a golden crown, as a mark of pu¬
blic approbation. A numerous affembly of judges and
citizens met to hear and decide the queftion: each ora¬
tor employed all his powers of eloquence ; but De¬
mofthenes, with fuperior talents, and with juftice on
his fide, was viftorious; and Aifchines was lent into
exile. The refentment of Demofthenes was now foft-
ened into generous kindnefs j for when ALfchines was
going into banilhment, he requefted him to accept of
a fum of money 5 which made him exclaim, 11 How do
I regret leaving a country where I have found an ene¬
my fi> generous, that I muft defpair of ever meeting
with a friend who {hall be like him !”
AEfchines opened a fchool of eloquence at Rhodes,
which was the place of his exile, and he commenced
his le&ures by reading to his audience the two ora¬
tions which had been the caufe of his banifhment.
His own oration received great praife 5 but that of
Demofthenes was heard with boundlefs applaufe. In
fo trying a moment, when vanity muft be fuppofed to
have been deeply wounded, with a noble generofity of
fentiment, he faid, “ What would you have thought
if you had heard him thunder out the words himfelf.”
—AEfchines afterwards removed to Samos, where he
died, in the 75th year of his age. Three of his ora¬
tions only are extant. His eloquence is not without
energy,
AES [23
^chines, energy, but it is diffufe and ornamented, and more
jEfchylus. calculated to pleafe than to move the paffions. {Gen.
" Biog.') , . .
iESCHYLUS, the tragic poet, was born at Athens.
The time of his birth is not exactly afcertained; fome
fuppofe that it was in the 65th, others in the 70th
Olympiad; but according to Stanley, who follows the
Arundelian marbles, he was born in the 63d Olym¬
piad. He was the fon of Euphorian, and brother to
Cynegirus and Aminias, who diftinguilhed themfelves
in the battle of Marathon, and the fea-fight of Salamis,
at which engagements iEfchylus was likewife prefent.
In this lalt action, according to Diodorus Siculus,
Aminias, the younger of the three brothers, command¬
ed a fquadron of (hips, and fought with fo much con-
duft and' bravery, that he funk the admiral of the Per-
fian fleet, and fignalized himfelf above all the Athe¬
nians. To this brother our poet was, upon a particu¬
lar occafion, obliged for faving his life: i®han re¬
lates, that TEfchylus being charged by the Athenians
with certain blafphemous expreflions in fome of his
pieces, was accufed of impiety, and condemned to be
ftoned to death : They were juft going to put the fen-
tence in execution, when Aminias, with a happy pre¬
fence of mind, throwing afide his cloak, Ihowed his
arm without a hand, which he had loft at the battle of
Salamis in defence of his country. This fight made
fuch an impreflion on the judges, that, touched with
the remembrance of his valour, and with the friend-
(hip he (bowed for his brother, they pardoned iTTchy-
lus. Our poet, however, refented the indignity of this
profecution, and refolved to leave a place where his
life had been in danger. He became more determi-
ned in this refolution when he found his pieces lefs
pleafing to the Athenians than thofe of Sophocles,
though a much younger writer. Some affirm, that
./Efchylus never fat down to compofe but when he had
drank liberally. He wrote a great number .of trage¬
dies, of which there are but feven remaining: and
notwithftanding the (harp cenfures of fome critics, he
muft be allowed to have been the father of the tragic
art. In the time of Thefpis, there was no public
theatre to a& upon ; the ftrollers driving about from
place to place in a cart. ./Efchylus furnifhed hjs act¬
ors with ma(ks, and dreffed them fuitably to their cha¬
racters. He likewife introduced the bulkin, to make
them appear more like, heroes.— The ancients gave
iEfchylus alfo the praife of having been the firft who
removed murders and (hocking fights from the eyes of
the fpeCtators. He is faid likewife to have leflened
the number of the chorus. M. Le Fevre has obfery-
ed, that iEfcbylus never reprefented women in love in
his tragedies; which, he (ays, was not fuited to his ge¬
nius ; but, in reprefenting a woman tranfported with
fury, he was incomparable. Longinus fays, that
^Efchylus has a noble boldnefs of expreffion ; and that
his imagination is lofty and heroic. It muft be owned,
however, that he affeCVed pompous words, and that his
fenfe is too often obfcured by figures : this gave Sal-
mafius occafion to fay, that he was more difficult to
be underftood than the Scripture itfelf. But notwith¬
ftanding thefe imperfedions, this poet was held in
great veneration by the Athenians, who made a public
decree that his tragedies (hould be played after his
death. He was killed in the 69th year of his age, by
Aftbp.
i ^ AES
an eagle letting fall a tortoife upon his head as he was JEfchylus
walking in the fields. He had the honour of a pom¬
pous funeral from the Sicilians, who buried him near
the river Gela ; and the tragedians of the country per¬
formed plays and theatrical exercifes at his tomb.-—
The belt edition of his plays is that of London, 1663,
folio, with a Latin tranflation and a learned commen¬
tary by Thomas Stanley.
yESCHYNOMENE, Bastard sensitive plant,
in Botany. See Botany Index.
yESCULAPIUS, in the heathen mythology, the
god of phyfic, was the fon of Apollo and the nymph
Coronis. He was educated by the centaur Chiron,
who taught him phyfic ; by which means yEfculapius
cured the moft defperate difeafes. But Jupiter, enraged
at his reftoring to life Hippolitus, who had been torn
in pieces by his owTn horfes, killed him with a thunder¬
bolt. According to Cicero, there were three deities
of this name : the firft, the fon of Apollo, worlhipped
in Arcadia, who invented the probe, and bandages for
wounds; the fecond, the brother of Mercury, killed
by lightning; and the third, the fon of Arifippus and
Arfinoe, who firft taught the art of. tooth-drawing
and purging. At Epidaurus, ./Efculapius’s ftatue was
of gold and ivory, with a long beard, his head fur-
rounded with rays, holding in one hand a knotty flick,
and the other entwined with a ferpent; he was feated
on a throne of the fame materials as his ftatue, and
had a dog lying at his feet. Fhe Romans crowned
him with laurel, to reprefent his defcent from Apol¬
lo ; and the Phliafians reprefented him as beardlefs.
The cock, the raven, and the goat, were facred to this
deity. His chief temples were at Pergamus, Smyrna,
Trica a city in Ionia, and the ifle of Coos; in all
which votive tablets were hungup, (bowing the difeafes
cured by his affiftance. But his moft famous (brine
was at Epidaurus ; where, every five years, games were
inftituted to him, nine days after the Ifthmian games at
Corinth.
iESCULUS, theHoRSE-CHESNUT, in Botany. See
Botany Index.
TESOP, the Phrygian, lived in the time of Solon,
about the 50th Olympiad, under the reign of Croefus
the laft king of Lydia. As to genius and abilities, he
was greatly indebted to nature ; but in other refpe£ts
not fo fortunate, being born a (lave and extremely de¬
formed. St Jerome, (peaking of him, fays he was un¬
fortunate in his birth, condition in life, and death;
hinting thereby at his deformity, fervile date, and tra¬
gical end. His great genius, however, enabled him
to fupport his misfortunes ; and in order to alleviate
the hardftiips of fervitude, he compofed thofe entertain¬
ing and inftru&ive fables which have acquired him fo
much reputation. He is generally fuppofed to have
been the inventor of that kind of writing ; but this is
contefted by feveral, particularly Quintilian, who feems
to think that Hefiod was the firft author of fables.
iEfop, however, certainly improved this art to a very
great degree ; and hence it is that he has been ac¬
counted the author of this fort of productions :
JEfopus auclor quam materiam reperit,
Hanc ego polivi verjibus fenanis.
Mine is the tafk, in eafy verfe,
The tales of iEfop to rehearfe.
Piled.
The
AES [ 232 ] A E T
The firft mafter whom jTlfop ferVed, was one Cara-
fius Demarchus, an inhabitant of Athens •, and there,
in all probability, he acquired his purity in the Greek,
tongue. After him he had feveral mailers ; and at length
came under a philofopher named Idmon or ladmon, who
enfranchifed him. After he had recovered his liberty,
he foon acquired a great reputation amongll the Greeks j
fo that, according to Meziriac, the report of his wif-
dom having reached Croefus, he fent to enquire after
him, and engaged him in his fervice. He travelled
through Greece, according to the fame author 5 whe¬
ther for his own pleafure, or upon the affairs of Crcefus,
is uncertain and palling by Athens foon after Pifi-
llratus had ufui'ped the fovereign power, and finding
that the Athenians bore the yoke very impatiently, he
told them the fable of the frogs who petitioned Jupiter
for a king. The images made ufe of by ALfop are cer¬
tainly very happy inventions to inllruft mankind they
poflefs all that is neceffary to perfeft a precept, having
a mixture of the ufeful with the agreeable. “ Aifop
the fabulift (fays Aulus Gellius) was defervedly elleem-
ed wife, fince he did not, after the manner of the phi-
lofophers, rigidly and imperioully diflate fuch things
as were proper to be advifed and perfuaded ; but fram¬
ing entertaining and agreeable apologues, he thereby
charms and captivates the human mind.”—Atfop was
put to death at Delphi. Plutarch tells us, that he came
there with a great quantity of gold and filver, being
ordered by Croefus to offer a facrifice to Apollo, and
to give a confiderable fum to each inhabitant: but a
quarrel arifing betwixt him and the Delphians, he fent
back the money to Croefus j for he thought thofe for
whom the prince defigned it, had rendered themfelves
unworthy of it. The inhabitants of Delphi brought
an accufation of facrilege againft him ; and pretending
they had convitffed him, threw him headlong from a
rock. For this cruelty and injuftice, we are told they
were vifited with famine and peltilence ; and confulting
the oracle, they received for anfwer, that the god de¬
figned this as a punilhmentfor their treatment of AEfop :
they endeavoured to make an atonement, by railing a
pyramid to his honour.
Also?, Cloctius, a celebrated a£tor, who flourilhed
about the 670th year of Rome. He and Rolcius
were cotemporaries, and the bell performers who ever
appeared upon the Roman Itage $ the former excelling
in tragedy, the latter in comedy. Cicero put himfelf
under their direftion to perfeft his aftion. AEfop lived
in a moll expenfive manner, and at one entertainment
is faid to have had a dilh which coll above eight hundred
pounds j this dilh, we are told, was filled with finging
and fpeaking birds, fome of which coll near 30I. The
delight which AEfop took in this fort of birds proceed¬
ed, as Mr Bayle obferves, from the expence. He did
not make a dilh of them becaufe they could fpeak, ac¬
cording to the refinement of Pliny upbn this circum-
ftance, this motive being only by accident •, but becaufe
of their extraordinary price. If there had been any
birds that could not fpeak, and yet more fcarce and
dear than thefe, he would have procured fuch for his
table, ^fop’s fon was no lefs luxurious than his fa¬
ther, for he diffolved pearls for his guells to fwallow.
Some fpeak of this as a common pra&ice of his ; but
others mention his falling into this excefs only on a
particular day, when he was treating his friends. Ho¬
race * fpeaks only of one pearl of great value, which A
he diffolved in vinegar, and drank. AEfop, notwith- I
Handing his expences, is faid to have died worth above ^
160,000k When he was upon the llage, he entered * Sat
into his part to fuch a degree, as fometimes to be feizedlib. ii
with a perfect ecllacy : Plutarch mentions it as report¬
ed of him, that whilll he was reprefenting Atreus de¬
liberating how he Ihould revenge himfelf on Thyelles,
he was fo tranfported beyond himfelf in the heat of
aflion, that with his truncheon he fmote one of the
fervants crofling the llage, and laid him dead on the
fpot.
AESTIMAITO CAPITIS, a term met with in old
law books for a fine anciently ordained to be paid for
offences committed againlt perfons of quality, accord¬
ing to their feveral degrees.
AESTIVAL, in a general fenfe, denotes fomething
conne6ted with, or belonging to, furamer. Hence, aefti-
val fign, aeftival folftice, &c.
AESTUARIA, in Geography, denotes an arm of
the fea, which runs a good way within land. Such is
the Briftol channel, and many of the friths of Scotland.
AESTUARIES, in ancient baths, were fecret paf-
fages from the hypocauftum into the chambers.
AESTUARY, among phyficians, a vapour bath, or
any other inftrument for conveying heat to the body.
AESYMNIUM, in antiquity, a monument ere£ied
to the memory of the heroes by AEfymnus the Mega-
rean. He, confulting the oracle in what manner the
Megareans might be moft happily governed, was an-
fwered, If they held confultation with the more nume¬
rous : whom he taking for the dead, built the faid mo¬
nument, and a fenate-houfe that took within its compals
the monument j imagining, that thus the dead would
aflift at their confultations. (Paufanias).
AETH, or Ath, a ftrong little town in the Au-
ftrian Netherlands and province of Hainault, fituatedon
the river Dender, about twenty miles fouth-weft of
Bruffels.
AETHALIA, or Ilua, in Ancient Geography, now
Elba ; an ifland on the coafl of Etruria, in compafs an
hundred miles, abounding in iron. It was fo called
from ctiS-xXr), fmoke, which iffued from the (hops of
Vulcan.
AETHELSTAN, fee Athelstan.
AETHER, is ufually underftood of a thin, fubtile
matter, or medium, much finer and rarer than air j
which commencing from the limits of our atmofphere,
poffeffes the whole heavenly fpace.—The word is Greek,
uiirig, fuppofed to be formed from the verb aikiy, “ to
burn, to flame 5” fome of the ancients, particularly A-
naxagoras, fuppofing it to be of the nature of fire.
The philofophers cannot conceive that the larged
part of the creation (hould be perfe6lly void 5 and there¬
fore they fill it with a fpecies of matter under the de¬
nomination of cether. But they vary extremely as to
the nature and chara6ler ef this aether. Some con¬
ceive it as a body^az generis, appointed only to fill up
the vacuities between the heavenly bodies 5 and there¬
fore confined to the regions above our atmofphere.
Others fuppofe it of fo fubtile and penetrating a nature,
as to pervade the air and other bodies, and poffefs the
pores and intervals thereof. Others deny the exiftence
of any fuch fpecific matter $ and think the air itfelf, by
that immenfe tenuity and expanfion it is found capable
JEther
A E T
[
A E T
J^ther.
of may diffufe itfelf through the interftellar fpaces, and
' be the only matter found therein.
In effect, aether, being no objeft of our fenfe, but
the mere work of imagination, brought only upon the
ftage for the fake of hypothefis, or to folve foroe phe¬
nomenon, real or imaginary ; authors take the liberty
to modify it how they pleafe. Some fuppofe it of <m
elementary nature, like other bodies ; and only diftin-
guilhed by its tenuity, and the other affe&ions confe-
quent thereon: which is the philofophieal aether. O-
thers will have it of another fpeeies, and not elemen¬
tary ; but rather a fort of fifth element, of a purer,
more refined, and fpirituous nature, than the fubftances
about our earth *, and void of the common affe&ions
thereof, as gravity, &c. The heavenly fpaces being
the fuppofed region or refidence of a more exalted clals
of beings, the medium muft be more exalted in propor¬
tion. Such is the ancient and popular idea of tether,
or a;thereal matter.
The term cetJ/er being thus embarraffed with a va¬
riety of ideas, and arbitrarily applied to fo many dif¬
ferent things, the later and feverer philofophers choofe
to fet it afide, and in lieu thereof fubftitute other more
determinate ones. 1 hus, the Cartefians ufe the term
materia fubtilis ; which is their aether : and Sir Ifaac
Newton, fometimes a fubtile fpirit , as in the clofe of
his Principia ; and fometimes a fubtile or cethereul me¬
dium, as in his Optics.
Heat, Sir Ifaac Newton obferves, is communicated
through a vacuum almoft as readily as through air : but
fuch communication cannot be without fome interja¬
cent body, to aft as a medium. And fuch body may
be fubtile enough to penetrate the pores of glafs, and
may permeate thofe of all other bodies, and confequent-
ly be diffufed through all the parts of fpace.
The exiftence of fuch an aethereal medium being fet¬
tled, that author proceeds to its properties *, inferring
it to be not only rarer and more fluid than air, but ex¬
ceedingly moredaftic and aftive ; in virtue of which
properties he (hows, that a great part of the phenome¬
na of nature may be produced by it. To the weight,
e. g. of this medium, he attributes gravitation, or the
weight of all other bodiesand to its elallicity the
elaftic force of the air and of nervous fibres, and the
emiflion, refraftion, refleftion, and other phenomena
of light •, as alfo, fenfation, mufcular motion, &c. In
fine, this fame matter feems the prifnum mobile, the firft
fource or fpring of phyfical aftion in the modern fyftem.
The Cartefian aether is fuppofed not only to pervade,
but adequately to fill, all the vacuities of bodies: and
thus to make an abfolute plenum in the univerfe.
But Sir Ifaac Newton overturns this opinion, from
divers confiderations •, by fhowing, that the celeftial
fpaces are void of all fenfible refiflance : and, hence it
follows, that the matter contained therein muft be im-
menfely rare, in regard therefiftance of bodies is chief¬
ly as their denfity : fo that if the heavens were thus
adequately filled with a medium or matter, how fubtile
foever, they would refift the motion of the planets and
comets much more than quickfilver or gold. But it
has been fuppofed that what Newton has faid of tether
is to be confidered only as a conjefture, and efpecially
as no new proofs of its exiftence have been adduced
fince his time
The late difcoveries in eleftxicity have thrown great
Voe. I. Part I.
33 1 . ,
light upon this fubjeft, and rendered it extremely pro¬
bable that the aether fo often talked of is no other than
the eleftric fluid, or folar light, which diffufes itfelf
throughout the whole fyftem of nature.
iETHER, in Chemijlry, a light, volatile, and very
inflammable liquid, produced by diftillation of acids
with reftified fpirit of wine. See Chemistry Index.
ALTHEREAL,iExHEREUs,fomething that belongs
to, or partakes of, the nature of iExHER. 'J hus we
fay, the cetherealfpace, cethereal regions, &c.
Some of the ancients divided the univerfe, with re-
fpeft to the matter contained therein, into elementary
and aethereal.
Under the aethereal world was included all that fpace
above the uppermoft element, viz. fire. This they
fuppofed to be perfeftly homogeneous, incorruptible,
unchangeable, &c. T he Chaldees placed an aethereal
world between the empyreum and the region of the
fixed ftars. Befides which, they fometimes alfo fpeak
of a fecond aethereal world, meaning by it the ftarry orb:
and a third aethereal world, by which is meant the pla¬
netary region.
^ETHIOPIA. See Ethiopia and Abyssinia.
yETHIQPS, Mineral, Martial, and Antimonial,
See Chemistry Index.
iETHUSA, Fool’s Parsley, in Botany. See Bo¬
tany Index.
AETTANS, in church hiftory, a branch of Arians,
who maintained that the Son and Holy Ghoft are in
all things diffimilar to the Father. See Aetius.
AETIOLOGY, is that part of pathology which is
employed in exploring the caufes of difeafes.
AETTON, a celebrated painter, who has left us an
excellent pifture of Roxana and Alexander, which he
exhibited at tbe Olympic games •, it reprefents a mag¬
nificent chamber, where Roxana is fitting on a bed of a
moft fpiendid appearance, which is rendered ftill more
brilliant by her beauty. She looks downwards, in a
kind of confufion, being ftruck with the prefence of
Alexander Handing before her. A number of little Cu¬
pids flutter about, fome holding up the curtain, as if
to fhow Roxana to the prince, whilft others are bufied
in undrefling the lady j fome pull Alexander by the
cloak, who appears like a young bafhful bridegroom,
and prefent him to his miftrefs : he lays his crown at
her feet, being accompanied by Epheftion, who holds
a torch in his hand, and leans upon a youth, who re¬
prefents Hymen. Several other little Cupids are re-
prefented playing with his arms •, fome carry his lance,
Hooping under fo heavy a weight •, others bear along
his buckler, upon which one of them is feated, whom
the reft carry in triumph ; another lies in ambufti in his
armour, waiting to frighten the reft as they pafs by.
This pifture gained Action fo much reputation, that
the prefident of the games gave him his daughter in
marriage.
iETTTES, or Eagle-stone, in Natural Hifory,
a flinty or cruftated ftone, hollow within, and contain¬
ing a nucleus, which, on {baking, rattles within. It
at as formerly in repute for feveral extraordinary magi¬
cal as Avell as medical powers •, fuch as preventing abor¬
tion, difcovering thieves, and other ridiculous proper¬
ties. The Avord is formed from “ eagle,” the
popular tradition being, that it is found in the eagle’s
neft, Avhither it is fuppofed to be carried while the fe-
G g male
234
it
jEtna.
A E T [
iEtites male fits, to prevent her eggs from being rotten
is found in feveral parts: near Trevoux in France, one
mimj can fcarcely dig a new feet, without finding confiderable
ftrata or beds of the coarfer or ferruginous kind. '1 hey
are originally foft, and of the colour of yellow ochre.
But the fineft: and moft valued of all the eagle-ftones,
are accidental ftates of one or other of our common
pebbles.
AETIUS, one of the moft zealous defenders of
Arianifm, was born in Syria, and flouriftied about the
year 336. After being fervant to a grammarian, of
whom he learned grammar and logic, he was ordained
deacon, and at length bifhop, by Eudoxus patriarch of
Conftantinople. Aetius was banilhed into Phrygia on
account of his religious opinions 5 but was recalled from
exile on the acceffion of Julian, and was much efteem-
ed by that emperor. He died, it is fuppofed, at Con¬
ftantinople, about the year 366. St Epiphanius has
preferved 47 of his propofitions againft the Trinity.
His followers were called Aetians.
Aetius, a famous phyfician, born at Amida in Me-
fopotamia, and the author of a work entitled Tetra-
biblos, which is a collection from the writings of thofe
phyficians who went before him. He lived, according
to Dr Freind, at the end of the fifth or the beginning
of the 6th century.
Aetius, governor of Gallia Narbonenfisin the reign
of Valentinian III. forced the Franks who were palling
into Gaul to repafs the Rhine. He defeated the Goths;
and routed Attila king of the Huns, who invaded Gaul
with an army of 700,000 men. But the emperor,
jealous of the merit of this great man, killed him in
454, with his own hand, under the pretence that he
had permitted the invafion of the Huns, after Attila’s
defeat,
iETNA, (in the Itineraries JEthana, fuppofed from
xiiu, “ to burn according to Bochart, from athuna,
a furnace, or a?tuna, darknefs), now Monte Gibello :
a volcano or burning mountain of Sicily, fituated in
N. Lat. 38°. E. Long. 150.
This mountain, famous from the remoteft antiquity,
both for its bulk and terrible eruptions, ftands in the
eaftern part of the ifiand, in a very extenfive plain, cal¬
led Va/ di Demoni, from the notion of its being inhabi¬
ted by devils, who torment the fpirits of the damned in
the bowels of this volcano.
Inconfiftent Concerning the dimenfions of Mount ./Etna, we can
accounts fcarcely extraft any thing confiftent, even from the ac-
conceming counts of the lateft and moft ingenious travellers. Pin-
nideof8™* C^ar, 'vk° ^'vec* abotft 435 years before Chrift, calls it
Etna. th*3 Pillar of Heaven, on account of its great height
All modern writers likewife agree, that this mountain
is very high, and very large ; but differ much both
as to its height and magnitude : fome making it no
lefs than twelve miles high, others eight, others fix,
fome four ; while Mr Brydone, and Sir William Ha¬
milton, who lately afcended to its higheft fummit,
reduce its height to little more than two miles ; nay
by fome it is reduced to 10,036 feet, fomewhat lefs
than two miles. No lefs remarkable are the differ¬
ences concerning its circumference : fome making it
only 60 miles round, others 100; and Signior Recupe-
ro, from whom Mr Brydone had his information in
this refpedl, affirms it to be no lefs than 183 miles in
circuit.
-Etna.
] A E T
We are forry to detraft from the merit of Mr Bry-
done, or to involve in obfcurity w'hat he lias been at ^
fo much pains to elucidate; but every perfon who com¬
pares the account of Mount ^Etna’s circumference, gi¬
ven by Signior Recupero, and to which Mr Brydone
feems to have affented, with its apparent circumference
on the map prefixed to that gentleman’s tour through
Sicily and Malta, muft at once be ftruck with the pro¬
digious difparity. Indeed, it is plain, that in the map,
the geographer has not left room for any fuch moun¬
tain : nor can we help thinking, that, by comparing
the diftances of fome of the Sicilian towns from one
another, Signior Recupero’s dimenfions will be found
enormoufly exaggerated.—Certain it is, that where the
geographer has placed Catania, which ftands at the foot
of Mount Aitna, on one fide, there is no more than 28
miles from the moft diftant point of the river Alcan¬
tara, which forms the boundary on the oppofite fide;
fo that a circle, whofe radius is 14 or 15 miles, muft
encompafs as much fpace as we can poffibly think is
occupied by the bafis of Mount ALtna. Thus we (hall
reduce the circumference of this famous mountain to
between 80 and 90 miles ; and even when we do fo, it
is perhaps too great.
But if we are embarraffed with the circumference of
./Etna, ive are much more fo with the accounts relating
to its height; and one circumftance, particularly, cre¬
ates almoft unfurmountable difficulties. It is agreed up¬
on by all travellers, and among the reft by Sir \\ illiam
Hamilton, that, from Catania, where the afcent firft
begins, to the fummit, is not lefs than 30 miles. '1 he
defcent on the other fide we have no account of; but,
whatever fuppofition we make, the height of the moun¬
tain muft be prodigious. If we fuppofe it likewife to be
30 miles, and that Mount /Etna can be reprefented by
an equilateral triangle, each of ivhofe lides is 30 miles,
we will have an amazing elevation indeed, no lefs than
26 miles perpendicular ! Such a height being beyond
all credibility, we muft contradt the fides of our tri¬
angle, in proportion to its bafis. We ftiall begin with
allowing ten miles for the difference between a ftraight
line from Catania to the fummit, and the length of
the road, occafioned by the inequalities of the moun¬
tain ; and fuppofing the defcent on the other fide to be
fomewhat ftiorter, we may call it 15 miles. Mount
/Etna will now be reprefented by a fcalene triangle,
whofe bafe is 30 miles, its longeft fide 20, and its
ffiorteft 15; from which proportions we will ftill find
its height to be betwixt eight and nine miles.—This is .
ftill incredible : and when all the various relations con-
cerning the height of /Etna are compared, we hope it
will not be thought prefumptuous in us to give it as
our opinion, that the true dimenfions of this mountain
are as yet unknown. The following meafures are given
by different authors.
Height above the furface of the fea, 10,036 feet.
One hundred and eighty miles circumference at the
bafe.—Faujas de St Fond, in his Volcans du Vivarais.
Height 12,000 feet.—Brydone. Tour to Sicily.
Height 2500 toifes.—La Platriere, faid as from Re¬
cupero.
Height 1950 toifes.—Diameter 30 miles.—Mentelle
Geogr. comp.
Others make its height only 2000 toifes, and its fu-
perficies 300 fquare miles.
Concerning
uncertain.
General ap¬
pearance,
8tc.
Crater de-
| fcribed.
A E T [23
Concerning the produ&s and general appearance of
this volcano, authors are much better agreed.—The
iourney from Catania to its fummit has been lately de-
fcribed by feveral travellers, M. D’Orville, Mr Bry-
done, Sir William Hamilton, M. Houel, and the
abbe Spallanzani. They all agree, that this Angle
mountain affords an epitome of the different climates
throughout the whole world : towards the foot, it is
extremely hot ; farther up, more temperate j and grows
gradually more and more cold the higher vye afcend.
At the very top, it is perpetually covered with fnow :
from thence the whole ifland is fupplied with that ar¬
ticle, fo neceffary in a hot climate, and^ without which
the natives fay Sicily could not be inhabited. So
great is the demand for this commodity, that the bi-
fhop’s revenues, which are confiderable, arife from the
fale of Mount Etna’s fnow ; and he is faid to draw
1000I. a-year from one fmall portion lying on the north
fide of the mountain. Great quantities of fnow and
ice are like wife exported to Malta and Italy, making
a confiderable branch of commerce. On the north
fide of this fnowy region, Mr Brydone was affured
that there are feveral fmall lakes which never thaw ;
and that the fnow, mixed with the allies and fait of the
mountain are accumulated to a vaft depth. The quan¬
tity of falts contained in this mountain, he, with great
probability, conje&ures to be one reafon of the prefer-
vation of its fnows •, for fait increafes the coldnefs of
fnow to a furprifing degree.
In the middle of the fnowy region Hands the great
crater, or mouth of i*£tna ; from which, though con¬
trary to the ufual method of travellersi, we lhall begin
our particular account of this mountain. Sir William
Hamilton defcribes the crater as a little mountain,
about a quarter of a mile perpendicular, and very fteep,^
fituated in the middle of a gently inclining plain, of
about nine miles in circumference. It is entirely form¬
ed of Hones and aflies j and, as he was informed
by feveral people of Catania, had been thrown up
about 25 or 30 years before the time (1769) he vi-
fited Mount ALtna. Before this mountain was thrown
up, there was only a prodigious large chafm, or gulf,
in the middle of the above-mentioned plain and it has
been remarked, that about once in 10O years the top
of iEtna falls in •, which undoubtedly muH be the cafe
at certain periods, or the mountain behoved continually
to increafe in height. As this little mountain, though
emitting fmoke from every pore, appeared folid and firm,
Sir William Hamilton and his companions went up to
the very top. In the middle is a hollow, about two miles
and a half in circumference, according to Sir William
Hamilton ; three miles and a half, according to Mr Bry¬
done •, and three or four, according to Mr D’Orville.
The infide is cruHed over with falts and fulphur of dif¬
ferent colours. It goes (helving down from the top,
like an inverted cone j the depth, in Sir W. Hamilton’s
opinion, nearly correfponding to the height of the
little mountain. From many places of this fpace iffue
volumes of fulphurous fmoke, which being much hea¬
vier than the circumambient air, infiead of afcending
in it, roll down the fide of the mountain, till, coming
to a more denfe atmofpbere, it flioots off horizontally,
and forms a large track in the air, according to the di-
re&ion of the wind 5 which, happily for our travellers,
carried it exa£tly to the fide oppofite to which they
Jutna.
Si A E T
were placed. In the middle of this funnel is the tre¬
mendous and unfathomable gulf, fo much celebrated,
in all ages, both as the terror of this life, and the place
of punilhment in the next. From this gulf continually
iffue terrible and confufed noifes, which in eruptions
are increafed to fuch a degree as to be heard at a pro¬
digious diflance. Its diameter is probably very differ¬
ent at different times : for Sir W. Hamilton obferved,
by the wind clearing away the fmoke from time to time, ^
that the inverted hollow cone was contra&ed almoff to
a point j while Mr D’Orville and Mr Brydone found
the opening very large. Both Mr Brydone and Sir W.
Hamilton found the crater too hot to defcend into it ;
but Mr D’Orville was bolder : and accordingly he
and his fellow traveller, faffened to ropes which two or
three men held at a diflance for fear of accidents, de-
fcended as near as poflible to the brink of the gulf;
but the fmall flames and fmoke which iffued from it on
every fide, and a greenilh fulphur, and pumice Hones,
quite black, which covered the margin, would not
permit them to come fo near as to have a full view.
They only faw diffindlly, in the middle, a mafs of
matter which rofe in the (hape of a cone, to the
height of above 60 feet, and which towards thebafe, as
far as their fight could reach, might be 600 or 800 feet.
While they were obferving this fubflance, fome mo¬
tion was perceived on the north fide, oppofite to that
whereon they flood ; and immediately the mountain
began to fend forth fmoke and afhes. Fhis eruption
was preceded by a ienfible increafe of its internal roar¬
ings •, which, however, did not continue 5 but after a
moment’s dilatation, as if to give it vent, the volcano
refumed its former tranquillity •, but as it was by no
means proper to make a long flay in fuch a place, our
travellers immediately returned to their attendants.
On the fummit of Mount /Etna, Sir W\ Hamilton
obferves, that he was fenfible of a difficulty in refpiration
from the too great fubtility of the air, independent of
what arofe from the fulphureous fmoke of the moun¬
tain. Mr Brydone takes no notice of this : which pro¬
bably rofe from the air being in a more rarefied ftate.
at the time of Sir W. Hamilton’s obfervation than of
Mr Brydone’s} the barometer, as obferved by the for¬
mer, Handing at 18 inches and 10 lines, by the latter
at 19 inches 61 lines.
In thefe high regions there is generally a very vio¬
lent wind, which, as all our travellers found it conftant-
ly blowing from the fouth, is perhaps moft frequently
directed from that point. Here Mr Brydone’s thermo¬
meter fell to 270.
The top of /Etna being above the common region Splendour
of vapours, the heavens appear with exceeding great^efr^rs
fplendour.—Mr Brydone and his company obferved, asthetopof
they afcended in the night, that the number of ftars jEtna,
feemed to be indefinitely increafed, and the light of each
of them appeared brighter than ufual; the whitenefs of
the milky-way was like a pure flame which (hot acrofs
the heavens; and, with the naked eye, they could ob-
ferve clufters of flars that were invifible from below.
Had Jupiter been vifible, he is of opinion that (ome of
his fatellites might have been difcovered with the naked
eye, or at lead with a very fmall pocket glafs. He like-
wife took notice of feveral of thofe meteors called foJ-
litig Jiars; which appeared as much elevated as when
viewed from the plain 5 a proof, according to Mr Bry-
G g 2 done,
A E T [ 236 1 A E T
iEtna.
Extenfive
profpect.
Divifion
into three
zones.
Tiegione
deferta.
Regione
i'ylvofa.
done, that “ thefe bodies move in regions much beyond
1 the bounds that fome philofophers have afligned to our
atmofphere.”
To have a full and clear profpedt from the fummit
of Mount JfLtna, it is neceflary to be there before fun-
rife ; as the vapours raifed by the fun, in the day time,
will obfcure every objedt: accordingly, our travellers
took care to arrive there early enough ; and all agree,
that the beauty of the profpedt from thence cannot be
expreffed.—Here Mr Brydone and Sir W. Hamilton
had a view of Calabria in Italy, with the fea beyond it;
the Lipari iflands, and Stromboli, a volcano, at about
'jo miles diftance, appeared juft under their feet 5 the
whole ifland of Sicily, with its rivers, towns, harbours,
&c. appeared diftindl, as if feen on a map. Mafla, a
Sicilian author, affirms, that the African coaft, as well
as that of Naples, with many of its iflands, have been
difcovered from the top of TEtna. The vifible horizon
here is no lei’s than 800 or 900 miles in diameter. The
pyramidal ffiadovv of the mountain reaches acrofs the
whole ifland, and far into the fea on the other fide,
forming a vifible track in the air, which as the fun rifes
above the horizon, is ihortened, and at laft confined to
the neighbourhood of rTitna. The ’moft beautiful part
of the fcene, however, in Mr Brydone’s opinion, is the
mountain itfelf, the ifland of Sicily, and the nume¬
rous iflands lying round it. Thefe laft feem to be clofe
to the Ikirts of /Etna; the diftances appearing reduced
to nothing.
This mountain is divided into three zones, which
might properly enough be diftinguiffied by the names
of torrid, temperate and frigid: they are, however,
known by the names of the Piedmontefe, or Regione
culta, the cultivated or fertile region; the fylvofa,
woody, or temperate zone 5 and the Regione deferta,
the frigid or defert zone or region. All thefe are
plainly diftinguiffied from the fummit. The Regione
deferta, is marked out by a circle of fnow and ice,
which extends on all fides to the diftance of about eight
miles, beginning at the foot of the crater. Great
part of this region is fmooth and even. This is imme¬
diately fucceeded by the fjlvofa, or woody region •,
which forms a circle of the moft beautiful green, fur-
rounding the mountain on all fides. This region is va¬
riegated with a vaft number of mountains of a conical
form, thrown up by /Etna in thofe eruptions which
burft out from its fides. Sir W. Hamilton counted 44
on the Catania fide, each having its crater ; many with
large trees flourifliing both within and without the
crater. All thefe, except a few of late date, have ac¬
quired a wonderful degree ©f fertility. The circum¬
ference of this zone, or great circle, according to Re-
cupero, is not lefs than 70 or 80 miles. It is every¬
where fucceeded by the Regione culta ; which is much
broader than the reft, and extends on all fides to the
foot of the mountain. Here terrible devaftations are
fometimes committed by the eruptions *, and the whole
region is likewife full of conical mountains thrown up
by them. The circumference of this region is, by Re-
cupero, reckoned 183 miles j but we have already gi¬
ven our reafons for rejedling thefe dimenfions.—This
region is bounded by the fea to the fouth and fouth-
eaft ; and on all other fides, by the rivers Semetus and
Alcantara, which form the boundaries of Mount
/Etna.
The woody region defcends eight or nine miles be- ./Etna,
low the Regione deferta, but differs greatly in the tem-
perature of its climate. Sir W. Hamilton obferved a
gradual decreafe of the vegetation as he advanced j the
under part being covered with large timber trees, which
grew gradually lefs as he approached the third region,
and at laft degenerated into the fmall plants of the
northern climates. He alfo obferved quantities of ju¬
niper and tanfy 5 and was informed by his guide, that
later in the feafon (he vifited /Etna in June 1769)
there are a great many curious plants, and in fome
places rhubarb and faffron in great plenty. In Carrera’s
hiftory of Catania, there is a lift of all the plants and
herbs of /Etna.
This region is extolled by Mr Brydone as one of
the moft delightful fpots on earth. He lodged tor a
night in a large cave near the middle, formed by one
of the moft ancient lavas. It is called La Spelonca del
Capriole, or the goats cavern ; becaufe it is frequented
by thofe animals, which take refuge there in bad wea¬
ther. Here his reft was difturbed by a mountain thrown
up in the eruption 1766. It difeharged great quantities
of fmoke, and made feveral explofions like heavy can¬
non fired at a diftance 5 but they could obferve no ap¬
pearance of fire.
This gentlemen likewife vifited the eaftern fide of
the Regione fylvofa, intending to have afeended that
way to the fummit, and defeended again on the fouth
fide to Catania, but found it impraflicable. On this Eruption
fide, part of the woody region was deftroyed in 1 755, °f'J0*‘ing
by an immenfe torrent of boiling water, which if-water
fued from the great crater. Its traces were flill very
vifible, about a mile and a half broad, and in fome
places more. The foil was then only beginning to
recover its vegetative power, which it feems this tor¬
rent had deftroyed for 14 years. Near this place are
fome beautiful woods of cork, and evergreen oak, grow¬
ing abfolutely out of the lava, the foil having hardly
filled the crevices j and not far off, our traveller obfer-
ved feveral little mountains that feemed to have been
formed by a late eruption. Each of thefe had a regu¬
lar cup, or crater, on the top •, and, in fome, the middle
gulf, or voragine, as the Sicilians call it, was ftill
open. Into thefe gulfs Mr Brydone tumbled down
ftones, and heard the noife for a long time after. All
the fields round, to a confiderable diftance, were co¬
vered with large burnt ftones difeharged from thefe
little volcanoes.
The woody region, efpecially the eaft fide, called Over-
Carpinetto, abounds with very large chefnut trees •, the
moft remarkable of which has been called, from its fize, trees>
Cafagno di Cento Cavalli, or chefnut tree of a hun¬
dred horfe. Mr Brydone was greatly difappointed at
the fight of this tree, as it is only a buffi of five large
ones growing together : but his guides affured him,
that all thefe five were once united into one ftem ; and
Signior Recupero told him, that he himfelf had been
at the expence of carrying up peafants with tools to
dig round it, and found all the ftems united below
ground in one root. The circumference, as meafured
by Meff. Brydone and Glover who accompanied him,
amounted to 204 feet. Here the barometer flood at 26
inches 5 lines and a half, indicating an elevation of
near 4000 feet.
The Piedmontefe diftrift is covered with towns, vib keg10r-3
, Culta.
lages,
A E T
[
JEtna.
vabterra-
neons ca.
verns.
Siver Ac is.
Houel’s ob
jfervations.
lagcs, monafteries, &c. and is well peopled, notwith-
* ftandino1 the danger of fuch a fituation •, but the ferti¬
lity of the foil tempts people to inhabit that country }
and their fuperllitious confidence in the laints, with
the propenfity mankind have to defpife danger which
they do not fee, render them as fecure there as in any
other place. Here, Sir William Hamilton obferves,
they keep their vines low, contrary to the cuftom of thofe
who inhabit Mount Vefuvius j and they produce a
llronoer wine, but not in luch abundance : here alfo
many terrible eruptions have burft forth j particularly
one m 1699. At the foot of the mountain raifed by
that eruption, is a hole, through which Sir William
Hamilton defeended, by means of a rope, into leveral
fubterraneous caverns, branching out, and extending
much farther than he cliofe to venture ; the cold there
was exceflive, and a violent wind extinguifhed fome
of the torches. Many other caverns are known in this
and the other regions of ALtna •, particularly one near
this place, called La Spelonca della Palumba, (from the
wild pigeons building their nefts there). Her^ Ml
Brydone was told that fome people had loft their lenfes,
from having advanced too far, imagining they law de¬
vils and damned fpirits.
In this region the river Acts, fo much celebrated by
the poets, in the fable of Acis and Galatea, takes its
rife. It burfts out of the earth at once in a large
ftream, runs with great rapidity, and about a mile from
its fource throws itfelf into the fea. Its water is re¬
markably clear 5 and fo extremely cold, that it is rec¬
koned dangerous to drink it : it is faid, however, _ to
have a poifonous quality, from being impregnated with
vitriol; in confequence of which cattle have been kill¬
ed by it. It never freezes, but is faid often to contract
a greater degree of cold than ice. .
The following additional particulars relating to the
eruptions, magnitude, feenery, and produfts of this ce¬
lebrated volcano, are chiefly colleded from the Voy¬
age Pittorefque of M. Houel, who appears to have
furveyed it with greater accuracy than any former
traveller.
The form of Mount Aitna is that of a cone, very
broad at the bafe, which is more than 40 miles in cir¬
cumference. From the bottom you afeend ten leagues
before reaching its fummit on the fouth fide ; and on
any of the other fides, the way being not fo llraight,
would be confiderably longer, ^tna is entirely com-
pofed of fubftances that have been difeharged from the
volcano in its various explofions.
It appears from the quantities of marine bodies depo-
fited all over the under part of Aidna, that it muft have
been once covered by the fea to at leaft one half of its
prefent height. The whole ifland of Sicily, and the
greateft part of Mount A-tna, have been, in our author s
opinion, formed under water. But the period when t le
eruptions from this volcano firft commenced,^ the man¬
ner in which the fea fubfided, and the precife time at
which it fell fo low as its prefent level on the ftiores of
Sicily, are fafts concerning which we have no certain
knowledge.
The general principle, however, Mr Houel thinks
may be regarded as undeniable. When this mountain
ftoc-d half under water, the currents of the ocean
would gradually accumulate upon it large maffes, both
of its own produ6tions; fuch as (hells, and bones of
3 7 1 A E 1
fiflies, and of various other matters which wouldi be
intermixed with the volcanic matters, difeharged frun\
the focus of the burning mount. In a long feries ot
ages thefe ftrata of heterogeneous matters would na¬
turally become fo confiderable as to form the enor¬
mous mafs of mountains with which the volcano is
now furrounded. The currents of the ocean might
often convey the volcanic matters to a confiderable
diftance from the volcanic focus. And there are moun¬
tains at no imall diftance from ALtna, which feem to
have been produced in this manner. Thofe of Carlin-
tini, at the diftance of 15 leagues, confift chiefly of a
mixture of pozzolano with calcareous matters. At
Lintini, and in places around it, there are diftinft beds
of pozzolana, fcoriae, and real lava, as well as others in
which all thefe matters are blended together in a mafs
of calcareous matter. At Palazzolo, about 24 miles
from the city of Syracufe, the fides of the hills having-
been cut by the ftreams which run down them, in many
places to a confiderable depth, difplay huge mafles ot
lava, and extenfive beds of pozzolana. In the neigh¬
bourhood of Noto there are alfo volcanic produflions
to be found.
At Pachino, where the ifland of Sicily forms an
angle, there is a range of hills extending for leveral.
miles, which confift all of pozzolana.
The province of Val di Noto is more homogeneous in ■
the matters of which its foil confifts, than the two other
dales of Sicily. Thefe, in every hill which they con¬
tain, exhibit a vaft variety of different matters. So
amazing, indeed, is that variety, that they may be
confidered as exhibiting a colle£Hon of fpecimens of all
the different materials which enter into the eompofition
of the globe. In thofe two dales few volcanic pro-
du&ions have been yet obferved. But it is not to be
inferred for this reafon that they contain but few.
They may be hereafter difeovered in great plenty. In
the volcano of water at Maccalubbe, between Ara-
gona and Girginti ; in the baths of Caftellamare, near
Alcamo and Segefte j in the baths of I ermini 5 in the
ifles of Lipari ; in the hot waters of Ali, between
Meflina and Taormina, by the lake in the valley of
Caltagirone ; in all thefe places, which comprehend the
whole circumference of Sicily, the influence of the
volcano of AEtna is, in fome meafure, felt. Nay, it
would even feem, that in thefe places there are fo many
volcanic craters. All of thefe are fo difpofed as to
{how thaf they exifted prior not only to the volcanic
matters, but to the other fubftances intermixed with
them. . . . ..
The waters of the fea have, in former times, rilen
much higher than at prefent. But how they retreated,
or whether they are to continue ftationary at their
prefent height, we know not. For more than 2000
years, during which Sicily has been inhabited, and has
had cities and harbours, the fea has not been ob¬
ferved either to recede or encroach in any confiderable
degree.
When the fea fubfided from Mount Atna, the moun¬
tain muft have been covered over with fuch matters as
the fea ufually depofits ; confequently with calcare¬
ous matters. A part of thofe matters would be in¬
durated by the aftion of the atmofphere, while the
reft would be carried down by the rain waters, and
again conveyed into the ocean. The torrents of rain
6 water
./Etna.
A E T
[ 238 ]
A E T
the moun-j
tain
'Etna, water which pour down the fides of Mount jjEtna have
'   £urrowed its fides, by cutting out for themfelves chan¬
nels j and they have removed from its fummit, and are
ftill removing to a further diftance, all the extraneous
bodies upon it. In many places, they flow at prefent
over a channel of lava, having cut through all the
matters which lay above it : ftill, however, there re¬
main in many places both calcareous matter and other
marine productions, which ftiow that this volcano has
been once covered by the waters of the ocean. But
thefe are daily wafting away ; not only the rains, but
men likewife, who carry them off as materials for lime
and for building, confpire to detace them.
No fewer than 'y'j cities, towns, and villages, are
fcattered over the fides of y^tna. They are molt nu¬
merous on the fouth fide, where the temperature of the
air is milder than on the north. Reckoning thofe ci¬
ties, towns, and villages, one with another, to contain
each 1200 or 1500 fouls, the whole number of the in¬
habitants of Mount yEtna will then be 92,400, or
115 500 But it is certainly much more confiderable.
Accol,„t of Plate IV. fig. .. exhibits a view of the north-eaft
the north-! fide of the mountain, taken at fea.^ The lower part
eaft fide of prefents to the eye very extenfive plains entirely cover-
rh* moun-. jaya 0f different thicknefs, on which vegeta¬
tion has not yet made any progrefs. The nearer the
fhore the more barren is the ground j while the fertili¬
ty of the foil increafes as we advance farther inwards.
The mountain is everywhere full of vaft excavations }
which our author confiders as a proof, that inftead of
increafing in bulk it is aCtually in a ftate of decay
and diminution. The vaft torrents of lava, which
overfpread the fides of it from time to time, he con¬
fiders as infufficient to repair the wafte occafioned by
rains, rivulets, and torrents flowing down from the
fummit. Unlefs the eruptions, therefore, become
more frequent than they have been for fome time paft,
he fuppofes that, by degrees, the height of the moun¬
tain muft be reduced to that of the furrounding beds
of lava. He had not an opportunity of meafuring
the altitude of iEtna himfelf; but he obferves, that
it had been done by the celebrated M. de Sauffure,
who found the elevation to be 10,036 feet. ihis
was done on the 3th of June 1773’ minutes af¬
ter feven in the morning. The height of the barome¬
ter on the moft elevated part at the brink of the cra¬
ter was 18 inches 11^ lines ; which, by the neceffary
corre&ions, is reduced to 18 inches lo^f lines. At
the fame time the mercury at Catania, placed only
one foot above the level of the fea, flood at 28 inches
2rs lines-, which muft be reduced to 28 inches
lines, on account of the neceffary corre&ion for the
thermometer.
From Giana our author had an opportunity of con-
m templating the vaft number of calcareous mounts fcat-
ous matter, tered over that part of yEtna which (he fays_) . are
nothing more than fragments, the flender remains of
thofe enormous maffes which have been depofited all
around the bafe of Mount yEtna ; and are a very curi¬
ous monument of the revolutions which this mountain
has undergone.” They are of a true calcareous na¬
ture and the inhabitants are accuftomed to fupply
themfelves with limeftone from them. They alfo ufe
ftones of which thefe mounts are compofed for the pur-
pofes of building j as the lava is fo hard that it can-
-<Etna.
Suppofed
to be in a
ftate of de
cay.
Sauffbre’s
account of
the height
of yEtna.
Mountains
of calcare-
an  
higheft crater of the mountain. The whole fummit
of yEtna was at that time covered with a thick coating
of fnow. Through this the boiling water dire£ted its
courfe eaftward j and, in its paffage, met with fright¬
ful precipices. Over thefe it dallied with the utmoll
violence, adding its tremendous roaring to the com¬
plicated horrors of this awful feene. The fnow, melt¬
ing inftantaneoufly as the boiling torrent advanced, in-
creafed its deftrudlive power by augmenting its quan¬
tity, while the mifehievous effedls of the heat were
fcarce diminiftied, by reafon of the immenfe quantity of
boiling liquid which continued to pour from the fum¬
mit of the mountain.
This boiling torrent having dallied its awful cata¬
racts from one chain of rocks to another, at length
q o r» n P
not be cut without the greateft difficulty, and they
have no other ftone in thefe parts.
Leaving this place, our author travelled over feveral
extenfive plains of lava, covered on each fide of the
way with Hunted trees, but without any cultivation:
the lava being of that kind which is very unfavourable
to the growth of vegetables. Arriving at St Leonardo,
he obferved the courfe of the eruption of water which
happened in 1755*
This water took its courfe down the weft fide of the Particula
mountain : and the channel which it cut for itfelf isaccounto
ftill vifible. The eruption of water from burning moun-
tains is ftill much lefs frequent than that of lava or ter in I7;
half vitrified folid matters, allies, &c. though that of
water, and even mixed with the fliells of marine ani¬
mals (though we are not told whether it was fait or
not), has fometimes been obferved in other volcanoes,
particularly Vefuvius. The eruption we now fpeak of
happened in the month of February 1755. It was
preceded by an exceedingly thick black Imoke iffuing
from the crater, intermixed with Hallies of lire. This
fmoke gradually became thicker, and the burfts of
flame more frequent. Earthquakes and fubterraneous
thunder convulfed the mountain, and ftruck the in¬
habitants of the adjacent parts with the utmoft terror.
On Sunday the fecond of March, the mountain was
feen to emit a huge column of fmoke, exceedingly
denfe and black, with a dreadful noife in the bowels
of the earth, accompanied alfo with violent Hallies of
lightning. From time to time thefe were loud cracks,
like the explofions of cannon 5 the mountain appeared
to ftiake from its foundations the air on that fide
next Mafcali became very dark, and loud peals of
thunder w'ere heard. Thefe feemed to iffue from two
caverns, confiderably below the fummit, on the fide of
the mountain, and were accompanied with violent blafts
of wind like a tempeft.
Thefe terrible phenomena continued and increafed;
iEtna feemed ready to fwallow up at once all thofe ma¬
terials which it had been for fo many years difgorging,
or rather about to fink at once into the bowels of the
earth from whence it appeared to have been elevated.
The profpeft was far beyond any idea that can be
given by defeription of this tremendous feene. The
inhabitants were alarmed beyond meafure ; the fight
of the flames driven by the winds againft the fides of
the mountain, the ftiocks of the earthquake, and the
fall of rocks, ftruck the imagination with a horror not
to be conceived. During this dreadful commotion,
immenfe torrent of water was emitted from the
A E T [ 239 ] A E T
jEtna. reached the cultivated plains, which it overflowed for
v ^ a number of miles. Here it divided itfeif into feveral
branches, forming as many deep and rapid rivers j
which, after feveral other fubdivifions, difcharged them-
felves into the fea.
Though the mountain continued to difcharge water
in this manner only for half an hour, the ravages of it
\vere very terrible. Not only thofe of common inun¬
dations, fuch as tearing up trees, hurrying along rocks
and large Hones, took place 'here, but the itill more
dreadful effedls of boiling water were felt. Every
cultivated fpot was laid walle, and every thing touched
by it was deftroyed. Even thofe who were placed be¬
yond the reach of the torrent, beheld with inexpreflible
horror the deftruftion occafioned by it •, and though
the alarming noifes which had fo long iflued from the
mountain now ceafed in a great meafure, the (hocks
of earthquakes and the violent fmoke which continued
to iffue from the mountains, (bowed that the danger
was not over. Two new openings were notv obferved,
and two torrents of lava began to make their way
through the fnow.
On the 7th of March a dreadful noife was again
heard in the bowels of the mountain, and a new co¬
lumn of very thick and black (moke began to iffue
from it. A horrid explofion of fmall (tones fucceeded ;
fome of which were carried as far as the hills of Maf-
cali, and great quantities of black fand to Medina,
and even quite over the (trait to Reggio in Calabria.
On the ((lifting of the wind to the northward this
fand reached as far as the plains of Agofta. Two days
after the mountain opened again, and a new torrent of
lava was difcharged j which, however, advanced very
(lowly towards the plain, moving only at the rate of
a mile in a day. It continued to flow in this manner
for fix days, when every thing appeared fo quiet, that
the Canon Recupero fet out to view the changes which
had taken place.
urfe of That gentleman’s defign was to trace the courfe of
12 current the dreadful torrent of water above-mentioned. This
ced by jjg was very eafily enabled to do by the ravages it had
CUPero' made j and, by following the channel it had cut all
the way from the fea to the fummit of the volcano, he
found that this jmmenfe quantity of water had iffued
from the very bowels of the mountain. After iffuing
from the crater, and increafing its dream by pafling
through and melting the fnow which lay immediately
below the fummit, it deflroyed in an inflant a fine and
extenfive fored of fir-trees. All of thefe were torn up
by the violence of the current, though many were no
lefs than 24 or 30 inches in diameter. He obferved
that the great dream had, in its defcent, divided itfeif
into four branches j and thefe had again fubdivided
themfelves into feveral fmaller ones, eafily didinguidi-
able by the quantity of fand they had depofited. Af¬
terwards reuniting their dreams, they formed many
iflands, and rivers 900 feet in breadth, and of a depth
which could not eafily be determined. Proceeding
farther down, and dill forcing its way among the beds
of old lava, the channel of the waters was widened to
1500 feet, until it was again con trailed in the valleys
as before. Every objeft which dood in the way of
this tremendous torrent was moved from its place.
Enormous rocks were not only hurried down, but fe¬
veral of them moved to more elevated fituations than
thofe they formerly occupied. Whole hills of lava Atna.
bad been removed and broken to pieces, and their v
fragments fcattered along the courfe of the river, and
the valleys were filled up by vafi quantities of fand
which the waters had depofited. Our author obferved,
that even at the time he viiited the mountain, about
ten years after the eruption, the whole fide of it dill
bore the marks of this deluge.
On M. Houel’s arrival at Jaci Catena, he inquired
for the phyfician of the place ; it being cudomary for
drangers to do fo who want to learn any thing con- 1
cerning the curiofities of the country, as the phyfi-
cians there are generally thofe who have any preten-
fions to literature. By this guide he was (hown a Account of
well which they call Holy Water. There is a flight a remark-
of deps from the furface of the ground to that of the a^e wel-*
water. This well itfeif is 20 feet wide and 40 feet
deep. It is fupplied by three different fprings, each
of which is faid to have a peculiar tade. The phy¬
fician informed our author, that one of them refem-
bled milk in its tade j another tafled like foap ; and
the third had the tade of common water : but our au¬
thor, after lading each of them, could not. find any re¬
markable difference.
In his vray to La Trizza, our author difcovered Ancient
fome very ancient baths with doves. They had been baths dif-
built here on account of a fpring of warm fulphureous covered*
water, fuppofed to be excellent for the cure of cuta¬
neous diforders *, and for which purpofe they are (till
made ufe of. They are now called the Springs of St Springs of
Venera, of whom there is an image here. The form-St Venera,
tain from which they flow is on a level with the furface
of the ground. The water tades very difagreeably of
fulphur $ and depofites a quantity of white impalpable
powder, adhering to herbs and dones over which it
paffes. This fubdance our author calls the cream of
fulphur; though it is probably a felenitic fubdance
formed by the decompofition of the fulphur, and the
union of its acid with fome calcareous matter which
held it in folution before.
From this place our author proceeded to the fea-port Bafaltic
of Trizza, a fmall place, which with the adjacent coun- rocks about
try contains only about 300 inhabitants. Off the har- Trizza.
bour of this place is a bafaltic rock, which feems to
be only the remains of a much larger one dedroyed by
the aftion of the air. All round are long ranges of
bafaltes, the fpecies of which are very various.
The rocks of the Cyclops dand round the fmall har- Rocks of
bour of La Trizza; and from this view we perceive a the Cy-
number of rocks of very different heights. All of them c^0PSo
appear more or lefs above water, though fome are fo
low that they cannot be feen without approaching
very near ; and this circumdance renders the harbour
inacceffible to veffels of airy confiderable burden, at the
fame time that, by reafon off the depth of the fea, it
is impoflible either to cut or unite them by a mole.
The principal of thefe rocks is the extremity of an
ifland, one half of which is compofed of lava placed on
a balfatic bafe ; over this is a crud of pozzolana, com¬
bined with a kind of white calcareous matter of a
pretty hard and compaft confidence ; and which, by
the aftion of the air, affumes the appearance of knot¬
ty porous wood. On this fubjeft our author obferves,
that “ the rock at fome former period, had become
fo hard as to fplit, and the clefts were then filled up .
A E T [ 240 j A E T
Different
kinds of
bafaltes.
VEtna. with a very hard matter which was porous on all fides
v ‘ like fcoriae. That matter afterwards fplit alfo ; leav¬
ing large interflices, which in their turn have been
filled up with a kind of compound yellow matter. The
ifiand appears to have been formerly inhabited, but is
at prefent deftitute both of inhabitants and of cul¬
ture, only the people of La Trizza feed a few goats
upon it.”
To the fouthward of the harbour of La Trizza we
obferve feveral fragments of bafaltes, both in the form
of needles, and in that of prifmatic columns of a very
regular form, and which may be eafily feparated from
one another. From the pofition in which thefe frag¬
ments are difpofed, it appears that the mafs to which
they belong muft have fuftered fome very violent (hock ;
otherwife fuch huge rocks could never have been bro¬
ken, overturned, and fcattered in directions fo very dif¬
ferent from their original pofitions. In one of thefe
ruins there are fome parts harder than the reft, which
withftand the aCtion of the air, while the intervening
fpaces yield to it, and appear to be thus deftroyed. In
fome others this effeCt is much more remarkable j be-
caufe the columns happen to be much farther advanced
towards a ftate of diflblution, the parts of which they
confift being already disjointed ; and in each of thofe
which projeCt we perceive a fiflure : which (hows that
each of thefe parts may be divided into two. “ They
are indeed (fays our author) aCtually divided, and
difplay a convexity ilfuing from a concavity, like
a pile of hats placed one upon another, when they are
removed one by one j which is a very curious Angula¬
rity.”
Continuing his journey ftill fouthward, our author
toryofthe arrived at the promontory of the Caftel d’Aci. This
Cartel d’Aci Js the moft Angularly curious of all that are in the
defenbed. neighbourhood of .ZErtna. The ancient mafs of it is en-
cloied between two bodies of lava of a more modern
origin. Thefe compofe the rocks on which Caftel
d’Aci is fituated, and which lie under the foil of the
adjacent country. Beyond that city are the immenfe
plains of the lower part of iEtna. Thefe gradually
rife till they reach the fummit, which is hid among
the clouds. The promontory is almoft entirely com-
pofed of bafaltes, the interftices of which are filled up
with a yellowifh matter, which feems to be a clay
nearly of the fame nature with that formerly taken no¬
tice of in the ifiand of La Trizza. It alfo covers the
mafs of bafaltes, and has produced both the fuperior
and anterior parts of the promontory. Here our author
faw a number of women employed in walking webs of
cloth in the fea : and takes notice of the dexterous me¬
thod they have of lifting it up in folds, and packing it
on their heads in bundles, without receiving any aflift-
ance. At the foot of this promontory are many curious
bafaltic rocks.
All along the eaftern fide of Mount iTltna the foil is
broken, but filled with beautiful varieties of bafaltes,
highly worthy of obfervation. Indeed, according to
our author’s opinion, there is no volcano in Europe fo
rich as ilLtna in bafaltes, nor where fo many curious fi¬
gures of it are to be feen.
M. Houel having fpent fome more time in vifiting
the bafaltic columns around the foot of the mountain,
fet out from Aci to vifit the famous chefnut tree for an
hundred horfes which we have already mentioned. In
Promon.
Great
quantity
of bafaltes
found on
./Etna.
M. Houel’s
journey to
the great
chefnut
vtree.
his way thither he paffed through the villages of For- Aitna.
tezza, Mangamo, St Leonardo, St Matteo, and La '"““’""v"’*- f
Macchia. The landfcapes of each of thefe places by
itfelf are extremely beautiful $ but the country between
them is a frightful wild defert, prefenting to the eye
nothing but extenfive plains of black lava, which at a
diftance have the appearance of vaft quantities of pit-
coal. The roads became rougher as they advanced j
but the adjoining fields affumed a more pleafing afpe£L
The reafon of this is, that the torreifts of lava (by which
the plains are rendered unfit for vegetation for a great
number of years) have rolled rapidly down the more
fteep fides of the mountain without deftroying the ferti¬
lity of the foil.
Travelling through very difficult roads, and often
incommoded with dangerous precipices, our author at
laft arrived at the celebrated chefnut tree, which was
the chief object of this journey. He obferves, that, Great num
all over this fide of the mountain, the chefnut treesbersofthet ■
thrive very well, and are carefully cultivated by the in-nut trees-
habitants. They are worked into hoops for calks, and
a confiderable trade is carried on in this article. The Particular
great one which he came to vifit, exceeds the fize ofaceountof
other trees fo much, that it cannot faU to excite the1*16 Sreat
greateft admiration. It has its name from the follow¬
ing circumftance. Jean of Arragon fpent fome time in
Sicily on her way from Spain to Naples. While here,
fhe vifited Mount iEtna, attended by her principal no¬
bility j and happening to be overtaken by a ftorm,
they took fhelter under this tree, whofe branches were
fufficiently extenfive to cover them all. By others,
however, this ftory is treated as a mere fable.
According to our author’s account, this chefnut tree
is 160 feet in circumference, which is lefs than Mr Bry-
done’s account of it, but quite hollow within : which,
however, affefts not its verdure •, for the chefnut tree,
like the willow, depends upon its bark for fubfiftence,
and by age lofes its internal part. As the cavity ofAhoufe
this enormous mafs is very confiderable, the people and oven
have built a houfe in it, where they have an oven foi-budt in the
drying nuts, almonds, and chefnuts, &.c. of which they^
make conferves. They frequently fupply themfelves
with wood from the tree which encircles their houfe,
fo that it feems likely, in a ftrort time, to go to ruin
through the thoughtlefs ingratitude of its inhabitants,
to whom it gives protection.
It has been thought that this tree was compofed oflsnotcom-
a number of others grown together ; but our author ispofedofa
of a different opinion. For he fuppofes that the bark[lumker 0
and outer part or the wood have been rent atunder,t0getjjert
and that by a natural motion the divided parts of the
bark feeking to reunite, or rather to fhelter themfelves
from the aftion of the external air, are bent inwards
fo as to form circular arcs, which may indeed be taken
for fo many different trees, though they appear properly
to belong to the fame trunk.
Befides this, there is abundance of other trees in Other trees
the neighbourhood very remarkable for their fize.°f ^
Our traveller was Ihown a number of young trees ofmen 10n ’
the fame fpecies, all very beautiful and ftraight, and
almoft as fmooth as polifhed marble. One of thefe
was 38 feet in circumference, and there was a num¬
ber of others nearly of the fame fize. Among thefe
there were feven Handing together, which have receiv¬
ed the name of the feven brethren. Another is deno¬
minated
A E T [ 241 ] A E T
JEtna. m'mated the Jhip, from the general figure of its top,
    which has fome flight refemblance to a fliip. Its dia¬
meter is 25 feet, fo that the circumference cannot be
lefs than 75. In thefe extenfive forefts, however, there
are chefnut trees of every age and fize.
;now grot- author’s next vifit was paid to a fnow grotto,
0 defcrib- being one of thofe magazines, where that article, fo ne-
•d. ceffary in the hot climate of Sicily, is preferved for
'oreft of u^e’ wa^ ^ie pines j
lines in the which is fo much furrounded by rocks and precipices,
<ray to it. that it is fcarcely acceflible; and vaft numbers of the trees
are dying of old age. Some of the neighbouring pea-
fants, however, now and then attempt to carry them off.
Our author faw one of them at this work. It was
drawn by oxen, who were yoked to it by a chain con¬
nected with the beam by an iron cramp. But the ex¬
treme roughnefs of the road made the tree leap and
bound in fuch a manner, that the poor creatures were
every moment in danger of having their legs broken, or
being hurried over precipices along with their driver;
accidents which happen not unfrequently, and which
render this occupation lefs generally praCtifed than other-
wife it would be.
The fnow grotto is but lately formed, by the aftion
of the waters under the beds of lava carrying away
the ftratum of pozzolana below them. It is fitu-
ated on a mount named Finocchio, which, though of
very confiderable fize, is only a protuberance on the
fide of iEtna. It has been repaired in the infide at the
expence of the knights of Malta, who have hired this
as well as feveral other caverns in the mountain for the
purpofe of holding fnow, which they have Hill more
occafion for in their ifland than the inhabitants of Si¬
cily. There are two openings above, at which they
throw in the fnow ; and flights of fteps have been cut
to thefe as well as in the internal parts. A confider¬
able extent of ground is levelled and enclofed with high
walls above the grotto ; fo that when the wind, which
at this elevation blows with great violence, carries the
fnow down from the higher parts of the mountain, it
is flopped and detained by the walls of this enclofure.
It is then thrown into the grotto, where the thicknefs of
the beds of lava which cover it prevents any impreflion
from the fummer heat. When the feafon for exporta¬
tion comes on, the fnow is put into large bags, and
nelting preffed into them as clofe as poflible. T. hus it is ren-
luring ex- dered compaft and heavy, and likewife runs lefs rifk of
lortation. being affefted by the heat. It is then carried out upon
men’s (boulders, and conveyed to the (bore on mules.
Before it is put into tbe bags, the lumps of fnow are
carefully wrapped up in leaves, which is another pre-
fervative ; at the fame time that the frelb congelation
of the little which melts, unites the mafles fo together,
that our author informs us he has feen pieces of the fnow
preferved in'this manner which looked like the faireft
and moft tranfparent cryftal.
Our author’s next excurfion was to Mount Roflb,
or the Red Mountain, which is one of the mouths of
iEtna, and through which it difcharges from time to
time great quantities of lava, fand, afhes, &c. It is the
moft celebrated of all the numerous mouths which have
opened on the fide of the mountain, though it has be¬
come fo noted only for having poured forth the matter
of the great eruption in 1669, and which is the mod
remarkable of any recorded in hiftory.
Vol. I. Part I.
low the
now is pre-
ented from
tccount
11 Mount
offo.
“ When a new crater (fays our author) is formed
on Mount TEtna, it is always in confequence of fome *
(bock that is powerful enough to break the arches ofters how
its caverns. Doubtlefs it is inconceivable that there formed.
(hould be any agent endowed with fuch force; but
when fuch a fracture is once made, it is neceffarily
very large, and the furface of the ground above cannot
but be broken in feveral different places at confiderable
diflances from one another. The matter which is dif-
charged always iffues from the principal opening and
thofe adjoining to it. None of thefe mouths, however,
continue open, excepting that which is direflly in
the line in which the matter is difcharged ; the lava
foon choking up thofe which are in a more oblique di-
reftion.”
Our author went down one of thefe openings with
torches; but could not reach the bottom, and was
obliged to return on account of the extreme cold. The
defcent was extremely difficult, and became more fo in
proportion as he advanced. This crater is of an oval
form, and the opening through which he dtfcended
w'as in one extremity : but he was tempted to think
that the crater which rifes above it had been formed
of matter difcharged by another mouth : or perhaps it
might have had a more centrical opening, through
•which the (tones, fand, 8cc. which form the crater were
difcharged.
Four of the mouths of this mount appear to be
compofed of a reddifti pozzolana, which has procured
it the name of the Red Mountain ; but when we afcend
the pyramids, or rather funnels which they form, we
find them compofed of different coloured layers of fand.
Some of thefe are of a bluifti-gray colour, others of a
fine yellow, and fome of a kind of green formed by a"”
mixture of gray and yellow, while others are of a red co¬
lour. A great number of fmall cryftals, black fchoerls,
and granites are found among them, as well as pieces
of fcoria, which had been difcharged by the volcano in
the form of a thick and glutinous matter. All thefe
mouths have internally the form of a funnel, and their
(liape is nearly that of a mutilated cone or round py¬
ramid. This is the natural and unavoidable confequence
of the perpendicular fall of the pulverized matter which
the volcano difcharges from the orifice at the bottom.
The fides of the craters are not all of one height; the
parts to the eaft and weft being confiderably higher than
the intermediate fummits, becaufe the currents of the
a(hes paffed alternately from eafl to weft, and fell upon
thefe fides in greater quantities than on the others ;
which circumftance has given to the volcano the ap¬
pearance of having two fumraits.
M. Houle, having finiftied his obfervations on Monte Convent of
Roffo, returned to tbe convent of Nicolofi, which isNicolofide¬
now only a houfe for the entertainment of travellers, fcribed.
The Benedi<ftines of Catania, to whom it belongs, vifit
this place only when in an ill (late of health, as the pu¬
rity of the air renders it very falutary to the human
conftitution. A folitary brother, however, refides here
to take care of the houfe, and to fuperintend the cul¬
tivation of the neighbouring plains. Thofe fathers
once poffeffed an extenfive and very fertile trafl of
land in this neighbourhood *, but the eruptions of ^Etna
have rendered it totally incapable of cultivation. This
houfe (lands at a very confiderable height, being no
lef than 2496 feet above the level of the fea. Set-
H h ting
JEtna.
v—v——<
Grotto of
the goats
defcribed.
Beautiful
appearance
of the fo-
refts of
iEtna.
Grotto of
the goats,
how form¬
ed.
A E T [ 242 ] A E T
ting out from this place three hours before day, our
traveller dire&ed his courfe towards the grotto of the
goats. In his way thither, he paffed over feveral
plains of lava, fome of them ancient and others more
modern : but the roads were extremely rough and
dangerous j or rather, as our author exprefles himfelf,
there was no track or path meriting the name of a
road. In two hours they reached the Regione Sylvofa,
"where an immenfe forelt lurrounds the mountain, and
which has undoubtedly been planted by the hand of
nature : for there the ground is fo high, fo full of
precipices, and fo entirely uninhabitable, that no hu¬
man being could ever think of making plantations on
it; nor is it to be fuppofed that the winds could take
up feeds from the plains to fow them on fuch a lofty
fituation.
Thefe majeftic forefts of -/Etna afford a fingular fpec-
tacle, and bear no refemblance to thofe of other coun¬
tries. Their verdure is more lively, and the trees of
which they confift are of a greater height. Thefe ad¬
vantages they owe to the foil whereon they grow ; for
the foil produced by volcanoes is particularly favour¬
able to vegetation, and every fpecies of plants grows
here with great luxuriance. In feveral places, where
we can view their interior parts, the moil enchanting
profpe&s are difplayed. The hawthorn trees are of an
immenfe fize. Our author faw feveral of them of a
regular form, and which he was almofl tempted to take
for large orange trees cut artificially into the figures
they reprefented. I he beeches appear like as many
ramified pillars, and the tufted branches of the oak
like clofe bufhes impenetrable to the rays of the fun.
The appearance of the woods in general is exceedingly
pifturefque, both by reafon of the great number and
variety of the trees, and the inequality of the ground,
which makes them rife like the feats in an amphitheatre,
one row above another $ difpofing them alfo in groups
and glades, fo that their appearance changes to the eye
at every ftep •, and this variety is augmented by acci¬
dental circumitances, as the fituation of young trees,
among others venerable for their antiquity ^ the effects
of ft or ms, which have often overturned large trees,
while items (hooting up from their roots, like the Ler-
nsean hydra, ihow a number of heads newly fprung to
make up that which'was cut off.
About three hours after the departure of our tra¬
vellers from St Nicholas, they reached the grotto of
the goats. It is formed by a bed of lava, which ha¬
ving flowed over a pile of fand and pozzolana while in
a fluid ftate, fettled and cooled in that fituation ; and
the fand or pozzolana being afterwards carried off by
the filtration of water through the lava, a void fpace
has been left, which the torrents have gradually en¬
larged to its prefent fize.
This grotto (lands about 5054 feet above the level
of the fea", according to the calculations of M. de
Sauffure. It affords a retreat for thofe travellers who
vifit the fummit of iEtna, who generally refrefli them-
felves by taking a repaft and making a fire at the en¬
try, for which there is plenty of dry wmod at hand ;
while the fand ferves for a bed to repofe on. Here our
author and his company fupped, and about midnight
fet off for the fummit. They had the advantage of
the moon-light *, and our author advifes all thofe who
intend to vifit the top of ./Etna, to take fuch a time for
their journey as may enable them to enjoy this advan-
tage. As they advanced beyond the grotto of the Atrou~j
goats, the trees became gradually thinner. In a (hortthe higheft
time they were fo thin, that they might readily be parts of
counted j and, proceeding dill farther, only a very few ^Etna.
were feen fcattered here and there, whofe beauty and
fize were diminiflied feemingly in proportion to their
numbers. A few clumps of trees and fome tufts of
odoriferous herbs were now only to be feen ; and in a
little time thefe alfo became thinner, affuming a wi¬
thered or ftunted appea/'mce. There they are nothing
but the languilhing remains of an abortive vegetation ;
and a few paces further even this difappeared, and the
eye was prefented only with barren fand.
Having now got above the region of the trees, they Snowy and
entered the third, which our author denominates the re-b^e^ere"
gion of fnow and fterility. The wind became more “
brilk and keen as they advanced, fo that they could
fcarce keep their hats upon their heads; and our au¬
thor loft his, though tied on with a handkerchief.
Here they were frequently obliged to crofs confider-
able dreams of water formed by the melting of the
fnow. In general the furface was fufficiently hard to
bear them •, but our author’s mule once funk up to her
belly, and was not extricated without great difficulty.
Having at laft overcome all difficulties, they arrived Plain on
at the large plain on the fummit of ./Etna, and in the the^£u‘Iim‘t
midft of which is the crater of the volcano. It is en-ot tna*
tirely compofed of lava, cinders, ice, and fnbw •, and
has been ftyled, ironically as our author thinks, Monte
Frumente. Here the wind continued to blow with Wind ex.
exceffive violence ; and our author informs us, that in^J^
order to have any notion of its keennefs, we mud beheje
accuftomed to feel it on fome very elevated ftation, as
it is impoffible to judge from what we feel at inferior
altitudes. They took (belter behind a lump of lava,
the only one which appeared in the whole plain, and,
which our author fays, would feem defigned exprefslv
fur the (belter of travellers. Here they lay, wrapped
up in their cloaks, for an hour : but as foon as it was
day, fo that they could diftinguifli the place where the
fun was to rife, they got up and advanced towards
the ruins of the building known by the name of the
PhilofopheFs Tower. The wind dill blew fo violently,
that after an effort of four minutes they fell down ex-
haufted : but the extreme cold obliging them again to
get up, they made a fecond attempt -, and after feveral
intermiffions of this kind, at laft accompliihed their de-
fign. They were furprifed, however, to find nothing
but the corner of a wall not more than two feet high,
confiding of two rows of unpoliftied (tones •, great part
of it having been probably buried by the fand and
other matters difcharged by the mountain. Here, be¬
ing (heltered from the wind, and the day advancing,
they began to enjoy the glorious profpeft which every
moment became more extenfive. At the riling of the
fun, the horizon was ferene, without a (ingle cloud.
“ The coaft of Calabria (fays our author) was as yet
undiftinguiffiable from the adjoining fea *, but in a (hort1
time a fiery radiance began to appear from behind the
Italian hills, which bounded the eaftern part of the pro-
fpe6l. The fleecy clouds, which generally appear early
in the morning, were tinged with purple j the atmofphere
became ftrongly illuminated, and, refledling the rays of
the riling fun, appeared filled with bright effulgence
A E T
[ 243 ]
A E T
JEtna.
of flame. The immenfe elevation of the fummitoi -^Et¬
na made it catch the firft rays of the fun’s light, whofe
vaft fplendour, while it dazzled the eyes, diffufed a moft
cherilliing and enlivening heat, reviving the fpints,
and diffufing a pleafant fenfation throughout the foul.
But though the heavens were thus enlightened, the
fea ftill retained its dark azure, and the fields and fo-
refts did not yet refleft the rays of the fun. The gra¬
dual rifing of this luminary, however, foon ‘hffijfed
his li^ht over the hills which lie below the peak of/Et-
&This laft Hood like an ifland in the midft of the
^Etna.
na.
ocean, with luminous points every moment multiplying
around, and fpreading over a wider extent with the
greateft rapidity. It was as if the univerfe had been
obferved fuddenly fpringing from the night of non-
exiftence. The tall forefts, the lofty hills, and exten-
five plains of iEtna, now prefented themfelves to view.
Its bafe, the vaft trafts of level ground which lie adja¬
cent, the cities of Sicily, its parched ftiores, wdth the
dafhing waves and vaft expanfe of the ocean, gradual¬
ly prefented themfelves, while feme fleeting vapours,
which moved Iwiftly before the wind, fometimes veikd
part of this vaft and magnificent profpeft.” In a ftiort
time every thing was displayed fo diftin<ftly, that they
could plainly recognize all thofe places with which they
were before acquainted. On the fouth were feen the
hills of Camerata and I rapani ; on the north, the
mounts Pelegrino and Thermini, with the celebrated
Enna once crowned with the temples of Ceres and
Proferpine. Among thefe mountains were feen a gr^a-
many rivers running down, and appearing like as. many
lines of glittering lilver winding through a variety of
rich and fertile fields, walking the walls of 28. cities,
while their banks were otherwife filled with villages,
hamlets, &c. rifing among the ruins of the moft illu-
ftrious republics of antiquity. On the foutli and north
were obferved the rivers which bound by their couife
the vaft bafe of Mount ./Etna, and afford a delightful
profpeft to the eye j while at a much greater diilaiice
were feen the ifles of Lipari, Alicudi, Felicocide, Pa-
rinacia, and Stromboli. .
Having enjoyed for fome time the beauty of this
magnificent profpeff, our author fet about making a
draught of the place from which the view was taken j
and at length accomplilhed it, notwithftanding the
great impediments he met with from the wind. A-
mong the obje£Is which he delineated on this occafion,
the Philofophers Tower was one. It feems, he fays,
PJll°f°' not to be very ancient; neither the materials of which
cr deferr* it confifts, nor the mode of architefture, bearing any
bed. refemblance to thofe of the Greeks and Romans. 1 he
furrounding plain feems to confift entirely of a black
fand intermixed with pieces of fcoria, which have been
formerly thrown out by the volcano. Beyond that
plain, which rifes gently, appears a cone, the fummit
Defcrintion 'vhich is the volcanic crater. When viewed from
of the great the fouth fide, on which they flood, this crater feems
crater. to confift of a number of fmall hills. Into thefe it was
broken by the emiffion of the boiling torrent in the
year 1755. When difeharged from the crater, thefe
waters fpread tow’ards the right, and at the diftance
of a mile eaftward fell in a cafcade from a prodigious
height.
The violence of the wind beginning now to abate a
little, the travellers fet out for the very fummit, in or¬
der to take a view of the great crater ; in which journey
(our author fays) it would be difficult to make people,
who have never engaged in fuch enterprifes, compre¬
hend all the obftacles they had to encounter. This
cone (the little mountain mentioned by Sir William
Hamilton) is compofed of afhes, fand, and poz.zolana,
thrown up at different times by the volcano. 1 he ma¬
terials are fo loofe, that the adventurous traveller finks
about mid-leg at every ftep, and is in conftant terror
of being fwallowed up. At laft, when the fummit is
reached, the fulphureous exhalations, which are con¬
tinually emitted from the pores of the mountain, threat¬
en fuffocation, and irritate the fauces and lungs in fuch
a manner as to produce a very troublefome and incef-
fant cough. The loofenefs of the foil, which gives
way under the feet, obliges the traveller, every now
and then, to throw himfelf flat on his belly, that fo he
may be in lefs danger of finking. In this pofture our
author viewed the wide unfathomable gulf in the
middle of the crater ; but could difeover nothing ex¬
cept a cloud of fmoke, w hich iffued from a number of
fmall apertures fcattered all around, and accompanied
with a kind of noife. Another and more dreadful Horrid
found, however, iffues from the bow’els of the volcano,
and which, according to our author, “ ftrikes the hearrt burning
with terror, fo that all the ftrength of reafon is necef-gUif,
fary to prevent the obferver from flying with preci¬
pitation from fuch a dreadful place.” Several travel¬
lers who had vifited this cone before him, were fo ter¬
rified by thefe dreadful founds, that they fled with
the utmoft hafte till they arrived at the foot of the
mountain.
Our author compares thefe founds to a difeharge of
cannon in the wide abyfs*, the noife of which is re¬
bellowed throughout all the caverns, and produces a
found perhaps the moft alarming that can be imagined;
and during the Ihort fpace in which he liftened, feveral
of thefe difeharges were heard to follow one another
almoft uninterruptedly.
This dreadful noife, our author, with very great pro¬
bability, fuppofes to be occafioned by the explofions
of the internal fire, or, as he calls it, the focus of the
volcano : which, ftriking againft the fides of thefe ira-
menfe caverns, the founds produced are re-echoed
through their cavities, and probably multiplied in an
extraordinary manner ; fo that what would be only a
flight explofion in the open air, occafions a found more
tremendous than the loudeft thunder, lo fuch as are
convinced of this, and have fufficient courage to refift
the firft impreflions which thefe founds muft unavoidably
occafion, they will in a ftiort time not only appear ex¬
ceedingly fublime, but, by their variety, even fomewh^t
agreeable. “ They enable us (fays our author) to form
fome conception of the fpace through which they muft
pafs before they reach the ear, and of the vaft extent
and width of the hollow's of the mountain.”
Having for fome time contemplated this awful fpec-Impoffible
tacle, our author wilhed to meafure the crater by walk-t0 w:jlk
ing round it, but found this impoflible. On the north1C
fide the furface is hard and fmooth, the allies having
been fo far diffolved by the moifture depofited by the
fmoke as to cement into one uniform mafs. 1 his is
fometimes diffolved even into a fluid ftate, in fuch a
H h 2 manner
A E T
[ 244 ] A E T
„T,tna.
Figure of
the crater.
Eruption of
water in
1755 ac¬
counted
for.
South wind
generally
prevalent
on the top,
of i£tna.
manner as to run down the fides of the cone j fo that
after feveral attempts, he was at lalt obliged to abandon
his defign.
Fig. 2. exhibits a view of the crater of ^tna taken
on the brink of the eaft fide. The fore ground (o«) of
the figure is one divifion of the crater. Beyond it are
two eminences b and c, higher than that on which fome
human figures are reprefented. All the three form a
triangle nearly equilateral; but, when viewed from any
confiderable diftance, only two of them can be feen ;
for which reafon the Sicilians have termed the mountain
bicornc, or double-horned.
The fmoke, as reprefented in the figure, ifl'ues from
all quarters, either from chinks or holes fcattered over
the whole crater. But the fituation of the principal
mouth is in the midlt of the three eminences. Its
diameter, when our author vifited this mountain, was
only about 60 feet, and fo filled with fmoke that no¬
thing remarkable could be difcovered. From the height
</, the rock fituated on the left fide of the print, and
on which the human figures are reprefented, all the way
to the rock e on the right, the diltance is no more than
900 feet. Our author obferved, that the cone is not
exactly in the middle of the plain, but is fituated more
towards the north than the fouth. Fie did not attempt
to crofs the central valley f on account of the loofenefs
of the ground, and that there was no object apparently
worthy of the rifk he mutt run in fo doing. At the
nearett view he took, it was only obferved that there
was fnow lying in feveral parts of it, though the heat
which otherwife prevailed feemed to be very intenfe.
The fmoke which ilfues from the crater of ./Etna is
generally carried in a diredtion from fouth to north;
and, as it brings along with it a confiderable quantity
of water, the latter, condenfed by the cold winds,
runs down the fide of the mountain in plentiful ftreams,
and often leaves pretty permanent marks of its courfe.
In this manner he accounts for the great eruption of
water in 1755? which he fuppofes co have been occa-
fioned only by an unufual quantity of water falling into
the burning focus of the mountain, there rarefied into
fleam, and afterwards condenfed by the coldnefs of the
atmofphere.
Like other travellers to Mount ./Etna, this gentleman
found the wind blowing from the fouth, and he is of
opinion, that a fouth wind blows here more frequently
than any other, as he did not obferve any channels cut
by the water on any other fide than the north. He had
feveral opportunities of making this obfervation, having
frequently vifited the top of /Etna, and always paid at¬
tention to the crater. The fand on the eaft and weft
fides was always loofe, while that on the north was
compafted into a folid body. The three fummits were
of a later date than the reft of the crater, having been
probably thrown up by fome eruption which had burft
it afunder. The black fpots on the fore ground repre-
fent a number of hillocks about the fize of mole-hills,
from which a fulphureous vapour qonftantly iffues, and
by which the adjacent ground is tinged of an ochrey
colour. This vapour iffues from the crevices with a
kind of hollow whiftling noife ; which, with the volca¬
nic thunder, fmoke, and noxious fmell, render it very
difagreeable to ftay here even for a few moments.
The fmoke is reprefented in the figure precifely as it
appeared on the day that he afcended, which was very
warm. But it does not always rife in this manner; for Altna. i
when the cold is very intenfe, it collefts into a body, —v—
and thickens around the edge of the crater : on which
occafion it is condenfed into water, which diffufes itfelf
around the edge of the crater, and mixing with the
alhes converts them into a kind of clay. The cold fntenfe col ?
on the top of this mountain is fo intenfe, that travel- produced
lers very often find their clothes infufficient to protect ^najioutIa
them ; and it is remarkable that fuch intenfe cold is al- ' ‘
ways produced by a fouth wind. The day that our
author took his draught, the wind blew faintly from
the north.
The bafe of Mount /Etna, according to M. Houel’s Account of
obfervations, confifts of alternate layers of lava and ma- drata j
rine fubftances, which have been depofited fucceffively 0f |y^u
one upon another. Thefe alternate layers extend to^tna.
an unknown depth. They muft needs go as far down
as the level of the ftratum of lava which was difcharged
by the volcano at its firft origin. The laft depofited
by the fea is a range of calcareous mountains of a con¬
fiderable height, and which are placed on a bafis of
lava. Beneath that layer of lava is another of fea
pebbles, which are well known to be rounded by their
attrition againft one another by the motion of the
waves. This layer is of a confiderable depth, and lies
upon a yellowifh rock confifting of a fpecies of indura¬
ted fand. The river Simeto flows over this rock,
which it has cut away confiderably. That part which
is at prefent the bed of the river is much higher than
the bafe of /Etna that is on a level with the fea; and
not the leaft thing occurs to fuggeft an idea of what
has been the primary bafe of the volcano. The ma¬
rine fubftances, already taken notice of, lie nearly in
a horizontal direction, more or lefs fo according to the
nature of the furface on which they have been depo¬
fited.
/Etna abounds very much with fprings, fountains, Great tu>m-
and even rivers of confiderable magnitude. Our au-|?ei! ot
thor has computed, that if all the water flowing down °n
the fides of this mountain were collefted, it would fill JiLtna.
the channel of a river 36 feet broad and 6 in depth.
Many of the fprings afford fine fait; fome are very
pure, and others are impregnated with noxious fub¬
ftances ; while others are remarkable for their ufe in
dyeing particular colours.
“ It is worthy of notice (fays our author), that Whence
ftreams of water, fome of them more copious, othersa large
more fcanty, are feen to iffue at all different degrees 0fcluanthy of
height, from the bafe to the fumrnit of the mountain. ^ecT. ^ *
Even in fummer, when very little rain falls for three
or four months, or when perhaps for that fpace there is
no rain at all, and for three of which, at leaft, there is
not an ounce of inow melted ; even then a great num¬
ber of rivulets continue to flow down the fides of /Et¬
na ; and at the fame time a number of ftreams, exter¬
nal and fubterraneous, each of them feveral feet wide,
are, according to the accounts of the country people,
plentifully fupplied with water.
“ As the trifling quantity of fnow which is melt¬
ed here even in the midft of fummer, and the ftill
fmaller quantity depofited by the clouds, would be
totally infufficient to fupply thofe ftreams, and muft
be all abforbed by the earth for the fupport of vege¬
tation, thofe ftreams muft proceed from fome other
caufe, whofe effe&s are more copious and perma¬
nent. .
T K A .
/■Y,/. /.
Flato rr.
/.////^ A' liA'c/'U
A E T [ 245 ] A E T.
JEtna. nent. This caufe is the evaporation of thofe aqueous ones have been thrown out by Mount i^-tna, almoft in
»   particles which arife from the conftant ebullition at the the proportion in which the latter exceeds Veluvius in
Produced bottom of tlie voicanic focus. Thefe ifluing out at the bulk. Along with thefe terrible fymptoms, the knoke
by tic in  » —*— a|. innm-nerable chinks in the fides of
./Etna.
tam.
Eruptions
of ./Etna
more fre-
ternal eva- great crater, and
poration of the mountain, are foon condenied by the cold ot that
the moun- elevated region of the atmofphere, and, percolating
through the earth, give birth to thofe numerous ftreams
in queftion.
“ A volcano, according to my ideas, cannot fublift
without water j nor can water occupy a place in any
volcanic focus without being changed into vapour.
But before that water can makes its appearance, ex¬
cept in the form of fmoke, it muft have filled the
whole volcanic cavern, and muft have been forcibly
preffed by the adlion of the fire againft its fides : it
muft next have condenfed, and sffumed the form ot
water ; in which ftate it muft have penetrated through
the inclined layers of fand and pozzolano which in¬
tervene betwixt the different ftrata of lava; for thefe
ftrata lie one above another, and are full of chinks,
in fuch a manner as to prefent to the eye an appear¬
ance pretty much refembling that of the infide ot a
tiled roof.”
It has been a queftion, Whether the eruptions of
Mount Aitna were more frequent in ancient than in
modern times ? At firft it feems impoflible to give a
cientlyThanprecife anfwer to fuch a queftion ; but when we confi-
now. der, that the matter in the volcanic focus was then
greater in quantity than at prefent, in proportion to the
fpace which it occupied j that the cavities were then
fooner filled with vapour ; and that the centre of the
focus was then lefs remote, we will not hefitate to pro¬
nounce, that in earlier times the eruptions were more
frequent as well as more copious.
The firft fymptom of an approaching eruption is an
increafe of the fmoke in fair weather : after fome time,
a puff of black fmoke is frequently feen to (hoot up in
the midft of the white, to a confiderable height. Thefe
puffs are attended with confiderable explofions : for
while Vefuvius was in this ftate, Sir William Hamil¬
ton went up to its top, which was covered with fnow :
and perceiving a little hillock of fulphur, about fix
feet high, which had been lately thrown up, and burnt
with a blue flame on the top, he was examining this
phenomenon, when fuddenly a violent report was heard,
a column of black fmoke (hot up with violence, and
was followed by a reddifh flame. Immediately a fliower
of (tones fell ; upon which he thought proper to retire.
Phenomena of this kind, in all probability, precede the
eruptions of ALtna in a much greater degree.—The
fmoke at length appears wholly black in the day-time,
and in the night has the appearance of flame •, (bowers
of afbes are fent forth, earthquakes are produced, the
mountain difcharges vollevs of red-hot (tones to a great
height in the air. The force by which thefe (tones
are projedfted, as well as their magnitude, feems to be
in proportion to the bulk of the mountain. S/gnior
Recupero affured Mr Brydone, that he had feen im-
menfely large ones thrown perpendicularly upwards to
the height of 7000 feet, as he calculated from the time
they took to arrive at the earth after beginning to de-
fcend from their greateft elevation. The largeft (tone,
or rather rock, that was ever known to be emitted by
Vefuvius, was 12 feet long and 45 in circumference.
This was thrown a quarter of a mile j but much larger
Signs of an
approach¬
ing erup¬
tion.
that iffues from the crater is fotnetimes in a highly
electrified Hate. In this cafe, the. fmall allies which
are continually emitted from the crater, are attrafled
by the fmoke, and rife with it to a great height,
forming a vaft, black, and to appearance denfe, column •,
from this column continual flaflies of forked or zig-zag
lightning iffue, fometimes attended with thunder, and Thunder
fometimes not, but equally powerful with ordinary ^ ^ ^
lightning. This phenomenon was obferved by ”;ie°linoke.
William Hamilton in the fmoke of Vefuvius, and has
alfo been taken notice of in that of ALtna j and where
this eleftrified fmoke hath fpread over a traft of land,
much mifchief hath been done by the lightning pro¬
ceeding from it.
When thefe dreadful appearances have continued
fometimes four or five months, the lava begins to make
its appearance. This is a ftream of melted mineral
matters, which in Vefuvius commonly boils over the
top, but very feldom does fo in ALtna •, owing to the
great weight of the lava, which long before it can b&
raifed to the vaft height of Mount ./Etna, burfts out
through fome weak place in its fide. Upon the appear¬
ance of the lava, the violent eruptions of the mountain
generally, though not always, ceafe •, for if this burn¬
ing matter gets not fufticient vent, the commotions in¬
creafe to a prodigious degree.—In the night-time the
lava appears like a ftream of fire, accompanied with
flame ; but in the day-time it has no fuch appearance:
its progrefs is marked by a white fmoke, which by the
refle61ion of the red-hot matter in the night aflumes the
appearance of flame.
We (hall dole this article with an enumeration of all
the different eruptions from Mount ALtna which are
found upon record.
1. The firft mentioned in hiftory, is that of which Lift of
Diodorus Siculus fpeaks, but without fixing the period eruptions
at which-it happened. That eruption, fays he, obliged ft*®
the Sicani, who then inhabited Sicily, to fox fake the ^jie lH ’
eaftern, and retire to the fouthern, part of the ifland.
A.long time after that, the Sicilians, a people of Italy,
migrated into Sicily, and took up their abode in that
paxt of the ifland which had been left detert by the Si¬
cani.
2. The fecond eruption known to have iffued from
this volcano, is the firft of the three mentioned by
Thucydides; of none of which he fixes the date,
mentioning only in general, that from the arrival of
the firft Greek colonies that fettled in Sicily (which
was in the 11th Olympiad, and correfponds to the
734th year before the Chriftian era, to the 88th
Olympiad, or the year 425 before Chrift, ./Etna at
three different times difeharged torrents of fire. This
fecond eruption happened, according to Eufebius, in the
days of Phalaris, in the 565th year before the Chriftian
era. The affertion of Eufebius is confirmed by a letter
from that tyrant to the citizens of Catania, and the an¬
fwer of the Catanians (if, after Bentley’s Differtations
againft their authenticity, any credit be due to the
Epiftles of Phalaris). But Diodorus gives both thefe
pieces.
3. The third, which is the fecond of the three men¬
tioned by Thucydides, happened in the 65th Olym¬
piad,
A E T [2
jEtiva. plad, in the 477th year before the Chriftian era, when
Xantippus was archon at Athens. It was in this fame
year the Athenians gained their boafted vidtory over
"Xerxes’s general Mardonius near Platsea. Both the
eruption of the volcano and the vidlory of the Athe¬
nians are commemorated in an ancient infcription on
a marble' table which ftill remains. An ancient medal
exhibits a reprefentation of an altonilhing deed to which
that eruption gave occafion. Two heroic youths
boldly ventured into the midft of the flames to fave
their parents: their names, which well deferved to
be tranfmittcd to future ages were Amphinomus and
Anapius. The citizens of Catania Rewarded fo noble
a deed with a temple and divine honours. Seneca,
Silius Italicus, Valerius Maximus, and other ancient
authors, mention the hercifm of the youths with juft
applaufe.
4. The fourth eruption, the third and laft of thofe
mentioned by Thucydides, broke out in the 88th O-
lympiad, in the 425th year before the Chriftian era.
It laid wafte the territory of Catania.
5. The fifth is mentioned by Julius Obfequens and
Orofius, who date it in the confulfhip of Sergius Ful-
vius Flaccus and Quintus Calpurnius Pifo, nearly 133
years before the Chriftian era. It was confiderable j
but no peculiar fafts are related concerning it. .
6. In the confulfhip of Lucius iEmilius Lepidus and
Lucius Aurelius Oreftes, in the 125th year before the
Chriftian era, Sicily fuffered by a violent earthquake.
Such a deluge of fire ftreamed from iTLtna as to render
the adjoining fea into which it poured abfolutely hot.
Orofius fays, that a prodigious quantity of fifties were
deftroyed by it. Julius Obfequens, relates, that the
inhabitants of the iftes of Lipari ate fuch a number of
thofe fifties, as to fuffer, in confequence of it, by a dif-
temper which proved very generally mortal.
7. Four years after the laft mentioned, the city of
Catania was defolated by another eruption, not lefs
violent. Orofius relates, that the roofs of the houfes
were broken down by the burning afties which fell
upon them. It was fo dreadfully ravaged, that the
Romans found it neceffary to grant the inhabitants an
exemption from all taxes for the fpace of ten years, to
enable them to repair it.
8. A fhort time before the death of Caefar, in the
43d year before Jefus Chrift, there was an eruption
from Mount ^tna. Livy mentions it. It was not
diftinguiftied by any thing extraordinary. It was after¬
wards confidered as an omen of the death of Caefar.
9. Suetonius, in the life of Caligula, mentions an
eruption from Mount iEtna which happened in the
40th year after the Chriftian era. The emperor fled
on the very night on which it happened, from Meflina,
where he at that time happened to be.
10. Carrera relates, that in the year 253, there was
an eruption from Mount ./Etna.
11. He fpeaks of another in the year 420 j which
s alfo mentioned by Photius.
12. In the reign of Charlemagne, in the year 812,
there was an eruption from ./Etna. Geoffrey of Viter¬
bo mentions it in his Chronicle.
13. In the year 1169, on the 4th February, about
day-break, there was an earthquake in Sicily, which
was felt as far as Reggio, on the oppofite fide of the
ftrait. Catania was reduced by it to ruins} and in
46 1 A E T
that city more than 15,000 fouls periftied. The bi-^
{hop, with 44 monks of the order of St Benedidl, were
buried under the ruins »f the roof of the church of St
Agatha. Many caftles in the territories of Catania
and Syracufe were overturned-, new rivers burft forth,
and ancient rivers difappeared. The ridge of the
mountain was obferved to fink in on the fide next
Taormino. The fpring of Arethufa, fo famous for the
purity and fweetnefs of its waters, then became muddy
and brackifti. The fountain of Ajo, which rifes from
the village of Saraceni, ceafed to flow for two hours j
at the end of which the water guftied out more copi-
oufly than before. Its waters affumed a blood colour,
and retained it for about an hour. At Meflina, the
fea, without any confiderable agitation, retired a good
way within its ordinary limits } but loon after re¬
turning, it rofe beyond them, advanced to the walls of
the city, and entered the ftreets through the gates.
A number of people who had fled to the Ihore for
fafety were fwallowed up by the waves. Ludovico
Aurelio relates, that the vines, corn, and trees of dl
forts, were burnt up, and the fields covered over with
fuch a quantity of ftones as rendered them unfit for cul¬
tivation.
14. Tw-elve years after this, in the year 1181, a
dreadful eruption iffued from ./Etna on the eaft fide.
Streams of fire ran down the declivity of the moun¬
tain, and encircled the church of St Stephen, but with¬
out burning it.
Nicholas Speciale, who relates, though he did not fee,
this event, was witnefs to another conflagration on
./Etna 48 years after this, in the year 1329, on the 23d
of June, of which he has given a defeription.
15. On that day, fays he, about the hour of vef-
pers, ./Etna was ftrongly convulfed, and uttered dread¬
ful noifes j not only the inhabitants of the mountain,
but all Sicily, were ftruck with confternation and
alarm. On a fudden, a terrible blaze of fire iffued
from the fouthern fummit, and fpread over the rocks
of Mazzara, which are always covered with fnow.
Together with the fire, there appeared a great deal of
fmoke. After funfet, the flames and the ftones that
iffued out with them were feen to touch the clouds.
The fire making way for itfelf with the moft furious
impetuofity, burnt up or reduced to ruins all thofe
ftruttures which the piety of former times had confe-
crated to the Deity. The earth yawning, {wallowed
up a great many fprings and rivulets. Many of the
rocks on the flrore of Mafcali were fliaken and daftied
into the fea. A fucceflion of thefe calamities conti¬
nued till the 15th of July, when the bowels of ./Etna
were again heard to rebellow. The conflagration of
Mazzara ftill went on unextinguiftred. The earth
opened near the church of St John, called IlPapan-
necca ; on the fouth fide fire iffued from the gap with
great violence : to add to the horrors of the day, the
fun was obfeured from morning to evening with clouds
of fmoke and afties, as entirely as in an eclipfe. Ni¬
colas Speciale went towards the new-opened crater, to
obferve the fire and the burning ftones which were
iffuing from the volcano. The earth rebellowed and
tottered under his feet; and he faw red-hot ftones iffue
four times fucceflively in a very ftiort fpace from the
crater, with a thundering noife, the like of which, he
fays, he had never before heard.
In
vEtna.
1
A E T [ 247 ]
In a few days after this, all the adjacent fields were of the burning ftones.
burnt up by a thower of fire and fulphureous aflres j
and both birds and quadrupeds being thus left defix-
tute of food, died in great numbers. A great quanti¬
fy of fifties likewife died in the rivers and the conti¬
guous parts of the fea. “ I cannot think (fays he) that
either Babylon or Sodom was deftroyed with fuch aw¬
ful feverity.”—The north winds, which blew at the
time, carried the allies as far as Malta. Many perfons
of both fexes died of terror. ^
16. Scarce had four years elapfed after this terrible
event, when ^Etna made a new explofion, and dif-
charged vollies of ftones, caufing the neighbouring
fields to tremble. This happened in the year 1333.
17. Forty-eight years after this, on the 25th 01
Auguft 1381, an eruption from ./Etna fpread its rava¬
ges over the confines of the territory of Catania, and
burnt up the olive yards in the neighbourhood of that
18. In the year 1444, 63 years after the laft erup¬
tion, a torrent of lava iffued from ./Etna and ran to¬
wards Catania. The mountain ftiook ; and the ftiocks
were fo violent, that feveral huge malTes of rock were
broken from its fummit, and hurled into the abyls
with a tremendous noife.
19. After this ./Etna was fcarce at reft for 18 months
or two years. On Sunday the 25th of September 1446,
about an hour after funfet, an eruption iffued from the
place called La Pietra di Mazarra. This eruption
was foon over. .
20. In the following year, 1447, on the 2lit ot
September, there was another, with a good deal of
fire; but this eruption was likewife of ftiort dura-
txon. . 1 , r
2T. ./Etna now ceafed to emit fire, and that tor a
confiderable time. The neighbouring inhabitants not
only afcended to the fummit of the mountain, but even,
if we may credit accounts, went down into the fiery
gulf, and believed the volcanic matter to be now ex-
haufted: But on the 25th of April 1536, near a cen¬
tury from the flight eruption in 1447, a ftrong_ wind
arofe from the weft, and a thick cloud, reddifti in the
middle, appeared over the fummit of the mountain.
At the very fame inftant a large body of fire ilfued
from the abyfs, and fell with‘.the noife and rapidity of
a torrent along the eaftern fide of the mountain, break¬
ing down the rocks, and deftroying the flocks and eve¬
ry other animal that was expofed to its fury. From
the fame crater, on the fummit of the mountain, there
iffued at the fame time a ftream of fire more terrible
than the other, and held its courfe towards the weft.
It ran over Bronte, Adrans, and Caftelli. It confid¬
ed entirely of fulphur and bitumen. On the fame day
the church of St Leon, which flood in a wood, was
firft demoliftied by the (hocks of the earthquake, and
'its ruins after that con fumed by the fire.. Many
chafms were opened in the (ides of the mountain j and
from thofe iffued fire and burning ftones, which darted
up into the air With a noi(e like that produced by a
fmart difcharge of artillery. Francis Ncgro.de Piaz¬
za, a celebrated phyfician, who lived at Lentini, wifh-
ing to have a nearer view of the eruptions, and to make
fome obfervations which he thought might be of con-
fequence, was carried off and burnt to afties by a volley
A E T
This conflagration of yEtna
lafted fome weeks.
22. In lefs than a year, on the 17th ot April 1537,
the river Simeto fwelled fo amazingly as to overflow
the adjacent plains, and carry off the country people
and their cattle and ether animals. At the fame time,
the country around Paterno, the neighbouring caftles,
and more than 500 houfes, were deftroyed by the ra¬
vages of the river j and moft of the wood was torn
up by the roots by violent blafts of wind. Theie ra-
vao-es of the elements were followed by ./Etna, which
on&the nth of the following month was rent in fe¬
veral places, difclofing fiery gulfs, and pouring out a
deluge of fire in more terrible torrents than thofe of
the preceding year. 1 hey direfled their courle to¬
wards the monaftery of St Nicholas d’Arena; deftroy¬
ed the gardens and vineyards j and proceeding on¬
wards towards Nicolofi, burnt Montpellieri and Fal-
lica, and deftroyed the vineyards and moil of the in¬
habitants. When the conflagration ceafed, the ium-
mit of the mountain funk inward with fuch a noile,
that all the people in the iftand believed the laft day
arrived, and prepared for their end by extreme unc-
■' Thefe dreadful difturbances continued through
iFtna.
the whole year, more efpecially in the months of Ju¬
ly and Auguft, during which all Sicily was in mourn¬
ing. The fmoke, the noife, and the (hocks ot the
earthquake, affedled the whole ifland j and if Filotes
may be believed, who relates this event, many of the
Sicilians vrere (truck deaf by the noife. Many fttuc-
tures were demoliftied 5 and among others the cattle of
Corleone, though more than 25 leagues diftant from
the volcano.
23. During the fucceeding 30 years there was no
difturbance of this nature, At the end of that fpace,
Sicily was alarmed by a new eruption from the moun¬
tain. ./Etna difcharged new dreams of fire, and cover¬
ed the adjacent country with volcanic afties, which en¬
tirely ruined the hopes of the hufbandman.
24. In the year 1579, ./Etna renewed its.ravages j
but no particular account of the damage which it did
upon this occafion has been tranfmitted to us
1 25. Twenty-five years had tlapfed, when ./Etna, in
the month of June 1603, flamed w'ith new fury. Petei
Carrera affirms that it continued to emit flames for the
fpace of 33 years, till 1636, without interruption, but
not always with the fame violence. In 1607, the
dreams of lava which flowed from it deftroyed the
woods and vineyards on the weft fide of the mountain.
In 1609, they turned their courfe towards Aderno, and
deftroyed a part of the foreft del Pino, and a part ot
the wood called la Sciambrita, with many vineyards in
the diftrift Cofterna. Thefe torrents of lava continued
to flow for three months. In the year 1614, a new
effort of the fubterraneous fire opened another crater,
from which fire was difcharged on Randazzo, in the
diftridl called il Piro. The fire continued to flame for
10 or 12 years longer.
26. The fame Peter Carrera relates, that a dreadful
conflagration happened in the year 1664, of which he
himfelf was witnefs. It happened on the 13th of De¬
cember, and lafted without interruption, but with dif¬
ferent degrees of violence, till the end ot May 1678.
But in 1669 the inhabitants of Nicolofi were obliged
A E T [ 248 ] A E T
iEtna. to foifake tlieir houfes, which tumbled down foon after
—-y—», t|iey je£t (;iiern> -Jhe crater on the fummit of vEtna
had not at this time a threatening afpedl, and every¬
thing there continued quiet till the 25th of March :
but on the 8th of that month, an hour before night,
the air was obferved to become dark over the village
la Pedara and all that neighbourhood ; and the inha¬
bitants of that country thought that an almoft total
eclipfe was taking place. Soon after funfet, frequent
(hocks of earthquakes began to be felt j thefe were at
firif weak, but continued till day-break to become
more and more terrible. Nicolofi was more alfefted
than any other traft of country on that fide of .ZEtna j
about noon every houfe was thrown to the ground j
and the inhabitants fled in confternation, invoking the
protection of heaven. On the 10th of March a chafm
feveral miles in length, and five or fix feet wide, open¬
ed in the fide of the mountain $ from which about two
hours before day, there arofe a bright light, and a very
ilrong fulphureous exhalation was diffuied through the
atmofphere.
About 11 in the forenoon of the fame day, after
dreadful (hocks of earthquake, a crater was opened in
the hill called des Noifettes, from which there iflued
huge volumes of fmoke, not accompanied with fire,
allies, or (tones, but with loud and frequent claps of
thunder, difplaying all the different phenomena with
which thunder is at different times attended. And
what was very remarkable, the chafm was formed on
the fouth fide, between the top and the bottom of the
mountain. On the fame day another chafm was form¬
ed two miles lower, from which iffued a great deal of
fmoke, accompanied with a dreadful noife and earth¬
quake. Towards the evening of the fame day, four
other chafms were opened towards the fouth, in the
fame direftion, accompanied during their formation
with the fame phenomena, and extending all the way
to the hill called la Pufara.
About twelve paces beyond that, another of the fame
kind was formed. On the fucceeding night, a black
fmoke, involving a quantity of (tones, ilfued from this
lad chafm j it difeharged at the fame time flakes of a
dark earth-coloured fpongy matter, which became hard
after they fell. There iffued from the fame gulf a
dream of lava, which held its courfe into a lake called
la Hardia, fix miles from Montpellieri, and on its way
thither dedroyed many dwelling-houfes and other build¬
ings in the neighbouring villages.
On the next day, March 12th, this dream of fire
direfted its courfe towards the traft of country called
MalpaJJo, which is inhabited by 800 people : in the
fpace of 20 hours it was entirely depopulated and laid
wade. The lava then took a new diredlion, in which
it dedroyed fome other villages.
The mount of Montpellieri was next dedroyed with
all the inhabitants upon it.
On the 23d of the fame month, the dream of fire
was in fome places two miles broad. It now attacked
the large village of Mazzalucia j and on the fame day
a vad gulf was formed, from which were difeharged
fand or afhes, which produced a hill with two fummits,
two miles in circumference, and 150 paces high. It
was obferved to confid of yellow, white, black, gray,
red, and green dones.
The new mount of Nicololi continued to emit aflies
for the fpace of three months j and the quantity dii- Atr.|.
charged was fo great as to cover all the adjoining trail v—
of country for the fpace of 15 miles j fome of thefe
aflies were conveyed by the winds as far as Medina and
Calabria \ and a north wind arifing, covered all the
fouthern country about Agofla, Lentini, and even be¬
yond that, in the fame manner.
While at that height on Nicolofi fo many extraor¬
dinary appearances were pafling, the highed crater
on the fummit of iEtna dill preferved its ufual tran¬
quillity.
On the 25th of March, about one in the morning,
the whole mountain, even to the mod elevated peak,
was agitated by a mod violent earthquake. The high¬
ed crater of iTitna, which was one of the loftied parts
of the mountain, then funk into the volcanic focus •,
and in the place which it had occupied, there now ap¬
peared nothing but a wide gulf more than a mile in ex¬
tent, from which there iflued enormous maffes of fmoke,
aflies, and dones. At that period, according to the
hidorian of this event, the famous block of lava on
Mount Frumento was difeharged from the volcanic
focus.
In a (hort time after, the torrent of fire, which dill
continued to flow, diredled its courfe towards Catania
with redoubled noife, and accompanied with a much
greater quantity of allies and burning dones than be¬
fore. For feveral months many mod alarming fliocks
of earthquakes were felt •, and the city was threatened
with dedruflion by the torrent of fire. In vain they
attempted to turn or divert its courfe ; the lava rofe
over the walls, and entered by an angle near the Bene¬
dictine convent on the nth of June following. This
awful event is related by Francis Monaco, Charles
Mancius, Vincent Auria, and Thomas Thedefchi.
A defeription of the lava iffuing from Mount zEtna
in 1669 was fent to the court of England by Lord
Winchelfea, who at that time happened to be at Ca¬
tania in his way home from an enibaffy at Condanti-
nople. Sir W. Hamilton gives the following ex-
traCt of it. “ When it was night, I went upon two
towers in divers places ; and I could plainly fee, at
ten miles didance, as we judged, the fire begin to run
from the mountain in a diredl line, the flame to afeend
as high and as big as one of the greated fleeples in
your Majedy’s kingdoms, and to throw up great dones
into the air j I could difeern the river of fire to de-
feend the mountain, of a terrible fiery or red colour,
and dones of a paler red to fwim thereon, and to be
fome as big as an ordinary table. We could fee this
fire to move in feveral other places, and all the coun¬
try covered with fire, afeending with great flames in
many places, fmoking like a violent furnace of iron
melted, making a noife with the great pieces that fell,
efpecially thofe that fell into the fea. A cavalier of
Malta, who lives there, and attended me, told me,
that the river was as liquid, where it iffues out of the
mountain, as water, and came out like a torrent with
great violence, and is five or fix fathom deep, and as
broad, and that no dones fink therein.”
The account given in the Philofophical TranfaCtions
is to the fame purpofe. We are there told, that the
lava is “ nothing elfe than diverfe kinds of metals and
minerals, rendere liquid by the fiercenefs of the fire
in the bowels of the earth, boiling up and gufhing
forth
A E T [ 249 ] ' A E T
fortli as the water doth at the head of forae great ri¬
ver } and having run in a full body for a Hone’s call or
more, began to cruft or curdle, becoming, when cold,
thofe hard porous ftones which the people call fciarri.
Thefe, though cold in comparifon of what firft iffues
from the mountain, yet retained fo much heat as to
referable huge cakes of fea-coal ftrongly ignited, and
came tumbling over one another, bearing down or
burning whatever was in their way.—In this manner
the lava proceeded flowly on till it came to the fea,
when a moft extraordinary confli£t enfued betwixt the
two adverfe elements. The noife was vaftly more
dreadful than the loudeft thunder, being heard through
the whole country to an immenfe diftance j the water
feemed to retire and diminilh before the lava, while
clouds of vapour darkened the fun. The whole filh on
the coaft were deftroyed, the colour of the fea itfelf
was changed, and the tranfparency of its waters loft for
many months.
While this lava was iffuing in fuch prodigious quan¬
tity, the merchants, whofe account is recorded in the
Philofophical Tranfa6tions, attempted to go up to the
mouth itfelf; but durft not come nearer than a furlong,
left they ftiould have been overwhelmed by a vaft pillar
of allies, which to their apprehenlion exceeded twice
the bignefs of St Paul’s fteeple in London, and went
up into the air to a far greater height *, at the mouth
itfelf was a continual noife, like the beating of great
waves of the fea againft rocks, or like diftant thunder,
which was fometimes fo violent as to be heard 60, or
even 100 miles off; to which diftance alfo part of the
alhes was carried. Some time after, having gone up,
they found the mouth from whence this terrible deluge
iffued to be only a hole about 10 feet diameter. This
is alfo confirmed by Mr Brydone ; and is probably the
fame through which Sir William Hamilton defcended
into the fubterranean caverns already mentioned.
27. Some years after this conflagration, a new burn¬
ing gulf opened in the month of December 1682 on
the fummit of the mountain, and fpread its lava over
the hill of Mazarra.
28. On the 24th of May 1686, about ten in the
evening, a new eruption burft out from the fummit
of the mountain on the fide contiguous to the hill del
Bue. Such a quantity of inflamed matter was thrown
out as confumed woods, vineyards, and crops of grain,
for four leagues round. It flopped its courfe in a
large valley near the caftle of Mafcali. Several people
from the neighbourhood had afcended a hill between
the wood of Catania and the confines of Cirrita, to ob-
ferve the progrefs of the lava : but the hill, on a hid¬
den, funk inwards, and they were buried alive.
29. ./Etna was now long quiet; for no lefs a fpace
of time indeed than one half of the prefent age. In
the year 1755 its eruptions were renewed. It open¬
ed near Mount Lepra, and emitted as ufual fire and
fmoke j after which it remained quiet only for eight
years.
30. In the year 1763, there was an eruption which
continued three months, but with intervals. zEtna
was at firft heard to rebellow. Flames and clouds of
fmoke were feen to iffue out, fometimes filver-colour-
ed, and at other times, when the rays of the fun fell
upon them, of a purple radiance : at length they were
carried off by the winds, and rained, as they were
Vol. I. Part I.
driven before them, a ftiower of fire all the way to zEtna.
Catania and beyond it. An eruption foon burft out; ^ '
the principal torrent divided into two branches, one of
which ran towards the eaft, and fell into a deep and
extenfive valley.
The flames which iffued from this new crater af¬
forded a noble fpeftacle. A pyramid of fire was feen
to rife to a prodigious height in the air, like a beau¬
tiful artificial fire-work, with a conftant and formi¬
dable battery, which thook the earth under thofe who
were fpeftators of the fcene. Torrents of melted
matter running down the fides of the mountain, dif-
fufed a light bright as day through the darknefs of
night.
At funrifing the burning lava was obferved to have
run round fome oaks that were ftill Handing unburnt.
Their leaves were all withered. Some birds had fallen
from their branches, and been burnt to death. Some
people caft wood upon the lava, and it was immediately
burnt. This lava continued hot, and exhaled fmoke
for two years. For five years after this, no fnow ap¬
peared on the fummit of .Etna.
31. In the year 1764 a new crater was opened at a
great diftance from Mount Etna.
32. In the year 1766 another was opened at the
grotto of Paterno : fire, fmoke, and an inconfiderable
torrent of lava iffued out of it.
33. On the 27th of January 1780 a new opening
was formed two miles under the laft-mentioned crater.
On the 28th of February, and the 14th of March, the
earthquake was renewed on the north fide, and accom¬
panied with terrible noifes.
Between the 6th of April and the 7th of May the
convulfions were again renewed, accompanied Avith
noife as before *, a quantity of pumice ftones and fine
fand was difcharged from it.
On the 18th of May the {hocks were renewed : on
the 23d a new crater was formed on the fide of Mount
Frumento on the fummit of Etna *, and from it a tor¬
rent of lava difcharged, which fpread through the val¬
ley of Laudunza. It was 200 paces in breadth. Tw®
other chinks were opened in the mountain near Pa¬
terno, and very near one another. The lava iffuing
from them proceeded, in the fpace of feven days, fix
miles; on the 25th it had run nine miles.
A new crater was likewife opened on the 25th ;
from which a quantity of red-hot ftones continued to
iffue for half an hour, and fell at a very great diftance :
there proceeded likewife from it a ftream of lava ; which,
in the fame fpace of time, ran over a tract of country
two miles in extent.
Several parts of thofe ftreams of lava were obferved
to be cold on the furface, and formed into folid maffes,
but melted again by a new ftream of burning lava,
which however did not melt the old lava.
34. The laft eruption happened in 1787. From the ift Account of
to the 10th of July, there were figns of its approach. ^ *ate
On the nth, after a little calm, there was a fubterra-^u^lor'’
neous noife, like the found of a drum in a clofe place,
and it was followed by a copious burft of black fmoke.
It was then calm till the 15th, when the fame progno-
ftics recurred. On the 17th, the fubterraneous noife
was heard again : the fmoke was more abundant, flight
fhocks of an earthquake followed, and the lava flowed
from behind one of the two little mountains which form
I i the
iEtna.
A E T
the double head of iEtna. On the
fpe£lators were in anxious expectation of a more fevere
eruption, all was quiet, and continued fo more than
12 hours : foon after they perceived fume new fhocks,
accompanied with much noife *, and the mountain
threw out a thick ftnoke, which, as the wind was
welterly, foon darkened the eatlern horizon : two hours
afterwards a Ihower of fine black brilliant land defcend-
ed : on the call fide it was a llorm of Hones ; and, at
the foot of the mountain, a deluge of flalhes of fire, of
fcoria and lava.
Thefe appearances continued the whole day *, at the
fetting of the fun the fcene changed. A number of
conical flames rofe from the volcano } one on the north,
another on the fouth, were very confpicuous, and rofe
and fell alternately. At three in the morning, the
mountain appeared cleft, and the fummit feemed a burn¬
ing mafs. The cones of light which arofe from the cra¬
ter were of an immenfe extent, particularly the two
jult mentioned. The two heads feemed to be cut away :
and at their feparation was a cone of flame, feemingly
compofed of many lefler cones. The flame feemed of
the height of the mountain placed on the mountain j
fo that it wTas probably two miles high, on a bafe of a
mile and a half in diameter. This cone was Hill co¬
vered with a very thick fmoke, in which there appear¬
ed very brilliant flafhes of lightning, a phenomenon
•which Attna had not before afforded. At times, founds
like thofe from the explofion of a large cannon were
heard feemingly at a lefs dillance than the mountain.
From the cone, as from a fountain, a jet of many
flaming volcanic matters was thrown, which were car¬
ried to the diftance of fix or feven miles : from the
bafe of the cone a thick fmoke arofe, which, for a mo¬
ment obfcured fome parts of the flame, at the time
when the rivers of lava broke out. This beautiful ap¬
pearance continued three quarters of an hour. It be-
the next night with more force •, but continued
[ 250 1 A E T
18th, while the which produces fo much mifchief: but the confidera-
gan
only half an hour. In the intervals, however, ./Etna
continued to throw out flames, fmoke, ignited Hones,
and Ihowers of fand. From the 20th to the 22d, the
appearances gradually ceafed. I he flream of lava was
carried towards Bronte and the plain of Lago.
After the eruption, the top of the mountain on the
weflern fide was found covered with hardened lava,
fcoria, and Hones. The travellers were annoyed by
fmoke, by ftiowers of fand, mephitic vapours, and ex-
ceflive heat. They faw that the lava which came from
the weHern point divided into two branches, one of
which was direfled towards Libeccio •, the other, as we
have already faid, towards the plain of Lago. The lava
on the wefbern head of the mountain, had from its va¬
rious fhapes been evidently in a Hate of fufion *, from
one of the fpiracula, the odour was flrongly that of
liver of fulphur. The thermometer, in defcending, was
at 40 degrees of Fahrenheit’s fcale ; while near the
lava, in the plain of Lago, it was 140 degrees. The
lava extended two miles; its width was from 13-510
2i feet, and its depth 13^ feet.
Thefe are the mofl remarkable circumflances we have
been able to colleft, that might ferve to give an ade¬
quate idea of this famous mountain. Many things,
however, concerning the extent, antiquity, &c. of the
lavas, remain to be difcufled, as well as the opinions of
philofophers concerning the origin of the internal fire
tion of thefe belongs to the general article "Volcano,
to which the reader is referred.
JETNA fait, Sal JEtrue, a name given by fome au¬
thors to the fal ammoniac which is found on the fur-
face and fides of the openings of iEtna, and other
burning mountains, after their eruptions ; and fome-
times on the furface of the ferruginous matter which
they throw out. This fait makes a very various ap¬
pearance in many cafes : it is fometimes found in large
and thick cakes ; fometimes only in form of a thin
powder, fcattered over the furface of the earth and
Hones. Some of this fait is yellow, fome white, and
fome greenilh.
iETOLARCHA, in Grecian antiquity, the prin¬
cipal magiHrate or governor of the /Etolians.
iETOLIA, a country of ancient Greece, compre¬
hending all that traft now called the Defpotat, or Little
Greece. It was parted on the eafl by the river Evanus,
now the Fidari, from the Locrenfes Ozoke ; on the
well, from Acarnania, by the Achelous : on the north,
it bordered on the country of the Dorians and part of
Epirus ; and, on the foutb, extended to the bay of
Corinth.
The ^Etolians were a refllefs and turbulent people ;
feldom at peace among themfelves, and ever at war
with their neighbours ; utter flrangers to all fenfe of
friendlhip or principles of honour ; ready to betray
their friends upon the leafi profped of reaping any
advantage from their treachery : in Hiort, they were
looked upon by the other Hates of Greece no otherwife
than as outlaws and public robbers. On the other
hand, they were bold and enterprifing in war ; inured
to labour and hardlhips } undaunted in the greatefl
dangers ; jealous defenders of their liberties, for which
they were, on all occafions, willing to venture their
lives, and facrifice all that was mofl dear to them.
They diflinguiihed themfelves above all the other na¬
tions of Greece, in oppofing the ambitious defigns of
the Macedonian princes j who, after having reduced
mofl of the other Hates, were forced to giant them a
peace upon very honourable terms. 1 he conflitution
of the JEtolian republic was copied from that of the
Achaeans, and with a view to form, as it were, a coun¬
ter alliance ; for the vEtolians bore an irreconcileable
hatred to the Achseans, and had conceived no fmall
jealoufy at the growing power of that Hate. 'Ihe
Cleomenic war, and that of ihe allies, called foetal
war, were kindled by the /Etolians in the heart of
Peloponnefus, with no other view but to humble their
antagonifls the Achaeans. In the latter, they held
out, with the afliflance only of the Eleans and Lace¬
demonians for the fpace of three years, againfl the
united forces of Achaia and Macedon ; but were
obliged at lafl to purchafe a peace, by yielding up to
Philip all Acarnania. As they parted with this pro¬
vince much againfl their will, they watched all oppor¬
tunities of wrefling it again out of the Macedonian’s
hand ; for which reafon they entered into an alliance
with Rome againfl him, and proved of great fervice to
the Romans in their war with him j but growing in-
folent upon account of their fervices, they made war
upon the Romans themfelves. By that warlike nation
they were overcome, and granted a peace on the fol¬
lowing fevere terms; 1. The majefty of the Roman
people
./Etna,
JEtc-lia.
I
A E T [ 25
jEtolia- people fliall be revered in all ^toiia. 2. yEtolta thall
not fuffer the armies of fuch as are at war with Rome
to pafs through her territories, and the enemies ot
Rome (hall be likewife the enemies of iEtolia. 3. She
(hall, in the fpace of 100 days, put into the hands of
the magiftrates of Corcyra all the prifoners and defert-
ers (he has, whether of the Romans or their allies, ex¬
cept fuch as have been taken twice, or during her al¬
liance with Rome. 4. The ^tolians (hall pay down
in ready money, to the Roman general in iEtolia, 200
Euboic talents, of the fame value as the Athenian ta¬
lents, and engage to pay 50 talents more within the
fix years following. 5. They (hall put into the hands
of the conful 40 fuch hbftages as he (hall chocfe ^ none
of whom (hall be under 12, or above 40 years of age :
the praetor, the general of the horfe, and fuch as have
been already hoitages at Rome, are excepted out of
this number. 6. iEtolia (hall renounce all preten-
fions to the cities and territories which the Romans
have conquered, though thefe cities and territories
had formerly belonged to the JEtolians. 7. The city
of Oenis, and its diftritt, (hall be fubjeft to the Acar-
nanians. .
After the conqueft of Macedon by yEmilius 1 aulus,
they were reduced to a much worfe condition ; for not
only thofe among them who had openly declared for
Perfeus, but fuch as were only fufpetted to have fa¬
voured him in their hearts, were lent to Rome, in or¬
der to clear themfelves before the fenate. I here they
were detained, and never afterwards fuffered to return
into their native country. Five hundred and fifty of
the chief men of the nation were barbaroully affafii-
nated by the partifans of Rome, for no other crime
but that of being fufpe&ed to wi(h well to Perfeus.
The jEtolians appeared before iEmilius Paulus in
mourning habits, and made loud complaints of fuch
inhuman treatment*, but could obtain no redrefs : nay,
ten commiflioners who had been fent by the fenate. to
fettle the affairs of Greece, enafted a decree, declaring
that thofe who were killed had fuflfered juftly, fince it
appeared to them that they had favoured the Macedo¬
nian party. From this time thofe only were raifed to
the chief honours and employments in the ^Etolian re¬
public who were known to prefer the intereft of Rome
to that of their country •, and as thefe alone were coun¬
tenanced at Rome, all the magiftrates of iEtolia were
the creatures and mere tools of the Roman fenate. In
this ftate of fervile fubjeftion they continued till the
deftruaion of Corinth, and the diffelution of the A-
chaean league j when iEtolia, with the other free dates
of Greece, was reduced to a Roman province, com¬
monly called the province of Achaia. Neverthelefs,
each "(late and city was governed by its own laws, un¬
der the fuperintendency of the preetor whom Rome fent
annually into Achaia. The whole nation paid a ctr-
tain tribute, and the rich were forbidden to poffefs
lands anywhere but in their own country.
In this ftate, with little alteration, ./Etolia continued
under the emperors, till the reign of Conftantine the
Great, who, in his new partition of the provinces of
the empire, divided the weftern parts of Greece from
the reft, calling them iVeio Epirus, and fubje&ing the
whole country to the prcefe&us prcetoru for Illyricum.
Under the fucceflfors of Conftantine, Greece was par¬
celled out into feveral principalities, efpecially after
Ah oli a
II
Affection.
1 ] A F F
the taking of Conftantinople by the Weftern princes.
At that time, Theodorus Angelus, a noble Grecian,
of the imperial family, feized on iEtolia and Epirus, /
The former he left to Michael his fon, who maintain¬
ed it agair.ft Michael Palaeologus, the firft emperor of
the Greeks, after theexpulfion of the Latins. Charles,
the laft prince of this family, dying m 1430 without
lawful ifl’ue, bequeathed ^Etolia to his brother’s fon,
named alfo Charles ; and Acarnania to his natural fons
Mem non, Turnus, and Hercules. But, great dif~
nutes arifing about this divifion, Amurath II. after
the reduftion of Theffalonica, laid hold of fo favour¬
able an opportunity, and drove them .all out in 1432.
The Mahometans were afterwards difpoffefied of this
country by the famous prince of Epirus, George Ca-
ftriot, commonly called Scanderbeg; who, wi th a fmall
army, oppofed the whole power of the Ottoman em¬
pire, and defeated thefe barbarians in 2 2 pitched bat¬
tles. That hero, at his death, left great part of TEto-
lia to the Venetians ; but, they not being able to make
head againft fuch a mighty power, the whole country
was foon reduced by M^ohammed II. whofe fuccelTors
hold it to this day.
AFER, Domitius, a famous orator, born at Nil-
mes, flouriftied uuder Fiberius, and the three fucceed-
ing emperors. (Quintilian makes frequent mention of
him, and commends his pleadings. But he difgraced
his talents, by turning informer againft fome of the
moft diftinguilhed perfonages in Rome. (Quintilian, in
his youth, cultivated the friendftiip of Homitius very
affiduouily. He tells us that his pleadings abounded
with pleafant (lories, and that there were public col-
leftions of his witty fayings, fome of which he quotes.
He alfo mentions two books ol his “ On Witneffes.
Domitius was once in great danger from an infcrip-
tion he put upon a ftatue eredled by him in honour of
Caligula, wherein he declared that this prince was a
fecond time conful at the age of 27. I his he in¬
tended as an encomium, but Caligula taking it as a
farcafm upon his youth, and his infringement of the
laws, raifed a procefs againft him, and pleaded himfelf
in perfon. Domitius, inftead of making a defence, re¬
peated part of the emperor’s fpeech with the higheft
marks of admiration ; after which he fell upon his
knees, and, begging pardon, declared, that he drea.d-
ed more the eloquence of Caligula than his imperial
power. This piece of flattery fucceeded fo well,
that the emperor not only pardoned, but alfo raifed
him to the confuKhip. Afer died in the reign of Ne¬
ro, A. D. 59.
AFFA., a weight ufed on the Gold Coaft of Gui¬
nea. it is equal to an ounce, and the half of it is cal¬
led eggeba. IVIoft of the blacks on the Gold Coaft give
thefe names to thefe weights.
AFFECTION, in a general fenfe, implies an.attn-
bute infeparable from its fubjefl. I hus magnitude,
figure, weight, &c. are affeftions of all bodies j and
love, fear, hatred, &c. are affe&ions of the mind.
Affection, fignifying a fettled bent of mind towards
a particular being or thing, occupies a middle ipace
between difpoftion on the one hand, pajjion on the
other *. It is diftinguifhable from Difpofition, which * See Dif,
being a branch of one’s nature, originally, muft pojition,
before there can be an opportunity to exert it upon any^l
particular objedl 5 whereas Affeftion can never be ori-
I i 2 ginal,
1
A F F [ 252 ] A F F
Affection gmal, becaufe, having a fpecial relation to a particular
^ object, it cannot exiit till the objeft have once at leaft
"I1^' been prefented. It is alfo diftinguilhable from Paflion,
which, depending on the real or ideal prefence of
its objeft, vanilhes with it: whereas Affe&ion is a
lading connection ; and, like other connections, fubfifts
even when we do not think of the perfon. A familiar
example will illuftrate this. There may be in one per-
fon’s mind a difpofition to gratitude, which, through
want of an objeft, happens never to be exerted j and
which therefore is never difcovered even by the perfon
himfelf. Another, who has the fame difpofition, meets
with a kindly office that makes him grateful to his be-
nefaCtor : An intimate connection is formed between
them, termed affeflion ; which, like other connections,
has a permanent exiftence, though not always in view.
The afteCtion, for the moft part, lies dormant, till an
opportunity offer for exerting it: in that circumftance,
it is converted into the paffion of gratitude and the
opportunity is eagerly feized of tellifying gratitude in
the warmeft manner.
Affection, among Phyjicians, fignifies the fame as
difeafe. Thus the hyfteric affeSlioti is the fame with
the hylteric difeafe.
AFFERERS or Afferors, in Law, perfons ap¬
pointed in courts-leet, courts-baron, &c. to fettle, upon
oath, the fines to be impofed upon thofe who have been
guilty of faults arbitrarily punilhable.
AFFETTUOSO, or Con AiFF.TTO, in the Italian
Mujic, intimates that the part to which it is added
ought to be played in a tender moving way, and con-
fequently rather flow than fall.
AFFIANCE, in Law, denotes the mutual plight¬
ing of troth between a man and woman to marry each
other.
AFFIDAVIT, fignifies an oath in writing, fworn
before fome perfon who is authorized to take the fame.
AFFINI FY, among Cmilians, implies a relation
contraCIed by marriage •, in contradiftinCHon to con-
fanguinity, or relation by blood.— Affinity does not
found any real kinffiip ; it is no more than a kind of
fiClion, introduced on account of the clofe relation be¬
tween huffiand and wife. It is even faid to ceafe when
the caufe of it ceafes : hence a woman who is not ca¬
pable of being a witnefs for her huffiand’s brother du¬
ring his lifetime, is allowed for a witnefs when a wi¬
dow, by reafon the affinity is diffolved. Yet with re¬
gard to the contracting marriage, affinity is not diffol¬
ved by death, though it be in every thing elfe.
There are feveral degrees of affinity, wherein mar¬
riage was prohibited by the law of Mofes : thus, the
fon could not marry his mother, or his father’s wife
(Lev. xviii. 7. et feq.) : the brother could not marry
his filter, whether (he were fo by the father only or
by the mother only, and much lefs if ffie was his filter
both by the fame father and mother : the grandfather
could not marry his grand daughter, either by his fon
or daughter. No one could marry the daughter of his
father’s wife, nor the filter of his father or mother ;
nor the uncle his niece ; nor the aunt her nephew ;
nor the nephew the wife of his uncle by the father’s
fide. The father-in-law could not marry his daugh¬
ter-in-law ; nor the brother the. wife of his brother,
while living ; nor even after the death of his brother’
if he left children. If he left not children, the furviv’
ing brother was to raife up children to his deceafed Affinity.
brother, by marrying his widow. It was forbidden to •
marry the mother and the daughter at one time, or the
daughter of the mother’s fon, or the daughter of her
daughter, or two fillers together. It is true the pa¬
triarchs before the law married their fillers, as Abra¬
ham married Sarah, who was his father’s daughter by
another mother; and two fillers together, as Jacob
married Rachel and Leah j and their own fillers by
both father and mother, as Seth and Cain. But thele
cafes are not to be propofed as examples : becaufe in
fome they were authorized by neceffity, in others by
cullom ; and the law as yet was not in being. If
fome other examples may be found, either before or
fince the law, the Scripture exprefsly difapproves of
them, as Reuben’s incell with Bilhah his father’s con¬
cubine, and the aCHon of Amnon with his filler Ta¬
mar 5 and that of Herod-Antipas, who married Hero-
dias his filter-in-law, his brother Philip’s wife, while
her hufband was yet living.
Affinity is alfo ufed to denote conformity or
agreement : Thus we fay, the affinity of languages, the
affinity of words, the affinity of founds, &c.
Affinity, in is a term employed to ex-
prefs that peculiar propenfity which the particles of
matter have to unite and combine with each other ex-
clulively, or in preference to any other connection.
The attractions between bodies at infenfible di-
fiances, and which of courfe are confined to the parti¬
cles of matter, have been diftinguilhed by the name
of affinity, while the term attraBion has been more
commonly confined to cafes of fenfible diftance. And
as the particles of matter are of two kinds, either ho¬
mogeneous or heterogeneous, fo there are two kinds of'
affinity.
“ Homogeneous affinity urges the homogeneous par¬
ticles towards each other, and keeps them at infenfible
dillances from each other j and confequently is the
caufe why bodies almoft always exift united together,
fo as to conftitute maffes of fenfible magnitude. This
affinity is ufually denoted by the term cohejion, and
fometimes by adhejion when the furfaces of bodies are
only referred to. Homogeneous affinity is nearly uni-
verfal j as far as is known, caloric and light only are
deftitute of it.
Heterogeneous affinity urges heterogeneous parti¬
cles towards each other, and keeps them at infenfible-
dillances from each other, and of courfe is the caufe
of the formation of new integrant particles compofed.
of a certain number of heterogeneous particles. Thefe
new integrant particles afterwards unite by cohefion,
and form mafles of compound bodies. Thus an in¬
tegrant particle of water is compofed of particles of
hydrogen and oxygen, urged towards each other, and
kept at an infenfible dittance by heterogeneous affinity j
and a raafs of water is compofed of an indefinite num¬
ber of integrant particles of that fluid, nrged towards
each other by homogeneous affinity. Heterogeneous
affinity is univerfal, as far as is known ; that is to fay,
there is no body whofe particles are not attracted by
the particles of fome other body j but whether the
particles of all bodies have an affinity for the particles
of all other bodies, is a point which we have no means
of afcertaining. It is, however, exceedingly probable,
and has been generally taken for granted ; though it,.
is .
A F F
[ 253 ]
A F G
is certainly affiiming more than even analogy can war¬
rant.” {Thomfon's Chemijlry).
AFFIRMATION, in Logic, the afferting the truth
of any propofition.
Affirmation, in Law, denotes an indulgence al¬
lowed to the people called Quakers: who, in cafes
where an oath is required from others, may make a fo-
lemn affirmation that what they fay is true ; and if they
make a falfe affirmation, they are fubjeft to the penal¬
ties of perjury. But this relates only to oaths taken to
the government, and on civil occafions ; for Quakers
are not permitted to give their teftimony in any crimi¬
nal cafe, &c.
Affirmation is alfo ufed for the ratifying or
confirming the fentence or decree of feme inferior
court : Thus we fay, the houfe of lords affirmed the
decree of the chancellor, or the decree of the lords of
feffion.
AFFIRMATIVE, in Grammar. Authors diftin-
guiffi affirmative particles} fuch as, yes.— The term
affirmative is fometimes alfo ufed fubftantively. 1 hus
we fay, the affirmative is the more probable fide of the
queftion : there were fo many votes, or voices, for the
affirmative.
AFFIX, in Grammar, a particle added at the clofe
of a word, either to diverfify its form or alter its figni-
Scation. We meet with affixes in the Saxon, the Ger¬
man, and other northern languages-, but more efpecially
in the Hebrew, and other oriental tongues. The He¬
brew affixes are fingle fyllables, frequently fingle letters,
fubjoined to nouns and verbs -, and contribute not a lit¬
tle to the brevity of that language. The oriental lan¬
guages are much the fame as to the radicals, and differ
chiefly from each other as to affixes and prefixes.
AFFLATUS, literally denotes a blaft of wind,
breath, or vapour, ftriking with force againft another
body. The word is Latin, formed from ad, “ to,” and
fiare, “ to blow.” Naturalifts fometimes fpeak of the
afflatus of ferpents. Tully ufes the word figuratively,
for a divine infpiration ; in which fenfe, he aferibes all
great and eminent accomplifflments to a divine afflatus.
The Pythian prieftefs being placed on a tripod or per¬
forated ftool, over a holy cave, received the divine
afflatus, as a late author expreffes it, in her belly ; and
being thus infpired, fell into agitations, like a phrene¬
tic during which (he pronounced, in hollow groans
and broken fentences, the will of the deity. T his af¬
flatus is fuppofed, by fame, to have been a fubterra-
neous fume, or exhalation, wherewith the prieftefs was
literally infpired. Accordingly, it had the effe61s of
a real phyfical difeafe ; the paroxyfm of which was fo
vehement, that Plutarch obferves it fometimes proved
mortal. Van Dale fuppofes the pretended enthufiafm
of the Pythia to have arifen from the fumes of aroma¬
tics.
AFFLICTION is not itfelf, in propriety of medi¬
cal fpeech, a difeafe, but it is the caufe of many : for
whatever excites envy, anger, or hatred, produces dif-
eafes from tenfe fibres ; as whatever excites fear, grief,
joy, or delight, begets difeafes from relaxation.
AFFORAGE, in the French cuftoms, a duty paid
to the lord of a diftridt, for permiflion to fell wine, or
other liquors, within his feigniorv. Afforage is alfo
ufed for the rate or price of provifions laid and fixed by
the provoft or ftieriffs of Paris,
AFFORESTING, Afforestatio, the turningAffnrefting
ground into foreft. The Conqueror, and his fuccef- Af,j;ans>
fors, continued aff >refting the lands of the fubject for  ,y
many reigns ; till the grievance became fo notorious,
that the people of all degrees and denominations were
brought to fue for relief; which was at length obtain¬
ed, and commiffions were granted to furvey and per¬
ambulate the foreft, and feparate all the new afforefted
lands, and reconvert them to the ufes of their proprie¬
tors, under the name and quality of purlieu or pouralle
land.
AFFRAY, or Affrayment, in formerly fig-
nified the crime of affrighting other perfons, by ap¬
pearing in unufual armour, brandiffiihg a weapon, &c.;
but at prefent, affray denotes a Ikirmilh or fight be¬
tween two or more.
AFFRONTEE, in Heraldry, an appellation given
to animals facing one another on an efcutcheon 5 a kind
of bearing which is otherwife called confrontee, and
{lands oppofed to adoffee.
AFFUSION, the aft of pouring fome fluid fub-
ftance on another body. Dr Grew gives feveral expe¬
riments of the luftation arifing from the affufion of
divers menftruums on all forts of bodies. Divines and
church hiftorians fpeak of baptifm by affufion which
amounts to much the fame with what we now call
fipr ink ling.
AFGHANS, in Hifiory, a people who inhabit a
province of CaBUL or CabulistaN, in the northern
parts of India. They boaft of being defeended of Saul
the firft king of Ifrael, and that their great anceftor
was raifed from the rank of a fflepherd, not on account
of his princely qualities, but becaufe his ftature was ex¬
actly equal to the length of a rod which the angel Ga¬
briel had given to the prophet Samuel as the meafure
of the ftature of him whom God had deftined to fill the
throne of Ifrael.
Saul, whofe defeent, according to fome of them, was
of Judah, and according to others of Benjamin, had,
they fay, two fons, Berkia and Irmia, who ferved David,
and were beloved by him. I he fons of Berkia and Ir-
roia were Afghan and Ufbec, who, during the reigns
of David and Solomon, diftinguiftied themfelves, the
one for ftrength of body, and the other for learning.
The ftrength of Afghan, we are told, (truck terror even
into the demons and genii.
This hero ufed frequently to make excurfions to the
mountains, where his progeny, after his death, formed
eftabliftiments, lived in a ftate of independence, fortified
themfelves, and exterminated infidels. When Maho¬
met appeared upon earth, his fame reached the Afghans,
who fought him in multitudes under their leaders
Khalid and Abdul Refpid, fonsofWalidj and the pro¬
phet honouring them with this reception—“ Come, O
Muluc, or Kings !” they affumed the title of Mehc,
which they retain to this day.
The Afghans are fometimes called Solaimam, either
becaufe they were formerly the fubjefts of Solomon
king of Ifrael, or becaufe they inhabit the mountains of
Solomon. They are likewife called Patans, a name de¬
rived from the Hindu verb paitna, “ to rufti,” which wras
given to them by a fultan, in confequence of the ala¬
crity with which they had attacked and conquered his
enemies. The province which they occupy at prefent
ivas formerly called Rohj and hence is derived the
nams
I
Afghans
I!
Africa.
F R [ 254 ] A F R
The city which was eftabliftied broadeft part, from Cape Verd, in the Atlantic ocean,
A
name of the Rohillas.
in it by the Afghans was called by them Paifinver or
Paifher, and is now the name of the whole diftridh The
fe£ts of the Afghans are very numerous, and they are
Muffulmans, partly of the Sunni, and partly of the
Schiek perfuafion.
They are divided into four clafles. The firft is the
pure clafs, confiding of thofe whofe fathers and mothers
were Afghans. The fecond clafs confifls of thofe whofe
fathers were Afghans and mothers of another natiom
The third clafs contains thofe whofe mothers Were
Afghans and fathers of another nation. The fourth
clafs is compofed of the children of women whofe mo¬
thers were Afghans and fathers and hufbands of a dif¬
ferent nation. Perfons who do not belong to one of
thefe claffes are not called Afghans.
This people have at all times diftinguilhed themfelves
by their courage. They have conquered for their own
princes and for foreigners, and have always been confi-
dered as the ftrength and fupport of the army in which
they ferved. As they have been applauded for virtues,
they have been alfo reproached for vices, having fome-
times been guilty of treachery, and of afting the bafe
part even of aflaffins.
Sir William Jones feems to have had no doubt but the
Afghans are defcendants of Ifrael. “ We learn (fays
he) from Efdras, that the ten tribes, after a wandering
journey, came to a country called Arfaretb, where we
may fuppofe they fettled: now the Afghans are faid
by the befl; Perfian hiftorians to be defcended from the
Jews. They have traditions among themfelves of fuch
a defcent j and it is even afferted, that their families
are diftinguilhed by the names of Jewifh tribes, al¬
though fince their converfion to Iflam, they ftudioufly
conceal their origin from all whom they admit not to
their fecrets. The Puftito language, of which I have
feen a di&ionary, has a manifeft refemblance to the
Chaldaic ; and a confiderable diftrift under their domi¬
nion is called Hazareh or Hazaret, which might eafily
have been changed into the word ufed by Efdras. I
ftrongly recommend an inquiry into the literature and
hiftory of the Afghans.” (AJiatic Refearches.)
AFR ANIUS, Lucius, a Latin comic poet, who lived
about a century before Chrift. He wrote comedies in
imitation of Menander j and is commended by Tully
and Quintilian for his acute genius and fluent ftyle.
Some fragments of his works only are now extant.
AFRICA, (derived according to Bochart from a Pu¬
nic Word fignifying ears of corn), was reprefented by
the ancients as one of the three great divifions or conti¬
nents of which they believed the world to confift.—By
them it was alfo called Libya. Since the difcovery of
America, it has been confidered by the moderns as one
of the four quarters of the globe.
Excepting at its north-eaft corner, called the IJlhmus
of Suex, which is a neck of land, about fixty miles over,
that unites it to Afia, Africa is entirely furrounded
by water. On the north it is bounded by the Medi¬
terranean fea, which divides it from Europe. Its whole
weftern coaft is walked by the waters of the Atlantic
ocean, by which it is divided from America ; and on
the eaft, the Red fea and the Indian ocean feparate it
from Afia. From the Mediterranean fea on the north,
to the Cape of Good Hope, which conftitutes its
Southern extremity, is no lefs than 4300 miles. Its
Africa.
to Cape Guarda-fui, near the ftraits of Babel-Mandel,
at the mouth of the Red fea, is 3500 miles from weft
to eaft. In lhape it fomewhat refembles a triangle, of
which the Mediterranean fea and the Atlantic ocean
form two fides, while the third fide confilts of the Red
fea and the Indian ocean.
The greater part of this vaft peninfula has in all Africa lit-
ages remained unknown to the other inhabitants of the tie known,
world. The general afpedl how?ever of its fituation,
reprefents it as Well fituated for maintaining a com¬
mercial intercourfe with the other quarters of the globe
It Hands as it were in the centre between Europ ,
Afia, and America ; and therefore has a much nearer
communication with each of them than they can have
with one another. It is oppofite to Europe, on its-
northern boundary, the Mediterranean fea, for al-
moft 1000 miles in a line from eaft to weft ; the di-
ftance feldom 100 miles, never 100 leagues. It is op¬
pofite to Afia the whole length of the Red fea ; the
diftance fometimes only 15 miles, feldom 50 leagues.
Its coaft, for about 2000 miles, lies oppofite to Ame¬
rica, at the diftance of from 500 to 700 leagues, in¬
cluding the iflands j whereas America is nowhere nearer
Europe than 1000 leagues, and excepting at its north-
weft corner, where it is yet little known, is not nearer
to Afia than 2500 leagues.
The knowledge of the ancients concerning Africa
feems to have been, in a great degree, limited to the
countries adjoining to the Mediterranean or to the
Red fea. The ideas, however, which Herodotus en¬
tertained of this great continent are by no means in¬
correct upon the whole : and it has been referved for
our own times to verify a part of the defeription which
he has given of the interior of Africa. Previous to his
time, the whole fea coaft of this continent had beep
explored by the conductors of an expedition fitted out
by Necho, one of the kings of Egypt. It is to be Expedition
obferved that this Necho took Sidon, and reduced of Necho
Phoenicia and Paleftine. He muft therefore have P0^'11^
feffed confiderable maritime power : Nor was he Rk^hcenicig.
powerful by land ; for he marched through Paleftine
and Syria to attack the Affyrians near the Euphrates,
and, in his way, defeated and flew Jofiah the king of
Judah, who oppofed his march at Megiddo (2 Kings
xxiii. 29.) Having defeated the Affyrians (or Baby¬
lonians) he placed a ftrong garrifon in Carchemifti, a
fortified city on the Euphrates wdiich he had taken 5
and, in his return, he took poffeflion of Jerufalem, call¬
ed Cadytis by Herodotus. This enterprifing prince
employed a body of Phoenician mariners to circumnavi-Circumna-
gate Africa, an undertaking which they accompli{hedv>gate5
with fuccefs. The following is the fliort narrative gi-1102,
ven by Herodotus of this remarkable tranfaClion :
“ Except in that particular part which is contiguous to Herodotus’s
Afia, the whole of Africa is furrounded by the fea. account of
The firft perfon who has proved this, was, as far as we11,
are able to judge, Necho king of Egypt. When he
had defifted from his attempt to join by a canal the
Nile with the Arabian gulf, he difpatched fome veffels,
under the conduCl of Phoenicians, with direCIions to
pafs by the Columns of Hercules, and, after penetrating
the Northern ocean, to return to Egypt. Thefe Phoe¬
nicians, taking their courfe from the Red fea, entered
into the Southern ocean. On the approach of autumn
they
Africa.
A F R [ 255 ]
they landed at Libya, and planted Come corn in the for it is faid to be
, lace where they happened to find themfelves : when
this was ripe, and they had eut it down, they again de¬
parted. Having thus confumed two years, in the third
they pa (Ted the Columns of Hercules, and returned to
Egypt. The relation may obtain attention from others,
but to me it feems incredible; for they affirmed that,
having failed round Africa, they had the fun on their
Mt hand. Thus was Africa for the firft time known.”
Many of the moft eminent of the ancient hiftonans
and geographers regarded this account of the circum¬
navigation of Africa as altogether fabulous, chiefiy in
confequence of the ftory concerning the appearance
aflumed by the great celeftial bodies in the courfe.of the
voyage, which was then unintelligible, from the imper-
fed tfate of the fcience of agronomy. But the very cir-
cumftances which, among the ancients, excited a doubt
AFT!
et large and broad, and full of cro-
Africa.
about the exiftence or fuccefs of fuch a voyage, mull
now be regarded as affording the moll latisi.aJlory in
ternal evidence of the veracity of the ancient Phoeni¬
cian navigators. <
The Carthginians were the rivals of the Egyptians
commerce, and mull undoubtedly have explored
a great part of the coall of Africa ; but, according
to the ufual cautious and monopolizing fpirit of com¬
mercial Hates, it is probable that they concealed their
difcoveries from other nations. As almoft no monu¬
ments of their literature now exift, we are deprived of
the means of inveftigating the full extent of their geo¬
graphical knowledge. One important document has,
however reached our times, which demonflrates the
enterprifing Ipirit of that people. 1 his is, an appa¬
rently abridged journal of a voyage to the wefterncoaft
of Africa, undertaken by Hanno the Carthaginian,
about 30 or 40 years after the expedition above men¬
tioned under Necho king of Egypt. Herodotus does not
feem to have been informed of this undertaking of Han-
nor does Pliny appear to have feen the journal of
Voyage of
Enno.
the voyage, though he is no ftranger to its contents.
Hanno is faid to have depofited, at his return,
the journal of his voyage in the temple of Saturn ;
which may perhaps account for the means of its prefer-
vation. It begins by Hating, that “ it was decreed by
the Carthaginians that Hanno Ihould undertake a voyage
beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and found Liby-
phc^nician cities. He failed, accordingly, with 60 (hips
of 50 oars each, and a body of men and women to the
number of 30,000, and provifions and other neceffaries.”
From the extent of this plan of colonization, or rather
of efiablilhing permanent garrifons, upon the weftern
coaffs of Africa, it is evident that thele coafts mull, in
fome meafure, have been previoufiy examined. Major
Rennel, who has inveffigated the fubjedl with great ac¬
curacy, with a reference to the journal of the voyage,
is of opinion that the Carthaginian or Libyphoenician
cities founded by Hanno, were all fituated to the fouth
of the ftrait of Gibraltar, and to the northward of
the river Senegal; and that all of them, excepting one
at Cerne, now called Arguin, were placed to the north
of Cape Bodajor. To the fouthward of Cerne, Hanno
during his voyage made two expeditions; but it does
not appear that he made any attempt to fix an ellabliffi-
ment beyond the limits now mentioned. On his firil
expedition, he feems to have failed into the river Sene¬
gal, as may be fuppofed from the defcription given;
codiles and river horfes.” During the fame voyage,
Hanno made a fecond expedition fouthward, apparently
for the fake of difcovery. He appears to have doubled
Cape Verd, and to have failed acrofs the mouth of the
Gambia. His voyage is faid to have terminated at a
place which he calls the Southern Horn, fuppofed to be
either at Sierra Leona, or, at a little diffance to the
fouth of it, at Sherbro. It is evident, from the general
ftyle of the journal, that the Carthaginians, at the time
of this voyage, were altogether unacquainted with the
interior Hate of the country on the wellern quarter of
Africa. Excepting the mere defcription of the coaff,
and its windings and bays, every thing is marvellous, and
apparently fabulous. They talk of having caught two
women covered with hair, whofe Ikins they brought to
Carthage, meaning, in all probability, two monkeys of
fome of the unknown fpecies which abound in the coun¬
try of the Negroes. They alfo talk of ftreams of fire,
and of rivers of fire which feemed to be running into
the fea. At one place, during the night, they faw a
country which was on fire : and afterwards they faw
another country full of fires; in the middle of which
was a lofty fire, larger than the others, which feemed
to touch the liars. When day came, they difcovered
this elevated fire to be a large hill, which they called
the chariot of the gods. Thefe wonders have been ex¬
plained to us by later travellers ; who remark that it is
the cuffom, at certain feafons of the year, in the coun¬
try of the Negroes, to fet fire to the dry grafs ; and
that on thofe occafions, during the night, the whole
territory feems to be a Hieet of fiame.
With regard to Africa in general, Herodotus de-Defcription
fcribes it in this fummary way: “ All that part of of ^rl^a
Libya towards the northern fea (Mediterranean), ^rom (jotu^10"
Egypt to the promontory of Soloeis (now Cape Cantin
on the coafl of Morocco) which terminates the third
divilion of the earth, is inhabited by the different na¬
tions of the Libyans ; that diftridl alone excepted in pof-
feffion of the Greeks and Phoenicians. The remoter
parts of Libya beyond the fea coafl, and the people who
inhabit its borders, are infelled by various beaffs of
prey.—The country yet more diflant is a parched and
immeafurable defart.''1 Here this ancient hillorian clear¬
ly ditlinguiffies three belts or regions parallel to the
Mediterranean, the northernmoft of which we mull con¬
ceive to have been that which extended along the fea
coaff, and was bounded on the fouth by Mount Atlas,
and other ridges. The middle one is now called the
Country of Dates, becaufe the inhabitants chiefly live
on that fruit ; and the third is the great African defert.
Beyond thefe, however, Herodotus had heard of a fourth
region, belonging to the negroes ; for, in another place
he divides the inhabitants of Africa generally into two
races ('with the exception of llrangers, viz. the Phoeni¬
cians and the Greeks). The natives (fays he) are the
Africans and Ethiopians, one of which poffeffes the
northern, and the other the fouthern part of Africa.”—
By thefe nations are evidently intended the Moors and
the Negroes, which two claffes are as diftintt at the
prefent day as they were in ancient times.
This author, whofe account of the ancient nations
will always be a matter of much curiofity, becaufe he
has juffly been called the Father of Hifory, as being
the earlieft authentic hiltorian whofe writings have
bceu i
i
APR [ 256 ] A F R
Africa. • been tranfmitted to us, gives a detailed account of the
jj-jbes that in his time inhabited the northern coaft of
Africa, upon the borders of the Mediterranean ; be¬
ginning with Egypt and proceeding weftward to the
leffer Syrtis, mentioning only in general terms, the
reft of the country to the promontory of Soloeis, (Cape
Cantin), which was erroneoufly regarded by him as the
moft wefterly point of the coaft of Africa. The people
of this coaft he reprefents generally as Nomades, from
Egypt weftward to the lake Tritonis, by which he
means the leffer Syrtis, or gulf of Kabes ; and the
country, hefaysjuftly, is low and fandy. The coun¬
try farther to the weft, called Africa Proper, or Nu-
midia, by the Romans, including the prefent ftates of
Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis, he deferibes as moun¬
tainous and interfperfed with wood, and infefted by
wild beafts and ferpents of an enormous fize. With¬
in this traft, however, he reprefents the inhabitants as
hufbandmen who cultivate the ground and live in
houfes. Mount Atlas is mentioned by him in the
fame magnificent terms in which all the ancient writers
fpeak of it. “ At every approach it appears round
and fteep, and fo lofty that its fummit can never be
diftinguiftied byreafon of the clouds that envelope it.”
Egypt was, in the days of Herodotus, a rich and po¬
pulous ftate, from which the Greeks had derived a
great part of their arts and of their religion. Begin¬
ning from Egypt and proceeding weftward, he enu-
Inh'ibitants merates Africans in the following manner. The
of Africa firft are the Adyrmachidee, whofe manners were in
according every refpeff Egyptian, that is to fay, civilized. He
to Herodo- imputes to them, however, a barbarous cuftom, that
lUS* their king poffeffed the privilege of fleeping the firft
night with every new married woman. They inhabi¬
ted the coaft between Egypt and the port of Pleunos,
adjoining to what is now called the defert of Barca.
Next to the Adyrmachidae were the Gilligammce, who
occupied the coaft as far as the ifland of Aphrodifias,
fuppofed to be near Derna. The Afbijdce were a
fmall inland tribe, fituated between the Gilligammae
on the eaft, and the Aufchicae on the weft, having no
communication with the fea. They were accounted
remarkable beyond all the Africans for the ufe of
chariots drawn by four horfes; and, it is to be obfer-
ved, that Herodotus fays the Greeks borrowed from
Africa the cuftom of harnaffing four horfes to a cha¬
riot. The Aufchicce, who bordered on the weft of the
Alhyftae extended from above Barca to the neighbour¬
hood of the Hefperides on the fea coaft. The Cabales,
an inconfiderable tribe, occupied the coaft oppofite to
the centre of the Aufchicae, and extended themfelves
along the coaft near Tauchira, a town belonging to
Barca.
The province of Cyrenaica, (now Kairoan or Kurin),
was fituated within the traft of the Nomades. It was
the moft elevated part of it, and wonderfully fertile.
It contained the firft Grecian colony, and was alfo
named Libya Pentapo/is, from its having five towns of
note in it, Gyrene, Barce, Ptolemais, Berenice, and
Tauchira ; all of which not only ftill exift as towns or
villages, but it is remarkable that their names are
fcarcely altered, being called Kurin, Barca, Tollama-
ta, Bernic, and Tauhera. The celebrated gardens of
the Hefptrides were fituated upon this coaft: on the
iveftern border of the defert of Barca.
The Nafamones, according to Herodotus, were the
moft powerful of the Nomadic tribes upon this coatt.
They bordered upon the greater Syrtis, now called
the gu/f of Sort. Pie fays, that during the fummer
feafon they leave their cattle on the coaft, and go up
into the country to gather dates at a place called
Angela, which will be afterwards noticed. The Na¬
famones are faid to have feized upon the territories of
the Pfylli. Thefe were a people who poffeffed the repu¬
tation of being able to charm ferpents, and to cure the
wounds occafioned by their flings. Cato is faid by Plu¬
tarch to have carried fome of the Pfylli with him for that
purpofe, in his memorable march round the greater Syr¬
tis. It is certain that, in modern times, in Egypt, Abyf-
finia, and India, certain perfons are believed to poffefs
the power of completely fubduing ferpents of the moft
venomous kinds, fo as to have them entirely under
their command. They are faid to feize on them with
their naked hands, without apprehenfion of mifehief,
and this, not only on ferpents they have already been
accuftomed to, but on fuch as they never faw before.
Beyond the Nafamones to the fouthward, Herodotus
mentions the Garamantes, whom he reprefents as a nu¬
merous nation, fituated ten journeys from Angela,
between the Nafamones and the Macae. The Macce
appear to have been the next tribe upon the coaft after
the Nafamones. The prefent towns of Mefurata and
Lebida are fituated within the territory that belonged
to them. The Gindanes, Lotophagi, and Machlyes, in
the order here mentioned, occupied the remainder of
the fpace between the Macae and the lake Tritonis, or
gulf of Kabes; for Herodotus appears to have under-
ftood by the lake Tritonis, either the gulf alone, or
the gulf and an adjoining lake col/eBively, which in
his time very probably had a communication, though
they are now feparated by a neck of land, and the lake
receives the name of Lowdeak. It is to be obferved,
that the Lotophagi derived their name from the fruit
of a tree or ftirub called the lotus, upon which they
fubfifted, fuppofed to be the rhamnus lotus of Linnaeus.
It is not only found in this territory, but alfo upon the
whole northern coaft of Africa, and on many fpots of
the defert, and even in the country of the Negroes.
To the weftward of the lake Tritonis, Herodotus
mentions the Aufes, the Maxyes, the Zaveces, and the
Zygantes; which laft appear to have been the inhabi¬
tants of the province that contained the city of Car¬
thage : of the territories of this laft ftate Herodotus
gives no defeription, though he fays, that he is able to
name all the nations that inhabit the country as far as
the Atlantes, beyond which he knows nothing. Some
other pofitions in the north of Africa that were known
in the times of Herodotus, will be afterwards mention¬
ed.
With regard to the interior of Africa, the know¬
ledge of Herodotus was very indiftindt. He mentions
Ethiopia in a way that in fome meafure correfponds
with Nubia, and Abyftinia : “ Ethiopia, (fays he),
“ which is the extremity of the habitable world, is
contiguous to Arabia on the fouth-weft. It produces
gold in great quantities, elephants with their prodigi¬
ous teeth, trees and (hrubs of every kind, as well as
ebony. Its inhabitants are alfo remarkable for their
fize, their beauty, and their length of life.” To
Ethiopia, however, he gives a wide extent, fo as to in¬
clude
Africa.
rruption
be Van.
lals into
Africa.
Overrun
be Sara-
"ens.
A F R [2
elude the whole region inhabited by men of a black
complexion, as he calls it, the “ extremity of the ha¬
bitable world.” The remoteft fource of the Nile was
unknown in his days •, and after all the efforts that
have been made for its difeovery, it may be regarded
as having hitherto been vifited by no European. He
fuppofes, however, that the courfe of the Nile, “ with¬
out reckoning that part of it which flows through
Egypt, was known to the extent of four months jour¬
ney, partly by land, partly by water but beyond this
its courfe was unknown, though he fays “ it is certain
that the Nile rifes in the weft.” The moft remarkable
fa£t, however, mentioned by Herodotus concerning
the inveftigation of the interior of Africa, confifts of
the adventures of certain Nafarnones who came from
the neighbourhood of Gyrene, now called Kurin.. He
fays that they made an expedition into the interior of
Africa, with a view to extend their difeoveries beyond
all preceding adventurers. No attempt is made to
ftate the diftance to which they penetrated j but it
muft have been very great : “ firrt proceeding through
the region which was inhabited, they next came to
that which was infefted by wild beafts •, leaving which,
they dire&ed their courfe weftward through the defert,
and were finally taken prifoners by black men of a di¬
minutive ftature, and carried to a city wafhed by a
great river, which flowed from weft to eaft, and
abounded in crocodiles.” Of this great river nothing
farther was ever difeovered by the ancients. Herodo¬
tus thought that it was probably the Nile, and Pliny
calls it the river Niger, or the river of the blacks or
Ethiopians.
The Romans were not a commercial people, ^ and
troubled themfelves little about the difeoveries of the
Egyptians and Carthaginians whom they vanquifbed.
The fertile diftri&s, however, in the north of Africa
adjoining to the (bores of the Mediterranean, formed
the chief granary of the empire during its moft profper-
ous period. Beyond thefe diftri6fs they pufhed their
conquefts only fo far as was neceffary to fecure their
pofleflions againft the barbarians of the defert. Both
Auguftus and Nero, however, fent perfons to attempt
to difeover the fource of the Nile, but without luccefs j
and the Romans were never remarkable for inveftiga-
ting the ftate of foreign countries when they had no
fcheme of conqueft in view. In the decline of the
Roman empire A. D. 426. Bonifacius, the governor
of Africa, revolted, and called in the aid of Genferic
the chief of a horde of barbarians called Vandals, who
had penetrated from the north of Europe into Spain.
rThefe barbarians croffed the ftraits of Gibraltar, and
foon became mafters of the country. About a centuiy
thereafter, their defeendents, in a fertile and enervating
climate, having loft their military charafter, were
vanquiftied by the celebrated Belifarius under Jufti-
nian, then at the head of the eaftern divifion of the
Roman empire. At a later period, when Mahomet
had roufed his countryman to war and conqueft, under
the influence of a furious fanaticifm, Egypt and the
reft of the north of Africa were overrun by the
Arabs, or, as they are called, the Saracens, A. D. 647.
by In a few centuries thereafter, the empire of the Sara-
' cens in Africa, where they were called Moors, was
gradually divided into a variety of petty dates called
VOL. I. Part I.
Africa.
*0 an d I 8° Cape cle
equator, Verd ifles-
57 J A F 11
the States of Barbary, which acknowledged rather a
nominal than a real dependence upon the Turkifh em-
pire.
The reft of Africa was forgotten till the fifteenth
century, when the difeovery of the mariners compafs
enabled the Europeans to extend their maritime enter-
prifes to all the quarters of the globe, with a facility Difcovcrjes
that was formerly Unknown. In thefe enterprifes the the por_
Portuguefe took the lead. They had never failed along tuguefe.
the weftern coaft of Africa, beyond Cape Non, in 270
north latitude till A. D. 1412, when they ventured
160 miles farther to Ca^e Bojador, whofe *ocky cliffs
((.retching out*to a confiderable diftance into the At¬
lantic ocean, intimidated them from advancing far'ifles>a"
ther. In 1419, when attempting to double this cape,
they difeovered the Madeira ifles. Afterwards in
1433> they pafled Cape Bojador, penetrated between
the tropics, and difeovered the river Senegal and
the Cape de Verd ifles fituated between 14°
north latitude. In 1471, they croffed the
and were aftoniftied to find that the torrid zone con¬
tained fertile and populous regions, inftead of being
burnt up by perpetual heat as had been formerly be¬
lieved. In 1484, the Portuguefe navigators, now be¬
come ambitious of the reputation of difeoverers of new
countries, penetrated 1500 miles beyond the equator,} OftheJSape
and two years thereafter Bartholomew de Diaz difeo-^^0
vered the Cape of Good Hope. In 1497, this cape,
being the fouthern extremity of Africa, was paffed by
Vafquez de Gama.
At this time the European nations were faft emer¬
ging from barbarifm. The feudal ariftocracies, by which
they had been kept in a ftate of perpetual anarchy,
were gradually fubdued by different princes, and a few
powerful dates or monarchies were raifed upon their
ruins. Thefe dates enjoying greater domeftic tranquil¬
lity, were become capable of direfling the energy and
fuperior intelligence, which began to prevail in the Eu¬
ropean charafler, to enterprifes requiring united and
fucceflive efforts. The difeoveries of the Portuguefe,
by pointing out a very fertile region in the centre of
Africa, in which gold and ivory could be obtained in
exchange for the manufa&ures of Europe, and in which
fettlements could be eafily formed, would in all proba¬
bility have directed to this quarter the whole activity
of the moft enterprifing of the European dates, had
not other events diverted them to different quarters.
Thfe events now alluded to, were the difeovery of A- Caufes that
mericaby Columbus in 1492, and the eafy com muni-
cation with the Eaft Indies, opened up by the difco-^.J
very of the paffage round the Cape of Good Hope.Africa.
Hence it has happened, that during thefe three centu¬
ries Africa has been much negle<5ted •, and, in the mod
enterprifing period of the biftory of the world, the Eu¬
ropean nations, though the moft enterprifing of man¬
kind, have left in a great meafure unexplored this im-
menfe continent, though fituated in their vicinity, and
abounding in a valuable produ&ions. A fewf faftories European
for the purpofe of procuring (laves have been eftabliflied fettlements
by the Englifti, French, and Spaniards, upon the weft¬
ern coaft, to the north of the equator. From thence to
the tropic of Capricorn, the Portuguefe have a few fet¬
tlements, upon the eaft and the weft coaft, for the fame
purpofe j and the Dutch fettlement at the Cape of Good
K k ' Hope,
Africa.
A F R [25
AiHca. Hope, is the only eftablilhment at all worthy of the
u—v ' name of an European colony, retaining the language
and fomewhat of the manners of the parent ftate.
What is known of the interior of Africa is chiefly
the refult of the efforts of particular travellers, w,ho
have penetrated into different quarters of that great
continent, impelled by the ambition of extending the
limits of human knowledge •, or it is the fruit of the ex¬
ertions of a private fociety of perfons of rank in Eng¬
land, inftituted in 1788, bearing the name of the Afn-
African Af- can Ajfcciation, who have employed at their expence,
foeiation. various individuals to enter Africa at different points,
and to proceed by fuch routes as have been thought
mofl: likely to lead to important difcoveries.
We fhall now give a concife account of the great
continent of Africa, as far as a knowledge of it has been
obtained from thefe different fources. In the flatement
now to be given, however, we fliall avoid taking any
farther notice of that fertile ftripe of territory on the
north of Africa, which borders upon the Mediterranean
fea, or upon the Atlantic ocean, fouthward to the moun¬
tains of Atlas, conftituting the Hates of Egypt, Iripoli,
Tunis, Algiers, Fez, and Morocco. Neither {hall we
take any notice of the country of Abyflinia at the head
of the Nile, or of the Dutch fettlement of the Cape of
Good Hope, as each of thefe will be feparately difcuf-
fed under their proper names.
Divifions of Africa, to the fouth of the Hates on the Mediter¬
ranean and of Morocco, confiHs of two great divifions,
the Sahara, or great defert, which is the country of
the Moors or Arabs •, and Nigritia, Negro/and, or the
country of the negroes or ^Ethiopians. The limits of
thefe two divifions, though nut in all cafes accurately
defined, depend on the foil and climate, and appear
to have remained permanent from the days of Hero¬
dotus,
The Sahara, or great defert, extends from the fouth
of Morocco, and of the Hates on the Mediterranean,
commonly called the Barbary States, to the rivers Se¬
negal and Niger, or to a line drawn acrofs the continent
of Africa, from Cape Verd to the Red fea. Beyond
the Sahara or defert, to the fouthward, is the country of
the Negroes.
The Sahara prefents a furface equal in extent to near¬
ly one half of Europe. It is upwards of 800 miles in
breadth from north to fouth, and more than double that
extent in length, from the Atlantic ocean on the w'efl,
to the frontiers of Abyflinia on the eaff. Its general
defcription is that of a vail wfildernefs of lifelefs fand,
parched by the intolerable heat of an almoH vertical
fun. Its chief varieties confifl of immenfe plains cover¬
ed with naked pebbles, or of barren rocks towering to¬
wards an unclouded and burning Iky. The flerility of
the foil is rather marked than alleviated by fome fcat-
tered plants, and by the verdure of a few valleys in
which water either Hagnates or fprings up.
The general defcription, however, of the great A-
frican wildernefs, is by no means to be underRood as
univerfal or w'ithout exception. The defert is here
and there interfperfed with fpots of afloniftiingfertility,
which are crowded with inhabitants. Every thing in
the climate of Africa is in extremes. No cold is in¬
deed experienced in that vaR continent; but barren-
nefs and fertility of foil border upon each other with a
degree of fuddennefs, of which, in the temperate cli-
Sahara, or
the .great
defert.
8 ] A F R
mates of Europe, we have no conception. The tra- Africa,
veller paffes in an inRant from burning fands to a rich'"""'/ —J
landfcape, in which flocks and herds, and towns and
villages abound. The fame vicinity of a tropical fun
which renders the wildernefs intolerable, rears up all
vegetable produdfions in the utmofi luxuriance and
perfection, in every fpot in which water and a tole¬
rable depth of foil are to be found. Thefe fequeflered
fituations in this great defert were called Cafes, or
Ifands, by the ancients. Under the Roman empire
it was not unufual to banifli Hate criminals to an ifland
in the great Libyan defert. The continent of Africa,
like that of South America, is highefl on its weflern
fide, and its greater rivers the Senegal, the Gambia,
and the Niger, rife in a chain of mountains fituated
nearer to the Atlantic than the Indian ocean. As the
Sahara extends towards the eafi and alfo towards
the fliores of the Mediterranean on the north, its iflands
abound mofi in thefe regions. But the leffer iflands are
not always permanent. A furious wind from the defert,
bringing along with it an immenfe quantity of fand,
fometimes overwhelms a whole fertile diflridl, and re¬
duces it to barrennefs. We {hall here take notice,
however, of fuch of the fequefiered iflands of this de¬
fert as are now known to be mofi important.
The ancients mention very particularly under theoafes,
name of Oafis three fituations, called the Greater Oafs, iflar.d', or
the Leffer Oafis, and the Oafis of Ammon. Of thefe ^JtS
the Greater Oafis is at prefent the befi known to the ^erU
Egyptians and the Arabs, becaufe the caravans from
Cairo to Darfur pafs along it. It is named Al Wah,
or the Oafis, by way of excellence. It appears to con¬
fifl of a number of detached fertile fpots or iflands, ex¬
tending in a line parallel to the courfe of the Nile,
and of the mountains that border the valley of Upper
Egypt. The iflands of the Greater Oafis are feparated
from each other by deferts of from two to 14 hours
travelling. The whole extent of the chain is about
100 Englifh miles, but by far the greatefl part of it is
defert. The whole Oafis is fubjedl to Egypt, and has
ever been reckoned an appendage to it, being diftant
from it about 90 miles. This Oafis contains abundance,
of date trees, and plenty of good water. The principal
village in it is called Chagre, and is fituated in 26° 7.f
N. Lat. and 290 40' E. Long.
The Leffer Oafis does not lie in any of the tracks of
the caravans, and is therefore little known. It is.un-
derftood, however, to begin at the dirtance of about 40
miles to the northward of the Greater Oafis, and to
proceed to a confiderable diftance in a direction towards
the north. It is called by the neighbouring Arabs Al
Wah-el-Gherbi, which appears to mark poverty or infe¬
riority, perhaps,in comparifon with the other. It confifts,
like the Greater Oafis, of a chain of narrow iflands
running parallel to the Nile.
The third Oafis contained the celebrated temple Temple of
and oracle of Jupiter Ammon, which was vifited byJul!iter
Alexander the. Great. Though in its dimenfions it i;,Ali raon*
perhaps lefs than the two former Oafes, it is undoubt¬
edly the greateft fo far as hiflorical importance is con¬
cerned. In the time of Herodotus, the ftate or king¬
dom of Ammon occupied a confiderable fpace betwixt
Egypt on the eaft and the defert of Barca on the
weft, and between the Nomadic tribes along the
coaft of the Mediterranean on the north, and the great
Libyan
Africa.
fr Brown
efcription
f the tear
I le.
*Ir Horne
nan’s.
A F R [ 25
Libyan deftrt on the fouth.—As the ancient Perfians
worfhipped one fupreme deity whom they reprefentecl
by the fun, and as they had a regular and well difcx-
plined priefthood, they were taught to regard with in¬
dignation the idolatry of the Greeks. Hence the Per-
lian monarch Cambyfes fent an army againft the Am-
monians, with orders to burn the temple from whence
the oracles of Jupiter were delivered. The expedition
was unfuccefsful, the army having been overwhelmed
with fand, or left by their guides to perilh in the de-
fert j fo that no remnant of them ever returned.—
The pofition of the Oafis of Ammon has lately been
afcertained by our countryman Mr Brown, who tra¬
velled into that quarter with a view to its djfcovery.
It appears to correfpond with the modern Siwah, in
290 12' N. Lat. and 26° 18' E. Long. As a build¬
ing of fuch antiquity muft be an objedl of great curio-
fity, we {hall tranfcribe Mr Brown’s defcription of
the fmall part of the temple that remains, the reft
having been deftroyed by the modern inhabitants of
the country to build their houfes and garden walls.
»“ It is a fingle apartment,” fays Mr Brown, “ built of
many ftones of the fame kind as thofe of which the
' pyramids confift, and covered originally with fix large
and folid blocks that reach from one wall to the other.
The length I found 32 feet in the clear, the height
about 18, the width 15. Agate filuated at one ex¬
tremity forms the principal entrance, and two doors
alfo near that extremity open oppofite to each other.
The other end is quite ruinous 5 but, judging from cir-
cumftances, it may be imagined that the building has
never been much larger than it now is. There is no
appearance of any other edifice having been attached
to it, and the lefs fo, as there are remains of fculpture
on the exterior of the walls. In the interior are three
rows of emblematical figures, apparently defigned to
reprefent a proceftion } and the {pace betwTeen them is
filled with hieroglyphic charafters, properly fo called.
The foffit is alfo adorned in the fame manner; but one
of the ftones which formed it is fallen within, and
breaks the conne&ion. The other five remain entire.
The fculpture is fufficiently diftinguiftiable j and even
the colours in fome places remain.”
Mr Horneman, a native of Germany, a traveller
employed by the African Aflociation, has {fill more re¬
cently vifited Siwah on his way from Cairo to Fezzan
along with a caravan, in which he travelled under the
character of a Mahometan merchant. He feems to
think, that the total circumference of the ruins of the
ancient temple of Jupiter Ammon may be feveral hun¬
dred yards, though in many places the outward Avail
has been entirely carried away. He feems to have mea-
fured the outfide of the fame building whofe infide
appears to have been meafured by Mr BroAvn, and
accordingly deferibes the length as from 30 to 36 feet,
the width 24, and the height 27 •, but he was inter¬
rupted in taking his meafurements by the jealoufy of
the natives. He alfo deferibes the ceiling as formed of
vaft blocks of ftone of four feet in breadth, and three
feet in depth, which extend acrofs the Avhole building ;
and this roof feems to have preferved this part of the
fabric entire, as the prefent barbarous inhabitants dare
not attempt to demolifti the walls, left they them-
felves ftiould be overwhelmed by the fall of the ftones
which form the roof. One of thefe ftones of the roof
9 ] r i\
has fallen in, and is broken ; “ but the people (fays Mr _ Africa.
Horneman) have not been able to remove the large *
fragments fallen from the roof, which their anceftors
Avere enabled to bring from the quarry, and to raife
entire to the fummit of the edifice 1 fuch aie the vicif-
fitudes of art, of knowledge, and of human powers
and means, as well as of human happinefs and for¬
tunes.”
The fertile part of the territory of Siwah appears State of
to be about 18 miles in circumference, containing fe-Slwah*
veral fmall villages befides Siwah the capital. It is
an independent ftate, acknowledging the Grand Seig¬
nior as lord paramount, but paying no tribute. It
affords abundance of vegetable produftions, Avith corn
and oil j and is copioufty fupplied with Avater from
fprings and fmall ftreams, but none of them flow beyond
its territory. They are either evaporated on approach¬
ing the furrounding defert, or, if they reach it, are loft
in the fterile fand. Its government is vefted in about Govern-
32 wealthy citizens, Avho affume the title oi Jc/ieiks.meni’
Juftice is adminiftered according to ancient ufage. and
general notions of equity. Fines, which are paid in
dates, conftitute the puniftiment. The drefs of theDrefs.
men confifts of a white cotton (hirt and breeches, and a
large piece of callico cloth ftriped white and blue, ma-
nufa&ured at Cairo, Avhich is throAvn over the left
{boulder, and is called mefaye. On their heads they
Avear a cap of red worfted or cotton, which is the di-
ftindtion of a Muffulman, no Jew or Chriftian being per¬
mitted to ufe it. The women of Siwah Avear Avide blue
ftiifts, ufually of cotton, Avhich reach to the ancles, and
a melaye, above defcribtd, which they Avrap round
their head, and which falls over the body like a cloak.
They plait their hair into three treffes one above the
other, and fallen little bells to the loweft. They wear
ear-rings and necklaces of glafs beads. Thofe of the
higher clafs wear round their necks a folid ring of filver
thicker than the collar ufually worn by criminals in
in fome parts of the continent of Europe. . There are
many catacombs in the neighbourhood of Siwah, Avhicli
formed the burying places of the ancient inhabitants,
Avhich {Iioav great labour and neatnefs of Avork.
The fame traveller, Mr Horneman, on his way to-
Avards Fezzan, pafted through Augila, an ifland 01 Oafis 0.
oafis in the defert, that was well known in the days of Augila.
Herodotus. It is fituated in 330 3' N. Lat. and 22°
46' E. Long. The territory contains three towns, Au¬
gila the capital, Mojabra, and Meledila. Many of the
inhabitants engage in the caravan trade. Thofe Avho do
fo, very frequently have three houfes, one at Cairo,
one in the territory of Augila, and a third in Fezzan,
with a Avife and family eftabliftiment at each. The
country is level, and the foil fandy, but being Avell
watered it is tolerably fertile. After a march of 16
days from Augila, Mr Horneman reached Temiffa, in
the territory of the important oafis Fezzan, of which
we {hall now give fome account upon the authority of
the journal Avhich he has very recently tranfmitted to
Europe.
Fezzan, the country of the ancient Garamantes ofOaiis ot
Herodotus, called by Pliny P/iaKania Regio, is up- /2afl
wards of 1100 miles weft from Grand Cairo, and con¬
fifts of an extenfive plain amidft a furrounding wilder-
nefs of fand and of naked rocks.
The greateft length of the cultivated part of Fezzan
b Kk 2 is
Africa.
A F 11 t
is about 300 Englilli miles from north to fouth, and its
t'—Y—"“j greateft breadth from eaft to aveft is 200 miles. It
contains 101 towns and villages, of which Mourzouk
is the capital, fituated according to Kennel, in 270 48'
N. Lat. and 150 3' E. Long. The principal towns to the
northward of the capital are Sochna, Sibha, Hun, and
Wadon •, Gatron to the fouth j and Ouila to the eaft.
The climate is never temperate. During fummer the
heat is intenfe, and the fouth wind is fcarcely fupport-
able even by the natives. A penetrating north wind
prevails during wdnter, which drives to the fire even
the natives of a northern country. Tempefts of wind
are frequent, which whirl up the land and dull fo as to
give a tinge of yellow to the atmofphere. Rain falls
ieldom, and in fmall quantities. There is no river,
nor even a rivulet deferving notice, throughout the
whole country. The foil is what in Europe would be
called a light fand, covering calcareous rock or earth,
and fometimes a bottom of clay.
Productions Dates are the ftaple produce of Fezzan, and in the
of Fezzan. weftern parts fome fenna of a good quality is cultivated.
Pot herbs are plentiful. Wheat and barley are fuited
to the foil and to the climate : but from the indolence
of the people, and the oppreflion of the government,
enough is not railed for the fupply of the inhabitants,
and they rely for a part of their fubfiftence on importa¬
tions from the north. Horned cattle are only found
in the moft fertile diftridls. They are employed in
drawing water from the wells, and are only flaughtered
in cafes of extreme neceflity. The goat is the ordinary
domeftic animal, though (heep are bred in the fouthern
parts. The wool is manufaftured into coarfe cloths,
and along with the meat the fkin is roafted and eaten.
Horfes are few. Affes are the beafts of general ufe,
whether for draught or burden. Camels are exceffively
dear, and only kept by the chief people.
There are no other tradefmen in Fezzan than ftioe-
makers and fmiths, the latter of whom work every me¬
tal ; and the fame man forges (hoes for the fultan’s horfe,
and makes rings for his princelfes. The value of the
woollen cloth, which is manufactured by the women,
may be eftimated from this cireumftance, that the
weavers Ihuttle is unknown, and that the woof is in-
ferled into the warp thread by thread, and the whole
worked fclely by the hand. Hence it happens, that
though the commerce of Fezzan is conliderable, it
confifts merely of foreign merchandife, brought by ca¬
ravans from various quarters, which are here difpofed
of as at a centrical market. Cairo fends filks, calicoes,
woollen cloths, glafs, imitations of coral, beads, and
Eaft India goods. From Tripoli, a caravan brings
paper, falfe corals, fire-arms, fabres, knives, cloths call¬
ed abbes, and red worfted caps. From Bournou, on the
fouth-eaft, copper is imported in great quantities, and
the caravans from the fouth or weft bring flaves of both
fexes, oftrich feathers, zibette, tigers fkins, and gold,
partly in dull, partly in native grains, to be manufac¬
tured into ornaments for the people of interior Africa.
The fmaller caravans of the tribes of the defert import
oil, butter, fat, and corn, and tllofe from the more
fouthern diftrifls bring fenna, oftrich feathers, and ca¬
mels for the daughter-houfe.
Fezzan is governed by a fultan, defcended from the
family of the (hereefs j but he pays 4000 dollars an¬
nually, as a tribute to the balha of Tripoli j and in
Mechanics
of Fezzan.
Trade,
Oo ve r la¬
ment.
260 ] A F II
his correfpondence with that baftia, he aflumes only the ^ Africa,
title of fcheik, inftead of fultan. The throne is here- v—
ditary, but the eldeft prince of the family fucceeds,
though a brother or a nephew, to the exclufion of the q.
children of the laft fultan, if they are younger. This
law gives rife to many civil wars between the fons of
their fultans and the collateral branches of the family.
The fultan’s houfe or palace is within the fortrefs Palace am
of Mourzouk. He has no other inmates than eunuchs, harem.
His harem is contiguous. It confifts of about 40 Haves,
who are often fold and replaced by others if they have
no children, and of a fultana, who muft be of the fa¬
mily of the ftiereefs of Wadan or Zuila. The fultan
never enters the harem, but any female whom he withes
to fee is conduced to his apartment.
The fultan gives audience three times a-day, in aCertmonie.
particular apartment, feated on an old-fathioned elbow
chair, raifed fome fteps, which forms his throne. Per-
fons introduced kifs the hand of the fultan, then raife
it fo as to touch their foreheads, and then kneel before
him. The fultan goes on Fridays to the great mofque
on horfeback, and on other days of folemnity he rides
on a plain near the town, attended by his courtiers,
who exhibit their fkill in equeftrian exercifes and in
{hooting. His official attendants confift of two mini-
fters, and of a number of black and a few white ilaves,
termed Mamelukes. All the intereft and power reft
with thefe Mamelukes, who are moftly Europeans,
or their immediate defcendants. The apparel of the Drefs of th
fultan, ©n days of ceremony, confifts of the Tripolitan fultan.
drefs, over vvhicli he wears a large white embroidered
fhirt, made after the faftiion of the Negroes. His tur¬
ban extends a full yard from the front to the hinder
part, and is two-thirds of a yard in breadth. His re-^ ^
venues confift of affeffments on all cultivated lands, and l>ev
of arbitrary requifitions, which are colledled by his
flaves in an oppreftive manner, if they are not bribed.
He alfo derives an income from duties on foreign
trade, from certain territorial domains, and from fait
pools and natron lakes. The prefent fultan has added
to his treafures by predatory expeditions againft the
weaker tribes in the neighbourhood of his country.
The chief booty upon thefe occafions confifts of men and
women, who are fold as Ilaves. The princes of the royal
family are fupported from certain territories allotted to
them, together with a weekly diftribution of corn from
the fultan’s ftores, and occafional exactions from the
people.
The clergy and the cadi or chief judge, are fup¬
ported by the produce of certain woods and gardens j
and they poffefs great authority with the people. The
dignity of cadi is hereditary in a certain family j but
the fultan, upon every vacancy, appoints to the office
that individual of the family who can beft read and
write, accomplifhments which here feem to be fome-
what unufual, and therefore much valued.
The population of Fezzan amounts to about 70,000 or Population
75,000 fouls. In the fouthern diftridfs they have mixed
with the natives of the defert, whom they refemble 5
but the original Fezzanians are a people of ordinary
ftature, of a deep brown complexion, with fhort black
hair and regular features. They poffefs little energy
either of mind or body. Almoft their only food con- Chara<3cr'
lifts of dates, or of a kind of farinaceous pap, with no
butcher’s meat. The men who can afford it are much
addi&ed
Africa.
abits and
pufe-
entS4i
ancing.
'dufical in-
hruments.
)ifeafes.
Empire of
Caflina.
Trade in
fait.
Bornou.
A F R [26
addicted to drunkennefs. They ufe a very intoxicating
liquor prepared from dates. The women have a great
fondnefs for dancing, which they praftife publicly,
not only in the day time but after lunfet. The amufe-
ment is thus defcribed by Mr Horneman : “ Two or
three men ftand together with their tambourins ; the
women immediately form a circle round the men, beat
a tune, and thofe in the circle accompany it with
linging and clapping of hands. A girl then advances
dancing towards the drummers ; the men as fhe ap¬
proaches near them, join in the dance, and prefs
towards her, on which Ihe makes fome fteps backwards,
and then falls on her back with her body and limbs
ftilf and perfe&ly ftraight ; when the women behind
catch her in the fall, a few fpans from the ground,
and tofs her in the air, whence fhe defcends on her feet.
The men then relume their ftation in the centre, ancl
a fecond female dancer repeats the fport, which is
fucceflively engaged in by each brifk damfel of the
circle.”
In Fezzan there are a great number of loofe women,
and alfo of fmging girls whofe fong is Sudanic, that is
derived from the country of the Negroes, iheir mu-
fical inftrument is called rhababe; it is an excavated
hemifphere, made from a fhell of the gourd kind, and
covered with leather •, to this a long handle is fixed, on
which is ftretched a firing of horfe hairs longitudinally,
clofed and compaft as one cord, about the thicknefs of
a quill. This is played with a bow.
Various forts of venereal diforders prevail in Fezzan •,
but it is worthy of remark, that, for the cure of all
the fpecies, they only ufe falls and the fruit handal
(colocynth) as powerful cathartics j the fores, if any,
are at the fame time wafhed with a folution of loda :
and thefe remedies feldom fail. Other maladies pre¬
valent there are the ague and haemorrhoids, for neither
of which have they any other remedy than amulets,
confifling of certain fentences of the Koran written on
a flip of paper, which the patient wears about his neck,
and in bad cafes is made to fwallow. It is faid, how¬
ever, that their knowledge of furgery is fufficient to
enable them to cure a fimple fra£lure.
South from Fezzan a variety of other iflands are
fcattered, which have been united by conquelt under
one chief, and receive the name of the empire of Caf-
fina or KaiTeena. The territories of this empire, there¬
fore, confifl of a confiderable quantity of land of ama¬
zing fertility, interfperfed with arid vvafles, where the
rays of the fun, refledled from the fand or the rocks,
produce the moll intenfe and fuffocating heat. Caflina,
the capital, is fituated in N. Lat. 160 20'. W. Long.
liQ 45k Agadez, which is an ifland, or province as
it may be called, of the empire of Caffina, fends annu¬
ally a caravan of IOOO camels to certai fait lakes in
the defert, at a place called Domboo j and the fait is di-
ftributed among the other iflands or provinces of this
empire.
A fimilar empire, as travellers are pleafed to call it,
confifling of a number of fertile fpots of this immenfe
defert, is called Bornou. Mathan, the capital, is fi¬
tuated in N. Lat. 240 32'. E. Long. 22° 57'. It is fur-
rounded by a ditch, and a wall 14 feet in height. 1 he
king is faid to be more powerful than the emperor of
Morocco. His dominions extend beyond the defi rt
into the fertile country of the Negroes, of which he pof-
! ] A F R
fefl.es a large portion. He is eledled by three of the prin- Africa. ^
cipal chiefs 5 but the choice is reflridled to the royal
family. The military force of the flate confitls of ca¬
valry" armed with the fabre, the pike, and the bow.
Fire arms are not unknown, but they are too difficult
to be procured.
Betides thefe, there is a variety of other diflrifts in
this defert, of which fome flight intelligence has been
obtained j fuch as Gadamis, north-weft from Fezzan,
about N. Lat. 320; fouth-eafl from which is another
ifland, called Tuat, at the diflance of about 400 miles.
On the fouth-eaft of Fezzan isTibefti, at the diflance of
200 miles : eaflward of which, and 500 miles from the
Nile, is Bardoa. Zegzeg and Kur are in the fame
vicinity. Farther to the fouth is Bergoo and Darfoor.Darfoorj
This lafl lies to the fouthward of the general latitude
of the great defert. It has of late years been made
known by Mr Brown, the firlt difeoverer of the Oafis
of Ammon. He penetrated into Darfoor in and
remained there a confiderable time. Its chief town,
Cobbe, is fituated in 140 11' N. Lat. and 28° 8' E.
Long, and the country contains about 200,000 inha¬
bitants, confining of native tribes of a deep black com¬
plexion and woolly hair, though with features different
from thofe of the Negroes, and of Arabs of vaiiou1.
tribes. The wild animals are, the lion, the leopard,
the hytena, the wolf, and the wild buffalo. The do-
meflic animals are, the camel, the fheep, the goat, ami
horned cattle. Confiderable quantities of grain of
different forts are reared, and, as the country is with¬
in the tropics, after the periodical rains the fertility is
very fudden and great. The people are very barba¬
rous. The pra£lice of polygamy is not only eftablilh-
ed, but the intercourfe of the fexes is totally deftitute
of delicacy or decency, i. he moll fevere labours of
the field are left to the women ; and the houfes, which
are of clay covered with thin boards, are chiefly built
by them. Salt is the general medium of commerce at
Darfoor, as gold dull is in many other places of Africa.
This territory is governed by a chief, who calls him-sultanof
felf fultan, and affumes the moll extravagant titles. Darfoor.
He appears in public on a fplendid throne, while anExtraordi-
officer proclaims, “ See the buffalo, the offspring of a nary tides,
buffalo, the bull of bulls, the elephant of fuperior
llrength, the powerful fultan Abd-el-rachman-el-ralhid.
May God preferve thy life ! O mailer, may God af-
fift, and render thee vidlorious !”
Thefe iflands of the African defert are too little
known to render Vcilusble any attempt at a more mi-
nute defeription of them. They all refemble each
other in the fertility of their foil and the barbarous
Hate of their inhabitants, who are Mahometans, unlefs
where they approach the country of the Negroes.
Though they maintain towards each other the maxims
of apparent hofpitality, yet a Chriltian is everywhere
odious •, and they account it meritorious to perfecute
or enflave him. Fheir language is chiefly a dialeft of
the Arabic, and their literature is in a great meafure
confined to reading the Koran. T heir only intercourfe
with other nations is carried on by the caravans which
periodically traverle thefe immenfe deferts. and the
fmaller iflands that are neglefted by the caravans are
fometimes abfolutely forgotten by the. reft of the
world for many years 5 and their inhabitants, left to
themfelves and to their native ignorance, at laft ima-
g'ine5-
Africa.'
Tribe of
Monfele-
raines in
Weftcrn
Africa
Govern¬
ment.
Produc¬
tions.
Rude agri
culture.
XVars.
Manners.
A F R [262
gine, that except their own little territory, the whole
earth refembles the great defert which they fee around
them.
It is to be obferved, that the Sahara, or great wil-
dernefs, does not on its weftern boundary all at once
attain its utmoft degree of barrennefs. Immediately
to the fouth of Morocco and of the mountains called
Mount Atlas, is a confiderable extent of territory in¬
habited by a tribe called the Monfelemines. In their
manners, they differ confiderably from the Moors on
the coafls of the Mediterranean, and alfo from the
Moors or Arabs of the defert. Their civil govern¬
ment is republican, as they ehoofe new chiefs every
year, who are accountable to the aged men of the com¬
munity. It is probable, however, that order is pre-
ferved among them chiefly by the influence of their
prieifs, who are greatly refpefted ; and the influence
of the high prieft amounts almoft to defpotic power.
The people are chiefly engaged in a fort of paftoral
life, to which agriculture is occafionally united. I hey
have alfo villages in which various tradefmen refide,
chiefly weavers, fhoemakers, fmiths, and potters, who
have no cattle : But fome opulent perfons refiding in
the towns have flocks and herds of cows, horfes, ca¬
mels, flieep, and goats, befides poultry, kept by (laves
at a diftance in the country. The foil poffefles confi¬
derable fertility, and produces the neceffaries of life
with little cultivation. The plains abound with date,
fig, and almond trees ; and grapes are cultivated. Oil,
wax, and tobacco, are alfo produced, and fold in the
■ villages. Their agriculture is very rude. The chiefs
of families, or fmall tribes, choofe the ground moft fit
for cultivation. Its furface is (lightly turned over with
a kind of paddle, for the plough is unknown ; and then
the feed is Town upon it. The fpot is then deferted
by the inhabitants, who wander in all direftions with
their cattle, and do not return till harveft, when the
corn is cut down and thraflied. Magazines are then
formed, confiding of holes in the earth, into which
the corn is put. Planks are laid over it, which are co¬
vered with a layer of earth, made level with the foil,
to prevent its being difcovered by enemies. Thefe ma¬
gazines belong to every chief of a family or tribe, in
proportion to the number of men he employed in the
common labour.
The Monfelemines are almoft conftantly engaged to
war againft the emperor of IVIorocco. Phey are ex¬
tremely jealous of their independence and freedom-,
and their country is the retreat of all the difcontented
Moors. No fooner does the emperor of Morocco take
the field againft them, than the whole inhabitants of
the country diftri&s mount their horfes ; and, while a
part of them efcort the women and (laves, and cattle,
to places of fafety, or even into the defert if they are
clofe preffed, the reft of them occupy the paffes of the
mountains, and meet the enemy. During peace, par¬
ties of them often undertake to efcort caravans, by
which means there is preferved among them a confi¬
derable military fpirit. In other refpeas, they bear a
great refemblance to the ancient Arabs. I hey per¬
mit polygamy, but their women are not fo much fe-
cluded from fociety as among the Moors on the fea-
coaft. Their children are brought up with care j and
are not confidered as men till they exhibit fome proofs
of their courage. Jews are permitted to live among
]
A F R
Afri:
them in their villages, but they are not allowed to cul¬
tivate the earth, or to carry arms. Chriftians are much
hated •, but a Chriftian (lave is better treated than among
the other Arabs, becaufe the avarice of the Monfele¬
mines is greater than their fanaticifm. As their (laves
conftitute their riches, they treat them tolerably well
from a principle of prudence.
To the. fouth of the country of the Monfelemines,
upon the coaft of the Atlantic, is the wandering tribe
of Wade Urns ; to the fouth of whom are the Labdejfe-
bas : And next to thefe are the Trafarts, who border
with the country of the Negroes. EaAward along
the northern frontier of the Negroes lie the Moorith
dates of Ludamar, and others. With the ex¬
ception of thele fmall dates, it is to be obferved, that
the great defert, or Sahara, reaching from the Atlan¬
tic ocean to the frontiers of Abyffinia, and (rom the
vicinity of the Mediterranean to the country of the
Negroes, is poffefled by two great Moorith nations
called the Tuarick and the Tibbo. Of thefe the Tuarick Tuarick
is the mod powerful: It con fids of the whole defertaild Tibb*.j
weftward from the meridian of I’ezzan. J he defert,
of Sahara, eaftward from the fame meridian belongs to
the Tibbo. The manners and characler of the whole
of thefe tribes, whether great or fmall, is nearly or
altogether fimilar. The defert which they inhabit is
parched and uncultivated. Many places of it have
the appearance of being capable of cultivation, as
fhrubs grow in various fituations j and palms, or dates,
rife at diftant intervals. But the flying (and is the great
obftacle to cultivation, by rendering the refult of it
uncertain. The fand drifts with every gale,, and is at
times accumulated into high mountains, which difap-
appear as the winds blow. Thus it is th if ted about with
every change of the blaft, excepting when the air is en¬
tirely ftagnant. When the fand (hower becomes for¬
midable, the Moors are obliged to load their camels,
turn their backs to the gale, and haften away, to avoid
being buried alive.
As water is very fcarce in the defert, the Arabs or
Moors form large holes for refervoirs to collect the
rain water, which, though it foon becomes putrid and
difgufting, is the only drink of man or bead. From the
foarcity of water, they have few horned cattle ; and
their (locks confift chiefly of (heep, goats, and camels,
animals which are patient of third. None but the weal-
thieft Arafcs, who poffefs numerous herds, are able .to
maintain horfes, as it is often neceflary to give them milk
to drink inftead of water. The urine of the camels is
carefully preferved to walh the velfels ufed to contain
food ; and the Arabs are frequently under the neceflity
of drinking it, mixed with milk, for the purpofe of al¬
laying their thirft. As their riches confift of their herds
and flocks, they attend them with the greateft care.
If a bead be fick, it is attended with more anxiety than
a man j but if it (eem likely to die, they kill and eat it.
If it die before its blood be (hed, it is accounted un¬
clean, and is never eaten. . . •
The Sahara, or defert, abounds in antelopes, wildAmma^>
boars, leopards, apes, and ferpents. The Arabs or1 e
Moors are expert hunters, and, as the leopard’s (kin
is an article of commerce, that animal from being fre¬
quently attacked, learns to keep at a diftance from
their habitations. Hunting the oftrich is a favourite
amufement. It is undertaken by about twenty horfemen
who
A F R [ 263 ] A F R
Africa, ivho advance in a line againfl the wind, at the inter-
'"Y’*’""' val of a quarter of a league behind each other. As
foon as the foremoft perceives an oftrich, he rulhes up-
,|t;ng on it. The oftrich cannot fly; but with the afliftance
'oftrich. of its wings, it runs in the direftion of the wind, and
though it may avoid a few of the Arabs fucceflively,
e Arabs cannot efcape the whole number. In their hordes,
■ in the Moors or Arabs lodge by families in tents covered
ts' with a cloth of camels hair, which the women fpin
•niture. and weave. The furniture of the tent confifts of two
large facks of leather, in which they keep their clothes
and pieces of old iron, a few goat fkins for holding
milk and water, two large ftones for grinding their
barley, a mattrefs of ofier which ferves for a bed, a
carpet for a covering, a fmall kettle and fome wooden
(jg, difhes, with pack faddles for their camels. They of¬
ten aflbciate to convey fait, which abounds in the de-
fert, into the country of the Negroes ; for which, in
return, they bring back provifions and blue cotton
cloth and flaves. They alfo aflociate for war and for
hunting ; and in moft cafes, where the property ac¬
quired confifts of goods which can be packed up into
parcels, they divide it into fhares, which they cover
i ifionof up, and fix upon a woman, a child, or a ftranger, who
Ih knows nothing of the contents of the various parcels,
to diftribute them by hazard to the different aflociates
of the enterprife.
lificers. The only artificers among the Moors of the defert,
are fmiths, or a kind of tinkers, who go among them,
from the country of the Monfelemines to mend their
broken veffels, or repair their arms, and are paid in
fkins, goats and camels hair, or oftrich feathers, ac¬
cording to agreement. All of them are more atten¬
tive to their arms than to their drefs *, the latter of
which often confifts only of a long blanket which
they wrap round them, with a cloak of camels hair,
and more frequently of goats fkins. They wear loofe
frocks or ftiirts, however, of blue cotton cloth, if
they can procure them from the Negroes, by whom
this cloth is manufaftured. Their arms confift of dag¬
gers and clubs, with fabres and mufkets if they can
obtain them. To this general defcription of poverty,
however, fome of the Moors of the great inland na¬
tion or tribe of Tuarick form an exception, in that
part of the defert which borders upon Fezzan, where
they have an opportunity of acquiring wealth by en¬
gaging in the caravan trade. Mr Horneman faw at
Fezzan many individuals of the Hagara, one of the
tribes of the Tuarick, and defcribes them thus : “ The
Hagara are yellowifh, like the Arabs; near Soudan,
' ” there are tribes entirely black. The clothing of this
nation confifts of wdde dark blue breeches, a (hort
narrow ftfirt of the fame colour, with wide fleeves,
which they bring together and tie on the back of their
neck, fo that their arms are at liberty. 7'hey wind a
black cloth round their head in fuch a manner, that at
a diftance it appears like a helmet, for their eyes only
are feen. Being Mahometans, they cut off their hair,
but leave fome on the top of the head, round which
thofe who wear no cap contrive to fold their black
cloth, fo that it appears like a tuft on their helmet.
Round their waift they wear a girdle of a dark colour.
From feveral cords which fall from their ftioulders
hangs a Koran in a leather pouch, and a row of fmall
leather bags containing amulets. They always carry
in their hands a fmall lance neatly worked, about five Africa,
feet long. Above the left elbow, on the upper part of ’“^v ~
the arm, they wear their national badge, a thick
black or dark-coloured ring of horn or ftone. Their
upper drefs is a Soudanian (Negro) ftiirt, over which
a long fword hangs from the ftioulder. The travelling
merchants of this nation carry fire arms, though others
ufe only the fword, the lance, and the knife, which
they carry on their left arm ; but the handle is finely
worked ; for they have the art of giving to copper as
bright a colour as the Englifli artifts, and this art they
keep very fecret. They carry on a commerce between
Soudan, (i.e. Nigritia), Fezzan and Gadamis. Their
caravans give life to Mourzouk, Avhich without them
is a defert ; for they, like the Soudanians (Negroes)
love company, fong, and mufic. The Tuarick are not
all Mahometans. In the neighbourhood of Soudan
and Tombu&oo live the Tagama, who are white, and
of the Pagan religion.”
Hofpilality is the moft remarkable virtue of the Hofpitality.
Moors, or Arabs of the defert. The chief of a horde
is by cuftom bound or entitled to entertain all ftran-
gers; but every tent contributes to his flock of provi¬
fions. When a ftranger reaches an Arab horde, the
firft perfon who perceives him points out the tent of
the chief. If the mafter is not prefent, the wife or
the flave comes forth to meet him, and brings him milk
to drink. His camels are then unloaded and his ef-
fefts ranged around him. His arms are depofited near
thofe of the mafter of the tent. The Arab, who in
the field is a rapacious plunderer, in his tent is generous
and hofpitable; and the perfon of an enemy is inviola¬
ble, though he fiiould have killed the near kinfman of
its mafter. All this, however, is chiefly to be applied
to perfons of their own religion ; for towards Chrillians
and Jews, their fanaticifm renders them extremely in¬
tolerant. A Jew, more efpecially, if difcovered, can
fcarcely efcape alive from among them.
Polygamy is allowed among the Arabs of the defert, Manners,
as among other Mahometans; but it is very effedfually
reftrained by the poverty of the people. Divorce is
permitted at the will of either party ; but if a male
child is born, the marriage becomes indiflbluble. In
the education of children force is never employed, iiducation.
The priefts, who are the teachers, inftrudl them to read
the Arabic eharafters and fentences of the Koran ; but
if the child become weary of the fchoel, he quits or re¬
turns to it at pleafure, without being reproached.
Property defeends by inheritance in equal {hares to Mode of
the male children ; but the females have no fliare, and ^ucce®on
are obliged to refide with their el deft brother. Thetl) ^ro^ert^*
chief of the horde becomes the guardian of the chil¬
dren who are left orphans. Property is ill fecured by
their cuflom«. If a thv f is ( n; ht in the faft he may
be nun idled ; but if he efcape with his booty, it cannot
afterwards be claimed.
The abftinence and hardftups which the Moors of Character
the defert are frequently under the neceflity of en-of the
countering, and their habits of predatory war againft ^cors*
pafling caravans, or hoftile tribe1-, heftow upon them
an evident fuperioritv over ‘he more peaceful tribes of
Negroes who inhabit the fertile regions of the foutb.
7'hey poflefs alfo the knowledge of writing, and of the
Arabic language, which tnfpireS them with no fmall
confidence of the importance of their own chara&er
A F R
[ 264
Africa. and accomplifhments. Hence, they affume a haughti-
  V 1 nefs of gait, and a ferocity of afped, which diftinguifhes
them no lefs than their complexion from the Negroes
in their neighbourhood. Such is the prefumption re-
fulting from thefe fentiments, that though a fmall party
of Negroes would never rilk themfelves in the defert,
one or two Moors will travel with impunity through
all Africa, and plunder the Negroes by whom they
have been entertained.
As the equator paffes almoft through the centre of
Africa, by far the largeft portion of that great conti¬
nent is fxtuated within the torrid zone, and is pofieffed
by the Ethiopians and Negroes, who are called by the
Arabs Biled ol Soudan, or Biled al Abiad, the land of
blacks, or the land of Haves. In.all countries within
the tropics, exceflive rains fall twice every year, about
the time of the vernal and of the autumnal equinoxes.
Periodical At thefe periods every river is fwelled into a mighty
flood, and if the country be level it is completely in¬
undated. From this circumftance, along with the.heat
of the climate, arifes the extreme fertility of the middle
regions of the globe.
'Though the Sahara, or great Africa defert, extends
a few degrees beyond the tropic of Cancer, yet its
1
A F R
Africa*
rains.
Negroe-
land.
liiver Sene
gal.
Niger.
boundaries begin to be ill defined ; fertile fpots be¬
come more frequent: and at laft, in the latitude of the
Cape de Verd ifles, and in the neighbourhood of the
firft rivers, the Senegal and the Niger, the gum forefts
mark the commencement of the land of the Negroes.
About 600 miles from the weftern coaft, in the moun-
. tains of Kong, the river Senegal takes its rife, and
flows weftward into the Atlantic ocean. I he fame
mountains are the fource of the great river of the E-
thiopians, the Niger, the knowledge of which, from
the time of Herodotus, feems to have been loft by the
European nation*, and has only been recently reftored
in confequence of the intrepid and perfevering exer¬
tions of our countryman Mungo Park, who had been
employed by the African Affociation to endeavour to
difcover whether its exiftence ought to be regarded as
a reality or as an error of the ancient geographers. It
runs eaftward ; but its termination, as will be after¬
wards noticed, is ftill unknown.
To the fouth of thefe rivers, all Africa belongs to
various nations of Negroes, among whom confiderable
varieties of appearance and of charadter exift. In ge¬
neral, however they are diftingtiilhed by Ihort woolly
hair, ’ flat nofes, thick lips, and black complexion,
while their intelle&ual powers have been fuppofed by
fome to be inferior to thofe of the civilized European
or Afiatic nations. Some modern writers, however,
fuch as Bruce and Volney, are of opinion, that the
elements of the arts and fciences came originally from
Upper Egypt and Abyflinia, and the ancients appear
to have afcribed to the Ethiopians the commencement
of civilization among mankind. “ The Thebans (fays
Diodorus) confider themfelves as the moft ancient peo¬
ple on the earth ; and affert, that with them originated
philofophy and the fcience of the ftars. Their fit.ua-
tion it is true, is infinitely favourable to aftronomical
obfervation, and they have a more accurate divifion of
time into months and years than other nations.” The
fame opinion he attributes to the Ethiopians. “ The
Ethiopians conceive themfelves to be of greater anti¬
quity than any other nation j and it is probable that,
born under the fun’s path, its warmth may have ripen¬
ed them fooner than other men. I hey luppofe them-
felves alfo to be the inventors of divine worftiip, of
feftivals, of folemn affemblies, of facrifices, and every
other religious pradlice. ’I hey affirm that the Egyp¬
tians are one of their colonies 5 and that tne X/elta,
which was formerly fea, became land by the conglo¬
meration of the earth of the higher country, which was
wallied down by the Nile. 1 hey. have, like the E-
gyptians, two fpecies of letters, hieroglyphics and the
alphabet 5 but among the Egyptians, the firit .was
known only to the priefts, and by them tranfmitted
from father to ion, whereas Doth ipecies are common
among the Ethiopians.” il I he Ethiopians (fays Lu¬
cian) were the firft who invented the fcience of ihe liars,
and gave names to the planets, not at random and
without meaning, but defcriptive of the qualities which
they conceived them to poffefs j and it rvas from them
that this art paffed in an imperfeft ftate to the Egyp¬
tians.” .
But though the antiquity of the civilization of Egypt
cannot be difputed, there is little reafon to believe that
the middle regions of Africa ever exhibited the human
charafter in a higher ftate of cultivation tnan it now
poffefles there. In all ages its inhabitants were engaged traci
in the barbarous praflice of felling each other into of forme:
flavery to diftant nations. No remains of ancient mag- refineme
nificence are to be found in their country, nor any in- Afr-cai
ftruments of art which mark the genius of an improved
people. Even the plough is ftill unknown, and the
ingenuity of man is only exerted to fupply his moft
fimple wants.
A great part of the country of the Negroes receives Anc;eilt
among Europeans the name of Guinea, a term as .old name
as the time of Ptolemy, who applies it to the maritime
diftrifts, though this name is faid to be utterly unknown
to the natives of the country themfelves, excepting
where they have learned it from European traders. It
would appear, however, to have originated from one
of the central ftates or empires of Africa, upon the
banks of the Niger, which though once poffeffed of
great power, has nowr fallen into decay, and is loft, in
the empire of Tombuftoo, and fome neighbouring
ftates.
The middle regions of Africa bring to maturity all Produd
the tropical produftions or fruits in their utmoft perfec-of the r
tion and abundance. With the flighteft cultivation, <'lereS'
rice, maize, millet, fugar, cotton, indigo, &c. are
raifed, along with fome fruits peculiar to itfelf, among
which may be mentioned the fhea-tree, from which .the
vegetable butter is prepared, which forms a principal
article of commerce in all the interior diftridts. Ihe
ftiea-tree is faid to referable the American oak j the Vegeta
butter is prepared from the kernel of the fruit. This butter,
kernel refembles a Spaniffi olive, and is enclofed in a
fweet pulp under a thin green rind. It is dried in the
fun, and then boiled in water. Travellers tell us that
the butter produced from it is white, firm, and better
flavoured than that of milk. If this account of it be
correct, which we have no reafon to dctibt, meafures
ought certainly to be taken for conveying this tree to
the European fettlements in the Weft Indies, and for
cultivating it there, as it would undoubtedly be very-
valuable when reared in the vicinity of the bread-fruit
tree, which has lately been brought from Otaheite,.
Various
A F R [26
Africa. Various fpecies of wild beads inhabit Ibis country,
as lions, leopards, hyaenas, elephants, buffaloes, wild
boars, rhinocerofes, with great variety of the fpecies
of deer, and various kinds of monkeys. Innumerable
fpecies of fnakes are alfo to be found here ; one of
the molt remarkable of which, called the Jinyucki, is of
a pale green colour with black Ipots, about a foot in
lakes very length, and as thick as a man’s finger. It pofftffes
ftruaive, the power of ejefting a fubtile vapour into the eyes of
any animal that approaches within the diftance of two
or three feet, fo as to occafion extreme pain for feveral
idofim- and even incurable blindnefs. Another fpecies
enfefize. of fnake, faid to be found alfo in Ceylon, grows here to
the enormous fize of 50 feet in length ; the colour of
the back is dark gray, with lines of a dufky yellow :
part of. the belly is of a lighter colour and (potted : it
lurks, in moift fituations, wreathed into curls, which
include a fpace of about five feet diameter, and give it
at a diftance fome refemblance to the mouth of a well.
.Over thefe curls or rings it rears its head and part of
its body, and remains immoveable till fome animal ap¬
proach within its reach, w hen it darts upon it ; and, if
the animal is large, twills its body round it, and with
an immenfe force crufties all its bones j and having
lubricated it with faliva, fwallows it entire. After
having devoured in this manner a large animal, the
fnake remains as if lifelefs for many days during the
procefs of digeftion, and in this fituation may be eafily
• deftroyed. The cameleon is alfo found in this coun¬
try, along with an immenfe variety of reptiles. Of
thefe, ants are the moft formidable and deftrudlive
to man. They differ in fize from an inch in length
to a minutenefs that is almoft imperceptible to the na¬
ked eye. They fometimes burft from their nefts in fuch
innumerable myriads as to deftroy every thing on the
furface of the earth, and to oblige the natives to delert
their habitations. They often extinguilh fires by their
numbers, and form bridges of their own dead bodies
over fhallow waters which impede their progrefs 
One fpecies forms fwarms like bees, and eredls round
pyramids of clay which becomes extremely hard. Thefe
pyramids are ufually eight or ten feet high. Their in¬
terior, confifts of galleries fuited to the fize of the ani¬
mal, interwoven like a labyrinth, having a fmall open¬
ing as a door or entry to the dwelling.
Monftrous fpiders alfo exift in this country, a fingle
thread of whofe web, it is faid, will fupport a weight of
feveral ounces.
I he natives of this country have too little art or
ind.uftry to take much advantage of the metals with
XV ntf'Vl f rs o f * o 1 J 1      1 . 1 «
S ]
A F R
srs.
fils.
r and
which the earth is fuppofed in many places to abound.
In fome fituations, however, they produce iron of a
tolerable quality, but gold is the chief objea of their
learch. It does not appear, however, that they have
ever wrought the mines of it which they have difco-
vered to any depth, and it is chiefly procured from the
lands of the rivers or of torrents after violent rains.
It is then collefted in fome diftrifts in confiderable
quantities, and forms an important article of commerce.
Women chiefly engage in this employment, and an
individual may colledl in general during the dry fea-
Jon, as much as. is equal to the value of two Haves.
ie gold, obtained is either ufed in commerce or
wrought into ornaments for the women. The ftand-
Vol. I. Part I.
ard of value is called menhalh, which is equal in value Africa.
to about 10s.  v—1 -/
In general however, it may be remarked, with re-Natural
gard to all the natural produflions of this continent,Proclu<^ions
whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, that they ftilij^16
remain in great obfcurlty, and prefent a vaft field for n0VVn’
the inveftigation of the natural hiftorian.
. ^ I he general character of the Negroes, who are the Character
inhabitants of thefe fertile regions, is that of extreme of the Ne-
levity. It is faid, that they will dance for almoft 243roes*
hours together, and they do not luffer their gaiety to
be diftu.rbed by events, which, in other countries, are
produblive of much unhappinefs. They do not ap¬
pear to want the feelings of humanity, nor are they
more deftitute of fagacity than other men and women
of. an equal degree of education ; but the general fer¬
tility of their country, which fupplies them with food
in confequence of the exertion of a very flight degree
of industry, and the little occafion they have for cloth¬
ing amidft the heat of their climate, produces an in¬
dolent and general habit of feeking prefent pleafure,
and of banilhing from their minds all care for the fu¬
ture.
The kind of government that exifts among the Ne- Govern-
gro nations is by. no means uniform. In many dif-ment‘
trials the country is governed by an immenfe multitude
of independent petty chiefs, who are engaged in fre¬
quent wars with each other. In other places the ta¬
lents of individual chieftains have been able to reduce
confiderable trafls of territory under their dominion.
In fuch cafes, in confequence of the internal tranquillity
produced by the extenfion of the prince’s power, flou-
nfhing towns have grown up. Thus upon the Niger
Hands the town of Sego the capital of Bambara T°wn of
which was vifited by Mungo Park, and which lies inSes0-
N. Lat. 140 10', and W. Long. 20 26', containing
about 30,000 inhabitants. Two hundred miles below
this upon the fame river Hands Tombuttoo, the greatTombuc*
centre, of the commerce of Fezzan, Cairo, and thet0°’
countries on the north of Africa, with the land of the
Negroes. Farther down the fame river Hands Houffa Houffa.
<which is underftood to be a city of Hill greater extent!
Many of the. Negro towns are fortified with ditches
and walls, built like the houfes of the natives of clay
and ftone. The trenches are fometimes flanked with
fquare towers like a regular fortification, and the walls
are very high.
Domeftic flavery prevails in a very great degree SIavery.
among all the Negro ftates. As the tropical rains
fometimes fail or are deficient in quantity, the fcorch-
mg heat of the fun burns up the face of the country
and produces a moft frightful barrennefs. On thefe’
occalions it is not uncommon for parents to fell their
children, and even themfelves, for bread. A freeman
may alfo lofe his liberty by being taken prifoner in
war, or on account of the real or fuppofed crimes of
murder and forcery. He alfo forfeits it in confe¬
quence of infolvency. From thefe caufes domeftic
flavery prevails to fuch a degree, that in many places
three-fourths of. the natives are Haves. Thefe Haves
however, form in fome meafure a part of the commu!
nity ; and, by the cuftom of the country, the mailer
cannot fell one who is born his Have, without acculing
him of a crime, a circumftance, which, in confequence
L 1 of
Africa.
A F U [ 266 ]
of the flare trade, at times gives rife to much diffen- trading Moors.
Arts in a
rude ftate.
Weaving.
Dyeing.
Tanning.
Gunpow¬
der*
fion, and to wars which referable, in fome mealure,
the fano-uinarv contefts which exifted in various coun¬
tries in^Europe, during the feudal times, between the
villains and their lords. Thus, in 1785, a general in-
furreftion took place in many diftrias on the welter”
coaft- the Haves attacked their mailers, maiiacred
oreat numbers of them, fet fire to the ripe rice, block¬
aded the towns, and obliged them to fue for peace.
Fewr arts have been brought to much perfection by
the Negroes, becaufe the divifion of labour has been
little known among them. The fame individual fpins,
weaves, fews, hunts, fifties ; forms bafkets, fiftnng-tackle,
inftruments of agriculture; makes foap, dyes cloth with
indigo, and makes canoes. In all thefe, the neatnefs
of the work excites the aftonilhment of ftrangers, who
know the diverfity of occupations in which the lame
individuals engage, and the imperfeftion of the tools
with which they labour. They are no ftrangers how¬
ever, to that ordinary divifion of labour to which na¬
ture herfelf feems to have given rife in confequence ol
the diftindtion of the fexes. The women fpin, and the
men weave the cotton cloth of which them drefles are
compofed. The cotton is prepared for fpinmng by
rolling it with an iron fpindle upon a fmooth none or
board. The thread is well twilled though coarfe, but
the loom is fo narrow that the web is only about tour
inches broad. The women dye this cloth with the leaves
of indigo, pounded frelh, and mixed with a Hr on g
alkaline ley, formed by the lixiviat.on of wood afties.
The colour thus produced is a rich and durable blue
with a purple glofs. .
The workers in metals and the manufadturers^ of
leather appear to be almoft the only in fiances ol what
may be called a feparate profeflion exifting among the
Negroes. The manufadlurers of leather feparate the
hair by Heeping the hides in a mixture of wood afties
and water, and ufe the pounded leaves of a tree called
?oo as we do the oak bark, for the purpofe of tanning.
They dve the Ikins of ftieep and goats red with pow¬
dered millet flalks, and yellow with a root which
abounds in their country. The tnanufeaurers of iron
fmelt that metal in fome of the interior diftrias , but
it is generally hard and brittle. I hey form their
weapons and tools of it, however, with confiderable
ingenuity. In fmelting gold they ufe fixed alkaline
fait, obtained by waftiing with water the allies of burn¬
ed corn ftalks, and evaporating the ley to drynefs. It
. mull alfo be remarked, that, in the interior of the coun¬
try Mungo Park found a negro who manufatfured
gunpowder from nitre collected from the refervoirs of
water frequented by the cattle, and fulphur fuppl.ed by
the Moors, who obtain it from the Mediterranean. He
pounded the ingredients in a wooden mortar and gra¬
nulated it •, but the grains were unequal, and the
ftrength of the gunpowder was very interior to that ot
The only neceffary of life in which the country of
the Negroes appears to be extremely deficient is ialt,
which is the more wanted among them in confequence
of their fubfiiling chiefly upon vegetable food. A
child cries for a piece of fait as for a great delicacy
A F U
trading moors. They alfo receive arms, hardware, Africa..!
glaffes, and trinkets of all forts, on the weftern coaft
from the Europeans, and, in the interior, from the ca- Trade
ravans of Cairo, Fezzan, and Morocco. For thefe
they give in return, gold, ivory and flaves. With
regard to the ivory, the Negroes cannot comprehend
for what reafon it is fo much valued by ft rangers.
It is in vain to tell them that fhips are built, and long
voyages undertaken, to procure it to make handles for
knives. They are fatisfied that a piece of wood might
ferve the purpofe as well, and imagine that it is ap¬
plied to fome important ufe which is concealed from
the Negroes, left they fliould raife the price of it. The
trade of the Negroes is condufled by barter •, and to Mediuir
adjuft the value of their different articles of commerce, coramer
they appeal to a nominal ftandard, confifting of a cer¬
tain quantity of any commodity for which there is a
great demand. Thus on the Gambia, that quantity
of ivory or of gold-dull which is eftimated as equal m
value to a bar of iron, is denominated a bar of ivory, or
a bur of gold-dull. , -
A marvellous ftory has, in all ages, been told of a Singular
ftrange mode of conduaing commerce that
among certain African tribes who live in the wildeft &•
mountainous diftrias : they are faid to engage annual¬
ly in trade, but at the fame time to feclude themlelyes
from all perfonal intercourfe with the traders who yifit
them : They traffic chiefly in gold-dull, which they
bring to particular places, and there leave it upon the
approach of the traders, who depofit quantities of
goods which they are willing to give for the gold-dull,
and thereafter retire. The natives then approach and
carry off the goods, or the gold-dull, according as they
think fit to accept or rejeft the bargain. Irom the
days of Herodotus down to our own times, this, ftory
has been repeated by various writers, and m particular
by Wadftrom, upon the authority of the chevalier de
la Touch, vice-governor of Goree, in 1788, who. is
faid to have vifited the diftrifts inhabited by theie in-
vifible traders. , .
The knowledge of the Negroes with regard to ad Knowk
fpeculative fubjeas, is extremely limited, iheir no-of the I
ipeculative luDjecis, is    
tions of geography and aftronomy, hke thofe ot other
rude nations, are altogether puerile. . I hey regard the mitedi
earth as a vaft plain, the boundaries of which are
covered with clouds and darknefs. 1 he lea is a great
river of fait water ; beyond which is the land ol the
white people j and at a Hill greater diftance, is the
land to which the flaves are carried, which, is inha¬
bited by giants, who are cannibals. Ecliples are
afcrihed to enchantment, or to the, interpofition ot a
great cat, which puts its paw between the moon and
the earth. They divide the year by moons, and cal¬
culate the years by the number of rainy feafons. 1 hey Z
feem to believe in one God, who has power over all
things *, but their religious opinions are extremely un¬
defined, fo that it is in vain to expea to find among
them anv fyftem of belief that is either umverfally re¬
ceived or even confidently adhered to by the fame in¬
dividuals. They in general feem to think, that the
god of the blacks or Negroes is different from the god
of the whites : When they are pleafed with their own
* • . a!   ..—hlflPlC
child cries for a piece of fait as for a great d^cacy ; “ “ on a|ldcounlry, they reprefcnt the black
and it is a proverbial expreflion "f a man s ' ^ ^ ^ go<jd and lhe „hke deity as a kind of
u5c^yhrec“ve from the greai defert by caravans of devil, who fends the white people to make flaves^of
A F R
[ 2
Africa.
otions of
future
ste.
f the ere.
:ion of
f provi-
:nce.
thf Negroes : Eat when they are in ill humour, they
complain of their black deity as mifehievous and cruel 5
while they fay that the white deity gives his people
the Europeans brandy and fine clothes, and other good
things which are denied to the Negroes. Their no¬
tions of a future ftate are of the fame Huftuating na¬
ture. They have a confufed idea that the exiftence of
the human mind does not terminate with this life j
and they feem to venerate the fpirits of the dead, re¬
garding them as protestors, and placing vi&uals at the
graves of their anceftors upon ftated occafions. In
general, however, they regard death with great hor¬
ror and in Whidah it was a law, that no perfon, on
pain of death, (hould mention it in prefence of the
king. Some of them have a notion of a future ftate
as connected with rewards and punilhments of their
conduct in this life. They imagine that the deceafed
are conveyed to a mighty river in the interior regions
of Africa, where God judges of their palt lives, and
particularly of the regularity with which they have ce¬
lebrated the new moons, which among the Negroes
are kept as feftivals; and of the fidelity with which
they have adhered to their oaths. If the judgment is
in their favour, they are gently wafted over the great
river to a happy country, refembling in defeription the
paradife of Mahomet, where they enjoy plenty of all
thofe things which they were accuftomed to value in
this world: But if the judgment is unfavourable, they
are plunged into the river, and never heard of more.
They alfo believe, like the vulgar of molt other coun¬
tries, that the gholts of perfons who have been guilty
of great and unexpiated crimes, find no reft after
death, but haunt or winder about thofe places in which
their crimes were committed. The Afiatic doctrine of
the tranfmigration of the fouls of men after death into
the bodies of other animals, is alfo entertained by fome
of them.
The opinions of the Negroes concerning the creation
of man are not more fixed or definite than their ideas
of his future exiftence. In general, they aferibe his ori¬
ginal creation to the deity $ but fome of them pretend
that he emerged, they know not how, from the caves
and holes of the earth, or was produced by a monftrous
fpider. A curious fiftion upon this fubjeft is alfo faid
to prevail in fome of the Negro ftates :—That God ori¬
ginally created both black men and white men ; that
he meant to bellow one gift upon each of them, gold
or wifdam ; that he gave the black men their choice,
and that they preferred gold, and left wifdom or inge¬
nuity to the whites; that God was offended with them
on account of this improper choice, and ordained them
to be flaves for ever to the white men.
They alfo believe in a divine providence, which fends
rain to give fertility to the earth and the trees, and to
wafh down gold from the mountains. Accordingly,
they pray fervently to God to give them thofe things
upon which they fet the greateft value, fuch as rice
and yams, and gold, and flaves, and health, and aftivi-
ty. At the fame time, from their inaccuracy of think¬
ing upon this fubjedt, they readily fay, when converfed
with, that it is not God but the earth that gives them
rice ; that their cattle produce young without the aflift-
ance of God ; and that, if they did not labour for
themfelves, they might ftarve before God would help
them.
Africa-
67 ] A F R
From this loofe and inaccurate mode of reafoning,
the religion of the Negroes fits very light upon them. ~
They feem to have a fort of priefts, who perform fome
ceremonies at the new' moons, and on certain occafions,
fuch as, at marriages, or on giving names to young
children ; but thefe priefts having no fettled fyftem of
dodlrine, and not being united into a dilciplined body,
poffefs very little influence. Hence it is extremely
eafy to induce the Negroes to adopt the religion of any
more intelligent people. Accordingly, the Moors have
made many converts among them ; and fome of the
moft confiderable Negro ftates upon the northern fron¬
tier, that is, upon the Senegal and the Niger, are Ma¬
hometan.
But though the Negroes have little fpeculative reli-Werfti-
gion, they have much fuperftition, as appears from thetl0n*
great ufe which they make of what are called fetiches,
or charms termed obi by the Africans in our Weft-In-
dia iflands. The fetiche confifts of any natural objeft,
which chances to catch hold of the fancy of a Negro.
One feledls the tooth of a dog, of a tiger, or of a cat,
or the bone of a bird ; while another fixes on the head
of a goat, a monkey, or parrot, or even upon a piece
of red or yellow wood, or a thorn branch. The fetiche
thus chofen, becomes to its owner a kind of divinity,
which he worftiips, and from which he expects afliftance
on all occafions. In honour of his fetiche, it is com¬
mon for a Negro, to deprive himfelf of fome pleafure,
by abftaining from a particular kind of meat or drink.
Thus one man eats no goats flelh, another taftes no
beef, and a third no brandy or palm wine. By a con¬
tinual attention to his fetiche, a Negro fo far impofes
upon himfelf, as to reprefent it to his imagination as
an intelligent being, or ruling power, infpeding his ac¬
tions, rewarding his virtues, and punifhing his crimes.
Hence he covers it up carefully whenever he performs
any adtion that he accounts improper. The importance
or value of a fetiche is always eftimated according to
the fuccefs of its owner, and the remarkable profperity
of an individual brings his fetiche fo much intofaftiion,
as to induce others to adopt it. On the contrary, when
a Negro fuffers any great misfortunes, he infallibly at¬
tributes it to the weaknefs of his fetiche, which he relin-
quifhes, and adopts another that he hopes will prove more
powerful. A fortunate fetiche is ufually adopted by the
whole family of its poffeffor, to which it becomes an
objedl of reverence, or a guardian like the houfehold
gods, dii lares and penates, of the ancient Romans.
Sometimes a whole tribe or a large diftridf has its fe¬
tiche, which is regarded as a kind of palladium upon
which the fafety of their country depends. Thus at
Acra the national fetiche was a lake, which the people
accounted facred. This lake was converted into a
fait pit by the Portuguefe, and the natives regarded
this profanation as the caufe of the conqueft of their
country by a neighbouring tribe called the Aquam-
boans. Thus alfo at Whidah, although the people be¬
lieve in one fupreme god, they worlhip as their national
fetiche a kind of ferpent of monftrous fize, which they
call the grandfather of the fnakes. They fay that it
formerly deferted fome other country, on account of its
wickednefs, and came to them, bringing good fortune
and profperity along with it. From this account of the
fetiches of the Negroes, the intelligent reader will na¬
turally remark, that even idolatry itfelf remains in an
L 1 2 imperfect
A F R
[ 268 ] A F R
Africa.
Singular
ouftoms.
Secret fo-
cieties of
men.
Of women.
itnperfeft flate among the people; and he will obferve
the difference between thepolilhedfuperllition of ancient
Greece and Rome, and the vulgar and unadorned cre¬
dulity of thefe rude and artlefs tribes. In the vicinity
of their fettlements, the Moors have prevailed with the
illiterate Negroes, to adopt as fetiches or charms, cer¬
tain fentences of the Koran, which they write out and
fell to them, under the name offaphies. Mungo Park,
when travelling among them, fometimes fold faphies,
which ufually confilted of the Lord’s prayer.
Among the Negroes fome fingular cuftoms prevail,
which are not unworthy of notice, on account of their
having fome fimilarity to certain practices that have
fubfifted among other nations. Perfons accufed of any
crime, more efpecially of poifoning, are frequently re¬
quired to prove their innocence, by drinking what is
called the red water. This is a poifonous liquor form¬
ed from the roots of certain plants, and the barks of
trees, of a very narcotic quality. The accufed is pla¬
ced on a high chair, and tlript of his clothes, having
only a quantity of plantain leaves wrapt round his
waift. He then, in prelence of the whole village, eats
a little rice, and drinks about an Englith gallon of the
red water, which is extremely apt to find the accufed
perfon guilty. It he efcape unhurt, however, and with¬
out vomiting, he is judged innocent. Much dancing
and tinging takes place on account of his efcape, and
he is allowed to demand that fome punilhment be in-
tlifted on his accufers on account of the defamation.
Among the fupertlitious cuftoms of the Negroes, may
be mentioned the practice of circumcifion, which is
univerfal among them. It is not regarded as a religious
rite, but as a kind of charm for preventing barrennefs.
It is not performed till the age of puberty.
In feveral Negro dates certain fecret focieties or fra¬
ternities exift, which poflefs great political influence,
and in fome places abfolute power. One of thefe fo¬
cieties, called the fociety of the Belli, is appropriated to
men, to the exclufion of women. It fupports itfelf by
the ufe of myftical fymbols, a pretence to the know¬
ledge of important fecrets, and by fubjedlion to an ima¬
ginary being called the Belli, who is faid to be capa¬
ble of changing his form at pleafure. This fociety mono¬
polizes all public offices, to the exclufion of the unini¬
tiated. The young men are introduced into it by a
noviciate which lafts fome years. A fpace is marked
out of eight or nine miles in circumference in a fertile
fpot, in which huts are built, and provifions railed. The
young men refort thither, and are taught by inftru&ors
pitched upon by the fociety, to fight, to fifti, to hunt,
and to fing certain fongs peculiar to the fraternity ; they
alfo receive new names as a mark of their new birth,
and certain fears are imprinted on their bodies, with
heated inftruments of iron, to point them out as be¬
longing to the fraternity. On returning home after
their initiation, they are received with great ceremony
by their relations, as perfons now introduced into pub¬
lic life.
There is a kind of counterpart of this aflociation,
though of lefs political importance, called the fociety
of the Neffbge or Saudi, which is confined to females.
In a remote wood, which men are prohibited to ap¬
proach, a number of huts are conftru&ed, and the
young marriageble girls are conducted thither during
the night. They remain in this folitude, under the
care of certain matrons during four months, and are Africj !
taught a variety of religious cuftoms and fuperftitions. '
When their noviciate is expired, they return by night
to their villages, where they are received by all the
women both old and young quite naked, who parade
about with them, playing upon fome rude mufical in¬
ftruments till daybreak. If any man flaould approach
this proceffion, he would fuffer death, or be compelled
to redeem himfelf by a very heavy fine.
There is a third kind of fociety, which is much more Strange
univerfal than thofe now mentioned, and feems to exift myfterh
in all the Negro ftates. This fociety does not appear
to have any fpecial name, but it condudls the myfte
ries of a ftrange imaginary being, called Mumbo Jum¬
bo. As the pra&ice of polygamy exifts very univer-
fally among the Negroes, they often find great diffi¬
culty in preferving the peace of their families amidft:
a variety of rival wives. When the hufband finds his
authority altogether contemned, he has recourfe to the
affiftance of Mumbo Jumbo. The drefs of this ftrange
minifter of juftice ufually hangs upon a tree in a fo-
reft in the neighbourhood of every Negro village. It
is made of bark, and forms a figure of about eight or
nine feet high, wdth a tuft of ftraw on his head. When
Mumbo is about to appear, he announces his approach
in the evening by difmal fereams from the adjacent
woods, and as foon as it is dark he enters the village,
and proceeds immediately to the public place, where
all the inhabitants both male and female are obliged
to aflemble at his call 5 for this phantom has abfolute
power. Nobody muft appear covered in its prefence,
and every perfon is bound implicitly to execute its
commands. As the women know that the vifit is in¬
tended againft fome of them, they can have no great
relifh for the folemnity, but they dare not refufe to at¬
tend. The ceremony commences with fongs and
dances. 'Ihefe continue till midnight, when Mum¬
bo Jumbo fixes upon the individual on whofe account
he comes. She is immediately feized by his command,
ftripped naked, tied to a poft, and fcourged with Mum-
bo’s rod, to the great entertainment of the whole af-
fembly, and efpecially of the reft of the women, who
are always loudeft in their derifion and cenfure of the
culprit. The fociety that condmfls the appearance of
this myfterious perfonage make ufe of a peculiar or
cant language, which is not underftood by the unini¬
tiated. They pretend that Mumbo Jumbo is a wild
man, or fome ftrange being that knows every body’s
thoughts. They bind themfelves by oaths never to
reveal their fecrets to a wmman or a boy. The frater¬
nity is fo powerful, that when one of the Negro kings
wras weak enough to reveal the fecret of Mumbo Jum¬
bo’s character to a favourite wife, who communicated
it to the other females of the houfehold, he and his
whole family were immediately aflaffinated, in the pre¬
fence, and by the command of Mumbo Jumbo ; and
nobody dared to difpute the propriety of their punifti-
ment.
Like all rude nations, the different tribes of Ne-Magic and
groes are implicit believers in witchcraft and magic,foicery'
and in the exiftence of various kinds of forcerers. Thefe
forcerers they regard with the utmoft terror and ab¬
horrence. They believe that fome of them have power
to controul the feafons, and to prevent the rice from ar¬
riving at maturity. Others of them are fuppofed to
fuck
A F R [ 269 ] A F R
^Africa, fuck the blood of men and beads, and to occafion all
^ — v kinds of difeafes. When they fufpe6t a perfon to have
died in confequence of forcery, they interrogate the
corpfe, which they believe gives anfwers in the affir¬
mative, by forcibly impelling forward the perfons who
bear it, and in the negative by a rolling motion. If
an anfwer is given in the affirmative, they inquire con¬
cerning the murderer, beginning with the relations of
the deceafed, and naming the fufpe&ed perfons. When
nge the guilty perfon is named, they fay that the corpfe
teris. impels the bearers forward ; and upon the authority
of this evidence, the perfon accufed is feized and fold
into flavery, and fometimes all his whole family. It
is evident that a trial of this kind may be fo managed,
as on all occalions to fecure the condemnation of the
accufed perfon. Accordingly, in proportion to the
demand for Haves, accufations of forcery are more fre¬
quently brought forward againft their fubje&s by the
Negro chiefs. Thefe accufations, however, are fome-(
times alfo brought againtt perfons of importance, who
cannot be fold on account of their rank, or againft
aged perfons, whom nobody will purchafe. In thefe
cafes, the perfon convifted is compelled to dig his own
grave 5 and being placed at the foot of it, one from
behind ftrikes him a violent blow upon the back of the
head or neck, which caufes him to fall upon his face
into the grave. Some loofe earth is then thrown upon
him ; a flake of hard wood is driven through his body,
and the grave is filled up.
1 acious Of thefe and all their other cuftoms, the Negroes are
0! ieir extremely tenacious ; and this tenacity of their cuftoms,
[T1115' down to the minuteft trifles, forms the principal ob-
ftacle to their civilization or improvement. Thus it is
the cuftom to cut the ric^ fix or eight inches below
the ear, by two or three ftalks at a time, according
as they can be grafped between the thumb of the right
hand and a knife, which is held in the fame hand.
The ftalks are leifurely transferred to the left hand,
and when it is almoft full, they are tied like a nofegay
and put into a balket. A Negro chief who had feen
the Engliffi mode of reaping, faid, that it would coft
an African his life, ffiould he attempt to introduce it
into his country, as he would be accufed of intending
to overturn the ancient cuftoms, and would be com¬
pelled to drink the red water. By means of their cu¬
ftoms, alfo, property is rendered lefs valuable than in
other countries, which operates as a difcouragement to
’jjfh- induftry. Their agriculture is carried on in concert
If of the by the inhabitants of every diftrift, who ffiare in com-
mon the products of their harveft. Hence the idea of
eo non. exclufive property is rendered very vague, while the
Vitality unl‘mited exercife of the law or cuftom of hofpitality,
unlhted. renders the pofleffion of it uncertain ; as the induftrious
are forced to ffiare their wealth with the indolent.
& wages Egging is not reckoned difgraceful ; and if a perfon
in(P?nce. has been negligent in providing the neceflaries of life,
he has ohly to difeover where provifions are to be
found, and he muft obtain a ffiare ; for if he enter a
houfe during a repaft, the mafter, by cuftom, cannot
avoid inviting him to partake. As domeftic flavery,
however, and the traffic in flaves, conftitutes a moft
profitable branch of the African cuftoms, it is not
wonderful that their chiefs adhere to them with pecu¬
liar obftinacy.
With regard to the private or domeftic economy ef
the Negroes, it may be obferved, that their houfes Africa,
confift ufually of a circular wall, built of mud, or of
clay and ftone, about four feet high, with a conical‘Iou1es*
roof of bamboos, covered or thatched with hay. As
houfes of this ftrufture cannot well be divided into fe-
parate apartments ; where there is a plurality of wives,
each has a hut appropriated to herfelf, and the whole
huts belonging to a family are furrounded by a fence
of bamboos formed into a kind of wicker work. A
number of thefe enclofures, with intermediate paffages
or ftreets, which have no regular arrangement, form a
town or village. The furniture of their houfes ufually
confifts of a bed, formed of a frame of canes, covered
with a bullock’s fldn or with a mat, and of one or
two wooden ftools, and a few wooden diffies and pots
for dreffing food. The drefs of both ftxes is formed Drefs.
of cotton cloth ; that of the men ufually confifts of a
loofe ffiirt or frock with wide fleeves, together with
drawers or trowfers, which reach to the middle of the
leg. Some of the Negroes add to thefe a cap and fan-
dais. The drefs of the women confifts of two pieces
of cloth, each of which is about fix feet long, and
three feet broad. The one is wrapt round the waift
and hangs down to the ankles, and the other is negli¬
gently thrown over the ffioulders. ■ .
The ftate of the women, as among other barbarous State of
nations, is by no means favourable. It is in general women,
accounted altogether unneceflary for a lover to make
propofals to his intended bride. She is confidered as
the property of her father, from whom he purchafes
her, and to whom he generally pays a price equal to
the value of about two flaves. When he has agreed
with the parents, therefore, with whom he eats a few
nuts to ratify the contradt, the propofed bride muft;
give her confent, or remain for ever unmarried ; for if
Ihe is given to another, the lover is entitled to feize her
for a Have. On the day of marriage the bride is con- Marriage',
dudted with great ceremony to the houfe of the bride¬
groom, who muft furnifti abundance of liquor and re-
freffiments to her attendants. On approaching the
houfe, the bride is covered all over with a robs of
white cotton, and is carried on the back of a woman
to the houfe of her huffiand. She is then placed amidft
a circle of matrons, who give her many inftrudlions
about her future life. The day is concluded with
dances, fongs, and feafting, and the validity of the mar¬
riage is confirmed by exhibiting tokens of virginity ac¬
cording to the Mofaic law.
A man is allowed to have as many wives as he can Polygamy,
afford to purchafe, and they are treated in a great
meafure as flaves, being in general compelled to take
the whole charge of the agriculture abroad, as well
as of the preparation of food for the family at home.
When the huffiands, however, are contented with one
or two wives, inftances of conjugal infidelity are un¬
common ; but when they have a greater number, they
are often under the neceffity of overlooking the ac¬
cidental gallantries of their wives, in confequence of
the impoffibility of fubje61ing them to rigid confine¬
ment in the Ample ftate of fociety in which they live.
The Negro women fuckle their children till they are
able to walk, and fometimes till they are three years
old, and during that period have no connexion with
their huffiands.
After this account of the Negroes in general, we
ffialt
A F R
Africa.
Particular
tribes.
Manrlin-
go«fs.
Language
poliflied,
and exten-
iively
known.
Induftrious
as mer¬
chants.
and inftruc
tors of
youth.
Courts of
juftice.
[ 27
fhali proceed to take notice of fome of the more re¬
markable tribes into which they are divided, and with
which we have been made acquainted by the latelt
travellers. Of thefe the tribe of Man dingoes is the moft
important. They derive their name from a diftrift in
the interior of Africa, called Manding. This territory
is fituated in the moft elevated northern tra£f of the
country of the Negroes, near the fources of the rivers
Senegal and Gambia, which flow into the Atlantic on
the weft, and of the Niger, which proceeds towards
the caft. Karnaliah, which is one of its towns, and was
viiited by Mr Park, lies in 1 2° 46' N. Lat Though
Manding is in fo high a level, and abounds in gold, it
is not mountainous or barren, d he tribe that has iffued
from it, and aflumes the name of Man dingoes, forms
bv far the moft numerous race of Negroes through the
whole weftern quarter of the continent of Africa.
Their territories intermingle in various fituations with
the poffeffions of other ftates, and they even form the
bulk of the population where other tribes enjoy the
fovereign pow'er. Xheir language is by far the moft
univerfally underftood of all the Negro tongues, and
it appears to be more poliftied than any other. The
Mandingoes are a tall flender race, of a colour mode¬
rately black. Their eyes are remarkably fmall, and
they wear their beards. They are more induftrious,
and engage more extenfively in commerce than the
other Negroes, fo that they are frequently employed as
agents in making bargains by perfons of other tribes.
In the charadler of travelling merchants, and inftruc-
tors of youth, they have infinuated themfelves into all
the Negro countries, where they are diftinguiftied by
wearing more regularly than others a red or white cot¬
ton cap, and fandals. ' Some of them who have learn¬
ed to read and write Arabic, and who profefs Maho-
metanifm, ereft fchools in the Pagan villages, and in-
ftruft the youth gratis. They affume a great appear¬
ance of fanaity, abftain from ftrong liquors, and pre¬
tend to the power of counteraaing magic. Thus they
acquire a moft extenfive influence, and few affairs of
importance are tranfaaed rvithout their advice. In
almoft every diftria, troops of Mandingo merchants
are to be met with ; and as their intelkaual powers are
more developed than thofe of the other Negroes, they
have been able to extend their language, as a kind of
learned tongue, fecond only to the Arabic, along the
Senegal and the Niger.
In moft of the Mandingo towns there are two pub¬
lic buildings; a mofque for public prayers, and what
is called the bentang, which is a large ftage formed of
interwoven bamboos ere£led under a fpreading tree.
At the bentang all public affairs are tranfadled, and
idle perfons affemble to fmoke tobacco, and hear news.
In every village there is a magiftrate, who preferves
public order, levies the duties on merchants, and pre-
fides at the palavers or courts held by the old men,
where juftice is adminiftered. At thefe courts civil
queftions between parties are debated. In the Pagan
ftates the decifions are pronounced according to the
cuttoms of their fathers •, but where Mahometanifm is
more generally received, which is ufually the cafe a-
mono the Mandingoes, the Koran is the rule of judge¬
ment, or the S/iarra, which contains a digeft of Maho¬
metan laws both civil and criminal. Certain Maho¬
metan Negroes, who make the laws of the prophet
o 1 A F 1
their particular ftudy, are frequently retained in caufes, Africa
as profeflional pleaders, and they are faid to exhibit ^
in np*mlpvinnr flip infiOTS-
great dexterity in perplexing the judges.
The Pagan Mandingoes believe in one God, theRthgior
creator of all things ; but they confider him as of a
nature too much exalted above human affairs, to give
much attention to their prayers. rI hey addrefs him,
however, at the new moons, and imagine every new
moon to be a new creation. They fancy that certain
fubordinate fpirits rule the world, and that thefe fpirits
are influenced by enchantments and fetiches. 1 hey
believe in a future Hate, but moft of them admit that
they know nothing about it. Their funerals confift of
a tumultuous proceflion, in which they make difmal
bowlings j and after burying the body befide fome large
tree, the folemnity terminates in a revel of dunking,
and at laft of dancing and finging.
Next to the Mandingoes, the Foulah are the moft Foulahs.
numerous race of Negroes on the weftern quarter of
the continent of Africa. Their original country is
called Foo/adoo. It is a fmall ft ate, fituated near the
fources of the Senegal and the Niger. From thence
they have emigrated in powerful clans, and have ac¬
quired extenfive territories, efpecially along thefe rivers,
and along the Gambia. The Foulahs alio poffefs the
fovereignty of various infulated traffs fouthwards, to¬
wards Sierra Leona. Befides the fixed fettlements in
which they enjoy the fovereignty, they have introdu¬
ced themfelves in many places along the banks of the
Gambia, and to the fouthward along what is called
the gulf of Guinea, to a great diftance, into the greater
part of the Negro ftates, in the chara&er of Ihepherds
and cultivators of the ground. They obtain admiflion
by paying a tax or rent to the chiefs of the territory
for whatever lands they occupy, and emigrate at plea-
fure. In confequence of this mode of life, the fove¬
reignty frequently fluiftuates in the fmall ftates, between
them and the Mandingoes, and other tribes, according
to the proportion of the population, which often alters,
from the emigrations of the Foulahs.
The features of the Foulahs are very different from Feature
thofe of the other Negroes. They have a Roman nofe,
a thin face, and fmall features, with long gloffy foft
hair, fo as to referable in a great degree the Eaft In¬
dian Lafcars. Their complexiow is by no means of
the permanent jetty colour of the other Negroes, but
varies with the diftrias they inhabit, approaching to
yellow in the vicinity of the Moors, and deepening
into a moderate black towards the equator. Their
ftature is of the middle fize, their form graceful, and
their air infinuating. Their women are well Ihaped,
and have regular features j but neither men nor women
are fo robuft in their make as the other Negroes.
Hence, they are accounted by the Negroes an inter¬
mediate race between themfelves and the Moors \ but
the Foulahs confider themfelves as fuperior to the Ne¬
groes, and clafs themfelves among white nations. Their
natural difpofition is mild and humane, and they arecharacl
extremely hofpitable where the Mahometan religion
has not taught them to treat infidels with _ referve.
They fupport with great care the aged and infirm of
their own tribe, and frequently relieve the neceffities
of perfons of other tribes. There are few inftances of
one Foulah being infulted by another, and they never
fell their countrymen for Haves j on the contrary, if a
Africa.
:upa-
as.
mufe-
ents.
A F R [271
Foulah have the misfortune to be enflaved, his whole town
clan or village contributes to pay his ranfom.
The Foulahs engage more extenfively than the other
Negroes in the raifing of corn, and the breeding of cat¬
tle, but efpecially in the latter occupation. Hence the
Mandingoes frequently entruft their cattle to the care
of the Foulahs. They render them traftable by fami¬
liarity *, feed them by day in the woods and open mea¬
dows, and fecure them by night in folds, which tjiey
fence very ftrongly. Not fatisfied with this precaution,
the herdfmen, whofe huts are eredted in the middle of
the fold, keep fires during the night burning around
the folds, for the protection of the cattle againft wild
beafts, and to (how that they are in a ftate of prepara¬
tion again ft robbers. From the neceflity of guarding
their cattle they become intrepid hunters, and kill
lions, tigers, elephants, and other wild beafts, with poi-
foned arrows, or with mulkets which they purchafe from
the whites upon the coaft. Io poifon their arrows,
they boil the leaves of a particular ftirub in water, and
dip in the black juice a cotton thread, which they fa¬
tten round the barbs of the arrow.
From the milk of their cattle the Foulahs make
confiderable quantities of butter j but like all the Ne¬
gro nations, they are entirely ignorant of the art of
preferving milk by making it into cheefe. This art
is probably prevented from being introduced by the
heat of the climate, and by the extreme fcarcity of
fait, which can be obtained in no other way but by
purchafing it from the fea coaft, or from caravans of
trading Arabs, who bring it on the backs of camels
from the great defert. They entertain a fingular fu-
perftition, that to boil the milk of a cow prevents her
from having any more. Hence, they will fell no milk
to any perfon w'hom they have once difcovered to
have boiled it.
Like the other Negro tribes, the Foulahs are ex-
ceflively fond of dancing. They have alfo a ftrong
paffion for mufic, and their chiefs account a pradtical
Ikill in it a moft refpedlable aecomplithment. Their
national airs have a peculiar charadler, and are tender
and pleafing.
Though the Foulahs do not enflave each other, they
do not hefitate to make war upon the neighbouring
tribes for the purpofe of obtaining Haves, chiefly with
a view of felling them to the Europeans upon the coaft
for fire-arms and gunpowder. Such at leaft is the ac¬
count of the matter, which was obtained in 1794 by
Meffrs Watt and Winterburn, who vifited Foota-jal-
lo, an extenfive Foulah kingdom in the interior of
Sierra Leona. This kingdom extends about 300
miles from eaft to weft, and 200 from north to fouth.
Temboo, the capital, contains 7000 inhabitants. The
power of their king is in a great meafure arbitrary.
On an emergency, he can bring to the field 16,000
cavalry. The markets and all kinds of trade are re¬
gulated by him and his officers. The foil is in many
places extremely fertile, producing rice and maize,
which are cultivated by the women, and carried to
market by the men. In general, however, the ground
is dry and ftony, but affords pafture for all kinds of
cattle. Their women dig a fpecies of iron ftone from
mines of confiderable depth. The ore is afterwards
manufaftured into a very malleable metal. In this
kingdom of Foota-jallo there are fchools in every
Africa.
] A F R
j and the majority of the people can read. The
Mahometan religion is profeffed, but the mild charac-
ter of the Foulahs prevents it from exhibiting that af-
peft of intolerance towards ftrangers which charadlerizes
the profeffors of this religion in other countries.
On the weftern coaft, a great part of the diftridt be-Jaloffs,
tween the rivers Senegal and Gambia, or, as it is often
called, Senegambia, is inhabited by a nation called the
Ja/qfs, which differs confiderably from the other
tribes of the Negroes. Their ftature is tall and ro-
buft, and, though their complexion is of the deepeft
black, their nofes are no* fo much depreffed, nor their
lips fo protuberant, as tnofe of the Mandingoes. They
excel their neighbours in the manufacture and dyeing
of cotton cloth, which they form of a finer thread and
a broader web. They ufe their toes with the fame
dexterity as their fingers in many operations. Hence
when they perceive a pair of fciffars, a knife, or a toy
which they covet, they turn their backs upon it, and,
having engaged the owner in converfation, they feize
it artfully with their toes, and throw it into a pouch
which they wear behind. In this way, ftrangers tra¬
ding in their towns are amazed to find their goods va-
niffiing before their eyes, while they cannot perceive
the thief. The Jaloffs are very warlike, and equal the
Moors in the management of horfes ; but, as they are
divided into a number of petty ftates, which are conti¬
nually engaged in war with each other, they have little
power as a nation. In the fucceffion to their leaders or
chiefs, they follow the female line as the fureft ; and
therefore, the eldeft fon of the eldeft fifter of the chief
is preferred.
On the coaft to the fouth of the river Gambia, there peiot)pS
exifts a rude but induftrious tribe, called the Fclcops,
who have little intercourfe with their neighbours.
They poffefs confiderable energy of charafter, and
have refifted fuccefsfully the attacks of the Mandingoes,
even when affifted by the Portuguefe. They are very
faithful in friendlhip, and their enmity is equally per¬
manent, as they tranfmit their family feuds from gene¬
ration to generation. When a man is killed in a quar¬
rel, his eldeft fon procures his fandals, which he wears
on the anniverfary of the murder of his father, till he
can revenge his death. In thofe parts of their country
in which the Europeans have committed any ravages,
they give no quarter to a white man. They fell to
the Europeans, however, rice, goats, poultry, wax, and
honey.
Befides thefe, a variety of tribes inhabit the fame
coaft, and are known to Europeans under the appella¬
tion of Nat foes, Biqfaras, Biffagoes, B a/antes. Pape/s,
and Banyans, of whom it is unneceffary to take parti¬
cular notice, as they appear to be diftinguilhed by no
peculiarity from the other Negro tribes.
Proceeding eaftvvard in the country between the
Bambouk.
Senegal and the Gambia is Bambouk, a region of con¬
fiderable extent. The natives were originally termed
Malinkups; but, by intermingling with the Mandin¬
goes, they have gradually fo much affimilated to that
people, as to lofe the charafter of a diftindl tribe.
The country is mountainous, but is unwholefome and
full of minerals. It abounds in mines of gold, filver, !yfines 0f
copper, tin, and iron, but is neither well fuited for gold, &c,-
agriculture not for pafturage. The working of the
mines is regulated by the caprice or the wants of the
chiefs
A F R [ 272 1 A F R
Africa, cliiefs of the different diftri£ls. The miners are indo-
lent and unlkilful : They never penetrate beyond 10
feet in depth, though the quantity of gold increafes
with the depth of the mine. They regard gold as a
capricious and malevolent being, who delights in delu¬
ding the miners j on which account they never attempt
to recover a vein wrhen it difappears. The govern¬
ment of Bambouk fludluates, like that of many of the
Negro Hates, between monarchy and ariflocracy, and
the power of the king or fupreme chief is extremely
limited.
The frontiers of the Negro kingdoms ufually confift
of a wild or defert trad:. Thus the kingdom of
Woolli, which is on the north-weft of Bambouk, is fe-
parated on its eaftern boundary, by a wildernefs filled
with wdld beafts, from the kingdom of Bondou, which
lies to the north of Bambouk. Fattecondi is the capi¬
tal of Bondou, at which the king refides. The king
caufed Major Houghton, an Englifh traveller employ¬
ed by the African Affociation, to be plundered 5 and he
begged from Mr Mungo Park his blue coat, which
that traveller was under the neceflity of giving him,
to avoid bad ufage. His revenues, however, are con-
fiderable. His authority is firmly eftablifhed, and his
power is formidable to his neighbours. He was fo
well pleafed with obtaining Mr Park’s blue coat,
adorned as it was with yellow buttons, that, on the
following day he prefented to him fomewhat more than
half an ounce of gold, exempted his baggage from ex¬
amination by the tax-gatherers, and allowed him to pay
a vifit to the women of his feraglio. The country at
large is covered with wood, and, as it is in an elevated
fituation, and confequently fomewhat lefs expofed than
elfewhere to the burning heat of the climate, it is
abundantly fertile. The frontier town of the kingdom
eaftward is called Joag. It contains 2000 inhabitants,
is furrounded by a high wall with holes for mufkets,
and is in 14° 25' N. Lat. and 90 12' W. Long.
To the north eaft of Bondou is the Mandingo
kingdom of Kaffon, in which this peculiar cuftom or
fuperftition prevails, that no woman is allowed to eat
an egg. Kooniakary, the capital, lies in N. Lat. 14*
34', about 59I- geographical miles to the eaft of
Joag. To the fouth-eaft of Kaffon is the kingdom of
Kaarta, w'hich is bordered on the eaft by Bambara,
between which and Kaarta there are very frequent
wars 5 a circumftance which renders travelling through
thefe and other Negro ftates not a little difficult. The
people are induftrious : The cultivation of corn is car¬
ried on to a great extent, efpecially in Bambara. They
are Mahometans, without the intolerant fanaticifm of
that religion ; and accordingly they are hofpitable to
ftrangers, though of a different faith. The neigh¬
bourhood of the Moors, however, renders the country
unfafe ; and, to guard againft their incurfions, the Ne¬
groes, when employed in agriculture, are under the ne-
ceffity of carrying their arms to the field.
Sego. Sego, the capital of Bambara, lies in N. Lat. 140 10',
and W. Long. 2° 26' j and contains about 30,000 inha¬
bitants. It was here that Mungo Park at laft beheld
the long-fought majeftic river Niger glittering to the
morning fun, as broad as the Thames at Weftminfter,
and flowing flowly from weft to eaft. The river is
here called the Joliba by the natives. From the times
of the Nafamonian explorers prior to the days of He¬
rodotus, during 2300 years, no certain intelligence Africa,
concerning this river had been obtained by the Euro- T-*'
pean nations, and its very exiftence had been doubted
by the moft intelligent writers. Mr Park is the only
European traveller who fince that period can boaft of
having reached it. Sego confifts of four diftinft towns j
two of which are on the north and t\yo on the fouthern
part of the Niger. They are furrounded by high mud
walls. The houfes are of a fquare form ; they are built
of clay, and have flat roofs. The ftreetsare narrow 5 and,
as the Moors form a confiderable proportion of the in¬
habitants, their mofques appear in every quarter. The
language, however, is a dialed of the Mandingo. The
authority of the Negro king of Bambara is not a little
reftrained here by the influence of the Moors •, and, to
avoid giving offence to their intolerant fpirit, he was
under the neceffity of fending Mr Park immediately
out of the city to a village in the neighbourhood.
The weather was ftormy, but fome Negro women con-
dueled him into a hut, gave him food, and thereafter
began to their accuftomed labour of fpinning cotton.
During their work they amufed themfelves with a
fong, compofed upon the occafion, which one of them
fung to a plaintive air. The tranflation of the fong
is in thefe terms : “ The wind roared and the rains
fell; the poor white man, faint and weary, came and fat
under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk,
no wife to grind his corn. Chorus. Let us pity the
white man, no mother has he,” &c.
The current money of this place confirfs of cowries,
a kind of fhells (cyprcea moneta Lin.') which are alfo em¬
ployed in the fame way in Bengal. A man and his horfe
can fubfift during 24 hours upon the provifions that
100 of them will purchafe. The king of Bambara
prefented Mr Park with 5000 cowries, and defired him
to leave the neighbourhood of his capital, that he
might not be deftroyed by the Moors. This traveller
perfevered in advancing eaftward down the river to an¬
other town called Si/la, fituated in N. Lat. 140 48', Silla.
and W. Long. l° 24', about 1090 Britifh miles eaft of
Cape Verd. This formed the utmoft limit to which
he was able to advance, and therefore remains the
boundary of our certain knowledge of the countries in
that direction. He learned, however, that Silla ftands
within 200 miles of the city of Tombudfoo, which is
upon the fame river, and had long been an obje£t,of
fearch of the Portuguefe, the French, and Englilh.
He was informed, that the country is very populous in
that diredlion. He was alfo told, that about two days
journey below Silla, where he flopped, there is a larger
town than Sego, called Jenne, which ftands on a fmall
ifland in the Niger ; and that two days journey below
Jenne, the river expands into a large lake called Dib-
bie, from which the water iffues in two large branches,
infulating a fertile and fwampy country called Gin-
bala ; and that the two great branches of the river re¬
unite at Kabra, which is one day’s journey to the
fouth of the city of Tombuftoo, of which it is the port.
The government of Tombuftoo is faid to be in the
hands of the Moors j and that place is the principal
emporium of the Moorifli commerce in Africa. Be¬
low Tombu&oo, to the eaftward, is the Negro city of
Houffa, the capital of a great kingdom, and poffeffed
of extenfive commerce. The Niger paffes to the fouth
of Houffa at the diftance of two days journey 5 but Mr
Park
A F R [ 273 ] ' A F R
uffa.
Africa. Park could learn nothing further concerning its courfe,
as the traders who arrive at Tombuftoo and Houffa
from the coaft can fay nothing more of it, than that
it runs towards the rijing of the fun to the end of the
utan and wor^‘ i^-ny fartber intelligence that has hitherto been
gritia. obtained, concerning Soudan or Nigritia to the eaft-
ward of the route of Mr Park, is extremely uncertain,
being merely the refult of inquiries made by Mr Hor-
neman among the merchants of Fezzan during his re-
fidence there. In the prefent imperfeft ftate of our
knowledge, however, this information is entitled to
attention. He obferves, that “ the Houffa are certain¬
ly Negroes, but not quite black ; they are the moll
intelligent people in the interior of Africa *, they are
diftinguifhed from their neighbours by an interefting
countenance $ their nofe is fmall and not flattened ; and
their features are not fo difagreeable as thofe of the Ne¬
groes, and they have an extraordinary inclination for
pleafure, dancing, and finging. Their chara&er is be¬
nevolent and mild. Induilry and art, and the culti¬
vation of the natural produftions of the land, prevail
in their country $ and in this refpedt they excel the
Fezzanians, who get the greateft part of their clothes
and houfehold implements from the Soudanians. They
can dye in this country any colours but fcarlet. The
culture of their land is as perfect as that of the Euro¬
peans, although the manner of doing it is very trou-
blefome. In fhort, fays Mr Horneman, we have
very unjuft ideas of this people, not only with refpeft
to their cultivation and natural abilities, but alfo of
their ftrength and the extent of their poffeffions, which
are by no means fo inconfiderable as they have been re-
prefented. Their mufic is imperfeft, compared to the
European j but the Houffanian wromen have fkill
enough to affefl their hufbands thereby even to weep¬
ing, and to inflame their courage to the greateft fu¬
ry againft their enemies. The public fingers are call¬
ed Kadankad'1
The fame traveller informs us, that to the eaftward
of Houffa are fituated the dominions of the fultan of
Bornou. The people are blacker than the Houffanians,
and completely Negroes. They are ftrong, patient of
labour, and phlegmatic. Their food is a pafte made
of flour and flefti, and their liquor is an intoxicating
but nourilhing kind of beer. Their bell natural pro-
duftion is copper. The low country of Wangara is faid
to be fubjedl to Bornou. It is periodically overflowed
by the Niger 5 but the courfe of that river farther eaft¬
ward is not known. Mr Horneman was informed that
it had at lead a periodical communication with the long¬
er branch of the Nile, called the Bahr Abiad or White
river, which rifes in the mountains A1 Komeri, or moun¬
tains of the Moon, about the feventh degree of N. Lat.
To the eaftward of Wangara, at the diftance of about
fix degrees of longitude, is the country ofDarfoor already
mentioned $ beyond which lies Kordafan, another bar¬
barous ftate ; and ftill farther to the eaftward is the
country of Abyflinia, in which the ftiorter branch of
the Nile, the Bahr A%rac or Blue river, takes its rife,
which was vifited and traced to its fource by our coun¬
tryman Mr Bruce. That traveller confidered the
Bahr Azrac as the Nile, whereas in truth it is only
one of its tributary ftreams.
1 he belt or ftripe of territory of which we have
therto taken notice is fituated between the 10th and
Vol. I. Part I.
'aou.
fc
17th degrees of N. Lat. To the fouthward of this Africa,
line the interior of Africa is ftill unknown, as it has y~n"
hitherto been vifited by no European traveller. We
only know that it contains various nations or tribes of
Negroes, of different charafters and degrees of civiliza¬
tion. It may be obferved, however, that to the fouth
of Tombuftoo and Houffa lies the kingdom of Gago, Gag0.
near a ridge of mountains which run from weft to eaft,
and give rife to many ftreams that flow northward into
the Niger. It produces much gold, and the people
are warlike. Their armies are compofed of cavalry j and
no warrior is permitted to take an enemy prifoner before
he has obtained, by the mutilation of perfons whom he
has flain, an hundred bloody trophies, fimilar to thofe
which, in the Jewifh hiftory, David is faid to have won
from the Philiftines and prefented to King Saul as the
price of his daughter Michal (1 Samuel xviii. 25.) In
Gago, when the general takes the field he fpreads a buf¬
falo’s hide upon the ground ; and pitching a fpear at each
fide, he caufes the foldiers to march over it till a hole
be worn through the hide, when the army is under-
ftood to be fufficiently numerous. The king is abfolute ;
but, when they are offended with his conduft, his fub-
jefls fometimes rebel and fend him a prefent of parrots
eggs, with a meffage, importing that “ his fubjedls,
confidering that he muft be fatigued with the trouble
of government, are of opinion that it is time for him
to indulge in a little fleep.” If the rebellion appear
too formidable to be refifted, his majefty takes the
hint, and defires his women to ftrangle him j upon
which he is immediately fucceeded by his fon.
To the fouth of Gago, and near to the gulf of Guinea, Dahom>
is the kingdom of Dahomy. The capital, called Abo-
my, ftands in N. Lat. 70 57'. The country is fertile and
cultivated, bearing every kind of grain, as well as indigo,
cotton, and fugar. The chara&er of the people is
ftrongly marked, and fome of their cuftoms are lingular.
In their wars they are bold, and even ferocious j but to¬
wards ftrangers they are hofpitable, without any mixture
of rudenefs. Their king poffeffes abfolute power in
the moft complete fenfe of the word. All children,
whether male or female, are confidered as his property.
They are early feparated from their parents, and receive
a fort of public education, with a view to deftroy from
their minds all family connections. The king’s dwell¬
ing occupies a fpace of about a mile fquare. It con-
fifts of a multitude of huts formed of mud -walls with
bamboo roofs ; and the whole is enclofed by a mud wall
of 20 feet in height. The entrance of the king’s apart¬
ment is paved with human Ikulls, and the fide walls are
ornamented with the jaw bones of men. On the thatch¬
ed roofs numerous human Ikills are ranged on wooden
flakes; and he declares wrar by announcing that his houfe
wants thatch. He has commonly about 3000 females
immured in this dwelling ; and about 500 are appropriat¬
ed to each of the principal officers. When a man wants
a wife he muft purchafe her from the king or fome of
thefe officers. He muft firft lay doAvn the price, which
is 20,000 cowries ; and muft then be contented with the
wife that is allotted to him. At his fucceffion the king
proclaims that he knows nobody, and is not inclined
to make any new acquaintance j that he will adminifter
juftice rigoroufly and impartially, but will liften to no
reprefentations againft his will; and that he will receive
no prefents except from his officers, who approach him
M m with
A F R [ 274 ] A F R
Africa. the mod abjefl fubmiflion. His whole fubjefts
v ' acknowledge themfelves his flaves, and admit his right
to the abfolute difpofal of their property and perfons.
Their character is neverthelefs aftive and intrepid j and
they facrifice themfelves in war without hefitation, in
obedience to his commands. Thus the Dahomans ap¬
pear to form a fort of exception to the general mildnefs
of the Negro charafter.
In addition to what has been here dated concerning
the black inhabitants of the fouthern regions of Africa,
it may be remarked, that a French traveller, Vaillant,
proceeding northward from the Cape of Good Hope,
has madeL repeated efforts to inveffigate the character
and date of the natives in that quarter. He has ex¬
tended his refearches into what is called the country of
the Caffres, far beyond the limits that had been reach¬
ed by any other traveller, and has given us the names
of various African tribes, under the appellation of Guef-
fquas, Nimiquas, Koraquas, Kahobiquas, and Howzou-
nnas. Thefe tribes differ confiderably in their features
and make of body from the general Negro race, which
we have already deferibed. In their moral and intel-
leftual char after, however, they are not a little inferi¬
or 1 Their wants are extremely few, and are fupplied
by their flocks and herds without the neceffity of agri¬
culture *, and their lives pafs away in a routine of lid-
lefs inaftivity, or of Ample and unintereding occu¬
pations, the detail of which would afford little amufe-
ment or indruflion.
European We have already mentioned, that the European ria-
eftablifli- tions, during thefe three lad centuries, have edablilh-
ments. ecj fma]| fettlements or garrifons upon different parts
of the Negro coad, chiefly for the purpofe of obtaining
daves by trading with the natives. The number of
people that are annually exported from that country, in
confequence of this trade, by Europeans or Moors, is
very great. The Europeans have frequently carried
Slave from the wed coad above 100,000 daves a year 5 and
trade. t}ie caravans of Egypt and Fezzan carry off about
i.0,000 annually. The very great extent to which
this traffic is carried on the wedern coad undoubtedly
gives rife to many abufes among the native dates in
that neighbourhood, and is produftive of frequent wars
among them. Unfortunately, the nations of Europe
have "hitherto made few efforts to compenfate ffiefe
evils by any attempts to introduce their arts, thei'r ci¬
vilization, or their fcience, among the natives. Till
lately, the Portuguefe were the only nation that at¬
tempted the improvement of the Negroes. I hey did
not condne themfelves to garrifons or trading faflories,
but formed confiderable colonies on the coads. I hey
attempted to indrudl the natives in the better cultiva¬
tion of their foil 5 and introduced their own religion
among them. It is even faid, that in Loango, Congo,
Angola, and Benguela, they have been fo fedulous in
the converfion of the Negroes, that they have made
them better Chridians than themfelves. It is worthy
of notice, as-a fadt of fotne importance in natural bi-
dory, that fuch of the defeendants of the Portuguefe
in thefe climates as have adopted the manners of the
Negroes, and their modes of life, are hardly to be di-
dinguiffied in colour from the darked Negroes. From
the weaknefs of the parent date, the Portuguefe fet-
tlements, in many places, are greatly decayed j and
their efforts for the civilization of the natives have
not being fufficiently extenfive or per fevering : dill, Africa,
however, they are faid to carry on the flave-trade with 'f~m
more mildnefs and humanity than other nations. The
daves are catechifed and baptized before they are ffiip-
ped 5 which tends to diminilh the terrors attending
tranfportation. The dave-ffiips of the Portuguefe are
never crowded, and they are chiedy navigated by black
mariners.
In 1779, a Swediffi fociety formed the projeft of
fettling a European colony on the wedern coad ot
Africa, with the view of diffeminating the general
principles of civilization. This projeft w'as, at a later
period, eagerly preffed by Charles Berns Waddrom,
a native of that country, but rvithout fuccefs. After¬
wards the Danes edablifbed a fmall colony with the.
fame view, near the mouth of the river Volta, under
the fuperintendence of Doftor Ifert. In the mgan
time, theuniverfity of Cambridge in England, in 1785*
propofed, as the fubjeft of a prize-effay, a quedion con¬
cerning the lawfulnefs of the davery and commerce
of the human fpecies. The prize was won by Mr
J. Clarkfon ; and the quedion began to attract public
notice : Vad numbers of pamphlets were written ; and
in a few years the whole nation intereded itfelf in the
fubject, and the flave-trade became an objeft of popular
indignation. Some legiflative attempts were made to¬
wards its abolition, which were probably fruflrated
by the convulflve date into Avhich Europe was plunged
by the French revolution. In the mean time, as early
as 1783, Doftor H. Smeathman had propofed a fpe-
cific plan for the colonization of Africa. This plan
was not immediately attended to 5 but in the year
1787, after the fubjeft had affumed a greater degree
of importance, an attempt was made to carry it into
execution, by fending about four hundred blacks and fix-
ty whites, chiefly people of abandoned charafters, col-
lefted about London, to Sierra Leona. In confe¬
quence of the kind of perfons chofen as colonifts, this
fird attempt did not fucceed. But in July 1791, a Sierra
number of perfons who had contributed money for the Leona,
purpofe of making a fettlement with a view to the in-
druftion and civilization of the Africans, were incor¬
porated by aft of parliament under the name of the
Sierra Leona Company. At the termination of the
American war, many black loyalids had been convey¬
ed to Nova Scotia, which they difliked, in oonfequence
of the derility of the lands allotted to them, and the
feverity of the climate. The new Sierra Leona Com¬
pany made propofals to thefe blacks to form a fettle¬
ment upon the coad of Africa, to which they were to
be conveyed at the expence of the Company. The
propofal was accepted by 1200 blacks, who arrived, at
Sierra Leona in March 1792. After experiencing
confiderable difficulties, the colony began to enjoy to¬
lerable profperity, and received ambaffadors from the
neighbouring Negro dates ; but on the 28th Septem¬
ber x 794 a French fquadron fuddenly plundered and
dedroyed the colonial town. This fquadron had been
fitted out for the purpofe of didurbing the trade of the
Engliffi dave-faftories on the coad, and is faid to have
been indigated by an American flave captain, who
had taken fome offence at the governor, to make the
attack now mentioned. The damage was repaired.
The fettlement has fince been vifited by various mil-
fionaries from different religious fefts in Britain, with
the
£
A F W
[ 275 1
A G A
the view of extending the Chriftian religion. The co¬
lony, however, itill languilhes. It has been engaged in
fome unfortunate contefts with the natives j and it has
lately been found neceffary to affift the Company with
the public money. It feems doubtful how far it is
likely ever to fulfil the purpofe for which it was infti-
tuted, chiefly in confequence of the difficulty of main¬
taining a very fteady intercourfe with the country
which founded it, and from the unfavourable nature of
the climate to the health of the natives of Europe.
Without fuch an intercourfe, it is nearly impoflible for
any infant colony to preferve its own civilization, and
much lefs to confer it upon others. The firrt colonifts,
from the neceflity of engaging in agriculture, foon for¬
get the arts and the fciences of the parent ftate; and un-
lefs new fettlers, from time to time, revive among them,
and keep up the improvements of their anceftors, the
whole fettlement is apt to fink into a femibarbarous
ftate, or into a refemblance of the natives of the coun¬
try into which they have come. This has been the
fate of moft of the Portuguefe colonies that were in¬
tended for the civilization of the Africans ; and muft
prove the deftiny of our own fettlement of Sierra Leona,
unlefs the ordinary courfe of events Avail be counteract¬
ed by extraordinary efforts.
AFRICAN Company. See Company.
African AJfociation. See Association.
AFRICANUS, Julius, an excellent hiftorianof the
third century, the author of a chronicle which w7as
greatly efteemed, and in which he reckons 5500 years
from the creation of the world to Julius Ccefar. This
work, of which we have now no more than what is to
be found in Eufebius, ended at the 22ift year of the
vulgar aera. Africanus alfo wrote a letter to Origen
on the hiftory of Sufanna, Avhich he reckoned fuppo-
fititious: and we have ftill a letter of his to Ariftides,
in which he reconciles the feeming contradictions in
the two genealogies of Chrift recorded by St Matthew
and St Luke.
AFSLAGERS, perfons appointed by the burgo-
mafters of Amfterdam to prefide over the public fales
made in that city. They muft always have a clerk of
the fecretary’s office with them, to take an account of
the fale. They correfpond to our brokers, or auc¬
tioneers.
AFT, in the fea language, the fame with Abaft.
AFTERBIRTH, in Midwifery, fignifies the mem¬
branes which furround the infant in the womb, gene¬
rally called the fecundines. See MIDWIFERY.
AFTERMATH, in Hujbamlry, fignifies the grafs
which fprings or grows up after mow'ing.
AFTERNOON, the latter half of the artificial day,
or that fpace between noon and night.
AFTER-PAINS, in Midwifery, exceflive pains felt
in the groin, loins, &c. after the woman is delivered.
AFTER-SWARMS, in the management of bees,
are thofe which leave the hive fome time after the firft
has fwarmed. See Bee.
AFWESTAD, a large copper-work belonging to
the crown of Sweden, which lies on the Dala, in the
province of Dalecarlia, in Sweden. It looks like a
town, and has its own church. Here they make cop¬
per plates ; and have a mint for fmall filver coin, as
well as a royal poft-houfe. E. Long. 14. 10. N. Lat.
c8. 10.
AG A, in the Turkifti language, fignifies a great
lord or commander. Hence the aga of the janizaries Aganvppe.
is the commander in chief of that corps j as the gene- ^
ral of horfe is denominated fpachiclar aga. The aga of
the janizaries is an officer of great importance. He
is the only perfon who is allowed to appear before the
Grand Signior without his arms acrofs his breaft in the
pofture of a flave. Eunuchs at Conftantinople are in
poffeffion of moft of the principal polls of the fera-
glio : The title aga is given to them all, whether in
employment or out. This title is alfo given to all
rich men without employ, and efpecially to wealthy
landholders.
We find alfo agas in other countries. The chief
officers under the khan of Tartary are called by this
name. And among the Algerines, we read of agas
chofen from among the boluk bajhis (the firft rank of
military officers), and fent to govern in the chief towns
and garrifons of that ftate. The aga of Algiers is the
pre.fident of the divan, or fenate. For fome years, the
aga was the fupreme officer ; and governed the ftate in
place of the baffiaw, whofe power dwindled to a fha-
dow. But the foldiery riling again!! the bo/uk bajhis,
or agas, maffacred moft of them, and transferred the
fovereign power to the caliph, with the title of Dey
or King.
AGADES, a kingdom and city of Negroland in
Africa. It lies nearly under the tropic of Cancer, be¬
tween Gubur and Cano. The town Hands on a river
that falls into the Niger} it is walled, and the king’s
palace is in the midlt of it. The king has a retinue,
who ferve as a guard. The inhabitants are notfo black
as other Negroes, and confift of merchants and artificers.
Thofe that inhabit the fields are ffiepherds or herdfmen,
whofe cottages are made of boughs, and are carried
about from place to place on the backs of oxen. They
are fixed on the fpot of ground where they intend to
feed their cattle. The houfes in the city are {lately,
and built after the Barbary falhion. This kingdom
was, and may be ftill, tributary to the king of Tom-
bufloo. It is well watered 5 and there is great plenty
of grafs, cattle, fenna, and manna. The prevailing re¬
ligion is the Mahometan, but it is not rigidly pra£lifed.
N. Lat. 26. 10. E. Long. 9. 10.
AGALLOCHUM, a very fragrant medicinal wood
brought from the Eaft Indies. See Exc^ecaria, Bo¬
tany Index.
AGALMATA, in antiquity, a term originally
ufed to fignify any kind of ornaments in a temple j but
afterwards for the ftatues only, which were moft con-
fpicuous.
AGAMEMNON, the fon of Atreusby Erope, was
captain general of the Trojan expedition. It was fore¬
told to him by Caffandra, that his wife Clytemneftra
would be his death : yet he returned to her; and ac¬
cordingly was flain by ./Egifthus, who had gained up¬
on his wife in his abfence, and by her means got the
government into his own hands.
AGAN, in Geography, one of the Ladrone iflands.
The circumnavigator, Magellan, was affaffinated here
in the year 1525.
AGANIPPE, in antiquity, a fountain ef Boeotia,
at Mount Helicon, on the borders between Phocis and
Boeotia, facred to the Mufes, and running into the river
Permeffus j (Pliny, Paufanias.) Ovid feems to make
Mm2 Aganippe
[
A G A
Aganippe jfganippe and Hippocrene the fame. Serenus more
^ M ^ truly diftinguilhes them, and afcribes the blending
them to poetical licenfe.
AGANIPPIDES, in ancient poetry, a defignation
given to the Mufes, from a fountain of Mount Helicon,
called Aganippe.
AGAPE, in ecclefiaftical hiftory, the love-feaft, or
feaft of charity, in ufe among the primitive Chriflians*,
when a liberal contribution was made by the rich to
feed the poor. The word is Greek, and fignifies love.
St Chryfoftom gives the following account of this feaft,
which he derives from the apoftolical practice. He
fays, “ The firft Chriftians had all things in common,
as we read in the A£ts of the Apoftles 5 but when that
equality of poffeffions cealed, as it did even in the A-
poftles time, the agape, or love-feaft, was fubftituted
in the room of it. Upon certain days, after partaking
of the Lord’s fupper, they met at a common feaft ; the
rich bringing provifions, and the poor who had nothing
being invited.” It was always attended with receiving
the holy facrament j but there is fome difference between
the ancient and modern interpreters as to the circum-
ftance of time, viz. whether this feaft wTas held before
or after the communion. St Chryfoftom is of the lat¬
ter opinion ) the learned Dr Cave of the former.— Ihefe
love-feafts, during the three firft centuries, were held
in the church without fcandal or offence 5 but, in after
times, the heathens began to tax them with impurity.
This gave occafion to a reformation of thefe agapee.
The kifs of charity, with which the ceremony ufed to
end, was no longer given between different fexes; and
it was exprefsly forbidden to have any beds or couches,
for the convenieney of thofe who ftiould be difpofed to
eat more at their eafe. Notwithftanding thefe precau¬
tions, the abufes committed in them became fo notori¬
ous, that the holding of them (in churches at leaft) was
folemnly condemned, at the council of Carthage, in the
year 307.
AGAPETiE, in ecclefiaftical hiftory, a name given
to certain virgins and widows, who, in the ancient church,
affociated themfelves with, and attended on, ecclefia-
ftics, out of a motive of piety and charity.
In the primitive days there were rvomen inftituted
Deaconesses j who, devoting themfelves tothe fervice
of the church, took up their abode with the minifters,
and aflifted them in their fun&iens. _ In the fervour o{
the primitive piety, there was nothing fcandalous in
thefe focieties : but they afterwards degenerated into
libertinifm ; infomuch, that St Jerome afks, with indig¬
nation, unde agapetarum pejlis in ecc/ejias intrant ? This
gave occafion for councils to fupprefs them.—St Atha-
nafius mentions a prieft, named Leontius, who, to re¬
move all occafion of fufpicion, offered to mutilate him-
felf, to preferve his beloved companion.
AGARD, Arthur, a learned Englifti antiquarian,
born at Tofton in Derbyfliire in the year 1540. His
fondnefs for Englifh antiquities induced him to make
many large colletlions ; and his office as deputy cham¬
berlain oif the exchequer, which he held 45 years, gave
him great opportunities of acquiring Ikill in that ftudy.
Similarity of tafte brought him acquainted with Sir
Robert Cotton and other learned men, who affociated
themfelves under the name of The Society of Antiqua-
of which fociety Mr Agard was a confpicuous
member. He made the Doomfday book his peculiar
76 ] A G A
ftudy } and compofed a work purpofely to explain it,
under the title of Traclatus de ufu et obfcurioribus ver¬
bis libri de Domefday : he alfo compiled a book for the
fervice of his fucceffors in office, which he depofited with
the officers of the king’s receipt, as a proper index for
fucceeding officers. All the reft of his colle&ions,
containing at leaft twenty volumes, he bequeathed to Sir
Robert Cotton ; and died in 1615-
AGARIC, Female. See Boletus, Botany In¬
dex.
Agaric Mineral, a marly earth refembling the ve¬
getable of that name in colour and texture. It is found
in the fiffures of rocks, and on the roots of caverns ;
and is fometimes ufed as an aftringent in fluxes, hemor-
rhagies, &c.
AGARICUS, Mushroom. See Agaricus, Bo¬
tany Index.
AGA'l'E, or Achat, (among the Greeks and La¬
tins, and Achates, from a river in Sicily, on the
banks of which it was firft found), a very extenfive ge¬
nus of the femipellucid gems.
Thefe ftones are variegated with veins and clouds,
but have no zones like thofe of the onyx. They are
compofed of cryftal debafed by a large quantity of
earth, and not formed, either by repeated incruftations
round a central nucleus, or made up of plates laid even¬
ly on one another ; but are merely the effeft of one
Ample concretion, and variegated only by the difpofi-
tion given by the fluid they were formed in to their
differently coloured veins or matters.
Agates are arranged according to the different co¬
lours of their ground. Of thofe with a white ground
there are three fpecies. C1*) The dendrachates, mocoa
Jlone, or arborefcent agate. This feems to be the fame
with what fome authors call the achates with rofemary
in the middle, and others achates with little branches
of black leaves. (2.) The dull milky-looking agate.
This, though greatly inferior to the former, is yet a
very beautiful ftone. It is common on the ftiores of li¬
vers in the Eaft Indies, and alfo in Germany and fome
other parts of Europe. Our lapidaries cut it into coun¬
ters for card-playing, and other toys of fmall value.
(3.) The lead-coloured agate, called the phajjachates by
the ancients.
Of the agates with a reddijh ground there are four
fpecies. (1.) An impure one of a flefli-coloured white,
which is but of little beauty in comparifon with other
agates. The admixture of flefli-colour is but very
flight j and it is often found without any clouds, veins,
or other variegations ; but fometimes it is prettily veined
or variegated with Ipots of irregular figures, having
fimbriated edges. It is found in Germany, Italy, and
fome other parts of Europe •, and is wrought into toys
of fmall value, and often into the German gunflmts.
It has been fometimes found with evident fpecimens of
the perfeft moffes bedded deep in it. (2.) T hat of a
pure blood colour, called hcemachates, or the bloody
agate, by the ancients. (3.) 'Ihe clouded and fpotted
agate, of a pale fleffi colour, called by the ancients the
cornelian achates or fardachates. (4.) The red-lead
coloured one, variegated with yellow, called the coral
agate, or cor alia-achates, by the ancients.
Of the agates with a yellowifh ground there are only
two known fpecies 5 the one of the colour of yellow
wax, called cerachates by the ancients j the other a
7 very
A G A
c 277 ]
A G A
flphem
G'rnati.
4 . i. an,
0151.
t f gem,
1. c. 95
-at?, very elegant ftone, of a yellow ground, variegated with
 > white, black, and green, called the leonina, and leon-
tcferes, by the ancients.
Laftlv, Of the agates with a greenij!) ground, there
is only one known fpecies, called by the ancients jaf-
vachates. . .
Of all thefe fpecies there are a great many varieties ;
fome of them having upon them natural reprefentations
of men and different kinds of animals, &c. Thofe
reprefentations are not confined to the agates whofe
ground is of any particular colour, but are occafional-
ly found on all the different fpecies. Velfchius had in
his cuflody a flefh-coloured agate, on one fide of which
appeared a half moon in great perfeaion, reprefented
by a milky femicircle; on the other fide, the phafes of
vefper, or the evening ftar : whence he denominated it
an aphrodijian agate. An agate is mentioned by Kir-
cher *, on which was the reprefentation of a heroine
armed } and one in the church of St Mark in Venice
i. has the reprefentation of a king’s head adorned with a
diadem. 'On another, in the mufeum of the prince
of Gonzaga, was reprefented the body of a man with
all his clothes in a running pofture. A ftill more cu¬
rious one is mentioned by De Boot f, wherein appears
a circle ftruck in brown, as exaftly as if done with a pair
of compaffes, and in the middle of the circle the exa£t
figure of a bifhop with a mitre on : but inverting the
ftone a little, another figure appears ; and if it is turned
yet further, two others appear, the one of a man, and
the other of a woman. But the moft celebrated agate
of this kind is that of Pyrrhus, wherein were reprefent¬
ed the nine Mufes, with their proper attributes, and
p;nyt Apollo in the middle playing on the harp In. the
ijixvii. emperor’s cabinet is an oriental agate of a iurpriang
bignefs, being fafhioned into a cup, whofe diameter is
an ell, abating two inches. In the cavity is found de¬
lineated in black fpecks, B. xristor. s. xxx. Other
agates have alfo been found, reprefenting the numbers
4191, 191 5 whence they were called arithmetical
agates, as thofe reprefenting men or women have ob¬
tained the name of anthropomorphous.
Great medicinal qualities were formerly attributed to
the agate, fuch as refilling poifons, efpecially thofe of
the viper, fcorpion, and fpider } but they are now very
juftly rejected from medicinal practice. I he oriental
ones are all faid to be brought from the river Gambay.
A mine of agates was fome time ago difcovered in
Tranfylvania, of divers colours $ and fome of a large
iize, weighing feveral pounds.
Agates may be ftained artificially with folution of
filver in fpirit of nitre, and afterwards expofing the
part to the fun j and though thefe artificial colours
difappear on laying the ftone for a night in aquafortis,
yet a knowledge of the practicability of thus ftaining
agates, mult render thefe curious figures above men¬
tioned ftrongly fufpeCted of being the work not of na¬
ture but of art. Some account for thefe phenomena
from natural caufes. Thus Kircher, who had feen
a ftone of this kind in which were depiCted the four
letters ufually infcribed on crucifixes, I. N. R.. I. ap¬
prehends that fome real crucifix had been buried un¬
der ground, among ftones and other rubbilh, where the
infcription happening to be parted from the crofs, and
to be received among a foft mould or clay fufceptible
of the impreflion of the letters, came afterwards to be
petrified. In the fame manner he fuppofes the agate Aga<:e- i
of Pyrrhus to have been formed. Others refolve much v
of the wonder into fancy, and fuppofe thofe ftones * c _
formed in the fame manner with the camaieux * or Flo-mJ*ux*
rentine ftones.
The agate is ufed for making cups, rings, feals,
handles for knives and forks, hilts for fwords and
hangers, beads to pray with, fmelling boxes, patch-
boxes, &c. being cut or fawed with no great difficul¬
ty. At Paris none have a right to deal in this com¬
modity except the wholefale mercers and goldfmiths.
The fword cutlers are allowed to fell it, but only when
made into handles for couteaux de chaffe, and ready fet
in. The cutlers have the fame privilege for their knives
and forks.
Confiderable quantities of thefe ftones are ftill found
near the river Achates in Sicily. There are found in
fome of thefe the furprifing reprefentations above men¬
tioned, or others fimilar to them. By a dexterous ma¬
nagement of thefe natural ftains, medals have been pro¬
duced, which feem malterpieces of nature ; for this ftone
bears the graver well; and as pieces of all magnitudes
are found, they make all forts of work of it. The high
altar of the cathedral of Medina is all over encrufted
with it. The lapidaries pretend that the Indian agates
are finer than the Sicilian ; but Father Labat * informs* Voyage
us, that in the fame quarries, and even in the fame d'hal. tom.
block, there are. found pieces much finer than others, v. p. 156-
and thefe fine pieces are fold for Indian agates in order
to enhance their prices.
Agate, among antiquaries, denotes a ftone of this
kind engraven by art. In this fenfe, agates make a
fpecies of antique gems j in the workmanffiip whereof
we find eminent proofs of the great Ikill and dexterity
of the fculptors. Several agates of exquifite beauty are
preferved in the cabinets of the curious ; but the fafts
or hiftories reprefented on thefe antique agates, however
well executed, are now become fo obfeure, and their
explications fo difficult, that feveral diverting miftakes
and difputes have arifen among thofe who undertook to
give their true meaning.
The great agate of the apotheofis of Auguftus, in
the treafury of the holy chapel, when fent from Con-
ftantinople to St Lewis, paffed for a triumph of Jofeph.
An agate, which was in the French king’s cabinetf, had \HiJl.Acad»
been kept 700 years with great devotion, in the Bene-
diftine abbey of St Evre at Toul, where it paffed for *”1" '' ^
St John the Evangeliit carried away by an eagle, and0
crowned by an angel; but the Heathenifm of it having
been lately deteaed, the religious would no longer give
it a place among, their relicks, but prefented it in 1684
to the king. The antiquaries found it to be the apo¬
theofis of Germanicus. In like manner the triumph
of Jofeph was found to be a reprefentation of Germa¬
nicus and Agrippina, under the figures of Ceres and
Triptolemus. Another was preferved, from time-im¬
memorial, in one of the moft; ancient . churches of
France, where it had paffed for a reprefentation of pa-
radife and the fall of man •, there being found on it two
figures reprefenting Adam and Eve, with a tree, a^fer-
pent, and a Hebrew infcription round it, taken from
the third chapter of Genefis, “ The woman faw that
the tree was good,” &c. I he French academifts, in-
ftead of our firft parents, found Jupiter and. Minerva
reprefented by the two figures ; the infcription was of
a
Agate
A G D [ 278 ] AGE
a modern date, written in a rabbinical chara£ter, very
incorredV, and poorly engraven. The prevailing opi¬
nion was, that this agate reprefented limply the worlhip
of Jupiter and Minerva at Athens.
Agate is alfo the name of an inftrument ufed by
gold-wire drawers •, fo called from the agate in the
middle of it which forms its principal part.
AGATHIAS, or, as he calls himfelf in his epi¬
grams, Agathtus, diftinguilhed by the title of Scho-
/ajiicus, a Greek hiftorian in the 6th century under
Juftinian. He Was born at Myrina, a colony of the
ancient Aiolians, in Alia the Lefs, at the mouth of
the river Phythicus. He was an advocate at Smyrna.
Though he had a tafte for poetry^ he was yet more fa¬
mous for his hiftory, which begins with the 26th year
of Juft'inian’s reign, where Procopius ends. It was
printed in Greek and Latin by Vulcanius, at Leyden,
1594, in 4U); and at Paris at the king’s printing houfe,
1660, in folio.
AGATHO, the Athenian, a tragic and comic poet,
was the difciple of Prodicus and Socrates, and applaud¬
ed by Plato in his Dialogues for his virtue and beauty.
His firft tragedy obtained the prize; and he was crown¬
ed in the prefence of upwards of 30,000 perfons in the
4th year of the 90th Olympiad. There is nothing now
extant of his works, excepting a few quotations, in A-
riftotle, Athenaeus, and others.
AGATHOCLES, the famous tyrant of Sicily, was
the fon of a potter at Reggio. He was a thief, a com¬
mon foldier, a centurion, a general, and a pirate, all in
regular fucceflion. He defeated the Carthaginians feve-
ral times in Sicily, and was once defeated himfelf. He
firll made himfelf tyrant of Syracufe, and then of all
Sicily ; after which he vanquilhed the Carthaginians
again both in Sicily and Africa. But at length having
ill fuccefs, and being in arrears with his foldiers, they
mutinied, forced him to fly his camp, and cut the throats
of his children, whom he left behind. Recovering him¬
felf again, he relieved Corfu, belieged by Caffander j
burnt the Macedonian fleet j returned to Sicily $ mur¬
dered the wives and children of thofe who had murder¬
ed his : afterwards meeting with the foldiers themfelves,
he put them all to the fword ; and, ravaging the fea-
coaft of Italy, took the city of Hipponium. He was at
length poifoned by his grandfon Archagathus, in the
7 2d year of his age, 290 years before Chrift, having
reigned 28 years.
AGATHYRNA, or Agathyrnum, Agathyrsa,
or AgatHYRSUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Si¬
cily ; now St Marco ; as old as the war of Troy, being
built by Agathyrnus, fon of Aiolus, on an eminence.
The gentilitious name is jQgathyrnceus ; or, according
to the Roman idiom, Agathyrnenjis.
AGAVE, American aloe, in Botany, See Bo¬
tany Index.
AGDE, a city of France, in the department of He-
rault, formerly the province of Languedoc, in the ter¬
ritory of Agadez, with a bilhop’s fee. The diocefe is
fmall, but is one of the richeft countries in the king¬
dom. It produces fine wool, wine, oil, corn, and filk.
It is feated on the river Herault, a mile and a quarter
from its mouth, where it falls into the gulf of Lyons,
and where there is a fort built to guard its entrance.
It is well peopled j the houfes are built of black ftone,
and there is an entrance into the city by four gates.
The greatefl; part of the inhabitants are merchants or
feamen. The public buildings are but mean : the ca- .
thedral is fmall, and not very handfome : the bifliop’s
palace is an old building, but convenient. The city is
extended along the river, where it forms a little port,
wherein fmall craft may enter. There is a great con-
courfe of pilgrims and other devout people to the cha¬
pel of Notre Dame de Grace. It is a little without the
city, between which and the chapel there are about
thirteen or fourteen oratories, which they vifit with na¬
ked feet. The convent of the Capuchins is well built,
and on the outfide are lodgings and apartments for the
pilgrims who come to perform their neuvaine or nine
days devotion. The chapel, which contains the image
of the Virgin Mary, is diftinft from the convent. E.
Long. 3. 28. N. Lat. 43. 19.
AGE, in the moft general fenfe of the word, figni-
fies the duration of any being, from its firft coming in¬
to exiftence to the time of fpeaking of it, if it ftill con¬
tinues •, or to its deftrudfion, if it has ceafed to exift
fome time before we happen to mention it.
Among the ancient poets, this word was ufed for the
fpace of 30 years j in which fenfe, age amounts to
much the fame with generation. Thus, Neftor is faid
to have lived three ages when he was 90 years old.—
By ancient Greek hiftorians, the time elapfed fince the
beginning of the world is divided into three periods,
which they called ages. The firft reaches from the
creation to the deluge which happened in Greece dur¬
ing the reign of Ogyges ; this they called the obfeure
or uncertain age, becaufe the hiftory of mankind is
altogether uncertain during that period. The fecond
they call the fabulous or heroic age, becaufe it is the
period in which the fabulous exploits of their gods and
heroes are faid to have been performed. It began with
the Ogygian deluge, and continued to the firft Olym¬
piad ; where the third or hijlorical age commenced.—
This divifion, however, it muft be obferved, holds good
only with regard to the Greeks and Romans, who had
no hiftories earlier than the firft Olympiad j the Jews,
Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Chaldees, not to mention
the Indians and Chinefe, who pretend to much higher
antiquity, are not included in it.
The interval fince the firft formation of man has
been divided by the poets into four ages, diftinguilhed
by the epithets of bra%en, and iron. Du¬
ring the golden age, Saturn reigned in heaven, and
juftice and innocence in this lower world. The earth
then yielded her produ£Hons without culture •, men
held all things in common, and lived in perfeft friend-
fhip. This period is fuppofed to have lafted till the
expulfion of Saturn from his kingdom. The filver age
commenced when men began to deviate from the paths
of virtue ; and, in confequence of this deviation, their
lives became lefs happy. The brazen age commenced
on a farther deviation, and the iron age took place in
confequence of one ftill greater. A late author, how¬
ever, reflefting on the barbarifm of the firft ages, will
have the order which the poets aflign to the four ages
inverted 5 the firft being a time of rudenefs and igno¬
rance, more properly denominated an iron than a gold¬
en age. When cities and ftates were founded, fi¬
ver age commenced j and fince arts and fciences, navi¬
gation and commerce, have been cultivated, the golden
age has taken place. ^
Agcte,
Age.
AGE [ 279 ] AGE
In Tome ancient northern monuments, the rochj or
flony age correfponds to the bra%en age of the Greeks.
It is called rocky, on account of Noah’s ark, which
refted on Mount Ararat ; whence men were faid to be
defcended or fprung from mountains : or from Deuca¬
lion and Pyrrha reftoring the race of mankind, by-
throwing ftones over their heads. The northern poets
alfo ftyle the fourth age of the world the age,
from a Gothic king Madenrs, or Mannus, who on ac¬
count of his great llrength was faid to be made of alh,
or becaufe in his time people began to make ufe of wea¬
pons made of that wood.
Among the Jews, the- duration of the world is alfo
divided into three ages. r. The feculum inane, ox void
a^e, was the fpace of time from the creation to Mofes.
2. The prefent age, denotes all the fpace of time from
Mofes to the coming of the Mefliah •, and, 3. The age to
come, denotes the time from the coming of the Mediah
to the end of the world.
Various other divifions of the duration of the world
into ages have been made by hiftorians.—The Sibyl¬
line oracles, wrote according to fome, by Jews ac¬
quainted with the prophecies of the Old Teftament,
divide the duration of the world into ten ages ; and ac¬
cording to Jofephus, each age contained fix hundred
years. It appears, by Virgil’s fourth eclogue, and other
teftimonies, that the age of Auguftus was reputed the
end of thofe ten ages., confequently as the period of the
world’s duration.
By fome, the fpace of time commencing from Con-
ftantine, and ending with the taking of Conftantinople
by the Turks in the 15th century, is called the mid¬
dle age : but others choofe rather to date the middle
age from the divifion of the empire made by Theodo-
fius at the clofe of the 4th century, and extend it to
the time of the emperor Maximilian I. in the begin¬
ning of the 16th century, when the empire was firft
divided into circled.—The middle is by fome denoted
the barbarous age, and the latter part of it the lowejl
age. Some divide it into the non academical and aca¬
demical ages. The firft includes the fpace of time from
the 6th to the pth century, during which fchools or
academies were loft in Europe. The fecond from the
pth century, when fchools were reftored, and univerfi-
ties eftablilhed, chiefly by the care of Charlemagne.
The feveral ages of the world may be reduced to
three grand epochs, viz. the age of the law of nature,
called by the Jews the void age, from Adam to Mofes •,
the age of the Jewifti law, from Mofes to Chrift 5 and
the age of grace, from Chrift to the prefent year.
Age is alfo frequently ufed in the fame fenfe with
century, to denominate a duration of 100 years.
Age likewife fignifies a certain period of the duration
of human life *, by fome divided into four ftages, name¬
ly, infancy, youth, manhood, and old age j the firft ex¬
tending to the 15th year, the fecond to the 25th, the
third to the 50th, and the fourth to the end of life $
by others divided into infancy, childhood, youth, man¬
hood, and old age.
Age, in Law, fignifies a certain period of life, when
perfons of both fexes are enabled to do certain aifts.
Thus, one at twelve years of age ought to take the
oaths of allegiance to the king in a leetj at fourteen
he may marry, choofe his guardian, and claim his lands
held in foccage. Twenty-one is called full age, a man
or woman being then capable of a&ing for themfelves, Ag«
of managing their affairs, making contracts, difpofing A
of their eftates, and the like. —y—
Age of a Horfe. See Horse.
Age of Trees. Thefe after a certain age wafte. An
oak at a hundred years old ceafes to grow. The ufual
rule for judging of the age of wood, is by the number
of circles which appear in the fubftance of a trunk or
ftock cut perpendicularly, each circle being fuppofed
the growth of a year 5 though fome rejeft this method
as precarious, alledging, that a fimple circle is fome-
times the produce of feveral years j befides that, after
a certain age, no new circles are formed.
siGE-Prior, in Laxv, is when an adtion being brought
againft a perfon under age, for lands defcended to him,
he, by motion or petition, Ihows the matter to the
court, praying the adlion may be ftaid till his full age,
which the court generally agrees to.
AGELNOTH, Egelnoth, or Althelkoth, in
Latin Achelnotus, archbifhop of Canterbury, in the
reign of Canute the Great, fucceeded Livingus in that
fee in the year 10 20. This prelate, furnamed the Good,
vTas fon of Earl Agilmer, and at the time of his elec¬
tion dean of Canterbury. After his promotion he
went to Rome, and received his pall from Pope Bene¬
dict VIII. In his way thither, as he paffed through
Pavia, he purchafed, for an hundred talents of filver
and one of gold, St Auguftin’s arm, which was kept
there as a relic j and fent it over to England as a pre¬
fent to Leofric earl of Coventry. Upon this return, he
is faid to have raifed the fee of Canterbury to its for¬
mer luftre. He was much in favour with King Ca¬
nute, and employed his intereft with that monarch to
good purpofes. It was by his advice the king fent
over large fums of money for the fupport of the foreign
churches j and Malmftmry obferves that this prince
was prompted to afts of piety, and reftrained from ex-
ceffes, by the regard he had for the archbifhop. Agel-
noth, after he had fat 17 years in the fee of Canter¬
bury, departed this life on the 29th of October 1038,
and was fucceeded by Eadfius, King Harold’s chap¬
lain. This archbifhop was an author, having written,
I. A Panegyric on the bleffed Virgin Mary. 2. A Let¬
ter to Earl Leofric concerning St Auguftin. 3. Letters
to feveral perfons.
AGEMA, in Macedonian antiquity, was a body of
foldiers, not unlike the Roman legion.
AGEMOGLANS, Agiamoglans, or Azamo-
GLANS, in the Turhijh Polity, are children purchafed
from the Tartars, or raifed every third year, by way
of tribute, from the Chriftians tolerated in the Turkifh
empire. Thefe, after being circumcifed and in'ftrufted
in the religion and language of their tyrannical mafters,
are taught the exercifes of war, till they are of a pro¬
per age for carrying arms*, and from this corps the ja¬
nizaries are recruited. With regard to thofe who are
thought unfit for the army, they are employed in the
loweft offices of the feraglio. Their appointments alfo
are very fmall, not exceeding feven afpers and a half
per day, which amount to about threepence-halfpenny
of our money.
AGEN, a city of France, on the river Garonne, the
capital of Agenois, in the province of Guienne, now
the department of the Garonne, and the fee of a bifhop.
The gates and old walls, which are yet remaining, (how
that
A G E [ 280 ] AGE
A gen tliat this city is very ancient, and that its former cir-
li t cuit was not fo great as the prefent. I he palace,
Agentes. wherejn the pj-gfidial holds his feffions at this day, was
heretofore called the cattle of Montravcl, and is feated
without the walls of the old city, and on the fide of
the foffe. There are likewife the ruins of another
caftle, called La Sagne, which was without the walls,
clofe by a brook. Though the fituation ot Agen is
convenient for trade and commerce, the inhabitants
are fo extremely indolent that there is very little j of
which the neighbouring cities take the advantage. It
is feated on the bank of the river Garonne, in a plea-
fant country ; but is itfelf a very mean and difagree-
able place, the houfes being ill-built, and the ftreets
narrow, crooked, and dirty. E. Long. O. 30. N. Lat.
44. 12. _ .....
AGENDA, «mong philofophers and divines, figni-
fies the duties which a man lies under an obligation to
perform : thus we meet with the agenda of a Chriflian,
or the duties he ought to perform *, in oppofition to the
credenda, or things he is to believe.
Agenda, among merchants, a term fometimes ufed
for a memorandum-book, in which is fet down all the
bufinefs to be tranfafted during the day, either at home
or abroad.
Agenda, among ecclefiaftical writers, denotes the
fervice or office of the church. We meet with agenda
matutinu et ve/pertina, “ the morning and evening
prayers j1’ agenda dieif ‘c the office of the day, whe¬
ther feaft or fall; agenda mortuorum, called alfo fimply
agenda, “ the fervice of the dead.”
Agenda, is alfo applied to certain church-books,
compiled by public authority, prefcribing the order and
manner to be obferved by the minifters and people in
the principal ceremonies and devotions of the church.
In which fenfe agenda amounts to the fame with w hat
is otherwife called ritual, liturgy, acaloutlua, mi[ful,foi-
mulary, direBory, &c.
AGENHINE, in our old writers, fignifies a gueft
that has lodged at an inn for three nights, after which
time he wTas accounted one of the family ; and if he of¬
fended the king’s peace, his hoft was anfwerable for him.
It is alfo written Hogenhine and Hogenhyne.
AGENOIS, in Geography, a country of France, in
the department of the Garonne, formerly the province
of Guienne. It contains about one hundred and twenty
fquare leagues is fertile and healthy 5 and, according
to Csefar, was inhabited by the Nitiobriges. It con-
flituted part of the kingdom of Aquitania •, was held
by the counts of Touloufe, and fucceffively by the
Engliffi and French.
AGENORIA, in mythology, the goddefs of cou¬
rage and induftry, as Vacuna was of indolence.
AGENT, in a general fenfe, denotes any aflive
power or caufe. Agents are either natural or moral.
Natural agents are fuch inanimate bodies as have a
power to a£t upon other bodies in a certain and deter¬
minate manner; as gravity, fire, &c. Moral agents,
on the contrary, are rational creatures, capable of re¬
gulating their aftions by a certain rule.
^ Agent is alfo ufed to denote a perfon intrufted
with the management of an affair, whether belonging
to a fociety, company, or private perfon.
Agentes in rebus, one of the ranks of officers in the
court of the Conftantinopolitan emperors, whofe bufi¬
nefs was to colleft and convey the corn both for the Agentes
army and houfehold; to carry letters and meffages a II
from court to all parts of the empire •, to regulate, gei a^
couriers, and their vehicles ; to make frequent jour¬
neys and expeditions through the provinces, in order to
infpeft any motions, difturbances, or machinations tend¬
ing that way, and to give early notice thereof to the
emperor.
The agentes in rebus, are by fome made fynonymous
with our poft-mafters, but their fundions were of great
extent. They correfpond to what the Greeks call
and the Latins veredarii.
There were various orders or degrees of agentes in
rebus ; as tribuni, primcerii,fenatores, diicenaru, biar-
chi, circitores, equites, tyrones, &c. through all which
they rofe gradatvm. I heir chief, who relided at Con-
ftantinople, was denominated princeps; which was a
poll of great dignity, being reckoned on a level with
that of proconful. They were fettled in every part
of the empire 5 and are alfo faid to have ferved as inter¬
preters.
AGER, in Roman antiquity, a certain portion of
land allowed to each citizen. See Agrarian Law.
AGER PIC ENDS, or Picenum, in Ancient Geography,
a territory of Italy to the fouth-eaft of Umbria, reach¬
ing from the Apennines to the Adriatic. 1 he people
are called Picentes (Cicero, Livy,) diilind from the
Picentini on the Tufcan fea, though called by Greek
writers Ilocsrmw. Fhis name is faid to be derived from
the bird picus, under whofe condud they removed from
the Sabines, of whom they were a colony.
AGERATUM, Bastard Hemp-Agrimony, in
Botany. See Botany Index.
AGESILAUS, king of the Lacedaemonians, the
fon of Archidamus, was raifed to the throne in oppofi¬
tion to the fuperior claim of his nephew Leotychides.
As foon as he came to the throne, he advifed the La¬
cedaemonians to anticipate the king of Perfia, who
was making great preparations for w'ar, and to attack
him in his own dominions. He was himfelf chofen for
this expedition 5 and gained fo many advantages over
the enemy, that if the league which the Athenians and
the Thebans formed againft the Lacedaemonians had
not obliged him to return home, he would have car¬
ried his vidorious arms into the very heart of the Per-
fian empire. He gave up, however, all thefe triumphs
readily, to come to the fuccour of his country, which
he happily relieved by his vidory over die allies in Boe-
otia. He obtained another near Corinth 5 but to his
great mortification, the Thebans afterward gained fe-
veral over the Lacedaemonians. Thefe misfortunes at
firft raifed a clamour againft him. He had been fick
during the firft advantages which the enemy gained ;
but as foon as he was able to ad in perfon, his. valour
and prudence prevented the Thebans from reaping the
advantages of their vidories ; fo that it was generally
believed, had he been in health at the beginning, the
Lacedaemonians would have fuftained no Ioffes, and that
all would have been loft had it not been for his affift-
ance. It cannot be denied but he loved war more
than the intereft of his country required ; for if he
could have lived in peace, he had faved the Lacedas-
monians feveral Ioffes, and they , would not have been
engaged in many enterprifes which in the end contri¬
buted much to weaken their power. He died in the
AGO [ 281 1 A G G
i;e(ilaus third year of the 104th Olympiad, being the 84th
H year of his age and 41ft of his reign, and was fuc-
| ^er' . ceeded by his fon Archidamus. Agefilaus would ne¬
ver fuffer any picture or fculpture to be made of him,
and prohibited it alfo by his will : this he is fuppofed
to have done from a confcioufnefs of his own deformi¬
ty ; for he was of a fhort ftature, and lame of one foot,
fo that ftrangers ufed to defpife him at the firft fight.
His fame went before him into Egypt, and there they
had formed the higheft ideas of Agefilaus. When he
landed in that country, the people ran in crowds to
fee him : but great was their furprife when they faw
an ill-dreffed, flovenly, mean-looking little fellow, ly¬
ing upon the grafs : they could not forbear laughing,
and applied to him the fable of the mountain in labour.
He was, however, the firft to jeft upon his own per-
fon ; and fuch was the gaiety of his temper, and the
ftrength with which he bore the rougheft exercifes,
that thefe qualities made amends for his corporeal de¬
fers. He was remarkable for plainnefs and frugality
in his drefs and mode of life. “ This (fays Cornelius
Nepos) is efpecially to be admired in Agefilaus: when
very great prefents were fent him by kings, governors,
and ftates, he never brought any of them to his own
houfe *, he changed nothing of the diet, nothing of the
apparel of the Lacedemonians. He was contented
with the fame houfe in which Eurifthenes, the founder
of his family, had lived : and whoever entered there,
could fee no fign of debauchery, none of luxury •, but
on the contrary, many of moderation and abftinence j
for it was furnilhed in fuch a manner, that it differed
in nothing from that of any poor or private perfon.”
Upon his arrival in Egypt, all kinds of provifions were
fent to him ; but he chofe only the moft common, leav¬
ing the perfumes, the confe&ions, and all that was
efteemed moft delicious, to his fervants. Agefilaus
was extremely fond of his children, and would often
amufe himfelf by joining in their diverfions : one day
when he was furprifed riding upon a flick with them,
he faid to a perfon who had feen him in this pofture,
il Forbear talking of it till you are a father.”
AGGA, or Acgonna, a Britilh fettlement on the
Gold coaft of Guinea. It is fituated under the meri¬
dian of London, in 6 degrees of N. Lat.
AGGER, in the ancient military art, a work of for¬
tification, ufed both for the defence and the attack of
towns, camps, 8tc. In which fenfe it is the fame with
what was otherwife called vallum, and in later times
aggeftum; and among the moderns lines, fometimes ca¬
valiers, terrajfes, &c. The agger was ufually a bank,
or elevation of earth or other matter, bound and fupport-
ed with timber ; having fometimes turrets on the top,
wherein the workmen, engineers, and foldiery, were
placed. It was alfo accompanied with a ditch, which
ierved as its chief defence. The ufual materials of
which it was made were earth, boughs, fafcines, flakes,
and even trunks of trees, ropes, &c. varioufly croffed,
-and interwoven fomewhat in the figure of ftars ; whence
they were called Jiellati axes. When thefe were want-
ing, ftones, bricks, tiles, fupplied the office : on fome
occafions arms, utenfils, pack-faddles, were thrown
m to* fill it up. We even read of aggers formed of the
carcafes of the flain ; fometimes of dead bones mixed
with lime ; and even with the heads of flaughtered ci¬
tizens. For want of due binding, or folid materials,
Voi. I. Part I.
aggers have fometimes tumbled down, with infinite Aggerhuys
mifchief to the men. The befiegers ufed to carry on a H
work of this kind nearer and nearer towards the place," ■
till at length they reached the very wall. The methods
taken on the other fide to defeat them were, by fire,
efpecially if the agger were of wood ; by lapping and
undermining, if of earth j and in fome cafes, by erect¬
ing a counter agger.
The height of the agger was frequently equal to
that of the wall of the place. Caefar tells us of one he
made, which was 30 feet high and 330 feet broad.
Befides the ufe of aggers before towns, the generals
ufed to fortify their camps with fuch works ; for want
of this precaution, armies have often been furprifed and
ruined.
There were vaft aggers made in towns and places on
the fea-fide, fortified with towers, caftles, &c. Thofe
made by Caefar and Pompey at Brundufium, are famous.
Sometimes aggers were even built acrofs arms of the
fea, lakes, and moraffes ; as was done by Alexander be¬
fore Tyre, and by M. Antony and Caffius.—The wall
of Severus, in the north of England, may be confider-
ed as a grand agger, to which belong feveral leffer ones.
Agger, in ancient writers, likewife denotes the
middle part of a military road, raifed into a ridge, with
a gentle flope on either fide, to make a drain for the
water, and keep the way dry.
1 he term is alfo ufed for the whole road, or military
way. Where highways were to be made in low grounds,
as between two hills, the Romans ufed to raife them
above the adjacent land, fo as to make them of a level
with the hills. Thefe banks they called agget'es. Ber-
gier mentions feveral in Gallia Belgica, which were
thus raifed, ten, fifteen, or twenty feet above ground.
— They are fometimes alfo called aggeres calceati; and
now generally known by the name chaujfees or caufe-
ways.
AGGERHUYS, a city of Norway, capital of the
province of the fame name, fubjed to Denmark, and
fituated in E. Long. 28. 35. N. Lat. 59. 30.
AGGERS-HERRED, a diftrift of Chriftianfand,
and a diocefe of Norway. It confifts of three juridical
places : namely, Afcher, Weft Barm, and Agger.
AGGLUTINANTS, in Pharmacy, a general name
for all medicines of a glutinous or vifcid nature ; which,
by adhering to the folids, were fuppofed to contribute
to repair their lofs.
AGGLUTINATION, in a general fenfe, denotes
the joining two or more things together, by means of
proper glue or cement.
Agglutination, among Phyjicians, implies the
aclion of reuniting the parts of a body, feparated by a
wound, cut, &c. It is alfo applied to the aClion of
fuch internal medicines as are fuppofed to be of an ag¬
glutinating quality.
AGGREGATE, in a general fenfe, denotes the
fum of feveral things added together, or the colle&ion
of them into one whole. Thus a houfe is an aggre¬
gate of ftones, wood, mortar, &c. It differs from
mixed or compound ; for, in the latter, the union
is more intimate than between the parts of an aggre-
gate.
Aggregate, in Botany, is a term ufed to exprefs
thofe flowers which are compofed of parts or florets,
fo united, by means either of the receptacle or calyx,
N ft that
A G I [28
Aggrega” that no one of them can be taken away without de-
uon ftroying the form of the whole. They are oppofed to
» • N fimnle flowers, which have no fueh common part. See
A gm court. ^ 1 T ,
♦ - * Botany Index.
AGGREGATION, in phyfics, a fpecies of union,
whereby feveral things which have no natural depen¬
dence or connexion with one another are collefted to¬
gether, fo as in fome fenfe to conftitute one. Thus, a
heap of fand, or a mafs of ruins, are bodies by aggre-
" AGHER, a town of Ireland, fituated in the fouthern
part of Ulfter, not far from Clogher. _
AGHRIM, a town of Ireland, in the county ot
Wicklow, and province of Leinfter, lituated about 31
miles fouth-weft of Wicklow.
AGHRIM, in Galway ; a fmall village, diftant about
32 miles from Dublin, and rendered memorable by a
decifive battle fought there, and at Kilcommodon-hill,
the 12th of July 1691, between General Ginkle and
Monfieur St Ruth, the commanders under King VVil-
liam III. and James II. when St Ruth, the general ot
the Irifli army, with 7000 of his men, was flam; but
of the Englifli only 600. The viftory was the more
confiderable, as the Englifli army confifted of no more
than 18,000 men ; whereas the Irifli were computed at
20,000 foot and 5000 horfe and dragoons. . 1 hey loft
likewife nine pieces of brafs cannon j all their ammuni¬
tion, tents, and baggage ; and moft of their fmall arms,
which they threw away to expedite their flight j with
11 flandards, and 32 pair of colours.
AGIADES, in the Turkifti armies, a kind ot pio¬
neers employed in fortifying camps, fmoothing of roads,
and the like offices. c
AGILITY, an aptitude of the feveral parts ot the
bodv to motion. The improving of agility was one
of the chief obje&s of the inftitution of games and ex-
ercifes. The athletse made particular profeflion of _ the
fcience of cultivating and improving agility. Agility
of body is often fuppofed peculiar to fome people j yet
it feems lefs owing to any thing peculiar in their frame
and ftrudfure than to practice.
AGINCOURT, a village of the French Nether¬
lands, fituated in E. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat. 50. 35.-, fa¬
mous on account of the victory obtained by Henry
of England over the french, in 1415-
The army of Henry, after landing in France, was by
various accidents reduced to 10,000 men, of whom not
a few were fick, or flowly recovering from ficknefs ;
—they had to traverfe a long traft of country, inha¬
bited by exafperated enemies, from whom _ they were
to procure provifions, lodging, guides, intelligence, and
every thing they wanted that country was defended
by many ftrong towns, interfeaed by deep nvers, and
guarded by an army of 100,000 or (according to fome
contemporary writers') 140,000 men.
Henry, undaunted by all thefe dangers and difficul¬
ties, departed from Harfleur, marching his army in
three lines, with bodies of cavalry on the wings. He
proceeded by very eafy journeys, that he might not fa¬
tigue his troops, or difcourage them by the appearance
of a flight ; obferving the ftrifteft difciplme, and pay¬
ing generoully for every thing he received ; which in¬
duced the country people to bring provifions to. his
camp, in fpite of all the commands, they had received
to the contrary. To keep his men in fpintSj and from
2 ] A G i
repining, tile king fared as ill as the meaneft foldier,
always appearing with a cheerful countenance, and ad-
dreffing them in the moft friendly and encouraging
language. They arrived at the village of Agincourt
in the county of St Pol, on the evening of Odober
24th ; and there beheld the whole French army, at a
fmall diftance, diredly in their route. The king took
an attentive view of it from an eminence ; and being
fully convinced that it was impoffible to proceed any
further on his wray to Calais without a battle, and equal¬
ly impoffible to return to Harfleur with fo great an
army in his rear, refolved to hazard an adion next
morning, as the only means, of preferving himfelf and
his little army from deftrudion. _
The Englifti army lodged that night in the villages
of Agincourt, Maifoncelle, and fo.me others •, where
they met with better accommodation than they had
been accuftomed to for fome time paft, and fpent part
of their time in mutual exhortations to fight bravely m
the approaching battle. The king, overhearing fome
of his nobles expreffing a wiffi, that the many brave
men who were idle in England were prefent to affift
them, is faid to have cried out—“ No . I would not
have one man moreif we are defeated, we are too
many_-if it {hall pleafe God to give us the vidcry, as ,
I truft he will, the fmaller our number the greater our
glory ” The moon happening to ffiine very bright,
Henry, with fome of his beft officers, carefully exa¬
mined the ground, and pitched upon a field of battle,
admirably calculated to preferve a {mall army from be¬
ing furrounded by a great one. It was a gentle decli¬
vity from the village of Agincourt, of fufficient extent
for his fmall army, defended on either fide by hedges
trees, and bruffi-wood. Having placed guards and
kindled fires on all fides, the king and bis army betook
tbemfelves to reft*, except fuch as were of a more ie-
rious turn of mind, who, confidenng that as the lak
night of their lives, fpent it in devotion.
The French exulting in their numbers, confident oi
viaory, and abounding in provifions, fpent the night
in noify feftivity, and in forming fanciful fchemes a-
bout the difpofal of their prifoners and their booty.
It was in general refolved to put all the Engliffi to the
fword, except the king and the chief nobility, who
were to be taken prifoners for the fake of their ran-
On the morning of Friday the memorable 25th of
Oaober, A. D. 1415, the day of Crifpin and Criipia-
nus, the Englifti and French armies were ranged in or¬
der of battle, each in three lines, with bodies of cavalry
on each wing. The conftable d’Albert, who com¬
manded the French army, fell into the fnare that was
laid for him, by drawing up his army in. the narrow-
plain between the two woods. This deprived him, m
a oreat meafure*, of the advantage, he ffiould have de¬
rived from the prodigious fuperionty of. his numbers,
obliged him to make his lines unneceffanly deep, about
30 men in file ; to crowd his troops, particularly ins
cavalry, fo clofe together, that they could hardly move
or ufe their arms ; and, in a word, was the chief cauie
of all the difafters that followed. The French, ft u
faid had a confiderable number of cannon of dineren
fizes in the field ; but we do not hear that they 1
any execution, probably for w-ant of room. 1 be r
line of the French army, which confifted of 8ooo men
at-arms
A G I
[ 283 ]
A G I
Agijfourt
at arms on foot mixed with 4000 archers, with 500
men-at-arms mounted on each wing, was commanded
by the conftable d’Albert, the dukes of Orleans and
Bourbon, and many other nobles •, the dukes of Alen-
ron Brabant, and Bar, &e. conduced the fecond line;
and’the earls of Marie, Damartine, Fauconberg, &c.
were at the head of the third line. The king of Eng¬
land employed various arts to fupply his defeat of ^ut^-
bers. He placed 20Q of his beft archers in ambulh, in
a low meadow, on the flank of the firlt line of the
French. His own firft line confided wholly of archers,
four in file ; each of whom, befides his bow and ar¬
rows, had a battle-axe, a fword, and a flake pointed
with iron at both ends, which he fixed before him in
the ground, the point inclining outwards, to proteH
him from cavalry. This was a new invention, and had
a happy effea. That he might not be encumbered, he
difmiffed all his prifoners, on their word of honour to
furrender themfelves at Calais, if he obtained the vic¬
tory •, and lodged all his baggage in the village of A-
gincourt, in his rear, under a flender guard. I he
command of the firft line was, at his earneft requeft,
committed to Edward duke of York, aflifted by the
Lords Beaumont, Willoughby, and Fanhope •, the fe¬
cond was condufted by the king, with hisyoungeft bro¬
ther Humphry duke of Gloucefter, the earls of Ox¬
ford, Marlhal, and Suffolk *, and the third was led.by
the duke of Exeter, the king’s uncle. 1 he lines being
formed, the king, in fhining armour, with a crown of
gold adorned with precious ftones on his helmet, mount¬
ed on a fine white horfe, rode along them, and addreffed
each corps with a cheerful countenance and animating
fpeeches. To inflame their refentment againft their
enemies, he told them, that the French had determined
to cut off three fingers of the right hand of every pri-
foner : and to roufe their love of honour, he declared,
that every foldier in that army who behaved well,
fhould from henceforth be deemed a gentleman, and en¬
titled to bear coat armour.
When the two armies were drawn up in this man¬
ner, they flood a confiderable time gazing at one an¬
other in folemn filence. But the king, dreading that
the French would difcover the danger of their fituation
and decline a battle, commanded the charge to be
founded, about ten o’clock in the forenoon. At that
inftant, the firft line of the Englifh kneeled down,
and kiffed die ground *, and then ftartmg up, difchar-
ged a flight of arrows, which did great execution a-
mong the crowded ranks of the French. Immediate¬
ly after, upon a fignal being given, the archers in am-
bufh arofe, and difeharged their arrows on the flank
the French line, and threw it into fome diforder. I he
battle now became general, and raged with uncommon
fury. The Englifh archers, having expended all their
arrows, threw away their bows, and, rufhing forward,
made dreadful havock with their fwords and battle-axes.
The firft line of the enemy was, by thefe means, de¬
feated ; its leaders being either killed or taken prifon¬
ers. The fecond line, commanded by the duke d’A-
len5on, (who had made a vow either to kill or take
the king of England, or to -perifti in the attempt),
now advanced to the charge, and was encountered, by
the fecond line of the Englifh, conduced by the king.
This conflift was more clofe and furious than the for¬
mer. The duke of Gloucefter, wounded and unboned,
was protected by his royal brother till he was carried Agiucourt
off the field. The duke d’Alen^on forced his way to »
the king, and affaulted him with great fury j but that
prince brought him to the ground, where he was m-
ftantly difpatched. Difcouraged by this difafter, the
fecond line made no more refiftance j and the third fled
without ftriking a blow j yielding a complete and glo¬
rious victory to the Englifh, after a violent ftruggle of
three hours duration.
The king did not permit his men to purfue the fugi¬
tives to a great diftance, but encouraged them to take
as many prifoners as they could on or near the field ) in
which they were fo fuccefsful, that, in a little time, his
captives wrere more numerous than his foldiers. A
great proportion of thefe prilbners were men of rank
and fortune j for many of the French nobleffe being on
foot, and loaded with their heavy armour, could not
make their efcape. Among thefe were the dukes of
Orleans and Bourbon, the marfhal Boucicaut, the
counts d’Eu, Vendome, Richemont, andHarcourt; and
7000 barons, knights, and gentlemen. The French
left dead on the field of battle, the conftable d’Albert,
the three dukes of Alen^on, Brabant, and Bar, the
archbifhop of Sens, one marfhal, 13 earls, 92 barons,
1500 knights, and a far greater number of gentlemen,
befides feveral thoufands of common foldiers. Even
the French hiftorians acknowledge, that the lofs of the
Englifh was inconfiderable : thofe of our own cote.mpo-
rary writers wlio make it the greateft, affirm, that it did
not exceed 100, and that the duke of York and the
earl of Suffolk were the only great men who fell on
that fide in this memorable aftion.
AGIO, in commerce, is a term chiefly ufed in Hol¬
land, and at Venice, to fignify the difference, betvyeen
the value of bank flock and the current coin. The
agio in Holland is generally three or four per cent, and
at Rome it is from 15 to 25 per cent.; but at Venice
the agio is fixed at 20 per cent.
AGIOSYMANDRUM, a wooden inftrument ufed
by the Greek and other churches under the dominion
of the Turks, to call together affemblies of the people.
The agiofy man drum was introduced in the place of bells,
which the Turks prohibited their Chriftian fubjeas the
ufe of, left they fhould make them fubfervient to fedi-
11 AGIS, king of Lacedaemon, was defcended from
Agefilaus’ll. in a right line. He projeded the refor¬
mation of his kingdom, by the reftoring of the laws
of Lycurgus; but he fell under the weight of an en-
terprife that could not but be difagreeable to all thofe
who had great poffeflions, and had been long accuftom-
ed to the fweets of a voluptuous life. Agis being in
the flower of his age, and having a very refined defir.e
of glory, pra6tifed the ancient difcipline firft in his
own perfon : his clothes and his table were according
to the manners of former times ; which is fo much the
more to be admired, becaufe Agefiftrata his mother
and Archidamia his grandmother had brought.him up
voluptuoufly. When he founded his people’s minds, he
found the younger fort oppofed his project, lefs than
thofe who had enjoyed a relaxation of difcipline feveral
years. The greateft difficulty was expefted to sri e
from the women. They had at that time more credit
than ever ; for their power is never greater than when
luxury is in fafliion. Agefilaus’s mother did not at all
N n 2 reliftv
A G I [ 284 ] A G I
Agis. relifti the propofed reformation. She muft have loft
^ T,L_' her riches, which gave her a {hare in a thoufand forts
of intrigues ; fo fhe oppofed the defign at once, and
treated it as a chimera. But her brother Agefilaus,
whom Agis had engaged in his interefts, knew how
to manage her in fuch a manner, that fhe promifed to
fecond the enterprife. She endeavoured to gain the
women : but inftead of fuffering themfelves to be per-
fuaded, they applied to Leonidas the other king of
Lacedtemon, and humbly befought him to fruftrate
the defigns of his colleague. Leonidas durft not op-
pofe it openly, for fear of irritating the people j to
whom the reformation was agreeable, becaufe they
found their account in it. He contented himfelf with
countermining it by intrigues, and fowing fufpicions as
if Agis had afpired to tyranny, by pulling down the
rich and railing the poor. Agis did not fail to pro-
pofe his new laws to the fenate, relating to the dif-
charge of debts, and a new divifion of the lands. Leo¬
nidas, being fupported by the rich, oppofed this pro-
jeft fo ftrongly, that there was one voice more againft
it than for it. He paid dear for his fuccefs in this af¬
fair. Lyfander, one of the Ephori, who had been
the grand promoter of the reformation*, called him to
account; alleged the celeftial figns; and put to death
Cleombrotus, a prince of the royal blood and fon-in-
law to Leonidas, to make fure of the kingdom. Leo¬
nidas being frightened at this, took refuge in a tem¬
ple ; whither his daughter, the wife of Cleombrotus,
followed him. He was fummoned ; and becaufe he
did not appear, he was degraded of his dignity, which
was conferred on Cleombrotus. He obtained leave to
retire to Tegsea. The new Ephori had Lyfander and
Mandroclidas tried for innovation: thefe perfuaded the
two kings to unite and turn out thefe Ephori. The
thing was brought about; but not without a great up¬
roar in the city. Agefilaus, one of the Ephori that
fucceeded thofe that were juft turned out, would have
caufed Leonidas to be killed on the way to Tegaea, if
Agis had not fent him a ftrong guard. The reforma¬
tion might then have been eftablifiied, if Agefilaus
had not found means to elude the good intentions of
the two kings. Whilft this was tranfafling, the A-
chaians afked aftiftance; which was given them, and
Agis had the command of the troops. He acquired
a good deal of reputation in this campaign. At
his return, he found his affairs fo embroiled by the
ill conduft of Agefilaus, that it was impoflible for
him to maintain himfelf. Leonidas was recalled to
Lacedaemon : Agis ratired into one temple and
Cleomenes into another. The wife of the latter be¬
haved herfelf in fuch a manner that fhe became the ad¬
miration of every body. Leonidas was contented with
baniftiing his fon-in-law; after which he applied him¬
felf entirely to the ruin of Agis. One of the Ephori,
who had no mind to return what Agefiftrata had lent
him, was the principal inftrument of the misfortune
of this family. Agis never went out of his fandluary
but to bathe. One day, as he was returning from
thence to the temple, he was feized by that Ephorus
and carried to prifon. Then he was brought to his
trial and condemned to death, and delivered to the
executioner. His mother and grandmother ufed all
the intreaty and importunity imaginable, that, as he
was king of Lacedaemon, he might at leaft be permit¬
ted to plead his caufe before the people. But they Agjs
were apprehenfive left his words would make too great II
an impreflion, and therefore they ordered him to be L A^ltator'
ftrangled that very hour. The Ephorus who was in
debt to Agefiftrata permitted that princefs to go into-
the prifon ; which he granted likewife to Agis’s grand¬
mother: but he gave orders to ftrangle them one after
another. Agefiftrata died in a manner that was ex¬
tremely to her honour. The wife of Agis, who was
a princefs of great fortune and prudence, and one of
the fineft ladies in Greece, was forced away from her
apartment by King Leonidas, and obliged to marry his
fon, who was then very young, and hardly fit for mar¬
riage.
AGISTMENT, Agistage, or Agistation, in
Law, the taking in other people’s cattle to graze at fo
much per week. The term is peculiarly ufed for the
taking cattle to feed in the king’s forefts, as well as for
the profits arifing from that praftice.—It is alfo ufed,
in a metaphorical fenfe, for any tax, burden, or charge;
thus, the tax levied for repairing the banks of Romney-
marfh was called agiftamentum.
AGISTOR, or Agistator, an officer belonging
to forefts, who has the care of cattle taken in to be
grazed, and levies the monies due on that account:
They are generally c'AXvA quejl-iakers or gift-tahers, and.
are created by letters-patent. Each royal foreft has
four agiftors.
AGISYMBA, in Ancient Geography, a diftri<ft of'
Libya Interior, according to Agathemerus, fituated to
the fouth-eaft of the Aithiopes Anthropophagi ; the
parallel paffing through which, at 160 to the fouth of
the equator, was the utmoft extent of the knowledge
of the ancients to the fouth (Ptolemy).
AGITATION, the act of ffiaking a body, or tofs-
ing it backwards and forwards.
Agitation, in Phyjic, is often ufed for an inteftine
commotion of the parts of a natural body. Fermentation
and effervefcence are attended with a brilk agitation of
the particles.
Agitation is one of the chiefcaufes or inftruments
of mixtion: by the agitation of the parts of the blood
and chyle, in their continual circulation, fanguification
is in a good meafure effe&ed. Butter is made out of
milk by the fame means: in which operation, a fepa-
ration is made of the oleous parts from the ferous, and
a conjunction of the oleous together. Digeftion itfelf
is only fuppofed to be an infenfible kind of agitation.
Agitation is reputed one of the fymptoms of in-
fpiration. Petit informs us *, that in the laft century,
there arofe in a church of Italy, for the fpace of a year, Sibylla,^
a vapour of an extraordinary kind, which put all the^^J,
people into trembling and agitations, and unlefs they m;
got "away betimes, fet them a dancing, with ftrange
contortions and gefticulations. This feems to verify
what has been related of the temple of Delphi.
Agitation is alfo ufed in Medicine for a fpecies of
exercife popularly called /winging. Maurice prince of
Orange found this method a relief againft the fevere
pains of the gout and ftone. Bartholine mentions fits
of the toothach, deafnefs, &c. removed by vehement
agitations of the body.
AGITATOR, in antiquity, a term fometimes ufed
for a charioteer, efpecially thofe who drove in the circus
at the curule games.
Agitators,
A G N
Agjitors- Agitators, in the Englifti hiftory, certain officers
P fet up in the army in 1647, to take care of its interefts.
 Cromwell joined the agitators, only with a view to
ferve his own ends 5 which being once accompliffied, he
found means to get them aboliffied.
AGLAIA, the name of the youngeft of the three
Graces, efpoufed to Vulcan.
AGLIONBY, John, an Engliffi divine, chaplain
in ordinary to King James I. was born in Cumberland,
and admitted a ftudent at Oxford in 1583. He was a
man of univerfal learning, and had a very confiderable
hand in the tranllation of the New Teftament appointed
By King James I. in 1604. He died in 1609.
AGMEN, in antiquity, properly denotes a Roman
army in march : in which fenfe, it Hands contradiftin-
guiffied from acies, which denoted the army in battle
array ; though, on fome occafions, we find the two
words ufed indifferently for each other. The Roman
armies, in their marches, were divided into pritnum
agmen, anfwering to our van-guard ; medium agmen,
our main-guard ; and pojlremum agmen, the rear-guard.
The order of their march was thus : After the firft fig-
nal with the trumpets, &c. the tents were taken down,
and the baggage packed up 5 at the fecond fignal, the
baggage was to be loaded on the horfes and carriages 5
and, at the third fignal, they were to begin their march.
Firft came the extraordinarii;X\\en the auxiliaries of the
firft wing, with their baggage \ thefe were followed by
the legions. The cavalry marched either on each fide
or behind.
AGNATE, in Law, any male relation by the fa¬
ther’s fide.
AGNEL, an ancient French gold coin, firft ftruck
under the reign of St Louis, worth about twelve fols
fix deniers. The agnel is alfo called fometimes mouton
d'or, and agnel d'or. The denomination is fuppofed to
have arifen from the figure of a lamb [agnus') or ffieep,
ftruck on one fide.
AGNES, Saint, in Geography, one of the Scilly
itles, on the weft of England, which is of fmall extent,
but well cultivated, and fertile in corn and grafs. On
the moft elevated part of the ifland Hands the light-
houfe, built of ftone, which is 51 feet high. The
whole inhabitants confift of about 50 families. It is fi-
tuated in N. Lat. 49. 56. W. Long. 6. 46.
AGNO, a river of Naples, which, taking its rife in
the mountainous parts of Terra di Lavora, waffies the
town of Acerra ; and, paffing between Capua and A-
verfa, falls into the Mediterranean, about feven miles
north of Puzzuoli.
AGNOETiE (from etymu, to be ignorant of), in
church hiftory, a fe£t of ancient heretics, who main¬
tained that Chrift, confidered as to his human nature,
was ignorant of certain things, and particularly of the
time of the day of judgment. Eulogius, patriarch of
Alexandria, afcribes this herefy to certain folitaries in
the neighbourhood of Jerufalem, who built their opi¬
nion upon the text Mark xiii. 32. “ Of that day and
hour knoweth no man, no not the angels who are in
heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.”—
The fame paffage was made ufe of by the Arlans ; and
hence the orthodox divines of thofe days were induced
to give various explications thereof. Some allege, that
our Saviour here had no regard to his divine nature,
but only fpoke of his human. Others underftand it
AGO
thus, That the knowledge of the day of judgment does Agneetse
not concern our Saviour confidered in his quality of H
Meffiah, but God only : which is the moft natural fo- . 1
lution.
AGNOMEN, in Roman antiquity, a kind of fourth
or honorary name, given to a perfon on account of fome
extraordinary a£tion, virtue, or other accomplifhment.
Thus the agnomen Africanus was beftowed upon Pub¬
lius Cornelius Scipio, on account of his great achieve¬
ments in Africa.—The agnomen was the third in order
of the three Roman names : thus, in Marcus Tullius
Cicero, Marcus is the prcenomen, Tullius the nomen,
and Cicero the agnomen.
AGNUS, or Lamb, in Zoology, the young of the
ovis or ffieep. See Ovis.
AGNUS Cajlus, in Botany, the trivial name of a fpe-
cies of the vitex. See Vitex, Botany Index. The
Greeks call it «yy«s, chajle; to which has fince been
added the reduplicative cajlus, q. d. chafte, chafte. It
was famous among the ancients as a fpecific for the
prefervation of chaftity. The Athenian ladies, who
made profeffion of chaftity, lay upon leaves of agnus
cajlus during the feafts of Ceres.—From the time of
Diofcorides the feeds of agnus cajlus have been much
celebrated for their antiaphrodifiac virtue. Modern
writers afcribe to them an oppofite effeft j but they are
feldom ufed in practice. *
AGNUS Dei, in the church of Rome, a cake of wax
ftamped with the figure of a lamb fupporting the ban¬
ner of the crofs. Thefe being confecrated by the
pope with great folemnity, and diftributed among the
people, are fuppofed to have great virtues; as, to pre-
ferve thofe who carry them worthily, and with faith,
from all manner of accidents; to expel evil fpirits, &c.
The name literally fignifies Lamb of God: this being
fuppofed an image or reprefentation of the Lamb of
God who took away the fins of the world. They ca¬
ver it up with a piece of fluff cut in form of a heart,
and carry it very devoutly in their proceffions.—The
Romiffi priefts and religious derive confiderable pecu¬
niary advantage from felling thefe Agnus Dei’s to fome,
and prefenting them to others. The pope provides a
regular fupply, by confecrating once in feven years:
they are diftributed by the mafter of the w'ardrobe, and
received by the cardinals and other prelates, with great
reverence, in their caps and mitres.—This ceremony
they pretend to derive from an ancient cuftom of the
church, wherein part of the pafchal taper confecrated on
Holy Thurfday was diftributed among the people to
perfume their houfes, fields, &c. in order to drive a-
way devils, and to preferve them from ftorms and tem-
pefts. The Agnus Dei is forbidden to be brought into
England under pain of incurring premunire ; 13. Eliz.
cap. 2.
AGNUS Dei is alfo a popular name for that part of
the mafs wherein the prieft, ftriking his breaft three
times, rehearfes, with a loud voice, a prayer beginning
with the words Agnus Dei.—It is faid to have been firft
brought into the miffal by Pope Sergius I.
AGOGE, among ancient muficians, a fpecies of
modulation, wherein the notes proceed byr continuous
degrees.
AGON, among the ancients, implied any difpute
or conteft, whether it had regard to bodily exercifes or
the accompliffiments of the mind ; and therefore poets,
muficians,
[ 28s ]
286 ]
AGO [
muficians, painters, &c. had their agones, as'well as the
athletse. Games of this kind were celebrated at moll
of the heathen fellivals with great folemnity, either an¬
nually, or at certain periods of years. Among the lat¬
ter were celebrated at Athens, the agon gymnicus, the
a von Nemeus inilituted by the Argives in the 53d Olym¬
piad, and the agon OIyt?ipius inftituted by Hercules
430 years before the firlt Olympiad.— The Romans al-
fo, in imitation of the Greeks, inflituted conteftsof this
kind. The emperor Aurelian eftablilhed one under
the name of agonJolisy the conteft of the fun j Diocle¬
tian another, which he called agon Capitolinasy which
was celebrated every fourth year, after the manner of
the Olympic games. Hence the years, inftead oi lujlra,
are fometimes numbered by agones.
Agon alfo fignified one of the minifters employ¬
ed in the heathen facrifices, and whofe bufinefs it
was to ftrike the vi&im. The name is fuppofed to
have been derived from hence, that Handing ready
to give the ilroke, he alked, Agon' ? or Agone ? Shall
I tlrike. .
AGON ALES, an epithet given to the Salii.
AGON ALIA, in Roman antiquity, feflivals cele¬
brated in honour of Janus or the god Agomus, whom
the Romans invoked before undertaking any affair of
importance. r n-
AGONALIS CIRCUS, now La Piat&’za Navona, a
long, large, beautiful ftreet in the heart of Rome, adorn¬
ed with fountains, and the obelilk of Caracaila, ftill re¬
taining the form of that circus. The reafon of the name
jtigonalis is either unknown or doubtful. Ovid feems
to derive it from the agones, or folemn games, there
celebrated ; fuppofed to have been the Ludi Apolhnares,
or ABiaci, inftituted by Auguftus; whence the circus
was called Apollinaris; alfo A/exandrinus, from the em¬
peror Alexander Severus, who either enclofed or re¬
paired it. . .
AGONISMA, in antiquity, denotes the prize given
to the viftor in any combat or difpute.
AGONISTARCHA, from *y«», “ combat,” and
ecp-gn, “ chief,” in antiquity, feems to have been much
the fame with agonotheta; though fome fuggeft a dif¬
ference, making it the office of the former to prefide at
and dire£l the private exercifes of the athletse, which
they rvent through by way of practice, before they
made their appearance on the public theatres or amphi¬
theatres.
AGONISTICI, in church hiftory, a name given by
Donatus to fuch of his difciples as he fent to fairs, mar¬
kets, and other public places, to propagate his doarine }
for which reafon they were alfo called Circutores, Cir-
cellioneSy Catropitce, Coropitce, and at Rome Montenfes.
They were called Agonijiici, from the Greek «y«v,
“ combat,” in regard they were fent as it were to fight
and fubdue the people to their opinions.
AGONIUM, in Roman antiquity, was ufed for the
day on which the rex facrorum facrificed a viaim, as
well as for the place where the games were celebrated,
otherwife called agon.
AGONOTHETA, or Agonothetes, in Grecian
antiquity, was the prefident or fuperintendant of the fa-
cred games •, who not only defrayed the expence attend¬
ing them, but infpeaed the manners and difcipline of
the athletae, and adjudged the prizes to the viaors.
AGONY, any extreme pain. It is alfo ufed for
A G R
the pangs of death. Much of the terror of death con- Agony
fifts in the pangs and convulfions wherewith the agony
feems attended *, though we have reafon to believe that,
the pain in fuch cafes is ordinarily not extremely acute j
a courfe of pain and ficknefs having ufually ftupified
and indifpofed the nerves for any quick fenfations.
However, various means have been thought of for mi-
tmating the agony of death. Lord Bacon confiders
this as part of the province of a phyfician ; and that
not only where fuch a mitigation may tend to a reco¬
very, but alfo when, there being no further hope of a
recovery, it can only tend to make the paffage out. of
life more calm and eafy. Complacency in death, which
Auguftus fo much defined, is certainly no fmall part of
happmefs. Accordingly, the author laft cited ranks
euthanafia, or the art of dying eafily, among the defide-
rata of fcience j and does not even feem to difapprove
of the courfe Epicurus took for that end,
. —Hinc Jhjgias ebrius haufit aquas.
Opium has been applied for this purpofe, with the ap-
plaufe of fome, but the condemnation of more.
AGONYCLITiE, or Agonycgites, in church,
hiftory, a feft of Chriftians, in the 7th century, who
prayed always Handing, as thinking it unlawful to
kneel. , . .
AGORiEUS, in heathen antiquity, an appellation
given to fuch deities as had ftatues in the market¬
places j particularly Mercury, whofe ftatue was to be
feen in almoft every public place.
AGORANOMUS, in Grecian antiquity, a magi-
ftrate of Athens, who had the regulation of weights
and meafures, the prices of provifions, &c.—The ago-
ranomi, at Athens, were ten in number, five belonging
to the city, and as many to the Piraeus *, though others
make them 15 in all, of whom they affign 10 to the ci¬
ty. To thefe a certain toll or tribute was paid by all
who brought any thing to fell in the market.
AGOUTI, or Aguti. See Mus.
AGRA, the capital town of a province of the fame
name, in Hindoftan, and in the dominions of the Great
Mogul. It is looked upon as the large!! city in theie
parts, and is in the form of a half moon. A man on
horfeback can hardly ride round it in a day. It is iur-
rounded with a wall of red ftone, and with a ditch 100
feet wide. The palace js prodigioufly large, and the
feraglio commonly contains above IOOO women. I llfr®
are upwards of 800 baths in this town j but that which
travellers moft admire, is the maufoleum of one of the
Mogul’s wives, which was 20 years in building. 1 no-
indigo of Agra is the moft valuable of all that comes
from the Eaft Indies. This town is feated on the river
Jemma, about 50 miles above its confluence with the
Tehemel, and is 300 miles north-eaft of Surat. E.
Long. 76- 44* kat. 26. 43* -
AGRARIAN LAWS, among, the Romans, thole
relating to the divifion and diftribution of lands ; 0
which there were a great number; but that called the
Agrarian Law, by way of eminence, was publifhed y
Spurius Caffius, about the year of Rome 268, for di¬
viding the conquered lands equally among all. the citi¬
zens, and limiting the number of acres which each
citizen might enjoy.—The Roman lands were of leve-
ral kinds ; fome conquered from the enemies, and no
yet brought to the public account; others brought in-
A G II
L 287 ]
A G R
deed to the public, but clandeftinely ufurped by pri¬
vate great men ; laftly, others purchafed with the pub¬
lic money, in order to be divided. Agrarian laws,
either for dividing lands taken from the enemy, or the
public lands, or thofe purchafed with the public mo¬
ney, were eafily paffed without difturbance } but thofe
whereby private rich men were to be deprived of their
lands, and the common people put in pofieflion of what
had been held by the nobility, were never attempted
without great difturbances.
Several have pleaded for the neceffity of agrarian
laws among us : but no author has entered fo deeply
into the fubjeft as Mr Harrington in his Oceana; which
the reader may confult.
AGREDA, a town of Spain, in Old Caftile, near
the frontiers of Arragon, and about three leagues fouth-
weft of Taracon.
AGRIA, called by the Germans Eger^ is a fmall
but ftrong town in Upper Hungary, and is a bi(hop’s
fee. It is (ituated on a river of the fame name, and
has a citadel called Eriaw. It was belieged by the
Turks in 1552, with 70,000 men : but they loft 8000
in one day, and were obliged to raife the liege, though
the garrifon confided only of 2000 Hungarians, aftift-
ed by the women, who performed wonders on this oc-
cafion. However, it was afterwards taken by Maho¬
met III. in 1596 ; but was retaken by the emperor in
1687 : fince which time it has continued under the do¬
minion of the houfe of Auftria. It is 47_ miles north-
eaft of Buda, and 55 fouth-weft of Caflbvia. E. Long.
20. 10. N. Lat. 48. 10.
AGRICOLA, CnjEUS Julius, born at Frejus in
Provence, was, in Vefpalian’s time, made lieutenant to
Vettius Bolanus in Britain •, and upon his return, was
ranked by that emperor among the patricians, and
made governor of Aquitania. I his poft he held three
years 5 and upon his return was chofen conful, and af¬
terward appointed governor of Britain, where he great¬
ly diftinguiftied himfelf. He reformed many abufes oc-
cafioned by the avarice or negligence of former gover¬
nors, put a flop to extortion, and caufed juftice to be
impartially adminiftered. Vefpafian dying about this
time, his fon Titus, knowing the great merit of Agri¬
cola, continued him in the government. In the fpring
he marched towards the north, where he made fome
new conquefts, and ordered forts to be built for the
Romans to winter in. He fpent the following winter
in concerting fchemes to bring the Britons to conform
to the Roman cuftoms. He thought the beft way of
diverting them from riling and taking arms, was to
foften their rough manners, by propofing to them new
kinds of pleafure, and infpiring them with a defire of
imitating the Roman manners. Soon after this, the
country was adorned with magnificent temples, porti¬
coes, baths, and many other fine buildings. The Britilh
nobles had at length their fons educated in learning j
and they who before had the utmoft averfion to the Ro¬
man language, now began to ftudy it with great afli-
duity : they wore likewife the Roman habit ■, and, as
Tacitus obferves, they were brought to confider thofe
things as marks of politenefs, which were only fo many
badges of flavery. Agricola, in his third campaign, ad¬
vanced as far as the Tweed ; and in his fourth, he fub-
dued the nations betwixt the Tweed and the friths
of Edinburgh and Clyde, into which the rivers
Glotta and Bodotria difcharge themfelves 5 and here he £rico a‘
built fortreffes to fhut up the nations yet unconquered.
In his fifth, he marched beyond the friths j where he
made fome new acquifitions, and fixed garrifons along
the weftern coafts, over againft Ireland. In his fixth
campaign he palled the river Bodotria j ordering his
fleet, the firft which the Romans ever had in thole
parts, to row along the coafts, and take a view of the
northern parts. In the following fpring, the Britons
raifed an army of 30,000 men \ and the command was
given to Galgacus, who, according to Tacitus, made
an excellent fpeech to his countrymen on this occafion.
Agricola likewife addrefled his men in very ftrong and
eloquent terms. The Romans gained the viftory,. and
10,000 of the Britons are faid to have been killed.
This happened in the reign of the emperor Domitian \
who, growing jealous of the glory of Agricola, recall¬
ed him, under pretence of making him governor of
Syria. Agricola died foon after ; and his death . is
fufpedled to have been occafioned by poifon given him
by that emperor. Tacitus the hiftorian married his
daughter, wrote his life, and laments his death in the
molt pathetic manner.
Agricola., George, a German phyfician, famous
for his (kill in metals. He was born at Glaucha, in
Mifnia, the 24th of March 1494. The difcoveries
which he made in the mountains of Bohemia, gave him
fo great a defire of examining accurately into every
thing relating to metals, that though he had engaged
in the pradlice of phyfic at Joachimftal by advice of his
friends, he ftill profecuted his ftudy of fofiils with great
afliduity } and at length removed to Chemnitz, where
he entirely devoted himfelf to this ftudy. He fpenl
in purfuit of it the penfion he had of Maurice duke of
Saxony, and part of his own eftate j fo that he reaped
more reputation than profit from his labours. He wrote
feveral pieces upon this and other fubjefts ; and died
at Chemnitz the 21ft of November 1355, a very firm
Papift. In his younger years he feemed not averfe to
the Proteftant dotfrine ; and he highly difapproved of
the fcandalous traffic of indulgences, and feveral other
things in the church of Rome. The following lines
of his were polled up in the ftreets of Zwickaw, in the
year 1519:
Si nos inje&a falvebit ci/lula nummo,
Heu nimium infelix tu mihi, pauper, eris !
Si nos, Chri/ie, tua fervatos morte beajli,
Turn nihil infelix tu mihi, pauper, cris.
If wealth alone falvation can procure,
How fad a ftate for ever waits the poor !
But if thou, Chrift, our only faviour be,
Thy merits ftill may blefs ev’n poverty !
In the latter part of his life, however, he had attack ¬
ed the Proteftant religion: which rendered him fo
odious to the Lutherans, that they fuffered his body
to remain unburied for five days together ; fo that it
was obliged to be removed from Chemnitz to Zeits,
where it was interred in the principal church.
Agricola, John, a Saxon divine, born at Eifleben
in 1492. He went as chaplain to Count Mansfeld,
when that nobleman attended the eleftor of Saxony to
the diet at Spire in 1326, and that of Auglburg in 1530.
He was of a reftlefs, ambitious temper, rivalled and
wrote
[ 288 ]
A G R
either of the ele&or of Saxony or of Luther, he receiv- Agricola.
onnfnlatinn from the fame he acquired at Ber--v—
A G R
Agricola, rvrote againft Melanfthon, and gave Count Mansfeld
' ' v occafion to reproach him feverely. He obtained a pro-
fefforihip at Wittemberg, where he taught particular
doftrines, and became founder of the fe<5t of Antino-
mians j which occafioned warm difputes between him
and Luther, who had before been his very good friend.
But though he was never able to recover the favour
lin : where he became preacher at court; and was cho
fen in 1548, in conjunction with Julius Phlug and
Michael Heldingus, to compofe the famous Interim,
which made fo much noife in the world. He died at
Berlin in 1566.
agriculture.
3
Is a fepa-
rate art.
Includes the
Definition. A GRICULTURE in general, or in the abftrafJ,
may be defined to be, The art of making the
earth to produce in large quantities, and in the great-
eft perfection of which their nature is capable, thofe
1 vegetables which are neceffary to the fubfiftence, or
Differs from ufeful for the accommodation of mankind. Agricul-
£ardening. jure differs ftom gardening in this refpeCt, that the
gardener is chiefly occupied in rearing fmall quantities
of the nicer and more delicate vegetables, which are
rather valued as objeCts of luxury than as articles of
food •, whereas the agriculturift labours upon a larger
fcale, with a view to fupply himfelf and his countrymen
with the neceflaries of life.
In civilized focieties agriculture, or the cultivation
of the foil, becomes a feparate bufinefs or employ¬
ment j and agriculturifts, or the perfons engaged in
agriculture, receive the appellation of farmers or huf-
bandmen.
To enable the agriculturift or hulhandman to con-
rearing of duft his bufinefs with fuccefs, it is neceffary that^ he
cattle. fhould not confine his attention to the mere cultiva¬
tion of the foil, or the rearing of vegetables. Ihe
vegetables which are capable of affording a comfort¬
able fubfiftence to the human conftitution are few in
number j and it has been found by experience, that
they cannot be profitably fown and reproduced year
after year upon the fame fpot of ground.. Hence it
becomes neceffary at times to rear upon it graffes or
other vegetables which are unfit for affording nourifh-
ment to man. But although men cannot eat grafs,
they may, neverthelefs, contrive to obtain fubfiftence
from it in an indireft manner. They may give it to
cattle, whofe ordinary and natural food it is; and hav¬
ing thus, as it were, converted the grafs into the flefti
of animals, they can devour thefe animals j and in this
way, obtain a richer and more ftimulating food than
any vegetable production can poflibly afford . If is
therefore a part of the bufinefs of the hufbandman to
rear and to feed thofe animals which are ufed as food
in the fociety of which he is a member, that he may
be enabled at all times to derive profit from the por¬
tion of territory that he cultivates. It is alfo neceffary
towards conducing his operations with fuccefs, that he
fhould rear and feed other animals, not as a fource of
human fubfiftence, but for the fake of . the fervices
which they are capable of affording ; for it has pleafed
the beneficent Contriver of this world, to place upon
it beings of a fubordinate nature, capable of aflilling
mankind in their labours without being degratled by
the ftate of fervitude in which they are placed, lo the
cultivators of the foil, thefe animals, from their ftrength
and patience of labour^ are particularly ufeful, and
even abfolutely neceffary in our cold and barren cli¬
mates. They muft therefore be fed and lodged with
the greateft care. 5
Hence the employment of the hufbandman is of an Importance
extenfive nature, requiring much forefight, and a confi-ot the art.
derable knowledge of the relations that fubfift between
the moft important objefts in nature—the foil, the fea-
fons, the animals, and the plants, fo far as they are con¬
nected with the fubfiftence of mankind. It is by bring¬
ing to perfection this art that man becomes truly the
lord of the univerfe. He fubdues by his operations
every part of the furface of the earth, and acquires.over
the animals which inhabit it, a folid right of dominion
or of property, in confequence of having reared, and
afforded them fubfiftence by his Ikill and his labour.
He ufes them indeed as food ; but before he can do fo,
he muft; firft beftow upon them fubfiftence, attend to
their multiplication, and to their health and welfare.
As they poflefs no forefight, the purpofe to which they
are deftined, is to them no evil.
It is only in proportion to the degree in which this
important art of agriculture has flourilhed, that nations
have been, or ever can be, permanently profperous.
Every improvement that is made in it is a moral bene¬
fit conferred upon mankind j for by increafing the.quan-
tity of human food, or facilitating the produClion of
it, one of two things muft always happen : Either the
number of our fpecies will be increafed, that is to .fay,
a greater multitude of rational and intelligent beings
will exift in the creation ; or a greater number of thofe
who already exift, will find leifure for the improvement
of their intelkaual charades by ftudying and carry¬
ing to perfection the fciences and arts. R bus, the
ftrength of nations is increafed in proportion to the
degree in which their foil is fkilfully cultivated, and
their independence is fecured by finding upon the fpot
which they inhabit all that is neceffary for their fub¬
fiftence. „
It is a fortunate circumftance, that the art of the jts a(jvan.
hufbandman, which is the foundation of all others, and attagesto
all times indifpenfable to human exiftence, is in every thofe wW
refpeCt conducive to the welfare of thofe engaged in it.Pra
The praCHce of it beftows health upon the body.; and
by the variety of occupations which it affords, it alfo
beftows a confiderable degree of .refleCU.on upon the
minds of the loweft perfons occupied in it ; while, at
the fame time, it prevents their acquiring that fpirit of
artifice and cunning, which in all countries is apt
to degrade the cbarafter of thofe engaged in the in¬
ferior branches of commercial employment. Nor does
it fail, in all ranks and conditions of life, to produce a
more candid and liberal charafter than any other em¬
ployment,
Hiffry.
AGRICULTURE.
No Britifh hufbandman has ever refufed, ages, unlefs the arts be brought to them from ether
nations.
From this, or fimilar caufes, all nations of equal an¬
tiquity have not been equally favage, nor is there any
folid reafon for concluding that all nations were origi¬
nally unlkilled in agriculture j though, as we know not
the original inftruments of hulbandry ufed by mankind
when living in one fociety, we cannot fix the date of
the improvements in this art. Different nations have
always been in a different flate of civilization j and a-
griculture, as well as other arts, has always been in dif¬
ferent degrees of improvement among different nations
at the fame time.
From the earlieft accounts of the eaftern nations, we
have reafon to think, that agriculture has at all times
been underftood by them in confiderable perfection ;
feeing they were always fupplied not only with the ne-
ceffaries, but the greateft luxuries of life.
As foon as the defcendants of Abraham were fettled
in Paleftine, they generally became hufbandmen, from
the chiefs of the tribe of Judah to the loweft branch of
the family of Benjamin. High rank or birth did not
at that time make any diftinCtion, for agriculture was
confidered as the molt honourable of all employments ;
witnefs the illultrious examples of Gideon, Saul, and
David.
The Chaldeans, who inhabited the country where
agriculture had its birth, carried that valuable art to a
degree of excellence unknown in former times. They
cultivated their lands with great afliduity, and feem to
have found out feme means of reftoring fertility to an
exhaufted foil, by having plentiful harvefts in fuccef-
fion ; on which account they were not obliged, as their
predeceffors had been, to change their fituations, in or¬
der to obtain a fufficiency for themfelves and their nu¬
merous docks and herds.
The Egyptians, who from the natural fertility of
their country by the overflowing of the Nile, raifed
every year vaft quantities of corn, were fo fenfible of
the bleflings refulting from agriculture, that they afcri-
bed the invention of that art to Ofiris. They alfo re¬
garded Ills, their fecond deity, as the difcoverer of the
the ufe of wheat and barley, which before grew wild in
the fields, and were not applied by that people to the
purpofes of food. Their fuperftitious gratitude was car¬
ried fo far, as to worfhip thofe animals which were em¬
ployed in tillage, and even the produce of their lands,
as leeks, onions, &c.
The divine honours paid to Bacchus in India were
derived from the fame fource, he being confidered in
that country as the inventor of planting vineyards, and
the other arts attendant upon agriculture.
It is alfo related of the ancient Perfians, on the molt
refpedlable authority, that their kings laid afide their
grandeur once every month to eat with hulbandmen.
This is a linking inftance of the high eftimation in
which they held agriculture; for at that time arts were
Hftory.
ployment
or even hefitated to allow to be communicated to the
public every branch of his art, and every improvement
which he and his forefathers may have made in it;
whereas, in all the branches of manufacture or of com¬
merce, every tranfaCHon, as far as poffible, is covered
with a myfterious veil of fecrecy, and every improve¬
ment, as far as poffible, is concealed by its inventor, and
fometimes undoubtedly perilhes with him.
The antiquity of this art is undoubtedly beyond
that of all others; for we are informed by Scripture,
that Adam was fent from the garden of Eden to till
the ground; and, this being the cafe, he certainly
mull have known how to do fo.—It would be ridicu¬
lous, however, to imagine that he was acquainted with
all the methods of plowing, harrowing, fallowing,
&c. which are now' made ufe of; and it would be
equally fo to fuppofe, that he ufed fuch clumfy and
unartful inftruments as wooden hooks, horns of oxen,
&c. to dig the ground, which were afterwards employ¬
ed for this purpofe by certain favages ; but as we know
nothing of the particular circumftances in which he was
fituated, we can know as little concerning his method
of agriculture.
The prodigious length of life which the antedilu¬
vians enjoyed, mull have been very favourable to the
advancement of arts and fciences, efpecially agriculture,
to which it behoved them to apply themfelves in a par¬
ticular manner, in order to procure their fubfiftence.
It is probable, therefore, that even in the antediluvian
world, arts and fciences had made great progrefs, nay,
might be farther advanced in fome refpefts than they
are at prefent. Of this, however, we can form no
judgement, as there are no hiftories of thofe times, and
the Scripture gives us very flight hints concerning
thefe matters.
No doubt, by the terrible cataftrophe of the flood,
which overwhelmed the whole world, many fciences
would be entirely loft, and agriculture rvould fuffer; as
it rvas impoffible that Noah or his children could put
in praftice, or perhaps know, all the different methods
of cultivating the ground that were formerly ufed. The
common methods, however, we cannot but fuppofe to
have been known to him and his children, and by them
tranfmitted to their pofterity ; fo that as long as man¬
kind continued in one body without being difperfed
into different nations, the arts, agriculture efpecially,
would neceffarily advance ; and that they did fo, is evi¬
dent from the undertaking of the tower of Babel. It is
from the difperfion of mankind confequent upon the
confufion of tongues, that we mull date the origin of
favage nations. In all focieties where different arts are
cultivated, there are fome perfons who have a kind of
general knowledge of moft of thofe pratftifed through
the whole fociety, while others are in a manner ignorant
of every one of them. If we fuppofe a few people of
underftanding to feparate from'the reft, and become the
289
founders of a nation, it will probably be a civilized praflifed among that people in great perfection, parti-
and the arts will begin to flourifti from its very
origin ; but, if a nation is founded by others whole
intellects are in a manner callous to every human fcience
(and of this kind there are many in the moft learned
countries), the little knowledge or memory of art that
was among the original founders will be loft, and fuch
a people will continue in a ftate of barbarifm for many
Vol. I. Part I.
cularly thofe of weaving, needle-work, and embroidery.
The precepts of their religion taught by their ancient
magi, or priefts, included the praClice of agriculture.
The faint among them was obliged to work out his fal-
vation by purfuing all the labours of agriculture : And
it was a maxim of the Zendavefta, that he who fows
the ground with care and diligence, acquires a greater
O 0
degree
290
A G R 1 C U
degree of religious merit, than he could have gained by
the repetition of ten thoufand prayers.
The Phoenicians, fo well known in Scripture by the
name of Philijlines, were alfo remarkable for their at¬
tention to and Ikill in agriculture. But finding them-
felves too much difturbed and confined by the incurfions
and conquefts of the Ifraelites, they fpread themfelves
throughout the greateft part of the Mediterranean
iflands, and carried with them their knowledge in the
arts of cultivation.
Mago, a famous general of the Carthaginians, is
faid to have written no lefs than 28 books on the fub-
jeft •, which Columella tells us were tranflated into
Latin by the exprefs order of the Roman fenate. We
are informed by the ancient rvriters, that Ceres was
born in Sicily, where fire firft invented the arts of til¬
lage and of fowing corn. For this effential fervice,
fire was, agreeably to the fuperftition of thofe ages,
deified and worlhipped as the goddefs of plenty. . Ihe
truth of this is, that, in the time of Ceres, the ifiand,
through her endeavours and the indullry of the people,
became very fruitful in corn j and agriculture was there
efteemed fo honourable an employment, that even their
kings did not difdain to pra£tife it with their own
hands.
But time, which at firft gave birth to arts, often
caufed them to be forgotten when they were removed
from the place of their origin. The defcendants of
Noah, who fettled in Europe, doubtless carried their
knowledge of agriculture with them into the regions
which they fucceflively occupied. But thofe who took
pofleflion of Greece were fuch an uncivilized race, that
they fed on roots, herbs, and acorns, after the manner
of beafts. Pelafgus had taught them the culture of
the oak, and the ufe of acorns as food; for which
fervice, we are told, divine honours were paid him by
the people.
The Athenians, who were the firft people that ac¬
quired any tinflure of politenefs, taught the ufe of com
to the reft of the Greeks. They alfo inftruaed them
how to cultivate the ground, and to prepare it for the
reception of the feed. 1 his art, we are told, was
taught them by Triptolemus. The Greeks foon per¬
ceived that bread was more wholefome, and its tafte
more delicate, than that of acorns and the wild roots of
the fields ; accordingly they thanked the geds for fuch
an unexpected and beneficial prefent, and honouied
their benefa&or.
As the arts of cultivation increafed, and the blel-
fings they afforded became generally experienced, the
people foon preferred them to whatever the ravages of
conqueft, and the cruel depredations of favage life,
could procure. And accordingly we find, that the
Athenian kings, thinking it more glorious to govern a
fmall ft ate wifely, than to aggrandife themfelyes, and
enlarge the extent of their dominions by foreign eon-
quefts, withdrew their fubjefts from war, and mofily
employed them in cultivating the earth. Thus, by
continued application, they brought agriculture to a
confiderable degree of perfection, and foon reduced it to
an art.
Hefiod was the firft we know of among the Greeks
who wrote on this interefting fubjeft. According to
the cuftom of the oriental authors, he wrote in poetry,
and embelliftred his poem with luxuriant defcription
L T U R E. Hiftory
and fublime imagery. He calls his poem Works and
Dai/s, becaufe agriculture requires exaCt obfervations
on times and feafons.
Xenophon has alfo, in his Oeconomics, remarked,
that agriculture is the nurfing mother of the arts. For,
fays he, “ where agriculture fucceeds profperoufly,
there the arts thrive j but where the earth necelfarily
lies uncultivated, there the other arts are deftroyed.”
Other eminent Greek writers upon agriculture were,
Democritus of Abdera, Socraticus, Archytas J aren-
tinus, Ariftotle, and Theophraftus, from whom the art
received confiderable improvements.
The ancient Romans efteemed agriculture fo honour¬
able an employment, that the moft illuftrious fenators
of the empire, in the intervals of public concerns, ap¬
plied themfelves to this profeflion ; and fuch was the
fimplicity of thofe ages, that they affumed no appear¬
ance of magnificence and fplendour, or of majefty, but
when they appeared in public. At their return from
the toils of war, the taking of cities, and the fubduing
of hoftile nations, their greateft generals were impatient
till they were again employed in the arts of cultiva-
ti°n- . r
Regulus, when in Africa, requefted of the lenate
to be recalled, left his farm might fuffer, for want of
proper cultivation, in his abfcence, and the fenate wrote
him for anfwer, that it fhould be taken care of at the
public expence, while he continued to lead their ar»
mies. .
Cato the cenfor, after having governed extenhve
provinces, and fubdued many warlike nations, did not
think it below his dignity to write a Treatife on Agri¬
culture. This wmrk (as we are told by Servius) he
dedicated to his own fon, it being the firft Latin trea¬
tife written on this important fubjedt ; and it has been
handed down to us in all its purity, in the manner that
Cato wrote it. r r 1 • n j
Varro compofed a treatife on the fame fubjedt, and
on a more regular plan. I his work is embelliftied
with all the Greek and Latin erudition of that learned
author, who died 28 years before the commencement
of the Chriftian £era. Virgil who lived about the fame
time, has, in his Georgies, adorned this fubjeft with
the language of the Mufes, and finely illuftrated the
precepts and rules of huibandry left by Hefiod, Mago,
and Varro.
Columella, who flouriihed in the reign of the em¬
peror Claudius, wrote 12 books on huibandry, replete
with important inftrudtion.
From this period to that of the reign of Conftantme
Poganatus, huibandry continued in a declining Hate
but that Avife emperor caufed a large colledlion of the
moft ufeful precepts relating to agriculture to be ex-
tradled from the beft writers, and publifhed them un¬
der the title of Geoponics. It has been afferted, that he
made this colleftion with his own hand j and the truth
of the affertion is not improbable, as it is well known
that after he had conquered the Saracens and Arabians,
he not only pradtifed and encouraged, but ftudied. the
arts of peace, fixing his principal attention on agricul¬
ture as their beft foundation.
After the death of Conftantine, however, the in-
creafing attention of the people to commerce, and the
ignorance and grofs fuperftition of the ages which iuc-
cceded, feem to have rendered agriculture an almoft ne-
’ gleet ed
Hitory.
AGRICULTURE.
glebed fcience. The irruptions of the northern na¬
tions foon aboliflied any improved fyftem. Thefe innu¬
merable and enterprifing barbarians, who overran all
Europe, were originally lliepherds or hunters, like the
prefent Tartars and the favages of America. They
contented themfelves with poffefling, without labour or
trouble, thofe vaft countries rendered deferts by their
own ravages, cultivating only a very fmall fpot near
their habitations j and in this trifling hufbandry only
the meaneft flaves were employed: fo that the art itfelf,
which formerly was thought worthy of the ftudy of
kings, was now looked upon as mean and ignoble $ a
prejudice which is fcarcely effaced at prefent, or at leafl:
but very lately.—During this period, therefore, we find
no veftiges of any thing tolerably written on the fub-
je£t. No new attempts were made to revive it, or to
improve it, till the year 1478, when Crefcenzio pub-
lifhed an excellent performance on the fubjeft at Flo¬
rence. This roufed the (lumbering attention of his
countrymen, feveral of whom foon followed his example.
Among thefe Tatti, Stephano Auguftino Gallo, Sanfo-
vino, Lauro, and Tarello, deferve particular notice.
At what time agriculture was introduced into Bri¬
tain is uncertain. When Julius Caefar fir ft invaded this
ifland, it was not wholly unknown. That conqueror
was of opinion, that agriculture was firft introduced by
fome of thofe colonies from Gaul which had fettled in
the fouthern parts of Britain, about 100 years before
the Roman invafion *.
BeMlall. It is not to be expe&ed that we can now be acquaint-
ib. ,c. is.^ many Qf the practices of thefe ancient hufband-
men. It appears, however, that they were not unac¬
quainted with the ufe of manures, particularly marl.
yPii. Nat. This we have on the authority of Pliny-f, who tells us,
xv^ that it was peculiar to the people of Gaul and of Bri-
Ca^ ‘ tain; that its effefts continued 8o years ; and that no
man was ever known to marl his field twice, &c.—It
is highly probable, too, that lime was at this time alfo
ufed as a manure in Britain, it being certainly made
ufe of in Gaul for this purpofe at the time of Julius
Caefar’s invafion.
The eftablifhment of the Romans in Britain produ¬
ced great improvements in agriculture, infomuch that
prodigious quantities of corn were annually exported
from the ifland *, but when the Roman power began to
decline, this, like all the other arts, declined alfo, and
was almoft totally deftroyed by the departure of that
people. The unhappy Britons were now expofed to
frequent incurfions of the Scots and Pi&s, who deftroy¬
ed the fruits of their labours, and interrupted them in
the exercife of their art. After the arrival of the Sax¬
ons in the year 449, they were involved in fuch long
wars, and underwent fo many calamities, that the huf-
bandmen gradually loft much of their (kill, and were at
iaft driven from thofe parts of their country which were
moft proper for cultivation.
After the Britons retired into Wales, though it ap¬
pears from the laws made relative to this art, that agri¬
culture was thought worthy of the attention of the le-
giflature, yet their inftruments appear to have been very
unartful. It was enadled that no man ftiould undertake
to guide a plough who could not make one; and that
the driver fhould make the ropes of twifted willows,
with which it was drawn. It was ufual for fix or eight
perfons to form themfelves into a fociety for fitting out
one of thefe ploughs, providing it with oxen and every
thing neceflary for ploughing; and many minute and
curious laws were made for the regulation of fuch fo-
cieties. If any perfon laid dung on a field with the
confent of the proprietor, he was by law allowed the
ufe of that land for one year. If the dung was carried
out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
ufe of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a
wood, and converted the ground into arable, with the
confent of the owner, was to have the ufe of it for five
years. If any one folded his cattle, for one year, upon
a piece of ground belonging to another, with the own¬
er’s confent, he was allowed the ufe of that field for
five years.
Thus, though the Britons had in a great meafure
loft the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
been very afliduous in giving encouragement to fuch as
would attempt a revival of it; but, among the Anglo-
Saxons, things were not at prefent in fo good a ftate.
Thefe reftlefs and haughty warriors, having contraft-
ed a diftafte and contempt for agriculture, were at
pains to enaft laws to prevent its being followed by any
other than women and flaves. When they firft arrived
in Britain, they had no occafion for this art, being
fupplied by the natives with all the neceffaries of life.
After the commencement of hoftilities, the Saxons
fubfifted chiefly by plunder : but having driven out or
extirpated moft of the ancient Britons, and divided
their lands among themfelves, they found themfelves in
danger of ftarving, there being now no enemy to plun¬
der ; and therefore they wrere obliged to apply to agri¬
culture.
The Saxon princes and great men, who, in the divi-
fion of the lands, had received the greateft fhares, are
faid to have fubdivided their eftates into two parts,
which were called the in-lands and the out-lands. The
in-lands were thofe which lay moft contiguous to the
manfion-houfe of their owner, which he kept in his
own pofleflion, and cultivated by his flaves, under the
dire&ion of a bailiff, for the purpofe of raifing pro-
vifions for the family. The out lands were thofe at a
greater diftance from the houfe, and were let to the
ceorls, or farmers of thofe times, at very moderate
rents. By the laws of Ina king of the Weft Saxons,
who reigned in the end of the feventh and beginning
of the eighth century, a farm confifting of ten hides,
or plough-lands, was to pay the following rent : “ Ten
calks of honey ; three hundred loaves of bread •, twelve
cafks of ftrong ale; thirty cafks of fmall ale; two
oxen; ten wedders; ten geefe ; twenty hens; ten
cheefes; one calk of butter; five falmon; twenty pounds
of forage; and one hundred eels.” From this low
rent, the ^imperfeftion of agriculture at that time is
eafily difcoverable ; but it is (till more fo from the low
prices at which land was then fold. In the ancient
hiftory of the church of Ely, publifhed by Dr Gale,
there are accounts of many purchafes of lands by ALdel-
wold the founder of that church, and by other bene-
faiffors, in the reign of Edgar the Peaceable, in the
tenth century. By a comparifon of thefe accounts it
appears, that the ordinary price of an acre of the beft
land in that part of England, in thofe times, was no
more than 16 Saxon pennies, or about four {hillings of
our money : a very trifling price, even in comparifon
with that of other commodities at the fame time: for, by
O o 2 comparing
291
2Q2
A G R I c U
comparing other accounts, it appears, that four fheep
were then equal in value to an acre of the belt land,
and one horfe of the fame value with three acres. I he
frequent and deplorable famines which afflicted Eng¬
land about this time, are further inltances of the wretch¬
ed date of agriculture. In 1043, a quarter of wheat
fold for 60 Saxon pennies (15 of our ihillings), at that
time equal in value to feven or eight pounds of our mo-
The invafion of the Normans in 1066, contributed
x^ery much to the improvement of agriculture*, lor, by
that event, many thoufands of hulbandmen fr_°™ Han¬
ders, France, and Normandy, fettled in Britain, ob¬
tained eftates or farms, and cultivated them alter the
manner of their country. The implements of hulband-
ry, ufed at this time, were of the fame kind with thole
employed at prefent; but fome of them were lefs per¬
fect in their conftruftion. The plough, for example,
had but one Hilt or handle, which the ploughman
jruided with one hand, having in his other hand an in-
jlrument which ferved both for cleaning and mending
the plough, as well as for breaking the clods. I he
Norman plough had two wheels *, and in the light loll
of Normandy, was commonly drawn by one or two
oxen *, but, in England, a greater number was otten
neceffary. In Wales, the perfon who conduced the
oxen in the plough walked backwards. Their carts,
harrows, feythes, fickles, and flails, from the figures
of them ftill remaining, appear to have been nearly oi
the fame conftruaion with thofe that are now uled. In
Wales they did not ufe a fickle for reaping their corns,
but an inftrument like the blade of a knife, with a
wooden handle at each end.—Their chief manure, next
to dung, feems ftill to have been marl. Summer-tal¬
lowing of lands defigned for wheat, and ploughing them
feveral times, appear to have been frequent pradices ot
the Englifti farmers in this period.
We are, after all, very much in the dark with relpedt
to the date and progrefs of agriculture in Great Britain
previous to the fourteenth century. That it was pretty
generally praftifed, particularly in the eaftern, fouth,
and middle parts of England, is certain 5 but of the
mode, and the fuccefs. we are left totally ignorant. In
the latter end of the fifteenth century, however, it
feems to have been cultivated as a fcience, and received
very great improvement. # r
At this time our countryman Fitzherbert, judge ot
the common pleas, ftione forth with diftinguiftied emi¬
nence in the practical parts of hulhandry. He appears
to have been the firft EnglHhman who ftudied the na¬
ture of foils and the laws of vegetation with philolophi-
cal attention. On thefe he formed a theory confirmed
by experiments, and rendered the ftudy pleating as well
as profitable, by realizing the principles of the ancients,
to the honour and advantage of his country. Accord-
Inoly he puhliflicd two treatifes on this fubjeft : the
firft entitled 7'he Book of Hufbandnj, appeared in 1534*,
and’the fecond, called The Book of Surveying and Im¬
provements, in 1539- Thefe books, being written at
a time when philofophy and fcience were but juft emer-
aino- from that gloom in which they had long been bu¬
ried were doubtlefs replete with many errors j but they
contained the rudiments of true knowledge, and revived
the ftudy and love of an art, the advantages of which
were obvious to men of the leaft refleaion. We there-
L T U R E. Hiftory.
fore find that Fitzherbert’s books on agriculture foon
raifed a fpirit of emulation in his countrymen; and ma¬
ny treatifes of the fame kind fucceflively appeared,
which time has however deprived us of, or at leaft they
are become fo very fcarce as only to be found in the li¬
braries of the curious.
About the year 1600, France made fome confider-
able efforts to revive the arts of hufbandry, as appears
from feveral large works, particularly Les Moyens de
devenir Riche; and the Cofmopolite, by Bernard de
Paliffy, a poor porter, who feems to have been placed
by fortune in a ftation for which nature never intend¬
ed him; Le Theatre d'Agriculture, by Deferres ; and
Id Agriculture et Maifon Rujhque, by Meflrs Etienne,
Liebault, &c.
Nearly in the fame period, the fkilful pra&ice of
hufbandrv became more prevalent among this people
and the Flemings than the publifhing of books on the
fubj'eft. Their intention feemed to be that of carrying
on a private lucrative employment, without inftrufting’
their neighbours. Whoever therefore became defirous
of copying their method of agriculture, was obliged to
vifit that country, and make his own remarks on their
pra&ice.
The principal idea they had of hufbandry was, by
keeping the lands clean and in fine tilth, to make a
farm refemble a garden as nearly as poflible.
Such an excellent principle, at firft fetting out, led
them of courfe to undertake the culture of imall farms-
only, which they kept free from weeds, continually
turning the ground, and manuring it plentifully and
judicioufty. When they had by this method brought
the foil to a proper degree of cleanlinefs, health, and
fweetnefs, they chiefly cultivated the more delicate
graffes, as the fureft means of obtaining a certain profit
upon a fmall eftate, without the expence of keeping
many draught horfes and fervants. A few years expe¬
rience was fufficient to convince them that ten acres of
the belt vegetables for feeding cattle, properly culti¬
vated, would maintain a larger flock of grazing animals
than forty acres of common farm grafs on lands badly
cultivated. They alfo found, that the beft vegetables
for this purpofe were lucerne, faintfoin, trefoil of mou
kinds, field turnips, &c.
The grand political fecret of their hufbandry, there¬
fore, confifted in letting farms on improvement. They
are faid alfo to have difeovered nine forts of manure *,
but what they all were, we are not particularly in¬
formed. We find, however, that marl was one of them;
the ufe and virtues of which appear alfo to have been
well known in this kingdom two hundred years ago, al¬
though it was afterwards much negle&ed. 1 hey were
Ihe firft people among the moderns who ploughed m
green crops for the fake of fertilizing the foil; and who
confined their ftieep at night in large iheds built on
purpofe, the floors of which were covered with land or
virgin earth, &c. which the fhepherd carted away each
morning to the compoft dunghill.
In England, during the civil wars, though the ope¬
rations and improvements in hufbandry fuffered fome
temporary checks, there flouriftied feveral excellent
writers on the fubjeft, and the art itfelf received con-
fiderable encouragement. Sir Hugh Platt was one oi
the moft ingenious hufbandmen of the age in which he
lived; yet fo great was his modefty, that all his works
'/ except
293
AGRICULTURE.
Hftory.
except his Paradifa of Flora feem to be poflhumous.
He held a correfpondence with molt of the lovers and
patrons of agriculture and gardening in England ; and
fuch was the juftice and modefty of his temper, that he
always named the author of every difcovery communi¬
cated to him. Perhaps no man in any age difcovered,
or at lealt brought into ufe, fo many new kinds of ma¬
nure. This will be evident to thofe who read his ac¬
count of the compoft and covered dunghills, and his
judicious obfervations on the fertilizing qualities lodged
in fait, ftreet dirt, and the fullage of Itreets in great
cities, clay, fullers earth, moorilh earths, dunghills
made in layers, fern, hair, calcination of all vegetables,
malt dull, willow tree earth, foapers allies, urine, marl,
and broken potlherds.
Gabriel Plattes may be faid to have been an origi¬
nal genius in hulbandry. He began his obfervations
at an earlier period, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
and continued them down to the Commonwealth. But
notwithllanding the great merit of this writer, and the
efiential fervice he had rendered his country by his
- writings, the public ungratefully fuffered him to llarve
and perilh in the ftreets of London j nor had he a Ihirt
on his back when he died.
Samuel Hartlib, a celebrated writer on agriculture
in the laft century, was highly efteemed and beloved
by Milton, and other great men of his time. In the
preface to his work entitled his Legacy, he laments
that no public director of hufbandry was eftablilhed in
England by authority j and that we had not adopted
the Flemilh method of letting farms upon improve¬
ment. This remark of Hartlib’s procured him a penfion
of look a year from Cromwell j and the writer after¬
wards, the better to fulfil the intention of his benefac¬
tor, procured Dr Beatti’s excellent annotation on the
Legacy, with other valuable papers from his numerous
correfpondents.
The time in which Hartlib flourilhed feems to have
been an era when the Englilh hulbandry rofe to great
perfeftion, compared with that of former ages \ for
the preceding wars had impoverilhed the country gen¬
tlemen, and of courfe made them induftrious. They
found the cultivation of their own lands to be the moft
profitable llation they could fill. But this wife turn
was not of long continuance. At the Reftoration
they generally became infected with that intoxication
and love of pleafure which fucceeded. All their in-
duftry and knowledge were exchanged for negleft and
diffipation j and hufbandry defcended almoft entirely
into the hands of common farmers.
Evelyn was the firft writer who infpired his country¬
men with a defire of reviving the fludy of agriculture j
and he was followed by the famous Jethro Tull. The
former, by his admirable treatifes on earth and on
planting, and the latter, by Ihowing the fuperior ad¬
vantages of the drill hufbandfy, excited numbers to
bring their theory to the teft of fair experiment.
Many valuable and capital improvements have fince
that period been made in Englilh hulbandry: and thefe
great men have been fucceeded by a variety of writers,
many of u'hom have done eflential fervice, by enlight¬
ening the minds of their countrymen, and exciting them
to emulation.
About the middle of the laft century, Ireland began
to make a confiderable figure in the art of hufbandry.
It mull indeed be confeflfed, that the Irilh had very
ftrong prejudices in favour of a wretched method of
agriculture, till Blyth opened their eyes by his excel¬
lent writings. Since that time, a fpirit of improve¬
ment has more or lefs been promoted, and in many in-
ftances carried on with great zeal, by the nobility,
clergy, and gentry of that kingdom. In proof of this,
it will be fufficient to obferve, that the Tranfadlions of
the Dublin Society for encouraging Hulbandry are
now cited by all foreigners in their memoirs relating
to that lubjedf. And the obfervations of that difcern-
ing and judicious writer Arthur Young, Efq. in his
Tour through that kingdom, Ihow, that in many re-
fpedls improvements there have of late years made a
progrefs nearly as rapid as in England.
After the peace of Aix la Chapelle, moll of the na¬
tions of Europe, by a fort of tacit confent, applied
themfelves to the ftudy of agriculture, and continued to
do fo, more or lefs, amidlt the univerfal confufion that
fucceeded.
The French found, by repeated experience, that
they could never maintain a long war, or procure a to¬
lerable peace, unlefs they could raife corn enough to
fupport themfelves in fuch a manner as not to be obli¬
ged to fubmit to harlh terms on the one hand, or to pe¬
rilh by famine on the other. This occafioned the king
to give public encouragement to agriculture, and even
to be prefent at the making of feveral experriments.
The great, and the rich of various ranks and ftations,
followed his example j and even the ladies were can¬
didates for a lhare of fame in this public-fpirited and
commendable undertaking.
During the hurry and dillreffes of France in the war
of 1756, confiderable attention was paid to agriculture.
Prize queftions were annually propofed in their rural
academies, particularly thofe of Lyons and Bourdeaux j
and many judicious obfervations were made by the So¬
ciety for improving agriculture in Britanny.
After the conclufion of that war in I7^3> mat¬
ters were carried on there with great vigour. The
univerfity of Amiens made various propofals for the
advancement of hulbandry, and the marquis de Tour-
billy (a writer who proceeded chiefly on experience)
had the principal dire&ion of a georgical fociety efta¬
blilhed at Tours.
The fociety at Rouen alfo deferves notice ; nor did
the king and his minifters think it unworthy their at¬
tention. There foon exifted about fifteen focieties in
France, eftablilhed by royal approbation, for the pro¬
moting of agriculture •, and thefe had twenty co-ope¬
rating focieties belonging to them.
About this time vigorous exertions began to be made
in Ruflia to introduce the moft approved fyftem of
hulbandry which had taken place in other parts of Eu¬
rope. The late emprefs fent feveral gentlemen into
Britain and other countries to ftudy agriculture, and
gave it all poflible encouragement in her own domi¬
nions.
The art of agriculture has alfo been for many years
publicly taught in the Swedilh, Danilh, and German
univerfities, where the profelfors may render eflteftual
fervice to their refpedlive countries, if they underftand
the practical as well as the fpeculative part, and can
converfe with as much advantage with the farmer as
with Virgil and Columella.
Even
.294
A G R I C U
Even Italy has not been totally inaflive. The Neapo¬
litans of this age have condefcended to recur to the firft
rudiments of revived hufbandry, and begun to ftudy
anew the Agricultural Syftem of Crefcenzio, firft pub-
liftied in 1478. The people of Bergamo have purfued
the fame plan, and given a new edition of the Ricordo
d’Agriculturae de Tarello, firft publilhed in 1577. The
duchy of Tufcany has imbibed the fame Ipirit of im¬
provement. A private gentleman, above 40 years fince,
left his whole fortune to endow an academy of agricul¬
ture. The firft; ecclefiaftic in the duchy was prefident
of this fociety, and many of the chief nobility were
members.
His Sardinian majefty alfo fent perfons to learn the
different modes of practice in foreign countries; and
made feme fpirited attempts to eftablifti a better method
of agriculture among his fubjefts.
In Poland alfo M. de Bielufki, grand marftial of the
crown, made many fuccefsful attempts to introduce the
new hufbandry among his countrymen ; and procured
the beft inftruments for that purpofefrom France, Eng¬
land, and other parts of Europe.
The Hollanders are the only people now in Europe
who feem to look upon agriculture with indifference.
Except the fingle collateral inftance of draining their
fens and moraffes, they have fcarcely paid any attention
to it; and even this feems to have proceeded more from
the motive of felf-prefervation, than any love of, or dif-
pofition to, hufbandry.
In the year 1759, a few ingenious and public-fpirited
men at Berne in Switzerland eftablifhed a fociety for
the advancement of agriculture and rural economics.
In that fociety were many men of great weight in the
republic, and moft of them perfons of a true caft for
making improvements in hufbandry, being enabled to
join the practice with the theory.
Nor muft we here omit to mention, that the juftly
celebrated Linnaeus and his difciples have performed
great things in the north of Europe, particularly in dif-
covering new kinds of profitable and well-tafted food
for cattle. About the fame time, Sweden bellowed
fuccefsful labours on a foil which had before been look¬
ed upon as cold, barren, and incapable of melioration.
Of this the Stockholm Memoirs will be a lafting mo¬
nument.
Denmark, and many of the courts in Germany, fol¬
lowed the fame example. Woollen manufattures were
encouraged, and his Danilh majefty fent three perfons
into Arabia Felix to make remarks, and bring over
fiich plants and trees as would be ufeful in hufbandry,
building, and rural affairs.
The duchy of Wirtemburg, alfo, a country by no
means unfertile, but even friendly to corn and pafture-
age, has contributed its afliftance towards the improve¬
ment of agriculture, having more than 50 years fince
publifhed 14 economical relations at Stutgard.
Neither muft we forget the very afliduous attention
of the learned in Leipfic and Hanover to this import¬
ant objedt. During the rage and devaftation of a long
war, they cultivated the arts of peace j witnefs the
Journal d'>Agriculture printed at Leipfic, and the Re-
cueils d'Hanover printed in that city.
Even Spain, conftitutionally and habitually inadlive
on fuch occafions, in fpite of all their natural indo¬
lence, and the prejudices of bigotry, invited Linnteus,
L T U R E. Hiftorj.
with the offer of a large penfion, to fuperintend a col¬
lege founded for the purpofe of making new inquiries
into the hiftory of nature and the art of agriculture.
Among the Japanefe, agriculture is in great re¬
pute } and among the Chinefe it is diftinguilhed and
encouraged by the court beyond all other fciences.
The emperor of China yearly, at the beginning of
fpring, goes to plough in perfon, attended by all the
princes and grandees of the empire. T he ceremony is
performed with great folemnity *, and is accompanied
with a facrifice, which the emperor, as high-prieft, of¬
fers to Chang-Ti, to enfure a plentiful crop in favour of
his people.
But, without any improper partiality to our own
country, we are fully juftified in afferting, that Bri¬
tain alone exceeds all modern nations in hufbandry j
and from tbe fpirit which for the laft twenty years
has animated many of our nobility and gentry, to
become the liberal patrons of improvement, there
is reafon to hope that this moft ufeful of arts will,
in a few years, be carried to a greater pitch of perfec¬
tion than it has ever yet attained in any age or
country.—The Royal Society, the Bath Society, and
the Society of Arts, &c. in particular, have been Sig¬
nally ufeful in this retped; and the other affociatmns,
which are now eftablithed in many parts of the king¬
dom, co-operate with them in forwarding their laudable
defign.
It is not, however, to the exertion of public focie-
ties, excellent and honourable as they are, that all our
modern improvements in agriculture owe their origin.
To the natural genius of the people have been added
the theory and pradtice of all nations in ancient and
modern times. This accumulated mafs of knowledge
has been arranged, divided, and fubdivided •, and af¬
ter pafling the teft of pradtical experiments, the effen-
tial and moft. valuable parts of it have been preferved,
improved, and amply diffufed in the works of Lord
Kames, Mr Young, Stillingfleet, Dr Hunter, Ander-
fon, Dickfon, Ellis, Randal, Lifle, Marfhal, Mortimer,
Duhamel, Bradley, Kent, Mills, and a few other writ¬
ers upon this great art of rendering mankind happy,
wealthy, and powerful. 8
We alfo remark with much fatisfadlion, that the TTieboard
Britifti government has of late years thought fit to re”" ^urae^nCU
der the improvement of agriculture an objedt of public
attention and encouragement, by the inftitution of a
board of agriculture.—About the year I79°» ^ir John
Sinclair, Bart, invited the clergy of the church of
Scotland to tranfmit to him deferiptions of the ftate of
their different parifhes, with a view to the publication
of what is called a Statijhcul Account of Scotland. The
whole members of this body having readily complied
with his requeft, a work in 20 volumes odlavo was
compiled from the materials afforded by them, con¬
taining an account of the agriculture, manufadtures, and
population of the country. The fame gentleman, a-
bout that period, was alfo adlive in obtaining the in¬
ftitution of a private fociety, called The Britifh Wool
Society, which was very fuccefsful in calling the atten¬
tion of the public to the improvement of that important
article of national growth and manufadlure. By thefe
patriotic exertions, having acquired a confiderable {hare
of popularity, he was encouraged on 15th May I793>
to make a motion in the houfe of commons, of which
AGRICULTURE.
Tieory.
lie was a member, for an addrefs to the crown, recom¬
mending the inftitution of a board of agriculture. The
chancellor of the exchequer, Mr Pitt, on perceiving
that the propofa) was acceptable to the majority of the
houfe, gave it a decided luport, and on the I 7th May,
to which the debate had been adjourned, the motion
was carried for an addrefs to his majetty to inftitute
fuch a board, at an expence not exceeding 3000I.—In
confequence of this application, a charter pafled the
great feal, incorporating the members of adminiftration
for the time, with the archbilhops of Canterbury and
York, and all their fucceffors in office, together with
certain other noblemen and gentlemen, into a board or
fociety, by the name of the Board or Society for the
encouragement of Agriculture and internal improvement,
under the patronage of the crown \ with power to the
members to cleft office-bearers and fucceffors to them-
felves : and in the mean time Sir John Sinclair was ap¬
pointed to be the firft prefident, to continue in office
till 25th March following j Sir John Caul, Bart, was
appointed to be the firft treafurer, and Arthur Young,
Efq. fo well known for his agricultural publications,
was appointed fecretary. 9
The regular fittings of the board did not commence c0mmence-
till 23d January 1794, fince which time it has conti-ment of its
nued to exert a very confiderable degree of aftivity in flttm2s*
eftablifiung an extenfive foreign correfpondence, and in
procuring and publiffiing every kind of ufeful domeftic
agricultural intelligence, fome fpecimens of which tve
fiiall afterwards have occafion to notice. This board,
foon after its inftitution, alfo employed perfons of
known reputation to prepare agricultural lurveys of
every county in the iftand of Great Britain.—Many of
thefe furveys have been publiftied, and form treatifes
upon this important art, which, for extent of intelli¬
gence and ability of execution, have not been exceeded
in any age or country. The board has alfo obtained
parliamentary rewards to fome individuals for important
difeoveries, and has offered premiums for effays or trea¬
tifes upon fubjefts connefted with the purpofe of its in¬
ftitution, which have produced a great variety of valu¬
able and ingenious difquifitions.
THEORY OF AGRICULTURE.
to
Tlj heory
of ificul-
tui s de-
fed re.
Difblty
1 'rung
H an art that is fo neceffary to mankind, and that
has been fo univerfally praftifed, it might perhaps
be expefted, that the principles upon which its opera¬
tions depend, would have been by this time completely
and accurately inveftigated, and confequently that a
correft theory of agriculture could eafily be exhibited.
This, however, is by no means the cafe $ and it is not
a little Angular, that, in this moft ufeful of all arts, the
theory ffiould ftill be more defeftive than in almoft any
fcience with which we are acquainted. It is fortunate,
however, for the human race, that in moft cafes, or at
lead: in all important arts, they fucceed better in prac¬
tice than in fpeculation. During many ages, various
artifts were accuftomed to extraft the moft ordinary,
but moft ufeful metals, from the ftate of ore or earth
in which nature produces them, and to reduce them
back from their metallic form and luftre, to a ftate of
ore or earth again. Thefe artifts were unacquainted
with the principles upon which the fuccefs of their ope¬
rations depended ; and it is only within thefe few years
that fome ingenious chemifts have fuccefsfully invefti¬
gated the nature of thefe proceffes, and have explained
what they have called the oxygenation and difoxygena-
tion of metals. The fame thing has happened in agricul¬
ture. Men have often cultivated the ground well, while
they have {peculated ill concerning the mode of doing fo.
Various reafons render it ftill more difficult to form
a complete theory of agriculture, than of chemiftry,
mechanics, or other arts. In agriculture, an experi¬
ment cannot be made in an inftant, or even in an hour,
or in a day or two. A whole feafon muft pafs away
before a Angle experiment can be performed, and after
all, as in other arts, the inquirer after truth may be
mifled by fome unobferved circumftances. Some faft,
quite foreign to the experiment itfelf, ariAng out of the
peculiar ftate of the foil, or of the train of feafons, may
produce plentiful crops for a year or two, though, in
ordinary circumftances, no fuch effeft would follow :
and the ingenious contriver of the experiment, who
thought he had made an important difeovery, may af¬
terwards derive from it only difappointment and morti¬
fication. But human life is too Ihort to admit a very
great variety of agricultural experiments to be perform¬
ed by the fame individual. After a few feafons, he
muft leave his place to be occupied by a new inquirer,
poffeffed of a different ehara£fer and of different views.
Unfortunately, till of late years, it was not ufual for
hulbandmen to publiffi, and thus to immortalize and
diffufe over whole nations, the refult of their private
experience and refleftions. Scattered over the face of
great countries, and having little intercourfe with fo¬
reigners, or even with each other, they knew little of
■what was done by men engaged in the fame profeffion,
though at no great diftance.—In this way, the benefit
of local difeoveries was not communicated to the world
at large, nor was an opportunity afforded of eradicating
local prejudices and erroneous praftices. As the ftate
of this valuable profeffion is now rapidly altering in
thefe refpefts, there is little doubt that we are faft ap¬
proaching towards a period at which it will be pofiible
to exhibit a clear and correft theory of agriculture, or
to arrange under a few Ample heads the rules or prin¬
ciples upon which the praflice of the art depends.—.
What we are now to offer, is not to be conAdered as
perfeft, nor even as poffeffing any near approxima¬
tion towards a perfeft theory of the hufbandman’s art;
but merely, fuch a general ftatement of its principles
as refults from the degree of information hitherto col-
lefted upon the fubjeft. I2
A theory, or general view of the principles of agri- What it
culture feems neceffarily to refolve itfelf into the two ought to
following inveftigations : ift, To inquire, among thecontaIn"
great variety of vegetables that exift in nature, what
particular plants ought to be regarded as moft worthy
of cultivation : and 2dly, To confider the beft mode of
cultivating with fuccefs the plants thus felefted. 13
With regard to the firft of thefe divifions of the fub- Th® value
jeft, or the vegetables that ought to be chofen as m°ff °
valuable and worthy of cultivation, it may be obferved, f0]utg inq
that the value of a plant is of two kinds, ahfolute, or relative.
relative:
<,e)6
agriculture.
Vegetables relative : The abfolute value of a plant depends upon
food for *■ • C < nr* 1   x. _ X1 l-«. »-*-* o V> 1rvor*l«^C
Man.
14
They are
ufeful di-
redlly and
indirectly.
its fitnefs to afford fubfiftence to the human fpecies,
■whereas its relative value confifts of the tendency which
the cultivation of it will have to enrich a particular
hufbandman, or clafs of hufbandmen, either becaufe
their lands are well adapted for its growth, or becaufe
there is a ready market for it in the vicinity, where it
bears a high price.
Concerning the abfolute value of plants, or their ten¬
dency to afford fubfilfence to mankind, it is to be ob-
ferved, that fome plants are direElly ufeful or valuable,
becaufe they are immediately confumed as food by man,
fuch as wheat, oats, or potatoes ; whereas mankind de¬
rive fubfiftence from another clafs of plants, only in an
in dire El manner, by giving them to cattle, and after¬
wards eating the flefti of thefe cattle, as happens with
regard to grafs and ftraw of all kinds.
Sect. I. Of Vegetables to be cultivated as Food for
Man.
*5 J
Men feed
on fruits
and roots.
16
Fmit trees
not trufted
to for food,
17
becaufe
they ripen
flowly, and
are deftroy
sd in war.
Some vegetables afford fubfiftence to the human fpe¬
cies by means of the fruit that grows upon them, which
hangs, and is brought to maturity in the air, at the fum-
mit of their ftems. Other vegetables derive their value
from producing roots which come to maturity in the
bofom of the foil, and are dug from thence to be con-
fumed by mankind.
Of fruit-bearing vegetables, thofe called trees, which
rife aloft with a ftrong trunk, are the moft permanent
and remarkable. It is faid that a fpot of ground, oc¬
cupied by fome kinds of trees, fuch as chefnuts or dates,
is capable of producing a very great portion of food,
ufeful for the fupport of the human fpecies. One ad¬
vantage attending the cultivation of fuch vegetables,
would be that, after the trees are planted, and fecured
by fences for a few years againft animals, they would for
ever after, or at leaft for many years, continue to grow
and flourilh without care or labour. It does not appear,
however, that in any nation of ancient or modern times,
forefts of fruit-bearing trees have bfen reared with a
view to afford fubfiftence to the community. For this
two reafons may be afligned. In the firft place, a con-
fiderable number of years muft elapfe, before fuch plants
could arrive at maturity, and fulfil the purpofe of their
deftination. Of whatever ufe therefore they might be
to future ages, it is evident that they could afford little
benefit to the generation which planted them. But in
a queftion about fubfiftence, mankind are ufually under
the neceflity of confidering their own immediate wants,
and hence they have been led to the cultivation of fuch
plants, as afford the moft fpeedy reward for the efforts
of their induftry. Another reafon for preferring the cul¬
ture of fmall annual plants, to the greater and more per¬
manent productions of nature, would arife, in the early
ages of the world, from the turbulent ftate of fociety
and the frequency of wars. A community that ftiould
depend for its fubfiftence upon the fruit of foreft trees,
might be ruined for half a century by the inroad of
an enemy. An example of this was exhibited in the war
between Great Britain and her North American colo¬
nies. When the parent ftate hired the favages on the
weftern frontier, to join her party, and to make inroads
upon the colonifts, the latter retaliated upon the favages
.m the following manner. Several of the colonies united
Tlieor)',
in fending an expedition againft the Indians. The bodies Vegetables
of militia employed upon this expedition, were furprifed
to find fmall corn fields around a confiderable number of ^
the Indian hamlets. They were not fatisfied however
with deftroying the huts of the natives, and thefe incipi¬
ent efforts of favage induftry j but they anxioufty fought
out and deftroyed every fruit-bearing tree that they
found in their progrefsof almoft a thoufand miles, there¬
by rendering the wildernefs utterly uninhabitable to
a people deftitute of agriculture, and who could not
always depend for fubfiftence upon their fuccefs in hunt¬
ing. From this example we fee that the frequent wars
anfing from the barbarous charaCler of ancient nations,
would compel them to feek fubfiftence, not from the
fruit of foreft trees, but from grain, which fpeeddy ar¬
rives at maturity, and which when deftroyed can loon
be renewed. Thus war becomes a lefs wafteful fcourge
to the human race, and communities are enabled fpee-
dily to recover from the devaftation which it produces.
Had the nations of Europe depended for fubfiftence,
upon any fruits which could not be fpeedily reftored
when deftroyed, it is evident, that, in the late fangui-
nary conflict, the greater number of them muft have
been irretrievably ruined. . r ht 18 t,.
Hence it appears that the cultivation of plants of an- eDtat ei
nual growth, as a fource of fubfiftence, is favourable to
the permanence of civilization in the worldand that be¬
fore nations can venture to rely for their fubfiftence up¬
on the fruit of plants of flower growth, their charaiSler
muft have arrived at a degree of moral amelioration far
fuperior to what it has ever been known to poffefs.
Of annual plants cultivated for fruit, .wheat has al¬
ways been accounted the moft valuable. 'I his has pro¬
bably arifen from the extreme facility with which the
flour of it undergoes a procefs of fermentation, which
renders it capable of becoming a more light and agree¬
able kind of bread than the flour of any other gram.
This quality is believed to arife from a quantity of a
fubftance contained in wheat that is of the fame nature
with the gluten, or glue, that is prepared from animal
bodies. In other refpe£ls, however, it does not appear
that wheat is more valuable than fome other kinds of
grain *, by means of long boiling, a given weight of bar¬
ley, or even of oats, will render a quantity of water as
thick or full of mucilage as can be done by the fame
weight of wheat. , , • f
It may not be improper here to remark, that, mTheufeo
modern times, an author of no mean reputation, gram^
has arifen, who endeavours to prove that wheat ought tQ
not to be cultivated, nor bread to be eaten. 1 his is
M. Linguet, who has written a treatife exprefsly upon
the fubjedt; and, ridiculous as the affertion may feem,
it has been thought worthy of a formal refutation by Dr
Tiffot.—One of M. Linguet’s arguments is, that wheat
impoverilhes the ground on which it grows: but in
oppofition to this, Dr Tiffot argues, that corn is more
eafily cultivated than grafs •, and that confequently m
the country he fpeaks of, Switzerland, the beft fields
are appropriated to hay, and the worft to corn,
there are fome diftridls of very poor land (fays he) al¬
moft entirely fown with corn, they are not poor be¬
caufe they produce only corn, but becaufe they are not
fit to produce any thing elfe. Their foil is fo bad, that
they can grow but very little fodder : confequently they
maintain only fuch cattle as are abfolutely neceffary for
labour j
T&ory.
Vegabies labour; and tbofe are ill fed, and frequently perilh.
Fc* for Xhey have but little manure, and their crops are
fn‘ fmall ; for large crops of all forts can only be expedled
1 from lands naturally rich or ftrongly manured. Thus
the poverty of the inhabitants is only owing to their
pofleffing an ungrateful foil, What proves evidently
that it is the natural foil which is in the fault, and not
the corn which impoverilhes it, is, that where there is
meadow and arable land, the price of the meadow land
is much more confiderable than that of the arable. In
molt parts of this country the proportion is nearly ten
to one ; and there are even fome meadows, for one part
of which they would give 30 of field lands ; and fome
of vines, for which IOO of arable would be given.
Thofe diftri&s where the foil will produce nothing but
corn, are poor 5 but in thofe which furniib fodder, and
alfo fine crops of grain, the inhabitants are wealthy
and happy, unlefs they are opprefled by taxes.”
M. Linguet draws another obje&ion from the length
of time required to cultivate wheat: but riflbt, by
another calculation, (hows, that 48 days work through¬
out the year would cultivate more wheat than is (uffi-
cient for a family of fix perfons. The time neceffary
for cultivation of arable land alfo does nut increafe in
proportion to its extent; but in cafe more is cultiva¬
ted than is requifite for the fubfiftence of the family, a
trade is formed, which might be increafed to an unli¬
mited extent. He then compares the time requifite
for the cultivation of vines, which are recommended by
M. Linguet, and finds it to be much longer than that
required for wheat. “ I know very well (fays he) that
the one requires cattle, and the other does not : but
thefe cattle, far from being expendve, will, if properly
managed, increafe the gain of the farmer : therefore
they muft not be looked upon as any expence. Corn
is fubjeft to many accidents, but vines are fubjeft to
many more j thofe which the vines fuflfer, fometimes
fpoil the vintage for feveral years; whereas thofe which
happen to arable land, only fpoil the crop for the fea-
fon ; and as the expence of cultivating vines, for which
only manual labour can be employed, is much more
confiderable, therefore the vigneron (or perfon who
cultivates vines), who engages more largely than the
farmer, will confequcntly be a much greater lofer if un-
fuccefsful.—Hay is alfo fubjeft to frequent and very
difagreeable accidents ; the fecuring it is fometimes very
: difficult: and, when it is badly made, it is very hurtful
to cattle.—A fingle fa£l will be fufficient to prove the
cafualties to which hay is fubje£t ; viz. that it varies in
price as much as grain. Accidents of hay mows ta¬
king fire are but too frequent : and this is not to be
feared in corn mows.”
The other obje&ions of M. Linguet to wheat ap¬
pear to be quite frivolous ; fo that concerning the cul¬
tivation of this grain, Dr Tiflot draws the following
conclufions : “It appears then, from what has been
faid, that wheat is not a commodity that is impover-
ifliing in itfelf; and that this grain will grow indiffer¬
ently at leaft in lands and fitnations which are unfavour¬
able to other plants. This grain is likewife adapted to
mod climates; and if there are diftri<5ts almoft entirely
I . fown with wheat, and yet poor, it is the fault of the
foil, and not of this ufeful grain.”
Rut the mod extraordinary argument perhaps ever
thought of on this fubjeft is M. Linguet’s affertion,
Vol. I. Part I.
297
that the ufe of wheat, or bread made from it, is detri- Vegetables
mental to population ; and that the countries where this F®c^or
grain is cultivated are poor and thinly inhabited, where- , x ^n' f
as thofe which abound in vineyards and padure lands
are rich and populous. But this, in Dr Tiffot’s opi¬
nion, (hows only that one foil is more rich than an¬
other, and that a fertile foil will maintain mod inhabi¬
tants. “ No perfon (fays he) is more capable of af-
ligning the caufe of the fubjection of the Roman em¬
pire to the northern powrers, than M. Linguet ; but he
cannot furely be ferious when he fays, that they were
enabled to conquer it becaufe thofe northern coun¬
tries produced no corn, and that population decreafed
fince the introduftion of grain. I diall make three
obfervations on this paffage : Fird, The armies of
Gudavus Adolphus, Charles XII. and the king of
Pruffia, whofe food was bread, would be as formidable
againd the Italians of thofe times, who eat lefs than
was eaten in the days of Scipio, as their ancedors were
1400 years ago againd the Romans : and M. Linguet
mull certainly know, that thofe Greeks who fubfided
on bread, thofe Romans who ate nothing but bread
and vegetables in pottage, fubdued all the known
world, among whom were many nations who ate lefs
bread than themfelves. A Roman foldier’s allowance
of bread was much greater than what foldiers have at
prefent; and by the ufe of this food they had much
more drength than our modern foldiers can boad of.
The allowance to a Roman foldier was 64 pounds of
wheat per month ; and this he was dri£Uy forbidden
either to fell or exchange. Their foldiers had very
feldom any cheefe, bacon, or pulfe ; fo that wheat was
almod their only food, and the proportion was double
what is allowed foldiers in our days. 1 hey ate it in
bread, in flour-milk, and in thin cakes ; and they were
not fubjefl to epidemic or putrid diforders, which is
too much the cafe with our modern armies. We may
eafily judge, from the weight of their accoutrements,
that the Roman foldiers were not poffeffed of lefs per-
fonal drength than thofe who compofe the armies at
this day : they W'ere not lefs brave, nor did their food
render them in any way unhealthy : on the contrary,
where there is fuch difficulty in procuring a fupply of
good animal food to an army, as is often the cafe in
modern times, it is probable that reducing them to the
Ample diet of a Roman foldier would be the mod;
proper method of preventing epidemic difeafes among
them. Secondly, It is very doubtful whether thofe
countries were more populous formerly than they are
at this time ; it is even probable that they were lefs fo.
Ladly, The people of thefe northern countries were not
without wheat ; it was the bafis of their food and
drink : without quoting other authors who atted it,
fuffice it to fay, that Tacitus affirms it,” &c.
In this lad particular, however, our author appears to
be midaken; but whatever may be in this, we apprehend
that few of our readers will entertain any doubt con¬
cerning the wholefomenefs of wheat, or the propriety
of making it into bread after once it is cultivated. 20
After wheat, oats have in our country been con- Oats a va-
fidered as of very great importance. It is a hardy andluable
beautiful plant ; grows with little cultivation, and isSra*n*
particularly well fuited for lands newly brought in
from a date of nature, upon which it was always ufed
as the fird crop, till the introduftion of the turnip huf-
P p bandry.
AGRICULTURE.
298
A G R I C U
2Z
Different
kinds of
grain are
not effen-
tially dif¬
ferent.
Vegetables bandry. The meal of It is ufualiy very coarfely gnnd-
Food for an(] m;xed with a confiderable quantity of the inner
. Man- , covering of the grain. Hence it has always a confider¬
able degree of roughnefs, and is harfh, and unfuited to
very delicate conftitutions •, but this very harftinefs,
from its ftimulant effeft, producing a feeling of warmth
in the ftomach, renders it more grateful to perfons
much expofed to the open air, and accuftomed to »ard
labour, who account it a hearty kind of food..
tially, and in its intrinfic qualities, this grain differs
at little from fome others.
Bariey va- Barley is chiefly valued in confequence of the Facili-
luable from t wjtb which it produces a great quantity of faccharine
its eafy con-procefs of vegetation or malting, which
faccbarinV fits it for the preparation of vinous or fpirituous li-
fubftance. quors. Peafe aro alfo fometimes ufed when grinded in¬
to meal as an article of human food ; but on account of
their vifcid and indigeftible quality, they can never be¬
come valuable in that point of view, unlefs to perfons
engaged in the open air, in the molt aftive and fevere
kinds of labour.
In other refpe&s, however, it does not appear that
there is much difference in point of quality or whole-
fomenefs between the various kinds of grain cultivated
in different countries. They are all capable of affording
nourifhment to the human conftitution, and of preferv-
ing it in health and vigour : When grinded into meal,
they require little farther preparation, and .are ea.fily
made into bread, or otherwife prepared for immediate
confumption, by being mixed according to the fancy or
tafte of different nations, with a fmall quantity of wa¬
ter, or any other liquid.
Of the roots which are ufed to afford fubfiftence to
man, the potato has hitherto been the principal. The
reft, confifting chiefly of carrots, turnips, and parfnips,
are never ufed as a foie nutriment, being rather adopt¬
ed for the purpofe of giving variety and relifti to other
food, and chiefly to butchers meat. The potato, how¬
ever, is in fome roeafure an exception to this general
rule. It contains a large quantity of fiarch, which does
not feem inferior to the ftarch prepared from wheat, fo
far at leaft as that ingredient is to be regarded as con¬
tributing to the nouriftiing qualities of the grain. Its
tafte refembles, more nearly than any other root, the
tafte of bread 5 and accordingly it is daily beginning to
be more extenfively ufed, and to form a larger portion
of the food of the poor. The celebrated Dr Adam
Smith long fince remarked its tendency to produce a
ftrong and handfome race of people, as demonftrated
by its effeft upon the common people of Ireland, who
have for a confiderable length of time in a great mea-
fure fubfifted upon it.
It is to be obferved concerning all the roots now
23 , ,
Roots ufed
as human
tbod.
24
They pro
food on
the fame
extent of
foil than
arain.
dace more mentioned, that a crop of them always contains a much
larger quantity of human food than a crop of any kind
of grain upon the fame extent of ground. A Scots
acre of good land, which will not produce more than
1280 pounds weight of oatmeal, will eafily produce
20,000 pounds weight of potatoes, and will fometimes
in favourable feafons produce 30,000 or 35,000 pounds
weight of that valuable root. Suppofing one pound
of oatmeal to contain as much nouriftiment as four
pounds of potatoes, ftill it is. evident, that., where an
extent of territory employed in the production of oats
can only fupport one million of people, the fame terri-
L T U R E. Theory.
lory employed in the cultivation of potatoes will fup-
port fifteen millions of perfons. , Man
Potatoes, however, and all the other roots, have hi- _—
therto poffeffed thefe radical defefts : The carriage of 25
them is extremely expenfive, in confequenee of their Iben de¬
weight, arifing from the vaft quantity of moifture they £«.as
contain. Hence they can only be cultivated in abun- ^
dance in the vicinity of great towns, or where they xhe tranf.
are meant to be confumed upon the farm as the food ofportation
- of them ex¬
cattle. # nenfive
Roots are alfo incapable of long preservation. In 2>j‘
the winter they are deftroyed by froft, and in fummer ^re unfit
by heat, which caufes them to vegetate or to corrupt; for long
both of which changes render them unfit to be ufed as preferva.
0 tion.
rood. . . 28
Thefe roots are alfo much more bulky than grain in Too bujky
proportion to the quantity of nouriftiment contained in for the fto-
them. Hence they are rendered lefs fit to be confumed mach.
by perfons engaged in fedentary profeflions. Such per¬
fons accordingly feldom fail to find them injurious to the
ftomach, by their bulkinefs, and their tendency to in¬
jure the powers of digeftion, by producing flatulencies
and other unpleafant confequences. 29
On the whole, the difference between thefe fucculent Wherein
roots and the grain of corn plants feems to amount to
this, that, although they are both formed of fimilar fub- ^[n‘
fiances, the potato being analogous to wheat, and the*"
carrot and parfnip to rye, or rather to barley after it
has been converted into malt, yet, as the roots are form¬
ed in the bofom of the foil, and are of a loofe and wa¬
tery texture, their formation requires from nature a
llighter effort than the bringing to perfe6fion the fmall
grains which are produced in the air at the top of corn
plants. She therefore compenfates by an abundant
crop the dim'iniftied quality of her work. 30
Hence it has appeared an important problem in eco- How they
nomics, to devife a plan by which the fucculent roo^s^njere^
of vegetables may be deprived of their fuperfluous equaj
moifture, that thus human art may perform for them value to
what nature has not accomplifhed } and that they may grain,
be rendered completely equal in value to grain in point
of quality, while in quantity they are fo fuperior.
With this view difterent proceffes have been adopted.
Potatoes have been grated down in their raw ft ate, potato-
and repeatedly wafhed with water : the refult of which ft arch,
operation is, that the ftarch contained in them is ob¬
tained with great labour 5 but the reft of the root is loft}
and this operation cannot be applied to other kinds of
roots with fuccefs. Another mode of accomplifhing
the objett w*as devifed a few years ago by M. Grenet, Grenet’s
and publilhed in the Journal of the Lycaeum of Arts modern^
of Paris. It is performed in this manner: The pota- "otatoes.
toes muft firft be boiled by the heat of the fteam of
boiling water, without touching the water itfelf. I hey
are then ftript of their Ikin, and allowed to cool, and
made ufe of in the following way :—A white iron tube
of two inches diameter, and eight inches in length,
open at the one end and clofe at the other, is every¬
where perforated with fmall holes, and a round piece
of wood is prepared, which eafily goes into the tube,
but which at the fame time fills it. Things, being
thus in readinefs, a quantity of the potatoes, boiled as
already mentioned, is put into the tube till it is full.
They are then forcibly rammed down with the round
piece of wood or pifton 3 the confequence of which
Theory.
A G U I C U
Vegetables operation is, that they are forced through the little
Food for holes in the fides of the tube, and come out in the (hape
. 1 ^n' ■ of worms. They are received upon linen cloths, co¬
vered with utilized paper, and dried in the heat of the
fun, or in a warm room. The fmall pieces mult be
ftirred from time to time ; and it is faid, that in lefs
than 12 hours, the preparation dries fo as to be capable
of being preferved.
The defeat of this procefs evidently is, that it is a
petty operation, which can only proceed llowly, and
upon a diminutive fcale. It is therefore unlikely to
be adopted in the great operations of an extenlive
agriculture, as a mode of preparing or preferving hu¬
man food.
At the beginning of the prefent year 1802, another
procefs for accomplilhing this important object was
cefs for con- contrived by Robert Forfyth, Ef}, advocate. Of this
verting proeefs, which has been communicated to the Board of
33
Mr For-
fyth’s pro
roots into
flour.
Agriculture, we are authorized to give the following
account :
The whole difficulty of difeovering a procefs, with
the view to render fucculent roots as ealily preferved
and tranfported, and therefore in every refped as va¬
luable as grain, feems to arife from our not having the
command of fuch a degree of Heady and vigorous, but
moderate heat, as will deprive them of their modture,
while at the lame time they are prevented from b :ng
burnt or fcorched in the way that coffee-beans are
treated before being grinded. This requifite degree
of heat may be obtained in a very cheap and eafy man¬
ner, by making ufe of the fteam of boiling water,
which never can burn any vegetable fubftance. Upon
this principle, Mr Forfyth’s procefs is founded, and is
conduced in the following manner :
1 ft, Let a quantity of potatoes, or carrots, or parf-
nips, &c. be waftied, and then cut or chopped into
very fmall pieces.
2dly, Lay them upon a metallic plate, and dry them
with the heat of fteam tranfmitted through the metal.
They are then in a ftate analogous to grain, and feem
capable of being preferved for any length of time.
3dly, Reduce them into flour or meal, by grinding
in any mill, or with any inftrument capable of grinding
grain.
The meal or flour thus prepared has no tendency to
attract moifture from the atmofphere, and may be pre¬
ferved during any length of time, if clofely preffed or
packed. Without this precaution, Mr Forfyth has
preferved it for fix months, when it had been coarfely
grinded in a coffee mill.
The drying procefs is not tedious. As potatoes
contain a great quantity of ftarch or gummy matter,
the pieces of them, while drying, are apt to adhere to
each other ; they muft therefore be frequently turned
or ftirred during that part of the operation. When
dry, they are almoft as hard as barley, and tafte fome-
what like the fkin of a roafted potato.
Carrots and parfnips contain lefs gummy matter.
They require lefs attention while drying, and do not
become fo hard. They may be grinded with eafe.
Their flour is very fweet to the tafte. Its fmell is
fragrant, and though the tafte of the roots cannot be
faid to be altered, it is rendered rich and agreeable
by the concentration produced by the procefs. This
is more particularly the cafe with regard to the parf-
L T U R E. 299
nips. Their meal, when coarfely grinded, and expofed v®g^a^es
to the air for a month or two, lofes its grateful fmell, <^lan“l
but the tafte continues unchanged. The tafte is com-
nmnicated very rapidly to lukewarm water, by pouring
it upon the meal, fo that it may probably prove of
fome value when fubjedled to the vinous fermentation ;
and it feems not improbable, that if fugar is ever to
be produced in abundance from plants of European
growth, it muft be by preparing them according to
this procefs.
Mr Forfyth performed his experiments with a fteam
apparatus, which, with fome alterations, may prove not
unfuitable, when eredled upon a great fcale. 34
A, Plate XII, A Aral low veffel of white iron, one Mr For-
foot fquare, and two inches in depth, for containing fub-^yt * ®am
fiances to be dried. _ apparatus.
B, a fmall round veffel, in which water is kept boil¬
ing by a lamp, C, with three wicks.
D, a tube, by which the fteam paffes into E, which
contains the drying veffel A, and is clofely foldered all
round to the bottom of it.
F, a tube, by which the water formed by the
condenfed fteam flows from the fteam veffel, E,
back into the boiler B, entering at the bottom of
the boiler.
G, a crooked tube, by which the fuperfluous fteam
efcapes into the open air. It is crooked, that it may
retard the paffage of the fteam when the veffel is at
work, which forces it to depofit more of its heat on
the, bottom of the drying veffel A.
H, a tube by which the boiler B is filled with hot
water,
I, a tube paffing up through the centre of the boiler,
and ferving as a chimney to the lamp C. It does not
communicate with the water in the boiler.
K ftiows the figure of the cover of the drying vef¬
fel A. The cover has a groove or gutter LL, paf¬
fing round its lower edge. The vapour which rifes
from the roots when drying, condenfes on touching the
cover, and flows down to the gutter, from which it
efcapes in the ftate of water, by a hole left for that pur-
pofe at each corner. The cover is only ufed for the
neatnefs requifite in making experiments.
The whole is fupported by four moveable feet, attach¬
ed to the corners of the drying veffel A, but not appear¬
ing in the figure. Every part of it is made of white
iron or tinned plate.
Inftead of the lamp C, a fmall iron pan filled with
pieces of burning charcoal, was fometimes ufed to keep
the water boiling, and a ftill more convenient plan 1
was at times adopted during the winter feafon. It
confifted of refting the bottom of the boiler B, upon
the front of the grate of the chamber, while a fire was
burning, the reft of the inftrument being at the fame
time fupported by a rope attached to the back of a
chair, to a nail or peg in the wall for hanging a pic¬
ture, or to any other convenient fupport. When ufed
in this laft manner, however, the inftrument has this
defeft, that the water in the tube H boils over at times
into the fire, which might be avoided, by placing the
tube on the oppofite fide of the boiler.
Upon the above contrivance, it may be remarked
that a kiln formed of a large metallic plate, heated by
the fteam of boiling water, may prove valuable in
many proceffes. In particular, it will probably be
’ P p a found
^oo A G 11 1 C U
food for found ufeful for drying malt, with a view to prevent
Cattle- the ale formed of it from having a brown colour. It
may alfo, perhaps, be ufed with fuccefs for drying
wheat that is intended to be fown, to prevent the fu¬
ture crop from iuffering by mildew, as will be after¬
wards mentioned j and it affords a ready and cheap
mode of drying not only roots, but all vegetable pro-
duftions, without burning them, or altering their tafte
or other effential properties.
Sect. II. Of the tnojl proper kinds of V<; get ables to
be raifed for the purpcfes of feeding Cattle.
Though this mull be an article of the utmoft con-
fequence to every farmer, we do not find that it has
been much coniidered. Mr Anderfon feems to have
been the firft writer on agriculture who hath properly
attended to this fubjeft •, and what he hath wrote upon
it, is rather a catalogue of defiderata than any thing
olfe : and indeed the defiderata on this fubjeft are
fo many and fo great, that we muft acknowledge our-
felves very unable to fill them up. lo attain to a
competent knowledge in this refpeft, the following
35 things muft be taken into confideration. (i.) The
Qualities of wholefomenefs of the food for cattle, with regard to
the food health and ftrength, or fatnefs. (2.) The quantity
requifite for.^,. any extent 0f ground is capable of yielding. (3.)
tC e’ The quantity neceffary to feed the different kinds of
cattle. (4.) The labour of cultivation ; and, (5.) The
foil they require to bring them to perfe&ion, and the
effeft they have upon it.
With regard to the wholefomenefs it is plain, that
as the natural food of wild cattle is the green fucculent
plants they meet with all the year round, food of this
kind, could it be had, muft be preferable to hay 5 and
accordingly we find that cattle will always prefer fuc¬
culent vegetables where they can get them. To find
plants of this kind, and having proper qualities in o-
ther refpefts, we muft fearch among thofe which con¬
tinue green a|l the year round, or come to their great-
3d eft perfection in the winter time.—Of thefe, cabbages
Cabbages, hid fair for holding the firft place •, both as being very
their.pro- fuccuient> an<i a very large quantity of them growing
perties. Upon a fma]i fpace 0f ground. In Mr Young’s Six
Months Tour, we have an account of the produce of
cabbages in many different places, and on a variety of
foils. The produce by Mr Crow at Keplin, on a clay
foil, was, on an average of fix years, 35 tons per acre \
by Mr Smelt at the Leafes, on a fandy gravel, 18 tons
per acre ; by Mr Scroop at Danby, on an average of
fix years, 37 tons per acre : and the general average
of all the accounts given by Mr Young, is 36. tons per
acre.
Cabbages, however, have the great inconveniency
of fometimes imparting a difagreeable flavour to the
milk of cows fed with them, and even to the flefti of
other cattle. This, it is faid, may be prevented by
carefully picking off the decayed and withered leaves :
and very probably this is the cafe: for no vegetable
inclines more to putrefaction than this \ and therefore
particular care ought to be taken to pull off all the
leaves that have any fymptoms of decay. Dr Prieftley
Ah render-found that air was rendered noxious by a cabbage leaf
«d noxious remaining in it for one night, though the leaf did not
by them, {how any fyraptom of putrefa^tiou.-—For milk cows,
L T U R E. Theory.
probably, the cabbages might be rendered more proper Food for
food by boiling them. , ^at^e‘ i
The culture of the turnip-rooted cabbage has lately
been much praCtifed, and greatly recommended, parti- Turnip-
cularly for the purpofe of a late Ipring feed ; and feems rooted cab-
indeed to be a moft important article in the farming b;’§e-
economy, as will be fliown in its proper place. 39
Turnips likewife produce very bulky crops, though Turnips,
far inferior to thofe of cabbages. According to Mr
Young’s calculations, the fineft foil does not produce
above five tons of turnips per acre j which is indeed a
very great dilproportion : but poflibly fuch a quantity
of turnips may not be confumed by cattle as of cab¬
bages; an ox, of 80 ftone weight, ate 2iolb. of cab¬
bages in 24 hours, befides feven pounds of hay. 40
Carrots are found to be an excellent food for cattle Carrots
of all kinds, and are greatly reliftred by them. In a
rich fand, according to Mr Young’s account, the pro¬
duce of this root was 200 bufhels per acre. In a finer
foil, it was 640 bufhels per acre. A lean hog was fat¬
tened by carrots in ten days time : he ate 1961b. ; and
his fat was very fine, white, firm, and did not boil a-
way in the drefling. They were preferred to turnips
by the cattle j which having tafted the carrots foon
became fo fond of them, as difficultly to be made to
eat the turnips at all. It is probable, indeed, that
carrots will make a more wholefome food for cattle
than either cabbages or turnips, as they are ftrongly an-
tifeptic} infomuch as to be ufed in poultices for correft-
ing the fanies of cancers. It is probably owing to
this, that the milk of cows fed on carrots is never found
to have any bad tafte. Six horfes kept on them through
the winter without oats, performed their work as ufual,
and looked equally well. This may be looked upon
as a proof of their falubrity as a food 5 and it certainly
can be no detriment to a farmer to be fo much ver-
fant in medical matters as to know the impropriety of
giving putrefcent food to his cattle. It is well known
what a prodigious difference there is in the health of
the human fpecies when fed on putrid meats, in com-
parifon of what they enjoy when fupplied with food of
a contrary nature; and why may there not be a dif¬
ference in the health of beafts, as well as of men, when
in fimilar circumftanees ?—It is alfo very probable,
that as carrots are more folid than cabbages or tur¬
nips, they will go much farther in feeding cattle than
either of them. The above-mentioned example of the
hog feems fome, kind of confirmation of this : he being
fed, for ten days together, with 2ilb. lefs weight of
carrots, than what an ox devoured of cabbages and hay
in one day. There is a great dilproportion, it muft
be owned, between the. bulk of an ox and that of a hog *,
but we can fcarce think that an ox will eat as much
at a time as ten hogs. At Parlington in Yorkfliire,
20 work horfes, four bullocks, and fix milk cows, were
fed on the carrots that grew on three acres, from the
end of September till the beginning of May *, and the
animals never tafted any other food but a little hay.
The milk was excellent, and 30 hogs were fattened
upon what was left by the cattle. 41
Potatoes likewife appear to be a very palatable food Potatoes,
for all kinds of cattle; and not only oxen, hogs, &c.
are eafily fed by them, but even poultry. The cheap-
nefs of potatoes compared with other kinds of food for
cattle, cannot well be known, as, befides the advantage
of
Theory.
agriculture.
vol. ni.
?,it. 16.
Food for of the crop, they improve the ground more than any
Cattie. other known vegetable. According to a correfpondent
■"■Y~—' of the Bath Society*, “ roafting pork is never lb moift
#7- rf and delicate as when fed with potatoes, and killed from
and Papers the barn doors without any confinement. For bacon
on Agricul- and hams, two bufhels of pea-meal fhould be well in-
ture, ifc. corp0rated with four bulhels of boiled potatoes, which
quantity will fat a hog of twelve done, (fourteen pounds
to the Hone). Cows are particularly fond of them :
half a bulhel at night, and the fame proportion in the
morning, with a Imall quantity of hay, is fufficient to
keep three cows in full milk} they will yield as much
and as fweet butter as the belt grafs. In fattening
cattle, I allow them all they will eat : a bead of about
35 done will require a bulhel per day, but will fatten
one-third fooner than on turnips. The potatoes diould
be clean walked, and not given until theyaredry. They
do not require boiling for any purpofe but fattening
hogs for bacon, or poultry } the latter eat them gree¬
dily. I prefer the champion potato to any fort I ever
cultivated. They do not anfwer fo well for horfes and
colts as I expefted (at lead they have not with me),
though fome other gentlemen have approved of them
as fubditutes for oats.”
The above-mentioned vegetables have all of them
the property of meliorating, rather than exhauding the
foil} and this is certainly a very valuable qualification:
but carrots and cabbages will not thrive except in foils
that are already well cultivated: while potatoes and
turnips may be ufed as the fird crop of a foil with
great advantage. In this refpeft, they are greatly fu-
perior to the others •, as it may be difagreeable to take
up the bed grounds of a farm with plants defigned only
for food to cattle.
Buck-wheat (Polygonum fagopyrum) has been lately
recommended as an ufeful article in the prefent as well
as other refpefts. It has been chiefly applied to the
feeding of hogs, and edeemed equal in value to barley}
it is much more eafily ground than barley, as a malt-mill
will grind it completely. Horfes are very fond of the
grain ; poultry of all forts are fpeedily fattened by it }
and the bloffom of the plant affords food for bees at a
very opportune feafon of the year, when the meadows
and trees are modly dripped of their flowers. Probably
the grain may hereafter be even found a material article
in didillation, ftiould a fufficient quantity be raifed with
that view. From the fuccefs of fome experiments de¬
tailed in the Bath Society Papers, and for which a pre¬
mium was bedowed, it has been inferred, that thb arti¬
cle ought in numerous cafes to fuperfede the practice of
fummer-fallowing.
Whins have lately been recommended as a very pro¬
per food for cattle, efpecially horfes } and are recom¬
mended by Mr Anderfon in a particular manner. They
have this advantage that they require no culture, and
grow7 on the very word foil } but they are troubleforae
to cut, and require to be bruifed in a mill confiru&ed
for the purpofe } neither is the ground at all meliora¬
ted by letting whins grow upon it for any length of
time. Notwithdanding thefe difad vantages,- however,
as whins continue green all the year round, and when
bruifed will afford an excellent fucculent food, which
feems poffeffed of drongly invigorating qualities, they
may be looked upon as the cheaped winter food that
301
Food for
Cattle.
42
Buck¬
wheat.
Whins ar.
excellent
fool for
horfes.
can poffibly be given to cattle.-
-According to the cal¬
culations of Mr Eddifon of Gateford, a Angle acre, well
cropped with whins, will winter fix horfes: at three or ,
four years growth, the whole crop ffiould be taken, cut
clofe to the ground, and carried to the mill } in which
the whins are to be bruifed, and then given to the horfes.
Four acres ought to be planted, that one may be ufed
each year, at the proper age to be cut; and he reckons
the labour of one man fufficient for providing food to
this number of horfes. He fays, they all prefer the
whins to hay, or even to corn. 44
The herb called bur net hath like wife been recom- Burnet,
mended as proper food for cattle, on account of its be¬
ing an evergreen } and further recommended, by grow¬
ing almod as fad in winter as in dimmer. Of this
herb, however, we have very various accounts. In a
letter addreffed by Sir James Caldwell, F. R. S. to the
Dublin Society, the culture of this plant is drongfy
recommended, on the authority of one Bartholomew
Rocque, farmer at Walham-Green, a village about three
miles fouth-wed of London. _ ^
What gave occafion to the recommendation of thisReconi-
plant, was, that about the year 1760, Mr Wych, chair-mended by-
man of the committee of Agriculture of the London
Society for the encouragement of arts, manufaflures, '
and commerce, came to Rocque (who was become very
eminent by the premiums he had received from the fo-
ciety), and told him, he had been thinking, that as
there are many animals which fubfid wholly upon the
fruits of the earth, there mud certainly be fome plant
or herb fit for them that naturally vegetates in winter }
otherwife we mud believe the Creator, infinitely wife
and good, to have made creatures without providing
for their fubfidence } and that if there had been no
fuch plants or herbs, many fpecies of animals would have
perilhed before we took them out of the hands of na¬
ture, and provided for them dry meat at a feafon, when,
indigenous plantshaving been indifcriminately excluded,
under the name of weeds, from cultivated fields and
places fet apart for natural grafs, green or fredi meat
was no longer to be found.
Rocque allowed the force of this reafoning } but faid,
the knowledge of a grafs, or artificial paiture, that
would vegetate in winter, and produce green fodder
for cattle, was loft } at leaft, that he knew of no fuch
plant.—Mr Wych, however, knowing how very great
that advantage would be of difeovering a green fodder
for winter and early in the fpring, wrote to Bern, and
alfo to foine confiderabie places in Sweden, Hating the
fame argument, and alkingthe fame queftion. His an-
fwers to thefe letters were the fame that had been given
by Rocque. They owned there muft be fueh plant, but
declared they did not know it.
Mr Wych then applied again to Rocque } and de-
fired him to fearch for the plant fo much defired, and
fo certainly exifting. Rocque fet about this fearch
with great affiduity } and finding that a pimpernel,
called burnet, was of very fpeedy growth, and grew
nearly as fall; in winter as in fummer, he took a handful
of it and carried it into his liable, where there were
five horfes } every one of which ate of it .with the
greateft eagernefs, fnatching it even without firft fmell-
ing it. Upon the fuccefs of this experiment he went to
London, and bought all the burnet feed he could get,
amounting to no more than eight pounds, it having
been only ufed in falads} and he paid for it at the. rate
of
A G R I C U
of’4«. a pound. Six of the eight pounds of feed he
fowed upon half an acre of ground, in March, in the
year 1761, with a quarter of a peck of fpring wheat,
both by hand. 1 he feed being very bad, it came up
but thin. However, he fowed the other two pounds in
the beginning of June, upon about fix rood of ground :
this he mowed in the beginning of Auguft ; and at
Michaelmas he planted off the plants on about 20 rood
of ground, giving each plant a foot every way, and
taking care not to bury the heart. T hefe plants bore
two crops of feed the year following ^ the fir ft about
the middle of June, the fecond about the middle of
September-, but the June crop was the beft. 'J he
year after, it grew very rank, and produced two crops
of feed, both very good. As it ought not to be cut
after September, he let it ftand till the next year ^
when it iheltered itfelf, and grew very well during all
the winter, except when there was a hard froft j and
even during the froft it continued green, though it
was not perceived to grow. In the March following
it covered the ground very well, and was fit to receive
cattle.
If the winter is not remarkably fevere, the burnet,
though cut in September, will be 18 inches long in
March and it may be fed from the beginning of Fe¬
bruary till May : if the cattle are taken off in May,>
there will be a good crop of feed in the beginning of
July. Five weeks after the cattle are taken off, it may
be removed, if that is preferred to its {landing for feed.
It grows at the rate of an inch a-day, and is made into
hay like other grafs. It may be mown three times in
one fummer, and (hould be cut juft before it begins to
flower. Six rood of ground has produced 1150 pounds
at the firft cutting of the third year after it was lowed ;
and, in autumn 1763, Rocque fold no lefs than 300
buftiels of the feed.
According to Rocque, the foil in which burnet flou-
rifhes beft, is a dry gravel j the longeft drought never
hurts it : and Sir James Caldwell aflerts, that he faw a
very vigorous and exuberant plant of this kind, growing
from between two bricks in a wall in Roque’s ground,
without any communication with the foil ; for he had
cut away all the fibres of the root that had ftretched
downward, and penetrated the earth, long before.
Burnet was found equally fit for feeding cows, flieep,
and horfes •, but the (beep muft not be fuffered to crop
it too clofe. Though no feed was left among the hay,
yet it proved nourifhing food and Rocque kept a horfe
upon nothing elfe, who, at the time of writing the ac¬
count, was in good heart, and looked well. He affirm¬
ed alfo, that it cured horfes of the diftemper called the
greafe, and that by its means he cured one which was
thought incurable ; but fays, it is only the firft crop
which has this effeft.
This is the fubftance of Sir James Caldwell’s letter
to the Dublin Society, at leaft as to what regards the
rTb^Mr culture of burnet j and it might reafonably be expeft-
Milk/and ed, that a plant, whofe ufe was recommended to the
Mr Ander- public with fo much parade, would foon have come into
fon, univerfal efteem. We were furprifed, therefore, on
looking into Mr Miller’s Di&ionary, to find the fol¬
lowing words, under the article Poterium:—“ This
plant has of late been recommended by perfons of little
[kill, to be fown as a winter pabulum for cattle : but
whoever will give themfelves the trouble to examine
46
Burnet rec
koned an
L T U R E. Theory.
the grounds where it naturally grows, will find the Food for
plants left uneaten by the cattle, when the grafs about, (-,iitl:!e^
them has been cropped to the roots j beftdes, in wet
winters, and in ftrong land, the plants are of fhort
duration, and therefore very unfit for that purpofe j
nor is the produce fuffieient to tempt any perfon of
{kill to engage in its culture \ therefore I with thofe
perfons to make trial of it in fmall quantities, before
they embark largely in thefe new ichemes.”-—Mr An-
derfon, too, in his Eflays on Agriculture, mentions the
produce of burnet being fo fmall, as not to be worth
cultivating. 47
Upon the authority of Mr Rocque, likewife, the Wh‘te beet
white beet is recommended as a moft excellent
for cows ; that it vegetates during the whole winter,
confequently is very forward in the fpring j and that
the moft profitable way of feeding cows is to mow this
herb, and give it to them green all the fummer. It
grew in Rocque’s garden, during a very great drought,
no lefs than four feet high, from the 30th of May to
the 3d of July ; which is no more than one month and
four days. In fummer it grows more than an inch a-
day j and is beft fown in Marcli : a bulhel is enough
for an acre, and will not coft more than ten {hidings.
It thrives beft in a rich, deep, light foil ; the ftalks
are very thick and fucculent j the cows {hould therefore
eat them green. 4g
Another fpeeies of beet (Beta cicla), the Mangel Root of
Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity, as it has been called, hasfcaicity.
been lately extolled as food both for man and cattle j
but, after all, feems only to deferve attention in the
latter view. It is a biennial plant j the root is large
and fleffiy, fometimes a foot in diameter. It rifes above
the ground feveral inches, is thickeft at the top, taper-
ing gradually downward. ihe roots are of various
colours, white, yellow, and red $ but thefe laft are al¬
ways of a much paler colour than beetrave. It is good
fodder for cows, and does not communicate any tafte
to the milk. It produces great abundance of leaves
in fummer, which may be cut three or four times with¬
out injuring the plant. The leaves are more palatable
to cattle than moft other garden plants, and are lound
to be very wholefome. The farmers in thofe parts of
Germany where it is chiefly cultivated, we are told,
prefer this fpecies of beet, for feeding cattle, to cab¬
bages, principally becaufe they are not fo liable to be
hurt by worms or infefts 5 but they think they are not
fo nouriffiing as turnips, potatoes, or carrots, and that
cattle are not nearly fo foon fattened by this root as by
carrots, parfnips, or cabbages. It has even been afferted
that this root affords lefs nourifhment than any of thofe
that have been commonly employed for feeding cattle.
This does not correfpond with the pompous accounts
with which the public has been entertained. Upon the
whole, however, it is a plant that feems to deferve the
attention of our farmers ; as on fume foils, and in parti¬
cular circumftances, it may prove a very ufeful article
for the above purpofes. 49
In Mr Anderfon’s Effays, we find it recommended to Sheep’s fei-
make trial of fome kinds of graffes, which probablycue Sra 5’
would not only anfvver for freffi fodder during the win¬
ter, but might alfo be cut for hay in fummer. This
is particularly the cafe with that fpecies calledyZwp’-f
fefcue grafs. “ I had, fays he, a fmall patch of this
grafs in winter 1773 ? which, having been cut in the
month
So
Purple fef-
Cue,
Theory.
Food for month of Auguft or September preceding, was faved
Cattle. from that period, and had advanced before winter to
^ v~~"n" the length of five or fix inches ; forming the clofeft pile
that could be imagined. And although we had about
fix weeks of very intenfe froft, with ftiow *, and about,
other fix weeks, immediately fucceeding that, of ex¬
ceeding keen froft every night, with frequent thaws in
the day time, without any fnow, during which time al-
moft every green thing was deftruyed; yet this little
patch continued all along to retain as fine a verdure as
any meadow in the month of May ; hardly a point of
a leaf having been withered by the uncommon feverity
of the weather. And as this grafs begins to vegetate
very early in the fpring, I leave the reader to judge
what might be the value of a field of grafs of this kind
in thefe circumftances.”
Of another kind of grafs, called purple fefcuey Mr
Anderfon gives the following character: “ It retained
its verdure much better than rye-grafs during the win¬
ter feafon •, but it had more of its points killed by the
weather than the former. It likew’ife rifesin the fpring,
at leaft as early as rye-grafs.”
This ingenious farmer has alfo made experiments on
the culture of thefe and feveral other kinds of grafies ;
which being very well worthy of attention, we fliall
here infert.
i. Purple fefcue grafs. “ Although this grafs is very
often found in old paftures, yet, as it has but few flower-
ftalks, and as it is greedily eaten by all domeftic animals,
thefe are feldom fuffered to appear •, fo that it ufually
remains there unpereeived. But it feems to be better
able to endure the peculiar acrimony of the dung of
dogs than almoft any other plant ; and is therefore of¬
ten to be met with in dog hills, as I call the little hills
by road fides where dogs ufually pifs and dung : and
as it is allowed to grow there undifturbed, the farmer
may have an opportunity of examining the plant, and
becoming acquainted wTith its appearance.
“ The leaves are long and fmall, and appear to be
roundilh, fomething like a wire •, but, upon exami¬
nation, they are found not to be tubulated like a
reed or rufh ; the fides of the leaf being only folded
together from the middle rib, exa&ly like the ftrong
bent-grafs on the fea fhore. The flower-ftalk is fmall,
and branches out in the head, a little refembling the
wild oat *, only the grains are much fmaller, and the
ear does not fpread full open, but lies bending a little
to one fide. The ftalks are often fpotted with reddifh
freckles, and the tops of the roots are ufually tinged
with the fame- colour *, from whence it has probably
obtained its diftindtive name of fejluca rubra, or red
(purple') fefcue.
“ It is often to be met with in old garden walks j
and, as its leaves advance very quickly after cutting,
it may ufually be difcovered above the other grafles,
about a week or fortnight after the walks are cut.
Nor do they feem to advance only at one feafon, and
then ftop and decay, like the rye-grafs j but continue
to advance during the whole of the fummer, even
where they are not cut 5 fo that they fometimes at¬
tain a very great length. Laft feafon (1774), I mea-
iured a leaf of this grafs, that fprung up in a negledted
corner, which was four feet and four inches in length,
although not thicker than a fmall wire. It is unnecef-
AGRICULTURE.
303
Food for
Cattle.
S*
fary to add, that thefe leaves naturally trail upon the
ground, unlefs where they meet with fome accidental
fupport; and that if any quantity of it is fuffered to
grow for a whole feafon, without being eaten down or
cut, the roots of the leaves are almoft rotted, by the
overfhadowing of the tops of the other leaves, before
the end of the feafon.
“ This is the appearance and condition of the plant Appear-
in its native fituation : as it is feldom that it is difco- a,1fe In Its
vered but in pretty old paftures, and as in that ftate it ate
carries only a very few feed-ftalks, it was with fome dif¬
ficulty that I could collect a fmall handful of the feed,
which I carefully fowed in a fmall patch of garden
mould, to try if it could be eafily cultivated. It came
up as quickly as any other kind of grafs, but was at
firft as fmall as hairs : the leaves, however, advanced
apace j and were, before autumn, W'hen the grain with
which they had been fowed was cut down, about 16
or 18 inches in length ; but having been fown very
thin, it was neceffary to pick out fome other kinds of
grafs that came up amongft it, left it might have been
choked by them. Early next fpring it advanced with
prodigious vigour, and the tufts that were formed from
every feed became exceeding large •, fo that it quickly
filled the w-hole ground. But now the leaves were al¬
moft as broad as thofe of common rye-grafs, and the
two fides only inclined a little towards one another
from the mid-rib, without any appearance of roundnefs.
In due time a great many feed-ftalks fprung out, which
attained very nearly to the height of four feet, and
produced feeds in abundance j which may be as eafily
laved as thofe of common rye-grafs.
“ The prodigious difference between this plant in its
native and cultivated ftate amazed me ; but it was with
a good deal of fatisfaftion that I found there would be
no difficulty in procuring feeds from it, which I had
much doubted of at firft. It would feem, that nature
hath endowed this plant with a ftrong generative power
during its youth, which it gradually lofes as it advan¬
ces in age (for the difference perceived in this cafe
could not be attributed to the richnefs of the foil) j
and that, on the contrary, when it was old, the leaves
advanced with an additional vigour, in proportion to
the declining ftrength of the flower-ftalks : for the
leaves of the young plants feldom exceed two feet,
whereas numbers of the old leaves were near four feet
in length.
“ From thefe peculiarities in the growth of this plant,
it would feem to promife to be of great ufe to the far¬
mer *, as he could reap from a field of it, for the firft two
or three years, as great a weight of hay as he could
obtain from any of the culmiferous grafies (thofe bear¬
ing a long jointed ftalk) ; and, if he meant afterwards
to pafture it, he would fuffer no inconveniences from
the flower-ftalks; and the fucculent leaves that con¬
tinue to vegetate during the whole, fummer, would at
all times furnilh his cattle with abundance of whole-
fome food. It has alfo been remarked, that this grafs
rifes as early in the fpring as rye-grafs j and continues
green for the greateft part of winter, which the other
does not. It is moreover an abiding plant, as it feems
never to wear out of the ground where it has once
been eftabliftied. On all which accounts, it appears
to me highly to merit the attention of the farmer 5 and
well
:3°4
Pood for
Cattle.
51
Sheep’s fef-
cue de-
fcribed.
' 53
Ste appear¬
ance when
cultivated.
54 • i
What lou
molt pro¬
per.
A G R I C U
tvell deferve^ to liave its feveral qualities, and the cul¬
ture that bell agrees with it, afcertained by accurate
experiments.
2. “ Sheep's fefcue grctfs, or fejluca ovina, is much
praifed by the Swedifh naturalifts for its Angular value
as a paflure-grafs for fheep •, this animal being repie-
fented as fonder of it than of any other grafs, and fat¬
tening upon it more quickly than on any other kind of
food whatever. And indeed, the general appearance
of the plant, and its peculiar manner of growth, feems
very much to favour the accounts that have been given
us of it.
“ This plant is of the fame family with the former,
and agrees with it in feveral refpedfs •, although they
may be eafily diftinguilhed from one another. Its
leaves, like the former, in its natural.ftate, are always
rounded, but much fmaller *, being little bigger than
large horfe hairs, or fwine-briftles, and feldom exceed
fix°or feven inches in length. But thefe fpring out of
the root in tufts, fo clofe upon one another, that they
refemble, in this refpedf, a clofe hair brulh more than
any thing elfe I know : fo that it would feem natural¬
ly adapted to form that thick fhort pile of grafs in
which fheep are known chiefly to delight. Its flower-
ftalks are numerous, and fometimes attain the height
of two feet; but are more ufually about i 2 or 15 inches
high. #
“ Upon gathering the feeds of this plant, and low¬
ing them as the former, it was found that they fprung
up as quickly as any other kind of grafs ^ but the leaves
are at firfl: no bigger than a human hair. From each
fide fprings up one or two of thefe hair-like filaments,
that in a fhort time fend out new offsets, fo as quickly
to form a fort of tuft, which grows larger and larger,
till it at length attains a very large fize, or till all die
intervals are clofed up, and then it forms the clofeft pile
of grafs that it is poflible to imagine. In April and
May it pulhed forth an innumerable quantity of flower-
ftalks, that afforded an immenfe quantity of hay *, it
being fo clofe throughout, that the fcythe could fcarce-
ly penetrate it. This was allowed to (land till the
feeds ripened j but the bottoms of the ftalks were quite
blanched, and almoft rotted for want of air before that
t^me* . r n
“ This was the appearance that it made the firlt year
after it was fowed : but I have reafon to think, that,
after a few years, it likewife produces fewer feed-ftalks,
and a greater quantity of leaves, than at firft. But
however that may be, it is certain, that if thefe are eaten
down in the fpring, it does not, like rye-grafs, perfift
in a continued tendency to run to feed ; but is at once
determined to pu(h forth a quantity of leaves without
almoft any ftalks at all: and as all domeftic animals,
but more efpecially fheep, are extremely fond of this
grafs, if they have liberty to pafture where it grows,
they bite it fo clofe as never to fuffer almoft a Angle feed-
ftalk to efcape them •, fo that the botanift will often
fearch in vain for it, when he is treading upon it with
his feet. The beft way to difcover it in any pafture,
is to fearch for it in winter, when the tufts of it may
be eafily diftinguiftied from every other kind of grafs,
by their extraordinary clofenefs. and the deep green
colour of the leaves.
“ It feems to grow in almoft any foil ; although it is
imagined that it would flourilh beft in a light fandy foil,
L T U R E. Theory.
as it can evidently live with Itfs mohta.e than aimoll any n’t
other kind of grafs; being often feen to remain in the
fods that have been employed in coping for ftone dykes,
after all the other graffes that grew in them have difap-
peared. It is likewife found in poor barren foils, where
hardly any other plant can be made to grow at all: and
on thefurfaceof dry worn-out peat mols, where no ittoif-
ture remains fufficient to fupport any other plant what-
but in neither of thefe fituations does it thrive-, as
it is there only a weak and unfightly plant, very unlike
what it is when it has the good fortune to be eftablilhed
upon a good foil 5 although it is feldoroer met with in
this laft ftate than in the former.
“ I will not here repeat what has been already faid
about the particular property that this plant polfefles of
continuing all winter 5 nor point out the benefits tnat
the farmer may reap from this valuable qualitv. He
need not, however, expert to find any verdure in win¬
ter on fuch plants as grow- upon the loofe moffy ioil
above mentioned-, for, as the froft in winter always
hoves up the furface of this foil, the roots of the plants
are fo lacerated thereby, as to make it, for lome time
in the fpring, to all appearance dead. Nor will he of¬
ten perceive much verdure in winter upon thofe plants
that grow upon poor hungry foils, whicn cannot afford
abundant nourifhment to keep them in a proper ftate of
vegetation at all times : but fuch plants as grow .on
earthen dykes, which ufually begin to vegetate with
vigour when the autumnal rains come on, for the moft
part retain their verdure at that feafon almoft as well
as if they were in good garden-mould.
“ I have been very particular in regard to this plant j
becaufe, in as far as my obfervations have yet gone, it
promifes on many accounts to make a moft valuable ac-
quifition to the farmer, and therefore juftly demands a
very particular Ihare of his attention.” 55
' 3. The ho/cus lanatus, or creeping foft-grafs of Hud- a*
fon. This is confidered by our author as one of the
moft valuable kinds of meadow'-grafies; its pile being
exceedingly clofe, foft, and fucculent. It delights
much in moifture, and is feldom found on dry ground,
unlefs the foil is exceeding rich. It is often found on
thofe patches near fprings, over which the water re-
quently flows ; and may be known by the uncommon
foftnefs and fucculence of the blade, the lively light
green colour of the leaves, and the matted intertexture
of its roots. But, notwithftanding the foftnefs of its firft
leaves, when the feed-ftalks advance, they are rough
to the touch, fo that the plant then affumes a very dif¬
ferent appearance from what we would have expetled.
The ear is branched out. into a great number of fine ra¬
mifications fomewhat like the oat, but much fmaller.—
This kind of grafs, however, would not be eafily cultiva-
vated, on account of a kind of foft membrane that
makes the feeds adhere to the ftalk, and to one another
after they are feparated from it, as if they were inter¬
mixed with cobweb, fo that it is difficult to get them
feparated from the ftalk, or to fpread readily in fowing.
It fpreads, however, fo faft by its running roots, that
a fmall quantity fowed very thin, would be fufficient to
ftock a large field in a ffiort time.
Thefe are the kinds of grajes, properly fo called,
which have not as yet been cultivated, that Mr An-
derfon thinks the moft likely to be of value $ but, be-
fides thefe, he recommends the followingof the pea-tribe.
I. Milk-vetch)
Theory
Food for
Cattle^-
AGRICULTURE.
5°
Milk-
vetch.
57
Its good
qualities.
I. Milk-vetch, liquorice-vetch, or milk-wort. This
plant, in fome refpe£ts, very much refembles the com¬
mon white clover : from the top of the root a great
number of (hoots come out in the fpring, fpreading
along the furface of the ground every way around it ;
from which arife a great many clutters of bright yel¬
low flowers, exadfly refembling thofe of the common
broom. Thefe are fucceeded by hard round pods, fil¬
led with fmall kidney-ftiaped feeds. From a fuppofed
refemblance of a clutter of thofe pods to the fingers of
an open hand, the plant has been fometimes called
ladies-fingers. By others it is called crow toes, from a
fancied refemblance of the pods to the toes of a bird.
Others, from the appearance of the bloflbm, and the
part where the plant is found, have called it feal, im¬
properly fell-broom. It is found plentifully almoft
everywhere in old grafs fields j but as every fpecies of
domeftic animals eat it, almoft in preference to any
other plant, it is feldom allowed to come to the flower
in pafture grounds, unlefs where they have been acci¬
dentally faved from the cattle for fome time; fo that
it is only about the borders of corn fields, or the (ides
of inclofures to which cattle have not accefs, that we
have an opportunity of obferving it. As it has been
imagined that the cows which feed on the paftures,
where this plant abounds, yield a quantity of rich milk,
the plant has, from that circumftance, obtained its mofl:
proper Englifh name of milk-vetch.
One of the greateft recommendations of this plant
is, that it grows in poor barren ground, where almoft
no other plant can live. It has been obferved in
ground fo poor, that even heath, or ling {erica com?nu~
nis'), would fcarcely grow j and upon bare obdurate
clays, where no other plant could be made to vege¬
tate $ infomuch that the furface remained entirely un¬
covered, unlefs where a plant of this kind chanced to
be eftabliflied : yet, even in thefe unfavourable cir-
cumftances, it flouriftied with an uncommon degree of
luxuriance, and yielded as tender and fucculent, though
not fuch abundant (boots, as if reared in the richeft
manured fields. In dry barren fands, alfo, where al¬
moft no other plant could be made to live, it has been
found to fend out fuch a number of healthy (hoots all
round, as to cover the earth with the clofeft and mod
beautiful carpet that can be defired.
The ftalks of the milk-vetch are weak and (lender,
fo that they fpread upon the furface of the ground, un¬
lefs they are fupported by fome other vegetable. In
ordinary foils they do not grow to a great length, nor
produce many flowers •, but in richer fields the ftalks
grow to a much greater length, branch out a good
deal, but carry few or no flowers or feeds. From thefe
qualities our author did not attempt at firft to cultivate
it with any other view than that of pafture 5 and, with
this intention, fowed it with his ordinary hay feeds,
expediing no material benefit from it till he defifted
from cutting his field. In this, however, he was
agreeably difappointed ; the milk-vetch growing the
firft feafon as tall as his great clover, and forming ex¬
ceeding fine hay j being fcarce diftinguiftiable from lu¬
cerne, but by the flendernefs of the (talk, and propor¬
tional fmallnefs of the leaf.
Another recommendation to this plant is, that it is
perennial. It is feveral years after it is fowed before
it attains to its full perfedlion j but when once efta-
Vol. I. Part I.
305
Food for
Cattle.
bliftied, it probably remains for a great number of years
in full vigour, and produces annually a great quantity _
of fodder. In autumn 1773, Mr Anderfon cut the
(talk from an old plant that grew on a very indifferent
foil ; and, after having thoroughly dried it, he found
that it weighed 14 ounces and a half.
The ftalks of this plant die down entirely in winter,
and do not come up in the fpring till the fame time
that clover begins to advance 5 nor does it advance
very faft, even in fummer, when once cut down or eaten
over : (o that it feems much inferior to the above-men¬
tioned grafles ; but it might be of ufe to cover the word
parts of a farm, on which no other vegetable could
thrive. ^
2. The common yellow vetchling (" L a thy r us praten- Yellow
fs}, or everlafing tare, grows with great luxuriance vetchling.
in ftiff clay foils, and continues to yield annually a
great weight of fodder, of the very bed quality, for
any length of time. This is equally fit for pafture or
hay •, and grows with equal vigour in the end of fum¬
mer as in the beginning of it ; fo would admit being
paftured upon in the fpring, till the middle, or even
the end of May, without endangering the lofs of the
crop of hay. This is an advantage which no other
plant except clover poffefles ; but clover is equally un¬
fit for early pafture or for hay. Sainfoin is the only
plant whofe qualities approach to it in this refpedl, and
the yellow vetchling will grow in fuch foils as are ut¬
terly unfit for producing fainfoin.—It is alfo a peren¬
nial plant, and increafes fo faft by its running roots,
that a fmall quantity of the feed would produce a fufti-
cient number of plants to fill a whole field in a very
ftiort time. If a fmall patch of good ground ie fowed
with the feeds of this plant in rows, about a foot dif-
tance from one another, and the intervals kept clear of
weeds for that feafon, the roots will fpread fo much as
to fill up the whole patch next year ; when the ftalks
may be cut for green fodder or hay. And if that
patch were dug over in the fpring following, and the
roots taken out ; it would furnifh a great quantity of
plants, which might be planted at two or three feet
diftance from one another, where they would probably
overfpread the whole field in a (hort time. ^
3. The common blue tare feems more likely than the jque taie,
former to produce a more flouriftiing kind of hay, as
it abounds much more in feeds ; but as the ftalks come
up more thinly from the root, and branch more above,
it does not appear to be fo well adapted for a pafture
grafs as the other. The leaves of this plant are much
fmaller, and more divided, than thofe of the other j
the ftalks are likewife fmaller, and grow to a much
greater length. Though it produces a great quantity
of feeds, yet the fmall birds are fo fond of them, that,
unlefs the field were carefully guarded, few of them
would be allowed to ripen. ^
4. The vicia fepium, purple everlafing, or bufh-vetch. Buflr-
Our author gives the preference to this plant beyond vetch,
all others of the fame tribe for pafture. The roots of
it fpread on every fide a little below the furface of the
ground, from which, in the fpring, many Items arife
quite clofe by one another ; and as they have a broad
tufted top covered with many leaves, it forms as clofe
a pile as could be defired. It grows very quickly after
being cut or cropt, but does not arrive at any great
height $ fo that it feems more proper for pafturage than
& ft making
3°6
agriculture.
Theory.
Food for
Cattle.
61
Everiafting
pea.
6z
Achillea
millefo¬
lium.
63
Lucerne.
64
Timothy
grafs.
making hay ; although, upon a good foil, it will grow
fufficiently high for that purpofe j but the ftalks grow
fo elofe upon one another, that there is great danger oi
having it rotted at the root, if the feafon (hould prove
dainp° It feems to thrive be ft in a clayey foil.
Befides thefe, there are a variety of others of the fame
clafs, which he thinks might be ufeful to the farmer.
The common garden everlafting pea, cultivated as a
flowering plant, he conje&ures, would yield a prodigi¬
ous weight of hay upon an acre j as it grows to the
height of ten or twelve feet, having very ftrong ftalks,
that could fupport themfelves without rotting till they
attained a great height. ... j
One other plant, hitherto unnoticed, is recommend¬
ed by our author to the attention of the farmer •, it is
the common yarrow {Achillea millefoliuni), or hundred¬
leaved grafs. Concerning this plant, he remarks, that
in aim oft every fine old pafture, a great proportion of
the growing vegetables with which the field is covered
confifts of i°; but the animals which feed there are fo
fond of the yarrow, as never to allow one feed-ftalk of
it to come to perfe&ion. Hence thefe feed-ftalks are
never found but in negle&ed corners, or by the fides of
roads j and are fo difagreeable to cattle, that they are
never tatted •, and thus it has been erroneoufly thought
that the whole plant was refufed by them.—The leaves
of this plant have a great tendency to grow very thick
upon one another, and are therefore peculiarly adapted
for pafturage. It arrives at its greateft perfeaion in
rich fields that are naturally fit for producing a large
and fucculent crop of grafs. It grows alfo upon clays }
and is among the firft plants that ftrike root in any
barren clay that has been lately dug from any confi-
derable depth j fo that this plant, and thirties, are ufual-
ly the firft that appear on the banks of deep ditches
formed in a clayey foil. All animals delight to eat it;
but, from the dry aromatic tafte it poffeffes, it would
feem peculiarly favourable to the conftitution of flieep.
It feems altogether unfit for hay.
Befides thefe plants, which are natives of our own
country, there are others which, though natives of a .fo¬
reign climate, are found to thrive very well in Britain;
and have been raifed with fuch fuccefs by individuals,
as highly to merit the attention of every farmer. A-
mong thefe the firft place is claimed by lucerne.
This is the plant called me die a by the ancients, be-
caufe it came originally from Media, and on the culture
of which they beftowed fuch great care and pains. It
hath a perennial root, and annual ftalks, which, in
a good foil, rife to three feet, or fometimes more, in
height; its leaves grow at a joint like thofe of clover ;
the flowers, which appear in June, are purple; and.its
pods are of a ferew-like ftiape, containing feeds which
ripen in September. All forts of domeftic cattle are
fond of this plant, efpecially when allowed to eat it
oreen, and black cattle may be fed very well with the
hay made from it; but an excefs of this food is faid to
be very dangerous.
Lucerne has the property of growing very quickly af¬
ter it is cut down, infomuch that Mr Rocque has mow¬
ed it five times in a feafon, and Mr Anderfon affirms he
has cut it no lefs than fix times. It is, however, not
very eafily cultivated ; in confequer.ee of which it fome¬
times dees not fucceed. ...
Another grafs was brought from Virginia, where it
is a native, and fown by Rocque in 1763. This grafs Food for
is called timothy, from its being brought from New- , ' ^
York to Carolina by one Timothy Hanfon. It grows
beft in a wet foil; but will thrive in almoft any. If it
is fown in Auguft, it will be fit for cutting in the latter
end of May or beginning of June. Horfes are very
fond of it, and will leave lucerne to eat it. It is alio
preferred by black cattle and ftieep ; for a fquare piece
of land having been divided into four equal parts,, and
one part fowed with lucerne, another with iainfoin, a
third with clover, and the fourth with timothy, lome
horfes, black cattle, and fheep,.were turned into it, when
the plants were all in a condition for pafturage ; and
the timothy was eaten quite bare, before the clover, lu¬
cerne, or fainfoin, was touched.
One valuable property of this grafs is, that its roots
are fo ftrong and interwoven with one another, that they
render the wetteft and fofteft land, on which a horfe
could not find footing, firm enough to bear the heavieft
cart. With the view of improving boggy lands, there¬
fore, fo as to prevent their being poached with the feet,
of cattle, Mr Anderfon recommends the cultivation of
this kind of grafs, from which he has little expe&ation
in other refpe&s. 65
On this fubjeft, of the kind of plants moft proper to Grazing
be raifed for feeding cattle, one general queftion ought compared
not to pafs unnoticed concerning the propriety of feed- ^
ing them upon roots and plants cultivated by the.aid of
the plough, or upon leaving them.to derive their fub-
fiflence from lands allowed to remain continually in pa¬
fturage. The advantages of the latter practice are fet
forth by Thomas Davis, Efq. of Longleet,.in the fol¬
lowing words. “ Experience fufficiently evinc.es the ex-Bath Pa.
treme°difficulty of perfuading tenants that they get more/m, vol.iii.
(generally fpeaking) by feeding their lands, than by
ploughing them ; yet it requires very few arguments
to convince a landlord, that, in cold wet land elpecial-
ly, the lefs ploughed land you have, the lets you put it
in the tenant’s power to ruin your eftate. lhat a te¬
nant of 60I. per annum on a dairy farm will get money,
while a corn farm of the fame fize will ftarve its occu¬
pier (though perhaps the former gives 15s. per. acre
for his land, and the latter only 10s.), is felfievident.
The plough is a friend of every body’s, though its ad¬
vantages are very far from being particularly and local¬
ly felt; corn being an article that will bear keeping
till the whim or caprice, or fuppofed advantage of its
poffeflbr, call it forth. But the produce of the cow is
far otherwife. Cheefe muft neceffarily be fold at a cer¬
tain period : it is a ponderous article ; and one-twelfth,
or at lead: one-fifteenth of its value, is often paid for
carrying it to a fair 50 miles oft'; and the butter and
fkimmed milk find their w7ay no great diftance from
home, as is evident by the price of butter varying, fre¬
quently one-third in 20 or 30 miles. Every inhabitant
of Bath muft be fenfible, that butter and cheefe have
rifen one-third or more in price within 20 years. Is
not this owing to the great encouragement given to
the plough and to grazing, at a time when, on account
of the increafed demand for milk, cream, butter, and
cheefe, every exertion on behalf of the dairy ffiould
have been encouraged ?” &c.
In fome remarks on this letter by Mr Billingfley,
the fame fuperiority of dairy farms to the arable kind
is afferted in the moft pofitive terms. “ Perhaps (fays
he)
Theory.
Food for he) there cannot be a ftronger proof of the inferiority
Cattle. Qf the plough with refped to profit, than the fuperior
pun&uality of the dairy farmer in the payment of his
rent. This obfervation, I believe, molt ftewards who
fuperintend manors devoted partly to corn and partly
to dairy farms, will verify ; at leaft I have never met
with one who controverts it. But perhaps the advo¬
cate for the plough will defire me not to confound
the abufe of a thing with its intrinfic excellence 5 and
fay, that the generality of corn farmers are moft egre¬
gious flovens ; that lands devoted to the plough are
not confined to fuch a mediocrity of profit as 20s. per
acre ; that the produce of artificial graffes (without
which a well managed arable farm cannot exilt), far
exceeds that of natural grafs both in refpeft of quan¬
tity and nutrition : that the ftraw yard is a moft con¬
venient receptacle for the cow when freed from the
pail. Thefe, and many other reafons, may be addu¬
ced to Ihow the propriety of walking in the middle
path, and of judicioufly blending arable with pajlure,
in the proportion perhaps of three of the latter to one of
the former.”
On thefe letters we (hall only remark, that for the
good of mankind we hope the opinions they contain
will never come into general practice : as thus the
price of bread muft be raifed fo high, that the lower
clafles of people would be entirely deprived of it.
In the Bath Papers, vol. v. p. 43. we have a method
propofed by Mr Wimpey of improving fmall arable
farms in fuch a manner as to make them yield as much
milk, butter, and cheefe, as thufe which are kept con¬
tinually in pafture. He agrees with the maxim al¬
ready mentioned, that fmall arable farms do not afford
the occupier fo good a maintenance as dairy farms of
the fame value ; "and that the poffeffor of a dairy farm
will do well and fave money, while the former, with
much toil and trouble, is ftarving himfelf and family*
Notwithftanding this, he maintains, that there is an
effential difference between ground that is naturally
arable, and fuch as is by nature adapted for pafture.
Land which is naturally arable, according to him, can
by no means be converted into pafture of any dura¬
tion. “ Such as, from a wild date of nature, overrun
with furze, fern, bufties and brambles, has been ren¬
dered fertile by means of the plough, muft be kept in
that improved ftate by its frequent ufe j otherwife it
would foon revert to that wild barren ftate which was
its original condition. A farm, therefore, which con-
fifts wholly, or almoft fo, of land that is. properly ara¬
ble, muft ever continue arable ; for it is not practi¬
cable to render it in any degree fertile but by means
of the plough, or to keep it long in that ftate even
when it is made fo.” He is of opinion, however, that
by railing crops proper for feeding cattle, the poffef¬
for of an arable farm may raife as great a number of
horned cattle as one who has a pafture farm ; the on¬
ly queftion is. Whether he can be reimburfed of his
expences by the produce ? “ To afcertain this fad
(fays he), we muft inquire what may be the average
expences of keeping a milch cow on a dairy farm for
any given time. It is faid, upon very good authority,
that the expence is generally from 3I. to 3I. 10s. per
annum. Two acres and a half of pafture fit for this
ufe is fufficient to keep a cow the whole year through,
and fuch land is valued at from 25s. to 30s. per acre.
307
At 25s. the keeping of each cow would amount to I'cod f°r
3I. 2s. 6d. per annum. A dairy farm, therefore, con- , ^
filling of 48 acres, at 25s. per annum, would amount
to 60I. rent j and the number of cows that might be
kept on fuch a farm would be about 20. In the next
place, with regard to the expence of keeping a cow
upon food raifed in arable land as a fuccedaneum for
grals, we are affured by unqueftionable authority, that
a buftiel of potatoes, given half at night and half in
the morning, with a fmall allowance of hay, is fuf¬
ficient to keep three cows a day ; by which allowance
their milk will be as rich and as good as in the fum-
mer months when the cows are in pafture. An acre
of land, properly cultivated with potatoes, will yield
337 bulhels j and the total expence of cultivation, rent
and tithe included, will not exceed 61. 13s. If three
cows eat feven buftiels per week, then they would eat
364 bufliels in a year ; and 20 cows would confume
2433 bulhels :” So that, according to this calculation,
feven acres and a quarter would nearly maintain as
many cows as on the pafture farm could be maintained
by 48 acres. If then the cultivation of one acre of
ground coft 61. 13s. the cultivation of feven acres and
a quarter will coft about 48I. We have feen, how¬
ever, that the rent of a dairy farm capable of main¬
taining 20 milch cows, is not lefs than 60I. fo that
the calculation is thus entirely in favour of the arable
farm ; feven or eight acres of the arable farm being
fuperior by 12I. in value, when cultivated with pota¬
toes, to 40 acres of meadow or pafture ground.” “ It
rauft indeed be obferved (adds our author), that in
this ftatement no allowance is made for the fmall quan¬
tity of hay given to the cows with the potatoes. It
muft be noted alfo, that the account of cultivation
is charged with 40s. an acre for manure, and fome
expence for ploughing, which of right is chargeable
to the crop of wheat that is to follow. Now, if we
dedufl 40s. an acre from the expence of cultivating
the potatoes, it reduces the fum to 4I. 13s. and the
whole expence upon feven acres and a quarter is thus
lefs than 34I. and confequently the keeping of 20 cows
is little more than half to the occupier of the arable
farm what it is to the occupier of the grazing farm. If
this conclufion be fairly drawn, and the calculation
free from errors, it is matter of the greateft import¬
ance, efpecially to the little arable farmer. It plainly
raifes him from a ftate of acknowledged inferiority to
one greatly fuperior.” gs
Our author next proceeds to obviate an obje£lion, Objection
“ that the whole of his reafoning muft be indecifive, as anfwered
relating only to potatoes.” In oppofition to this he^rorn?n .
adduces an experiment made on a pretty large fcale by 0fjyir
Mr Vagg •, from which it appears, that cabbages, when Vagg.
raifed upon arable ground, are nearly as much fuperior
to a natural crop as potatoes are. Twelve acres w’ere
employed in this experiment, and thofe of an indiffer¬
ent quality. The rent was 30s. per acre, and the
whole expence of culture and carting off the crop
amounted only to ll. 14s. fo that all the coft of the
twelve acres was 38I. 9s. From the produce were Number of
fed 45 oxen and upwards of 60 flieep ; and he was cattle fed
affured that they improved as faft upon it as they do^rom
in the beft pafture months, May, June, and July.
“ Now (fays Mr Wxmpey), if inftead of 60 (beep we ^
reckon 15 oxen, or that four (heep are equal to about
Q.q 2 one
AGRICULTURE
*08
agricultu
Profits from
difff.rent
Vegetables
63
Feeding of
cattle not
brought to
perfection.
one ox, in which we cannot err much ; then 60 oxen
were kept well for three months, or, which is the
fame thing, 15 for a whole year, for 38I. 9s. j and
confequently 20 oxen would colt 51I. 5s. zpi. which
is not quite 3I. more than the keeping of 20 cows
•would colt in potatoes. Turnips, turnip-rooted cab¬
bage, carrots, parfnips, and fome other articles, by
many experiments often repeated, have been found
quite adequate to the fame valuable purpofes •, at lealt
fo far as to be more lucrative than meadow or palture.
Clover and rye-grafs are omitted, as having been long
in general practice ; but are in common very Ihort of
the advantages which may be derived from the culti¬
vation of the other articles recommended.” Sainfoin is
greatly recommended : but our author acknowledges
that it makes but a miferable appearance the firft year,
though afterwards he is of opinion that one acre of
fainfoin is equal to two of middling pafture ground ;
for which reafon he accufes the farmer- of intolerable
indolence who does not cultivate fo ufeful a plant.
On this fubjeft, however, we muft remember, that the
culture of fainfoin is clogged with the lofs of one if
not two crops 5 which may fometimes be inconvenient,
though afterwards it remains in perfe&ion for no lefs
than 20 years, The molt advantageous method of
raifing it he fuppufes to be after potatoes. Thus it
will thrive even upon very poor ground 5 as the cul¬
ture and manure neceffary for the potatoes both pulve¬
rize, the foil and enrich it to a fufficient degree.
We (hall afterwards have an opportunity of attend¬
ing to this fubjedt when we come to confider the fub-
jeft of feeding cattle. In the mean time, it may be
remarked, that this branch of the art of the hulhand-
man, has by no means hitherto been carried to its
higheft perfection in this country ; and that in propor¬
tion as it is improved, and cattle are more carefully
fed, the value of the plough will appear more confpi-
cuous.
R E. Theory.
In forming a plan of agriculture, there-Profit from
Sect. III. Of the comparative Profit to be derived
from the Cultivation of different Vegetables.
Circifm- Like every other artift or tradefman, a hufbandman
ftances that will always be under the neceflity of regarding himfelf
render ve- as the fervant of the coxnmunityj and muft endeavour
cetables tQ rear t|ie vegetables that are in greateft demand, and
or^ot.5 C that will enable him to derive the greateft profit from the
portion of territory which he occupies. The produdt
of fome foils and fituations is fo fixed by nature, that
it is in vain for human art or induftry to alter her defti-
nation. In our own and in many other countries,
there are extenfive tradls of lofty and rugged moun¬
tains, from which the art of agriculture feems to be
for ever banithed. Such fituations belong exclufively
to the fhepherd and Ins flock, to the utter exelufion of
the plough. Even on fome arable lands it may be found
fruitlefs to attempt to rear many of the more valuable
vegetable productions. In many bleak and unlheltered
fields of the higher country of Scotland, in which tur¬
nips and oats are cultivated with tolerable fuccefs, it
ivould be in vain to expect regular crops of wheat •,
and though potatoes are found to profper in a fandy,
or even a moffy foil, it would be in vain to expeft
them to produce an equally valuable crop upon a ftiff
clay, in which the roots cannot fwell or expand to a
proper fize. - r— —  7  ,
fore, the hulbandman muft not overlook the peculiar
nature of the foil that has fallen to his lot, or its phyfi- (.jLyl 
cal relation to the nature of certain vegetables, as he
can only hope for fuccefs by adapting the one of thefe
to the other.
The hulbandman muft alfo have a fpecial regard to
the ftate of the market to which his commodities are
to be brought. It is in vain for him to cultivate large
quantities of roots, fuch as potatoes or carrots, at a di-
ftance from great towns, which alone can aftord a
market for them, unlefs he intend to confume them
upon his own farm by feeding cattle. In a part of the
country, however, in which great breweries are efta-
blilhed, if his foil is fit for the purpofe, he may fafelv
venture to rear large quantities of barley j as he can¬
not in fuch a fituation be at any time deftitute of a
market. Hence we can perceive, that it is the ftate
of the market which muft at all times regulate the en-
terprifes of the agriculturift, and the kind of crops
which he is to bring forward. Thus alfo we fee the
mode in which agriculture may be moft fuccefsfully
encouraged by a nation. Let an abundant market be
provided for the produce of the foil, and that produce
will infallibly be augmented. In this way, it is evi¬
dent that the confumption of grain, by means of di-
ftilleries or breweries, is highly favourable to the
produdlion of it in great quantities. 1 hey are even
favourable to the exiftence of plenty, or of abund¬
ance of bread for the ufe of the people. In good
feafons, by affording a ready market, they give adi-
vity to the hulbandman, and in bad feafons their ope¬
rations can be arrefted by law, and the luperfluous
quantity of grain which was meant to be confumed by
them, can be converted into human food. Thus they
operate in fome meafure like a great public granary, in
which provifions fhould be kept againft an accidental
fcarcity.
It may fometimes happen, that by the character
of the age in which he lives, and the ftate of the
market which it produces, a hufbandman may find
himfelf moft profitably employed, when rearing a kind
of food which is by no means the moft advantageous
to the population of his country. This takes place,
when he is employed in preparing butchers meat in-
ftead of bread j that is, when he finds it more profit¬
able to rear upon his lands vegetables which can only
be confumtd by cattle, and thus'contribute only in an
indireft manner to the fuftenance of the human fpe-
cies, than to cultivate thofe vegetable produftions
which are fuited to the human ftomach, and which
therefore diredtly and immediately afford lubfiftence to
man. According to Archdeacon Hillop’s comparative
ftatement, lately publilhed, the weight of food from
an acre of arable land, on the average of three years,
a fallow year being included, is nine and a half times
greater than from an acre of feeding ftock *, and, ac- ^
cording to the calculations of the Rev. Dr Walker, atpafturage
Collington, profeffor of natural hiftory at Edinburgh, and agri-
a Scots acre of land in pafture, fed with Iheep, pro-culture
duces only 1 20 pounds weight of meht, whereas thecomPare
fame land will yield 1280 pounds of oatmeal, or above
ten times as much. Let it even be fuppofed, then,
that one pound of mutton contains in itlelf as much
fubftantial nourilhment for the human conftitution, as
two
Theory. A G R I C U
Profit from ttvo pounds weight of oat meal j ftill it will follow,
different t<nat jancis cultivated for the produ&ion of oats, will
Vegetables. rn^nrt a p0puiat;on five times greater in number,
~v than can be fupported by the fame land when ufed
for the pafture of Iheep; and, where one million of
people are found to exift upon a territory occupied
in the one way, between five and fix millions of people
might exift upon the fame land if it were cultivated
for raifing grain, and if the inhabitants would confent
to ufe it as their food. Were any contrivance adopted,
of the nature of thofe already mentioned, for convert¬
ing the fucculent roots of potatoes, carrots, Sec. into
dry meal or flour j the fame proportional difference of
lopulation would continue to exift, between nations
n which that kind of flour fhould be confumed as hu¬
man food, and in which it fhould be ufed for feeding
cattle: For a man always commits an enormous wafte
of food, who, inftead of eating grain himfelf, gives it
to an inferior animal, in the expe&ation of afterwards
receiving an equivalent, by devouring the flefh of that
animal.
71. Accordingly, it feems impoflible for any nation to
greateft0n reach a very extenfive degree of population, unlefs
where men the people at large confent to fubfift chiefly, or alto-
live on ve- gether, upon vegetable food. In China, where the
getable pra£tiCe 0f polygamy renders the families of rich men
f0°d' very numerous, and where ' the equal diftribution of
the property among the children of the fame family
prevents the accumulation of great wealth by individuals,
almoft all perfons have found it convenient or necelfary
to relinquifti the ordinary ufe of butchers meat, and to
have recourfe to vegetable food. It is only in confe-
quence of this circumftance, that the enormous popula¬
tion of that empire is fupported. The quantity of
butchers meat confumed in a country will, therefore,
always in fpite of every agricultural improvement, fet
bounds to its population. A nation of hunters and
Ihepherds, who live upon wild animals, or upon flocks
and herds, muft always be few in number. By agri¬
culture, the numbers of thefe animals may indeed be
increafed ; but the men who can find fubfiitence by
confuming them, will always be five or fix times fewer
in number, than might live upon the fame territory,
were the cattle expelled, and the lands occupied in
rearing food to be immediately ufed by man.
With thefe general confiderations, however, the
pra&ical agriculturift, or hulbandman, may have no¬
thing to do. To fucceed in his profeflion, he muft
accommodate himfelf to the public tafte, or to the
itate of the market around him j and muft confider
what commodity, whether grain or butchers meat,
will there bring the beft reward for his labour. He
may even find the ftate of the market affe&ed by other
circumftances, than the mere tafte of the public for
butchers meat, in preference to vegetable food •, al¬
though that muft always be of great importance among
Clrcum- a luxurious people. Conquering nations, who extend
ftances that their political dominions over diftant regions, never fail
lead huf- to draw to their native country a very great portion
bandmen to 0f the wealth of the vanquiftied ftates. The viftori-
turage^to" ous nati°n never fails, in fuch cafes, to contain a great
the rearing number of wealthy individuals, whofe revenue is not
of grain. derived from the cultivation of their native foil, or
from any branch of manufafture or of commercial in-
duftry carried on by them upon it j but which confifts
L T U R E. 3°9
of money drawn from the remote provinces of the em-
pire, in confequence of eftates poffeffed, or foitunesy'^bles.
acquired there, in the fervice of government. The
refult of fuch circumftances naturally is, that thefe
wealthy individuals not only live at home in a luxurious
manner, and increafe to an immenfe extent the con-
fumption of butchers meat by themfelves and their nu¬
merous retinues ; but for the fake of oftentation, and
as the only means of employing their wealth, they
maintain great numbers of carriages and of riding
horfes. To fupport fuch eftabliftnnents, they them¬
felves not only convert large tra&s of territory from
arable into pafture lands j but even the whole huf-
bandmen of the country are induced to do the fame,
to derive a profit from fupplying them with butchers
meat, and with food for their pleafure horfes. In the
mean time, the grain that may be wanted for the con-
fumption of the people, whether rich or poor, being a
commodity which iseafily prefervedand tranfported, muft
be bought from foreign nations, by a portion of the lu-
perfluous wealth of the ftate •, and thus a rich and profpe-
rous people may come to depend upon foreigners for a
morfel of bread ; and when thefe foreign nations hap¬
pen to experience an unfortunate feafon, this wealthy
people may fuffer all the horrors of famine upon a fer¬
tile foil, and in the midft of overflowing treafures.
Such was the ftate of Italy under the ancient Ivo-
mans. Every part of it was adorned with the parks
and villas and gardens of the nobles, who derived their
revenues from the remote parts of the empire. 1 his
feat of dominion exhibited a piflure of boundlefs fplen-
dour and magnificence. But the foil was entirely
occupied in the fervice of oftentation or of luxury :
and Italy, one of the moft fertile corn countries in Eu¬
rope, depended for grain upon Egypt, and the weftern
provinces of Africa that border upon the Mediterra¬
nean. Such alfo, though perhaps in an inferior degree,
feems to be the prefent ftate of Great Britain. It has
acquired vaft and fertile and populous provinces, with¬
in the torrid zone in the eaft, from which individuals
are annually tranfporting home immenle treafures ob¬
tained in the public fervice. In the weft, alfo, within
the fame torrid zone, by a great expenfe of treafure
and of human lives, the cultivation of certain valuable
commodities has been eftabliftied } and from eftates fi-
tuated there, individuals refiding at home now derive
great revenues. The principles which regulate human
affairs are unalterable ; and in every age the fame caufes
are attended with the fame confequences. What oc¬
curred in ancient Italy, took place among us foon as the
poffeflion of diftant territories had lei fare to difplay its
natural effefts. Britain formerly not only produced a-
bundance of grain for the fupport of its own inhabitants,
but it poffeffed a confiderable furplus for exportation.
After the acquifition of foreign poffeflions, this furplus
produce gradually ceafed to exift •, and it appears from
documents, which the legiflature has acknowledged to
afford authentic and complete evidence of the truth of
the faft, that, for twenty years paft, notwithftanding all
our agricultural improvements, and the wafte lands that
have been brought under the plough, the produce of grain
is annually becoming more and more unequal to the
confumption j and this decreafe appears in fome meafure
to keep pace with the increafing value of our diftant
poffeflions. In the mean time we are annually coming .
under.
^io A G It
Principles of under the neceffity of purchafing larger and larger
•Cultivation. fuppljes 0f gra;nj from the foreign ftates of Europe or
s,Tm—y—^ o£ North America j and thusthefe nations, without un¬
dergoing the imputation of ufurpation, and without en¬
countering the hazard of an unfriendly climate, have
been enabled, through the medium of our luxury, to ob¬
tain a (hare of the riches of Hindoftan, and of the pro¬
fits of our Weft India cultivation. In the mean time
their agriculture is encouraged, while we are made to
depend upon them for the neceffaries of life. After all,
it appears unreasonable, and would perhaps be improper,
to regret a ftate of affairs, which is the refult of na¬
tional aggrandifement, and of the fuperiority and fuc-
cefsful enterprifes of our countrymen. Still, however,
it is obvioufly to be wiftred, that, fo far as agriculture
is concerned, we could be reftored to the ftate of inde¬
pendence which our anceftors enjoyed, when they were
able, from their own foil, to Supply themfelves with the
neceffaries of life : fuch a ftate is fometimes neceiiary
to the independent exiftence of a community, and is at
all times conducive to its welfare. It can only how¬
ever be produced by means of agriculture. I herefore,
Ye generous Britons, venerate the Plough,
And o’er your hills and long withdrawing vales,
Let autumn fpread her treafures to the fun j
So with fuperior boon may your rich foil,
Exuberant, nature’s better bleflings pour
O’er every land, the naked nations clothe,
And be th’ exhauftlefs granary of a world !
Thomson.
Sect. IV. General Principles of Cultivation.
It is not our intention here to enter into a minute
difquifition, concerning the nature of vegetables, or the
different fubftances with which they may be connefted,
in their growth or in their decay. Such inveftigations,
in a proper arrangement of the fciences, ought to be left
to chemiftry ; but even that fcience, fo far as vegetable
fubftances are concerned, is ftill in fuch a ftate of im-
perfettion, that a detail of the experiments and opinions
of philofophical chemifts, concerning vegetables, would
as yet afford but a very trifling portion of ufeful infor¬
mation to the hufbandman. We fhall therefore content
ourfelves with here ftating fuch general remarks, as ap¬
pear neceffarily conne£ted with the important art of
which we are now treating.
Nature of A vegetable is not to be regarded merely as a piece
the growth of matter, or as a mixture of certain material fubftances.
of vege- It is an organized being, poffeffed of life, which it de-
■tables. rived from another fimilar organized being that exifted
previous to itfelfj and this former organized and living
being derived its conftitution from a parent ftem, which
grew out of a ftill older plant, up to an antiquity of
which we have no knowledge. A vegetable, in this
manner, not only has a birth, but it alfo has a growth,
which is fupported by food that it takes in and conveys
by peculiar organs to the particular parts for which it is
deftined. When it has arrived at maturity, or reached
the perfe&ion of its form and conftitution, a vegetable
like an animal begins to decay, and finally dies, and,
by a procefs of putrefaflion, is converted into a kind of
«arth.
To the life of vegetables, in the fame manner as to
I C U L T U R E.
Theory
the life of animals, the prefence of abmofpheric air is Principles of
neceffary. They alfo require a certain moderate de-. wl''“tlon-
gree of heat *, without which their growth cannot pro¬
ceed, although a great degree of it is utterly fatal even
to their texture. That they require moifture, is equal¬
ly obvious ; as appears from the ordinary effect of rain,
or of the continued want of it, upon fields and plants.
They require likevvife to be inferted in the eaitn, or
in fome way connected with a collection of its parti¬
cles } for although fome plants, particularly the bul¬
bous-rooted kinds, vegetate in pure water and air alone,
it appears that they acquire little addition of folid lub-
ftance, and that neither they, nor any of the other
larger plants, reach perfection, or produce feed, un-
lefs planted in the earth, or fupplied with a portion
°f it* . r r 74
As all foils are by no means equally adapted for lup-Four kinds
porting vegetables, or bringing them to maturity, ittoil,
is neceffary for the hufbandman to attend to tneir na¬
ture, and the modes in which they may be altered oc
ameliorated for his ufe. Independent of thefe hard
concretions, which obtain the name of ftones or rocks,
it is to be obferved, that the loofer and more divifibie
earth which covers moft part of the furfaceof the globe,
and receives the appellation of the foil, may, upon the
whole, and with fuffieient accuracy for praftical pur-
pofes, be divided into four kinds, which are in general
mixed with each other, but which receive theii name,
in ordinary language, from the kind that predominates
or is moft abundant. Phefe are fand, clay, chalk, and
garden mould. Of thefe, fand and clay are in fome
meafure the oppofites of each other, while chalk forms
a kind of medium between them. Sand allows w'ater
to filter rapidly through it, and fpeedily becomes dry,
while clay is extremely tenacious of moifture •, but a
mixture of chalk renders fand confiderably more tena¬
cious of water, while it renders clay more loofe, and ea-
fily penetrated. None of thefe foils are valuable for the
purpofes of agriculture.—Sand does not fufficiently re¬
tain water for the ufe of vegetables j nor does clay fuf-
fer their roots to expand with freedom in queft of nou-
riftiment. Chalk, or, as it is ufually called, a calcare¬
ous foil, is not of itfelf adapted for raifing ufeful plants j
for, although it may not have the mechanical defefts
of fand and clay, yet, it is found by experience to be
of little value to them, either in confequence of its ten¬
dency to deftroy their texture by its corrofive quality,
that is, by having too much chemical affinity with the
materials of which they confift, or from its not con¬
taining within itfelf the proper materials neceffary to
them as food.
The fourth kind of foil we have denominated garden
mould ; becaufe it is in its higheft perfedion vyhen it
approaches neareft to the rich black earth which re¬
ceives that appellation. This is the moft proper of all
kinds of foil for rearing the whole of thofe vegetables
which are accounted valuable in our climate. In pro¬
per circumftances, that is, with a moderate degree o
heat and of moifture, it never fails to fend forth and to
bring to perfe&ion an abundant crop. In proportion to
the degree in which any foil confifts of this black
mould, its value increafes. If, therefore, a huffiand-
man could cover the portion of territory allotted to him
with a tolerable depth of this kind of foil, nothing more
would be neceffary to the fuccefs of bis enterprifes, as
Theory.
Principles of he could rear whatever vegetables he thought fit, in
Cultivation, perfection, and in great profufion. It is to be obfer-
vec)j however, that this kind of mould or foil cannot
be relied upon as permanent. If crops of grain tbould
be taken from it year after year, it would foon lofe its
fertile qualities, and become unfit for the purpofes of a
profperous agriculture. Here then is the remarkable
difference between this kind of foil and the three others
that were formerly mentioned, fand, clay, and chalk.
Whatever properties thefe polfefs are unperiihing, and
can only be altered or modified by the operation of a
fierce heat. Unfortunately, however, in their pure
ftate, as already mentioned, they are of little value to
the hufbandman ; and it is only in proportion to the de¬
gree in which they are mixed with the dark coloured
or garden mould, that they become adapted to his pur¬
pofes : but as the. qualities of this mould are of a tran-
fitory nature, it is of the utmoft importance, and ought
indeed to form the great bafis of every theory of agri¬
culture, to explain how they may be preferved in exift-
ence, or reftored when loft.
Nature of I-'0 underftand this fubjeCl correftly, it is neceffary
garden to confider the nature and origin of this fertile mould,
mould. j{. js evidently not one of thofe original fubftances which
form a part of the great mafs of the folid globe of the
earth, but appears to be the refult of the operations
and of the deftrudlion of living and organized beings
Communi- that have exifted upon it. “ Were a naked rock, fays
cations to Mr Headrick, in an effay which we will afterwards
the Board have occafion to mention, fuddenly thrown up from
culture ^ea or fr0111 ^ie bowels of the earth, the firft plants
vol. ii. * which nature would place upon it would be the va-
76 rious fpecies of lichens, and fuch as can fubfift wholly
Procefs by
upon what they imbibe from the air, without needing
tureferti" a ^ to P11^1 their roots. Thefe plants ferve
lizes the the double purpofe of clothing the rock, and thus pre¬
earth. venting the fine particles that are diffolved by air and
moifture from being wafhed away, and, from their
growth and diffblution, of accumulating vegetable
foil for the fuftenance of more fucculent plants. The
rock is thus gradually made to acquire fuch a depth
of foil, that it becomes able to fuftain not only graffes
and fhrubs, but may become a receptacle for the oak
itfelf.” The progrefs here ftated is correct j but fome
circumftances muft be added to it, to render it practi¬
cally ufeful to the hufbandman. It is to be obferved
then, that animal fubftances, after they have ceafed
to form a part of a living body, have a tendency to
proceed rapidly into a ftate of putrefaCtive fermenta¬
tion, by which the greateft part of their mafs is render¬
ed volatile. When animal fubftances are mingled with
vegetables, they fpeedily communicate their own fer¬
mentation or putrefaCIion to the vegetables, which by
means of it are decompofed, fall to pieces, and are
transformed into that kind of black earth, which avc
have called garden mould, and which forms the moil
fertile of all foils for the production of vegetables.
It is by this procefs then, that is, by the fermentation
of vegetable by means of animal fubftances, that the
furface of this globe has been fertilized, or a black and
rich mould produced upon it, as we daily fee taking
place in a variety of fituations. No fooner do the
Imall lichens or mofles cover the face of the naked
rock, or gravel, or clay, than a variety of fpecies of
fmall animals appear, and feed upon them. As the
311
plants and animals die in fucceflion, their fubftances Pnnciplesof
mingle and give rife to the putrefaCHon already men- Culdvation-
tiontd, which is productive of a fmall portion of foil."v
A new race of plants of greater ftrenglh and bulk rifes
upon the ruins of the firft;, and fupports larger animals,
all deftined in their turn to perifh and to increafe the
quantity of fertile foil. More valuable gralfes foon
fupplant the original fmall and coarfe vegetables, and
the fpot aflumes the appearance of a rich verdure.
New fpecies of animals alfo begin to inhabit it : fnails
and worms abound; and by their remains contribute
to the difiblution of the roots of plants, which every-
where penetrate the new foil, and to the decompofition
of the Items which periodically fall down. When, the
foil has acquired fufficient depth, it is Iheltered by
Ibrubs ; and, laftly, by foreft trees, under the Iliade of
which the larger animals exift. The trees Ihed their
leaves every feafon, and every feafon confequently gives
an additional layer or Jlratum of fertile mould to the
foil : and thus while the foreft endures, the fertility of
the territory on which it Hands continues to be aug¬
mented by its fpoils, and by the bodies- of the animals
which repair to it for Ihelter.
This procefs, by which nature gives fertility to the
earth, or creates the rich mould on which vegetables
flourilh, ought to be imitated by the hulhandman ; and,
in faCt, it has been imitated in confequence of a know¬
ledge that is derived from experience and from prac¬
tice, rather than from the general fpeeulations of fci-
ence. The imitation of nature upon this point con-
ftitutes the art of producing manures, which will be
afterwards confidered. The principle upon which it
proceeds, refts upon this foundation, which is known to
be true in faff, that the fermentation of animal and ve¬
getable fubftances produces that kind of dark rich
mould which forms the moft fertile foil.
In what way, or by what peculiar operation, this
kind of mould or foil becomes fo highly conducive and
fubfervient to the growth of plants, is a point of more
difficult refearch, and is fortunately of lefs importance
to be known to the practical agriculturift. It may be.
obferved, however, that this mould poflefie^ in an emi¬
nent degree, all the requifites neceffary to lhe fuccefs of
vegetation. It retains moifture, which is fo neceffary
to that procefs, without, at the fame time, keeping hold
of it with that retentivenefs which, in clay, has the ef¬
fect of injuring the roots of the plants. As this mould
confifts of the remains both of animal and vegetable
life, it rieceffarily contains an imtnenfe variety of in¬
gredients which have different degrees of chemical af¬
finity to each other. By the operation of thefe affini¬
ties in bringing the different fubftaflces into new com¬
binations, a great quantity of heat muft be continually
produced or evolved, as occurs in fo many chemical
proeeffes. By this heat the roots of the plants will be
nouriftied, efpecially when affifted by the heat which
they themfelves throw out or produce when germi¬
nating. Thus by the kind of foil now mentioned, or
by the aid of manure, the defe&s of a cold and un-
genial climate may, in fome meafure, be rectified, and
the feeds and roots of vegetables may be fupplied with ^
due and feafonable warmth. It is alfo probable, that Conjecture
what is called the exhaufted ftate of a foil, in confe-about ex-
quence of much ploughing, and many crops having been
taken from it, may chiefly arife from this circumftance, s‘
that
AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE.
31 2
Principles of that all the chemical affinities have at laft operated,
Cultivation. every particle of the foil remains at reft, and no more
' ^ ’ heat is produced by the aftivity of its parts.
That plants growing in fertile mould, like that now
mentioned, derive nouriftiment or food from it, cannot
be doubted, fince we fee, that when taken out of it, or
placed in another but lefs favourable foil, they fpeedi*
ly 00 into decay. What the particular fubftances are,
however, which they take from it, has not been difco-
vered But it appears from the minutenefs of the ex¬
treme fibres of the roots of plants, that the food taken
in by them mult be foluble in water, or in a liquid
ftate when taken in by them. Accordingly, their food
is aflually found to afcend through their organs in a
liquid form. Of this liquor or fap there are two
kinds, the afcending and the defcending. 1 he afcending
fap is that which rifes in the fpring ; and by cutting a
ftiort way through the bark into the wood of many
trees, large quantities of it may be drawn off, without
iniury to their health or growth. This fap afcends to
the leaves, and there undergoes fome change by the
aftion of the air *, for the leaves of vegetables apF
to perform to them an office fimilar to that which
is accompliffied in animals by the organ called the
luncrS, From the leaves the fap, thus changed, deicends
to every part of the plant, and contributes to its
growth by becoming a part of its fubftance. It would
feem, however, that the liquors which circulate in
plants, not only undergo a change at the leaves, but
alfo at their firft entrance by the veffels of the roots;
for if feveral different kinds of trees are ingrafted upon
the fame common ftock, each of them is able to de¬
rive the fap peculiar to itfelf from the fap of the com¬
mon ftock. Thus alfo the chemifts have informed us
that vinegar, called by them the acetous acid, is found
varioufly combined in the afcending fap of various
trees 1 but it has never yet been difcoyered, that vine¬
gar exifts in any perceptible quantity in vegetable
mould. That fubftance, therefore, nmft be formed by
the root, by bringing together the ingredients of that
acid which it finds and felefts in the earth. ^ ^
When any plant, whether great or fmall, is put in¬
to a clofe veffel, and ftrongly heated, allowing only
the fmoke to efcape, the refidue is in all cafes of the
fame nature, and is called charcoal, or by the chemifts
carbon. Of this carbonaceous matter a confiderable
quantity is always found in rich garden mould, derived
no doubt from the remains of vegetable fubftances of
which that mould was originally formed. This car¬
bonaceous matter, however, or charcoal, being info-
luble in water, cannot in its ordinary ftate enter into
the veffels of growing vegetables *, but, as it is render¬
ed foluble by a variety of combinations, it is no doubt
found out in fuch a ftate by the fibres of growing roots,
and conveyed upwards in the juice. But as all vege¬
table mould, and the charcoal or carbonaceous mat¬
ter which it contains, is the refult of the ruins of vege¬
tation, and as the lichens or vegetables of the coarfeft
and fimpleft kind, which originally grow upon the na¬
ked ftone, have no other nouriffiment than water and
atmofpheric air, it is probable, that out of thefe mate¬
rials they are capable of forming the charcoal, which
conftitutes the bafis of their form, and of the conftitu-
tion of every other vegetable. It is true, that the che-
.jiiifts ft ill regard carbon or charcoal as a fimple and
Theory.
uncompounded fubftance ; and they have not found it
in water, nor in atmofpheric air, unlefs in the moft mi- , u_ " ;
nute degree, refulting probably from the combuftion of
fires and the breathing of animals in inhabited coun¬
tries. But although chemifts have not hitherto been
able to find charcoal in the three fimple iubftances,
oxygen, hydrogen, and azote, of which atmolpheric
air and water are compofed, it feems evident, that the
mighty Chemift who contrived this world and the con-
ftitution of vegetables, finds no difficulty in forming it
of thofe materials by means of their organization.
Hence we rather think, that water and air muft con-
ftitute the original food of the fimpleft and coarfeft:
kind of plants ; but if this idea be true, it is to be re¬
garded as a faft that is more curious in fpeculation
than ufeful in pra£lice : for it is certain, that the more
valuable and larger vegetables, which it is the bufinefs
of the huffiandman to cultivate, cannot be reared to
perfedtion without the aid of vegetable mould.
Though they may poffefs, therefore, the power of de¬
riving a portion of their folid fubftance, or of the car¬
bonaceous matter which they contain, from common
air and water, they cannot obtain the whole by this
means, and require the aid of the remains of former
vegetation. It is thus that one fyftem is feen to per- ^
vade every part of nature, as through all her works Vegetables
one clafs of animated beings only enjoys life in confe-are the food
quence of the deftru&ion of another. Ihus the car-
nivorous animals confume thofe that live upon vege¬
tables $ and thus, in like manner, one fpecies of vege¬
tables only fubfifts upon the ruins, and is fed by the
fubftance, of a former generation of plants.
Befides animal fubftances, there are fome minerals
that have a tendency to accomplifti the decompofition
of vegetables, and thereby to reduce them into ftate
of mould, poffeffing in a great degree the qualities of
the garden mould that is produced by the fermenta¬
tion of the remains of animals and vegetables, the for¬
mation of which has now bfeen defcribed. Of the mi¬
nerals that have this tendency, lime is the chief, and
indeed the one commonly in ufe, either pure or when
combined with clay under the form of marl. To the
effeft of lime, therefore, we {hall now call the attention
of the reader.
Where the ground has been fuffered to remain un¬
cultivated for many ages, producing all that time fuc-
culent plans which are eafily putrefied, and trees, the
leaves of which likewife contribute to enrich the ground
by their falling off and mixing with it, the foil will m
a manner be totally made up of pure vegetable earth,
and be the richeft, when cultivated, that can be ima¬
gined. This was the cafe with the lands of America.
They had remained uncultivated perhaps fince the crea¬
tion, and were endowed with an extraordinary degree
of fertility •, neverthelefs we are affured by one who
went to America in order to purchafe lands there, that
fuch grounds as had been long cultivated, were fo muc
exhaufted, as to be much worfe than the generality of 79
cultivated grounds in this country. Here, then, ^ve®fn®^re^*
have an example of one fpecies of poor foil ; namely,
one that has been formerly very rich, but has been de-bylinie>
prived by repeated cropping, of the greateft part 01
the vegetable food it contained. The farmer who is
in poffeflion of fuch ground, would no doubt willingly
reftore it to its former ftate j the prefent queftion is,
What
1
Theory. AGRICULTURE. 313
Principles of What rmift be done in order to obtain this end ? We
Cultivation, mentioned feveral kinds of manures which long
practice has recommended as fervictable for improving
ground : we fliall fuppofe the farmer tries lime or
chalk ; for, as we have already feen, their operations
upon the foil mull be precifely the fame. This fub-
flance, being of a feptic nature, will aft upon fuch
parts of the foil as are not putrefied, or but imperfeft-
ly fo; in confequence of which, the farmer will reap a
better crop than formerly. The feptic nature of the
lime is not altered by any length of time. In plough¬
ing the ground, the lime is more and more perfeftly
mixed with it, and gradually exerts its power on every
putrefcible matter it touches. As long as any matter
of this kind remains, the farmer will reap good crops ;
but when the putrefcible matter is all exhaufled, the
ground then becomes perfeftly barren ; and the cau-
ftic qualities of the lime are molt unjuftly blamed for
burning the ground, and reducing it to a caput mor-
tuum; while it is plain the lime has only done its of¬
fice, and made the foil yield ail that it was capable of
yielding.
A f eties of ground has been long uncultivated, producing
poor foil t^rne plants» not: fucculent, but fuch as are very
meliorated difficultly diflblved, and in a manner incapable of pu-
bylime. trefaftion j there the foil will be exceffively barren, and
yield very fcanty crops, though cultivated with the
greateft care. Of this kind are thofe lands covered with
heath, which are found to be the moll barren of any, and
the moll difficultly brought to yield good crops. In this
cafe lime will be as ferviceable as it was detrimental
in the other: for by its feptic qualities, it will con¬
tinually reduce more and more of the foil to a putrid
Hate j and thus there will be a conllant fucceffion of
better and better crops, by the continued ufe of lime
when the quantity firft laid on has exerted all its force.
By the continued ufe of this manure, the ground will be
gradually brought nearer and nearer to the nature of
garden mould ; and, no doubt, by proper care, might
be made as good as any : but it will be as great a mif-
take to imagine, that, by the ufe of lime, this kind of
foil may be rendered perpetually fertile, as to think
that the other was naturally foj for though lime enriches
this foil, it does fo, not by adding vegetable food to it,
but by preparing what it already contains 5 and when
all is properly prepared, it muft as certainly be exhaufted
Si as in the other cafe.
Poor foils Here, then, we have examples of two kinds of poor
bow rdto- foils ; one of which is totally deftroyed, the other great¬
ly improved, by lime, and which therefore require very
different manures; lime being more proper for the laft
than dung; while dung, being more proper to reftore
an exhaulled foil than lime ; ought only to be ufed for
the firft. Befides dunging land which has been exhauft¬
ed by long cropping, it is of great fervice to let it lie
fallow for fome time : for to this it owed its original
fertility ; and what gave the fertility originally, cannot
tail to reftore it in fome degree.
By attending to the diftinftion between the reafons
for the poverty of the two foils juft now mentioned, we
will always be able to judge with certainty in what cafes
lime is to be ufed, and when dung is proper. The
mere poverty of a foil is not a criterion whereby wTe can
judge ; we muft confider what hath made it poor. If
it is naturally fo, we may almoft infallibly conclude, that
Vol. I. Part I.
it will become better by being manured with lime. If Principles of
it is artificially poor, or exhaufted by continual crop-^Ui;:natl0n.'
ping, we may conclude that lime will entirely deftroy it.
—We apprehend, that it is this naturalYmti. of poverty
only which Mr Anderfon fays, in his Eifays on Agri¬
culture, may be remedied by lime; for we can fcarce
think that experience would direft any perfon to put
lime upon land already exhaufted. His words are,
“ Calcareous matters aft as powerfully upon land Mr Ander-
that is naturally poor, as upon land that is more fon’s °Pini-
richly impregnated with thofe fubftances that tend?” Cj?^m
to produce a luxuriant vegetation.” 1 ^
“ Writers on agriculture have long been in the cu-
ftom of dividing manures into two claffes, viz. Enriching
manures, or thofe that tended direftly to render the foil
more prolific, however fterile it may be; among the
foremoft of which was dung : Exciting manures, or thofe
that were luppofed to have a tendency to render the foil
more prolific, merely by afting upon thofe enriching
manures that had been formerly in the foil, and giving
them a new ftimuius, fo as to enable them to operate
anew upon the foil which they had formerly fertilized.
In which clafs of ftimulating manures, lime was always
allowed to hold the foremoft place.
“ In confequence of this theory, it would follow,
that lime could only be of ufe as a manure when ap¬
plied to rich foils ;—and, when applied to poor foils,
would produce hardly any, or even perhaps hurtful,
effefts.
“ I will frankly acknowledge, that I myfelf was fo
far impofed upon by the beauty of this theory, as to
be hurried along with the general current of mankind,
in the firm perfuafion of the truth of this obfervation,
and for many years did not fufficiently advert to thofe
facts that were daily occurring to contradift this theory.
—I am now, however, firmly convinced, from repeat¬
ed obfervations, that lime, and other calcareous ma¬
nures, produce a much greater proportional improve¬
ment upon poor foils than fuch as are richer ;—and
that lime alone, upon a poor foil, will, in many cafes,
produce a much greater and more lading degree of fer¬
tility than dung.”
Thus far Mr Anderfon’s experience is exaftly con¬
formable to the theory we have laid down, and what
ought to happen according to our principles. He men¬
tions, however, fome fafts wffiich feem very ftrongly to
militate againft it; and indeed he himfelf feems to pro¬
ceed upon a theory altogether different.
“ Calcareous matter alone (fays he) is not capable Query con-
of rearing plants to perfeftion ;—mould is necef-cermng tlK!
fary to be mixed with it in certain proportions,nature ?f..a
before it can form a proper foil. It remains, 1110iiert ‘
however, to be determined, what is the due pro¬
portion of thefe ingredients for forming a proper
foil.
“ We know that neither chalk, nor marl, nor lime,
can be made to nourifh plants alone ; and foils are fome-
times found that abound with the two firft of thefe to
a faulty degree. But the proportion of calcareous mat¬
ter in thefe is fo much larger than could ever be produ¬
ced by art, where the foil was naturally deftitute of thefe
fubftances, that there feems to be no danger of erring
on that fide. Probably it would be much eafier to cor-
reft the defefts of thofe foils in which calcareous mat-
R r ters
a ma-
84
Examples
of foil per¬
petually
fertile.
314. A G R
Principles of ters fuperabound, by driving earth upon them as
Cultivation.nure? than is generally imagined j as a very fmall pro-
" portion of it fometimes affords a very perfett foil, i
{hall illuftrate my meaning by a few examples.
“ Near Sandiide, in the county of Caithnefs, there
is a pretty extenfive plain on the fea coaft, endowed
with a moll fingular degree of fertility. In all ieafons
it produces a moft luxuriant herbage, although it never
got any manure fince the creation ■, and has been nona
time immemorial fubjefted to the following courie ot
^ “ l. Eear, after once ploughing from grafs,
ufually a good crop.
“ 2. Bear, after once ploughing, a better crop
than the firft.
“ 3. Bear, after once ploughing, a crop equal
to the firft.
“ 4. 5. and 6. Natural grafs, as clofe and rich
as could be imagined •, might, be cut, if the
poffeffor fo inclined, and would yield an ex¬
traordinary crop of hay each year.
“ After this the fame courie of cropping is renevyed.
The foil that admits of this Angular mode of farming,
appears to be a pure incoherent land, deftitute (ft the
{"mailed particle of vegetable mould j but, upon exami¬
nation, it is found to confift almoft entirely of broken
{hells: the fine mould here bears fuch a {mall propor¬
tion to the calcareous matter, as to be fearce percep¬
tible, and yet it forms the moft fertile foil that ever I
yet met with.
“ I have feen many other links (downs) upon the
fea ftiore, which produced the moft luxuriant herbage,
and the clofeft and fweeteft pile of grafs, where they
confided of {helly fand ; which, without doubt, derive
their extraordinary fertility from that caufe.
“ A very remarkable plain is found in the ifland of
Jir-eye, one of the Hebrides. It has been long em¬
ployed as a common : fo that it has never been diftimb¬
ed by the plough, and affords annually the moft luxu¬
riant crop of herbage, confifting of white clover and
other valuable pafture grafs, that can be met with any¬
where. The foil confifts of a very pure ftielly fand.
“ From thefe examples, I think it is evident, that a
verv fmall proportion of vegetable mould is fufficient to
render calcareous matter a very rich foil. Perhaps,
however, a larger proportion may be neceffary when it
is mixed wfith clay than with fand j as poor chalky foils
feem to be of the nature of that compofition.”
To thefe examples brought by Mr Anderfon, we
may add fome of the fame kind mentioned by Lord
Karnes. His lordlhip having endeavoured to eftablifti
the theory of water being the only food of plants,
though he himfelf frequently deviates from that theory,
yet thinks it pofiible, upon fuch a principle, to make a
foil perpetually fertile.
“ To recruit (fays he), with vegetable food, a foil
impoverilhed by cropping, has hitherto been held the
onlv objeft of agriculture. But here opens a grander
object, worthy to employ our keeneft induftry, that of
making a foil perpetually fertile. Such foils aftually
exift; and why ftiould it be thought, that imitation
here is above the reach of art ? Many are the inftan-
ces of nature being imitated with fuccefs. Let us not
defnair while any hope remains; for invention never
was exercifed upon a fubje£l of greater utility. X he
I C U L T U R E. Theory.
attempt may fuggeft proper experiments : it may open rinciplesof
new views', and if we fail in equalling nature, may we ^nlnvation.
not, however, hope to approach it ? A (oil perpetually
fertile muff be endowed with a power to retain moitture
fufticient for its plants, and at the fame time muff be
of a nature that does not harden by moifture. Calca¬
reous earth promifes to anfwer both ends : it prevents
a foil from being hardened by water ; and it may pro¬
bably alfo invigorate its retentive quality. A field
that got a fufficient dofe of clay marl, carried above 30
fucceffive rich crops, without either dung or fallow. Doth
not a foil fo meliorated draw near to one perpetually
fertile ? Near the eaft fide of Fife, the coaft for a mile
inward is covered with fea fand, a foot deep or lo •,
which is extremely fertile, by a mixture of fea {hells
reduced to powder by attrition. The powdered ihells,
being the fame with {hell marl, make the fand retentive
of moifture j and yet no quantity of moifture will unite
the fand into a folid body. A foil fo mixed feems to be
not far diftant from one perpetually fertile. Ihefe, it
is true, are but. faint effays j but what will not perfe-
verance accomplifti in a good caufe ?”
Having thus, in a manner, pofitively determined with
Mr Anderfon, that no dofe of calcareous matter can
poffibly be too great, we cannot help owning ourfelves
furprifed on finding his lordlhip expreffing himfelf as g5
follows : “ An overdofe of ffiell marl, laid perhaps an fneenfiften-
inch, and an inch and an half, or two inches thick, cy in Lord
produces, for a time, large erftps : but at laft it renders Karnes’s
the foil a caput mortuum, capable of bearing neither corn
nor grafs ; of which there are too many inftances in
Scotland. The fame probably would follow from an
overdofe of clay marl, ftone marl, or pounded lime-
ftone.”—To account for this, he is obliged to make a
fuppofition direftly contrary to his former one •, name¬
ly, that calcareous matter renders the foil incapable, of
retaining water. This phenomenon, however, we think
is folved upon the principles above laid down, in a fatif-
faflory manner, and without the leaf! inconfiftency.
As to rendering {oils perpetually fertile, we cannot
help thinking the attempt altogether chimerical and 85
vain. There is not one example in nature of a foil perpetual
perpetually fertile, where it has no fupply but from the fertility of
air and the rain which falls upon it. The above re-^^
cited examples can by no means be admitted as proofs
of perpetual fertility. We know, that the grafs on the
banks of a river, is much more luxuriant than what
grows at a diftance : the reafon is, that the water is.at-
trafted by the earth, and communicates its fertilizing
qualities to it but was the river to be dried up, the
grafs would foon become like the reft. Why ffiould
not the ocean have the fame power of fertilizing plains
near its {bores, that rivers have of fertilizing fmall fpots
near their banks ? We fee, however, that it hath not :
for the fea fliores are generally Tandy and barren. I he
reafon of this is, that the waters of the ocean contain a
quantity of loofe acid * j and this acid is poifonous to *Seeft'tfW
plants: but abftrafting this acid part, we hefitate not
to affirm, that fea water is more fertilizing than river
water. It is impoffible to know how far the waters of
the ocean penetrate under ground through a Tandy
foil. Where they meet with nothing to abforb their
acid, there the ground is quite barren j but in paffing
through an immenfe quantity of broken {hells, the cal¬
careous matter, we are very certain, will abforb all the
acid y
Theory. A G R ICG
Principle of acid •, and thus the foil will be continually benefited by
Cultivation. jts vjcin;ty to the ocean. All the above Gelds, there-
' ' fore, are evidently fupplied with nourithment from the
ocean : for if the fait water has fuffieient efficacy to
render fields which are in its neighbourhood barren,
why ffiould it not render them fertile when the caufe of
barrennefs is removed from its waters ?
After all, the field in Caithnefs, mentioned by Mr
Anderibn, feems to have been perpetually fertile only
in grafs ; for though the fecond year it carried a better
crop of bear than it did the firft, yet the third year
the crop was worfe than the fecond, and only equal to
the firft. Had it been ploughed a fourth time, the crop
would probably have been worfe than the firfl. Ground
is not near fo much exhaufted by grafs as corn, even
though the crop be cut and carried off •, and ftill lefs
if it only feeds cattle, and is manured by their dung ;
which appears to have been the cafe with this field.
Lord Karnes, indeed, mentions fields in Scotland, that,
part memory, have carried fucceffive crops of wheat,
peafe, barley, oats, without a fallow, and without ma¬
nure and particulariles one on the river Carron, of
nine or ten acres, which had carried 103 crops of oats
without intermiffion and without manure : but as we
are not acquainted with any fuch fields, nor know any
thing about their particular fituation, we can torm no
judgment concerning them.
Clay and Befides the two kinds of foils above mentioned, there
fandy foils, are others, the principal ingredient of which is clay or
fand. The firft of thefe is apt to be hardened by the
heat of the fun, fo that the vegetables can fcarce pe¬
netrate it in fuch a manner as to receive proper nou-
rifhment. The fecond, if it is not fituated fo as to re¬
ceive a great deal of moifture, is very apt to be parch¬
ed up in fummer and the crop deftroyed ) nor has it
fufficient adhefion to fupport plants that have few roots
and grow high. From thefe oppofite qualities, it is
evident that thefe two foils would be a proper manure
for one another : the clay would give a fufficient de¬
gree of firmnefs to the fand, and the fand would break
the too great tenacity of the clay. According to Dr
Home’s experiments, however, fand is the worft manure
for clay that can be ufed. He recommends marl moft.
To reduce clay ground as near as poffible to the form
of pure vegetable mould, it muft firft be pulverized.
This is moft effe&ually performed by ploughing and
• harrowing, but care muft be taken not to plough it
whilft too wet, other wife it will concrete into hard clots
which can fcarcely be broken. After it is pulverized,
however, fume means muft be taken to keep it from
concreting again into the fame hard maffes as before.
According to Lord Karnes, though clay, after pulve¬
rization, will concrete into as hard a mafs as before, if
mixed with water; yet if mixed with dunghill juice,
it will not concrete any more. Lime alfo breaks its
tenacity, and is very ufeful as a manure for this kind
S3 of foil.
fertility of The conclufion we wiffi the pra6Hcal farmer to draw
the earth from our theory is. That there is a certain limit to the
limited.
L T U R E. 315
fertility of the earth, both as to duration and to de- VeSe^ao!,e^
gree, at any particular time ; that the nearer any foil
approaches to the nature of pure garden mould, the yie];orat-
nearer it is to the moft perfeft degree of fertility but ing the Soil,
that there are no hopes of keeping it perpetually m
fuch a ftate, or in any degree of approximation to it,
but by conftant and regular manuring with dung.
Lime, chalk, marl, Sec. may be proper to bring it
near to this ftate, but are abfolutely unfit to keep it
continually fo. They may indeed for feveral years
produce large crops ; but the more they increafe the
fertility for fume years, the fooner will they bring on
an abfolute barrennefs ; while regular manuring with
plenty of dung w'ill always enfure the keeping up the
foil in good condition, without any occafion for fallow.
What we have fald concerning the ufe of lime, &c.
applies like wife to the pra&ice of frequent ploughing,
though in a lefs degree. This tends to meliorate
ground that is naturally poor, by giving an opportunity
to the vegetable parts to putrefy ; but when that
is done, it tends to exhauft, though not fo much as
lime. A judicious farmer will conftantly try to keep
his lands always in good condition, rather than to make
them fuddenly much better ; left a few years ffiould
convince him that he was in reality doing almoft. irre¬
parable mifehief, while he fancied himfelf making im¬
provements. As for the ridiculous notions ol ftimu-
lating the ground by faline manures, we hope they will
never enter the brain of any rational pra&itioner of
agriculture.
Sect. V. Of the different kinds of Vegetables pro¬
per to be raifed with a view to the Melioration of
Soil.
The methods of meliorating foils, which we have Soil pulve-
mentioned above, confifting of tedious and laboriousr‘zed by
operations that yield no return at firft, it is natural for
a farmer to wiffi for fome method of meliorating his23
ground, and reaping crops at the fame time. One very
confiderable ftep towards the melioration of ground is
its pulverization. This is accompliffied by repeated
ploughings (a), as already mentioned ; efpecially if
performed in autumn, that the ground may be expofed
to the winter’s froft: but thefe ploughings yield no crop
as long as the field is not fown. By planting in the
field, however, thofe vegetables whofe roots (well to a
confiderable bulk, the ground muft conftantly be adted
upon by the fwelling of their roots in all diredlions :
and thus the growing of the crop itftlf may be equal,
or fuperior in efficacy to feveral ploughings, at the
fame time that the farmer enjoys the benefit of it. The
plant moft. remarkable for the fwelling of its roots is
the potato ; and by none is the ground meliorated
more, or even fo much. They are not, however, e-
qually proper for all foils. In clay they do not thrive,
nor are palatable ; but in hard gravelly or fandy foil=,
they grow to a large fize, and are of an excellent qua¬
lity. Turnips likewife contribute to meliorate the
R r 2 ground,
(a) This however, muft be underftood with fome limitation ; for it appears from experitnee, that many
andfoils receive detriment rather than advantage from frequent ploughing5 j paitieula.ly in fummci,
when the fun exhales the nutritive particles in great abundance.
0)i6 A G R I C U
Of Deftroy- ground, by the fwelling of their roots, though not fo
ing Weeds. rnacj1 as potatoes. They have this advantage, however,
v v,_r”'v that they will thrive in almoft any foil. In clay ground,
peafe and beans thrive exceedingly well, and therefore
are proper in this kind of foil as a preparatory for other
kinds of grain. Thefe pulh their roots deep into the
ground, and cover it with their leaves more than other
crops j fo that the fun has not fo much accefs as when
it is covered with other kinds of grain. Wherever any
of thefe kinds of vegetables are raifed, it is obfervable,
that more or lefs blacknefs is communicated to the
foil : an evident fign of its melioration } this being the
colour of the true vegetable mould, or loamy foil, as it
is called.
Befides the above-mentioned plants, carrots, parfmps,
cabbages, and all thofe vegetables which fink their roots
deep in the ground, anfwer the fame purpofe of loofen-
ing and pulverizing the earth : but as they will not
thrive but on ground already well cultivated, they can¬
not be raifed to any advantage for the purpofe of melio¬
rating a poor foil.
It has been cuftomary in many places, particularly
in England, to low turnip, peafe, buck-wheat, &c. and
then to plough them down for manuring the land.
This being fimilar to that operation of nature by which
fhe renders the uncultivated foils fo exceedingly fertile,
cannot fail of being attended with fingular advantages ;
and might be looked upon as preferable even to driving
dung on the land to fatten it, was it not attendee with
the entire lofs of a crop for that year.
In addition to this, it may be proper to remark, that
an idea has been entertained with regard to the fuc-
ceffion of vegetables to each other, which ought not
to be overlooked, as at fome future period it may lead
Some'veo-e-1° important confequences. It has been fuppofed,
tables feem that the roots of plants, or at leaf! of fome plants, pof-
to enrich fefs a pOWer of throwing out, as excrementitious, a part
ihe foil. of the fob fiances which they have taken in, but which
are no longer neceffary for their fubfiftence or growth.
It is undoubted, at leaft, that while by fome plants
the foil feems to be rendered altogether unfit for the
production of certain others, it is rendered by different
plants extremely well adapted to their growth. Thus
wheat fucceeds uncommonly well after drilled beans j
and thefe two vegetables have even been repeated for a
great number of years in rotation, without any defici-
cency or failure of crop.
Sect. VI. Of defraying Weeds.
What we have already faid regarding the cultiva¬
tion of the foil, refpeCts only the fitting it for pro¬
ducing all kinds of vegetables indiferiminately. Ex¬
perience, however, (hows, that the ground is natu¬
rally much more difpofed to produce and nourilh fome
kinds of vegetables than others ; and thofe which the
earth feems moft to delight in, are commonly fuch as
are of very little ufe to man ; but if neglefted, will
increafe to fuch a degree, as entirely to deftroy the
plants intended to be raifed, or at leaft hinder them
from coming to perfection, by depriving them of nou-
rifliment. The clearing the ground of weeds, there¬
fore, is an article no lefs neceffary in agriculture, than
the difpofing it to produce vegetables of any kind in
plenty.
L T U R E. Theory.
The weeds may be divided, according to the time'‘t Deftroy-
of their duration, mto annual, or fuch as fpring from lng U^t:(k,
a feed, and die the fame year ; and perennial, that is,
fuch as are propagated by the feeds, and laft for a vVeeds di¬
number of years. The firft kind are the leaft noxious, vided into
and moft eafily deftroyed.. For this purpofe it will be
fufficient to let them fpring up till near the time of
ripening their feed, and then plough them down be¬
fore it comes to maturity. It is alio of lervice to de¬
ftroy fuch weeds as grow in borders or negleCted cor¬
ners, and frequently fcatter their feeds to a great di-
ftance 5 fuch as the thiftle, dandelion, rag-weed, &c.
for thefe are fufficient to propagate their Ipecies through
a deal of ground } as their feeds are carried about with
the wind to very confiderable diftances. A farmer
ought alfo to take care, that the fmall feeds of weeds,
feparated from corn in winnowing, be not fovvn again
upon the ground \ for this certainly happens when they
are thrown upon a dunghill •, becaufe, being the natu¬
ral offspring of the earth, they are not eafily deftioyed.
The beft piethod of preventing any mifehief from this
caufe, would be to burn them. pi
Perennial weeds cannot be effeaually deftroyed, but Perennial
by removing the roots from the ground, which is often
a matter of fome difficulty. Many of thefe roots ftrike
fo deep in the ground, that they can fearcely be got
out. The only method that can be depended upon in
this cafe, is frequent ploughing, to render the ground
as tender as poffible \ and harrowing with a particular
kind of harrow, which ffiall hereafter be deferibed, in
order to colledl thefe pernicious roots. Wdien colleft-
ed, they ought to be dried and burnt, as the only ef¬
fectual method of enfuring their doing no further mif¬
ehief.
There is a particular fpecies of weed, peculiar only
to grafs lands of a foft fpongy nature, called /eg,
which it is found very difficult to exterminate. W here
the land can be conveniently tilled, this weed may
be deftroyed by covering it with a crop of peafe, po¬
tatoes, &c. or, paffing a heavy roller over the ground
will be of great fervice ; for fog owes its origin to too
great a laxity of the foil, and will not grow on firm
ground. P3
Befides thefe kinds of weeds which are of an herba- Broom,
ceous nature, there are others which are woody, andjun^&c.
grow to a very confiderable fize *, fuch as broom, furze ^ir0yej<
or whins, and thorns. Broom is an evergreen ffirub,
that thrives beft in a fandy foil ; and there it grows fo
vigoroufly, as fcarcely to admit any grafs under it. It
propagates by feed which grows in pods ; and thefe,
when fully ripe, break with violence, fcattering the
feeds all around. Thus, a field which is overgrown
with broom, befides the old plants, always contains an
infinite number of young ones: fo that though the old
plants die when cut over, a frefticrop conftantly fprings
up. It may, however, be deftroyed by frequent plough¬
ing and harrowing, in the fame manner as other per¬
ennial weeds are 5 for it does not for fome time carry
any feed, and the frequent ploughing encourages the ve¬
getation of all thofe feeds that are already in the ground,
which cannot fail of being deftroyed by frequent repe¬
titions of the operation. Another method of deftroy-
ing broom, is by pafturing the field where it grows
with fheep. A few of the old bufhes may be left as a
{belter, and thefe will be in a good meafure prevented
from.
Theory. AGRICULTURE. 317
Dit’eaies of from fpreading by the cropping of the fheep. Thefe
P*Arts‘ animals are very fond of broom, and greedily devour
~ “"‘~1 every young llioot; fo that if any remain after the firit
year, there will not be a veftige the fecond. If this
method of extirpating broom is equally effectual with
that of frequent ploughing, it is certainly much more
profitable, as there is no food more nourifiling to flieep
than young broom. Broom, however, is faid to have
a lingular effedl upon flieep: it makes them drunk fo
effectually, that when heated with a little driving, they
tumble over, and lie without motion.
The w/iin is a fine evergreen flirub, carrying a fweet-
fmelling flower all the year round. It propagates both
by feed and by its roots, which fpread fometimes to the
diftance of 10 or 12 feet and hence, when once efta-
bLifhed, it is with difficulty extirpated. The beft me¬
thod is to fet fire to the whins in froffy weather; for
froft has the effedt to wither whins, and make them
burn readily. The Humps muff then be cut over with
a hatchet; and when the ground is well foftened by
rain, it may be ploughed up, and the roots taken out
by a harrow adapted to that purpofe. If the field is
foon laid down to grafs, the whins will again fpring up
in great abundance from the feeds, and fmall parts of
the roots left in the ground. In this cafe, pafturing
with flieep is an effe£Iual remedy ; as they are no lefs
fond of young whins than of young broom ; and if
there are a fufficient number, they will not leave a Angle
plant above ground. But if grafs is not immediately
wanted, the molt effectual method of clearing a field
of whins, is by reiterated ploughings.
The thorn, or bramble, fpreads its roots very wide,
and at the fame time finks them deep in the earth.
Though cut in winter, it riles and comes to fuch per¬
fection as to carry fruit in fummer. It can only be
extirpated by ploughing up the ground and collecting
the roots.
Shrubs are One effectual plan, which, as will afterwards appear,
deftroyed js practicable in many more fituations than it has hi-
the land"^er*0 been applied to, for deftroying thefe and all
other woody ffirubs and plants, together with a great
number of weeds, that are of no value upon palture
grounds, confifts of flooding the land, by directing
over it a ftream of water. By means of fuch a device,
all whins and other ihrubs are completely rotted and
deftroyed.
Sect. VII. Of the Difeafes of Plants.
As fome of the molt valuable kinds of vegetables
are liable to fuffer much by difeafes peculiar to them-
felves, it is of much importance to the hufbandman
to be aware of this circumftance, and to adopt every
55 known mode of protecting his crop againft them.
The difeafes At the fame time, as the principles of vegetable life
are by no means well underftood, the caufes and the
underftood cure th6 molt ferious difeafes affeCting plants ftill re¬
main under a great degree of obfcurity, and the moft
experienced and intelligent hufbandmen exprefs great
uncertainty refpeCting the meafures to be adopted for
preventing their appearance. Hence it appears molt
proper to introduce the confideration of them in this
place before we proceed to the praCIical part of the
fubjeCt; and as wheat is accounted the moft valuable
kind of grain, we (hall begin with the difeafes to Difeafes of
which it is expofed. , .
Wheat chiefly fuffers from two difeafes, the blight ^
and the mildew. Of the blight in wheat we fhall Difeafes to
give an account upon the authority of an effay by which
Robert Somerville, Efq. furgeon, ill: Battalion 8th^y|^tlC
Fencible Regiment, inferted in the communications to
the Board of Agriculture*, giving a ftatement of the* Vol. ii.
nature and appearance of the blight which occafioned 97
the failure of the crop in 1795.—When the crop hadhhght in
juft fhaken the flowers, and the grains were beginning1^ '*
to form, moft of them feemingly in a healthy manner,
it was obferved that many of the blades and ftalks
were rather of a dirty green colour, and in two weeks
thereafter there appeared upon them great numbers of
fmall red infeCls As the feafon advanced, thefe in-
feCIs not only increafed in fize, but became more nu¬
merous, and in almoft every field the grain began to
manifeft unequivocal fymptoms of difeafe, which were
fo formidable, that in many inftances a total lofs was
dreaded, and in not a few cafes, one half of the crop,
was actually deftroyed. The minute fymptoms of the
blight were thefe:
iff, In the very early ftages of the difeafe, and before
the ear was affected, the blades and ftalks were marked
with black and rufty fpots. Thefe fpots feemed to be oc¬
cafioned by a glutinous fubftance depofited upon them,
eafily foluble in water, and which could be readily
wafhed off by rubbing the ftalks with a wet cloth.
Some fpots, however, were white, and thefe feemed to
be owing to wounds or pundtures made by vermine; the
leaf having, to a certain extent, in confequence of
thefe, withered and become white. As the feafon ad¬
vanced, the black and rufty-coloured fpots became
larger and more numerous : and when the grain be¬
gan to ripen, not only the blades but the draw were
almoft entirely coloured with black fpots.
2d, After the crop had begun to thoot, and was in
the ear, many of the heads were entirely empty.
Where the ftalk was green, and to appearance toler¬
ably healthy, but the ear at the fame time withered
and without grain, the misfortune feemed to have
arifen from an injury done to the neck of the ear, at
the place of its jundlion with the ftalk. There the
outer rind was deftroyed all round, which muft have
cut off the circulation between the ear and the ftalk,
as happens in trees that have had their bark deftroyed
all round.
3d, Many of the ears were entirely empty in the
upper part, while the lower half was well filled. In
thefe cafes, the injury feemed owing to the rind being
deftroyed about the middle of the ear, at that place
which feparated the full from the empty part, and was.
fimilar to the injury done in the preceding cafe where
the whole ear was deftroyed.
4th, In very many cafes the ears had a plump well-
filled pickle and an empty hulk alternately. In thefe
the injury feemed owing to a wound inflidled at the
bottom of the empty grains, where they are joined to
the ftalk, and which had taken place while they were
in flower, preventing them from making any farther
progrefs.
5th, Many ears, though not entirely empty, contain¬
ed only fmall Ihrivelled grains, or what are called
hungry.
3i 3
agriculture.
Theory,
Difeafes of hungry pickles. Thefe feemed to have yfcaped any
mants. accident till they had made fome progrefs in filling, at-
     ter ^^Jch they became ftationary and ripened prema¬
turely. On examination they were found to be injur¬
ed at the place where they were joined to the ftalk,
in the fame manner as was already mentioned, in the
cafe of thofe that had empty heads or ears. Luce thele
alfo the whole ear was in fome cales ill filled. In others
only half of it was in that ftate, and in a very great
number the ears confifted of a well and ill fill* d grain
alternately. Without a Angle exception, the whole of
the ill filled or hungry grains, were wounded at the
place of their infertion into the ear.
6th, A number of ears, though well filled, were upon
opening the hulks found almoft entirely covered with
black and ruily fpots, nearly refembling thofe already
defcribed, and' like them alfo they were eafily rubbed
or walked off. The downy part of many of thefe grains,
when examined carefully with a good glafs, appeale
to contain feveral fmall white tranfparent globes, ic-
fembling the eggs of infe&s. ^ c .
yth, In many fields, efpecially fuch as had been tal¬
lowed and well manured for the wheat crop, a great
number of plants were entirely withered from top to
bottom. The decay, in moll of thefe cafes, took place
when the wheat was beginning to (hoot. No
was vifible in thefe cafes upon the blade or llalk, but
on examining the roots, a worm was found at every one
of them. . , , ,
Laftly, As the crop began to whiten, the dark, or
rufty fpots on the ftraw and ears became more numer¬
ous, and appeared more confpicuous. In place of put¬
ting on a white or yellow appearance, the whole crop
looked as if it had been fprinkled with foot.
The whole of thefe fymptoms appeared to anfe from
the attack of an infea, and from the injuries and de¬
predation which it committed upon the plants. This
infeft when firft diftinguilhable by the eye, was of a
red colour, and fo foft as to be killed by the flighteft
preffure. As it increafed in fize the colour gradually
changed to a dirty black, at which it became ftationary.
During its growth it loft its foft texture, and in propor¬
tion as its colour darkened it became hard, and as it
were covered with a cruft or lliell upon the back. It
is faid to be not uncommon, and to be met with at all
times, even in the beft fields of wheat, though its num¬
bers are infinitely increafed in late wet feafons. From its
eggs appearing to lodge upon the well-filled ears of the
grain, it may be confidered as in danger of being pro¬
pagated to the fucceeding crop. On this account our
author hazards fome conjeftures upon the beft means
of preventing future danger from it. One of thefe
confifts of the ufe of lime mixed up with all manure,
with a view to prevent infefts from being generated
in it. It is alfo fuggefted that the manure, by means
of which flugs and worms are chiefly fuppofed to be
produced, ought not to be plowed into the ground in
autumn, but applied as a top-drefling in the fpring •, be-
caufe it is underftood that manure, expofed to the fun
and air, has much lefs tendency to fofter infefts, than
when it is covered up in the earth.
Another difeafe, which is much more deftru&ive to
wheat, and much more frequently met with, is the mil-
black, call- dew. It is of two kinds, the black and the red. In both
ed fluut- cafes it confifts of a quantity of feemingly coarfe pow¬
der attached to the grain m the ear, or loofely fur-Difeafes of
rounding it j in confequence of which it is. evident!y , ^ ^
prevented from filling or arriving at perle£hon. I be
black kind of mildew is by far the moft frequent and
the moft pernicious. It is moft generally known in Eng¬
land by the name of /mat, and in Scotland by that of the
b/ack, both of which are fufticiently expreffive. Con¬
cerning the caufe of this difeafe various opinions have
been entertained. Dr Home, in his Principles of
Agriculture and Vegetation, aferibesit to an over luxu-
riancy of growth. He is of opinion, that too great an
abundance of juices in a vegetable will produce dif-
eafes fimilar to thofe occafioned by repletion m animal
bodies, viz. ftagnations, corruptions, varices, cavionties,
&c. along with the too great luxuriancy we have juft
now mentioned, which he expreffes by “ too great an
abundance of water ftioots.” Hence he is induced to
clafs the fmut among difeafes arifing from this caule, it
being a corruption happening moft in rainy feafons and
to weak grain. Like other contagious difeafes, he
tells us, the fmut may be communicated from the in-
fe£ftcd to healthful grain. At a preventive he re¬
commends fteeping the feed in a ftrong pickle of lea
fait. Befides the effeft which this has upon the gram
itfelf, it is ufeful for feparating the good iron, the bad j
the beft feed falling to the bottom, and the faulty
fwimming on the top of the liquor. _ 99
Independent of this notion of an over luxuriancy of Opinions
growth, it may be obferyed, that two opinions haveconc^rn-n^
chiefly been fupported by perfons who have 1 peculated
and written on this fubjed. One opinion is, that the
mildew confifts of a great multitude of parafitical
plants adhering to the grains of wheat, living upon it,
and thereby confuming its fubftance. Another opi-
98
Mildew is
red or
nion is, that it confifts of great numbers of infeCts. and
of eggs of infe£ts, whofe form is too fmall to be diftin¬
guilhable by the naked eye. The firft of thefe opinions
has been adopted by the celebrated Italian writer iontana,
and the other bv certain writers of our own country.
Fontana endeavours to refute the hypothefis, that I00
the dull of the mildew confifts of animal eggs, by the Fontana’s
following experiment. He clofely confined the grains opinion,
of the mildew between two glafs plates, in fuch a
manner as neceffarily to break the fuppofed eggs. He
then, with an accurate microfcope, obferved them while
crufhed in fucceflion. No liquid or glutinous juice
proceeded from them, though great force was ufed in
crufhing them-, but they appeared wholly to confift
of tough refilling fubftances altogether unlike real ani¬
mal eggs : their being faftened to the ftalks or leaves
of the grain, appeared alfo to militate againft fuel] a
fuppofition. From a variety of microfcopic obferva-
tions, he is of opinion, that the powder of the black
mildew or fmut confifts of a great multitude of fmall
plants attached to the grain by a flender fibre. Thefe
parafitical plants, though extremely fmall, he thinks
fufficiently regular. With regard to the red mildew
he admits, that it appears to be compofed of an im-
menfe multitude of minute eggs. After a variety of
experiments and obfervations, however, he. thought he
difcovered, that thefe apparent eggs are in truth the
heads or fruit of very fine threads fixed on the ear
of corn ; that thefe threads or Items are exceedingly
fine and tranfparent, which gives the appearance of
e-rgs to their outward extremities. Thefe Items or tails
06 are
Plants.
Theory. AGRICULTURE. 319
D - n’. are reprefelited by him, as infinitely finer than thofe of plunged, and left for about fix hours, ftirring it up fre- Elates of
quently with a wooden {hovel, and {kimming off what ' n '* ,
rifes to the furface the wheat is then to.be withdrawn,
and fpread out till it is dry enough for fowing. The
procefs is thus to be continued until the whole quantity
of feed intended to be fown is pickled. The above
iteep is generally fufficient for preparing about twenty-
four buthels of wheat.
Another pickle has been recommended, confifting of Comrnuni-
a decoftion in water of Barbadoes aloes, tobacco, and cations to
hellebore powder. A committee of the Royal Society
of Agriculture at Paris, in 1786, recommended the -vol. ii.
following pickle for the fame purpofe, contrived by Annals of
M. Tillet:—Pour upon 50 pounds of wood-afhes, 900 Agricul.
pints of water', ftir it well for three days, and thenvu*,IX‘
draw off. Walk the black wheat in fo many clear
waters as not at laft to dirty it. Heat the lye, fo as
juft to bear the hand in it } flake in the hot lye one
pound of lime to every feven or eight pints of it. In¬
to the preparation dip the feed in bafkets many times.
For want of wood-a(hes ufe potafh, feven or eight pounds
for 100 pints of water. IOZ
In addition to thefe it mav be remarked, that a folu-Arfenic
tion of arfenic in water is made ufe of in fome counties ule(l t0 Pre-
of England, as a pickle in which they wafli or fteep ve.1iij the
the gram previous to its being lown, for the purpoie 01
protedting the future crop againft fmut. I03
The moft complete fet of experiments, however, Arthur
which we have met with upon the fubjedf, was made Young, Efq.
by Arthur Young, Efq. at prefent fecretary to ^
Board of Agriculture. December 7. i7^7» prevent
14 beds with the fame feed wheat as black with the mildew,
fmut as any he ever faw.
101
Pickles to
prevent
fmut or
mildew.
the black mildew •, and their heads, which referable
eggs, may be feparated from them by the flighteft
{hock. From all his obfervations he concludes, that
both the black and the red mildew cohfift of real
plants, though, perhaps, of an imperfedl kind j and
that they enfeeble and wafte the crop by abforbing the
nutritive juices of the plant. He obferves, that, if a
heavv rain fpeedily fall on an extenfive mildew, wafti-
ing the leaves and ftalks affedled, it prefently difap-
pears with hardly any damage to the corn*, becaule the
fmall plants having hardly taken root are eafily difper-
fed before any mifchief is done. He thinks, that the
damage occafioned by this difeafe may fometimes be
moderated or diminilhed by cutting down the grain be¬
fore it is fully ripe. In this cafe, he fays, that the
crop will be lefs than it ought to be ; but {fill it will
be confiderably greater than if the cuftomary time of
harveft is waited for, when the difeafe will have leifure
to produce greater mifchief.
In our own country, and particularly by Mr Somer¬
ville, in the effay already quoted, the fmut in wheat
has been regarded as confifting of a great variety of in¬
fers. He alfo founds his opinion upon microfcopic ob¬
fervations, and apprehends that from them he has clear¬
ly afeertained the exiftence of the infefts; and he thinks
that it is communicated to other grain by contact, in
confequence of the paffage of the infers. Hence he en¬
deavours to explain the utility of fteeping the feed in
pickles before it is fown, with a view to the deftruc-
lion of fuch infers.
It is to be remarked, that in all countries a great
variety of thefe pickles has been contrived, with a
view to prevent the exiftence of fmut in wheat, fame of
which we {hall now mention. One of the moft com¬
mon is the fait pickle, confifting of a fblution of com¬
mon fait in water, of fuch ftrength as that an egg will
fwim in it. To the wheat, after it has been waftied
in this pickle, and the light grains removed, fome new
flaked time is added, and carefully mixed with it with
a wooden {hovel, till it attain a fufficient degree of
drynefs, in which ftate it is committed to the earth. A
pickle confifting of very ftale urine has alfo been recom¬
mended to be ufed for wafhing wheat that is meant to
be ufed as feed. It is attended with this difadvantage,
however, that if the urine is very ftale, and if any
length of time is fuffered to elapfe, in confequence of
rain or other accidents, before the grain is fown, its ve¬
getative power is faid to be greatly injured by the cor-
rofive quality of the volatile alkali with which fuch
urine abounds. This is more particularly the cafe when
quicklime is added to the urine j as the alkali is then
brought into a cauftic ftate.
Another pickle has been propofed to the Board of
Agriculture by an Italian phyfician, J. B. Scandella.
It is prepared and ufed in the following manner : —
Take of nitre, three pounds j alum, one pound *, vitriol,
fix ounces ; verdigris, three ounces ; wood-allies, well
lifted, fix pounds : Boil the whole in a copper with five
pails of water for an hour, then remove them from the
fire, and pour them into a large veffel *, then add fix-
teen pails of water, in which half a buftiel of quicklime
has been previoufly diffolved: mix the whole intimate¬
ly, and allow them to ftand till they are quite cold.
In this fteep two bulhels and a half of wheat are to be
N° I. Sown dry, nothing done to it.
2. Waffied well in clean water.
3. Waftied in lime-water.
4. Waffied in lye of wood allies.
5. Walked in an arfenic and fait mixture
6. Steeped in lime-water four hours.
7. Ditto in the lye four hours.
8. Ditto in the arfenic four hours.
9. Ditto in lime-water 12 hours.
10. Ditto in the lye 12 hours.
11. Ditto in the arfenic 12 hours.
12. Ditto in the lime-water 24 hours.
13. Ditto in the lye 24 hours.
14. Ditto in the arfenic 24 hours.
N° I. Had
2. Ditto
3. Ditto
4. Ditto
5. Ditto
6. Ditto
7. Ditto
8. Ditto
9. Ditto
10. Ditto
11. Ditto
12. Ditto
13. Ditto
14. Ditto
RESULT.
377 fmutty ears.
325
43
31
28
12
3
1
6
o
4
o
o
5
A propofal has alfo been made, to deftroy by means
of
^20 AGRICU
Difeafes of of heat the infetts which are fuppofed to propagate the
Plants, difeafe caiied fmut from the feed wheat to the future
” ^ ' crop. The following directions for that purpofe are
Erlkine of extracted from the Agricultural Survey of the County
Mart’s re- of Clackmannan, by J. F. Erlkine, of Marr, Efq.
medy. « £et the wheat be laid upon the kiln, about three or
four inches thick: the kiln to be heated middling ftrong
with blind coal j the wheat to continue on the kiln for
24 hours, but turned frequently. After taking it off
the kiln, it muft be allowed 24 hours to cool 5 during
which time it muft be frequently turned j then put it
through the fanners once or twice. After the wheat
has lain a few hours on the kiln, and the fire begins to
have effect, a great number of very fmall worms, for¬
merly undifcovered by the eye, appear on the top of
the grain, and are foon deftroyed by the heat. Thefe
come from blacked wheat, or other corns, that could
not be fufpe&ed to be indifferent j or may lie in or on
good wheat; which worms continuing (when not thus
killed), might confume the corn after it is thrown into
the earth, thereby checking the growth entirely, or
preventing it from having the ftrength it other wife
would have to bring forth a ftrong productive ftalk.
This praCtice is faid to have been brought, from Ire¬
land, and is recommended as preferable to pickling. It
might perhaps be performed with greater fuccefs by
the ufe of a kiln heated by the fleam of boiling water,
in the way already mentioned, as fuch a kiln would
inftantly afford a fixed and known degree of heat,
which could in no cafe be exceeded.”
After all, however, both from the reafon of the
thing, and from the concurring opinion of the moft
experienced and intelligent farmers, we think ourfelves
authorized to fay, that the hufbandman will aCt impru¬
dently if he place entire and complete confidence in any
one of the remedies above mentioned. His fafeft and
heft plan for procuring crops of wheat free from fmut is
this: In the firft place, he ought to procure feed from
a fituation in which the grain has rifen abfolutely free
from this difeafe. He ought next to exert the greateft
care in cleaning out, in the moft anxious manner, his
whole barns and their floors, and every place within
doors into which his grain may come, and in which dif-
eafed grain has formerly been kept: with this view it
may probably be neceffary to whitewafh the walls with
a mixture of quicklime and water, which will prove an
effedtual remedy. After having adopted thefe precau¬
tions, it may ftill be neceffary, with a view to fecure a
found and full crop, to plunge the feed into a ftrong
pickle of fait and water, with a view to float the light¬
er grains, which ought to be fkimmed off and laid afide
for poultry, to which they may be given after being
wafhed in frefh water. No future change of feed will
be neceffary. Of the farmers who have adopted this
judicious mode of proceeding, there is no inftance re¬
corded of any one whofe crop has fuffered by fmut; on
the contrary, they have ufually derived a confiderable
profit from becoming the furnifhers of grain for feed to
all their neighbours.
The want of nourifhment in plants may be eafily
known by their decay, in which cafe, the only remedy
is, to fupply them with food, according to the methods
Difeafes pe- we have already directed, or to remove from their
culiar to neighbourhood fuch other plants as may draw off the
faffron. nouriftiment from thofe we with to cultivate.—In the
L T U I! E. Theory.
Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for 1728, Mr Difeafesof
Du Hamel mentions a difeafe, which he calls le morty ^ailts,^f
that attacks faffron in the fpring. It is owing to an-
other plant, a fpecies of trefoil, fixing fome violet-
coloured threads, which are its roots, to the roots of
the faffron, and fucking out its juice. This difeafe is
prevented by digging a trench, which laves all the un-
affeifted. _ # 106
The bad qualities, and unequal diftribution of the Vegetablej
juices of plants, are the occafion of fo few of the difeafes deftroyed
to which vegetables in this country are fubjed, that1'* mle<fts.
we forbear to mention them at prefent. Moft of the
difeafes of our plants are owing to external accidents,
particularly to the depredations of infe£ts.— 1 he infects
by which the greateft devaftations are committed in
this country are, fnails, caterpillars, grubs, and flies.
The fnails and caterpillars feed on the leaves and young
(hoots ; by which means they often totally deftroy the 107
vegetable. Where the plants are of eafy accefs, thefe Infeds de-
vermine may be deftroyed by fprinkling the vegetaUeJj™^^
with lime-water ; for quicklime is a mortal poifon to
creatures of this kind, and throws them into the great¬
eft agonies the moment they are touched with it. On
trees, however, where this method cannot fo well be
followed, fumigation is the moft proper-, and, for this
purpofe, nothing is better than the fmoke of vegetables
not perfeftly dry. In fome cafes the eggs of thefe de-
ftroying creatures may be obferved, and ought without
doubt immediately to be taken away. On the fruit
trees, as apples, pears, medlars, on fome foreft trees,
the oak and dwarf maple efpecially, and the white and
black thorn in hedges, a kind of little tufts are to be
obferved, refembling at firft fight withered leaves twill¬
ed by a cobweb, about the uppermoft twigs or branch¬
es. Thefe contain a vaft number of little black eggs,
that in the fpring produce fwarms of caterpillars which
devour every thing. To prevent this, all the twigs on
which thefe cobw'ebs appear ftiould be taken off and
burnt as foon as poffible. This ought to be done be¬
fore the end of March, that none of the eggs be allow¬
ed fufficient time for hatching. 108
The grubs are a kind of worms which deftroy the Grubs,
corn by feeding upon its roots j they are transformed
every fourth year into the beetles called cockchafers,
may-bugs, &c.j they are very deftruftive when in their
vermicular ftate, and cannot then be deftroyed, becaufe
they go deep into the ground. When become beetles,
they conceal themfelves under the leaves of trees,
where they feem alleep till near funfet, when they take
their flight. It is only now that they can be deftroy¬
ed, and that by a very laborious method ; namely,
by fpreading pack-fheets below the trees in the day¬
time when the beetles are in their torpid ftate, then
lhaking them off and burning them. Some time ago
they made fuch devaftations in the county of Norfolk,
that feveral farmers were entirely ruined by them -, one
gathered 80 bulhels of thefe infefts from the trees 'which
grew on his farm. It is faid, that in 1574 there fell
fuch a multitude of thefe infects into the river Severn,
that they flopped and clogged the wheels of the wrater-
mills. . 109
Turnips, when young, are apt to be totally deftroy-Turnip-tfy-
ed by a multitude of little black flies, from thence
called the turnip-fly. As a preventive of thefe,
fome advife the feed to be mixed with brimftone $ but
this
Theory.
Difeafes of this is improper, as brimflone is found to be poifonous
Plants. to vegetables. The bell method feems to be the fumi-
' i io gation of the fields with the fmoke of half-dried vege-
Prevented tables. For this purpofe weeds will anfwer as well as
by fumiga- any. This fumigation muft no doubt be often repeat-
tion, See. in order to drive away the innumerable multitudes
of thefe infe£ts which are capable of deftroying a large
field of turnips.
Some have fuppofed that the fly is either engendered
in new dung, or enticed by it 5 and have therefore ad-
vifed the manure to be laid on in the autumn preced¬
ing, by which it lofes all its noxious qualities, while
its nutritive ones are retained, notwithllanding thefe
might be fuppofed liable in fome degree to be exhaled
by the fun. This method is faid to have been afeer-
tained by experiments j and it is added, that another
material advantage accruing from autumn manuring for
turnips is, that all the feeds contained in the dung, and
which of courfe are carried on the land with it, vege¬
tate almoft immediately, are moftly killed by the feve-
rity of the winter, and the few that remain feldom avoid
nt deftruftion from the ploughftiare.
Various re- The following method of fowing has alfo been re¬
medies a- commended as a preventive of the fly :—“ About mid-
gamft the fummer, take the firfi: opportunity, when it rains, or
turnip- y. t}jere js an apparent certainty of rain approaching, to
fow your turnip-feed •, if about the full moon, the bet¬
ter. In this cafe, neither harrow, brulh, nor roll, after
fowing. The natural heat of the ground at that feafon,
and the confequent fermentation occafioned by copious
rain, will give an aftonifhingly quick vegetation to the
feed, which in a few days will be up and out of all dan¬
ger from the fly. At all events, fow not till it rains j
it is better to wait a month, or even longer, for rain,
than to fow (merely for the fake of fowing about the
ufual time) when the ground is parched with heat. By
the fcorching of the fun, the oil and vegetative quality
of the feed are exhaufted $ and the few weak plants
that come up will be deftroyed by the fly before they
can attain flrength to put forth their rough leaves. The
fly infefts the ground abundantly in dry hot weather,
but does no injury in rain. The falling rain will fuffi-
ciently wafti the turnip feed into the ground without
harrowing it in ; which, inftead of merely covering, too
often buries this fmall feed at fo great a depth, as never
afterwards to get above ground.”
The following remedies are alfo recommended as ha¬
ving often proved fuccefsfulA fmall quantity of foot
fown over the land at their firfl: appearance. Branches
of elder, with the leaves bruifed, drawn in a gate over
them. Mufk mixed with the feed before it is fown.
And fulphur burnt under it, after moiftening it with
water in which tobacco has been fteeped.
But fhowers on the plants, as foon as they appear
above ground, are efteemed the beft prefervatives.
They enfeeble and kill the fly, and haften the plants
into the rough leaf, in which ftate they are out of
danger.
T. he fweet fmell of the turnip has been thought to
attra£t the fly *, upon which fuppofition, the remedy
appeared to confifl in overpowering that fmell by one
which is ftrong, fetid, and difagreeable. Hence it has
been recommended that upon an acre of turnips fown
in the ufual way, a peck or more of dry foot be thrown
VeL. I. Part I.
32T
after the ground is finilhed, and in as regular a way as Difeafes of
he fows the feed. _ Hants-
Some time ago an infeft, called the corn butterfly, l, %
committed fuch ravages while in its vermicular ftate, Com-but-
in France, that upwards of 200 parilhes were ruinedterfly.
by it j and the miniftry offered a reward to the difeo-
verer of an effedlual remedy againft this deftroying
worm. The cure which was at laft difeovered was,
to heat the corn in an oven fo much as not to de-
ftroy its vegetative power, but fufficiently to deftroy
the fmall worms which made their neft in the fubftance
of the grain, and at laft ate out the fubftance fo com¬
pletely, that nothing could be got from the hulk even
by boiling it in water. It is certain, that though in¬
fefts can bear a great deal of cold, they are eafily de¬
ftroyed by a flight degree of heat j nor is the vegeta¬
tive power of corn eafily deftroyed, even when kept for
a long time in a pretty ftrong heat. This method mull
therefore be very effeftual for deftroying all kinds of
infefts with which grain is apt to be infefted: but care
mull be taken not to apply too great a heat j and the
adjufting of the precife degree neceffary to deftroy the
inleft, without hurting the corn, will be attended with
fome difficulty. ^
The curled difeafe in potatoes has long been a fub- The curlecf
jeft of inveftigation and experiment among farmers; difeafe in
and the knowledge of its caufe and cure feems yet toPotatoes'
remain a defideratum. The Agricultural Society at
Mancheller, a few years ago, offered a premium for
difeoyering by aftual experiment the caufe of the dif¬
eafe in queftion ; and a great variety of letters were in
confequence addreffed to them upon the fubjeft. As
thefe contain many interefting obfervations both on the
difeafe itfelf, and the beft methods hitherto adopted for
preventing it, the following abftraft of them may not
improperly be introduced in this place. n
I. According to the writer of the firlt letter, this Various
difeafe is caufed by an infeft produced by froft or bad rnet^ods
keeping before fetting •, and the neweft kinds, fuch asPreveclioN
have been raifed within thefe nine or ten years, are
moll apt to curl, becaufe they will not Hand to be kept
in winter and fpring before fetting, as the old kinds
will. In autumn 1776, he got up a bed of potatoes to
lay by in winter, leaving plenty in the ground as regu¬
lar as poflible $ and, before the feverity’bf winter came
on, covered part of the bed with ftraw and peafe-haulm,
and left the other part of the bed uncovered. That
part of the bed which was covered was quite free from
curled ones; but the uncovered part produced a great
many curled, owing, as the writer fays, to froft and fe-
verity of the weather.
II. This writer had about a quarter of an acre of
potatoes, well manured with cow and horfe dung, and
took the greateft care in picking the fine fmooth-lkinned
potatoes for fets; yet nine out of ten parts were curled.
He attributes the caufe of this difeafe to a white grub
or infeft, which he found near the root, about half an
inch long, with eight or ten legs, its head brown and
hard ; as, upon examining a number of the curled roots,
he found them all bitten, chiefly from the furfaee to
the root, which of courfe flopped the progrefs of the
fap, and threw the leaf into a curl. The uncurled
roots were not bitten. He tried a few experiments as
follow Firft, he put foot to the infefts in the rows
^ ^ for
AGRICULTURE.
32 2
A G R I C U
Difeafes of for two days j and after that, he put lime to them for
Plants. the fame time, but they ftill kept lively ; next he put
' a little fait, which deftroyed them in a few hours.
From which he infers, that if eoarfe fait were put into
the ground at the time the land is preparing for pota¬
toes, it would effeftually cure this diltemper.
III. In this letter, the caufe of the difeafe is attri¬
buted to the method of earthing the ftems while in cul¬
tivation j and the branch, linking root into the new
earthed-up foil, it is faid, produces potatoes of fuch a
nature as the year following to caufe the difeafe com¬
plained of.
To prevent the difeafe, it is recommended to take
the fets from thofe potatoes that have not. bred any
from the branch covered •, or, otherwife, to dig the part
the fets are to be raifed from.
IV. According to this writer, the diforder proceeds
from potatoes being in old-tilled or worn-out ground ;
for though thefe potatoes may look tolerably well, yet
their fets will moftly, it not all, produce curled potatoes.
Hence he is convinced, that no fets ought to be ufed
from old tilled or couch grafs land : and that, in order
to have good fets, they (hould be procured from land
that was purpofely fallowed for them ; from frelh ley
land, where they are not curled •, or from ley land that
was burnt laft fpring. He dire&s to plant them on
virgin mould, and the potatoes will have no curled ones
amongft them ; and to keep them for winter, from any
other kind.
To avoid the uncertainty of getting good fets, he
recommends crabs to be gathered from potatoes grow¬
ing this year on frelh land free from curl, and the next
fpring to fow them on frelh ley land j and continue to
plant their fets on frelh ley land yearly, which he is
convinced will prevent the curl.
All the good potatoes he faw this year, either on
1 frelh ley land or on old tilled land, were raifed from
fets that grew upon frelh ley land laft year; and where
he has feen curled potatoes, he found, upon inquiry,
the potato fets grew upon old-tilled and worn-out land
laft year. He gives as a general reafon for the difor¬
der, that the land is oftener cropt than it had ufed to
be, much more corn being now raifed than formerly.
V. In 1772, this writer planted fome potatoes by
accident full nine inches deep : when taken up, many
of the plants were rotted, and a few curled. He kept
the whole produce for feed, and planted two acres with
it in 1773, not quite fix inches deep. The crop was
amazingly great 5 and he did not obferve any curled
plants among them. In 1774, many of thefe were
planted in different foils; yet they.were fo infeaed
with the curled difeafe, that not one in twenty efcaped.
In X-77J, the complaint of this difeafe became general.
In 1776, it occurred to him that the good crop of
I<7-73 was owing to the accidental deep fetting of
jm-2 . and that the reafon why the fame feed became
cur\ed in 1774, was their being let fo near the furface
in 1773 l and attributes the difeafe to the praaice of
ebb fetting. In 1777, he took fome potatoes from a
crop that was curled the year before, and after cutting
the fets, left them in a dry room for a month. Half
were planted in ground dug fourteen days.before ; the
other half, having been fteeped in a brine made of
whitfter’s afites for two hours, were alfo planted on the
L T ‘U R E. Theory
fame land at the fame time. The fteeped ones came Difeafesc
up ten days before the others, and hardly any miffed or i Flants. |
were curled. The unfteeped ones generally failed, and" v "
thofe few that came up were moftly curled.
He therefore, advifed as a remedy, 1. That the pota¬
toes intended for next year’s fets be planted nine inches
deep. 2. That they remain in the ground as long as the
feafon will permit. 3. That thefe fets be well defended
from froft till the beginning of March. 4. That the
fets be cut a fortnight before planting. 5. That they
be fteeped, as above, two hours in brine or lye. 6. 'I hat
the dung be put over the fets. And, 7- That frefti fets
be got every year from fandy foils near the coaft, or on
the Ihore.
P. S. At planting, the hard dry fets {hould be call
afide, for they will probably be curled. Curled potatoes
always proceed from fets which do not rot or putrefy
in the ground.
VI. This writer had five drills of the old red pota¬
toes, and four of the winter whites, growing at the fame
time in the fame field. The drills were prepared ex¬
actly alike. Among the red not one was curled ; the
winter whites were nearly all curled. He fays he has
found by experience, that the red never curl.
VII. Two of the writer’s neighbours had their fets
out of one heap of potatoes. They both fet with the
plough, the one early, and the other late, in the feafon.
Moft of thofe early fet proved curled, and moft of thofe
fet late fmooth ; the latter on clay land.
A few roods of land were alfo planted with fmall po¬
tatoes, which had lain fpread on a chamber floor all the
winter and fpring till the middle of May. Ihey were
foft and withered: they proved fmooth and a good crop.
Middle-fized potatoes, withered and foft, which had
been kept in a large dry cellar, and the fprouts of which
had been broken off three times, produced alfo a fmooth
good crop.
Hence he was led to think fuperfluity of fap, occa-
fioned by the feed being unripe, might caufe the difeafe.
To be fatisfied in this, he alked the farmer whether he
had fet any of the fame potatoes this year, and what was
the nature of his land ? He told him “ he had ; that
they had been fet on his farm fourteen years without
ever curling; that his foil was a poor whitifti fand,. of
little depth ; that he let thofe he defigned for keeping
grow till they were fully ripe.”
Hence he concludes, the only fure way to prevent
the curl is, to let potatoes intended for feed Hand till
they are fully ripe, and to keep them dry all winter.
VIII. This writer fet a quantity of the red potatoes,
without having a curled one amongft them. His me¬
thod is, when the fets are cut, to pick out fuch as are
' reddeft in the infide. On digging them up at Mi¬
chaelmas, he mixes none of the curled feed among the
others. The curled are eafily diftinguilhed, by their
ftalks withering two months before the reft of the
crop.
The caufe of the curled difeafe he attributes to pota¬
toes being of late years produced from feed inftead of
roots as formerly. Such will not Hand good more than
two or three years, ufe what method you pleafe. Laft
fpring he fet the old red and white ruffets, and had not
a curled potato amongft them.
On the limeftone land about Denbigh, in North
Wales,
ieory. A G R I C U
eafes of Wales, tliey have no curled potatoes. If this be owing
lants. to the nature of that land, perhaps lime might prevent
the difeafe.
IX. According to this writer, all forts of grain
wear out and turn wild if fown too long on the fame
land; the fame will hold good in all forts of pulfe,
peafe, beans, and (as he conceives) potatoes. It ge¬
nerally happens, that thofe who have moft curled po¬
tatoes plant very fmall fets. '
Eleven years ago he bought a parcel of frelh fets, of
the golden-dun kind, and has ufed them without change
to the prefent year, without any being curled. This
he principally attributes to his having always planted
good large fets.
About four years fince, he thought of changing his
fets, as his potatoes were too fmooth, too round, and
much diminilhed in lize. But the curl at that time be¬
ginning to be very alarming, he continued his fets till
part of his crop mifling laft year, he was obliged to buy
new fets this ipring, which being fmall, were curled
like other people’s.
He allows, that the curl has frequently happened to
perfons who have ufed large potatoes for fets j for, as
all roots are not equally affedled, fome curled ones may
be mixed with the reft.
To prevent the evil, cut your fets from clear and
middle-fized potatoes, gathered from places as clear of
the curl as poflible 5 preferve them as ufual till fpring.
If any are harder, or grafh more in cutting than ufual,
call them afide. He would alfo recommend the railing
a frefli fort from the crab produced on the forts leaft
affefted, which in Lancafhire are the long-duns.
X. Set potatoes with the fprits broke off, and they
will (fays the writer of this letter) be curled ones *, if
fet with the fprits on, they will not be curled. Again,
take a potato which is fprit, and cut a fet off with two
fights j break one fprit off, and let the other flay on,
and fet it j the former will be curled, and the latter
will not.
When you have holed your potatoes, take them out
before they are fprit, and lay them dry until you have
fet or fown them, and you will have no curled pota¬
toes.
XI. This writer was at the expence of procuring
fets at 50 miles diftance, and where this difeafe was not
known. The firft year’s trial was fuccefsful ; the year
following he procured fets from the fame place, but
one-fifth of his crop was infe£led. By way of experi¬
ment, he planted fets from roots w'hich had been infeft-
ed the year before, and fome of thefe produced healthy
plants, free from all infection.
As every effeft muft have a caufe, he fuppofed it
might be fome infeft, which, living on the leaves, gave
them that curled and fickly appearance, as is the cafe
in the leaves of many fhrubs and trees. But whether
the infeft is lodged in the old fets, and to be deftroyed
at the time of planting, or, proceeding from fome ex¬
ternal caufe, can only be deftroyed afterwards, he is
not yet certain, although he has made the following
experiments.
On a piece of gr®und that had not been dug for 20
years, he planted four rows of fets, which he knew to
be perfe&ly clear*, the drills were two feet diftant, the
fets one foot diftant in each drill. He then planted
•ots the fame ground four rows with fets from curled
L T U R E. 32.S
potatoes, at equal diftances j in each row were about D^fes ot
20 fets. ■ y
Lot 1 ft, The curled fets.
N° 1. Without manure, I N° 3. In foot,
2. In fait, I 4. In quicklime.
Lot 2d, The clear fets.
N° 1. Without manure, I N° 3. In foot,
2. In fait, I 4. In quicklime.
Thofe planted in fait and foot in both lots were de¬
ftroyed. In Lot ift, N° I. and 4. all curled. Lot 2d,
N° 1. and 4. quite clear.
This experiment was made on a fuppofition that the
infedt lodged in the fet, and muft be deftroyed on plant¬
ing. But of that he is not fully fatisfied. He re¬
peated fait, foot, and quicklime, on the branches of
feveral curled potatoes. Salt deftroyed all he touched
with it. Lime and foot had, he thought, a partial ef-
fedt on the plants. After fome time, they appeared
almoft as healthy as the reft. Thus, although he had
done little towards the cure, he flatters himfelf he has
pointed out the caufe, the infedls on the curled plants
being not only very numerous, but vifible to the naked
eye.
XII. This writer afcribes the caufe of the difeafe
to the froft, and bad keeping in winter and fpring be¬
fore fetting. They are liable to be damaged by froft
after they are fet j but this may be prevented by co¬
vering. If it be alked, why froft did not injure them
formerly ? he anfwers, it is only the NEW kinds which
are apt to curl. To this may be added, that lefs care
is now taken of the feed than formerly. To prevent
the latter, let them remain in the ground covered with
haulm or litter till the time they are wanted for fet¬
ting : and, in cafe no froft touches them afterwards,
they will be free from the difeafe.
XIII. This writer fays, the red potato was as gene¬
rally planted as the winter white and the Lincolnfliire
kidney are now. The firft, being a later potato, did
not fprout fo early as the others. The white fprout
very early, and therefore ftiould firft be moved out of
the place where they have been preferved in the winter
Inftead of that, they are often let remain till their
roots and/prouts are matted together. On feparating
them, thefe fprouts are generally rubbed off, and they
are laid by till the ground is ready; during which in¬
terval they fprout a fecond time: but thefe fecond
fprouts, being weak and languid, will (brink, ficken,
and die; and the fruit at the roots will be fmall, hard,
ill-ftiaped, and of a brown colour.
Now, if putting off the fprouts once or more, be¬
fore the fets are put in the ground, be the caufe (as
he verily believes it is) of the curled difeafe, an eafy
remedy is at hand. When the potatoes intended for
fets are dug up, lay them in a weft afpefl as dry as
poflible : in fuch a fituation they will not fprout fo
foon. The beft time for removing moft forts, is the
firft fine day after the 24th of February. Cut them
into fets as foon as poflible, and let them remain co¬
vered with dry fand till the ground is prepared, which
(hould be a winter fallow. Lay the fets in without
breaking off any of the fprouts, for the fecond will not
be fo vigorous. This accounts for one fprout out of
three from the fame fet being curled. The two ftems
not curled rofe from two later eyes, and were firft
S f 2 fprouts.
324 A G R I C U
Difeafes offprouts. The fprout curled was a fecond, the firft ha-
PJants. ving been rubbed off.
XIV. This writer fays, that laft fpring one of his
neighbours cut and fet, in the ufual way of drilling,
fome loads of the largeft potatoes he could procure;
and more than half of them proved curled. Being a
few fets (hort of the quantity wanted, he planted fome
very fmall potatoes which he had laid by for the pigs.
Thefe being fully ripe and folid, there was not a
curled plant among them. He apprehends, the others
being curled was owing to their not being fully ripe.
A crop of potatoes, fet this year in rows on ground
that had borne a crop of them laft year, were moftly
curled •, but many plants came up from feed left in the
ground laft feafon, and there was not a curled one
among them.
XV. Of late years, this writer fays, great improve¬
ments have been made in fetting potatoes and cutting
the fets. The ground is dreffed cleaner and dunged
ftronger. Many people, in drilling, wrap up the fets
entirely in the dung ; by which means, though their
potatoes are larger, the difeafe feems to be increafed.
They alfo cut their fets out of the richeft and largeft
potatoes, which is perhaps another caufe of this evil.
In cold countries, where they fet their own feed,
which has grown on poor land, with lefs dung, they
have no curled plants. On the contrary, when they
bought rich and large potatoes for feed, they have
been curled in great quantities. He believes, the
richnefs and largenefs of the feed to be the caufe of
the evil ; for he does not remember to have feen a
curled ftem which did not fpring from a fet of a large
potato.
XVI. This writer apprehends the curled difeafe in
potatoes to proceed from a defedt in the planta femina-
/is, or feed plant 5 and from comparing curled ones
with others, there appeared to be a want of, or ina¬
bility in, the powers of expanding or unfolding the
parts of the former ; which, from this defedl, forms
fhrivelled, ftarved, curled ftems. On examining fome
of the fets at the time of getting the crop, he found
them hard and undecayed ; fo hard, indeed that fome
of them would not be foft with long boiling. This
led him to think, that fome manures might have the
fame effe£l on them as tanners ooze has on leather,
and fo harden them, that the embryo plant could not
come forth with eafe 5 but a clofer examination taught
him otherwife, and that they grow equally in all ma-.
nures.
Some have thought that the fermentation is occa-
fioned by too great quantities being heaped together;
but the writer has feen an inftance, wherein a fingle
potato, preferved by itfelf, when fet, produced ftems
of the curled kind. He thinks the moft confiftent and
rational opinion is, that the difeafe is occafioned by
the potatoes being taken from the ground before the
ftamen, or miniature plant, is properly matured and
ripened.
For let it be obferved, that the potato, being a na¬
tive of a warmer climate, has there more fun, and a
longer continuance in the ground, than in its prefent
exotic ftate, confequently it has not the fame natural
caufes here to mature the feed plant as in its native
ftate. We ought, therefore, to give all the opportu¬
nities opr climate will admit for nature to complete
L T U R E. Theory.
her work, and fit the ftamen for the next ftate of ve- Difeafes of
getation, efpeciaily in thofe intended for feed. But if ^‘i'lts .
the potato be taken up before the feed-plant be fully
matured, or the air and fap veffels have acquired a pro¬
per degree of firmnefs or hardnefs, it muft, when thus
robbed of further nutrition, fhrivel up ; and when the
veffels, in this immature ftate, come to aft again in
the fecond ftate of vegetation, they may produce plants
which are curled.
If it be alked, why are they more common now
than formerly ? he anfwers, that before the prefent
mode of fetting them took place, people covered them,
while in the ground, with ftraw, to proteft them from
froft.
If it be alked, why one fet produces both curled and
fmooth ftems ? he anfwers, we fuppofe every eye to
contain a planta feminalis ; that all the embryos, or
feed plants, contained in one potato, are nourilhed by
one root ; and that, as in ears of corn, fome of thefe feed
plants may be nourilhed before others.
One of his neighbours, laft year, fet two rows of
potatoes, which proving all curled, he did not take
them up ; and this year there is not a curled one
among them. Such potatoes, therefore, as are defign-
ed for feed, Ihould be preferved as long in the ground
as poffible.
XVII. This writer advifes fuch fets to be planted
as grow in mofs land; and, he fays, there will not be
a fingle curled one the firft year. This is affirmed by
the inhabitants of two townlhips, where they grow
amazing quantities. A medical gentleman fowed laft
year two buffiels of fets from one of the above places,
and had not one curled; but on fowing them again
this year, he had a few.
Notwithftanding there feems to be a diverfity of
opinions in the above writers, occafioned by the differ¬
ent appearances of their crops, and the feemingly
contrary effefts of the means ufed to prevent or cure
the difeafe, we conceive that the following general
propofitions may be fairly drawn from the whole.
I. That fome kinds of potatoes are {cateris Paribas')
much more liable to be affefted by the difeafe than
the reft ; and that the old-red, the golden-dun, and
the long-dun, are the moft free from it.— 2. That the
difeafe is occafioned by one or more of the following
caufes, either fingly or combined : ift, By froft, either
before or after the fets are planted : 2d, From planting
fets out of large unripe potatoes: 3d, From planting too
near the furface, and in old worn-out ground: 4th, From
the firft ftioots of the fets being broken off before
planting ; by which means there is an incapacity in
the planta feminalis to fend forth others fufficiently
vigorous to expand fo fully as they ought.—3. That
the moft fuccefsful methods of preventing the dif¬
eafe, are cutting the. fets from fmooth middle-fized po¬
tatoes, that were fully ripe, and had been kept dry af¬
ter they w’ere taken out of the ground ; and without
rubbing off their firft ffioots, planting them pretty deep
in freffi earth, with a mixture of quicklime, or on lime-
ftone land.
A correfpondent of the Bath Society is convinced,
that, whatever may be its caufe, the fault itfelf is inhe¬
rent in the feed ; and has communicated the following
method of avoiding it : “I made a hot-bed in the fol¬
lowing manner (which method I have ufed ever fincej;
Theory.
Difeafesof I laid horfe dang, &e. (as is generally ufed in making
Plants hot-beds), about 18 inches thick ; over which I fpread
L"r~' a layer of fine rich mould about four or five inches
thick : upon the top of this mould I laid, in different
divifions, a certain number of potatoes of various forts,
fome of my own growth, and others brought from dif¬
ferent parts, and covered thefe lightly over with more
mould ; they foon came up. I then obferved which
was freed from the blight or curl ; for if there were not
more than one defe61ive in forty ox fifty, I concluded I
might fet of that fort with fafety. This method I
have now pradlifed near twelve years, and never loft
my crop, or any part thereof worth mentioning j whilft
my neighbours, who followed the old method, were
frequently difappointed in their crops j and to the belt
of my knowledge, all thofe of my neighbours who have
of late been perfuaded to take the trouble of ufing the
fame means as myfelf, have never failed of fuccefs to
their utmoft wifhes in one inftance ; nor do I ever think
it will fail, if duly attended to j the fault being fome
hidden caufe in the feed unknown at pref'ent, and I be¬
lieve incurable by any means, at leaft which have yet
come to my knowledge. My reafon for planting my
hot-beds fo foon is, that if the froft hinder the firft
experiment, or they all prove bad, I may have time to
make a fecond or third, if neceffary, with different forts
of feed, before the proper feafon arrives for planting
in the fields and grounds appointed for the great and
general crops.”
In addition to the interefting information upon this
fubjecl, which has been obtained by means of thefe
focieties, various other fpeculations about the caufe
, and cure of this difeafe have of late been introduced
M.agT S *° not*ce ^ie public* lu particular it has been
flrongly urged, that the difeafe is almoft always occa-
fioned by infedls. It is faid, that on looking at the
roots of fuch potatoes as grow up curled, it will ufu-
ally be found, that the bearing plant is devoured and
excavated by fnails, centipedes, or beetles. Sometimes
alfo, though more rarely, the curl is fuppofed to arife
from the leaves themfelves being infedled with mi¬
nute animalcula. Hence, in rich foils in the neighbour¬
hood of cities and well-manured gardens, the potatoes
are moft fubjedl to the curl, becaufe fuch infedls as de¬
vour the feed abound moft in thefe foils. The infedts
are thought to prefer one potato to another. They
will hardly touch a yam. A potato from a late part of
the country, which has been hardly ripened, the ver¬
min do not feem to like j but a potato that has been
fomewhat fweetened or mellowed by the froft, is fuppo¬
fed to be greedily devoured by them.
An ingenious notion concerning the caufe of the
difeafe has been fuggefted from attending to the hifto-
ry of the plant in this country. The potato plant Avas
introduced into the ifland of Great Britain from a cli¬
mate much warmer than ours, as early as the reign of
Queen Elizabeth *, but it is a Angular circumftance,
that the curled difeafe did not make its appearance till
PranfaEl. within lefs than 40 years ago. Indeed, the difeafe is
oor./or £«-faid to have firft occurred in the year 1764, in the
cvurage- very diftridt of Lancalhire where potatoes had been
vol cu^’vated. It is alfo faid, that the Surinam po-
iii, ’ * tato and fome other kinds which have been more re¬
cently introduced into our climate, have never yet
exhibited any fymptom of the curl. It is farther faid3
325
that till within thefe 40 years the potato plant never Difeafes of
brought its feeds to maturity in this country, though
the roots were in full perfedlion ; that the Surinam ^ v
potato and others lately introduced do not as yet pro¬
duce perfedl feeds at the top of their ftem ; and that
potatoes, which have been cultivated for a length of
time in bleak and mountainous fituations, are ftill in
the fame ftate, and do not bring their feeds to matu¬
rity. Hence it is endeavoured to be inferred, that
there exifts a connexion in the nature of the plant be¬
tween this difeafe and the ftate of maturity to which
the feed is brought. It is fuppofed, that the plant is
unfit at once to afford mature and perfect feed at the
fummit of its ftem, and alfo roots capable of propa¬
gating it in perfedlion. From thefe premifes it is fug¬
gefted, that, to prevent the curl, it will be neceffary
to procure feed potatoes from mountainous fituations
into which the difeafe has not yet come, becaufe the
plant has never produced perfedf fruit at the fummit
of its ftem ; or an attempt may be made to procure
more perfedl feed from the ordinary kind of potatoes, by
deftroying the flowers, which may have the effedl to
prevent the plant from being exhaufted by bringing
to maturity both fruit at its fummit and roots at its
bottom. Laftly, It has been fuppofed, upon thefe
principles, that the difeafe may be prevented by rearing
potatoes from the feed produced at the fummit of the
ftem j the mode of pradtifing which will afterwards be
explained.
In the mean time, it may be obferved, that the fub-
jedl has been farther difeuffed, in a lefs • fpeculative
manner, by an anonymous correfpondent of the Board
of Agriculture *. This gentleman does not confider the *Comtnuni-
curl as a fpecific difeafe, but as an accidental debility
of thofe plants in which it occurs ; that we are not, Board,
therefore, to feek for a cure or preventive in a change
of feed alone, as many have all along done, but in
complete attention to all that experience (hows to be
neceffary to an accurate culture, and to their perfedt
growth. In this way alone, he thinks, there is reafon to
expedt that this very ufeful article of human food may be
cultivated with the fame fuccefs as before its dreadful
enemy the curl made fuch havock in our crops, as of
late years it certainly has done. He deferibes the difeafe
as occurring, in Mid Lothian, moft frequently from the
following caufes: ill, From planting potatoes on foils al¬
together unfit for them. Being unable to penetrate a ftiff
foil, potatoes require a light, pervious, or open mould.
For a long period after potatoes firft appeared in the
country, this circumftance was carefully attended to.
They were planted entirely with the fpade, in the light-
eft fpots upon every farm. Hence, the plants rofe vigo¬
rous, and no curl was feen ; but on farmers wiftung to
extend the culture of potatoes, they were tempted to
plant them on every foil, without regard to its nature,
or tendency to produce this crop. 2dly, Imperfedl
culture is deferibed as a frequent caufe of curling. A
crop of potatoes is commonly ftrong, abundant, aad
free from curl, in proportion to the previous culture
given to the foil, and the care taken to keep it clean
after they are planted. Hence, it frequently happens,
that while a farmer who cultivates this root in a negli¬
gent manner, and upon a great fcale, by means of the
plough, finds his crop deficient in confequence of
this difeafe, his cottars and fervants, to whofe ufe he
allots
AGRICULTURE.
3j6
G H I C U
Difeafes of allots fmall portions of potato ground, which they
Plants. cultivate with the fpade, obtain crops free from curl,
   and often double in quantity to his, in proportion to
the extent of ground which they occupy. 3dly, Small
roots, or too fmall a portion cut off along with the eye
that is to ferve for feed, appears to be a caufe of curl.
In the cafe of grain, it feldom happens, unlefs in very
fine feafons, that fmall feed produces a large crop j and
it is thought that fomething fimilar may occur in the
cafe of potatoes. As the young plant muff always de¬
rive its earlieft nourifhment from the root, out of which
it fprings, before it is capable of feeking its food in the
furrounding foil, thofe plants, whofe early growth is
beft fupported and foftered, muff be expefted to reach
the greateft perfe£tion. To fubje£t thefe ideas to the teft
of experiment, 64fets were planted j 16 of which were
full grown potatoes, 16 from fmall roots, in which no
curl'appeared when in the field, 16 from roots raifed
from the feeds two years before, and 16 from roots of
plants ftrongly curled. They were all planted in the
fame manner in a light foil, in parallel furrows, with
a moderate quantity of dung, and covered to the depth
of three inches. Of thofe taken from large potatoes,
none were curled, and the plants were ilrong and
healthy. Some good plants appeared in each of the other
rows, but nearly a half of the whole were curled. The
proportion of curled plants was rather greateft in thofe
raifed from the feed. qthly, Sets taken from roots
that have fprouted early, and from which the germs
have been rubbed, are laid never to fail to produce
curl. 5thly, Too much, as well as too little dung,
appears to have an influence in producing curl j the
firft probably by corrupting the germ of the young
plant, the latter by not being fufficient to produce vi¬
gorous plants. Hence, attention ought to be paid to
the regular fpreading of dung, which ought not to be
thrown about in a carelefs and flovenly manner, which
allows fome plants to have none, while others are co¬
vered with it to the depth of feveral inches. 6Uily, Too
deep, as well as too (hallow planting, gives rife to the
curl. To afeertain the proper depth, 12 were planted
at 18 inches deep*, the fame number at the depth of.
l6 inches, and of 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4> 3’ anc^
2 inches j and 12 were fo lightly covered, that they
Avere not, perhaps, at the depth of one inch. The
fets were all from large roots, of the fame crop, cut as
nearly as poflible of the fame fize. They were all
planted at the fame time, in the firfi: week of April, in
a light dry foil, and they all got the fame quantity of
dung. The plants at the depth of I and 2 inches ap¬
peared firft ; but they were weak, and fome of them
curled. Thofe at 3, 4, and 5 inches, were all ftrong,
and free from curl. At 6 and 7 inches, they were alfo
healthy, and free from curl, but they were three weeks
later in getting above the ground than thofe that were
thinly covered, and the plants were neither fo ftrong,
nor the roots fo large. Thofe planted at the depth of
8 inches rofe ft ill later, and were all weak.—Nine out
of the 12 were curled. Of thofe planted at 10 inches
deep, only four appeared j and they Avere fo Aveak,
that they foon withered and died. Of thofe deeper
planted, none ever appeared. On digging them up at
the end of tvvo months, thofe at 16 and 18 inches deep
Avere found unchanged } Avhile fome of thofe at the
depth of 12 and 14 inches, had put forth fome feeble
L T U R E. Theory.
germs not exceeding the length of an inch. "Ihofe DHeafes of
planted at 3 and 4 inches Avere evidently the ftrongeft ,‘lints- j
during the whole feafon, and their roots largeft. Hence,
to procure an early, abundant, and healthy crop, 3
ches appears to be the beft depth for planting potatoes.
7thly, Whatever injures the neev fets or the germs af¬
terwards may produce curl : fuch as the trampling of
horfes feet at the time of planting } their being par¬
tially covered with ftones or hard clods of earth } deep
harrowing, Avhen the young (hoots are advancing 5 and
grubs, fnails, or infers attacking the germs at firft, or
the ftems afterwards. Hence, Sthly, I he curl was pro¬
duced to an uncommon degree upon a field of ftiff land,
by palling a roller over it, about a fortnight after plant¬
ing. qthly, The (late of the Aveather when the crop
is young may produce the curl. Ram alone will not
do fo, if it be not allowed to lodge 5 but a long con¬
tinuance of dry weather, efpecially Avith cold winds,
when the (hoots firft appear, is apt to produce this
difeafe, and alfo hoar-frofts in this early (late of the
cron. Hence, it is thought that the three firft weeks
of April anfwer bed for planting potatoes in the fouth
of Scotland and north of England, as they do not, in
that cafe, appear till the middle or end of May. . From
all thefe remarks it is concluded, that though with the
beft management the curl can never be completely ba-
niftied from our fields, yet with due attention to the
leading points above mentioned, it may be prevented
from being attended with any ferious mlfchief.
As no information upon this interefting fubjeft
ought to be overlooked, Ave think it neceffary to ftate,
that the following plan for preventing the curl in po¬
tatoes has very recently been laid before the. public,
by an anonymous correfpondent of the publifhers of
the Farmer’s Magazine, avIio afferts, that he has adopt¬
ed it with complete fuccefs. It confifts of ufing for
feed Avhat are called potato beans. Thefe beans are a
dark brown excrefcence, larger than a horfe bean,
Avhich grows near the ground, on the haulm or (haAV,
generally, it is fuppofed, where it has been broken or
wounded. They are (Raped like potatoes, and have a
number of eyes, from one of Avhich grow two fmall
leaves. It is faid, that eight or ten years ago, feveral
of thefe potato beans were planted merely to try if
they would grow, and that they produced a great
number of common fized potatoes, but of a bad qua¬
lity. Thefe potatoes, hoAvever, being cut and planted
next year, produced potatoes of an excellent quality,
and in great plenty. Since that time, a number of
beans have always been planted fufficient to produce
enough of potatoes for next year’s feed. . They are
planted at the fame diftance, and treated in every re-
fpeft in the fame manner Avith common fets *, and
produce is equally plentiful. No other change of feed
has ever been neceffary.
Sect. VIII. Of the Objlaclcs to Agricultural Im¬
provement.
BEFORE proceeding to the practical part of the fub~ Moral and
left, it may be proper to take notice of fome of the p°lkica ° “
moral and political circumftances which refill the pro-
grefs of the art of agriculture, and which ought not toiml)rove.
be overlooked by perfons engaged, or Avho have an m- ment.
tention to engage in it.
ns
Theory. A G R I C U
Obftacles One of the firft and moft obvious obftacles to the
to Agricul- Improvement of this or of any other art confifts of the
. ture' ignorance of its praflitioners, or of its being carried on
by perfons of an illiterate and unintelligent chara&er,
who are unable to take a comprehenfive view of the
principles of their profeffion, or who have not fufficient
curiofity to inquire after the bell modes of pra&ice, or
underftanding to difcern the value of any new prac¬
tices that are explained to them. It ought never to
be forgotten, that the art of the hulbandman is an in¬
tricate and extenfive one, and that one of the chief
circumftances which has hitherto prevented its im¬
provement has arifen, as already mentioned, from the
fecluded fituation of perfons engaged in it. They are
fcattered over the face of the country, inftead of being
collefled together like other artifts in towns, fo as to
be enabled to derive aid from each other’s experience.
Fortunately this difficulty is palling away, in confe-
quence of the diffulion of agricultural knowledge, by
means of the great number of publications upon that
fubjeft which are gradually introducing themfelves in¬
to the remoteft corners of the country. Perfons re¬
ceiving a liberal education, particularly at the univer-
fity of Edinburgh, have now alfo an eafier opportuni¬
ty than formerly of acquiring a knowledge of the prin¬
ciples of this art, in confequence of the ellabliffiment
of a profefforffiip of agriculture, which has been en¬
dowed by a private gentleman, Mr Pulteney. Even
with all thefe advantages, however, aided as they are
by the exertions of the Board of Agriculture, it can
never be expe&ed that this art can reach its ultimate
degree of perfe&ion, unlels a confiderable number of
the perfons engaged in it are men of intelligent cha-
raflers and good education, who will call in the im¬
provements which are making in other fciences, as
well as in this art, in diftant countries, to the affiftanee
of their perfonal experience.
A fecond obftacle to agricultural improvement con-
fills of the poverty of the hulbandman, or of his want
of capital, to enable him fully and completely to la¬
bour the foil, and provide materials for its ameliora¬
tion. Complaints have often been made with little
reafon, of the oblfinacy of farmers, and of the tena¬
cious manner in which they adhere to old practices,
though demonllrated to be improper : But a poor man
cannot afford to make experiments, or to hazard the
lofs of a crop foi? the chance of obtaining a more va¬
luable one by fome untried pradlice. In confequence
of want of capital, large portions of territory remain in
foqie parts of the country in a Hate of nature, and con-
fequently unprodudfive, both to the occupier and to
the proprietor. Both landlords and tenants, there¬
fore, ought to know, that a man who engages in agri¬
culture without a fufficient capital takes up a bad trade,
in which fomething may be loft by both parties by the
deterioration both of the foil and of the ftock upon it,
but from which neither the public nor themfelves can
derive, profit.
A third obftacle to agricultural improvement fome-
times arifes from the poffeffor of the foil not having a
fufficient intereft in it. In barbarous nations, lands
are often poffeffed by communities as an undivided
property, without any individual member having an
exclufive right to a particular fpot. In fuch cafes, the
■worft kind of agriculture muft always prevail, for the
fame reafon that public affairs are always worfe mana-
L T U R E. 327
ged than the affairs of private perfons, who find their Obftades
induftry ftimulated not merely by a fenfe of duty, butt0
by the influence of avarice, and of all the other felfifh .
paffions. Confiderable portions of territory in Eng¬
land ftill remain withheld from the exertions of an im¬
proving agriculture by this ftate of property. But,
even where the intereft which the cultivator has in the
foil is exclufive, it may ftill be too limited. Where a
landlord is prevented by an entail, or other family fet-
tlement, or by narrow prejudices and a fhort-fighted
policy, from granting leafes of a proper endurance, it
is never likely that the foil can be well cultivated.
Every outgoing farmer will endeavour, during the laft
years of his leafe, to do as little for the land as pof-
fible, and to take from it all that he can poffibly ob ¬
tain. The firft years of every new leafe will there¬
fore be fpent by every new farmer in repairing the da¬
mage done by his predeceffor. Scarcely, however, has
he accomplifhed this objeft, than he himfelf, if his
leafe be ffiort, muft fet about procuring indemnity for
the money he has laid out in ameliorating the foil, by
fcourging it in his turn, or by taking from it as heavy
crops as poffible, and by beftowing upon it little or no
expence.
Under the fame head of a want of proper intereft in
the foil, may be enumerated the payment of tithes, of
which in England every farmer fo grievoufly complains.
Whatever money the hufbandman may there lay out
in improvements, is not expended for himfelf •, as the
proprietor of the tithes is entitled to draw a (hare of
the whole additional increafe, and thus becomes a part¬
ner in the profits of the enterprife, without running any
rilk of lofs by its failure. The odium of this tax, is
faid to induce great numbers of hufbandmen to con¬
tinue their lands in pafturage, to the no fmall detri¬
ment of the public, from the comparative unproduc-
tivenefs of human fo^d, which attends that mode of
occupying the foil. Fortunately, in Scotland this evil
hath been removed by the wifdom of our forefathers,
as every landlord poffeffes the privilege of obtaining
his tithes to be fixed at a fettled rate of payment for
ever j and, in many cafes, of having his lands altoge¬
ther dilburdened, upon payment of a very moderate
price.
The progrefs of the art of agriculture in Europe
was long retarded by the want of refperiability which
attended it, when engaged in as a proftflion or trade
from which profit was to be derived. In the feudal
times, the military profeffion was the only employment
in which a layman of liberal education could re-
fpe&ably engage. Agriculture, the only art which is
abfolutely neceffary to the exiftence of man, was re¬
garded with contempt, and left in the hands of the
meaneft of the people. Even the moft ordinary me¬
chanics were confidered as fuperior to perfons whofe
employment it was; becaufe the mechanic, refiding in
a town, and ufually under the prote&ion of the prince,
was fafe from the dominion and the infults of the petty
chieftains that ruled in every part of the open country.
The ftate of affairs is now greatly altered in this refpeft :
More enlightened views, and a better ftate of fociety,
have reftored to the profeffion of agriculture the re-
fpe<ftability which naturally belongs to it. It muft be
acknowledged, however, that the recent improvements
which have taken place in the art, have contributed not a
little to this change in the fentiments of mankind con¬
cerning
Obftacles cefnln^ the perfons occupied in it. It is now found,
to Agricul- that a man may become rich by agriculture, and that
. ture‘ . there are few better ways in which a prudent and in-
duftrious man can lay out a moderate capital. .In a
commercial age, the path that leads to wealth is al¬
ways refpe6ted and accounted honourable, and accord-
ingly it is now not unufual for the fons of Britidi noble¬
men and gentlemen, of extenfive fortunes, to become
apprentices to farmers.
The lalt obftacle to agricultural improvements, of
which we (hall take hotice, arifes in fome countries
from the want of judicious legiflation, or proper arrange¬
ments made by the public in its favour. The produce
of the art of the hulbandman, and the manures of which
his lands have occafion, are all bulky commodities
which cannot be tranfported without labour and ex¬
pence. Unlefs care is taken, therefore, to prepare and
Practice.
maintain good roads throughout the country, the pro- Obftacles
fits of agriculture mult always be fubjedted to fuch de- t0 ASr*cul.
dudlions as will greatly retard its profperity. In the . ., ^ ^
fame manner, if the ftate, from any narrow policy,
{hall prevent the hufbandman from bringing his goods
to the belt market, by exportation or otherwife, it is
impoffible that his art can flourilh. In former times,
nations were afraid to permit the exportation of grain,
even in feafons of plenty, left they ftiould be left with¬
out food, not confidering that the fureft mode of pro¬
ducing abundance of any commodity confifts in offer¬
ing, at all times, a good price for it. This error is
now redlified in moft nations j and at all events, in
the prefent ftate of affairs, the Britilh hufbandman
has no reafon to complain, as the grain reared in this
country is, even in the beft feafons, underftood to be
inadequate to afford fubfiftence to its inhabitants.
AGRICULTUPvE.
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Divffion of T'HE praftice of agriculture naturally divides itfelf
the fubjetfl. into three parts: ift, The cultivation of vege¬
table food for men and animals •, 2dly, The cultiva¬
tion of vegetables, fuch as flax and hemp, which are
more properly articles of commerce j and, 3^y> "l he
rearing and management of animals. To thefe we
{hall add, as connected with all the branches of agri¬
culture, a fliort defcription of the moft ufeful modes
of fencing and enclofing lands for cattle and other
objedts of huibandry.
PART I. OF THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
it; . ■
Cultivation We {haft confider this branch of the fubjedt under
veJ>etj" . four divifions. In the firft we {hall prefent to the
into four 6 reader a ftatement of the moft ufeful inftruments of
branches, agriculture : 2dly, We {hall ftate the mode of pre¬
paring land for cropping, by removing the phyfical
obftrudtions to agriculture, and reducing the foil into
a proper ftate : 3dly, We fliall explain the culture of
particular plants, and the pradtices of hulbandry con-
nedted with it j and, laftly, We {hall ftate the princi¬
ples and operations of the horfehoeing or drill huf-
bandry.
Sect. I. Injlruments of Hujbandry.
The inftruments employed in agriculture are vari¬
ous j as the plough, the harrow, the roller, &c. which
are again diverfified by various conftrudtions adapted
to particular ufes.
i. Of Ploughs,
i i s
The plough The plough is a machine for turning up the foil by
the adtion of cattle, contrived to fave the time, labour,
and expence, which, without this inftrument, muft
have been employed in digging the ground, and fitting
it to receive all forts of feed.
Amidft all the varieties which can occur in the man¬
ner of ploughing the ground, arifing from difference of
foil, local habits, and other caufes, there is ftill a fame-
nefs in the talk which gives a certain uniformity to the
1I9 chief parts of the inftrument, and ftiould therefore fur-
aninftru- nifti principles for its conftrudtion. There is not, per-
ment of the haps, any invention of man that more highly merits our
greateft va- utmojq endeavours to bring it to perfedtion j but it has
been too much negledled by thofe perfons who ftudy
machines, and has been confidered as a rude tool, un¬
worthy of their attention. Any thing appears to them
fufficient for the clumfy talk of turning up the ground 5
and they cannot imagine that there can be any nicety-
in a bufinefs which is fuccefsfully performed by the ig¬
norant peafant. Others acknowledge the value of the
machine, and the difficulty of the fubjedt ; but they
think that difficulty infuperable, becaufe the operation
is fo complicated, and the refiftances to be overcome
fo uncertain, or fo little underftood, that we cannot
difcover any unequivocal principle, and muft look for
improvement only from experience or chance.
But thefe opinions are ill founded. The difficulty
is indeed great, and it is neither from the ignorant
farmer nor the rude artift that we can expedl improve¬
ment. It requires the ferious confideration of the
moft accomplilhed mechanician j but from him we may I10
expedt improvement. We have many data j we know and may be
pretty diftindtly what preparation will fit the ground improved,
for being the proper receptacle for the feed, and for
fupporting and nouriftiing the plants $ and though it
is, perhaps, impoflible to bring it into this ftate by
the operation of any inftrument of the plough kind,
we know that fome ploughs prodigioufly excel others
in reducing the ftiff ground to that uniform crumbling
ftate in which it can be left by the fpade. The im-
perfedtions of their performance, or what yet remains
to be done to bring the ground into this ftate, is di-
redtly underftood. It feems, then, a determinate
problem (to ufe the language of mathematicians), be¬
caufe the operation depends on the invariable laws of
mechanical nature. _ jjj
It will therefore be very proper, under this article,tafl4
to afcertain, if poflible, what a plough in general ought it perferffl^
to
Part I. AGRICULTURE.
Inftruments to be, by defcribing dlftinftly Its tafk. This will fure-
Hulbandr • ^ out a general form, the chief features of which
■ -‘t— . muft be found under every variety that can arife from
particular circumftances.
The plough performs its talk, not by digging, but
by being pulled along. We do not aim at immediate¬
ly reducing the ground to that friable and uniform
ftate into which we can bring it by the fpade j but we
wilh to bring it into fuch a ftate that the ordinary ope¬
rations of the feafon will complete the talk.
For this purpofe, a dice or fod muft be cut off from
the firm land. This muft be Ihoved to one fide, that
the plough and the ploughman may proceed in their
labour •, and the fod muft be turned over, fo that the
grafs and Hubble may be buried and rot, and that
frelh foil may be brought to the furface j and all muft
be left in fuch a loofe and open condition, that it may
quickly crumble down by the influence of the weather,
without baking into lumps, or retaining wrater. The
firft office is performed by the coulter, which makes a
perpendicular cut in the ground. The point of the
foek follows this, and its edge gets under the fod, and
lifts it up. While lifting it up, it alfo heels it over,
away from the firm land. The mouldboard comes laft,
and pulhes it afide, and gradually turns it over as far
as is required.
Plate VI. The general Form of the body of a plough is that
General a wedge> or vel7 blunt chiffel, AFEDBC, (fig. I.),
form of having the lower corner D of its edge confiderably
the plough, more advanced than the upper corner B ; the edge
BD and the whole back AFDB is the fame perpen¬
dicular plane j the bottom FDB approaches to a tri¬
angular form, acute at D, and fquare at F; the fur-
face BCED is of a complicated fhape, generally hol¬
low, becaufe the angle ABC is always greater than
FDE: this confequence will be eafily feen by the ma¬
thematician. The back is ufually called the LAND side
by the ploughmen, and the bafe FDE is called the
sole, and FE the heel, and BCED the mould-
board. Laftly, The angle AFE is generally fquare,
or a right angle, fo that the foie has level both as to
Adv^t , and breadth.
of this" “e3 By comparing this form with attention, the reader
form. will perceive that if this wedge is pulled or puftied
along in the direction FD, keeping the edge BD al¬
ways in the perpendicular cut which has been previ-
oufly made by the coulter, the point D will both raife
the earth and ftiove it to one fide and twift it over j
and, when the point has advanced from F to D, the
fod, which formerly relied on the triangle DFE, will
be forced up along the furface BCED, the line DF
riling into the pofition Df and the line EF into the
pofition Ef.—Had the bottom of this furrow been co¬
vered with a bit of cloth, this cloth would be lying
on the mouldboard, in the pofition D/'E : the flice,
thus deranged from its former fituation, will have a
ftiape fomething like that reprefented in fig. 2.
In as much as the wedge raifes the earth, the earth
preffes down the wedge $ and as the wedge pulhes the
earth to the right hand, the earth preffes the wedge
to the left 5 and in this manner the plough is ftrongly
preffed, both to the bottom of the furrow by its foie,
and alfo to the firm land by its back or land fide. In
ftiort, it is ftrongly fqueezed into the angle formed
along the line FD (fig. 1.) by the perpendicular plane
Vol. I. Part I.
fl£DF and the horizontal plane FDE; and in thishuftriiments
manner the furrow becomes a firm groove, directing °^ .
the motion of the plough, and giving it a refilling fup- u U^1K ry*
port, by which it can perform all parts of its talk.
We beg our readers to keep this circumftance con- ^4
ftantly in mind. It evidently fuggefts a fundamental A funda-
maxim in the conftrudlion, namely, to make the land men!;a^.
fide of the plough an exafl plane, and to make the”j^™in
foie, if not plane, at leaft ftraight from point to heel. ftruftion of
Any projection would tear up the fupporting planes, de- a plough,
ftroy the directing groove, and expend force in doing
mifchief.
1 his wedge is feldom made of one piece. To give
it the neceffary width for removing the earth would re¬
quire a huge block of timber. It is therefore ufually •
framed of feveral pieces, which we lhall only mention
in order to have the language of the art. Fig. 3. re-
prefents the land fide of a plough, fuch as are made by
James Small at Rofebank, near Foord, Mid Lothian.
Ihe bafe of it, CM, is a piece of hard wood, pointed
before at C to receive a hollow (hoeing of iron CO,
called the sock, and tapering a little torvards the
hinder end, M, called the HEEL. This piece is called The feveral
the head of the plough. Into its fore part, juft be-Partsof tlie
hind the fock, is mortifed a (loping poll, AL, called ^ou^*
the sheath, the front of which is worked (harp, form¬
ing the edge of the wedge. Nearer the heel there is
mortifed another piece, P£), (loping far back, called
the stilt, ferving for a handle to the ploughman.
I he upper end of the (heath is mortifed into the long
beam RH, which projeCls forward, almoft horizon¬
tally, and is mortifed behind into the (lilt. To the
fore end of the beam are the cattle attached. The
whole of this fide of the wedge is fafliioned into one
plain furface, and the intervals between the pieces are
filled up with boards, artd commonly covered with iron
plates. The COULTER, WFE, is firmly fixed by its
(hank, W, into the beam, rakes forward at an angle
of 450 with the horizon, and has its point E about fix
inches before the point of the fock. It is brought into
the fame vertical plane with the land fide of the plough,
by giving it a knee outward immediately below the
beam, and then kneeing it again downward. It is fur¬
ther fupported on this fide by an iron (lay FH, which
turns on a pin at F, paffes through an eye-bolt I on the
fide of the beam, and has a nut fcrewed on it immedi¬
ately above. When fcrewed to its proper (lope, it is
firmly wedged behind and before the (hank.—Fig. 3
N° 2. reprefents the fame plough viewed from above.
ST is the right-hand or fmall (lilt fixed to the infide of
the mouldboard LV.
Fig. 4. reprefents the bottom of the wedge. CM
is the head, covered at the point by the fock. Juft
behind the fock there is mortifed into the fide of the
head, a fmaller piece DE, called the wreft, making
an angle of 160 with the land fide of the head, and its
outfide edge is in the fame ftraight line with the fide
of the fock. From the point to the heel of the head
is about 33 inches, and the extreme breadth of the
heel is about nine. The fide of the wedge, called the
furrow fide, is formed by the mouldboard, which is
either made of a block or plank of wood, or of a thick
iron plate. ^
The fock drawn in this figure is called a SPEAR Socks.
SOCK, and is chiefly ufed in coarfe or ftony ground,
T 1 which
33°
Jnftruments
of
Hufbandry.
A G R I C U
which requires great force to break it up. Another
form of the fock is reprefented in the next figure 4.
N° 2. This is called a FEATHER SOCK, and has a
127
Proper
breadth of
the foie.
128
It fliould
be level.
cutting edge CF on its furrow fide, extending back
about ten inches, and to the right hand or furrow fide
about fix. The ufe of this is to cut the fod below, and
detach it from the ground, as the coulter detaches it
from the unploughed land. This is of great ufe when
the ground is bound together by knotted roots, but it
is evident that it cannot be ufed to advantage m very
ftony ground. In general, the feather fock is only fit
for oround which has been under tolerable culture ,
but it greatly facilitates the labour of feparating the
fod. It may reafonably be alked, why the feather is
not much broader, fo as to cut the whole breadth oi
the furrow ? This is fometimes done. But we mult re-
collea that the fod is not only to be pulhed afide, but
alfo to be turned over. If it were completely detached
by the feather, and chanced at any time to brealJ on
the back of the fock, it would only be jmjhed afide ,
but by leaving a little of the fod uncut, it is held fait
below while it is Ihoved afide above, which cannot fail
to twill it round. As the wreft advances, it eafily de-
ftroys the remaining connection, which m general is
very flight and crumbling. .
The breadth of the foie at the heel determines the
width of the furrow. Nine inches will give enough
of room for a horfe or man to walk in. A greater
breadth is of no ufe, and it expends force in pulhing
the earth afide. It is a miftake to fuppofe that a broad
foie elves more room for the turned flice to Rand on;
for whatever is the breadth of the furrow, the fucceflive
flices will be left at their former diftances, becaufe each
is Ihoved afide at the fame diftance. When the breadth
of a flice exceeds its depth, and it is turned on its fide,
it will now Hand on a narrow bafe, but higher than
before, and therefore will Hand loofer, which the far¬
mers defire. But in this cafe it generally falls on its
back before, it has been far enough removed, and is then
pulhed afide, and left with the graffy fide down, which
|s not approved of. On the other hand, when the
depth confiderably exceeds the breadth, the fods, now
turned on their fides, muft be fqueezed home to the
ploughed land, which breaks them and Ioffes thera up,
making rough work. In wet clay foil, this is alfo apt
to knead them together. On the whole, it is bell to
have the breadth and depth nearly equal. But all this
is workmanfhip, and has no dependence on the width
of the foie behind. „ . .
We have already faid that the foie is generally level
from right to left at the heel. This was not the cafe
formerly, but the wreft was confiderably raifed behind.
It refulted from this form, that the furrow was always
ftiallower on the right fide, or there was left a low ridge
of unftirred earth between the furrows. This circum-
ftance alone was a bad pra&ice •, for one great aim of
ploughing is the renewal of the fuperficial foil. In this
wav of ribbing the furrows, the fod tumbles over as
foon as it is pulhed to the top of the rib on the right
of the rut made by the plough j the firmeft parts of it
L T U R E. Pra&ice.
fall undermoft, and the reft crumbles above it, making Inftrumenu
the work appear neat j whereas it is extremely un-Huft)an{lry>
equal, and what moft needs the influence of the wea-     
ther to crumble it down is (heltered from it. Add to
thefe circumftances, that the hollow is a receptacle tor
water, with a furface which can retain it, having been /
confolidated by the preffure of the plough. For all
thefe reafons, therefore, it feems advifable to form the
furrow with a flat or level bottom, and theretore to
keep the heel of the wreft as low as the heel of the
head For the fame reafon it is proper to hold the
plough with the land fide perpendicular, and not to
heel it over to that fide, as is frequently done, produ¬
cing the fame ribbed furrow as an ill-formed iole. I2p
There is great variety of opinions about the length Length of
of the plough. If confidered merely as a pointed in-the plough,
ftrument, or even as a cutting inftrument admg ob¬
liquely on a given length of fod, there can be no doubt
but that it will be more powerful as it is longer . tha
is it will require lefs force to pull it through the ground.
But it muft alfo fhove the earth afide, and if we double
its length we caufe it to &a on twice as much earth at
once : for when the plough has entered as far as the
heel, the whole furrow fide is afting together in puih-
ino- the earth to the fide. Now it is found, that the
force neceffary for puftiing a mafs of earth horizontal y
along the rough ground is nearly equal, to its weight.
It would feem, therefore, that nothing is to be gained
by making the bafe of the plough of a great length,
except a greater facility in making thefirft penetration,
and this is chiefly performed by the coulter and lock *,
and a great length renders the plough heavy and cum-
berfome *, and, by caufing it to ad; long on the fod,
tends to knead and cake it.
Nothing very precife can be offered on this lubject.
Some fenfible advantage is derived by making the
plough taper, especially forward, where it ads as a bo¬
ring and cutting inftrument ; and for this purpofe it is
convenient to give the coulter a dope of 45 degrees. I30
(This has alfo the advantage of throwing up
and roots, which it would olherwife drive before it the ^
through the firm ground.) And for the fame, reaion
the edge of the feather has a great dope, it being 10
inches long and only fix inches broad. But if we pur-
foe this advantage too far, we expofe ourfelves to ano¬
ther rifk. It is fometimes neceffary to heel over the
plough to the right, in order to get.over fome obitruc-
tfonT In doing this, the coulter is neceffaniy raifed
for a moment, and the flanting cut now made oy the
feather becomes the direding groove for the. plough.
When the feather has a very long dope, this groove
has force enough to guide the whole plough •, ana it
is aim oft impoffible for the ploughman to prevent it
from running out of the ground to the land tide (a).
The feather, therefore, ftiould not exceed ten or twelve
inches in length. i r ^
But to return to the length of the plough, from
which this obfervation has diverted us a little, we mutt
add, that a long plough has a great advantage in the
fteadinefs of its motion, having a much more exteniive
lupport
(..) This is often felt with the excellent plough deferibed by
the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. London.
Mr Arbuthnot of Surry, in the Tranfadions of
Pait I.
Inftmments
of
Hufbaudry.
131
The mould
board.
13a
How to
formed.
fupport both on the land fide and below, and being
therefore lefs affefted by its inequalities. Accordingly,
they are now made confiderably longer than formerly 3
and 33 inches has been affumed as a proportion to 9
inches in breadth, in conformity to the moll approved
ploughs now in ufe.
We come now to treat of the mouldboard. I his
is the moft delicate part of the plough, and is to be
feen in the greatefl: variety in the works of different
artifls, each of whom has a noffrum of great value in
his own opinion. It is here indeed that the chief re¬
finances are exerted and muff be overcome ; and a judi¬
cious form of this part of the plough may diminifn them
confiderably, while it performs the work in the belt
manner. Without pretending to fay that the different
refinances are fufceptible of an accurate determination,
we can ftill draw fufficient information from palpable
rules of mechanics to direft us to what would be nearly
the bert poffible form for a mouldboard. The talk to
be performed is to raife, pufii alide, and turn over to a
certain degree, a fliee already cut oft from the. film
ground. As we cannot provide for every inequality of
the cohefion or tenacity of the earth, our fafeft way is
to confider it as uniform : the weight of it is always lo.
As we cannot provide for every proportion between tne
tenacity and the weight, we muft take an average or
medium proportion which is not far from that of equa¬
lity. Conceiving the Dice at firlt as only tenacious, and
without weight, it is an eafy problem to determine the
form which {hall give it the intended twill and remo¬
val with the fmalleft force. In like manner we can
proceed with a (lice that has weight without tenacity.
It is equally eafy to combine both in any proportion •,
arid it is eafielt of all to make this combination on the
fuppofition of equality of weight and cohefion. S.up-
pofing the (lice like a brick, we know that it requires
the greateft force to begin to raife it on one edge, and
that~the ilrain becomes lefs as it rifes, till its centre of
gravity is perpendicularly above the fupporting angle.
It requires no force to raife it further 5 for on pufhing
it beyond this pofition, it would fall over of itfelf, un-
lefs withheld by the tenacity of what is not yet raifed.
But on confidering the form or plan of the fock, we
find that while the weight of the fod refills moll ftrong-
ly, there is left of it in this fituation aftually rifing,
and this nearly in the fame proportion with the labour
of raifing it ; and we fee that after the fod has attain¬
ed that pofition in which it is ready to fall over, it has
reached the wider part of the wreft, and is now pulbed
afide, which requires nearly the fame force as to raife
it: and this continues to the end of the operation.
When we take all thefe circumftances into confidera-
tion, it appears probable, that the compound refiftance
does not change much from firft to laft. If this be
really the cafe, it is an undoubted maxim that the
whole operation thould proceed equably : if it does not,
there muft be fome part of the fod that makes a refift¬
ance greater than the medium ; and as the refiftances
in all this claft of motions increafe nearly as the fquares
of the velocities with which they are overcome, it is
demonftrable that we (hall lofe power if we render
them unequal.
be Hence we deduce this maxim. That as the plough ad¬
vances through equal [paces, the twift and the lateralJh-
tlmg of the fod Jhould increafe by equal degrees. And
AGRICULTURE. 331
this determines a priori the form of the mouldboard. Inftruments
This principle occurred to Mr James Small, a nuft)andry.
maker in Berwicklhire, and he publithed a treatife on
the lubjedl in 1784. He has given feveral methods
for conftrufting mouldboards, which he fuppofes are
in conformity to his principle 5 but being merely a
country artift, and unacquainted with fcience, his rules
do not produce mouldboards having this property of
equable operation, although they do not deviate far
from it. His book is a very ufeful and inftru&ive per¬
formance, and level to the capacity of thofe for whom
it is intended ; and we have here availed ourfelves of
the author’s information on many points.
The high chara£ler which Small’s ploughs have
maintained for 25 years is a ftrong argument for the
truth of the maxim. We lhall therefore give fuch in-
ftru&ions as will enable any intelligent workman to
conftruiil fuch a mouldboard without any rilk of fail*-
ure ; and if future theory or experience Ihould difeo-
ver any error in the principles from which this maxim,
is deduced, by {bowing that either the weight, the te¬
nacity, or the lateral refiftance, is exerted according to
a different law from what has been affumed, the direc¬
tions to be given are of fuch a nature that they adapt
themfelves with precifion to thefe changes of principle,
and will ftill produce a perfect and efficacious plough.
Our readers will readily acknowledge that this is gain¬
ing a great point •, becaufe at prefent the inftrument is
contlrudled very much at random, and by a guefs of
the eye.
Let us now return to the wedge formerly made ufe
of for illuftrating the a&ion of the plough. Suppofe
it placed in a furrow already ploughed, and that the
fpace before the line FE (fig. 1), which is fquare from
the line of motion FD, is covered with a piece of cloth
or carpet, and that the point of the wedge enters upon
it at F, and advances to D. It will evidently raife the
cloth, which will now cover the fide of the wedge,
forming the triangle/DE. The line /D is what for¬
merly lay in the angle along the line FD, and^E for¬
merly lay on FE. It is this line FE therefore that
we are to raife, ftiove afide, and twift round, by equal
degrees, while the plough advances through equal
fpaces.
Now, if the length DF of the plough-wedge, reck¬
oned from the point of the fock to the heel, be 33
inches, and the breadth EE behind be nine inches, the
angle DEE or DE/will be nearly 740. The conftruc-
tion of the furrow fide of the plough is therefore redu¬
ced to this very fimple problem, “ To make the angle
DE/turn equably round the axis DE, while the angu¬
lar point L advances equably from D to E.” . ^
This will be done by means of the following very Defcription
fimple tool or inftrument. Let IHFK (fig. 5.) be aof an in¬
piece of hard wood, fuch as oak, a foot long, ^reepUr,
inches broad, and an inch thick. Plant op this ano-^
ther piece BHFC of the fame breadth, four inches long,
and half an inch thick. This will leave beyond it a flat
8 inches long. We ffiall call this the fock of the in¬
ftrument. Let ABC be a piece of clean oak, half an
inch thick, 20 inches long, and three inches broad at the
end BC. Let this be fafliioned like the ftyle of a fun-
dial, having its angle ABC 740, ^ have a Par^ ECE
fquare, to the extent of four inches from C, and the
reft E A worked into the form of a ftraight flender rod.
T t 2 Let
332
AGRICULTURE.
Pradice.
*34
Proper po-
fition of
the fod.
Inftruments Let EFG be a femicircle of clean plane tree or of me-
of tal, four inches radius : fallen this by fmall fcrews to
. u^) “1 r^'. the fquare part of the llile CE, fo that its centre may
be at C. Let this femicircle be divided into 180 de¬
grees, and numbered from G along the arch GEE, fo
that 0° may be at G, and i8o° at E. Let this llile
and femicircle turn round the line BC by means of
fmall hinges. This inftrument may be called the
mouldboard gage, or protraftor. When the llile is
folded down on the flock BIK, the point G will be
at F ; and when it is raifed up to any angle, the de¬
grees will be pointed out on the femicircle by the ftraight
edge CF.
Nothing can be more obvious than the manner of
employing this inftrument once we have determined
the moll proper pofition for the fod when the work is
completed. Now it feems to be the opinion of the
moll intelligent farmers, that the belt polition of the
fod is that reprefented in fig. 6.
Fig. 6. reprefents a fe£lion of the ground and the
working parts of the plough, as viewed by a perfon
Handing ftraight before it. ABDC is the unploughed
ground, and WB the coulter, kneed in Small’s manner.
FGKB is the feftion of the plough (or rather of the
whole fpace through which the plough has palled, for
no part of the plough has this fedtion). HOFE is the
feftion of a flice, pulhed afide and turned over, fo as to
lean on the next. HE is that fide of the flice which
formerly lay on KB. EF is the fide cut off by the
coulter ; and FO is the upper or graffy fide. The low¬
er corners are fuppofed to be a little bruifed inwards, as
mull generally happen.
The fod is pulhed 9 inches to the right hand, and it
leans with its graffy fide on the preceding furrow, in an
angle of about 50 degrees. In this pofition the grafs
is turned down fo as to rot 5 and there is a hollow left
below to allow the rain water to run freely off, and to
receive the earth as it crumbles down by the weather :
and if the harrow is dragged acrofs thefe ridges, it dif-
tributes along the furface the mould which was former¬
ly at the bottom. The fod lias got a twill of 130 de¬
grees j but it is evident, that after it has been turned
90 degrees, or even a little before this, it is ready to
fall over of itfelf. It is fufficient therefore that it be
turned 90 degrees when the heel of the wreft has reach¬
ed it, and the remainder of the twill is given to it by
the wing or flap of the mouldboard. This, then, dic¬
tates to us the manner of applying the inftrument.
Divide the edge DE (fig. 7.) of the wreft, or of a
lath nailed on it, into 90 equal parts, and continue the
divifions backwards to G in the fame line to 130. Num¬
ber the divifions backwards from the point of the fock;
then place the protradlor on the edge of the wreft, with
the point B of fig. 5. at the 90th divifion (fig. 7.) •, that
is, juft at the heel, with the Hock under the wreft, and
the ftile raifed to 90°, and prefs it home to the joint,
fo that the flock may be fquare to the edge, and then
the ftile will be in the pofition fuiting that part of the
mouldboard. In like manner Hide the Hock forward
to the 80th divifion, and lower the ftile to 8o°, and it
will have the pofition that fuits that part of the mould-
board . In the fame way Aide it forward to 70, 60, 50,
&c. and lower the ftile to 70°, 6o°, 50°, &c. and we
ftiall have the pofitioi? for thefe feveral parts of the
mouldboard j and thus it may be formed to the very
*35
How to
form the
mould-
hoard.
point of the fock, becaufe the llraight edge of the wreft Inftruments
may be continued fo far. A block of wood may be of
hewed to fit thefe feveral pofitions of the protra&or , u ry.’
ftile $ and thus, when placed with its ftraight edge on
the outer line of the wreft, and cut away behind in the
land-fide plane, will be the exaft fhape of the plough-
wedge. It would rife up indeed into a tall piece of
Angular fttape, gradually tapering down to the point of
the fock j but when cut off’ parallel to the ground, at
the height of about 12 inches, it will form the mould-
board, the front or edge of the (heath, and the whole
back of the fock except the feather, which is an extra¬
neous piece. The wing or flap of the mouldboard is
formed in the fame manner, by Aiding the flock of the
protraflor to 100, 110, 120, 130, and opening the
ftile to 100°, iio°, 120°, 130°. This will extend the
top of the mouldboard to about 22 or 23 inches j but
the lower part of the wing muft be cut away, becaufe
it would pulh the fod too far afide after it has got the
proper twill. The form of this part fhould be fuch as
would exatlly apply itfelf to a plank fet at the heel of
the wreft, parallel to the land-fide of the head, and lean¬
ing outward 40 degrees. This will be very nearly the
cafe, if it be made a fweep fimilar to the edge of the
flieath. Fig. 8. is a refemblance of the furface of the
mouldboard j AD being the edge of the ftieath, E the
heel of the wreft, and EEC the wing or flap. When
cut through in a perpendicular direftion, the fe£tion is
hollow ; if cut horizontally it is convex j and if in the
direction CE, making an angle of 740 with ED, it is
ftraight. If the protraflor be fet on it at D, and gra¬
dually Hidden backwards, the mouldboard will gradu¬
ally open the ftile, and the ftile will Ikim its whole fur¬
face without any vacuity between them.
This form is given to the mouldboard on the autho¬
rity of the fuppofition that the fum of the refittances
arifing from weight and tenacity remain pretty con-
ftant in its whole length. This cannot be affirmed with
confidence in any cafe, and is by no means true in all.
In ftiff clay foils the effefts of tenacity prevail, and in
light or crumbling foils the weight is the chief refin¬
ance. The advantage of this mode of conflrudlion is,
that it can be adapted to any foil. If the difficulty of
cutting and raifing the fod is much greater than that
of ffioving it afide and turning it over, we have only to
make the rife and twill more gentle towards the point
of the fock, and more rapid as we advance ; and it is
eafy to do this according to any law of acceleration that
we pleafe. Thus, inllead of dividing the edge of the
w!reft DE (fig. 9.) continued to G into 130 parts,
draw a line G g perpendicular to it, and draw fome
curve line D^ convex towards DG, and divide this in¬
to equal parts in the points 10, 20, 30, 40, &c. ; and
then draw perpendiculars to the wreft edge, cutting it
it 10, 20, 30, 40, &c. and apply the protractor to
thefe points. It is evident that the divifions of the wreft
line are bigger at D, and grow gradually lefs towards
G •, and therefore, becaule each has io° more twill
than the preceding, the twill will be more rapid as it
approaches the end of the mouldboard. This curve
may be chofen fo as to produce any law of acceleration.
On the contrary, we produce a retarded or diminilhed
twill by making the curve concave towards DG, as re- *
prefented by the dotted curve.
The mathematical reader will obferve, that this con-
ftruClion
part I. AGRICULTURE.
333
Inftrunients ftru&ion aims at regulating the twift round the line of
the wreft ED. This does not produce
Huft>an ry. pame regUlation round the line FD, which
the plough’s motion, and of the fod’s pofition before it
is ploughed over. The difference, however, is not worth
attending to in a matter fo little fufceptible of preci-
fion. But the twift round the line FD may be re¬
gulated according to any law by this inftrument with
equal facility. Inftead of placing the ftock of the
protraftor fquare with the edge of the wreft, it may
be placed fquare with the land fide of the plough.
To do this, draw a line BL (fig. 5. No 2.) acrofs
the ftock from the point B, making the angle LBC
16°, and put a brafs pin at L, making a hole in the
ftyle that it may not be prevented from the folding
down. Then, in ufing the inftrument, let the points
B and L reft againft the edge of the wreft, and pro¬
ceed as directed.
A ftill greater variety of forms, and accommodation
to particular views, with the fame general dependence
on principle, will be procured by giving the rod BA
a motion round B in the plane of the ftile, fo as to form
a ftile of a variable angle.
A tool may even be conftru&ed in which the rod BA
might be a cutting knife : and the whole may be led
along by a fcrew, while this knife turns round accord¬
ing to any law, and would gradually pare away the
mouldboard to the proper form.
Thus have we reduced the fafhioning the operative
part of the plough to a rule which is certain. We do
not mean by this, that a mouldboard made according to
the maxim now given will make the beft poffible plough;
but we have given a rule by which this part of the
plough can be made unequivocally of a certain quality by
every workman, whatever this quality may be, and this
without being obliged to copy. No defcription of any
curve mouldboard to be met with in books has this ad¬
vantage ; and we fay that this rule is capable of any
fyftematic variation, either with refpeft to the width
of furrow, or the quantity or variation of its twift. We
have therefore put it in the power of any intelligent
perfon to make fuch gradual and progreflive changes as
may ferve to bring this moft ufeful of all inftruments to
perfection. The angle of the head and wreft, and the
curve for dividing the wreft-line, can always be expreffed
in writing, and the improvements communicated to the
public at large.
135 After this defcription of the working parts of a
Mode of plough, and directions for giving it the molt effective
plough’s ^orm> ^ will not be improper to confider a little its
action. mode of aCtion, with the view of attaining a more di-
ftinCt conception of what is done by the ploughman and
the cattle, and to direCt him in his procedure.
Returning again to the wedge (fig. 1.), we fee that
it is prefled down at the point D, and as far back along
the mouldboard as its furface continues to look upward,
that is, all the way to the heel of the wreft. Behind
this, the perpendicular feCtions of the mouldboard over¬
hang, and look downward j and here, while prefling
down the fod, the plough is prefled upwards. Thefe
two preflures tend to twift the plough round a tranf-
verfe line fomewhere between the heel and the point.
The, plough therefore tends to rife at the heel, and to
run its point deeper into the ground. Upon the whole,
the preffure downwards is much greater than the upward
precifely the
is the line of
prefliire. It is exerted over a much greater fpace, and Inftruments
is greater in moft parts of that fpace. Behind, very
little downward preflure is neceflary, the fod being . u ^ar> T
ready to fall down of itfelf, and only requiring a gentle
touch to lay it in a proper pofition.
In like manner the plough is prefled backward by
the refiftance made to the coulter and fock, and part of
the refiftance made to the Hoping fide of the mould-
board : and it is prefled to the left by the other part of
the preflure on the fock and mouldboard.
All thefe preflures muft be balanced by the joint ac¬
tion of the cattle, the, refiftance of the bottom, and the
refiftance of the firm ground on the left-hand or land-
fide.
It is the aClion of the cattle, exerted on that point
to which they are attached, which produces all thefe
preflures. It is demonftrated by the principles of me¬
chanics, that this force muft not only be equal to the
mean or compound force of thefe refilling preflures, but
muft alfo be in the oppofite diredlion.
It is further demonftrated, that if a body be dragged
through any refilling fubftance by a force adling on any
point G, and in any direction whatever GH, and really
moves uniformly in that direction, the force exerted ex-
adlly balances the refiftances which it excites, both as
to quantity and direction : And if the body advances
without turning round the point by which it is drag¬
ged, the refiftances on one fide of this point are in equi-
librio with thofe on the oppofite fide.
And, latlly, it is demonftrated, that when this equi¬
librium is obtained, it is indifferent to what point in the
line GH the force is applied. Therefore, in fig. 3.
N° I. the force afling in the dire£lion HO may either
be applied to the point of the beam H, or to the
point N of the coulter, or to the point O of the fock.
When therefore a plough advances fteadily, requir¬
ing no effort of the ploughman to direct it, if the line
of draught OM (fig. 10.) be produced backwards to
the point G of the mouldboard, that point is the place
round which all the refiftanccs balance each other.
This point may be called the centre of reffance and
the centre of a&ion.
It would be of importance to determine this point
by principle j but this can hardly be done with preei-
fion even in a plough of a known form : and it is im-
pofiible to do it in general for all ploughs, becaufe it
is different in each. It even varies in any plough by
every variation of the proportion between the weight
and the cohefion of the fod. We fee how it can be
found experimentally in any given uniform fod, viz.
by producing backwards the line of draught. Then,
if the draught rope, inftead of being fixed to the muzzle
of the beam, were fixed to this point, and if it were
pulled in the fame direction, the plough would continue
to perform its work without any afliftance from the
ploughman, while the fjd continued uniform. But
the fmalleft inequality of fod would derange the plough
fo as to make it go entirely out of its path. Should
the refiftances between G and D prevail, the plough
would go deeper, which would increafe the refiftances
on that fide where they already exceed, and the plough
would run ftill deeper. Should the refiftances behind
G prevail, the heel would be preffed down, and the
point would rife, which would ftill farther deftroy the
equilibrium, and, producing a greater deviation from
334
I nftru'merits
of
Huibandry.
137 ,
Muzzle pf
'the beam.
A G R I C U L T U R E,
T3S.
The point
of draught.
139
Of the
plough in
trim.
the right f)alh, Would quickly throw the plough out of
the^giMUn'^ ^ nYun- nbt think of attaching the
draught to the Centre of telilfance 3 but rnuft contrive
a point of draught, fuch as {hall reftore the plough to
its proper pofition tv hen it has been driven out oi it by
any obftruftibn. , . , • , mi
The muzzle of end of the beam is a point which will
completely fuit bur purpofe. For fuppofe that the re-
fi(lance on the back of the fock has prevailed, and the
plough MNFD (fig. IG.) has taken the pontion
reprefented by the dotted lines, the draught line GMV
is brought doVvn into the petition ^ 0, diverging a lit¬
tle from GMO, and meeting the mouldboard in a
point jr confiderably before G. By this means the re¬
finances on the hinder fide of;g are increafed, and thole
before it are diminifhed, and the plough quickly re¬
gains its former pofition. .
From thefe obfervations it is plain, that whatever is
the fituation of the centre of refiftance, the point ot
draught may be fo chofen that the aftion of the cattle
{hall be direttly oppofed to the refiftance of the ground,
and that moreover the plough {hall have ho tendency
either to go deeper or to run out. This is the ule of
the apparatus at the point of the beam, called the
muzzle, reprefented at H (fig. 3-). t It turns round a
bolt/through the beam, and can be flopped at any
height by another pin £ put through the holes in the
arch / /». A figure is given of the muzzle immediately
below, as it appears when looking down on it. -I*16
eye to which the draught rope is hooked is fpread out
horizontally, as ftiown by HK, and has feveral notches
O in it, to either of which the hook can be applied.
This ferves to counteraft any occafional tendency'which
the plough may have to the right or left.
When the plough goes on fteadily, without any ef¬
fort of the ploughman, it is faid to be in trim, and to
fwim fair •, the preffure before and behind the centre of
aaion being in equilibrio with each other. In order
to learn whether a plough will be in this manner
management, hook the draught ropes as high as poflible.
In this ftate the plough ftiould have a continual ten¬
dency to rife at the heel, and even to run a little into
the around. Then hook the rope as low as poflible.
The plough fliould now prefs hard on the furrow with
the heel, and have fome tendency to run out of the
ground. If both thefe are obferved, the plough is pro¬
perly conftruaed in this refpea 3 if not, it muft be al¬
tered, either by changing the pofition of the fock or
that of the beam. Lowering the end of the beam will
correa the tendency of the plough to go deeper 3 the
railing the point of the fock will alfo have the fame ef-
fea. ° But it is of confiderable importance not to take
the point of the fock out of the plane of the fod, and
it is much better to make the alteration by the beam.
The Hope of the coulter has a confiderable effea, but
it cannot be placed very far from the inclination of 450
without the rifk of choaking the plough by driving the
roots and ftones before it. It is of great confequence
to have the coulter fit exaaiy in the direaion of the
plough’s motion : if it is in any other direaion, it will
powerfully twift the plough into its own track. As
ft muft be fixed in the middle of the beam’s thicknefs
to have ftrength, it is removed a little from the plane
of the land fide, and it was the ufual praaice to point
Practice,
it to the left below' to Compenfate for this; but this by I'*-’' ^erts
no means removes the difpofition to twift, and it ex-,
pofes to the 'rifle of catching a done between its point
and that of the fock, which muft; now be driven for¬
ward through the firm ground at a great expence of la¬
bour to the cattle. Mr Small has very ingenioufly re¬
medied this by giving the coulter a ftrort knee to the
left immediately below the beam, and thus pointing it
downwards in the plumb of the land fide. See fig. 6.
It is not without its ufe to know the abfolute force
tieceflary for tilling the ground. This has been fre¬
quently meafured with a Spring fleelyard. One of
Small’s ploughs, worked by two horfes, and employed
in breaking up ftiff land which had been ploughed be¬
fore winter, and much confolidated by the rains, re¬
quired a force of 36olbs. avoirdupois; and we may
ftate this as the ordinary rate of fuch work ; but mo¬
derately firm fod, under good culture, requires at a
medium 32olbs.
As we vviftr to embrace every opportunity of render¬
ing this work ufeful to the public, we thall conclude
this article with an account of a ptbugh which has juft
now been recommended to public notice by the Scots
Highland Society as extremely proper for a hilly coun¬
try.’ The inventor, the Rev. Alexander Campbell UU-
nifter at Kilcalmonell in Argyleftiire, was honoured
with the fociety’s gold medal, value 25I. I40
A, the fock (fig. 11.) 5 the land-fide of which tup-The Ar.
plies’the place of the coulter, and the foie of it ferves gyleflnre
for a feather; it is 18 inches long, and is made of aph>uS •
plate of iron 12 inches broad when finifhed, and fome-
what under half an inch thick.—B, the head; to be
made of iron in a triangular form, 4 inches broad by 2
inches at the thickeft part. There are 5 inches of the
head fixed in the fock.—C, the beam, 4 inches thick
by 5 inches deep, gradually tapered thinner; the length
6 feet.—E, the {heath, muft be of the fame thicknefs
with the beam above and the head below, and is five
inches broad. An iron fcrew-bolt connefls the beam
and head behind the (heath.—F, the handles are fo
made that the flope of the mouldboard, which is fixed
to one of them, may be the longer and more gradual.
They are 5 feet 8 inches long, and 2 feet 4 inches
afunder at the ends.—G, the mouldboard, confifts ot
7 rounded flicks two inches in diameter ; the covert ox
them is in the plane of the foie, the reft in fucceflioti
clofe to each other above it. This makes the mould-
board 14 inches broad. To prevent any earth from get-
ting over the mouldboard, a thin deal 4 or 5 itiches broad
is fixed above it* The mouldboard, land fide, and foie
of the plough, are clad with iron.— I he length is 20
inches : this added to 18 inches, the length of the fock,
makes the length from point to heel 3 2 inches.—
The muzzle or bridle OPH is alfo of a more conve¬
nient and better conftru&ion than thofe commonly in
ufe. By means of the ferew pins at L and M, different
degrees of land may be given to the plough ; the iron
rod LH being thereby moved fidewife in. the focket
LN, and up and down by OP. The rod is 30 inches
long, one broad, and half an inch thick. It is hooked
into a fcrewbolt at H. Two inches of the rod projeft
at N, in the form of an eye, before the muzzle, to re¬
ceive the hook of the crofstree. # ,
The advantages of this plough are faid to be : It is
not fo liable to be interrupted or turned out of its courfe
by
Part I.
Inftruments by ftones, roots, &c. as other ploughs are *, nor does it
of dip fo deep as to be liable to be broken by large ftones
Hufbandry. or motion of the muzzle is alio thought an
L v " ' ' improvement. Another advantage it has over other
ploughs is, its not being fo liable to be choked up by
ftubble, &c. This we underftand to be its chief excel¬
lency, and an objeft much defired in the conftru&ion
of the plough. Upon the whole, we are informed that
this plough is lighter, lefs expenfive, and lefs liable to
go out of trim than the ordinary plough, and that with
it two horfes can plough land which requires four with
any other plough.
n, •1lr Such are faid to be the advantages of this conftruc-
to £ con- tion ; but we cannot help exprefling our apprehenfion
ftrudtion. that the uniting the coulter and leather at the point of
the fock will expofe the plough to great rifks of being
put out of order. When the upright edge ftrikes a
{lone obliquely, efpeeially on the land fide, it mull be
violently twilled round the point of the head •, and, ha¬
ving but a moderate thieknefs at this part, may be bro-
kerfor permanently twilled. The plough will then be
continually running out of its dire&ion : and we appre¬
hend that this defeat cannot be amended without taking
off the fock and putting it in the fire. When a coulter
is bent by the fame caufe, the ploughman can either
reflify it"by altering the wedging, or he can ftraighten
it in the field ; and it mull be obferved, that the plough
oppofes much lefs refiftance to the derangement of this
fort of coulter than of the common one. In the com¬
mon coulter the ftrain does not fo much tend to twill
the plough round the line of its motion, as to prefs it
wholly to landward. The refiftance to this is great •,
but a very moderate force will twill it round its line of
motion. In either cafe, if the blow be given in that
point of the coulter where the draught line croffes it,
there will be no twill of the whole plough, but the point
of the plough will be forced horizontally to or from the
land. When the blow is out of this line, the ftrain
tends to twill the beam or the plough. Experience
will determine which of the two is the moll hazardous.
Thefe ploughs were made by .Thomas EIndiay, Abbey-
hill, Edinburgh, and models are to be feen in the hall
of the Highland Society.
Scots The plough conftrufted in the following manner is
plough. ftUi tEe raoft common and the moll generally under-
ftood in Scotland •, and, if properly made, is the belt
for anfwering all purpofes, when only one is ufed ;
though others are, perhaps, more proper on fume par-
ticular occafions.
Defcnption The parts of which this plough is compofed, are,
of toe Scots the head, the beam, the (heath, the wreft, the mould-
plough. board, the two handles, the two rungs, the fock, and
the coulter *, the two laft are made of iron, and all the
reft of wood.
Plate VII. The Head is defigned for opening the ground be-
%• t- low. The length of the head from A to B is about
20 inches, and the breadth from A to D above five
inches j C is the point upon which the fock is driven,
and the length from B to C is about fix inches •, a is
the mortife into winch 'he large handle is fixed, and b
is the mortife into which the thea*h is fixed.
The head is that part of the plough which goes in
the ground therefore the ftiorter and narrower it is,
the friflion win be the lefs, and the plough more eafiiy
drawn 5 but the longer the head is, the plough goes
335
more fteadily, and is not fo eafiiy put out of its direc- Inftruments
tion by any obftruftions that occur. Twenty inches is Huflj3n,]ry>
confidered as a mean length j and five inches as the ■ '•
mod convenient breadth. Fig a
The Sheath, E, is driven into the mortife &, and
thus fixed to the head AB. It is not perpendicular to
the head, but placed obliquely, fo as to make the angle
formed by the lines AB and EB about 6o degrees.
The (heath is about 13 inches long, befides what is
driven into the mortife b (fig. 1.) : about three inches
broad, and one inch thick.
The (heath is fixed to the mouldboard, as in fig. u-Fig. 3.
E, in the fame manner as the wreft is fixed to the head
in fig. 7.
The Mouldboard is defigned to turn over the
earth of the furrow made by the plough 5 and it is ob¬
vious, that, according to the pofition of the (heath, the
mouldboard will turn over the earth of the furrow more
or lefs fuddenly. Befides, when it forms a lefs angle
with the head than 60 degrees, the plough is in great
danger of being choked, as the farmers term it.
The larger Handle, FA, is fixed to the head, by fig. 3.
driving it into the mortife a (fig. I.). It is placed in
the fame plane with the head ; and its length from
AF is about five feet four inches, and its diameter at
the place where it is fixed to the beam is about two
inches and a half, and tapers a little to the top F.
About ten inches from A, there is a curve in the
handle, which, when F is raifed to its proper height,
makes the lower part of it nearly parallel to the (heath
EB. This curve is defigped to ftrengthen the handle.
The proper pofition of the handle is, when the top F
is about three feet two inches higher than the bottom
of the head AB.
The longer the handles, the plough is the more ea¬
fiiy managed, becaufe the levers are more diftant from
the centre of motion. T. he higher the top of the
handles, the plough is more eafiiy raifed out of the
ground, provided they be no higher than the lower
part of a man’s bread.
The Beam is fixed to the larger handle and the Fig. 4.
(heath, all of which are placed in the fame plane with
the head. The length of it, from H to I, is about fix
feet; its diameter is about four inches. When the
plough is in the ground, the beam (hould be juft high
enough not to be incommoded by any thing on the
furface.
The pofition of the beam depends on the number of
cattle in the plough. When two horfes are yoked, the
beam (hould be placed in fuch a manner as to make
the perpendicular diftance betwixt the bolt-hole of the
beam and the plane of the head about 21 inchesj when
four horfes are yoked, two a-breaft, this diftance (hould
only be about 18 inches.
The Sock, BP, is fixed to the end of the head, Fig. 5.
and is about two feet long. In fitting the fock to
the head, the point ought to be turned a little to the
land or left fide 5 becaufe otherwife it is apt to come
out of the land altogether. When turned to the left,
it likewife takes off more land •. when turned upwards,
the plough goes (hallow j and when downwards, it goes
deeper.
The Coulter is fixed to the beam, and is about 'ig. 6,
two feet ten inches long, two inches and a half broad,
(harp at the point and before, and thick on the back,
r like
AGRICULTURE.
336 A G R I C U
InftrametitslJke a knife. It is fixed and direfled by wedges, fo as
of to make the point of it equal to, or rather a little be-
Hulbandry. for^ tjie p0jnt 0£ t]ie an(l Upon a line with the left
fide of the head. This oblique pofition enables it to
throw foots, &.c. out of the land, which requires lefs
force than cutting or pulhing them forward.
Fig. 7. The Wrest, BD, is fixed to the head, and is about
inches long, two broad, and one thick. It is fixed
to the head at B, in fuch a manner as to make the an¬
gle contained between the lines AB and BD about 25
degrees. The wreft is feldom or never placed in the
fame plane with the head, but gradually raifed from the
place where it is fixed to it $ that is, from B to K, as in
fig. 8. The pofition of the wrefi determines the nature
of the furrow. When the wreft is wide and low fet,
the furrow is wide 5 and wrhen it is narrow and high
fet, the furrow is narrow.
Fig. 9. reprefents the tw?o HANDLES, fixed together
by the two rungs. The larger handle has already been
deferibed j the leffer one is a few inches (horter, and
does not require to be quite fo ftrong. Fhe diftance of
the handles at the little rung depends on the pofition of
the wreft. Their diftance at M and P is about two feet
fix inches. The leffer handle is fixed to the mould-
board at M, fig. 10. and to the wreft KB, at L.
Fig. II. reprefents the plough complete, by joining
together figures 6. and 10. in the (heath EB. The
wreft BK is fuppofed to make an angle with the head
AB as in fig. 7. and the handles joined together as in
fig. 9.
After having given fuch a particular defcription of
all the parts and proportions of the Scots plough, it
will eafily appear how it feparates, raifes, and turns over
the earth of the furrow. If it had no coulter, the earth
would open above the middle of the fock, and in a line
before the (heath ; but as the coulter opens the earth in
a line with the left fide of the head, if the foil has any
cohefion, the earth of the furrow will be wholly raifed
from the left fide, and, as the fock moves forward, will
be thrown on the right fide of the (heath, and by the
cafting out of the mouldboard, or the raifing of the
wreft, will be turned over.
Fig. 12. The Bridle, or Muzzle, is another article belong¬
ing to the plough. It is fixed to the end of the beam,
and the cattle are yoked by it. The muzzle commonly
ufed is a curved piece of iron, fixed to the beam by a
bolt through it. ABC is the muzzle, AC the bolt by
which it is fixed to the beam ; D is the fwingle-tree or
crofs-tree, to which the traces are fixed ; and B is a
hook or cleek, as it is commonly called, which joins the
muzzle and fwingle-tree.
Tig. 13. Some ufe another kind of muzzle, ABCD. It is
fixed to the beam by two bolts, and has notches by
which the cleek of the fwingle-tree may be fixed ei¬
ther to the right or the left of the beam. There are
alfo different holes for the hind bolt to pafs through, by
which the draught may be fixed either above or below
the beam. AD is the fore bolt upon which the
muzzle turns; on BC are four notches, betwixt any
two of which the cleek of the fwingle-tree may be fixed.
When the cleek is fixed at B, the plough is turned to¬
wards the firm land, and takes off a broader furrow ;
and when fixed at C, it is turned towards the plough¬
ed land, and takes off a narrower furrow. E and F
■are the holes on each fide through which the hindmoft
L T U R E.
Practice,
bolt paffes. When the bolt is put through the higheftInftruments
two, thefe holes being thereby brought to the middle
of the beam, the fore part of the muzzle is raifed a- ■ ^ . r
bove the beam, and the plough is made to go deeper,
and when put thmigh the lowed two, the fore part of
the muzzle is funk below the beam, and the plough is
made to go (hallower. This muzzle may be fo con-
ftru&ed as to have the fame play with the common one.
A is the end of the beam ; B a plate of iron funk intopig,
it, and, with a fimilar one on the other fide, is rivetted
into it by bolts; C is the muzzle fixed to thefe plates
of iron by the bolt D, which bolt may be put through
any of the holes EE. From the conftrudlion of this
muzzle it is plain, that it has the fame play with the
common one, and that by it the land of the plough
may be altered at pleafure. 144
Of all forms, that of the Scots plough is the fit-Properties
left for breaking up ftiff and rough land, efpecially 0^ehScoti
where (tones abound ; and no lefs fit for ftrong clays ^ ^
hardened by drought. The length of its head gives it
a firm hold of the ground ; its weight prevents it from
being thrown out by (tones ; the length of the handles
gives the ploughman great command to diredt its mo¬
tion ; and by the length of its head, and of its mould-
board, it lays the furrow-dice cleverly over. This
plough was contrived during the infancy of agriculture,
and was well contrived ; in the foils above deferibed it
has not an equal. _ 14S
But in tender foil it is improper, becaufe it adds In what
greatly to the expence of ploughing, without any coun- imPr0*
terbalancing benefit. The length of the head and
mouldboard increafes the friflion, and confequently it
requires a greater number of oxen or horfes than are
neceffary in a (horter plough. There is another par¬
ticular in its form that refills the draught : the mould-
board makes an angle with the fock, inftead of making
a line with it gently curving backward. There is an
obje&ion againft it no lefs folid, that it does notftir the
ground perfe&ly : the hinder part of the wreft rifes a
foot above the (ole of the head : and the earth that lies
immediately below that hinder part, is left unftirred.
This is ribbing land below the furface, fimilar to what
is done by ignorant farmers on the furface.
quires a ftrong heavy plough ; but may be avoided in
a cultivated foil by a plough differently conftru£fed.
Of all the ploughs fitted for a cultivated foil free of
Hones, that already mentioned, which was introduced
into Scotland about 20 years ago, by James Small
in Blackadder Mount, Berwickflnre, is the bed. It
is now in great requeft ; and with reafon, as it avoids
all the defedls of the Scots plough. The (hortnefs of
its head and its mouldboard leffens the friftion great¬
ly : from the point of the fock to the back part of the
head it is only 30 inches : and the w'hole length,
from the point of the beam to the end of the handles,
between eight and nine feet. The fock and mould-
board make one line gently curving ; and confequently
gather no earth. Inftead of a wreft, the under edge
of the mouldboard is one plane with the foie of the
head ; which makes a wide furrow, without leaving 146
any part unftirred. It is of late commonly termed the Chain-
chain plough, becaufe it is drawn by an iron chain P1^
fixed to the back part of the beam immediately be- It
fore the coulter. This has two advantages : firft, by
means
Part I.
Inftruments
of
Huibandry.
, x47
Of the fock.
Plate VII.
148
Ignorance
of farmers
in Scotland
but a few
years ago.
means of a muzzle, it makes the plough go deep or
(hallow 5 and, next, it flreffes the beam lefs than if
fixed to the point, and therefore a (lender beam is
fufficient.
As we have already fufficiently explained the fpecu-
lative principles upon which this plough is formed, we
(hall only remark, that it is proper for loams, for carfe
clays, and, in general, for every fort of tender foil
free of (tones. It is even proper for opening up paf-
ture ground, where the foil has been formerly well
cultivated.
A fpiked fock is ufed in the Scots plough. The
difference between it and the feathered fock will be bed
underftood by comparing their figures. Fig. 14. is the
common fock, and fig. 15. the feathered one.
From the conftru£tion of the feathered fock, it is
obvious, that it muff meet with greater refiftance than
the common fock. However, when the plough takes
off the earth of the furrow broader than that part of
the fock which goes upon the head, it is more eafily
drawn than the plough with the common fock ; for the
earth which the common fock leaves to be opened by
the wreft, is more eafily opened by the feather of the
other fock. In ley, the feathered fock makes the
plough go more eafily, becaufe the roots of the grafs,
which go beyond the reach of the plough, are more
eafily cut by the feather than they can be torn afunder
by the common fock. The feathered fock is alfo of
great ufe in cutting and deftroying root weeds. The
common fock, however, anfwers much better in ftrong
land.
It is proper here to add, that in fitting the feathered
fock into the head, the point of it fliould be turned a
little from the land, or a little to the right hand.
If we look back 40 years, ploughs of different con-
ftrudlions did not enter even into a dream. The Scots
plough was univerfally ufed, and no other was known.
There was no lefs ignorance as to the number of cattle
neceffary for this plough. In the fouth of Scotland,
fix oxen and two horfes were univerfal •, and in the
north 10 oxen, fometimes 12. The firft attempt to
leffen the number of oxen was in Berwickfliire. The
low part of that county abounds with (lone and clay
marl, the mod fubfiantial of all manures, which had
been long ufed by one or two gentlemen. About 30
years ago it acquired reputation, and fpread rapidly.
As two horfes and two oxen -were employed in every
marl cart; the farmer, in fummer fallowing, and in
preparing land for marl, was confined to four oxen and
two horfes. And as that manure afforded plenty of
fuceulent draw for oxen, the farmer was furprifed to
find that four oxen did better now than fix formerly.
Marling, however, a laborious work, proceeded (lowly,
till people were taught by a noted farmer in that
country, what indudry can perform by means of power
properly applied. It was reckoned a mighty ta(k to
marl five or fix acres in a year. That gentleman, by
having plenty of red clover for his working cattle, ac-
complidied the marling of 50 acres in a fummer, and
once of 54. Having fo much occafion for oxen, he tried
with fuccefs two oxen and two horfes in a plough j and
that praftice became general in Berwickflfire.
Now here appears with lufire the advantage of the
chain-plough. The great fridlion occafioned in the
Scots plough by a long head, and by the angle it
Vol. I. Part L
AGRICULTURE. 337
makes with the mouldboard, neceffarily requires two Indm11161515
oxen and two horles, whatever the foil be.
The fric-Hufb°j^r
tion is fo much lefs in the chain-plough, that two good ,
horfes are found fufficient in every foil that is proper i49
for it. Befides, the reducing the draught to a couple Advantages
of horfes has another advantage, that of rendering aofthechain'
driver unneceffary. This faving on every plough,
where two horfes and two oxen were formerly ufed, iuftrated.,
will, by the drifted computation, be 15I. derling
yearly •, and where four horfes were ufed, no lefs than
20I. derling. There is now fcarce to be feen in the
low country of Berwickfinre, or in the Lothians, a
plough with more than two horfes •, which undoubted¬
ly in time will become general. We know but of one
further improvement, that of ufing two oxen indead of
two horfes. That draught has been employed with
fuccefs in feveral places ; and the faving is fo great,
that it mud force its way everywhere, providing only
a breed of oxen with a quick dep could be obtained.
It may be confidently affirmed, no foil dirred in a pro¬
per feafon, can ever require more than two horfes and
two oxen in a plough, even the diffed clay. In all
other foils, two good horfes, or two good oxen, abread,
may be relied on for every operation of the chain-
plough.
A chain-plough of a fmaller fize than ordinary,
drawn by a fingle horfe, is of all the mod proper
for horfe-hoeing, fuppofing the land to be mellow,
which it ought to be for that operation. It is fuffi¬
cient for making furrows to receive the dung, for
ploughing the drills after dunging, and for hoeing the
crop.
A dill fmaller plough of the fame kind may be re- a. fmall
commended for a kitchen garden. It can be reduced fingle-horfe
to the fmalled fize, by being made of iron' 5 and where ploufcfi re~
the land is properly dreffed for a kitchen garden, an "
iron plough of the fmalled fize drawn by a horfe will rjous pur.
fave much fpade-work. In Scotland, forty years ago,pofes.
a kitchen garden was an article of luxury merely, be¬
caufe at that time there could be no cheaper food than
oatmeal. At prefent, the farmer maintains his fervants
at double expence, as the price of oatmeal is doubled ;
and yet he has no notion of a kitchen garden more
than he had thirty years ago. He never thinks that
living partly on cabbage, kail, turnip, carrot, would
fave much oatmeal: nor does he ever think, that
change of food is more wholefome, than vegetables
alone, or oatmeal alone. We need not recommend
potatoes, which in fcanty crops of corn have proved
a great bleffing ; without them, the labouring poor
would frequently have been reduced to a darving con¬
dition. Would the farmer but cultivate his kitchen
garden with as much indudry as he bedows on his po¬
tato crop, he needed never fear want *, and he can cul¬
tivate it with the iron plough at a very fmall expence.
It may be held by a boy of 12 or 13 •, and would be a
proper education for a ploughman. But it is the land¬
lord who ought to give a beginning to the improve¬
ment. A very fmall expence would enclofe an acre
for a kitchen garden to each of his tenants; and it
would excite their indudry, to bedow an iron plough
on thofe who do bed.
Nor is this the only cafe where a fingle-horfe plough
may be profitably employed. It is fufficient for feed-
furrowing barley, where the land is light and well-
U u dreffed.
AGRICULTURE.
I5I
Piotheram
Plough,
Plate IX.
3-
Plate IX.
%’ 4-
N
338
Inftruments dreffed. It may be ufed in the fecond or third plough-
of ing of fallow, to encourage annual weeds, which are
Hull) an dry. ^e^roye(j Jn fubfequent ploughings.
The. Rotherum plough is a machine of very dm pie
conftrudion, and eafily worked. AB is the beam,
CD the Iheath, EBD the main handle, FR the fmall-
er handle, GFI the coulter, K.I the fock. or fhare, NP
the bridle, S the fly-band, and ML a piece of wood
in place of a head. Ihe whole of this plough fliould
be made of alb or elm the irons Ihould be Reeled and
well Tempered $ and that part of the plough which is
under ground in tilling thould be covered with plates
of iron. The difference between this and the common
plough feems to confift in the bridle at the end of the
beam, by which the ploughman can give the plough
more or lefs land by notches at N, or make it cut deep¬
er or (hallower by the holes at P ; in the coulter or
fhare, which is fo made and fet as to cut off the new
furrow without tearing ; and in the mouldboard, which
is fo ftiaped as firff to raife a little, and then gradually
turn over, the new cut furrow, with very little refin¬
ance. But the greateft advantage attending it, is its
being fo eafy of draught, that it will do double the
IS2 work of any common plough.
The Paring The paring plough is an inftrument ufed in feveral
Plough, parts of England for paring off the furface of the
ground, in order to its being burnt. Mr Bradley has
given the following defcription of a very Ample inilru-
ment of this kind : From A to A (fig. 15O is
plough-beam, about feven feet long, mortifed and pi¬
nioned into the block B, which is of clean timber with¬
out knots. CC are the iheaths or fiandards, made flat
on the infide, to clofe equally with the paring plate,
and fattened to it with a bolt and key on each fide, as
at D. E is the paring plate of iron laid with Heel
about four inches wide, and from 12 to 18 inches long.
This plate mutt be made to cut on the fides, which are
bolted to the ftandards as well as at the bottom part.
FF are two iron braces to keep the ttandards from giv¬
ing way : thefe ftandards mutt be mortifed near their
outfides and through the block. GG are the plough
handles, which mutt be fixed flopeways between the
beam and the ttandards. J he pin holes in the beam,
the ufe of which is to make this plough cut more or
lefs deep, by fixing the wheels nearer to or farther
from the paring plate, ftrould not be above two inches
afunder.
Fig. 1. reprefents the four-coultered plough of Mr
Tull. Its beam is ten feet four inches long, whereas
that of the common plough is but eight. I he beam
is ftraight in the common plough, but in this it is
ftraight only from a to b, and thence arched •, fo that
the line let down perpendicularly from the corner at 0,
to the even furface on which the plough ftands, would
be 1inches •, and if another line were let down from
the turning of the beam at b, to the fame furface, it
would be one foot eight inches and a half; and a third
line let down to the furface from the bottom of the
beam at that part which bears upon the pillow, will
fhow the beam to be two feet ten inches high in that
part. At the diftance of three feet two inches from
the end of the beam a, at the plough-tail, thefirft coul¬
ter, or that next the {hare, is let through-, and at 13
inches from this, a fecond coulter is let through : a third
at the fame diftance from that j and, finally, the fourth
153
The Four-
coultered
Plough,
Plate IX.
Pra&ke.
at the fame diftance from the third, that is, 13 inches,Inftruments
and from a to b is feven feet. . . , • f Hulbandry.
The crookednefs ot the upper part of the beam ot , ,
this plough is contrived to avoid the too great length
of the three foremott coulters, which would be too
much if the beam was ftraight all the way j and they
would be apt to bend and be dilplaced, unlefs they
were very heavy and cluntty. Aih is the beft wood to
make the beam of, it being fufficiently ftrong, and yet
light. The {heat in this plough is to be feven inches
broad. The fixing of the ftiare in this, as well as in
the common plough, is the niceft part, and requires
the utmoft art of the maker -, for the well-going of the
plough wholly depends upon the placing this. Sup-
poling the axis of the beam, and the left fide of the
{hare, to be both horizontal, they mutt never be fet
parallel to each other ; for if they are, the tail ot the
{hare bearing againft the trench as much as the point,
W'ould caufe the point to incline to the right hand, and
it would be carried out of the ground into the furrow.
If the point of the {hare ftrould be fet fo, that its fide
ftiould make an angle on the right fide of the axis of
the beam, this inconvenience would be much greater 3
and if its point fiiould incline much to the left, and
make too large an angle on that fide with the axis of
the beam, the plough would run quite to the left hand,
and if the holder, to prevent its running quite out of
the ground, turns the upper part of his plough to¬
wards the left hand, the pin of the {hare will rift up,
and cut the furrow' diagonally, leaving it halt un-
ploughed. To avoid this and feveral other inconveni¬
ences, the ftraight fide of the iliare muft make an angle
upon the left fide of the beam ; but that rauft be lo ver*
ry acute a one, that the tail oi the ftiare may only prefs
lefs againft the fide of the trench than the point does.
This angle is ibown by the pricked lines at the bottom
of fig. 9. where e f is fuppoltd to be the axis of tire
beam let down to the furface, and parallel to the
left fide of the ftiare : and it is the fubtenfe eg that
determines the inclination which the point of the
fhare muft have towards the left hand. i his fubtenle,
fays Mr Tull, at the fore-end of an eight-feet beam,
fhould never be more than one inch and a half, ana
whether the beam be long or fhort, the lubtenfe muft
be the fame.
The great thing to be taken care of, is the placing
the four coulters 5 which muft be fo fet, that the tour
imaginary places defcribed by their four edges, as the
plough moves forward, may be all parallel to each
other, or very nearly fo j for h any one of them fhould
be very much inclined to, or fhould recede much from,
either of the other, then they would not enter the
around together. In order to place them thus, the
beam muft be carefully pierced in a proper manner.
The fecond coulter-hole muft be tw?o inches and a half
more on the right hand than the firft, the third muft
be as much more to the right of the fecond, and the
fourth the fame meafure to the right hand of the third 3
and this two inches and a half muft be carefully mea-
fured from the centre of one hole to the centre of the
other. Each of thefe holes is a mortife of an inch
and a quarter wide, and three inches and a halt long
at the top, and three inches at the bottom. Ihe two
oppofite fides of this hole are parallel to the top and
bottom, but the back is oblique, and determines the
obliquity
Parti. AGRICU
Inftruments obliquity of tbe {landing of tbe coulter, which is
of wedged tight up to the poll. The coulter is two feet
Husbandry. ejght jnc^es jon„ before it is worn : the handle takes
up fixteen inches of this length, and is allowed thus
long, that the coulter may be driven down as the point
wears away. As to the wheels, the left hand wheel is
20 inches diameter, and that on the right hand two feet
three inches, and the diftance at which they are fet from
each other is two feet 5^ inches.
2. The Patent Sward-cutter.
Patent4 The different parts of this inftrument are reprefent-
fward- ed by N° I. 2. 3. of fig. 6. A A, &c. a fquare frame
ratter. jJiree feet four inches from the fore to the hind part,
Plate IX. ^ feet three jncheSj tbe breadth of the machine
within fide *, the timber (when of fir) four inches
fquare, placed on two wheels BB three feet diameter,
a little more or lefs (the old fore-wheels of a chaife may
anfwer the purpofe), to fupport the hind part of the ma-
chine.
CC, &c. are fix flrong pieces of wood, called bulls,
three feet long, five inches and a half broad, the thick-
nefs fix inches at E, and tapering to three inches at F.
Into thefe bulls are fixed the cutting wheels, which
are iron, 13 inches diameter, ^ths of an inch thick at
the centre, about an inch diameter, for piercing holes
to fix the iron axles in *, from that they are to be of
fuch thicknefs, as to allow the edges to be well fteeled.
The wheels are fixed by two bolts going through the
bulls, with eyes on one end for the axles of the wheels
to run in, and nuts and fcrews on the other to make
them very firm by being funk in the bulls, to prevent
their interfering with the weights LL, &c. refting on
them.
GG, &c. are hollow pieces, of wood, called thorles,
each 3-J inches long, which enclofe the bolt MM, and
keep the bulls CC, &c. at their proper dillances, but
may be made longer or {horter at pleafure, according
as the fward requires to be cut in larger or fmaller
pieces. They are in two pieces bound together, and
jointed by a ftrap of leather or cord, which allows them
to be readily changed when the cutting wheels require
to be kept at more or lefs diftance.
The iron bolt MM goes through two pieces of
wood or iron PP, feven inches long, clear of the wood,
fupported by iron ftays fixed to the frame, and through
all the bulls. It requires to be ftrong, as the draught
of the horfes terminates there.
HH, N0 2. and 3. a cylinder or fegment of wood,
feven inches diameter, called a rocking tree, which
goes acrofs the frame, and moves on the pivots fixed
into it, one at each end, fupported by an iron bolt or
piece of wood mortifed into the frame, eight inches
high, as appears in N° 2. and 3. to which fix chains or
ropes are fixed by hooks, at different diftances, as you
want your cuts, nine, eight, feven, or fix inches from
one another, and are joined to the end of each bull in
which the cutting wheels run; fo that when the rock¬
ing tree is turned about by the lever I, fixed in the
middle of it, all the bulls, with their cutting wheels,
are raifed out of the ground at once, as in N° 3. by
which means the machine may be turned, or moved
from place to place with great eafe, without any danger
of {training the wheels.
LLL, &c. N° I. 2. 3. are weights of freeftone,
L T U R E. 339
26 inches long and fix inches broad*, the under^oneInflruments
four inches thick, the upper one three inches ? Hufbandry.
weighing about 641b. the under, and 48 the upper *, v
each of them having two holes, through which iron
fpikes, firmly fixed in the bulls, pafs, in order to keep
them fteady.
When the ground is eafily cut, the under ftone may
anfwer j when more difficult, the other ftone may be
added; fo that every wheel may have feven ftone weight
upon it, which has been found fufficient for the ftifteft
land and tougheft fward the machine has ever been
tried on. Caft iron weights will anfwer fully better,
but are more expenfive.
The lever I, N° 2. 3. which ought to be five feet
long, muft have a Aiding rope on it, fixed to the back
part of the frame *, fo that when the cutting wheels are
all taken out of the ground three or four inches, by the
rocking tree’s being turned partly round by the lever,
the rope may be fixed to it by a loop over the pin R,
N° 3. (it ought to be placed three feet four inches from
the extremity of the lever I). Thus all the cutting
wheels are kept out of the ground till the machine is
turned *, and then by moving the loop oft the pin, it
dips back towards the frame, and the lever is gently let
back to its place, as in N° 2. by which the cutting
wheels are put into their former pofture, by the weights
fixed on the bulls in which they run. The levers may
be made of good tough afh.
PP, N° 1. a fmall bolt of iron, with a hook on one
end of it (one is fufficient), to ftrengthen the bolt
MM to be hooked on the centre of it, and joined to
the frame by a nut and fcrew.
The grooves in which the cutting wheels run, may
be covered below at the hinder part with a plate of
thin black iron, 6 inches long, 3 inches broad, having
a Ait in it where the wheels run, to prevent (if found
neceflary) any grafs, weeds, or fmall ftones, from fill¬
ing the grooves, and clogging the wheels.
To the frame N° 1. are fixed (for a double-horfe
fward-cutter) three ffiafts, as in a waggon, of fuch
length, ftrength, and diftance from one another, as any
workman may think proper.
For a fingle-horfe fward-cutter (which has only four
cutting wheels), a pair of drafts areufed, and may make
the two fides of the frame without any joinings. The
width of the frame, in proportion to the double-horfe
fward-cutter, is as four to fix.
It is recommended for a double-horfe fward-cutter
to have eight bulls and wheels, in order that when it
is ufed to reduce hard clody fummer-fallow, or land
for barley, before the laft furrow, or even after it, the
whole weight (42 ftone) employed in cutting the ftift¬
eft land and tougheft fward, may be applied to the 8
bulls then at 6 inches from one another. The 641b.
weights to be applied to fix of the bulls, and two of the
481b. weights to each of the additional bulls, which is
a fufficient weight for the purpofe, and will effe&ually
prevent a clod of more than fix inches breadth from
efcaping being broke into pieces.
In the fame manner, a fingle-horfe fward-cutter may
have fix bulls for the above-mentioned purpofe j the 28
ftone belonging to it divided thus : The 641b. weights
to four of the bulls, and two of the 481b. weights to
each of the additional bulls.
That the machine may come as cheap as poffible to
U u 2 the
340
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
Inftiuments the public, the inventor is of opinion that the expence
of of the two wheels and the iron axle (which is conli-
Huibam ry. rnay favgd^ by joining ftrongly to the frame
at S, N° a piece of wood with a little curve at the
extremity of it, refembling the foot of a fledge for¬
merly much ufed in Scotland to carry in the corn from
the field ; the part of it refting on the ground being
kept 18 inches (the half diameter of the wheels) from
the frame by a ftrong fupport of wood.
As the two outer bulls next the frame are apt to
get under it, fo as to prevent the cutting wheels from
being taken out of the ground, a thin flip of iron fixed
to the infide of the frame, nearly oppofite to the back
end of the bulls, of convenient length, will be found
neceflary.
The original intention of this machine was to pre¬
pare old grafs ground for the plough, by cutting it
acrofs the ridges, in the beginning of or during win¬
ter, when the ground is loft, in order to anfwer all
the purpofes that Mr Tull propofed by his four-coulter
plough above, defcribed, and fo ftrongly recommended
by him for bringing into tilth grafs ground that has
been long refted. This the fward-cutter has been
found to do much more effeftually and expeditioufly :
For Mr Tull’s machine cuts the fward in the fame di-
redlion with the plough ; and is liable, from every ob-
ftrutlion any of the coulters meet with, to be thrown
out of its work altogether, or the inftrument broken :
to which the fward-cutter, confifting of four, fix or
more cutting wheels, is never liable, from thefe being
entirely independent of one another, cutting the ground
acrofs the ridges before ploughing, and rendering that
operation eafier to two horfes than it would be to three,
Without its being cut. The furrow being cut acrofs,
falls finely from the plough in fquares of any fize re¬
quired, not under fix inches, in place of long flips of
tough fward feldom and imperfeftly broke by the four-
coultered plough.
This inftrument is very fit for preparing ground for
burnbating, as it will fave much hard labour.
It may be properly ufed in crofs-cutting clover of
one or two years ftanding, to prepare the ground for
wheat, if the land is ftiff and moift enough.
It may be applied to cutting and crofs-cutting pa-
fture ground, intended to have manure of any kind put
upon it to meliorate the grafs. In this it will far ex¬
ceed the fcarificator mentioned in one of Mr Young’s
tours } as that inftrument is liable, as well as the four-
coultered plough, to be thrown out of its work when
meeting with a ftone or other interruption. This the
fward-cutter is proof againft, which is looked on as its
greateft excellence.
In preparing for barley, the fward-cutter excels a
roller of any kind in reducing the large hard clods in
clay land, occafioned by a fudden drought, after its
being ploughed too wet •, and it is likewife very pro¬
per for reducing fuch clay land when under a fummer-
fallow. In this operation, the fward cutter is greatly
to be preferred to the cutting-roller, likewife men¬
tioned by Mr Young in one of his tours •, for the
wheels of the latter being all dependent one on ano¬
ther, when one is thrown out by a ftone, three or four
muft fhare the fame fate. Befides, the cutting-roller
has but feven wheels in fix feet ; whereas the fward-
wtter has fix in four feet three inches, at nine inches
diftant •, and, if neceffary, may have them fo near as Inftmroents
fix inches. Hulbandry.
After old grafs ground is cut acrofs with the fward- ——, f
cutter and ploughed, it has a very uncommon and
worklike appearance, from each fquare turned over by
the plough being raifed up an inch or two at the fide
laft moved by the earthboard •, fo that the field when
finifhed, is all prettily waved, and refembles a piece of
water when blown on by a gentle breeze. By this
means a very great deal of the land’s furface is ex poled
to the froft and other influences of the air, which can¬
not fail to have a good efteft on it.
Two horfes are fufficient for the draught of a double-
horfe fward-cutter, and one horfe for a fingle-horfe one.
One man manages the machine and drives the horfes.
He begins his operation by firft meafuring off 20 or 30
paces from the machine, lefs or more as he inclines,
and there fixes a pole. He then cuts the field acrofs, as
near at right angles with the ridges as he can. W hen
the cutting wheels are paft the laft furrow about a
yard or fo, and the machine is upon the utmoft ridge
of the field on which it muft turn, he muft flop the
horfes •, then take hold of the lever I, N° 2. and by
pulling it to him he raifes the cutting wheels out of
the ground, which are kept fo by the loop of the rope
being put over the pin R, in the lever I, N° 3-
machine is turned and brought to its proper place,
which is done by meafuring off the fame diftance for¬
merly done on the oppofite fide of the field. M hen
the cutting wheels are exaftly over the outmoft furrow,
then, on the horfes being flopped, the rope is flipt off
the pin R, and the lever returned to its former place,
as reprefented N° 2. which allows the weights LL, &c.
to force the cutting wheels into the ground again. He
then goes on until the interval betwixt the firft and fe-
cond ftroke of the machine is all cut. In this manner
the field is to be finiftted, after ivhich you may begin
to plough when you pleafe. (N. B. There muft be a
pole at each fide of the field.)
It is of no confequence whether the land to be
fward-cut is in crooked ridges or ftraight, in flat ridges
or in very high raifed ones. Be the iurface ever fo un¬
even, the cutting wheels, being all independent of one
another, are forced by their weights into every furrow
or hollow. _
One fward-cutter will cut as much in one day as fix
ploughs will plough.
The land may lie feveral months in winter alter be¬
ing fward-cut, when there is no vegetation to make
the cuts grow together again before it. is ploughed j
but the fooner it is ploughed after cutting the better,
that it may have the benefit of all the winter’s froft,
which makes it harrow better at the feed time.
When the ground is harrowed, the harrows ought
to go with the waves which appear after ploughing,
not againft them, as by that means they are lefs apt to
tear up the furrows all cut into fquares. 1 his, how¬
ever, need only be attended to the two firft times of
harrowing, as they are called. . .
Any common wright and fmith may make the in¬
ftrument. It is very ftrong, very fimple, and eafily
managed and moved from place to place } and, if put
under cover, will laft many years.
It was invented feme time ago, by the Honourable
Robert Sandilands; and is reprefented in the Plate as
itt
Part T. A G R I C U
Inftruments it has been lately improved by him, the price being at
the fame time reduced from 15I. or 16I. to 5I. or 61.
Huibandry.
v—-v—-f 3. The Cultivator.
Th/culti This inftrument was invented by Mr William Lefter
yato/de.1" of Northampton ; and that gentleman received, from
foiled. the Society for the encouragement of Arts, the fociety’s
filver medal. The purpofe of this inftrument is to pul¬
verize tenacious foils that have been once ploughed, in a
much m ire complete and rapid manner than can be
accompliflied by any other inftrument. It is thus de-
fcribed, Plate XII.—A, the beam ; BB, the handles *,
CC, a crofs bar of a femicircular form, containing a
number of holes, which allow the two bars DD to be
placed nearer or further from each other.
DD are two ftrong bars moveable at one end upon
a pivot E, and extending from thence in a triangular
form to the crofs bar C. In thefe bars are fquare holes,
which allow the (hares F placed therein to be fixed to
any height required.
The feven lhares marked F, are lhaped at their lower
extremities like fmall trowels $ the upper parts of them
are fquare iron bars.
GGG are three iron wheels on which the ma¬
chine is moved ; they may be raifed or lowered at
pleafure.
H, the iron hook to which the fwingle-tree and
horfes are to be fixed.
Wben the machine is firft employed on the land, the
bars DD are expanded as much as poflible. As the
foil is more loofened, they are brought nearer to the
centre ; the (hares then occupy a lefs fpace, and the
foil will confequently be better pulverized.
In working on a rough fallow, therefore, the culti¬
vator (hould be fet for its greateft expanfion, and con-
tra&ed in proportion as the clods are reduced. The
inventor declares himfi-lf confident that one man, a
boy, and fix horfes, will move as much land in a day,
and as effectually, as fix ploughs, meaning land in a fal¬
low date that has been previoufty ploughed. It is requi-
fite in fome dates of the foil to alter the breadth of the
(hares, but of this it is prefumed that every farmer will
be a proper judge. Bv the expanfion and contraction of
the cultivator, the points of the (hares are in a fmall
degree moved out of the direCt line j but this is faid to
be fo trifling as to prove no impediment to its working.
A certificate from Mr William Shaw of Cottenend,
near Northampton, dates, that he had ufed Mr Lef-
ter’s cultivator, upon a turnip fallow, in fummer 1800 5
and that he believes ij; to be a very ufeful implement
for cultivating the land in a fallow date, by its working
or fcuffling off feven acres per day with fix horfes. He
adds, that from its property of contracting and expand¬
ing, it is calculated to work the fame land in a rough
or fine date, by which means it unites the principles of
two implements in one, and by the index on the axis
it may be worked at any depth if required.
4. The Brake.
155 ^ , 1
de- The brake is a large and weighty harrow, the pur-
fobed, p0fe 0f which is to reduce a ftubborn foil, where an
% te ordinary harrow makes little impreflion. It confifts of
four fquare bulls, each fide five inches, and fix feet and
a half in length. The teeth are 17 inches long, bend¬
ing forward like a coulter. Four of them are inferted
L T U R E. 341
into each bull, fixed above with a fcrew-nut, havingInftruments
12 inches free below, with aheelclofeto the under Part ^dr
of the bull, to prevent it from being puftied back by , .. ' *.
dones. The nut above makes it eafy to be taken out
for diarping. This brake requires four horfes or four
oxen. One of a leffer fize will not fully anfvver the
purpofe : one of a larger fize will require fix oxen j in
which cafe the work may be performed at lefs expence
with the plough.
This inftrument may be applied to great advantage ufes.
in the following circumftances. In the fallowing ftrong
clay that requires frequent ploughings, a braking be¬
tween every ploughing will pulverize the foil, and ren¬
der the fubfequent ploughings more eafy. In the
month of March or April, when ftrong ground is
ploughed for barley, efpecially if bound with couch-
grafs, a crofs-braking is preferable to a crofs-plough-
ing, and is done at half the expence. When ground
is ploughed from the date of nature, and after a com¬
petent time is crofs-ploughed, the brake is applied with
great fuccefs, immediately after the crofs-ploughing,
to reduce the whole to proper tilth.
Let it be obferved, that a brake with a greater num¬
ber of teeth than above mentioned, is improper for
ground that is bound together by the roots of plants,
which is always the cafe of ground new broken up from
its natural (late. The brake is foon choked, and can
do no execution till freed from the earth it holds. A
lefs number of teeth would be deficient in pulverizing
the foil.
5. The Harrow.
Harrows are commonly confidered as of no ufe but
to cover the feed j but they have another ufe, fcarce lefs
effential, which is to prepare land for the feed. 1 his
is an article of importance for producing a good crop.
But how imperfectly either of thefe purpofes is per¬
formed by the common harrow, will appear from the
following account of it. 158
The harrow commonly ufed is of different forms, imperfec-
The firft we (hall mention has two bulls, four feet longtion of the
and )8 inches afunder, with four wooden teeth in each,
A fecond has three bulls, and 12 wooden teeth.^ A
third has four bulls, and 20 teeth of wood or iron,
10, II, or 12 inches afunder. Now, in fine mould,
the laft may be fufticient for covering the feed 5 but
none of them are fufficient to prepare for the feed any
ground that requires fubduing. The only tolerable
form is that with iron teeth j and the bare defcription
of its imperfeClions will (how the neceflity of a more
perfeft form. In the firft place, this harrow is by far
too light for ground new taken up from the (late of
nature, for clays hardened with fpring drought, or
for other ftubborn foils : it floats on the furface j and
after frequent returns in the fame track, nothing is
done effeClually. In the next place, the teeth are too
thick fet, by which the harrow is apt to be choked,
efpecially where the earth is bound with roots, which
is commonly the cafe. At the fame time, the lightnefs
and number of teeth keep the harrow upon the furface,
and prevent one of its capital purpofes, that of dividing
the foil: nor will fewer teeth anfwer for covering the
feed properly. In the third place, the teeth are too
(hort for reducing a coarfe foil to proper tilth j and
yet it would be in vain to make them longer, becaule
342
A G R I C U
nftrumentsthe harrow is too light for going deep into the ground.
o{ Further, the common harrows are lo ill conftru&ed, as
Hufbaat ry. ^ ride at every turn one upon another. Much time is
loft in difengaging them. Laftly, It is equally unfit
for extirpating weeds. Xhe ground is frequently fo
bound with couch-grafs, as to make the furrow-tlice
ftand upright, as when old ley is ploughed : notwith-
ftanding much labour, the grafs roots keep the field,
and gain the victory.
A little reflexion, even without experience, will
make it evident, that the fame harrows, whatever be
the form, can never anfwer all the different purpofes of
harrowing, nor can operate equally in all different foils,
rough or fmooth, firm or loofe. The following, there¬
fore, have been recommended •, which are of three dif¬
ferent forms, adapted for different purpofes. They
are all of the fame weight, drawn each by two horfes.
TI;9 Birch is the beft wood for them, becaufe it is cheap,
Improved and not apt to fplit. The firft is compofed of four
harrow-. bulls, each four feet ten inches long, three and a quar-
Plate ter inches broad, and three and a half deep 5 the in-
s' terval between the bulls 11 inches and three fourths ;
fo that the breadth of the whole harrow is four feet.
The bulls are connefted by four ftieths, which go
through each bull, and are fixed by timber nails driven
through both. In each bull, five teeth are inferted,
ten inches free under the bull, and ten inches afunder.
They are of the fame form with thofe of the brake, and
inferted into the wood in the fame manner. Each of
thefe teeth is three pounds weight: and where the har¬
row is made of birch, the weight of the whole is fix
ftone 14 pounds Dutch. An ere<£t bridle is fixed at a
corner of the harrow, three inches high, with four notch¬
es for drawing higher or lowTer. To this bridle a dou¬
ble tree is fixed for two horfes drawing abreaft, as in a
plough. And to ftrengthen the harrow, a flat rod of
iron is nailed upon the harrow from corner to corner in
the line of the draught.
Fig. 4. The fecond harrow confifts of two parts, conne&ed
together by a crank or hinge in the middle, and two
chains of equal length, one at each end, which keep
the two parts alw’ays parallel, and at the fame diftance
from each other. The crank is fo contrived, as to al¬
low the two parts to ply to the ground like two un-
connefled harrow's} but neither of them to rife above
the other, more than if they were a Angle harrow
without a joint. In a word, they may form an angle
downward, but not upward. Thus they have the ef-
feft of two harrows in curved ground, and of one
weighty harrow in a plain. I his harrow is compofed
of fix bulls, each four feet long, three inches broad,
and three and a half deep. The interval between the
bulls nine and a half inches •, which makes the breadth
of the whole harrow, including the length of the crank,
to be five feet five inches. Each bull has five teeth,
nine inches free under the wood, and ten inches afun¬
der. The weight of each tooth is two pounds j the
reft as in the former.
Fig. 5. The third confifts alfo of two parts, connefled to¬
gether like that laft mentioned. It has eight bulls,
each four feet long, two and a half inches broad, and
three deep. The interval between the bulls is eight
inches; and the breadth of the whole harrow^inclu¬
ding the length of the crank, is fix feet four inches.
In each bull are inferted five teeth, feven inches free
L T U R E. Practice.
under the wood, and ten and a half inches afunder, Inttruments
each tooth weighing one pound. The reft as in theHu(b°rdry
two former harrows. ^
Thefe harrows are a confiderable improvement. They
ply to curved ground like two unconne&ed harrows; Propertie*
and when drawn in one plane, they are in effed one^ej^
harrow of double weight, which makes the teeth pierce
deep into the ground. I he imperfedion of common
harrows, mentioned above, will fuggeft the^ advantages
of the fet of harrows here recommended. 1 he firft is
proper for harrowing land that has long lain after
ploughing, as where oats are fown on a winter furrow,
and in general for harrowing ftiff land : it pierces deep
into the foil by its long teeth, and divides it minutely.
The fecond is intended for covering the feed : its long
teeth lays the feed deeper than the common harrow can
do ; which is no flight advantage. By placing the feed
confiderably under the furface, the young plants are,
on the one hand, proteded from too much heat, and,
en the other, have fufficiency of moifture. At the
fame time, the feed is fo well covered that none of it
is loft. Seed flightly covered by the common harrows
wants moifture, and is burnt up by the fun ; befide,
that a proportion of it is left upon the furface uncover¬
ed. The third harrow fupplies what may be deficient
in the fecond, by fmoothing the furface, and covering
the feed more accurately. The three harrows make
the ground finer and finer, as heckles do lint ; or, to
ufe a different comparifon, the firft harrow makes the
bed, the fecond lays the feed in it, the third fmooths
the clothes. They have another advantage not infe¬
rior to any mentioned : they mix manure with the foil
more intimately than can be done by common harrows ;
and upon fuch intimate mixture depends greatly the ef-
feft of manure, as has already been explained. To con¬
clude, thefe harrows are contrived to anfwer an efta-
blifhed principle in agriculture. That fertility depends
greatly on pulverizing the foil, and on an intimate
mixture of manure with it, whether dung, lime, marl,
or any other.
The Chain and Screw harrow. Fig. 8. is the plan Plate VII.
of a harrow alfo invented by Mr Sandilands, and to
which he has given the name of the chain and/crew
harrow. Its properties are, that if your ridges be
high, and you with to harrow them from one end to the
other, by lengthening the chain (which the ferew com¬
mands), the harrow, when drawn along, forms an angle
downwards, and miffes none of the curve of the ridge,
fo far as it extends (which may be nine feet, the di¬
ftance from A to B. The extent, in the contrary di-
reflion, is five feet fix inches). When the crowns of
the ridges have got what is thought a fufficient harrow¬
ing lengthwife, you fhorten the chain by the ferew,
which forms an angle upwards ; the harrow is then
drawn by the horfes, one on each fide of the furrow ;
which completely harrows it, and the fide of the ridges,
if 18 feet broad.
When you want to harrow even ground or high
ridges acrofs with the ferew, you can bring the harrow
to be horizontal, fo as to work as a folid harrow with¬
out a joint.
The teeth are formed and fixed in the common man¬
ner, fquare, not in the faftiion of coulters; and are nine
or ten inches below the wood, and of fuch ftrength as
it is thought the land requires. The teeth cut, °^a'
Part I.
Inftrumentsther tear, the ground at every four inches without va-
of nation, though feemingly placed irregularly ; and this
Hufb.tn.iry. wjtjlout any 0f choking, except fometimes at the ex-
' treme angles, where the teeth are neceffarily near each
other ; but which may be cleaned with the greateft
eafe, by raifing them a little from the ground. The
figures i, 2, &e. point out where the 12 teeth on each
fide of the harrow are placed.
Where a ftrong brake-harrow is not neceffary, by
making the teeth (horter and lighter you may have 48
teeth, which will tear the ground at every two inches,
cover the feed well, and make a fine mould.
It is recommended, that harrows for every purpofe,
and of any fize, be made on the above principle ; by
which no tooth can ever follow the track of another,
and all of them will be kept conftantly aaing.
6. The Roller.
Th/roller. "I'he roller is an inftrument of capital ufe in hufban-
dry, though, till of late years, fcarcely known in ordi¬
nary practice j and where introduced, it is commonly
fo flight as to have very little effeft.
Rollers are of different kinds •, done, caft-iron, wood.
Each of thefe has its advantages. We would recom¬
mend thefe laft, conflruded in the following manner :
Take the body of a tree, fix feet ten inches long, the
larger the better, made as near a perfed cylinder as
poffible. Surround this cylinder with three rows of
fillies, one row in the middle, and one at each end.
Line thefe fillies with planks of wood equally long with
the roller, and fo narrow as to ply into a circle. Bind
them faft together with iron rings. Beech wood is the
bed, being hard and tough. 1 he roller, thus mount¬
ed, ought to have a diameter of three feet ten inches.
It has a double pair of fhafts for two horfes abread.
Thefe are fufficient in level ground : in ground not le¬
vel, four horfes may be neceffary. J he roller without
the fhafts ought to weigh 200 done Dutch ; and the
large diameter makes this great weight eafy to be
drawn.
s Rolling wheat in the month of April is an import-
rolling. °r aid article in loofe foil j an the winter rains prefling
down the foil leave many roots in the air. Barley
ought to be rolled immediately after the feed is fown j
efpecially where grafs feeds are fown with it. I he
bed time for rolling a gravelly foil, is as foon as the
mould is fo dry as to bear the roller without clinging
to it. A clay foil ought neither to be tilled, harrowed,
nor rolled, till the field be perfe&ly dry. And as
rolling a clay foil is chiefly intended for fmoothing the
furface, a dry feafon may be patiently waited for, even
till the crop be three inches high. There is the greater
reafon for this precaution, becaufe much rain imme¬
diately after rolling is apt to cake the furface when
drought follows. Oats in a light foil may be rolled
immediately after the feed is fown, unlefs the ground
be fo wet as to cling to the roller. In a clay foil, de¬
lay rolling till the grain be above ground. The pro¬
per time for fowing grafs feeds in an oat field, is when
the grain is three inches high *, and rolling fhould im¬
mediately fucceed, whatever the foil be. Flax ought
to be rolled immediately after fowing. I his (hould
never be neglefted •, for it makes the feed pulh equally,
and prevents after-growth ; the bad effeft of which is
vifible in every ftep of the procefs for drefling flax. I he
343
firft year’s crop of fown graffes ought to be rolled as Inftruments
early the next fpring as the ground will bear the horfes. Hu(b^,
It fixes all the roots precifely as in the cafe of wheat.
Rolling the fecond and third crops in loofe foil is an
ufeful work ; though not fo effential as rolling the firlt
crop. I(Jli
In the firfi: place, rolling renders a loofe foil more Efl-e,£ts
com pad and folidwhich encourages the growth of rolling,
plants, by making the earth clap dole to every part of
every root. Nor need we be afraid of rendering the
foil too compad j for no roller that can be drawn by
two or four horfes will have that effed. In the next
place, rolling keeps in the moilture, and hinders
drought to penetrate. This effed is of great moment.
In a dry feafon, it may have the difference of a good
crop, or no crop, efpecially where the foil is light. In the
third place, the rolling grafs feeds, befides the foregoing
advantages, facilitates the mowing for hay ; and it is
to be hoped, that the advantage of this pradice will
lead farmers to mow their corn alfo, which will increafe
the quantity of ffraw both for food and for the dung¬
hill.
There is a fmall roller for breaking clods in land in¬
tended for barley. The common way is, to break
clods with a mell 5 which requires many hands, and is a
laborious work. This roller performs the work more
effedually, and at much lefs expence; let a harrowing
precede, which will break the clods a little ; and after
lying a day, or a day and a half, to dry, this roller will
diffolve them into pow'der. This, however, does not
fuperfede the ufe of the great roller after all the other
articles are finilhed, in order to make the foil compad,
and to keep out the fummer drought. A ftone roller
four feet long, and fifteen inches diameter, drawn by
one horfe, is futficient to break clods that are eafily dif-
folved by preffure. The ufe of this roller in preparing
land for barley is gaining ground daily, even among
ordinary tenants, who have become fenfible both of the
expence and toil of ufing wooden mells. But in a clay
foil, the clods are fometimes too firm, or too tough, to
be fubdued by fo light a machine. In that cafe, a roller
of the fame fize, but of a different conttrudion, is ne¬
ceffary. It ought to be furrounded with circles of iron,
fix inches afunder, and feven inches deep •, which will
cut even the moft ftubborn clods, and reduce them to
powder. Let not this inftrument be confidered as a
finical refinement. In a ftiff clay it may make the dif¬
ference of a plentiful or fcanty crop.
7. The Fallow-cleansing Machine.
r • l54
This was invented by Mr Aaron Ogden, a fmith The fallow-
at Afhton-under-Line, near Manchefter in Lancathire. cleanfing
It is intended for cleanfing fallows from weeds,
which exhauft the riches of the foil. A, A, is the frame;figa ® " '
B, the firft roller 5 C, the fecond ditto in which laft are
two cranks to move the arms,D,D, which work the rake
up the diredors fixed on the plank E. The under fide of
the lower ends or (hares of thefe diredors are (harp, to
cut the clods and let them come on the upper fide. Each
alternate heel of the (hare is longer than the intermedi¬
ate one, that they may not have more than one-half to
cut at once. At the back of the plank E are two fcrews
to let it loofe, that the diredors may be fet higher or
lower. The (hares are to penetrate the ground two or
three inches, to raife the quicks till the rake 1, I,
fetches
AGRICULTURE.
344
A G H I C U L T U R E.
Jnftruments,fetches them into the cart H, where a man mufl: be
of
of ready with a muck-hook to clear them backward when
Hufbandry; gathered. In the rake I are two teeth for every fpace
* v of the direftors, that ftones, &c. may be gathered
without damage. K, K, are two ftaples, by which
the machine is drawn : under them at h are two hooks,
placed low to raife the machine in turning, by the help
of the traces j and the axletree of the cart fhould be
fixed upon a pin, that it may turn like a waggon.
F F are the triggers to throw the rake behind the
roots.’ The long teeth at G, G, are to cleanfe the
roller C. I, I, is the rake which gathers up the weeds
into the cart H, and is drawn above the trigger F by
the working of the arms D, expreffed by the dotted
lines at d d, i i u The triggers F, of which there is
one on each fide, move on the pivots «; fo tnat when
the points b of the rake I have been drawn up by the
direftors E to the part marked c, the trigger, giving
•way, permits the rake to pafs; but immediately fall¬
ing,’the rake returns along the upper furface of the
trigger marked <?, and of courfe falls on the weeds
when it comes to the end, a little beyond the pivot a.
The reader will obferve, that the boarding is taken
away on one fide, in the Plate, in order to give a more
perfeft view of the inner parts of the machine ; and
in fa& it would perhaps be better if all the boarding,
marked L, L, L, was taken away, and frame-work
put in its Head. The cart H might undoubtedly alfo
be made lighter. The wheels M, M, appear in the
Plate to be made of folid wood: but there is no ne-
ceflity they fhould be fo. At N, is another view of
the roller C, by which the difpofition of the fpikes
may be eafily comprehended. Suppofe the circle O,
defcribed by the end of the roller N, to be divided by
four flraight lines into eight equal fegments, as repre-
fented at P. Let the fame be done at the other end of
the roller, and parallel lines be drawn from one corre-
fponding point to the other the length of the roller *
mark the points with figures I, 2, 3, 4> 5> 7’ ^ i
afterwards draw oblique lines, as from I, at the end of
O, to 2, at the other end, and from 2 to 3, &.c; on
thefe oblique lines the fpikes are to be fixed at equal
diftances, in eight circles, defcribed on the circumfe¬
rence of the roller. The fpikes of the fmall roller B
are fixed in the fame manner, except that the diameter
being fmaller, there are only fix inftead of eight rows.
R is another view of the dire&ors, with the plank E
on which they are fixed ; and S is a feftion of a part
of the plank, with one of the dire&ors as fixed, in
which may be feen the heel tn, from whence to the
point of the {hare « is a (harp cutting edge. See the
fame letters in figure R. At T is one of the long
teeth to be feen at G 5 it is bent towards the roller C,
which it ferves to cleanfe. When the end of the rake
b after rifing above c, is puftied, by the motion of the
arms, D, D, along the upper part e, e, of the trigger
F, and comes to the end beyond a; as it falls, the
part of the arm marked 0 refts in the notch p, till it
is again raifed by the motion of the roller C with the
rake. The roller C is to be one foot diameter, the
fpike nine inches long, that they may go through the
furrow (if the foil (hould be loofe) into the hard earth,
the more elfe&ually to work the rake, which other-
wife might be fo overcharged as to caufe the roller to
drag without turning. In the rake-ends b there {hould
Practice*
by pivots, with rollers or pullers on, to go in the Inftniments
groove, to take off the friction j and they would like- ot
wife take the triggers more furely as the rake comes , u an( ry‘,
back. The rake {hould aifo be hung fo far backward,
that when it is fallen, the arms of it may lie in the
fame plane or parallel with the direftors, on which it
comes up (which will require the frame to be two inches
longer in the model). This will caufe the rake to fall
heavier, and drive the teeth into the roots, and bring
them up without {battering. Thefe teeth muft be
made of fteel, very fine, and fo long as to reach down
to the plank on which the dire&ors are fixed, that is
to fay, fix inches long (the direftors are alfo to be
made fix inches broad above the plank). The rake-
head {hould alfo fall a little before the crank is at its
extremity, which will caufe the rake to pufh forward
to let the teeth come into the roots. The rake-teeth
muft drop in the fame plane with the roller and wheels,
or on the furface of the earth. No more fpace {hould
be given from the roller C to the long teeth at GG,
than that the rake may juft mifs the Ipikes of the rol¬
ler C and fall on the places before mentioned. As the
firft roller B was intended to cleanfe the fecond C more
than for any other ufe, it may be omitted when the ma¬
chine is made in large, as Mr Ogden has lately found
that the long teeth at GG anfwer the end alone, and
this renders the machine about a fixth Ihorter. Now,
to fuit any fort of earth, there {hould be to each ma¬
chine three planks, with diredtors at different fpaces to
ufe occafionally ; in the firft, the fpaces between the di-
redlors ftiould be eight inches wide, in the fecond fix,
and in the third four. This will anfwer the fame end
as having fo many machines.
As there may be fome objections to the rake not leav¬
ing the roots when it has brought them up, Mr Ogden
has feveral methods of cleanfing it j but as he would
make it as fimple as poflible, he choofes to let it be with¬
out them at prefent; but fuppofe it {hould bring fome
roots back again with it, it'will probably lofe them be¬
fore it gets back to the extremity 5 whence they will lie
light, and be but of little detriment to the others com¬
ing up. Mr Ogden would have the firft machine made
four feet fix inches wide, the teeth divided into equal
fpaces, the outfides into half fpaces.
8. The new-invented Patent Univerfal Sowing
Machine*
l6$
This machine, whether made to be worked by hand, Univerfal
drawn by a horfe, or fixed to a plough, and ufed with {owing
it, is extremely fimple in the conftrudtion, and not machine,
liable to be put out of order j as there is but one at^3 i;
movement to diretl the whole, nor does it require any
{kill in working. It will fow wheat, barley, oats, rye,
clover, cole-feed, hemp, flax, canary, rape, turnip, be-
fides a great variety of other kinds of grain and feeds
broad-caft, with an accuracy hitherto unknown. It
is equally ufeful in the new hufbandry, particularly
when fixed to a plough ; it will then drill a more exten-
five variety of grain, pulfe, and feed, through every
gradation, with regard to quantity, and deliver each
kind with greater regularity than any drill-plough
whatever. When ufed in this manner, it will likewife
be found of the utmoft fervice to farmers who are par¬
tial to the old huibandry, as, among many other very
valuable and peculiar properties, it will not only fow
in
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
345
Hufbandry.
Inltruments Jn the broad-caft way with the moft fingular exaftnefs,
ot but fave the expence of a feedfman j the feed being
fown either over or under furrow at pleafure), and the
land ploughed, at the fame operation.
Perhaps a fair and decifive experiment for afcertain-
ing the fuperior advantage of broad-cafting or drilling
any particular crop, was never before fo prafticable ; as
the feed may now be put in with the utmoft degree of
regularity, in both methods of culture, by the fame
machine •, confequently the feed will be fown in both
cafes with equal accuracy, without which it is impof-
fible to make a juft decifion.
The excellence of this machine confifts in fpreading
any given quantity of feed over any given number of
acres with a mathematical exaftnefs, which cannot be
done by hand 5 by which a great faving may be made
in feeding the ground, as well as benefiting the ex-
pefted crop.
There has always been a difficulty in fowing turnip
feed with any degree of exaftnefs, both from the. mi-
nutenefs of the feed, and the fmallnefs of the quantity
required to be fown on an acre. Here the machine
has a manifeft advantage, as it may be fet to fow the
lead quantity ever required on an acre ; and with an
accuracy the beft feedfman can never attain to.
It will alfo fow clover, cole, flax, and every other kind
of fmall feed, with the utmoft degree of regularity.
It will likewife broad caft beans, peafe, and tares, or
drill them with the greateft exaftnefs, particularly when
conftrudled to be ufed with a plough.
Another advantage attending the ufe of this machine
is, that the wind can have no effeft on the falling of
the feed.
Of the Machine when made to be ufed without a
Plough, and to be drawn by a Horfe.—It may in
this cafe be made of different lengths at the defire of
the purchafer. The upper part AAAA, contains
the hoppers from which the grain or feed defcends into
the fpouts. The feveral fpouts all reft upon a bar,
which hangs and plays freely by two diagonal fupport-
ers BE •, a trigger fixed to this bar bears a catch-wheel;
this being fixed on the axle, occafions a regular and
continual motion, or jigging of the fpouts, quicker or
flower in proportion to the pace of the perfon fowing
with it drives 5 and of courfe, if he quickens his pace,
the bar will receive a greater number of ftrokes from
the catch-wheel, and the grain or feed will feed the
fafter. If he drives flower, by receiving fewer ftrokes,
the contrary muft take place. In going along the
fide of a hill, the ftrdngth of the ftroke is corredled by
& fpring which afts with more or lefs power, in pro¬
portion as the machine is more or lefs,from a horizon¬
tal pofition, and countera£b the difference of gravity in
the bar, fo that it preffes, in all fituations, with a pro¬
per force againft the catch-wheel. The fpring is un-
neceffary if the land be pretty level. At the bottom
of the machine is placed an apron or ffielf in a floping
pofition ; and the corn or feed, by falling thereon from
the fpouts above, is fcattered about in every dire6!ion
under the machine, and covers the ground in a moft
regular and uniform manner.
To fow the corn or feed in drills, there are moveable
fpouts (fee fig. 10.), which are fixed on or taken off
at pleafure, to direft the feed from the upper fpout to
the bottom of the furrow.
Vol. I. Part I.
Fig- 2.
The machine is regulated for fowing any particular Inflrumei tt
quantity of feed on an acre by a brafs Aider, A, fig. 7. Huft)°n<.lry.
fixed by fcrews againft a brafs bridge on each of the v -
fpouts. The machine is prevented from feeding while
turning at the ends, by only removing the lever E,
fig. 2. out of the channel G, to another at H, on the
right hand of it, which carries back the bar from the
catch-wheel, and occafions the motion of the fpouts to
ceafe, and at the fame time brings them upon a level
by the adlion of the diagonal fupporters j fo that no
corn or feed can fall from them.
The machine in this form is particularly ufeful for
broad-cafting clover upon barley or wheat; or for fow¬
ing any other kind of feed, where it is neceffary that
the land fhould firft be harrowed exceedingly fine and
even.
Manner of ufing the Machine, when drawn by a
Horfe.—Place the machine about two feet from the
ends of the furrows where you intend it (hall begin to
fow. Fill the hoppers with feed, and drive it forwards
with the outfide wheel in the firft furrow. When you
are at the end of the length, at the oppofite fide of the
field, lift the lever E, fig. 2. into the channel H, and
the machine will inftantly flop fowing. Drive it on
about two feet, and then turn. Fill the hoppers again
if neceffary 5 then remove the lever back again into the
channel G, and in returning, let the outfide wheel of
the machine go one furrow within the track which
was made by it, in palling from the oppofite end } as
for example, if the wheel palled down the eighth fur¬
row from the outfide of the field, let it return in the
feventh ; and in every following length let the outfide
wheel always run one furrow within the track made by
the fame wheel : becaufe the breadth fown is about nine
inches lefs than the diftance between the wheels.
Let the machine be kept in a perpendicular fitua-
tion. If the farmer willies to fow more or lefs feed
on any one part of the field than the other, it is only
raifing the handles a little higher, or finking them a
little lower than ufual, and it will occafion a fufficient
alteration *, and ftiould the laft turn be lefs in breadth
than the machine, thofe fpouts which are not wanted
may be taken up from the bar, and prevented from
feeding, by turning the nob above them.
Alfo, when the land required to be fown has what is
called a vent, that is, when the fides of the field run in
an oblique line to the furrows, which by this means
are unequal in length ; the fpouts muft be taken up or
let down in fucceffion by turning the knobs, as that
part of the machine where they are placed arrives at
the ends of the furrows. This is done while the ma¬
chine is going forwards.
If the land be tolerably level, the machine may be
fixed by the fcrew in the front, and the machine may
then be ufed by any common harrow boy.
Method of regulating the Machine.—In each fpout is
fixed a bridge (fee fig. 7.), with an aperture in it, B,
for the grain or feed to pafs through. This aperture is
enlarged or contratted by a Aider, A, which paffesover
it ; and, when properly fixed for the quantity of feed
defigned to be fowm on an acre, is faftened by means
of two ftrong fcrews firmly againft the bridge. X his
is made ufe of in fowing all kinds of feed, where it is
required to fow from one buftiel upwards on an acre.
To fow one, two, three gallons, or any of the inter-
X x mediate
2^6 A G R T G U
Inftruments mediate quantities, as of clover, cole-feed, &c. the
of brafs plate, 6. is placed between the bridge and the
Hufbandry. wjtj1 the largeft aperture B downwards, which
aperture is enlarged or contracted by the llider as be¬
fore. To fow turnips, the fame plate is placed between
the bridge and the ilider, with its Imalleft aperture A
downwards, and the hollow part about the fame aper¬
ture inwards.
Fig. 8. is a view of the regulator, by which the
apertures in the feveral fpouts are all fet exactly alike,
with the utmoft eafe, to make them feed equally. The
extreme height of the largeft aperture is equal to the
breadth AB, and the breadth at C is equal to the
height of the fmalleft aperture ufed, viz. that for tur¬
nips. The fide AC is divided into 6o equal parts,
and on it moves the Aider or horfe D ; which being
placed at any particular degree, according to the quan¬
tity of feed required to be town on an acre, is fixed
upon it, by a fcrew on the fide of the Aider or hot fe.
When this is done, the end of the regulator is put
through the aperture in the bridge or plate (whichever
is intended to be ufed), and the Aider againft the bridge
in the fpout, raifed by it, till it ftops againft the horfe
on the regulator: then the Aider is faftened againft-
the bridge firmly by the two fcrews ; care being taken
at the fame time that it (land nearly fquare.
By this means the fpouts (being all fixed in the fame
manner) will feed equally.
It is eafy to conceive that the fize of the apertures,
and confequently the quantity of feed to be fown on an
acre, may be regulated with a far greater accuracy
than is required in common pra&ice.
The fpouts may be regulated with the utmoft nicety,
in five minutes, to fow each particular feed, for the
whole feafon. But a little pra&ice will enable any per-
fon, who poffefles but a very moderate capacity, to
make the [pouts feed equally, even without ufing the
regulator ("a).
Of the Machine, ’when made to be ufed by Hand.—
The difference of the machine in this cafe is, that it is
made lighter, with but three fpouts, without ftiafts,
and is driven forwards by the handles. It hath alfo a
bolt in front, which being puftied in by the thumb, re-
leafes the machine ; fo that it can then eafdy be placed
in a perpendicular pofition. This alteration is necef-
fary to keep the handles of a convenient height, in
fowing up and down a hill, where the Aope is confider-
able •, and is done while the machine is turning at the
end of the length. The method of regulating and
ufing it is the fame as when made to be drawn by a
horfe.
L T U R E. Fradice.
Of the Machine, when confrucled to be ufed with a out laments
Plough.—This is, without doubt, the nu it uletul ap- Hll(b°n(lry>
plication of the machine ; and it can be fixed without mmmj
difficulty to any kind of plough, in the fame manner as
to that rtprefented in fig. I.
The advantages arifing from the ufe of it are great
and numerous; for, befide the increafe in the crop,
which will be enfured by the feeds being broad-cait
with a mathematical nicety, a large proportion of feed
(the value of which alone, in a few months, will amount
to more than the price of the machine) and the feeds-
man’s labour will be faved. I he feed may likewife be
fown either under or over furrow ; or one call each
way, as is praftifed by fome farmers. T he feeds alfo,
being eaft by the machine upon the freffi ploughed
land, may be immediately harrowed in, before the
mould has loft any part of its moifture j which in a dry
feafon will greatly promote the crop. In drilling any
kind of grain, pulfe, or feed, it poffeffes every property
that can be wilhed for in the belt drill-plough, nor will
it (as molt of them do) bruife the feed, or feed irre¬
gularly. The conftruftion of the machine is the lame
as the large ones, except being made with one hopper
and fpout inftead of leveral, and the apron moveable
inftead of being fixed, as may be feen by infpefiing
fig. 4. The only alteration neceffary to make the
machine broad-caft or drill is, in the former cafe to
place the apron B, fig. 1. at the bottom of the ma¬
chine, upon the hooks FF, Aoping either towards the
furrows or the unploughed land, according as it is in¬
tended to fow the feed either over or under furrow.
Whenever the apron is required to be fiiifted, it is
done in lefs than a fecond of time; as it only requires
to be moved up or down with the hand, when a catch
fixes it.
To prepare it for drilling, inftead of the apron, place
the long fpout, fig. 10. upon the brackets, on the fiont
of the machine, by the ears AA, to receive the Iced
from the upper fpout, and fatten the lower end ot it,
by a fmall cord, to that hook upon which the apron is
hung for broad-cafting which is next the plough (fee
fig. 3.) ; the feed will then be directed by the long
fpout, to the centre of the furrow, near the heel of the
plough. The fpring for corre&ing the ftrength of the
ftroke, is neceffary only when they are required to go
along the fide of a confiderable declivity. 1 he ma¬
chine, when fixed to a plough, does not require the
fmalleft degree of ffiill in ufing, as nothing is necefiary
but to keep the hopper filled, which will contain a fuf-
ficient quantity of feed to go upwards of 140 rods, be¬
fore it will want refilling, when three buftiels and a
(a) Proper direftions are given with each machine for ufing it, as alfo for fixing the Aiders to fow any parti¬
cular quantity of corn or feed on an acre, fo as to enable any perfon to fet the fpouts. r , . .
The prices of the machine (exclufive of the packing cafes) are as follow. If conftrutfted to be u e wi a
finele-furrow plough ; the wheel, with the axle and cheeks fteeled, ftrap, regulator, brafi-plates for broad-cait-
ing or drilling turnips, lucerne, tares, wheat, barley, &.c. &c. &e. and every article neceffary for fixing it int ti¬
ded, three guineas and a half. If made with a fpring (for fowing on the fide of a hill, where the Aope is con 1-
derable), but which is very rarely neceffary, five {hillings more. If made to be fixed to any double- urrovv
plough, four guineas and a half. . . , , , „ 1
The large machine, fig. 2. when made to broad-caft feven furrows at a time and to be drawn hy a »
eight guineas and a half. If conftrufted to fow five furrows at a time, and to be ufed by hand, fix guineas.
Xhefe are alfo five ftullings more if made with a fpring.
Part I. AGRICULTURE.
347
Inftruments half are fovvn on an acre. The accuracy with which
| ^ vviH broad-caft, may in fome meafure be conceived,
u ‘^nv r ■ by confidering that the feed regularly defcends upon
the apron or fhelf, and is from thence fcattered upon
the ground, in quantity exadlly proportioned to the
fpeed of the plough : alfo that each call fpreads to the
third furrow ; and by this means ftmts upon the laft.
In this manner it is continually filling up till the whole
field is completely covered ; fo that it is impoflible to
leave the fmalleft fpace without its proper quantity of
feed.
When the plough is wanted for any other purpofe,
the machine, with the wheel at the heel of the plough
for giving it motion, can be removed or replaced at any
time in five minutes.
Fig. ri. reprefents the machine fixed to a double¬
furrow creafing plough, and prepared for drilling. As
this plough may not be generally known, it will not be
improper to obferve, that it is chiefly ufed for creafing
the land with furrows (after it has been once ploughed
and harrowed) ; which method is neceflary when the
feed is to be fown broad-caft; upon land that has been a
clover ley, &c. becaufe, if the feed be thrown upon the
rough furrows, a confiderable part of it will fall be¬
tween them, and be unavoidably loft, by lying too
deep buried in the earth. This mode anfvvers ex¬
tremely well, and partakes of both methods of culture ;
the feed, though fown broad-caft, falling chiefly into
the furrows.
The machine is very ufeful for fowing in this man¬
ner } as the feed is broad-caft, with an inconceivable
regularity, at the time the land is creafed. The ad¬
vantages it likewife poffefles for drilling all forts of
grain or feed with this plough, are too evident to need
mentioning.
The machine, when conftrufled to be ufed with a
double-furrow plough, is made with two upper and
two long fpouts for drilling, two aprons for broad-
cafting, and with a double hopper; but in other re-
fpe&s the fame as when intended for a fingle-furrow
plough : it is ufed in all cafes with the greateft eafe
imaginable.
The interval between the points of the two ftiares of
a creafing plough is ufually ten inches ; the beam about
nine feet long j and the whole made of a light con-
ftrudlion.
Plate XI, A more particular explanation of the figures.—Fig. I.
The machine fixed to a Kentilh turn-wreft plough. A,
The machine. B, The apron upon which the feed falls
and rebounds upon the land, in broad-cafting. C, Lid to
cover the hopper. D, Wheel at the heel of the plough.
E, Scrap. FF, Hooks, upon which the apron turns by
a pivot on each. G, Stay, to keep the machine fteady.
H, Lever, to prevent it from fowing.
Fig. 2. The machine conftrufted to be drawn by a
horfe. AAA A, The hoppers. BB, The diagonal
fupporters. CCCC, The upper fpouts. D, The apron
or (helf upon which the feed falls upon the upper fpouts.
E, The lever, which carries back the bar, and prevents
the machine from fowing. FF, Staples upon the han¬
dles, through which the reins pafs, for the man who
condu&s the machine, to diredt the horfe by. I,
Screw, to fix the machine occafionally. N. B. The
knobs (by turning which each particular fpout may
be taken from off the bar, and thereby prevented from
feeding) are over each upper fpout ; but, to prevent ^nftruments
confufion, are not lettered in the Plate. Hufbandry
Fig. 3. is the fame machine with that in fig. 1. The ^
dotted lines, exprefling the fituation of the long fpout,
when the apron is removed, and the machine adapted
for drilling.
Fig. 4. Alfo the fame machine, with the front laid
open to ftxow the infide. A, The catch-wheel fixed
upon the axle. BB, The axle upon which the machine
hangs between the handles of the plough. C, The
pulley, by which the ftrap from the wheel at the heel
of the plough turns the catch-wheel. D, The bar,
upon which the upper fpout refts, fufpended by the
diagonal fupporters EE, bearing againft the catch-
wheel by the trigger F, and thereby kept in motion
while the plough is going. G, The apron in a Hoping
pofition, upon which the corn or feed falls from the
upper fpout, and is fcattered by rebounding upon the
land. It turns upon pivots, and by this means throws
the feed either towards the right hand or left at plea-
fure.
Fig. 5. The upper fpout.
Fig. 6. The plate which is placed between the bridge
and the Aider, for fowing fmall feeds. The aperture
A being downwards for fowing turnips •, the larger one
B downwards for fowing clover, &c.
Fig. 7. The bridge, fixed in the upper fpouts. A,
The Aider, which contrails or enlarges the different
apertures. B, The aperture in the bridge, through
which the feed paffes, when fowing any quantity from
one bulhel upwards on an acre.
Fig. 8. The regulator, made of brafs. D, The Aider
or horfe which moves upon it, and is fixed at any parti¬
cular degree by a fcrew in its fide.
Fig. 9. reprefents the movement in the machine fig. 2.
AAAA, Gleets, between which the upper fpouts reft.
BB, The diagonal fupporters, by which the bar with
the upper fpouts hang. C, The catch-wheel. DD,
The axle. E, The trigger upon the bar, which bears
againft the catch-wheel. FF, Stays from the back of
the machine, by which the bar plays.
Fig. 10. The long fpout. A A, The ears by which
it hangs.
Sect. II. Of preparing Land for cropping, by remov¬
ing obfiruEHons and bringing the Soil into a proper
Jlate.
1. Of Removing Stones.
166
It is of the utmoft importance to have land effec-Importance
tually cleared of ftones, before undertaking any agri- remov-
cultural operation upon it ; for by means of them there in£ ft°nes*
is frequently more expence incurred in one feafon, by
the breaking of ploughs and the injury fuffered by the
cattle and harnefs, than would remove the evil. It
has alfo been obferved that the foil round a large ftone
is commonly the beft in the field. It may be confider-
ed as purchafed at a low rate by removing the ftone.
At any rate, fuch ftones mull be removed before the
ground can be properly cultivated. For whether a
large ftone occupy the furface, or lie beneath it, but
within reach of the plough, a confiderable fpace
around it cannot be ftirred by that inftrument, and is
therefore ufelefs. Even the reft of the field where
X x 2 ftones
348 A G R I C U
lJre! aration ftones abound muft be laboured in a more flow and
of Land. te(j;ous manner, on account of the caution neceffary
‘ v to avoid the danger which they produce.
The ftones which impede the improvement of land
are, ift, loofc ftones, or fuch as are thrown up to the
furface by the plough ; and, 2dly, fitfaft ftones, which
are either upon or immediately below the furface, but
are of fuch magnitude that they cannot be ftirred by
Mode,S^ the plough.- The firft kind of ftones may ufually be
ftones’11'8 eafily removed by being gathered and carried off.
When land is laid down for hay, luch ftones are
often improperly thrown in heaps into the furrows,
where they ever after continue to interrupt the plough,
or are dragged again by the harrows over the land.
Inftead of proceeding in this manner, they ought to be
carried wholly off the field in carts at the dryeft feafon
of the year, and placed in fituations in which they may
be rendered ufeful to the farm. In this point of view,
ftones are fometimes of confiderable value for making
concealed drains, or for making and repairing the roads
through a farm, and alfo for the repairs of fome kinds
of fences. # .
The only writer upon agriculture who has in any
cafe objefted to the propriety of clearing land of fmall
ftones, is probably Lord Karnes. In fome parts of
the fouth of Scotland, and particularly in Galloway,
the foil is faid to be com poled in a great meafure
of gravel, and of ftones of a fmooth furface, as if worn
by the running of water. After being ploughed, the
whole furface of every field appears to be compofed of
loofe ftones lying almoft in contaft with each other.
Some induftrious farmers, with great labour, colle&ed
and removed the ftones from a few of their fields with
a view to their improvement : and the refult is faid to
have been, that the fucceeding crops were wholly blight¬
ed in the tender blade, and never came to maturity.
The ftones upon the furface were fuppofed to have pre¬
vented the exhalation of the moifture from the {hallow
and extremely porous and open foil which they cover¬
ed : and they were alfo fuppofed to have contributed to
fuller the young plants, by refleaing powerfully from
their fmooth furfaces the fun’s rays in every direftion
around them : but when they were removed, the foil,
in that bleak climate, became at once too cold and too
dry for any purpofe of agriculture. The farmers, there¬
fore, who had with fo much toil and coil removed
the ftones from part of their lands, could think of no
better remedy than, with equal toil, to bring them all
back again, and, carefully replace them upon their fields.
It is added, that the foil immediately refumed its wont¬
ed fertility. The truth of this anecdote has never been
contefted ; and there is no doubt that it has long been
current in the fouth of Scotland, both previous to its
publication bv Lord Karnes, and after that period, a-
ftjong a clafs of perfons who are very unlikely to have
been acquainted with his writings. It is poflible that
the replacing the ftones was the beft remedy for the
want of fertility in the foil which its cultivators had
wi'.hin their reach : but it is probable that they might
have found it of more importance to have covered the
furface of their land with a fubftantial coat of clay
marl, or even with almoft any kind of earth or clay
obtained from the bogs and fwamps that ufually abound
• in thefe countries, providing only they could obtain a
quantity of lime to add to it, In this way, poffeffing.
L T U R E. Pradticc.
land whofe bottom was very pervious to moifture, they Preparation
might have obtained a foil luited to every purpofe of ^ ,
agriculture j whereas, in its prefent ftate, it muft re¬
main for ever unfit to be touched with the fey the.
With regard to large or litlaft ftones which cannot
be removed by any ordinary effort, they ufually either
appear fully above the furface or are concealed imme¬
diately under it. For the fake of difeovering con¬
cealed ftones, it is faid to be a euftom in Yorkfhire,
when they intend to reduce wafte and rude land undei
the plough, in the firft place, carefully to go over the
whole furface with fharp prongs, which at the diftance
of every twelve or fourteen inches they thruft into the
ground to the depth of above a foot, and wherever a
ftone meets the prong, they mark the fpot with a twig,
a bit of wood, or fome other objed. They afterwards
trace all the marks, and remove every ftone before they
touch the land with the plough.
Concerning the modes which have been adopted for
removing large ftones out of the way of the plough j
one of the fimpleft is the following : A pit or hole is
dug befide the ftone, 16 or 18 inches deeper than the
height or thicknefs of the ftone. A number of men
are then affembled, who tumble it into the pit. It is
immediately covered up with a part of the earth that
came out of the hole ; and the reft of the earth is Mat¬
tered over the field, or employed in bringing to a level
with the reft of the foil the fpot where the ftone for¬
merly lay. As the ftone now remains at a greater
depth than the plough can reach, it is no longer an
impediment to agriculture. In performing this opera¬
tion, however, the workmen muft attend to the nature
of the foil, and take care that the weight of the ftone
do not bring down the fide of the pit, which might be
attended with dangerous confequences. lo obviate
any hazaid of this kind, it is always proper to have at
hand a ftout plank, which ought to be laid acrofs the
pit or hole, immediately under the neareft corner or
edge of the ftone. With this precaution, a fingle man
may ufually perform the whole operation of burying
ftones or pieces of rock of very great fize and weight.
By the above operation, however, the ftones are ut¬
terly loft } whereas they may fometimes be of confider¬
able value for fences or other buildings. When this
is the cafe, they muft be broken to pieces before they
are removed. W^ith this view it is to be obftrved,
that a great variety of ftones have fome thin veins,
which being found, wedges can be driven into them
by large hammers, fo that they may be eafily broken.
For fuch operations fpades and pick axes are necenary
to clear away the earth, and a large and a Imall lever
to turn the ftones out of the ground. Hammers and
wedges are alfo requifite, with carts to remove the
fragments from the field. In the Statiftical Account
of Scotland, xol. xix. p. 565. parifti of Maderty, we
are told that “ the Rev. Mr Ramfay, the prefent in¬
cumbent, who occupies a piece of land full of fitfaft
{tones, conftru&ed a machine for the purpofe of raifing
them. It operates on the principles of the pulley and
cylinder, or wheel and axis, and has a power as one,
to 24 ; it is extremely fimple, being a triangle, on two
fides of which the cylinder is fixed •, it can be eafily
wrought and carried from place to place by three men.
A low four wheeled machine of a ftrong couftru£tion
is made to go under the arms of the triangle, to receive
the
Part I. AGRICULTURE. 349
Preparation the done when raifed up. This machine has been al-
of Land. rt;a(jy 0f great ufe in clearing feveral fields of large
’ flones in this place and neighbourhood.”
It is evident, that the machine here defcribed is
only valuable for getting {tones out of the way in the
grofs and unbroken ; and, accordingly, we learn that
done fences are almod unknown in the parifh of Ma-
derty.
Where dones are valuable, therefore, and the opera¬
tion of breaking them with hammers and wedges is
found impra&icable or too laborious, it will be necef-
fary to blad them with gunpowder. To perform this
operation properly, however, conliderable experience
is requifite ; for it is faid, that a fkilful workman can
in mod indances, by the depth and pofition of the bore,
contrive to rend dones into three equal pieces without
cauling their fragments to fly about. In time of war,
however, the expence of gunpowder is apt to become
very great. With a view to diminifh the cod of that
article, it has been fuggelled, that it is proper to per¬
form the operation not with gunpowder alone, but
with that article of a good quality, mixed up with
about one-third of its bulk of quicklime in fine powder.
It is faid that this compofition pofleffes as much force
as an equal quantity of pure gunpowder, and it is even
alleged, that the proportion of quicklime may be in-
creafed with advantage. How the drength of gun¬
powder fhould be fo much augmented by the addition
of quicklime, we do not know. Perhaps it may add
to the force of the explofion by undergoing a chemical
decompofition of its parts, as it has of late been fuf-
pedted, that this mineral is by no means a fimple or un¬
compounded body.
Where a field is very greatly overrun with conceal¬
ed dones, the mod effedlual method of getting quit of
them, and of rendering it permanently arable, confids
of trenching it wholly by the fpade. Nor is this al¬
ways the mod expenfive mode of proceeding. The
trenching can be done at the rate of from 3I. to 4I.
per Scots acre, which is one-fixth larger than an Eng-
lifh acre, allowing at the fame time the dones or their
price at the quarry to the labourers. In this way, the
expence of ploughing the field is faved. The foil is
deepened to the utmod extent of which it is capable,
and can be laid out in the form molt convenient for
cultivation. In Dr Anderfon’s report of the date of
agriculture in Aberdeendrire, it is faid that the expence
of trenching an acre to the depth of from 12 to 14
inches, where the dones are not very large and nume¬
rous, runs from 4d. to 6d. a fall, which is from 2l. 13s.
to 4I. per Scots acre. Ground that has been formerly
trenched, is fometimes done as low as 2d. per fall, or il.
6s. 6d. per acre. Hence, in confequence of the pra£tice
of trenching ground by the fpade being not unfrequent
in Aberdeenlhire, workmen have become expert, and
by competition have rendered the price extremely mo¬
derate. It is to be widied that the fame pra&ice were
more frequent in other parts of the country, as it
would have a tendency to introduce a tade for the
mod correfl and perfect of all modes of labouring
the foil, and would alfo occupy a conftderable part
of the population of the country, in the mod in¬
nocent and healthful of all employments, that of agri¬
culture.
_ „ Preparation
2. Of Draining. of Land.
It has already been remarked, that the prefence of ^
moidure is of the utmod importance to the fuccefs of ve- importance
gelation. At the fame time, as mud neceffarily happen of draining,
with every powerful and aftive agent, the too great a-
bundance of water is no lefs pernicious to many plants,
than an entire want of it. When it dagnates upon the
foil, it decompofes or rots the roots and dems of the mod
valuable vegetables. Even when it does not remain on
a fpot round the whole year, its temporary dagnation
during the winter renders the land unproductive. Sea-
fons of tillage are often lod, and in wet years the crop
mud always be fcanty and precarious. When in grafs,
the land can only produce the coarfed and mod hardy
vegetables, which can refid the chill or cold date of
the foil, or the fermentation which is often produced
by fudden warmth while the water remains upon the
ground. Hence arifes the importance of draining, by
which arable land is rendered manageable, is made
to dry gradually and early in the fpring, and the corn
is increafed in quantity and weight j and by which, in
padure lands, the grades are made to change their co¬
lour and to lofe their coarfe appearance, and the finer
kinds of plants are enabled to douridi. Even the cli¬
mate is, by means of draining, very confiderably im¬
proved. It is rendered lefs cold during the winter,
and by diminidting in hot weather the exhalations
from the foil, its falubrity both to animal fand vege¬
table life is greatly increafed. Every kind of grain
comes earlier to maturity. The harved is lefs preca¬
rious, and the difeafes are banidied tvhich arofe from a
damp foil and humid atmofphere- 169
The water which dagnates upon the furface of a‘jandls re«*
foil may originate from two caufes. It may defcend ™of
upon it in the form of rain, or it may afcend from ^ firings,
fprings or refervoirs of water in the bowels of the
earth. The rules for draining land which is rendered
too wet for the purpofes of agriculture are different, ac¬
cording the caufes which occalion the wetnefs. We
fhall fird take notice of the mod approved modes of
draining, when the exceflive moidure is occafioned by
rain water dagnating upon the land j. and we (hall af¬
terwards take notice of the plan of draining to be adopt¬
ed, when the wetnefs arifes from fprings or water ari-
fin^ out of the earth. 170
To relieve land from rain water that is apt to dag- Drains are
nate upon it, two kinds of drains have been adopted. °Pen or
One of thefe is called open drains, from their beingholit>w-
expofed to view in their whole length. The other
kind receives the appellation of hollow drains, from
their being covered, fo that their exidence is not ap¬
parent to a dranger, nor is any part of the land lod in
confequence of their being made. Hollow draining is
fometimes avoided on account of the great immediate
expence with which it is attended, and in fome fituations 171
it is altogether inadequate to the objett in view. There Hollow
are fome foils that being chiefly compofed of a diflF clay,”^^’.^
poffefs fo great a degree of tenacity as to retain water
upon every trifling depreflion of their furface, till eva¬
poration carries it off. It is in vain to attempt to
drain fuch foils by hollow channels below ground, as
the water will never be able to filtrate through the
foil fo as to reach the drain. In fuch fituations, there-
fore*
i
35®
A G U 1 C U
only mode that can be
L T U R E.
Practice.
Preparation fore^ open draining is the
,ot kan(h adopted for clearing the foil of furface water.
v ' It alfo fometimes happens that, on ordinary foils,
hollow drains would fpeedily be rendered ufelefs.
This muft take place where the admiffion of furface
water cannot be avoided, and, from the figure ot the ad¬
joining lands, muft be very greatly augmented in time
of heavy rains. In fuch cafes, a clofe or hollow drain
Would fpeedily be choked up by the fand and foil
brought down by fudden and violent torrents. In
thefeYituations, therefore, open drains can alone prove
I72 ufeful. , , , . ,
Draining 0f Soils formed of a tenacious clay can only be drained
clay foils, fiy being laid up properly in ridges which are high in
the middle, and have furrows at each fide for carrying
off the water. The great art of preferving land of
this defcription, therefore, free from fuperfluous moi-
fture, confifts of laying out every field in fuch a direc¬
tion as that all the furrows between the ridges may
have a gradual defcent to a common ditch or drain for
carrying off the water. Where at any particular fpot
the regularity of the defcent is interrupted^ crofs fur¬
rows muft be kept open with the fame view. 1 he
ridges muft alfo be laid up in fuch a form as to allow
the water to defcend from the fummit in the middle to
the furrows on each fide. If the ridges, however, are
too high in the centre, there will be a danger that m
heavy rains the foil may be waftied from the iummit
down into the furrows, which would produce the double
evil of impoveriftiing the centre of every ridge, and of
choking up the furrows, and rendering them unfit to
drain the land.
The diftinguiftied fuccefs of the Flemifti huloand-
men, and alfo of the farmers in the central counties of
England where this kind of foil abounds, fufficiently
demonftrates the praaicability of preferving it in a due
degree of drynefs for the moft valuable purpofes of 3gri-
culture. In thefe Englifh counties, and in Flanders,
the general mode of drying land confifts of ploughing
it up in high and broad ridges, from 20 to 30 and even
40 feet wide, with the centre or crown three or four
feet higher than the furrows. By attentively preferv¬
ing the furrows in good order, and free from ftagnating
water, the land is kept in a dry ftate, and all kinds of
crops fiourifti.
173 . The mode of ridging and crofs-furrowing the clay
Draining in ^ of the Carfe of Gowr;e) perthftiire, has been thus
Cowrie.60 defcribed by George Paterfon,_Efq. of Caftlehuntly m
that county. There are certain large common drains
which pafs through the diftrift in different dire£lions,
fufficiently capacious to receive the water drained from
the fields by the ditches which furround them, and of
fuch a level as to carry it clear off, and to empty
their contents into the river Tay. There are alfo
ditches which furround every farm, or pafs through
them as their fituation may require, but in fuch man¬
ner as to communicate with every field upon the farm.
Thefe ditches are made from two to four feet wide at
top, and from one and a half to one foot at bottom ; a
ffiape which prevents their fides from falling in : but
even then they muft be cleanfed and fcoured every
year at a confiderable expence. If the fields be of an
uniform level furface, the common furrows between
the ridges, provided they be fufficiently deepened at
their extremities, will ferve to lay the grounds dry j
but, as it feldom happens that any field is fo complete- Preparation
ly free of inequalities, the laft operation, after it is ,0 ai1 ' .
fown and harrowed in, is to draw a furrow with the
plough through every hollow in the field which lies in
fuch a dire&ion that it can be guided through them,
fo as to make a free communication with any of the
ditches which furround the farm, or with any of the
furrows between the ridges which may ferye as a con-
duftor to carry the water off to the furrounding ditches.
When this track is once opened with the plough, it
is widened, cleared out, and fo ffiaped with the fpade,
that it may run no rilk of filling up. Its width is from
fix inches to a foot according to its depth, which muft
depend upon the level of the field 5 but the breadth of
a fpade at bottom is a good general rule. It frequent¬
ly happens that there are inequalities in feveral parts
of the fame field, which do not extend acrofs it, or
which do not pafs through it in any direction that a
plough can follow •, but which may extend over two
ridges, or one ridge, or even part of a ridge.^ Such
require an open communication to be made with any
furrow, which may ferve as a conduftor to carry off
the water, which is always made with the fpade. All
thefe open communications are here called gaas, and to
keep them perfe&ly clear is a very effential objeft of
every Carfe farmer’s attention.
It is the general pra<5lice in the Carfe to have head-
ridges, as they are called, at the two extremities of
each field 5 that is, the ground upon which the plough
turns, is laid up as a crofs ridge, higher in the middle
and falling off on each fide, fo that a gaais made in the
courfe of the inner furrow with which the whole fur¬
rows between the longitudinal ridges communicate,
and into which they pour all their furface water, which
is carried off by gaas or openings cut through the head
ridges, and emptied into the adjoining ditches which
convey the water to the main drain. Befides all this,
an experienced Carfe farmer takes care that his lands
be carefully ploughed, and laid up equally without in¬
equalities that can hold water, and that the ridges be
gradually rounded, fo that the furface water may nei¬
ther lodge nor run fo rapidly off as to injure the equal
fertility of the field. # 174
With regard to the general rule for making open Rules for
drains, it may be obferved that their depth and wide-making 0-
nefs muft always in fome meafure be left to the judge-Pen rains-
ment of each particular hufbandman, that they may be
varied according to the variety of foils and fituations.
Upon the whole, however, the width at bottom ought
to be one third of that at top, that, by being fufficient¬
ly Hoped, the fides may be in no danger of falling in.
The fall or declivity alfo ftiould be fuch as may carry
off the water without ftagnation, and along with it
any grals and other loofe and light fubftances that may
get into the ditch. At the fame time, care ought to
be taken to lead the drain in fuch a direction down
any fteep declivity that may occur in an oblique man¬
ner, that the water may not have too rapid a motion,
as it would otherwife be apt to form inequalities in the
bottom, and to wear down the fides. In mofs and very
foft foils, drains require to be of confiderable width, on
account of their tendency to fill up j and their breadth
at top muft exceed that at the bottom in a greater de
gree than the proportion already mentioned.^ In al
cafes in which a ditch is intended for a drain only,
and
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
Preparation and not to be ufed as a fence, none of the earth thrown
.of ■Lanc^' out of it ought to be allowed to remain upon the lides,
but flrnuld be fpread abroad upon the land, or ufed in
filling up the neareft holes. When this is not done,
the utility of the drain is injured by the furface water
being prevented from reaching it, and by the tendency
•which this weight of earth has to caufe the Tides to
fall in ; the difficulty of fcouring or cleaning it is thus
alfo much increafed. If it be necedary, however-, to
ufe the ditch, and the earth thrown outof it, as a fence,
a deep furrow- ought to be made along the back of the
mound of earth, with openings in convenient places
into the ditch for Iran font ting to it the water collefted
in the furrow.
In plantations, open drains are the only kind that
can be uied, as the roots of the trees would be apt to
choke up covered drains. In pafturcs, fmall and nar¬
row open cuts, made with the plough or otherwife, are
often extremely ufeful, to carry off fiagnating water
and a part of the rain as it falls. The only obje&ion
to them is, that they are eafily ftopt by the trampling
of the cattle ; but, on the other hand, they are eafily
reftored. Concerning all open drains, indeed, it muft
be remembered, that they require to be cleaned out at
lead once a-year ; and when this proctfs is negle&ed
for any length of time, it becomes more difficult, and
the drains lole their effefl. Hence, though open drains
are originally cheaper, yet, by the necelTuv of annual
repairs, they fometimes become ultimately more expen-
five than covered or hollow drains, to the confideration
of which we fhall next proceed.
Nature and Hollow drains, in which the water is allowed to
hiftory of flow along a bed of loofe ilones, or other porous mate¬
rials, while they are covered with a bed of earth in
which the operations of the plough can proceed, bear
a near refemblance to that part of the conftitution of
nature by which water flows in various channels along
beds of porous ftrata in the bowels of the earth, and
coming to the furface in various fituations, fupplies
fpring* and the conflant flow of rivulets and of the lar¬
ged dreams. The practice of hollow draining w-as
known in a very remote antiquity. It is faid that the
prefent Perfians are fupplied by means of hollow drains
with water in their mod fertile fields, though they
know not from whence the water is brought, and are
unacquainted with the arts by which a more ingenious
people in former times contrived to deprive one part of
the foil of its fuperfiuous nsoiflure with a view to enrich
another. The ancient Roman writers, Cato, Palladius,
Columella, and Pliny, particularly mention the prac¬
tice of hollow draining. They knew the kind of foils
in which thefe drains are ufeful, and the propriety of
dire&ing them obliquely acrofs the dope of the field.
They filled them half way up with fmall ilones, and for
want of thefe with willow poles, or even wkh any
coarfe twigs or other fimPar materials twifled into a
rope. They alfo fortified the heads of their drains
with large flones, and their mouths or outlets with a
regular building *, and they carried the whole drain to
the depth of three or four feet.
As already mentioned, hollow drains are of little va¬
lue in a foil that confifls of a ftiflF clay, and are chiefly
ufeful where, from whatever caufe the wetnefs may re-
fult, the foil is fufficiently porous to allow the moiiture
to percolate to an internal drain.
hollow
drains.
If the field propofed to be drained lie on a declivity,
great care iliould be taken to make hollow drains in a
direction fufficiently horizontal to prevent, a too rapid
fall of the water, which might wear the bottom uneven,
and have the effect to cboak, or, as it is fometimes cal¬
led, to b/ow up the drain, whereby, in certain fpots in
the field artificial fprings would be formed.
Concerning the leafon for executing drains, dif-
cordant opinions are entertained. Some prefer win¬
ter, others fummer. Where much work is to be ac-
complifhed, a choice of fealons may not indeed be left
to the hufbandman. Some farmers, however, when
they have the choice of time, always prefer fummer for
this employment, being then able to execute the cuts
in a neater manner, without that kneading of the foil
which takes place in winter, which they think hurts
the ufefulnefs of the drain, by ever after preventing the
water from eafily finding its way to it ; befides that it
is eafier to bring the ftones or other materials to the
fpot in fummer than in winter. Others, however, pre¬
fer draining in winter, becaufe in the cafe of a clay
foil, the labour is at that feafon much eafier j and alfo
becaufe labourers are then ufually moft eafy to be ob¬
tained.
The depth and width ufually adopted for hollow
draining is very various, according to the nature of the
foil and the fituation of the field. When the prac¬
tice firft came into general ufe, three feet is faid to
have been the common depth ; but, for many years pafi,
it is faid that hollow drains feldom exceed 30 or
32 inches, and that more drains are of two feet, or 26
inches deep, than of any other. One general rule,
however, cannot be neglected with fafety, that the
depth muft be fufficient to prevent the materials with
which the drain is filled from being affeded by the
feet of horfes in a furrow while ploughing ; twenty
four inches is perhaps too little for this purpofe. A
Jiorfe’s foot in a furrow is ufually at the depth of four
inches or more. If ten inches additional be allowed
for the materials employed in filling the drain, there
will remain only nine or ten inches to fupport the foot
of a horfe exerting his ftrength in the a6t of plough¬
ing, which upon a porous foil feems fcarcely fufficient.
What are called main drains, which are thofe intend¬
ed to receive the w-ater of feveyal other drains, muft
always be fomewhat deeper than the reft, having more
water to convey. As to the widenefs of hollow drains,
moft farmers have of late been folieitous to render
them as narrow as poflible, becaufe by this means a
great faving takes place of the materials ufed for filling
them. If the ftones are coupled at the bottom of the
drain, that is, made to lean toward each other, fo as to
conftitute a triangle, of which the bottom of the drain
forms the bafe, the width need not be greater than one
foot -y nor perhaps is it even neceffary to exceed this
breadth where large ftones are thrown in promifeuoufly.
That the ditches or cuts which are meant to be con¬
verted into hollow drains may be executed with neat-
nefs and care, a point of much importance to their ufe¬
fulnefs, it is thought prudent that the workmen ftiould
not be paid according to the extent of ground which
they open, but as day labourers. This, however, is
more particularly the cafe with regard to filling the
drains, an operation in which a ftill greater degree of
attention is neceflarv,
The
351
Preparation
of Land.
176
Rule for
making
hollow
drains.
352
AGRICULTURE,
Pra&ice.
Preparation
of Land.
The materials ufed for filling drains have been va¬
rious, according to the fubftances which different far-
“ mers have been able to obtain. Stones, however,
Materials are the moft common, and alfo the beft of all mate-
with which rials, on account of their permanency. If ftones from
hollow quarries are to be ufed, and the drain formed like a
drains may ^on(iuit at the bottom, the trench muft be made at the
he filled. joweft part jg inches wide, containing two fide ftones
about fix inches afunder, and the fame in height, with
a cap or flat ftone laid over, which fecures the cavity.
Such hollow drains are commonly ufed for permanent
currents of water from fprings, and are more expenfive
than where no fuch fteady current exifts, and the ftones
are either thrown in promifeuoufly, or laid down fo as
to form triangular cavities. Small ftones, however,
ought not to be ufed for the bottom of a drain.
Whether the ftones are large or fmall, they ought to
be very clean, having no clay or earth adhering to
them, and of the moft hard and permanent quality that
can be procured, with as little tendency as poflible to
moulder or decay in confequence of alternate changes
from wet to dry. They ought alfo to be laid in care¬
fully, fo as not to tumble down any earth, which might
choke up their interftices. The whole fubjed, how¬
ever, will be better underftood by a ftatement of the
way in which drains have been filled with fuccefs by
intelligent perfons. ^ -r, t> i
The following dire&ions are given by T. B. Bay ley
Efq. of Hope, near Manchefter : “ Firft make the main
drains down the flope or fall of the field. When the
land is very wet, or has not much fall, there ftiould in
general be two of thefe to a ftatute acre for the ftiorter
the narrow drains are, the lefs liable they will be to
accidents. The width of the trench for the main drains
ftiould be 30 inches at top, but the width at the bot¬
tom muft be regulated by the nature and fize of the
materials intended to be ufed. If the drain is to be
made of bricks, 10 inches long, 3 inches thick, and 4
inches in breadth, then the bottom of the drain muft
be 12 inches j but if the common fale bricks aie ufed,
then the bottom muft be proportionably contracted. In
both cafes there muft be an interftice of one inch be¬
tween the bottom brick and the fides of the trench, and
the vacuity muft be filled up with ftraw, rulhes,. or
loofe mould. For the purpofe of making thefe drains,
I order my bricks to be moulded ten inches long, four
broad, and three thick; which dimenfions always make
the beft drain.”
The method which this gentleman purfues in con-
ftruCting his main drains is ftated by him to be the fol¬
lowing : When the ground is foft and fpungy, the bot¬
tom of the drain is laid with bricks placed acrofs. On
thefe, on each fide, two bricks are laid flat, one upon the
other, forming a drain fix inches high, and four broad,
which is covered with bricks laid flat.—When the bot¬
tom of the trench is found to be a firm andfolid body, fuch
as clay or marl, he formerly thought that it might not be
neceffary to lay the bottom with brick; but in this he has
candidly acknowledged that he was quite wrong. By
the runs of water, the alternate changes from wet to dry,
and the accefs of air, thefe hard bottoms were rendered
friable, crumbled away, and let in all the drains, and
allowed them to choke up, that were not fupported by
a bottom laid with brick or ftone. When ftones are
yfed inftead of bricks, Mr Bayley thinks that the bot¬
tom of the drain ftiould be about eight inches in width ; Proef!™on
and in all cafes the bottom of main drains ought to be , 0 „ ^ ',
funk four inches below the level of the narrow ones
whofe contents they receive, even at the point where
the latter fall into them.
The main drains ftiould be kept open or uncovered
till the narrow ones are begun from them, after which
thev may be finifhed ; but before the earth is returned
upon the ftones or bricks, it is advifable to throw in
ftraw, rufties, or brufhwood, to increafe the freedom of
the drain. The fmall narrow drains thould be cut at
the diftance of 16 or 18 feet from each other, and ftiould
fall into the main drain at very acute angles, to pre¬
vent any ftoppage. At the point where they fall in,
and eight or ten inches above it, they fliould be made
firm with brick or ftone. Thefe drains ftiould be 18
inches wide at the top, and 16 at bottom.
A mode of draining clay loils wet by rain or furface
water, pra&ifed by Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart, with
great fuccefs, feems worthy of being here ftated. The
upper foil is of good quality, but being fituated in a
mountainous part of the country, the frequent rains
kept the upper foil fo full of water, that it produced
only a coarfe grafs worth 3s* Per acre* ^ be inferior
foil of clay was of great depth. The mode of draining
which has been fuccefsfully praftifed upon it is the
following : “ On grafs lands he digs 22 inches, or 2
feet deep ; the firft fpadtful is of the turf, taken fo
deep, as where it feparates from the clay, which is dug
carefully out, and preferved unbroken grafs fide up,
and laid on one fide of the cut; then, with a very
ftrong fpade, 18 inches long, 6 inches wide at top, and
2 at the bottom, he digs a fpadeful in the clay, which
the men fpread about the land, on the fide of the drain
oppofite to where the turfs were laid, as far as poffible
from the drain, fo as none may get in again. A fcoop,
to clear out the fragments in the bottom, follows,
which are alfo fpread in like manner. They are then
ready for filling ; and in doing this, he takes three
ftones of a thin flat form, two of which are placed a-
gainft the fides of the drain, meeting at bottom ; and
the third caps the other two. Thus, a hollow triangu¬
lar fpace is left to convey the water, w'hich is lubje£i
to no accidents that can fill it up or impede the current.
Stones always fink deeper in the ground ; in the com¬
mon method, this frequently caufes ftoppages by their
being partly buried in the clay: but the triangle, when
it fubfides, does it regularly, and keeps its form and the
paffage for the water clear. One cart load of ftones, in
this wTay, will do a confiderable length of drain. T. hey
are carefully laid down by the fide of the cut, with a
{hovel or bafket, and if there are any fmall refufe ftones
left on the ground after the drain is fet, they are thrown
in above. The ftones being thus fixed, the fods are
then trimmed to the ftiape of the drain, and laid on
them, with the grafs fide downwards, and none of the
clay ufed in filling up.
The expence is a halfpenny per yard, the men earn¬
ing 2s. and 2s. 6d. per day, at 10 yards diftance from
drain to drain. At 6 yards diftance they anfwered well,
but would not operate a cure, if more than 7 yards
afunder. At this laft diftance, therefore, the expence
of draining an EnglHh acre, at ^d. per yard, would
amount to il. 9s. 2d. the ftones being not more than
half a mile diftant.
Not
of Land.
Part I. A G R I C U
Preparation Not only ftones and bricks, but alfo wood and other
materials, have been ufed for filling drains. Upon this
’ point, Lord Petre expreffes himfelf thus: “ The drains
filled with wood, and covered as ufual with ftraw or
rulhes, are preferable to ftones or any other kind of
materials j the reafon is, as the wood decays, the water
continues to pafs. When filled with ftones, and the
drains flop up, which muft be expefted to take place
in time, the earth becomes quite folid round the ftones,
and as they do not decay, the filtering of the water is
for ever obftrudted : not fo when bullies or wood are
ufed ; continual filtering and draining are then for ever
to be perceived j and by repeating the operation a fe-
cond time, cutting the drains tranfverfely of the old
ones, the benefit of the filterings through the rotten
wood is fecured, and the fpewing up of old, broken,
and damaged drains collected and carried off. More¬
over, as bulhes form a much greater number of cavi¬
ties than either ftones or poles, they are lefs liable to
flop up, and encourage filtering more than larger and
more folid bodies. A load of bulhes containing 120
faggots, will do about 360 rods; and a load of ftraw
containing 1 20 bottles, the fame : the load of bufhes is
generally worth about 14s. and the ftraw 18s. per load.
I therefore calculate this expence about 12s. per acre,
ditches a rod apart.”
Richard Prefton, Efq. of Blackmore, prefers, on
twenty years experience, black thorns to every other
material for filling drains. Wood is fometimes ufed
with this view in the following manner : Two billets
are placed at oppofite fides of the drain, and each is made
to reft under the oppofite fide to that on which its
lower part Hands, fo as to form with each other a St
Andrew’s crofs. The upper part of the crofs is filled
with brulhwood, laid longitudinally, above which ftraw
is placed crofs-ways, and the mould is thrown in over
all. This kind of drain is faid to have continued run¬
ning in Berwickfhire for 30 years, and it is recom¬
mended by the author of the Agricultural Report of
the county of Caermarthen, in Wales. He fays, “ The
completed: method I have yet known, is to cut the
ftrongeft willows, or other aquatic bruflhwood, into
lengths of about 20 inches, and place them alternately
in the drain, with one end againft one fide of the bot¬
tom, and the other leaning againft the oppofite fide.
Having placed the ftrong wood in this manner, I fill
the fpace left between them on the upper fide with the
fmall brulhwood, upon which a few rulhes or ftraw
being laid, as before mentioned, the work is done.
Willow, alder, afp, or beech boughs, are exceedingly
durable if put into the drain green, or before the fap
is dried ; but if they are fuffered to become dry, and
then laid under ground, a rapid decay is the confe-
quence. I have Teen willow taken out of a bog, after
lying there thirty years, and its bark was as frelh and
fappy as if it had been recently cut from the hedge ;
and it is well known that beech laid green in the water
will continue found for any length of time.”
Another method of ufing wood confifts of fixing at
every foot diftance in the drain, a ftick in the form of
a femicircular arch, and of laying upon thefe longer
branches or twigs longitudinally. Thus is a curved cavi-
ty, or arch, formed beneath, capable of fupporting any
weight of earth. For this purpofe young wood is re¬
commended, and in particular the prunings of larch.
V©L. I. Part I.
L T U R E> 353
Inftead of woo'd or ftone, in many places, it has of Prf,P;iratloa
late become cuftomary to fill the loweft part of drains Land. ^
with ftraw, and with that view to make ufe of wheat
ftubble as the cheapeft kind of ftraw. On this fubje£f,
Mr Vancouver, in his Report of the Effex hufbandry,
remarks, that when the foil is a very clofe and reten¬
tive clay, the drains Ihould be made proportionally
near to each other, (hallow, and filled with ftraw only,
it being totally unneceffary to ufe wood or any more
durable material upon land where the fides of the
drains are not likely to crumble in. He aflerts that
drains formed in this manner, through the tough and
retentive clays, will be found in a ftiort time after the
work is finiftied, to afford over the ftraw, with which
the drain was filled, an arch of fufficient (Length to
fupport the incumbent weight of the foil, and the cafual
traffic of the field. “In 12 or 18 mo,nths it may beob-
ferved that the ftraw, being of one uniform fubftance,
is all rotted, and carried away, leaving a clear pipe
through the land in every drain, into which the paf-
fage of the water may have been much facilitated, by
a due attention to the filling of the drains with the
mod friable and porous parts of the furface the field
might have afforded.”
An improvement in filling hollow drains with ftraw',
confifts of twitting the draw into a rope, faid to have
been devifed by Mr Bedwell, of Effex. The rope of
ftraw is formed as large as a man’s arm, and is placed
at the bottom of the drain. The expence of draining
an Englifti acre of land with this material in Effex, is
faid to (land thus :
For cutting and raking together an acre of
wheat ftubble, generally fufficient for an
acre of drain,
Digging eight fcore rods of drains,
Filling them up w’ith ftubble,
Extra work with the common fpade, on an
average a day’s work for a man,
L.o
o
o
2
*3
19 4
As in fome fituations it is an object of great import¬
ance to fave the expence of materials commonly ufed in
filling drains, a variety of devices have with that view-
been adopted. One of thefe is of the following nature.
A drain is firft dug to the neceffary depth, narrow at
bottom. Into the trench is laid a fmooth tree, or cy¬
lindrical piece of wood, 12 feet long, 6 inches diame¬
ter at the one end, and 5 at the other, having a ring
faftened into the thickeft end. After ftrewing a little
fand upon the upper fide of the tree, the clay or toughed
part of the contents of the trench, is firft thrown in
upon it, and thereafter the remainder of the earth is
fully trod down. By means of a rope through the
ring the tree is then drawn out to within a foot or twro
of the fmall or hinder end, and the fame operation is
repeated till the whole drain is complete. Such a drain
is faid to have conduced a fmall run of water a con-
fiderable way under ground for more than 20 years
without any lign of failure.
What is called the fod or pipe drain confifts of a Sod or pipe
trench dug to a proper depth; after which a laft fpade-<*ra“is’
ful is taken out in fuch a way as to leave a narrow chan¬
nel, which can be covered by a fod or turf dug in grafs
land and laid over it, the grafs fide downwards. Such
Y J drains
^4. A G R I C U
i’lcnamion drains are laid to continue hollow, and to difcharge -well
i haoil £or a grpgj- nurpbei c>f years. Moffos are faid to be
drained in Lancafhire neaily in the fame manner, by
leaving (boulders about a foot and a half from the bot¬
tom of the trench, and laying acrnfs thefe pieces of dry-
ed peat or turf, cut into lengths of 16 inches, and 8 or
9 inches in breadth.
In Buckingham (hire, in grafs lands, the fod drain is
thus made : When the line of drain is marked out, a
fod in form of a wedge is cut, the grals fide being the
narrowed, and the fods being from 12 to 18 inches in
length. The drain is then cut to the depth required,
but is contra&ed to a very narrow bottom. The fods
are then fet in with the grafs fide .downwards, and
preffed as far as they will go. As the figure of the
drain does not fuffer them to go to the bottom, a cavity
is left, which ferves as a water courfe ; and the Ipace
above is filled with the eartn thrown out.
Another invention for draining land is deferibed in
the agricultural report of the county of Effex. It con-
lifts of a draining wheel of call iron, that weighs about
4 cwt. It is 4 feet in diameter, the cutting edge or
extremity of the circumference of the wheel is hall an
inch thick, and it increafes in thicknefs towards the
centre. At 15 inches deep it will cut a drain, one half
of an inch wide at the bottom, and 4 inches wide at
the top. The wheel is fo placed in a frame, that it
may be loaded at pleasure, and made to operate to a
greater or lefs depth, according to the rellftance made
by the ground. It is ufed, in winter, when the foil is
foft j and the wheel tracks are either immediately filled
with ftraw ropes and lightly covered over with earth,
or they are left to crack wider and deeper till the en-
fuing fummer •, after which the fiffures are filled with
ropes of ftraw or of twifted twigs, and lightly covered
with the moft porous earth that is at hand. I hus,
upon grafs or ley lands, hollow drains are formed at a
trifling expence, which anfwer extremely well. It is
faid that 12 acres maybe fully gone over with this
draining wheel in one day, fo as to make cuts at all ne-
ceffary diftances.
On (beep paftures a ftill fimpler mode of removing
fur face water is faid to be pradlifed in fome places.
Wherever the water is apt to ftagnate, a deep furrow
is turned up with a flout plough. Thereafter, a man
with a fpade pares off the loofe foil from the inverted
fod, and fcatters it over the field, or carts it into hol¬
low places. The fod thus pared and rendered thin,
or brought to the thicknefs of about three inches, is
reftored to its original fituation, with the graffy fide up-
permoft, as if no furrow had been made. A pipe or
opening is thus formed beneath it two or three inches
deep in the bottom of the furrow, which is fuffieient
to difcharge a confiderable quantity of furface water
which readily finks into it. Thefe furrows, indeed,
are eafily choked up by any preffure, or by the growth
of the roots of the grafs ; but they are alfo eafily reftor-
179 ed, and no furface is loft by means of them.
J)uration of With regard to the duration of hollow drains, or
the length of time that the water will continue to flow
in them, and thereby to preferve the foil in a proper
ft ate of dryneis, it muft neceffarily depend, in a great
degree, upon the nature of the materials with which
they are filled, and the care that has been taken to
ore vent th<?ir being choked up by any acceflion of foft
L T U R E. Praaice.
foil. Independent of this laft circumftance, a drain Preparation
hollow
4rains<>
filled with ftones, like the channel which fupplies a 0 ar‘c-
natural fpring, may endure for ever. Wood, with
which many drains have of late years been filled, periftte*
at certain periods according to its nature j but it dots
by no means follow, that the drain ftiould loie its effeft
in confequence of the deftruftion of the wood. If the
earth over it form itfelf into an arch, the water will ftill
continue to flow. Accordingly, it is faid, that drains
filled with bufties and ftraw have been known to run
well after 40 years. iS*
Having thus ftated the various modes that have been drains
moft fuccefsfully adopted for draining lands of a fuper-
abundant moifture caufed by rain or furface water, cpu(-ed b)r
we (hall proceed to confider the way in which a foil fprings.
may be drained when its undue wetnefs is the confe¬
quence of natural fprings, or of water arifing out of the
bowels of the earth*, and alfo when the foil, whether
injured by fprings or rain water, is fo completely fur-
rounded by higher grounds, as to prevent the poffibility,
at a moderate expence, of obtaining a level by which
the water may be conduced away, either by open or
by artificial hollow drains. . 181
To underftand the principles upon which land, ren-Nature of
dered wet by fprings, may be drained for the purpofes fpring3*
of agriculture, it is neceffary to attend to the materials
of which the globe we inhabit is compofed, and to the
manner in which large quantities of water find their
way into its bowels. The earth upon which we tread
is by no means an uniform mafs of matter. It confifts
of various layers or ftrata of different fubflances, one
placed over the other. Thefe layers or ftrata are fel-
dom fituated horizontally, but almoft always defeend
towards one fide or the other. One part of a ilratum
or layer often afeends and appears on the furface,
while the other end or fide of it defeends obliquely to
a great depth into the earth. Having done fo, it fre¬
quently again bends upwards towards the furface } and
indeed affumes almoft all the variety of irregular forms
and bearings that the imagination can conceive *, fome-
times fuddenly breaking off and giving place to other
ftrata or layers, and fome times continuing at one cor¬
ner while the greater part of it ceafes. Thefe ftrata
or layers, of which the earth is compofed, may be con-
fidered, with a view to the explanation of our prefent
fubjeft, as of two kinds. Some of them are porous, and
allow water to pafs through their (ubftance, and to
fill up all their cavities and interftices, fuch as fand,
gravel, fome marls, and various kinds of porous rocks.
Other layers, on the contrary, do not fuffer water to
enter into them j fuch as clay, or gravel with much clay
mixed with it, and rocks of a clofe or compact nature,
without any fiffures or clefts in them.
It is next to be remarked, that it is chiefly upon
high mountains that water exilts, or is formed, in very
great abundance. Not only do they catch and break
the palling clouds, which depofit upon them the great-
eft portion of. their watery contents, but they would
feem to have a pow’er, when neither rain nor clouds
appear in the (ky, of condenfing, attradling, or fome-
how forming water from the atmofpbere. In the
great burning deferts of Africa rain is fcareely known.
The inhabitants build their houfes of clods of earth or
of lumps of fait. A drizzling (bower, which is apt to
come once in feveral years, endangers every dwelling *,
and
Part T. AGRICULTURE.
Preparation and two hours of heavy rain would lay a wholy citv in
. of L:imI‘ . ruins ; yet even there, wherever mountains exift, that
is to fay, naked rocks, which abound in a few diftri&s
of this wildernefs, water is almoft always found in their
vicinity *, and, in confequence of the water, fpots cover¬
ed with the moft luxuriant verdure are feen like iflands
amidft the dreary trafts of moveable and unprodu&ive
fand.
The upper part of mountains is very frequently co¬
vered with a layer of gravel, or loofe and open rock,
into which water readily penetrates. Thefe porous
layers or ftrata defcend gradually into the bowels of
the earth, and convey along with them the water
which they contain, and have received from the clouds.
Under the porous ftratum or layer of gravel are ufually
layers of clay or of folid rock, through which the water
cannot pafs, but along the upper part of which it flows.
After defcending, however, a certain length obliquely
down towards the plain country, layers or ftrata of
clay and other impervious materials ufually come to be
placed above the layers of porous gravel. Thus, as
the water in the gravel is confined between clay above
and clay or rock below, and muft defcend along the
gravelly channel which is pervious to it, ftreams of wa¬
ter are formed in the bowels of the earth, which have
their origin in high gravelly foils, and their outlets at
any place in the low country, where any part of the
beds of gravel or porous rock, along which they flow,
happens to approach the furface, forming fprings and ri¬
vulets, and, by their union or conflux, mighty rivers,
which continue fteadily to water the furface of the
earth. Hence alfo, in very many fituations, by dig¬
ging pits into the earth, we at laft reach a layer of per¬
vious gravel or rock, containing a ftream of water,
brought, perhaps, from the fummit of a diftant moun¬
tain •, and fuch pits can be ufed as wells for fupplying
water for every domeftic purpofe.
We have faid that the upper part of the face of a
mountain is often covered with a bed of porous or
gravelly fubftances Capable of taking in water. Upon
the furface, at a certain diftance down the hill, a bed
of clay begins. The water received above into the
layer of gravel continues to defcend with that layer
for a eonfiderable fpace below the bed of clay ; and
thereafter the gravel fuddenly flops, and the clay above
unites with the clay beneath, or with fome other im¬
pervious ftrata upon which the gravel all the way reft-
ed. In this fitnation, as the water contained in the
gravel can proceed no farther, it hangs within the fide
of the hill as in a bag of clay j and a refervoir is form¬
ed of water within the earth. When this bag or na¬
tural refervoir is full, the water contained in it is pref-
fed upwards againft the clay by which it is covered.
It moiftens this clay, and finds its way by chinks
through all its weaker parts or pores. Thus a belt of
tSi foft and fpouty land is formed upon the fide of the hill 5
I’rinciple on the mode of draining which is very eafy. If a hole is
made1 'Tito t^e ei*rlh near thf bottom of the bag or re-
byfpiWs k™0*1- watfr> f° as to reach the layer of gravel, the
b drained. Watei‘ will inflantly flow freely out, and, being no
longer reflrained, it wdll ceafe to prefs upon the layer
dr ftraturil of clay that coVers it, or to force a paflage
through its chinks j and the foil Will cdnfeqUently be
drained;
Uet it be fuppofed, that the porous ftratum or layer
of gravel, inftead of flopping on the fide of a hill, de- Preparation
feends into the plain or level country, the water all °i band,
the while pafling along in its bowels ; and that the ' v
gravel has a layer of clay below and another layer of
clay above it. After it has reached and paffed to a
confiderable diftance along the valley, if the layer of
gravel either fuddenly flop and allow the layers of
clay to come together, or if the gravel have too little
thicknefs and capacity to allow the water which flows
within it to pafs eafily along, it will neceflarily, from
the new fupplies of water which are continually de¬
fcending, be preffed upwards againft the layer of clay
which covers it : as in the former cafe, the clay will
be foftened, and the water will filtrate through all its
weaker parts till it reach the furface, which it will
keep conftantly wet, and where it will ftagnate in con¬
fequence of the flat and level form of the country.
Over the fofteft places, a coarfe verdure will fpread,
and the roots of the parts intertwining, will form ftiak-
ing quagmires. In other places, the mofs plants, being
the only ones which can thrive in the moift and unge-
nial foil which is thus produced, will rapidly fpring up,
and a mofs will be formed altogether unfit for any pur¬
pofe of agriculture. To drain fuch a foil, it is evident¬
ly only necefiary to dig a pit or hole through the upper
ftratum of clay into the gravel, to give a free vent or
iflfue to the water j which having thus found an eafy
paflage to the open air, will ceafe to prefs upon the in¬
cumbent layer of clay, or to render it moift. This
clay will therefore fpeedily become dry and collapfe j
the mofs plants will wither, provided the furface is pro¬
perly drained •, and the whole foil will become folid
and fit to be cultivated.
It fometimes happens, as already noticed, that apiece
of territory which lies low, is rendered extremely wet
by rain and fpring water coming from adjacent high
grounds, and lodging upon its furface, while, at the fame
time, it is fo completely furrounded by eminences, or
land-locked, that it cannot be drained at a moderate
coft ; the confequence of which is, that tire water ftag-
nates, and a mofs or bog is formed. The principles
which we have already ftated concerning the manner in
which the globe is made up of various ftrata, indicate
the way in w'hich fuch a bog may be drained at a cheap
rate. It is only neceffary to dig a pit at the loweft part
of it, down through the clay, or other impervious layer
that holds up the water, till a porous ftratum is reached,
capable of conveying away the furface water down the
country below ground to the fea, or to fuch rivers as
it may chance to be cpnnefttd with.
The whole art of draining land, where the wetnefs
Is occafioned by water prefling upwards from the
bowels of the earth, depends upon thefe principles.
It is an art whofe importance is not yet fufficiently ap-
pretiated, becaufe imperfeflly underftood, and becaufe
it has not yet been carried into pra&ice to its full extent.
It is probable, however, that at no remote period it
will be held in univerfal eftimation, on account of the
Command of thofe hidden ftreams that are contained inDifpute a-
the bowels of the earth, which it will give to mankind bout the
for the purpofes of an improved agriculture, and for the^r^ difeo-
fervice of commerce in filling canals and giving motion ^r]r °^t^®
to every kind of machinery. A difpute exifts about draining
t’he original difeoverer of this art. The celebrated land made
writer upon agriculture, Dr James Anderfon of Aber-wet by
Y y 2 deen/™-
C_M
agricultu re.
Practice.
I’reparation deen, in }iis “ EiTays on Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
of Land. pUblifhed in 1775, was undoubtedly the firft perfon
who explained to the world the nature of the art of
draining land rendered wet by fprings, and the princi¬
ples upon which it ought to proceed * having been led
to the inveftigation many years before, by his having
fortunately fucceeded in draining a bog by finking a
pit in it through the clay, till an opening was made in¬
to the gravel or porous flratum, from which the water
rufhed up vehemently. In the mean while, it had hap¬
pened that Mr Jofeph Elkington, poffeffor of a farm
in England called Princethorp, in the parifh of Stret-
ton upon Dunfmore, and county of Warwick, almoil: as
early as Dr Anderfon, had accidentally difcovered that
land might be drained in many fituations by making a
fmall hole into the earth. Being a man of confiderable
natural ingenuity, though, it is faid, of little literature,
he had the addrefs to take advantage of the difcovery he
had made, with a view to the improvement of his affairs.
He therefore commenced the trade of a drainer of
lands j and by the novelty of draining land by a fmall
hole bored often at a confiderable diftance from, the
wetteft part of it, and by conducing himfelf in a
myfterious manner, he acquired great reputation, and
was extenfively employed. This employment he ap¬
pears to have merited, as his operations were attended
with very great fuccefs. After the eftablifhment of
the Board of Agriculture, its members, who appear to
have been unacquainted with Dr Anderfon’s publica¬
tion, fuppofed Mr Elkington to be the only diicoverer
and pofleffor of the art of draining land wet by fprings
in the way now mentioned ; and upon their recom¬
mendation, parliament bellowed a reward of tool,
upon him. It was furely an unfortunate circumflance,
that the firft premium granted upon the recommenda¬
tion of this board, fhould have proceeded upon an error,
as it undoubtedly did •, for, although Mr Elkington
had the merit of being the firft who introduced this art
extenfively into praflice, there is no doubt that Dr
Anderfon, by whom alfo it was difcovered, was the
firft who explained its principles to the public, and
that at a period whem Mr Elkington’s fecret remained
with himfelf. After all, however, it is not to be fup¬
pofed that the theory of this art was abfolutely un¬
known, although thefe perfons appear to have been the
hr ft who propofed to apply it extenfively to the pur-
pofes of agriculture. It is faid that the practice is
very ancient in Italy, when a well is dug, to avoid
the expence of going to a great depth, by boring with
an aus^er in the bottom of the pit, in the hopes of reach¬
ing the porous ftratum which contains the water. And
in Germany it appears, as will be afterwards noticed,
that the praftice has long exifted of draining land¬
locked bogs, by letting down the water by means of a
pit through the impervious clay, to a porous fubftra-
tum. We ftiall now proceed to ftate the moft ap¬
proved modes of draining land that is rendered wet by
fprings, or water afcending out of the earth ; and as
the Board of Agriculture inftrufted Mr John Johnfton,
land furveyor, toinfpe6l Mr Elkington’s principal drain¬
ings of this fort, and to give an account of them, we
{hall give all due attention to the contents of the re¬
port made out by that gentleman, which is underftood
to have been executed with much fidelity and accuracy ;
though we fliall alfo exhibit, at the fame time, the prac- Preparation
tice of other, intelligent perfons upon the fame fubjedt. ot La»d-^
In the pradlice of this art it will readily occur, ^
that it is of the utmoft importance to obtain a know- pra(fHCai
ledge of the internal ftrudlure of the earth, and of the rules for
manner in which its various layers or ftrata fucceed,draining^
and are ufually intermingled with each other. '1 his ^ * *
objedi, however, can only be attained in any con ft- fpringS.
derable degree of perfedlion by obfervation and expe-
rience. There are feveral ways, however, by which
a man of fagacity and refledlion may greatly abridge
the difficulty of this ftudy, fo as in a fliort time to
enable himfelf to pradlife the art of draining with con¬
fiderable fuccefs. The fureft way of afcertaining the
inclination of the different ftrata, or ihe way in which
they lie upon each other, and the diredlion in v\ hich
they defcend into the earth, conlifts of examining ihe
bed of the neareft rivers, and the appearance of their
banks when fleep and broken, fo as to lay bare the
different ftrata of earth adjoining to them. Pits, quar¬
ries, and wells, that may have been dug in the neigh¬
bourhood, may alfo be examined with the fame view.
Ruffles, fmall elder bufhes, and other plants which
grow on the wetteft foils, alfo frequently afford fymp-
toms of the line under which an internal refervoir of
water is placed, and is prefling upwards from wanting
a free paffage below ground. 1S5
It is often of much importance, even in fheep coun-To drain
tries, to drain the fide of a hill, not only bacaufe wet the fide of
land is more unproduftive than that which is properly a u ‘
drained, but becaufe the fuperabundance of moiilure is
apt to introduce and to keep up among the flock that
deftru£tive and incurable difeafe, the rot, for which
draining is an almoft infallible preventive. It is
cheaply executed in luch fituations, becaufe the drains
for colletfling and leading off the water, may ufually
be left uncovered. Let it be iuppofed then, that in
confequence of internal fprings at a certain diftance
down the declivity of a hill, or upon any other de-
fcending furface, the ground becomes wet and fpouty,
and unwholefome for fheep, and unfit for agriculture.j
the beft mode of proceeding with a view to drain it is
this. It ought to be recolletfed, that the reafon of the
wetnefs is this : The rain water at the fummit of the
high ground is received into a porous ftratum of gra¬
vel, with which it defcends down the fide of the hill,
till it comes to be covered with a clayey foil. After
defcending under the covering of clay to fome diftance,
the gravel or porous under foil luddenly ceafes { the clay
becomes deeper, and touches the rock or another in¬
ferior bed of clay. In this fituation, the water, unable
to defcend farther, regorges and preffes upwards upon
the clayey foil which covers it, rendering it moift and
fwampy in every part, and oozing through all its
weaker crannies. Thus it forms a belt of moift ground
along the face of the hill, from which the water perhaps
defcends and damages every part. To drain this de¬
clivity, begin at the bottom and cany up a ditch to-r
wards the wet ground. As the objetf is to let out the
water at the lowed point of the refervoir or natural
bag in which it is contained, by jnaking an opening
into the gravel there, it will be proper, as the ditch
proceeds upwards, frequently to bore holes with an
aueer of about two inches diameter to a confiderablo
5 depth,,
Part I. A G It I C U
Preparation depth, that Is, about 15 feet, though fometixnes it is
< of Lant*- _ neceflary to go to twice that depth. As long as the
Vj“~v water is not found by boring, the ditch muft be car¬
ried upwards, and new auger holes formed ; when at
lad the auger by boring reaches the lowed part of the
gravel or refervoir of water, the water will immediate¬
ly ru(h forth with confiderable violence at the hole
formed by it, and will continue ever after to run with¬
out any danger of choaking up. When the bottom of
the refervoir of water or layer of gravel is thus found,
another ditch ought to be drawn acrofs the head of
the former along the face of the hill, fo as to form the
figure of the letter T. In the upper ditch or drain
that runs along the face of the hill, auger holes ought
to be bored at Ihort didances, to let out the whole wa¬
ter from the interior refervoir or dratum of gravel.
The whole procefs will be eafiiy underdood from con¬
flate XII- fidering the figure 3. Care ought always to be taken
in digging the upper drain along the face of the hill,
to form it in fueh a way as that the water may defcend
in it towards the ditch fird formed, which is intended
to convey it down the hill to the neared brook. The
old pra£Hce or mode of draining ground in this fitua-
tion before the ufe of the auger was underdood, and
before men had refle&ed upon the way in which water
is often confined in the earth, confided of digging a
trench wherever the fpouty land commenced. As this
vtas not deep enough to reach the level, that is, to pene¬
trate to the refervoir of water, it produces only a partial
remedy. Other parallel ditches of the fame kind were
therefore cut the whole way down the declivity, and be-
in filled with loofe dones and conne&ed with a de-
fceoding ditch, each carried off only a portion of furface
water, leaving the foil dill cold in confequence of the
wetnefs of the bottom.
In performing the operation already defcribed, fome
difficulties are apt to occur, in confequence of the irre¬
gularities with which the drata are often placed in the
earth. In boring in the afcending trench, in the fird
part of the operation, with a view to difcover the lou'ed
point at which the water may be let out from the inter¬
nal refervoir, the operator is fometimes apt to be mified
by finding water before he has come high enough to
reach the place at which the porous dratum dops. This
arifes from its fometimes happening that at the bottom
of the refervoir fmall leakages occur, and a portion of
the water finds its way downwards through crannies in
the earth to fome didance from the main refervoir.
When the auger in boring meets thefe leakages, they
are apt to be midaken for the main body of water, and
the operator can only guard himfelf againd fuch errors,
by forming an edimate of the quantity of w'ater which
the adjoining high grounds ought to afford. If the
quantity of water that follows the auger be very trifling,
■while the extent of high ground is great, he may be af-
fured that he has not yet reached the great eaufe of the
■wetnefs of the foil. It alfo fometimes happens that the
crofs drain carried along the face of the hill may in
fome places be below the level of the refervoir of wa¬
ter, while it is upon it at other places. In this cafe,
when the auger by boring in the crofs trench brings no
water, it will be neceffary to bore above it, and to con-
duft the water that is there obtained by a fmall cut in¬
to the general crofs trench.
It fometimes happens that hills are compofed of al-
L T U R E. 357
ternate drata, of rock and fand and clay, which red Preparation
horizontally or nearly fo upon each other, and pene-,
trate and form the mafs of the hill. In fuch cafes the
foil above the fand or rock is often dry and productive,
while the clay is wet and fwampy. In this cafe, the
highed part of the hill being generally porous, re¬
ceives the rain water, which defcends through it till it
meets the impervious clay, which forces it to flow to
the furface, which it renders wet. Having overflowed
the upper clay furface, it is immediately abforbed by
the next porous dratum ; and defcending into it in like
manner, again iffues at the lower fide of it, and in¬
jures the furface of the next bed of clay, as it did that
of the fird. To drain a hill fide of this defcription, it
is neceffary to make a trench along the upper dde of
every belt of rudiy or boggy foil to receive the water
from the fuperior porous foil, and to lead the whole
water thus obtained by one or more ditches downwards
to the bottom.
Where a foil is compofed of intermixed varieties, with
clay predominating, it is fometimes very difficult to
drain, as it is apt to form itfelf into a variety of hollow
refervoirs, each of which holds water like a cup, while,
at the fame time, thefe hollows being full of porous ma¬
terials, the furface of the foil is fufficiently regular.
Thus in wet feafons, patches of moht unwholefome foil
are formed, not by fprings for which they may be mif-
taken, but by rain water held up by clay in thefe dif-
joined cavities. They can only be drained by feparate
covered cuts, communicating in the Ihorted way poffible
with one or more main drains.
With regard to the drainage of bogs, it has already To drain a
been remarked, that they are either luch as can have bog t>y iet-
their water carried off by a communication, at a tolera- ^a-
ble expence, with fome adjoining lower ground •, or they freeiy_
are land locked, fo as not to admit of being drained
in this way. With regard to the former, or thofe
which can be drained by trenches for conducing the
water to an adjoining low country or river, they may
be rendered wet in two ways : lit, By fprings oozing
out of the adjoining higher ground, in a regular line
along the upper fide of the wet furface, which afford
water that ftagnates upon the furface of the inferior
ground, forming it into a bog. lo render free from
W7ater a bog of this kind, nothing more is neceffary
than merely to drain the upper adjoining fwampy ground
in the wav that has been already Hated, and to convey
away to a diftance the water produced by it, in regular,
open, or hollow drains.—The fecond claf> of bogs ren¬
dered wet by fprings, confills of thofe in which the
many fprings that appear are not confined to one regu¬
lar direftion along the upper fide, but burft out every¬
where, forming fhaking quagmires, over which it is
dangerous for cattle to pafs. The upper part of fuch
bogs ufually confifts of peat-earth. Below that is
found a bed of dav, extremely wet and foft, through
the crannies of which fmall quantities of water are com-
tinually oozing. When the loweft part of fuch a bog
is found, or the place in which it will be moft conve¬
nient to convey away the water, little more is ufually
neceffary than to dig proper trenches, and to bore with
the auger through the ftratum of clay to the porous ftra-
tum containing the water. To drain an extenfive bog,
it will ufually be neceffary to dig a trench from end to
end of it, with crofs trenches at confiderable diftances,
358 A G R I C t
Preparation tlie bottom of the whole being frequently penetrated with
t the auger, fo as to allow a free paffage for the water
v '' to afcend ; the elfeft of which will be, that the nature
of the furrounding foft foil will fpeedily be altered, in
confequence of the water being removed from beneath
it. It will become dry and folid, and foon fit for bearing
the plough. The fame effedt would follow, although only
a fingle perforation were made through the inferior
ftxatum of the bog •, and accordingly Mr Elkington is
faid fometimes to have fucceeded, while he drained a
bog, in railing the water from it confiderably above
its own level, for any purpofe for which it may be re¬
quired. This was done by rearing around the perfora¬
tion, a building of brick, puddled around and within
with clay, to the top of which the water rofe, and was
l87 from thence conveyed away in pipes or other wife. ^
Dr Ander- That the whole of this important fubjedt, of draining
ion’s rules ian(l rendered wet by fprings, may be better under-
for draining ftood? we {hall give an account of it as deferibed by
fpouty land.;Dr Anderfon? jn his Effays publilhed in 1775, already
mentioned. Suppofing, fays he, a defeending ftratum
of fand or gravel Ihould be difeontinued, and that the
ftratum above it fhould be of a coherent clayey nature j
in this cafe, the water being pent in on every fide, and
being accumulated in great quantities, muft at length
force a paffage for itfelf in fome way, and prefling
ftrongly upon the upper furface, if any one part is
weaker than the reft, it would burft forth, and form a
fpring : but if the texture of every part of this ftratum
were equally ftrong, the water would fqueeze through
many fmall crannies, and would ooze out in number-
lefs places, fo as to occafion that kind of wetnefs that
is known by the name of fpouting clayey foil.
The cure in this cafe is eafily effected.—For if a
ditch of a confiderable fize is opened towards the lower-
moft part of the fpouting ground, fo deep as to pene¬
trate through the upper ftratum of clay, and reach to
the gravel, the water will rife up through it at firft
with very great violence, which will gradually decreafe
as the preffure from the water behind is diminilhed •,
and when the whole of the water accumulated in the
fubterraneous refervoir is run off, there being no longer
any preffure upon the clay above it, the whole foon be¬
comes as dry as could be defired, and continues fo
ever afterwards, if the ditch is always kept open. This
the doftor fays he can affert from experience, having
rendered fome fields of this kind that were very wet
quite dry by this method of treating them. The at¬
tentive obferver, he adds, will readily perceive, that
if any field that is wet from this caufe admits of being
ploughed, it will be in equal danger of being hurt by
being raifed into high ridges, with the other kind of
damp ground before mentioned. For as the depth of
earth above the refervoir would be fmaller in the deep
furrows than anywhere elfe, there would of confequence
be lefs refiftance to the water in that place, fo that it
would arife there in greater abundance. And if, in this
cafe, a farmer Ihould dig a drain in each furrow, as a
confiderable quantity of water would rife into them, in
fome cafes the ground might be improved, or even
quite drained thereby, efpecially if they fhould have
accidentally reached the gravel in any one place ; al¬
though at an expence much greater than was neceffary.
“ X take notice of this circumftance, fays he, in fome
.meafure to prevent the prejudice that fome inattentive
L T U R E. Praaice.
obfervers might entertain againit what wasfaid oefore of t reparation
this method of draining, from their having accidentally of Lantj',
feen fome fields that may have been bettered by it.
“ Bogs are only a variety of this laft-mentioned
kind of wet ground ) and therefore ought in general
to be drained after the fame manner with them. Clay
is a fubftance that ftrongly refifts the entrance of water
into it: but when it is long drenched with it, it is, in
procefs of time, in fome mealure diffolved thereby ;
lofes its original firmnefs of texture and confiftence j and
becomes a fort of femi-fluid mafs, which is called a
bog ; and as thefe are fometimes covered with a ftrong
feurf of a particular kind of grafs, with very matted
roots, which is ftrong enough to bear a fmail weight
without breaking, although it yields very much, it is
in thefe circumftances called a /waggle. But, what¬
ever be the nature of the bog, it is invariably occa-
fioned by water being forced up through a bed of clay,
as juft now deferibed, and diffolving or foftening, if
you will, a part thereof. I fay only a part $ becaufe
whatever may be the depth of the bog or fwaggle, it
generally has a partition of folid clay between it and
the refervoir of water under it, from whence it original¬
ly proceeds : for if this were not the cafe, and the
quantity of water were confiderable, it would meet
with no fufficient refiftance from the bog, and would
iffue through it with violence, and carry the whole femi-
fluid mafs along with it. _ But this would more ine¬
vitably be the cafe, if there was a cruft at the bottom
of the bog, and if the cruft Ihould ever be broken,
efpecially if the quantity of water under it were very
confiderable : and as it is probable, that, in many cafes
of this fort, the water flowly diffolves more and. more
of this under cruft, I make no doubt but that, in the
revolution of many ages, a great many eruptions of
this kind may have happened, although they may not
have been deemed of importance enough to have the
hiftory of them tranfmitted to pofterity. Of this kind,
although formed of a different fubftance, I confider the
flow of the Solway mofs in Northumberland to have
been •, w'hich, upon the 16th of November 1771, burft
its former boundaries, and poured forth a prodigious
ftream of femi fluid matter, which in a fhort time co¬
vered feveral hundred acres of very fine arable ground.
Nor will any one, who is acquainted with the nature
of mofs,—who knows its refemblance to clay in its
quality of abforbing and retaining water, and its very
eafy diffufibility therein, be furprifed at this •, as from
all thefe properties, it is much better adapted for form¬
ing an extenfive bog, and therefore in greater danger
of producing an extenfive devaftation by an irruption of
the water into it, than thofe that are formed of any kind
of clay whatever.
“ If the bog, or fwampy ground, is upon a declivity,
the ditch ought to be carried acrofs the field about
the place where the loweft fprings arife. But if the
furface of the ground is level or nearly fo, fo as to
form foft quagmires, interfperfed through the whole of
the field, it will be of little confequence in what part
the drain is opened ; for if it is dug up fo deep as to
allow the water to rife in it with freedom, it will iffue
through that opening, and the field will be left perfefl-
ly dry.
“ But as it may frequently happen that the ftratum
of gravel ftiould be at a confiderable depth beneath the
furface
Part L AGRICULTURE. 359
Preparation
of Land
furface of the earth, and as it may be fometimes even
below the level of the place into which the drain mud
be emptied, it might fometimesbe extremely difficult to
make a ditch fo deep as to reach the bed of fand or
gravel. But it is lucky for us that this is not abfolute-
ly neceffary in the prefent cafe j as a drain of two
or three feet deep, will be equally effectual with one
that ffiould go to the gravel. All that is neceffary, in
this cafe, is to fink pits in the courfe of the drain, at a
moderate diftance from one another, which go fo deep
as to reach the gravel ; for as the water there meets
with no refinance, it readily flow's out at thefe openings,
and is carried off by the drain without being forced up
through the earth $ fo that the ground is left entirely
dry ever after.
“ I have likewife drained feveral fields in this way :
and as I have generally found the appearances pretty
much alike, I ffiall, for the information of the inexperi¬
enced reader, give a (hurt account of them.
“ If you attempt to make your pit in one of thefe
foft quaggy places where the water is found in great
abundance, you will meet with very great difficulty in
forming it *, for as the fubftance of which it is compo-
fed is foft, it will always flow into the hole as faff as
you dig it; on which account I would advife, not to
attempt to make the pit in the. fwaggle, but as near it
in the folid earth as you conveniently can. However,
If it is pretty firm, and of no great extent, it is fome-
times practicable to make a pit in the foft bog at the
drieft: time of the year. This I have fometimes prac-
tifed, which gave me an opportunity of obferving the
nature of thefe bogs more perfectly than I otherwife
would have had. In the trials of this kind that I have
made, this foft quaggy ground has feldom been above
three or four feet deep j below which I have always
found a ftratum of hard tough clay ufually mixed with
ftones, and fo firm that nothing but a mattock or
pickaxe could penetrate it: and as this is compara¬
tively fo much drier than the ground above it, an in¬
experienced operator is very apt to imagine that this is
the bottom that he is in fearch of. In digging through
this fli-atum, you will frequently meet with fmall
fprings oozing out in all directions ; fome of them that
might fill the tube of a fmall quill, and others fo fmall
as to be fcarce perceptible: but without regarding
thefe, you mull; continue to dig on without intermif-
fion till you come to the main body of the refervoir, if
I may fo call it, that is contained in the rock, gravel,
or fand ; which you will generally find from two to
four feet below the bottom of the fwaggle, and which
you will be in no danger of miftaking when you come
to it : for, if there has been no opening made before
that in the field, as foon as you break the cruft imme¬
diately above the gravel or rock, the water burfts forth
like a torrent, and on fome occafions rifes like
d'eau, to a confiderable height above the bottom of
the ditch ; and continues to flow off with great impe-
tuofity for fome time, till the pent-up water being
drained off, the violent boiling up begins to fubfide,
and the ftrength of the current to abate, and, in a
Ihort time, it flows gently out like any ordinary fpring;
—allowing it to remain in this (late, the quaggy earth
begins to fubfide, and gradually becomes firmer and
firmer every day $ fo that, in the fpace of a few
months, thofe bogs which were formerly fo foft as
hardly to fupport the weight of a fmall dog, become Preparation
fo firm that oxen and horfes may tread upon them with- , knn(b .
out any danger of finking, at the very wetted feafon
of the year. I have had a field of this nature, that,
by having only one fuch pit as I have now deferibed
opened in it, was entirely drained to the diftance of
above a hundred yards around it in every direction.
But as it is poffible that the ftratum in which the wa¬
ter runs may be in fome places interrupted, it will be
in general expedient to make feveral of thefe pits, if
the field is of great extent-, always carrying the drain
forward through the lowermoft part of the field, or as
near the quag as you conveniently can ; and finking a
pit wherever you may judge it will be moft neceffary.
But if the ftratum of gravel is not interrupted, there
will be no violent burft of water at opening any of
thefe after the firft, as I have frequently experienced.
To keep thefe wells from clofing up after they are
made, it is always expedient to fill them up with fmall
ftones immediately after they are made, which ought
to rife to the height of the bottom of the drain.
“ I have often imagined that the expence of digging
thefe pits might be faved by boring a hole through
this folid ftratum of clay with a large wimble made
on purpofe j but as I never experienced this, I can¬
not fay whether or not it would anfwer the defired end
exactly.
“ If the whole field that is to be drained confifts of
one extenfive bog, it will require a long lime before
the whole work can be entirely finiftled, as it will be
impoffible to open a drain through it till one part of
it is firft drained and become folid ground.. In a fili¬
ation of this kind, the undertaker, after having opened
a drain to convey the water from the loweft part of the
bog, muft approach as near to the fvvampy ground as
he can, and there make his firft pit; which will drain
off the water from the neareft parts of the bog. When
this has continued open for fome time, and that part of
the bog is become fo folid as to admit of being worked,
let him continue the ditch as far forward through it as
the fituation it is in will admit of, and there fink ano¬
ther pitand proceed gradually forward in the fame
manner; making crofs cuts where neceffary, till the
whole be finiffied.
“ In this manner may any bog or trafl of fpout-
ing ground of this nature be rendered dry at a very
inconfiderable expence; and as there can be no other
method of draining ground of this fort effeftually, I
recommend the ftudy of it to the attention of every di¬
ligent farmer who may have occafion for it. Let him
firft be extremely cautious in examining all the circum-
ftances of his particular fields, that he may be certain
which of the claffes above enumerated it may be rank¬
ed with ; and when he is perfe&ly fure of that, he,
may proceed without fear, being morally certain of
fuccefs.”
We ffiall add the fubftance of a paper on this fub-
je£f, for which the author received the filver medal of
the Society inftituted for the encouragement of Arts,
Manufa&ures, and Commerce. That author is MrWedge's
John Wedge of Bickenhill, near Coventry, who ismodeof
not only a great farmer himfelf, but had likewife draining,
been employed by the earl of Aylesford in the manage¬
ment of feveral eftates, Encouraged by his lordfhip’s
liberality, Mr Wedge informs the fociety, that he had
been
260 A G R I c U
<lJ ,
Preparation been employed for fome years in draining large portions
of Land. 0f 0f which part was in the earl’s occupation, and
v part in his own, as tenant to his lordfhip. The prin¬
ciples upon which he proceeded, as well as his mode of
procedure, he Hates in the following terms \
In every country there are large portions of land
that, in wet feafons, have always what may be called a
dry fur face, and other portions of land that have always
a mold or wet furface : the former of thefe admitting all
the water which fails upon them to fink freely through
their pores to various depths, till falling on clay, or
fome other unfluous earth, whofe pores will not permit
it to pafs through, it is there held up to a height pro¬
portioned to the quantity of water which comes upon
it, and the facility with which that water is difchar-
ged. Thus, held up to various heights, it feryes as
a fountain to diftribute its water (either by veins of
fand, pebbles, or rock, according to the formation of
the different under Hrata) on the neighbouring lands j
and there forms bogs and other varieties of wet furface,
on a bafis that will be always found to confift of marl
or clay, or fome mixture thereof. -The efFeft of wa¬
ter this diftributed may be divided into two clalfes.
The firft clafs, where the water is thrown out by a
body of marl or clay, &c. upon the furface of defcend-
ing ground, and in the valley (there held up by clay
alio) forms bogs or fwamps. The fecond clafs, where
the water is held up by marl or clay, as before, having
above that marl or clay a ftratum of fand, or pebbles,
through which the water palfes; and above thofe fands
or pebbles another ftratum of marl or clay, through
the weakeft parts of which the water, by a continual
preffure from its fountain, forces a paffage upwards 5
and thus, through the weakeft parts of the marl or
clay furnilhes a continual fupply of water on the fur¬
face, for the formation or growth of bogs, &c. in pro¬
portion as this water is more or lefs abundantly fupplied
by its fountain or head, namely, the higher lands, into
which rain-water freely paffes, as before defcribed.
There are alfo different foils, under different circum-
ftances, which may form a third clafs of land for drain¬
ing \ fuch as ftrong deep foils, or open light foils, ha¬
ving near the furface a body of marl or clay. In either
of thefe cafes, the water which falls on the furface muft,
for reafons which are felf-evident, keep fuch lands, in
rainy feafons, conftantly wet and cold j and it fhould be
obferved, that a mixture of all the three before defcribed
claffes of wet land fometimes occurs in one field, by hid¬
den alterations of the under ftrata, and thereby perplexes
the operator, by requiring all the different modes of
draining in the fame field.
If it be admitted that bogs are thus formed and fed,
their cure may be effefted with certainty : The firft
clafs, by cutting through the ftratum (be it fand, peb¬
bles, or rock), that conveys the water to the bog, and
carrying off that water by a clofe drain to fome proper
place, where the level admits of its difcharge : The fe¬
cond clafs, by finking a drain to any convenient depth
in the upper clay 5 and then digging or boring with
a lar^e auger, at a fmall diftance on one fide of this
drain*, through the remaining part, be it (the upper
clay) ever fo deep, into the under ftratum of fand, peb¬
bles, or rock, through which the water paffes j which
will then rufli up into the drain fo made, with a veloci¬
ty proportioned to the height of the land or fountain
L T U R E. Pra&ice.
whence it is fupplied. As this drain advances through Preparation
the land, holes muft be dug or bored, as before, every ot Lancl-
feven yards, or at fuch diftance as the ftrength of the ' v
fprings may require j and the whole of the water thus
brought up by tapping the fprings, is carried off by the
drain made in the upper clay, which muft be a clofe
one, to its proper level, and there dilcharged.
By both thefe methods of draining, large tratts of
land, under favourable circumftances, may be cured with
one drain. The belt place for fixing thefe drains is
where the ftratum that conveys the water comes neareft
to the furface } and the beft method of afcertaining that
is to bore or dig in different parts through the differ¬
ent under ftrata.
The third clafs may be eafily cured by clofe drains,
at fuch diftances and depths as will beft carry off the
furface-water. It may not be improper to obierve, that
where the different ftrata or meafures crop out, that is,
become gradually more and more (hallow in fome cer¬
tain direction (as is often the cafe, till, one after the
other, they all prefent themfelves. in fucceffion on the
furface of the earth), draining may often be much more
eafily and better effe&ed by crofting with the drain the
different ftrata or meafures, where the levels and other
circumftances will admit.
Some of the land drained was part of a common, in
the parifh of Church Bickenhill, in the county of War¬
wick •, part of it was covered with mofs and ling, had
a peaty furface, about fix inches deep, and produced
little or no grafs: in all wet feafons it was filled quite to
the furface, and often overflowed, with water. Some
of the land was much more unfound, deeper of peat,
and covered with mofs, in moft parts nine inches long;
another part was an abfolute bog in all feafons.
Having dug or bored with a large auger into feveral
parts of the land, Mr Wedge found peat, gravel, and
fand mixed, and a quickfand almoft uniformly. The
quickfand in every part, after getting an inch or two
into it, feemed almoft as fluid as water. Judging from
this, that no materials for a drain could be laid in the
quickfand, but what it would immediately bury, he
dug a trench almoft to the quickfand, leaving gravel,
&c. of fufficient ftrength to bear up the materials for a
hollow drain ; thefe materials were two fides and a co¬
ver of ftone, with a peat-turf on the top to keep out
the foil. At every feven yards forward, by the fide of
this drain, he dug a hole in the quickfand as deep as
it would permit. From thefe holes the water rofe free¬
ly into the hollow drain, and was by it difcharged at a
proper level. It may be proper to remark, that the
flone made ufe of for this drain, and all others here
mentioned, was a red fand and rag-ftone, which eafily
fplit into proper fizes for the purpofe, and is very du¬
rable •, it coft about fixpence per ton getting, exclufive
of carriage. The drain thus formed ran on the whole
rather freely, and made the land dry for a few yards on
each fide thereof, but was far from having the effeft he
improperly expe&ed •, for it evidently appears that the
drain could only take a very fmall portion of the water
from fo large a quickfand, which it did not penetrate
more than two inches j and that it could drain only to
its own depth, or, at moft, to that depth in the fountain
which fupplied the quickfand. His purpofe was then
defeated 5 and his motive for mentioning this error can¬
not, he hopes, be miftaken.
Hs
Part I. AGRICULTURE. 361
Preparation He now did what he fays he ought to have done be-
of Land. forej tiiat js> fog examined the different ftrata to a greater
Wnr"*"“ depth, particularly on the bog, and at the upper edges
thereof, and found the bog to be what has been de-
fcribed under the firft clafs. He therefore determined
to attempt the cure in the manner before prefcribed for
that clafs, namely, to cut through the whole of the ftra-
tum (in this inftance, of quickfand), through which
he found the water pafs. This he effefted as follows :
The fummer being dry, and favourable for the purpofe,
and having previoufly made his main open drain, he began
his main clofe drain the firft week in June 1791, three
feet wide, on the declivity near the edge of the great
bog. In the firft operation he dug through the peat,
the hard fand, and gravel, and one fpade’s graft (about
nine inches deep and feven inches wide) into the quick¬
fand, the whole length of this drain, which was 73
perches, of eight yards to the perch, in length. The
drain thus dug ran copioufly, not lefs than 60 gallons
per minute. In this ftate he left it about nine days :
the effedl of it was rapid, both above the drain and on
the bog below. Upon examination, he now found about
three inches on the top of the fpade’s graft, which had
been made into the quickfand, perfe&ly dry. He then
dug out thefe three inches of dry fand, to nearly the
whole width of the drain, three feet j and at the fame
time dug out, as before, another fpade’s graft, from the
top of the quickfand, as near the middle of the drain
as poflible. This was left to run a few days, as before,
and had the fame effeft, namely, three or four inches
more of the top of the quickfand became dry and hard.
The fame operation was repeated again and again with
the fame effe£l;, till the purpofe of getting through this
quickfand was completed, fo far at leaft as the level of
the main open drain would permit. The ftream of wa¬
ter continued increafing during the whole operation ;
the bog below the drain was quite dry, and the land
above perfe&ly fo. The drain which was firft made,
and continued running for fome time during the pro-
grefs of the main clofe drain, became gradually dry j
and has not, fince that drain was finiftied, difcharged
one Angle drop of water. Great care was necelfary, in
making the main clofe drain, to keep the ftreara of wa¬
ter in the middle of it, otherwife the current would have
undermined the fides, as it fometimes had done, and
caufed them to fall in. For this reafon it wTas necef-
fary, when the dry fand was taken from the top of the
quickfand, immediately to take out a fpade’s graft from
the middle thereof, in order to divert the current from
the fides.
The main clofe drain thus made was three feet wide
at top, about nine feet deep on the average, and, bevel¬
ling a little from the top, it was about one foot ten
inches wide at the bottom. The ftone and other ma¬
terials were put into this drain in the following manner:
1. Where the drain went through the quickfand into
the ftratum of clay below it, as in moft places it did,
the bottom, and in fome inftances the fides, wanted no
particular fecurity ; but where it did not go quite
through the quickfand, which the level of his main
open drain in fome places would not admit, the bottom
of the drain was covered half an inch thick with ling ;
then peat turfs, one foot wide and three or four inches
thick, were cut in convenient lengths, and placed on
their edges on each fide of the bottom of the drain,
Vol. I. Part I.
forming two fides of a trough of peat j then fide ftones Preparation
about eight inches high and a ftone coverer, were put °f ban , ^
in upon the ling between the peat turfs j a large peat-
turf, near two feet wide and four inches thick, was
then cut and firmly placed over the whole : this left in
the bottom of the drain an open fpace, of more than
fix inches fquare, for the water to pafs. The whole '
was then completed by filling in the upper part of the
drain.
In this Way the author drained for about Sol.
thirty acres of land, which, from being of no value
whatever, became worth at leaft 14 (hillings per acre of
yearly rent. He likewife hollow-drained nine acres by
the method prefcribed for the third clafs of wet land.
Thefe drains were made a few yards below that part of
each field where the dry and wet land feparate, about
22 inches deep, with fides and a coverer of ftone, and
ling on the top of it, to keep the earth from running
in. The length of thefe drains was 880 yards, and the
expence of labour and materials three halfpence per
yard. The drains, in wet weather, difcharge a large
quantity of water j and will, he has no doubt, anfwer
the intended purpofe. Thus far relates to land in his
own occupation.
Nine acres of the land in the earl of Aylesford’s oc¬
cupation was almoft an entire pulp. This bog was of
the fecond clafs, namely, water paffing through a
quickfand, and confined by a ftratum of clay below,
and another ftratum of clay above it. The water thus
confined, being preffed by its fountain, and forced up
through the weakeft parts of the clay, had formed a
bog of irregular thicknefs on the furface, in fome places
fix feet deep, in others not more than two. As there
is a confiderable fall in this land from eaft to weft, he
thought it expedient to put two drains into it 5 and
this appears to him to have been necefl'ary, from a con-
fideration that both thefe drains continue to run in the
fame proportions as when firft opened. The manner
in which thefe drains were executed was, by digging
through the difterent upper ftrata, and as deep into the
clay as the main open drain would admit : then dig¬
ging or boring through the remaining part of that clay
into the quickfand, at the diftance of about fix yards, in
a progreflive manner.
The water rifing rapidly through thefe holes into
the clofe drains, has effected a complete cure of this
land, every part of which will now bear a horfe to
gallop upon it. Thefe drains difcharge 3660 gallons
an hour j which is much lefs than they did at iirft, as
muft be the cafe in all bogs. This land will be worth
20s. per acre. The draining coft 25I. j and the length
of the under-ground drains is eight hundred and four¬
teen yards.
Mr Wedge had juft finished (January 1792) drain¬
ing another piece of land, about forty-three acres. As
this was intended to anfwer two purpofes, one, to drain
the land, the other to give an additional fupply of wa¬
ter to a mill-pool, and as a circumftance arofe in the
execution of the work which frequently happens in
draining land, namely, a hidden alteration in the po-
fition of the under ftrata ; a defcription thereof will
not probably be thought tedious. This draining was
begun at the level of a mill pool, and continued, with¬
out any great difficulty, to the diftance of about thirty-
two chains, in the manner before defcribed as a cure
Z z for
^62 A G R I C U
Preparation for the fecond clafs of boggy land : but at or near that
t of Land. ^ p]ace t|ie under ftrata altered their polition ; the quick-
^ ' fand which conveyed the water now became of twice
its. former thicknefs *, and the clay, which had hitherto
been above that quickfand, for fome diftance difap-
peared. From the quickfand thus becoming fo much
deeper, he could not, with the level of the mill-pool,
cut through it •, nor indeed, from the wetnefs of the
feafon, would fuch an operation have been proper. He
therefore continued a (hallow drain to fome diftance,
making fide-holes into the quickfand, which ran freely j
but as this could not cure the whole of the bog below,
he branched out another drain (which was made by
the method defcribed for curing the fecond clafs of wet
or boggy land), by finking a clofe drain through the
upper ftrata into the upper clay, and then, at a fmall
diftance on one fide of this clofe drain, boring a hole
with an auger through the remaining part of that clay
into the quickfand ; and at every eight yards, as this
clofe drain advanced, ftill boring other holes, in the
manner before defcribed : through many of thefe holes
the water ruftied with great rapidity. The water dif-
charged by thefe drains into the mill-pool is 168 gal¬
lons per minute, or 3780 hogftieads in a day ; which is
after the rate of 1,379,700 hogftieads in a year.
About fix acres of this land were always found ; a-
bout twelve acres on the north fide were an abfolute
pulp, and the remaining twenty-fix acres very unfound.
The whole is now found, and will when cultivated be
worth 16s. per acre. This land would have been drain¬
ed at a much lefs expence into the main open drain ;
but then the water, which was much wanted for the
mill, would have been loft. Thefe clofe drains are in
length 1452 yards, and coft tool, of which about 30I.
ought to be charged to the mill.
Drainino- of With regard to the drainage of land-locked bogs,
landlocked which are often fituated fo much lower than the ground
bogs. around them, that the cutting a main drain would
coft; more than the value of the land when drained
the mode of proceeding, with a view at once cheaply
and effe&ually to relieve them from the fuperfluous
moifture which renders them ufelefs to agriculture, is
the following : A fpot in the middle or lowed part of
the bog muft be felefted, towards which all the drains
muft be conduced, as radii to a common centre.
When this central fpot is properly cleared out to the
top of the clay, or retentive fubftratum, which in this
cafe muft not be affefted by water from below, but
only by furface or rain water, a number of perforations
muft be made with the auger, to give an outlet down-
svards for the water, which will be abforbed by the
porous ftratum below. A conduit (hould be formed
over the auger holes, by loofe (tones, placed in fuch a
manner as to prevent their being afterwards filled up
by any rubbifh : or rather auger holes may not be fuffi-
cient; and it may be a preferable plan to make a
large pit, or well, in the lowed part of the bog, dug
through into the porous fubftrata. This pit ought to
be filled with large (tones, and the, drains from the reft
of the field conduced to that fpot, as mentioned in the
following quotation from the Agricultural Report of
Hertfordfhire.—“ If a pit is funk 20 or 30 feet deep
in the middle of a field, through the Hertfordftiire red,
flinty, and impervious clay, into the chalk below ;
when the ufual quantity of chalk is taken out, the pit
L T U R E. - Practice.
(haft is filled up with the flint taken out of the chalk Preparation
and clay, and the top drainage of this part of the field 1 ban(h .
is much (hortened for ever afterw'ards, by making prin- ’ ' ~
cipal drains from the part of the field above the level of
the top of the pit terminate therein, as the fuperabun-
dant moifture will efcape through the flints in the pit
(haft to the chalk below. And if a drain is carried in¬
to a limeftone quarry, it is feldom neceffary to carry it
further.
“ In dells or hollows, of confiderable extent, cover¬
ed with an impervious ftratum, and from which there
is no natural drainage, fuch as the valley between
Mold, the (hire-town of Flintftiire, and the adjoining
high land, a pit about four feet diameter, and ij feet
deep, more or lefs, as the cafe may require, is funk
through the impervious fuperftratum, into a pervious
ftratum of gravel, and the rain water, and that of fome
adjoining fprings, are carried from the furface thereby }
the pit is railed round to prevent cattle from falling
into it. I muft here remark, that though in this, as
well as in many other inftances that may be given, the
top water efcaped through the pervious fubftratum, the
effeft might have been direftly the contrary. I there¬
fore recommend the impervious fuperftratum, in all fuch
cafes, to be perforated by bore-rods, as the hole made
by them is eafily flopped up.” 15C.
In Dr Nugent’s travels through Germany, publilhed German
in 1768, a mode of draining marlhes upon fimilaj prin-mode of
ciples is defcribed, as having been praftifed in that
country. He had only feen it. performed on moor bogs’
grounds, though it is alfo fuccefsful with regard to
lakes. “ It is the nature, fays he, of moors in general,
that beneath the turf or mofs there is a loam which
hinders the moifture from penetrating-, and this in¬
deed is what makes the marfh, and caufes the luxuri¬
ant growth of the turf or mofs ; but this loam or clay
is only a ftratum, and far from being of an immenfe
depth ; under it is generally a fand, or fome other fto-
ny or loofe foil.
“ Here reafon readily informs us, that a middling
morafs may be drained by perforating the clay, and
thus making way for the moifture to penetrate. In or¬
der to this, a pit is dug in the deepeft part of the moor,
till they come below the obftrufting clay, and meet
with fuch a fpongy flratum as, in all appearance, will
be fufficient to imbibe the moifture of the marfh
above it. Into this pit the ebbing of the morafs is
conveyed through a trench, and both the trench and
the pit are filled up after the firft drain with large
broad ftones, fetting them edgewife, fo as to leave in-
terftices for carrying off the water then fuch ftones
are laid over breadth wife, and thefe covered with loofe
earth like that on the furface : when no fuch ftones
are to be had, ftrong piles are rammed down the fides
of the trench, and broad boards laid acrofs 5 and thefe
are covered with earth to a height fit for culture.
This is a matter of no great expence, the pit being as
near the morafs as the water will admit, and the
trenches but fliort-, then they have a drain unperceived,
which leaves the furface of the trenches for the plough $
and in middling marfhes, efpecially in fuch moors as are
only wet and damp, this method, though fometimes
flow, never fails taking effefl; and many trails are jpj
thereby made ferviceable to the farmer or grazier.” Draining ii-
The writer of the Roxburghftdre Agricultural Report^ebuIg
reprefejusin
Part T.
Preparation reprefenti himfelf as having fuccefsfully adopted a fi-
, ot Lanc1', milar mode of draining. In that part of the country,
fuch of the wafte lands, as are capable of being drained
fo as to become arable, have, at the didance of from one
to fix feet below the furface, a large llratum or feam
of a black llaty or metallic fubftance, generally from
20 to 25 feet in thicknefs. Below this is a layer of
whinftone rock of unknown depth. The black flaty
or metallic fubftance has no chinks or fiflures, and is
impenetrable to water; but the whinftone rock beneath
it abounds with chinks and fiffures, and will fwallow up
any quantity of water poured into its bofom. The
up per no oft furface of the foil is of a light moffy nature,
upon which the water ftagnates in winter, fo as to fwell
and enlarge it to a confiderable degree. In the fpring
months, when dried by the fun and the wind, the mofs
becomes tolerably firm, and produces a eoarfe unpro¬
fitable grafs, mixed with fliort heather; neither of
which are of any value as food for ftieep or cattle. In
the year 1784 the writer of the Report ploughed up
20 acres of the wafte lands of the above defcriptiun, a
part of them being fituated on a level. This laft part
was gathered into fmall ridges, and ploughed pretty deep,
and the ftones removed. Thus it lay till midfummer
1785 ; but, during the fpring, the ftieep and cattle were
frequently driven upon it to tread it to a firm con-
fiftence. At midfummer it was gathered up again ;
gnd, to get the water out of the hollows of the ridges,
a pair of boring rods were obtained, which were put
down through the flaty fubftance to the whinftone rock
at fundry places. This effedftually anfwered the pur-
pofe. The tops of the holes were kept open with balkets
of loofe ftones over them, which were allowed to remain
or removed at pleafure, as the weather proved more or
lefs wet. In fpring 1786 the land was in a condition
to fow almoft as early as any other part of the farm,
the winter rains having found their way down into the
whinftone rock through the flaty fubftance, and the land
191 fpeedily became and continued very valuable.
Draining of We may here add, that the modes of draining now
quarries and ftated are alfo valuable for other purpofes than thofe of
agriculture. Quarries, for example, and marl pits may
often be cleared of water, by cutting off the fprings by
which they are incommoded, or by letting down the
water into the next porous ftratum. The fame may be
often done, with regard to deep mines, the working of
which may frequently be thus greatly facilitated. A
colliery for example, in Yorkftiire had been wrought
for feveral years, and the water was raifed from it about
60 yards by a fteam engine. The proprietors having
bored about ten yards farther, to afcertain the thick¬
nefs of a feam ot coals ; as foon as the boring rods
were withdrawn, the water from the works, which ufu-
ally ran acrofs that place, began to fink into the holes
made by the rods; and continuing to do fo, the fteam
engine became ufelefs, as its pump had no longer any
water to draw. It muft be obferved, that the fituation
was higher than the neareft valleys, or the level of the
fea ; but this example (hows of what extenfive im¬
portance a knowledge of the principles upon which
the above modes of draining proceed may hereafter be¬
come.
3. Of rendering Mosses fit for Cultivation.
In many parts of the country a very ferious obflruc-
AGRICULTUR e.
3'5.3
tion to the cultivation of large poisons of territory arifes Preparation
from the exiftence of moffes. It is, therefore, of much , of
importance to confider their nature, and how inoV «ire
to be rendered fertile. " ^
With regard to the nature and origin of mofs, the Nature and
celebrated Dr Anderfon, whofe works we have already oriSi.n of
frequently quoted, advances this opinion, that mofs is a®01165-
vegetable, or an affemblage of vegetables, growing or
living below, while at the top it is dead. Hence, he
diftinguilhes mofs into two kinds; quick mofs, from
which peats are dug, on which no vegetables grow, and
in which no animals exift, while in its natural fituation ;
and dead mofs, which frequently covers the former, and
upon which heath and fog and coarfe graffes grow,
and infedts and other animals are found. Mr Head- Ccmmum-
rick (fates various objections to this opinion, fome oications t0
which appear to have great force. Thus, it is ob-fhf?oa.rd
ferved, that the mofs here fuppo(ed to be alive below
the foil, has every mark of utter deadnefs and partial
diifolution. When toffed about in a very dark night,
it emits light like half rotten wood, giving rife to fre¬
quent terrors in thofe who live in the vicinity of peat
bogs. It alfo feems a ftrange circumftance, and con¬
trary to the whole analogy of nature, to fuppofe that a
vegetable (liould grow, (hould form ligneous fibres, and
acquire inflammability, without the influence of the fun,
or contadl with the air, during any period of its
growth. The true hiftory of the origin of modes feems
to be this : What are called the mofs plants, amount
to about three hundred in number. They are extreme¬
ly hardy, and are capable of flouriftiing in the moft cold
and bleak fituations, providing they only are (urrounded
by abundance of ftagnating water. Accordingly, where-
ever water ftagnates in a moderate quantity, they grow
up, and, by fpreading themfelves around, they increafe
the ftagnation. When they have arifen in this manner,
with the water around them, to a confiderable height,
the lower parts of their (ferns being continually foaked
or macerated in water, ceafe to vegetate, and give forth
their juices to the furrounding fluid. As the mofs
plants are extremely aftringent, and contain large quan¬
tities of the gallic acid and tanning principle, the mofs
water acquires thefe qualities, or becomes aftringent, in
a great degree, and prevents any procefs of putrefadfion
from taking place, or the (ferns of the mofs plants from
fuffering any proper procefs of rottennefs or chemical
decompofition. Hence it is, that mofs water has fome-
times been ufed for tanning leather, in the fame manner
as the liquor of oak bark. In the mean time, while
the ftems of the mofs plants remain in this manner dead,
but prevented from rotting, or becoming the habitation
of animals which cannot live in a vegetable aftringent
liquor, the tops of the plants that are at the furface of
the water continue to grow, or new plants rife upon the
fummits of the dead ones, and continue their afeending
progrefs ; the whole being perhaps a fort of parafitica!
plants, which can grow upon each other.
In this way, a mofs proceeds, riling higher and higher,
till from the nature of the adjoining country, and the
declivities in it, the water cannot ftagnate to any greater
depth. After the mofs has come to this height, its
farther growth is prevented, its plants, unable to live
or grow without abundance of water, wither and die ;
the upper part of them being expofed to the adfion of
the air, fuffers an ordinary procefs of decompolition,
Z z 2 like
364
Preparation
of Land.
194
Black and
yellow
mofs.
*95
Moffes pro
duced by
cutting
down fo-
refts.
A G R I C U
like other vegetable remains, and is converted into a
fort of foil, upon which a few plants and reptiles are
fometimes found ; while at a fmall depth, that is to
fay below the furface of the ftagnating water, the
whole Items of the ancient mofs plants continue mace-
rated in their own liquor, and preferved from putretac-
11 There are, however, two general kinds of moffes 5
black mofs, and whitilh or yellow mofs. The black
mofs is originally of a mahogany colour, but fpeediiy
becomes black upon expofure to the air. The yellow-
ilh or foggy mofs, is much lefs eompadt than the tor-
me’r, and retains a light or yellowilh colour after it is
dried. It does not appear to be in fuch a periedt i a e
of maceration as the black mofs, has lefs variety ot
plants, and is never fo folid. It is ufually produced m
low warm fituations, and appears to have grown rapid¬
ly • whereas, the black mofs is moft commonly found in
cold elevated lands, and feems to have confifted ol a
treater number of lefs luxuriant plants. Thus, mois
may be regarded as bearing forae refemblance to timber,
which is always of a compaa grain, and clofe texture,
In proportion to the feverity of the climate of which it
Is the produa, or rather in proportion to the length ot
time which it has taken to grow. _ u
From what has been here ftated, it will not be dim-
cult to underftand the mode in which moffes come ori¬
ginally to find an exiftence, or to cover a piece of ter¬
ritory in any country. When a pool of water is ipee-
dily, or in a ihort time, formed to a great depth, no
mofs appears ; but when a gradual ftagnation to a imall
depth takes place, upon any fpot, efpecially in a cold
and expofed fituation, there the mofs plants (being the
only ones capable of fubfifting on fuch a foil) fpeediiy
grow up, and occupy the place of every other. Though
the quantity of water that originally ftagnated there
might not be great, it is increafed by degrees, in con-
fequence of the additional obftruaion produced by the
roots, ftems, and leaves of the mofs plants, till at laft
k forms a bog of very great depth.—We have already
mentioned the nature and cmfe of the ftagnation ot
water. It may either occur in confequence of the fi¬
gure and quality of the foil making it tenacioufly to re¬
gain the falling rains, or it may be the confequence ot
fprings or refervoirs of water pent up or confined in the
bowels of the earth by an incumbent mafs of clay.
Struggling to rife up through this clay, it will wet
every part of it, and will (lowly ooze through all its lefs
adhefive parts, and will form a foil fit only for the re¬
ception of mofs plants, which will there, by obftrufting
the departure of the moifture, which is conftantly rifing,
in the courfe of years rear up the furface into a com¬
plete and perfect peat-bog.
But moffes not only arife in particular fituations, 111
confequence of thefe operations of nature : They are
alfo produced as the refult of certain exertions of human
induftry. In almoft all our moffes in this country great
numbers of trees of various forts are found. They remain,
like the inferior parts or roots of mofs plants, infufed
and macerated in the mofs water, but not rotted. Th<!
trees and (brubs found at the bottom of moffes in Scot¬
land exhibit, perhaps the whole variety of the native
trees and (hrubs. Of trees, are found the oak, the
elm the birch, the willow, the alder, and fir. Of
,hrubs, we find the hazel, the dwarf willow, the gall
L T U R E.
_   Pra&ice.
pU„t,%nd'lam'y) the heall, plant. This lad is of fo
hardy a nature, that it often continues to rite upon^the
mofs during the whole period of its exiftence. Now,
if it ftiould be fuppofed, that at any time extenfive fo-
refts of thefe trees were fuddenly cut down by the ex¬
ertions of man, they would undoubtedly^ produce a
ftagnation of water, and a bleaknefs of climate, that
would render the fituation fit only to be inhabited by
mofs plants, which would therefore fpeediiy rife up,
and form a peat-bog, in which multitudes of trees and
flirubs would be found foaked in their own juice, and
in the aftringent liquor refulting from the maceration
of the ftems of the mofs plants. T hat in ancient times
old forefts were thus deftroyed by the efforts of man,
we have every reafon to believe. Not only in this
country, but alfo in England and Ireland, there are
found in moffes vaft numbers of trees (landing with
their (lumps ereft, and their roots piercing the ground
in a natural pofture as when growing. Many of thole
trees are broken or cut off near the roots, and lie along,
and this ufually in a north-eaft direaion. People who
have been willing to account for this, have ufually re-
folved it into the effeft of the deluge m the days ot
Noah ; but this is a very wild conje&ure, and is proved
falfe by many unanfwerable arguments. The waters ot
this deluge might indeed have walhed together a great
number of trees, and buried them under loads of earth j
but then they would have lain irregularly and at ran¬
dom ; whereas, in this cafe, the trees all he length wife
from fouth-weft to north-eaft, and the roots all ftand, in
their natural perpendicular pofture, as clofe as the roots
of trees in a foreft. . 1 a f
Befides, thefe trees are not all in their natural itate,
but many of them have the evident marks of human
workmanftiip upon them, fome being cut down with an
axe : fome fplit, and the wedges ftill remaining in them ,
fome burnt in different parts, and fome bored through
with holes. Thefe things are alfo proved to be ot a
later date than the deluge, by other matters found
among them, fuch as utenfils of ancient people and
coins of the Roman emperors. „ . ...
It appears from the whole, that all the trees which
we find in this foffil (late, originally grew in the very
places where we now find them, and have only been
thrown down and buried there, not brought from elie.-
where. It may appear indeed an objeaion to this opi-
nion, that moft of thefe foflil trees are of the fir kind •,
and that Csefar fays exprefsly, that no firs grew m Bri¬
tain in his time : but this is eafily anfwered by ob-
ferving that thefe trees, though of the fir kind, yet are
not the fpecies ufually called the /r, but pitch tree J
and Caefar has nowhere faid that pitch trees did not
grow in England. Norway and Sweden yet abouJ}d
with thefe trees 5 and there are at this time whole fo¬
refts of them in many parts of Scotland, and a large
number of them wild upon a hill at Wareton m Stat-
fordftiire to this day. „ , , ,
In Hatfield marfti, where fuch vaft numbers ot the
foflil trees are now found, there has evidently once
been a whole foreft of them growing. The la ft ot
thefe was found alive, and growing m that place,
within 70 years laft paft, and cut down for fome com-
ufc
^ItValfo objected by fome to the fyftem of the firs
growing where they are found foffil, that thefe conn-
Part I. A G R I C U
Preparation tries are all bogs and moors, whereas thefe forts of
t °t Land. . trees grow only in mountainous places. But this is
^ * founded on an error ; for though in Norway and Swe¬
den, and fome other cold countries, the fir kinds all
grow upon barren and dry rocky mountains, yet in
warmer places they are found to thrive as well on wet
plains. Such are found plentifully in Pomerania, Li¬
vonia, Courland, &c.; and in the weft parts of New
England there are vaft numbers of fine {lately trees of
them in low grounds. The whole truth feems to be,
that thefe trees love a fandy foil j and fuch as is found
at the bottoms of all the moffes where thefe trees are
found foflil. The roots of the fir kind are always
found fixed in thefe j and thofe of oaks, where they
are found foflil in this manner, are ufually found fixed
in clay: fo that each kind of tree is always found root¬
ed in the places where they Hand in their proper foil j
and there is no doubt to be made but that they origi¬
nally grew there. When we have thus found that all
the foflil trees we meet with once grew in the places
where they are now buried, it is plain that in thefe
places there were once noble forefts, which have been
deftroyed at fome time •, and the queftion only remains
how and by whom they were deftroyed. This wre have
reafon to believe, by the Roman coins found among
them, was done by the people of that empire, and that
at the time when they were eftablilhed or eftabliftiing
themfelves here.
- Their own hiftorians tell us, that when their armies
purfued the wild Britons, thefe people always (helter-
ed themfelves in the miry woods and low watery fo¬
refts. Caefar exprefsly fays this j and obferves, that
Caflibelan and his Britons, after their defeat, paffed
the Thames, and fled into fuch low morafifes and
woods that there was no purfuing them : and we find
that the Silures fecured themfelves in the lame man¬
ner when attacked by Oftorius and Agricola. The
fame thing is recorded of Venutius king of the Bri-
gantes, who fled to fecure himfelf into the boggy fo¬
refts of the midland part of this kingdom : and Hero-
dian exprefsly fays, that in the time of the Romans
puftiing their conquefts in thefe iflands, it was the cuf-
tom of the Britons to fecure themfelves in the thick
forefts which grew in their boggy and wet places, and
when opportunity offered, to iffue out thence and fall
upon the Romans. The confequence of all this was
the deftroying all thefe forefts *, the Romans finding
themfelves fo plagued with parties of the natives iffuing
out upon them at times from the forefts, that they gave
orders for the cutting down and deftroying all the fo¬
refts in Britain which grew on boggy and wet grounds.
Thefe orders.were punctually executed; and to this it
is owing that at this day we can hardly be brought to
believe that fuch forefts ever grew with us as are now
found buried. 1
The Roman hiftories all join in telling us, that when
Suetonius Paulinus conquered Anglefea, he ordered
all the woods to be cut down there, in the manner of
the Roman generals in England : and Galen tells us,
that the Romans, after their conqueft in Britain, kept
their foldiers conftantly employed in cutting down fo¬
refts, draining of marfties, and paving of bogs. Not
only the Roman foldiers were employed in this man¬
ner, but all the native Britons made captives in the
wars were obliged to aflift in it: and Dion Caflius
L T U R E. 365
tells us, that the emperor Severus loft no lefs than Preparation
50,000 men in a few years time in cutting down the Ear.J. ^
woods and draining the bogs of this ifland. It is not
to be wondered at, that fuch numbers executed the im-
menfe deftruftion which we find in thefe buried forefts.
One of the greateft fubterranean treafures of wood is
that near Hatfield ; and it is eafy to prove, that thefe
people, to whom this havock is thus attributed, were
upon the fpot where thefe trees now lie buried. The
common road of the Romans out of the fouth into the
north, was formerly from Lindum (Lincoln) to Sege-
lochum (Little Burrow upon Trent), and from thence
to Danum (Doncafter), where they kept a {landing
garrifon of Crifpinian horfe. A little off on the eaft,
and north-eaft of their road, between the two laft named
towns, lay the borders of the greateft foreft, which
fwarmed with wild Britons, who were continually mak¬
ing their fallies out, and their retreats into it again, in¬
tercepting their provifions, taking and deftroying their
carriages, killing their allies and paffengers, and di-
fturbing their garrifons. This at length fo exafperated
the Romans, that they were determined to deftroy it;
and to do this fafely and effeflually, they marched a-
gainft it with a great army, and encamped on a great
moor not far from Finningly : this is evident from thei?
fortifications yet remaining.
There is a fmall town in the neighbourhood called
OJlerfeld; and as the termination field feems to have
been given only in remembrance of battles fought near
the towns whofe names ended with it, it is not impro¬
bable that a battle was fought here between all the
Britons who inhabited this foreft and the Roman
troops under Oftorius. The Romans flew many of
the Britons, and drove the reft back into this foreft,
which at that time overfpread all this low countiy.
On this the conquerors taking advantage of a ftrong
fouth-weft wind, fet fire to the pitch-trees, of which
this foreft w?as principally compofed ; and when the
greater part of the trees was thus deftroyed, the Ro¬
man foldiers and captive Britons cut down the re¬
mainder, except a few large ones which they left
{landing as remembrances of the deftruflion of the
reft. Thefe Angle trees, however, could not ftand
long againft the winds, and thefe falling into the rivers
which ran through the country, interrupted their cur¬
rents ; and the water then overfpreading the level
country, made one great lake, and gave origin to the
moffes or moory bogs, which were afterwards formed
there, by the workings of the waters, the precipita¬
tion of earthy matter from them, and the putrefaftion
of rotten boughs and branches of trees, and the vaft
increafe of water mofs and other fuch plants which
grow in prodigious abundance in all thefe forts of
places. Thus were thefe burnt and felled trees buried
under a new formed fpongy and watery earth, and af¬
terwards found on the draining and digging through
this earth again.
Hence it is not ftrange that Roman weapons and
Roman coins are found among thefe buried trees ; and
hence it is that among the buried trees fome are found
burnt, fome chopped and hewn ; and hence alfo it is that
the bodies of the trees all lie by their proper roots, and
with their tops lying north-eaft, that is, in that direc¬
tion in which a fouth-weft wind would have blown
them down: hence alfo it is, that fome of the trees
are
366 A G R I C U
preparation are found with their roots lying Rat, thefe being not
, °f Land. cut or down, but blown up by the roots after-
"r v w»ards when left fingle j and it is not wonderful, that
fuch trees as thefe (hould have continued to grow even
after their fall, and (hoot up branches from their fides
which might eafily grow into high trees. (Phil. Travf.
N° 275.).
By this fvftem it is alfo eafily explained why the moor
foil in the country is in fome places two or three yards
thicker than in others, or higher than it was formerly,
fince the growing up of peat earth or bog ground eom-
pofed of mofs plants is well known, and the foil added
by overflowing of waters is not a little.
As the Romans were the dertroyers of this great
and noble foreft, fo they were probably alfo of the fe-
veral other ancient forefts*, the ruins of which fur-
nifli us with the bog wood of Staffordlhire, Lanca-
ihire, Yorkfhire, and other counties. But as the Ro¬
mans were not much in Wales, in the I lie of Man, or
in Ireland, it is not to be fuppofed that forefts cut down
by thefe people gave origin to the foflil wood found
there j but though they did not cut down thefe fo¬
refts, others did ; and the origin of the bog wood is
the fame with them and with us. Holinfliead in¬
forms, that Edward I. being not able to get at the
Welfti becaufe of their hiding themfelves in boggy
woods, gave orders at length that they fbould all be
deftroyed by fire and by the axe ; and doubtlefe the
roots and bodies of trees found in Pembrokefture un¬
der ground, are the remains of the execution of this
order. The foffil wood in the bogs of the ifland of
Man is doubtlefs of the fame origin, though we have
not any accounts extant of the time or occafion of the
forefts there being deftroyed ; but as to the foflil trees
of the bogs of Ireland, we are exprefsly told, that
Henry II. when he conquered that country, ordered
all the woods to be cut down that grew in the low
parts of it, to fecure his conquefts, by cutting away the
places of refort of the rebels.
The tendency of our climate to produce in cold and
damp fituations mofs plants, which gradually form
around themfelves a liquor which is the enemy of all
putrefaftion, may be confidered as a fortunate circum-
ftance, upon the whole, for the prefervation of the
health of men and animals, as well as contributing to
other valuable purpofes. In confidering the nature of
mofs, “ I cannot difmifs the fubjedl (fays Mr Head¬
rick) without fuggefting my admiration at the benefi¬
cence of Providence, in having provided the mofs plants
for the fituations in which they grow : they afford an
immediate fupply of fuel, and are the fource from which
pit-coal derives its origin, though trees, and all the
plants which abound in oils and carbon alfo contribute
to the fupply of pit-coal. Were the places now occu¬
pied by moffes divefted of vegetables, or ftored with
vegetables of a different charafler, they would become
noifome fens, which, by the emiflion of putrid gaffes,
would fpread all around them peftilence and death.
Moffes emit no noxious gaffes, but rather, by growing
at the furface, where the plants are a£ted upon by the
fun’s rays, they perpetually throw out oxygen, and
thus contribute to the falubrity of the atmofphere.
The only effe6t with which they are chargeable is
forming magazines of moifture, which by its exhala¬
tion generates cold, and fpreads rheumatifm and inter-
L T U R E. Practice.
mitting fevers among all the animals within its reach. Preparation
The perpetual evaporation of this moifture not only , ot Lai!ci- f
tends to chill the mofs, but it defcends in hoar froft
and mildews upon all the lands that are lower in point
of fituation. Thefe laft mentioned diladvantages are
more than amply compenfated by the cnnfideration that
mofs is not only an inexhauftible magazine of manure
for other foils, but may be converted into a moft fertile
foil itfelf. After it is fo converted, none of the deft£ls
already ftated are any longer applicable to it.”
This gentlemen analyzed chemically fome fpecimens
of mofs. He found that a fmall portion of Berkihire
peat, of great hardnefs, exhibited, when pounded in a
mortar and infufed in warm water, a liquor that had
fome flight marks of acidity by teft paper. Gypfum
and fulphat of magnefia appeared to exift in it. A pu¬
rified potafti produced an abundant precipitation of va¬
rious fubftances. A portion of this peat being burned,
gave forth at the clofe of the operation a fulphureous
fmell and flame. The white afhes, after fome days,
affumed a rufty colour, from iron contained in them.
Being waihed, the liquor appeared to contain fulphates
of lime, magnefia, alumine, and iron. Black hard peat
of Swinridgemuir, in Ayrflnre, when burned, gave
brown afhes which were attracted by the magnet. . An
infufion of them in water exhibited no mark of acid or
of alkali, and the ingredients contained in it appeared
to be the fame as in the Berkfliire peat. Foggy or yel¬
low peat yielded a fmaller quantity of afhes, which were
white, and did not obey the magnet.
Mofs water, obtained by fqueezing light peats, con¬
tained gallic acid and tanning principle in great quan¬
tities. Quicklime appeared to be the moft powerful
agent in precipitating every fubftance from the mofs
water, and in rendering mofs a compafl and folid fub¬
ftance ; a fa& which, as will be afterwards noticed, has
been fuccefsfully taken advantage of in pradlice.
There are two ways in which a traft of territory
that is covered by mofs may be reduced under the do¬
minion of the plough, or rendered fit for the purpofes
of agriculture. The one confifts of altogether remov¬
ing the moffy fubftance, or the whole wrecks of the
mofs plants that have been accumulating for ages, and
endeavouring thereafter to cultivate the fubfoil. The
other mode confifts of converting the fubftance of the
mofs into vegetable mould fit for bearing crops of
Sra‘n#
The firft of thefe plans has been adopted with regard
to the mofs of Kincardine, and the other has been fuc¬
cefsfully praftifed by Mr Smith of Swinridgemuir, in
Ayrfhire 5 and in imitation of him by various other
perfons in different diftrias of the country. To each
of thefe we (hall give attention. 196
The mofs of Kincardine is a remarkable traa of The mofs
ground in the fhire of Perth, in Scotland, which de- ofKinc^
ferves particular notice, both as a topographical curio-^ebr®^u_
fity or fubjea of natural hiftory, and for the informa-man jabouI
tion, equally uncommon and important, which it affords,
refpeaing agricultural improvements, and the promo¬
tion of induftry and population.
The mofs of Kincardine is fituated in the parifti of
the fame name, comprehended between the rivers Forth
and Teith, and in that diftrid of Perthftiire called
Monteith. The mofs begins about a mile above the
confluence of thefe rivers t from thence it extends in
length
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
Preparation length about four miles, and from one to two in breadth j
.of Land‘ , and before the commencement of the operations (an
account of which is to be given), comprehended near
2000 Scots acres, of which about 1500 belong to the
eftate of Blair Drummond, the property of the late Lord
Karnes, by his marriage with Mrs Drummond of Blair
Drummond.
As moffes are extremely various in their nature ; be¬
fore entering upon the improvements made in Kincar¬
dine mofs, it will be proper to give a ftiort defcription
of that mofs, and of the fubjacent foil which is the ob¬
ject of thefe improvements.
The mofs lies upon a field of clay, which is a conti¬
nuation of thofe rich extenfive flats in the neighbour¬
hood of Falkirk and Stirling, diftinguifhed by the name
of carfes. This clay, which is one uniform homoge¬
neous mafs finking to a great depth, is found near the
furface, canfifts of different colours, and is difpofed in
layers. The uppermoft is gray ; the next is reddifh }
and the lovveft, which is the moft fertile, is blue.
Through the whole mafs not a pebble is to be found.
The only extraneous bodies it contains are fea-fliells,
which occur in all the varieties peculiar to the eaftern
coaft of Scotland. They are difpofed fometimes in
beds, fometimes fcattered irregularly at different depths.
By attending to thefe circumftances, it cannot be
doubted that the fea has been the means of the whole
accumulation, and that it was carried on in a gradual
manner by the ordinary ebb and flow of the tide.
Upon any other fuppofition, why fhould there not have
been a congeries of all the different materials that com-
pofe the furface of the furrounding heights ? But to
whatever caufe the origin of this accumulation may be
afcribed, certain it is that no foil whatever is more fa¬
vourable to vegetation, or carries more abundant crops
of every kind.
The furface of the clay, which, upon the retreat of
the fea, had been left in an almoft level plane, is every¬
where thickly covered with trees, chiefly oak and birch,
many of them of a great fize. Thefe trees feem to have
been the firft remarkable produce of the carfe; and it
is probable they were propagated by diffemination from
the furrounding eminences. They are found lying in
all direftions befide their roots, which ftill continue
firm in the ground in their natural pofition ; and from
impreflions ftill vifible, it is evident they have been cut
with an axe or fome fimilar inftrument. For the cut¬
ting of wood, the two common purpofes are, either to
apply it to its proper ufe, or that the ground it occupies
may be cultivated. In this prefent cafe, however, nei¬
ther of thefe ends had been propofed, fince the trees,
by being juft left as they were cut, were not only en¬
tirely loft, but the ground was rendered totally unfit
for cultivation. Hence it is evident, that the downfal
of this, wood muft be afcribed to fome more extraordinary
caufe; and to none more probably than to that expe¬
dient, which, as we learn from Dion Caflius and other
hiftorians, the Romans put fo extenfively in praftice to
diflodge from their forefts the ancient inhabitants of the
Britith iflands, as already explained.
This hypothefis acquires no fmall degree of force
from a circumftance that occurred in May 1768, when
a large round veffel of thin brafs and curious workman-
25 inches in diameter, and 16 inches in height,
367
was difcovered upon the furface of the clay buried un- Preparation
der the mofs. This veffel, found upon the eftate of, of band.,^
John Ramfay, Efq. of Ochtertyre, was by that gentle-' v
man prefented to the Antiquarian Society of Edin¬
burgh *, in whofe mufeum it remains depofited for pre-
fervation. And in a lift of the various donations pre¬
fented to that fociety, publilhed by them in 1782, it is
there denominated a Roman camp kettle.
Between the clay and the mofs is found a ftratum
nine inches thick, partly dark brown and partly of a
colour approaching to black. This is a vegetable
mould, accumulated probably by the plants that cover¬
ed the ground previous to the growth of the wood, and
by leaves from the trees thereafter. The difference of
colour muft be owing to a difference in the vegetable
fubftances that compofe it. The brown mould is high¬
ly fertile 5 the other, efpecially in a dry feafon, is very
unprodu6tive. The crop that had occupied this mould
when the trees were felled is found ftill entire. It
confifts chiefly of heath j but feveral other fmaller
plants are alfo very diftinguiftiable,
Immediately above this ftratum lies the mofs, to the
height, upon an average, of feven feet. It is com-
pofed of different vegetables arranged in three diftinft
ftrata. Of thefe the firft is three feet thick. It is
black and heavy, and preferable to the others for the
purpofe of fuel. It confifts of bent grafs (agrq/Hs'),
which feems to have grown up luxuriantly among the
trees after they were felled. The fecond ftratum alfo
is three feet thick. It is compofed of various kinds
of moffes, but principally of bog-mofs (fphagnum). It
is of a fallow or iron colour, and remarkably elaftic. It
is commonly called white peat; and for fuel is confi-
dered as much inferior to that above mentioned. The
third ftratum is compofed of heath and a little bent
grafs, but chiefly of the deciduous parts of the former.
It is about a foot thick, and black.
By far the greateft part of the mofs in queftion is,
upon an average, full feven feet deep, and has in all
probability lain undifturbed fince its formation : this is
called the High Mofs. The remainder, called the Low
Mofs, lies to a confiderable breadth around the extremi¬
ties of the high 5 and is, upon an average, not above
three feet in depth, to which it has been reduced by the
digging of peats. Thefe are formed of that ftratum of
the mofs only that lies four feet below the furface and
downwards; the reft is improper for the purpofe, and
is thrown afide.
Before the introdu61ion of the plan which is now
purfued, two methods chiefly were employed to gain
land from the mofs. ift, The furrounding farmers mark¬
ed off yearly a portion of the low mois next to their
arable land, about 15 feet broad. This they removed
with carts and fpread upon their fields, fome acres of
which they for that end left unfown. Here it lay till
May or June ; when, being thoroughly dry, it was
burnt to allies to ferve as a manure. By this means
they added to their farms about half a rood of land
yearly. But this plan proved unfuccefsful; for by the
repeated application of thefe alhes, the foil was ren¬
dered fo loofe that the crops generally failed. 2dly,
Many farmers were wont to trench down the low mofs,
and to cover it furrow deep with clay taken out of the
trench. This, though commendable as an attempt to
improve,
368
AGRICULTURE.
Pradice.
Preparation
of Land.
improve, proved lilcewife an unavailing method *, be-
caufe in a dry feafon the fuperficial covering of clay re¬
tains fo little moifture that the crop commonly fails.
It has been attempted to cover the mofs with clay
brought frohi the adjacent grounds. But what from
the neceffary impoveriQiment of the ground from which
the clay was carried, and the foftnefs of the mofs, thia
was foon found to be impracticable.
Draining has alfo been propofed as another mode of
improvement •, and it muft be acknowledged, that, by
means of draining, many moffes have been converted
both into arable and meadow grounds, which in the
end became interefting improvements. Butina mots,
fuch as that of Kincardine, this method would be inef¬
fectual ; as for feveral feet deep it is of fuch a. nature,
that upon being dry, and divided into parts, it would
blow with the wind like chaff ; and when thrown afide
in the operation of digging peats, it lies for years with¬
out producing a fingle vegetable, except only a few
plants of forrel.
Hence it was thought evident, that all attempts to im¬
prove this mofs muft ever prove abortive \ and that the
obje& tp be had in view was the acquifition of the va¬
luable foil lying underneath ; to which end nothing lefs
was requifite than the total abolition of the mofs.
By the methods above defcribed from 100 to 200
acres of mofs had been removed. When the prefent
plan was introduced, there ftill remained covered with
mofs from 1300 to 1400 acres of carfe clay—a trealure
for which it muft be ever interefting to dig.
In the year 1766 Lord Karnes entered into poflelTion
of the eftate of Blair Drummond. Long before that
period he was well acquainted with the mofs, and often
lamented that no attempt had ever been made to turn
it to advantage. Many different plans were now pro¬
pofed •, at length it was refolved to attempt by means
of water, as the moft powerful agent, entirely to fweep
off the whole body of mofs.
That mofs might be floated in water, was abundant¬
ly obvious ; but to find water in fufficient quantity was
difficult, the only ftream at hand being employed to
turn a corn mill. Convinced of the fupenor confe-
quence of dedicating this ftream to the purpofe of float¬
ing off the mofs, Lord Karnes having made an agree¬
ment with the tenant who farmed the mill, and the te¬
nants thirled confenting to pay the rent, he immediate¬
ly threw down the mill, and applied the water to the
above purpofe.
In order to determine the beft manner of conducting
the operation, workmen were now employed for a con-
fiderable time upon the low mofs both by the.day and
by the piece, to afcertain the expence for which a gi¬
ven quantity of mofs could be removed. It was then
agreed to operate at a certain rate per acre ; and in
this manner feveral acres were removed.
But this was to be a very expenfive procefs. The
ground gained might, indeed, be afterwards let to te¬
nants ; but every acre would require an expenditure
‘ from 12b to 15I. before it could be ready for fowing;
fo that the acquifition of the whole, computing it at a
medium to be 1360 acres, would fink a capital of near¬
ly 20,000!. fterling.
One other method ftill remained *, namely, to at¬
tempt letting portions of the mofs, as it lay, for a term
.-nf years fufficient to indemnify tenants for the expences
incurred in removing it. For fotne time both thefe
plans were adopted } but feveral reafons made the lat- „ _. j
ter preferable : 1. The quantity of water to be had was
fmall 5 and being alfo uncertain, it was very inconve¬
nient for an undertaker $ neither were there any houfes
near the fpot, which ocfcafioned a great lofs of time in
going and coming 1 but when a man ftiould live upon
the fpot, then he could be ready to feize every op¬
portunity. 2. The mofs was an ufelefs wafte. To let
it to tenants would increafe the population of the
eftate, and afford to a number of induftrious people the
means of making to themfelves a comfortable liveli¬
hood.
In the mean time it was determined, till as many
tenants ffiould be got as could occupy the whole water,
to carry on the work by means of undertakers.
But before proceeding farther, it will be neceffary to
defcribe the manner of applying water to the purpofe
of floating the mofs.'
A ftream of water fufficient to turn a common corn-
mill will carry off as much mofs as 20 men can throw
into it, provided they be ftationed at the diftance of
100 yards from each other. The firft ftep is to make
in the clay, alongfide of the mofs, a drain to convey
the water : and for this operation the carfe clay below
the mofs is peculiarly favourable, being perfe&ly free
from ftones and all other extraneous fubftances, and at
the fame time, when moift, flippery as foap ; fo that not
only is it eafily dug, but its lubricity greatly facilitates
the progrefs of the water when loaded with mofs.
The dimenfions proper for the drain are found to be
two feet for the breadth and the fame for the depth.
If fmaller, it could not conveniently receive the fpade-
fulls of mofs j if larger, the water would efcape, leav¬
ing the mofs behind. The drain has an inclination
of one foot in 100 yards j the more regularly this in¬
clination is obferved throughout, the lefs _ will the mofs
be liable to obftru&ions in its progrefs with the water.
The drain being formed, the operator marks off to a
convenient extent alongfide of it a fe£Hon of mofs,
10 feet broad*, the greateft diftance from which he
can heave his fpadeful into the drain. This he re¬
peatedly does till the entire mafs be removed down to
the clay. He then digs a new drain at the foot of
the mofs bank, turns the water into it, and proceeds as
before, leaving the mofs to purfue its courfe into the
river Forth, a receptacle equally convenient and capa¬
cious *, upon the fortunate fituation of which, happily
forming for feveral miles the fouthern boundary of the
eftate, without the interpofition of any neighbouring
proprietor, depended the very exiftence of the whole
operations.
When the mofs is entirely removed, the clay is
found to be encumbered with the roots of different
kinds of trees {landing in it as they grew,^ often very
large : their trunks alfo are frequently found lying
befide them. All thefe the tenants remove, often with
great labour. In the courfe of their operations they
purpofely leave upon the clay a ftratum of mofs fix
inches thick. This, in fpring, when the feafon offers,
they reduce to affies, which in a great meafure enfures
the firft crop. The ground thus cleared is turned over,
where the drynefs admits, with a plough, and, where
too foft, with a fpade. A month’s expofure to the
fun, wind, and froft, reduces the clay to a powder
kiting
Part I.
Preparation fitting it for the feed in March and April. A crop of
of Land, oats is the firft, which feldom fails of being plentiful,
yielding from eight to ten bolls after one.
In the year 1767 an agreement was made with one
tenant for a portion of the low mofs. This, as being
the firft ftep towards the intended plan, was then view¬
ed as a eonfiderable acquifition. The fame terms agreed
upon with this tenant have ever fince been obferved
with all the reft. They are as follow :
The tenant holds eight acres of mofs by a tack of
38 years ; he is allowed a proper quantity of timber,
and two bolls of oatmeal to fupport him while employ¬
ed in rearing a houfe j the firft feven years he pays no
rent •, the eighth year he pays one merk Scots •, the
ninth year two merks ; and fo on with the addition of
one merk yearly till the end of the firft 19 years j dur¬
ing the laft five years of which he alfo pays a hen yearly.
Upon the commencement of the fecond 19 years, he
begins to pay a yearly rent of 12s. for each acre of
land cleared from mofs, and 2s 6d. for each acre not
cleared, alfo two hens yearly : A low rent indeed for
fo fine a foil : but no more than a proper reward for
his laborious exertions in acquiring it.
In the year 1768 another tenant was fettled. Thefe
two were tradefmen ■, to whom tlie preference was al¬
ways given, as having this great advantage to recom¬
mend them, that even when deprived of water they
need never want employment. The motives that indu¬
ced thefe people to become fettlers were, ift, The pro-
fpeft of an independent eftablifhment for a number of
years. 2dly, The mofs afforded them great abundance
of excellent fuel ; to which was added the comfortable
confideration, that, while bufied in providing that ne-
ceffary article, they had the double advantage of pro¬
moting, at the fame time, the principal objeft of their
fettlement.
Notwitftanding thefe inducements, ftill fettlers of¬
fered flowly : to which two circumftances chiefly con¬
tributed : 1 ft, The whole farmers furrounding the mofs
threw every poflible obftruftion in their way. 2dly, By
people of all denominations the fcheme was viewed as
a chimerical project, and became a common topic of
ridicule. The plan, however fupported itfelf; and
in the year 1769 five more tenants agreed for eight
acres each •, and thus 56 acres of low mofs were dif-
pofed of. From the progrefs made by the firft fettlers,
and the addition of thefe, the obloquy of becoming
a mofs tenant gradually became lefs regarded •, fo that
in the year 1772 two more were added; in 1773, three;
and in 1774, one; in all 13 : which difpofed of 104
acres; all the low mofs to which water could then be
conveyed. As water is the mainfpring of the opera¬
tion, every tenant, befides the attention neceflary to
his (hare of the principal ftream, colledled water by
every poflible means, making ditches round his por¬
tion of the mofs, and a refervoir therein to retain it till
wanted.
The tenants in the low mofs having now begun to
raife good crops, in the year 1774 feveral perfons of¬
fered to take poffeflions in the high mofs, upon con¬
dition that accefs to it fliould be rendered practicable.
The high mofs wanted many advantages that the low
poflefled. To the low mofs, lying contiguous to the
unrounding arable lands, the accefs was tolerably good ;
but from the arable lands the high mofs was feparat-
VOL. I. Part I.
369.
ed by 300 or 400 yards of the low, which even to a.
man, affords but indifferent footing, and to horfes is ^ ^ll
altogether impracticable. The low mofs is in general
only three feet deep; the high mofs is from fix to
twelve feet in depth.
It will appear at firft fight, that without a road of
communication the high mofs muft forever have proved
unconquerable. Without delay, therefore, a road was
opened to the breadth of 12 feet, for feverrl hundred
yards in length, by floating off the mofs down to the
clay.
This being effected, and at the fame time an opening
given to admit water, in the year 1775 twelve tenants
agreed for eight acres of high mofs each. In confider¬
ation of the greater depth of this part of the mofs, it
was agreed, that during the firft 19 years they ftiould
pay no rent ; but for the fecond 19 years the terms of
agreement were the fame as thofe made with the tenants
in the low mofs. To the above-mentioned tenants
every degree of encouragement was given ; as upon
their fuccefs depended, in a great meafure, the difpofal
of the great quantity of mofs ftill remaining. But
their fuccefs, however problematical,, was fuch, that
next year, 1776, fix more took eight acres each ; in
1777, one; in 1778, four; in 1779, three ; in 1780,
one ; in 1781, one ; in 1782, one :—In all, including
thofe upon the low mofs, 42 tenants, occupying 336
acres.
Though for fume time the difpofal of the high mofs
went but flowly on, it was not for want of tenants ;
but the number of operators was already fufficient for
the quantity of water ; to have added more would evi¬
dently have been imprudent.
In the year 1783 Mr Drummond entered into the
poffefiion of the ellate of Blair Drummond, and went
fully into the plan adopted by his predeceffor for fub-
duing the mofs. At this time there ftill remained
undifpofed of about 1000 acres of high mofs. As
water was the great defideratum, it was determined,
that to obtain that neceffary article neither pains nor
expence fhould be wanting. Steps were accordingly
taken to afcertain in what manner it might be procur¬
ed to moft advantage.
Meanwhile, to prepare for new tenants, a fecond
road parallel to the former, at the diftance of half a
mile, was immediately begun and cut, with what wa¬
ter could be got, down to the clay, 12 feet broad and
2670 yards long, quite acrofs the , mofs. This open¬
ing was previoufly neceffary, that operators might get
a drain formed in the clay to direft the water ; and it
was to remain as a road that was abfolutely neceffary,
and which relieved fettlers from an expence they were
unable to fupport. Thefe preparations, the progrefs
of the former tenants, and the profpe£l of a farther
fupply of water, induced 10 more to take poffeffions in
the year 1783: in the year 1784, 18 more took pof¬
feflions; and in 1785 no fewer than 27: in all 55
tenants in three years : which difpoled of 440 acres
more of the high mofs.
As the introduction of an additional ftream to the
mofs was to be a work both of nicety and expence, it
was neceffarv to proceed with caution. For this reafon
feveral engineers were employed to make furveys and
plans of the different modes by which it might be pro¬
cured. In one point they all agreed, that the pro-
3 A -per
A G it I C U L T U It E.
37°
agriculture.
Practice.
PreparatioB per fource for furnifliing that fupply was the. river
of Land, •j'eith, a large and copious ftream that paffes within a
   mile of the mofs; but various modes were propofed
for effefting that purpofe.
To carry a ftream from the river by a cut or canal
into the mofs was found to be impra61icable and Mr
Whitworth (b) gave in a plan of a pumping machine,
which he was of opinion would anfwer the purpofe ex¬
tremely well.
Soon after this Mr George Meikle of.Alloa, a very
Ikilful and ingenious millwright, gave in a model of
a wheel for raifing water entirely of a new conftruc-
tion, of his own and his father’s invention jointly.
This machine is fo exceedingly Ample, and afts in a
manner fo eafy, natural, and uniform, that a common
obferver is apt to undervalue the invention : But per-
fons Ikilled in mechanics view machinery with a very
different eye *, for to them fimplicity is the fi.rft recom¬
mendation a machine can poffefs. Accordingly, up¬
on feeing the model fet to work, Mr Whitworth,
with that candour and liberality of mind that gene¬
rally accompany genius and knowledge, not only gave
it the greateft praife, but declared that, for the pur¬
pofe required, it was fuperior to. the machine recom¬
mended by himfelf, and advifed it to be aaopted with¬
out helitation.
The better to explain this machine, two (ketches are
annexed, to the firft of which the following letters re¬
fer. The explanation of the fecond will be found up¬
on the (ketch.
Hate XIII. c.
moves the wheel.
b, b, Two (luices through which is admitted the
water raifed by the wheel.
c, c, A part of one of two wooden troughs and an
aperture in the wall, through which the above water is
conveyed into the buckets. [The other trough is hid
by two (lone walls that fupport the wheel.]
' d, d, d, Buckets, of which 80 are arranged on each
fide of the arms of the wheel=l6o.
e, e, e, A ciftern into which the water raifed by the
buckets is difcharged.
/> /, f. Wooden barrel pipes, through which the
water defcends from the ciftern under ground to avoid
the high road from Stirling, and the private approach
to the houfe.
Sketch fecond contains a plan of the.ciftern, and ex¬
hibits the manner in which the water is filled into the
buckets.
The diameter of the wheel to the extremities of the
float-boards is 28 feet ; the length of the float-boards
10 feet. The wheel makes nearly four revolutions per
minute ; in which time it difcharges into the ciftern
40 hogflieads of water. But this is not all the wheel
is capable of performing; for by feveral accurate trials
by Meffrs Whitworth and Meikle, in the refult of
which, though made feparately, they pe.rfe&ly agreed,
it was found that the wheel was able to lift no lefs than
60 hogflieads per minute } but that the diameter of the
pipes through which the water defcends from the ci-
Sluice through which is admitted the water that
ftern would not admit a greater quantity than what they pJfePa^Ion
already receive. ■ t ‘ ■
To a perfon at all converfant in hydraulics, the re-
femblance of this to the Perfian wheel muft be obvious :
and indeed it is probable, that from the Perfian wheel
the firft idea of this machine was derived. But admit¬
ting this, dill the fuperiority of the prefent . wheel is,
in moft refpe&s, fo confpicuous, as to entitle it to little
lefs praife than the firft invention. For, id, In the
Perfian wheel, the buckets being all moveable, muft be
conflantly going out of order: in this wheel they are
all immoveable, confequently can never be out of order.
2dly, Inftead of lifting the water from the bottom
of the fall, as in the Perfian wheel, the wheel lifts it
from the top of the fall, being from four to five feet
higher*, by which means fome additional power is gain¬
ed. 3dly, By means of the three (luices («, and b, by
fig. 1.) in whatever fituation the river may be, the
quantity of the water to be raifed is fo nicely adjufted
to that of the moving power, as conftantly to preferve
the wheel in a fteady and equable motion.. In (hort,
as a regulator is to a watch, fo are thefe (luices to.this
wheel, whofe movements would otherwife be fo various,
as fometimes to carry the water clear over the ciftern,
fometimes to drop it entirely behind, but feldom fo as
fully to difcharge the whole contents of the bucket into
the ciftern.
It is however but candid to remark, that this machine
labours under a fmall defeft, which did not eicape the
obfervation of Mr Whitworth y namely, that by raifing
the water about 3'x’ higher than the ciftern where
it is ultimately delivered,"a fmall degree of power is
loft. To this, indeed, he propofed a remedy *, but can¬
didly confeffed, that as it would render the machine
fomewhat more complex, and would alfo increafe the
friction, he thought it more advifable to keep it in its.
prefent (late. At the fame time he juftly obferyed,
that as the ftream by which the wheel is moved is at
all times copious and powerful, the fmall lofs of power
occafioned by the above circumftance was of little or no
ava^*
This ftream is detached from the Teith at the place
where the river approaches neared to the mofs. Fhe
furface of the latter is about 15 feet higher than that
of the former 5 the ciftern is therefore placed 17 feet
above the furface of the ftream, fo as to leave a decli¬
vity fufficient to deliver the water upon the furface of
the mofs.
The pipes through which the water defcends from
the ciftern are compofed of wooden barrels hooped with
iron, 4 feet long and 18 inches in diameter within.
In thefe pipes, having been conveyed under ground
for 3 54 yards from the ciftern, the water at once emer¬
ges into an open aqueduct. The aquedufl which was
formed according to a plan by Mr Whitworth, is con-
ftru&ed wholly of earth or clay ; and in order to keep
the water on a level with the furface of the mofs, it is
for nearly two-thirds of its courfe elevated from 8 to
10 feet above the level of the adjacent grounds; the
bafe being 40 feet broad, the fummit 18 feet, and the
water
(B) This gentleman was fuperintendant of the London water-works, and an engineer of great reputation in
England. He was feveral years employed in Scotland in completing the great canal.
Part T.
preparation water courfe 10 feet broad. It commences at the ter-
of Land. mination of the pipes •, from whence extending above
1400 yards, it difcharges the water into a canal formed
for its reception on the furface of the mofs.
For raifing the. water to this height there were two
teafons : ift, That not only where it was delivered on
the mofs, but even after being conveyed to the moll
diftant corners, it might ftill retain fufficient power to
tranfport the mofs to the river Forth. 2dly, That re-
fervoirs of a fufficient height might be formed in the
mofs to retain the water delivered during night.
In confequence of Mr Whitworth’s advice, a con¬
tract was entered into with Mr Meikle in fpring 1787 ;
and by the end of Odtober in that year, the wheel,
pipes, and aqueduct, were all completely finilhed ; and
what, in fo complex and extenfive an undertaking, is
by no means common, the different branches of the
work were fo completely executed, and fo happily ad-
juded to each other, that upon trial the effect anfwered
the moft fanguine expectations. The total expence ex¬
ceeded 1000I. fterling.
To induce the proprietor to embark in this under¬
taking, the mofs tenants had of their own accord pre-
vioufly come under a formal engagement to pay the
intereft of any fum that might be expended in procur¬
ing a fupply of water. But he was determined they
fhould not enjoy by halves the fweets of this long
wHired for acquifition. With a view, therefore, not
only to reward their pad indutlry, but to roufe them
to future exertion, he at once fet them free from
their engagement $ nor has any intereft ever been de¬
manded.
This new fupply was a moft acceptable boon to the
mofs tenants. In order to make an equitable diftribu-
tion, the water raifed through the day was allotted
to one divifion of operators ; that raifed during the
night to another. To retain the latter, a canal was
formed, extending almoft three miles through the centre
of the mofs. From place to place along the fides are
inferted fluices to admit water to the refervoirs of the
poffeflbrs } each ftuice having an aperture proportioned
to the number of operators to be fupplied from the re-
fervoir which it fills. For the water raifed through the
day no refervoirs are neceflary ; as it is immediately
ufed by the divifion to which it is allotted.
This additional ftream, though highly beneficial, yet
is not more than fufficient to keep 40 men at conftant
work. But fuch a quantity as would give conftant
work is not neceflary: the operators muft be often em¬
ployed in making and repairing their drains, grubbing
up roots of trees, &c. ; fo that a quantity fufficient to
give five or fix hours work per day to the whole inha¬
bitants is as much as would be wanted. But as the
quantity procured was ftill infufficient for this purpofe,
a fmall ftream that defcended from the higher grounds
was diverted from its courfe and brought into the mofs.
From want of level this ftream could not be delivered
to the greateft advantage *, namely, upon the furface
of the mofs. Yet by making, at a confiderable ex¬
pence, a drain half a mile long, and a refervoir for the
night water, it was rendered of much importance : and
during the whole winter months, as well as in fum-
mer, after every fall of rain, it keeps 15 perfons fully
employed.
371
In the year 1787, two more tenants agreed for Preparation
eight acres each ; in 1788, four 5 in 1789* eight j in t t
1790, four tenants, all agreed for the fame number of
acres.
The whole mofs was now difpofed of, except that
part called F/ow Mo/s, which comprehended about 400
acres. Here it is twice the ufual breadth, fo fluid that
a pole may be thruft with one hand to the bottom j
and the interior part, for near a mile broad, is three
feet above the level of all the reft of the mofs. Hi¬
therto the many and various difficulties that prefented
themfelves had been overcome by perfeverance and
expt-nce. But here the extraordinary elevation of
the morafs, joined to its great fluidity, feemed to ex¬
clude all poffibility of admitting a ftream of water j
and it was the general opinion that the mofs opera¬
tions had now arrived at their ne plus ultra, and that
this morafs was doomed to remain a nuifance for ages
to come.
But the proprietor had now advanced fo far that he
could not fubmit to retreat: and he confidered himfelf
as in fome meafure pledged to the country for the
completion of this undertaking. To detail the va¬
rious methods praftifed to introduce a ftream of water
into that morafs, would prove tedious. It is fufficient
to fay, that after a thoufand unfuccefsful efforts, at¬
tended with much trouble and confiderable expence,
the point at laft was gained, and a ftream of water was
brought in, and carried fairly acrofs the centre of the
morafs.
The greateft obftacle was now indeed overcome 5
but ftill another remained of no fmall moment, namely,
the difeouragement given to fettlers from the total im-
poffibility 01 erecting habitations upon the furface of
this morafs. To find a remedy for this evil was diffi¬
cult. Happily a refource at laft occurred. I his was
to bargain with a certain number of the old tenants,
whofe habitations were neareft, to take leafes of por¬
tions of the morafs. But as fome additional aid wa«
here neceflary, it was agreed that 12I. fterling ftiould
be gradually advanced to each tenant till he ftiould ac-
complifh the clearing of an acre, for which he or his
fucceffor is bound to pay 12s. of yearly rent, equal to
five per cent, upon the fum advanced. When this point
(hall be gained, they are bound to difpofe, as moft a-
greeable to themfelves, either of their old or of theii’
new pofleffion •, for which, when once an acre is clear¬
ed, purchafers will not be wanting.
In confequence of the above arrangement, during
the year 1791 no fewer than 35 of the old tenants
agreed, upon the forefaid conditions, for eight acres
each of the flow mofs. Thus 1200 acres are now
difpofed of to 115 tenants. But when thefe 35 tenants
ffiall each have cleared their acre, then, according to
agreement, 35 additional tenants, will fpeedily be ac¬
quired } and the mofs will then contain in all 150 fa-
milies.
To the leafes at firft granted to the tenants in the high
mofs, it was afterwards determined to add a further pe¬
riod of 19 years (making in all 57 years), during which
they are to pay one guinea per acre ; a rent not great¬
er than the land is worth even at prefent, but greatly
below its probable value at that diftant period. Ihis,
it is honed, will prove to the tenants a fufficient incite-
3 A 2 ment
AGRICULTURE.
372 .
Preparation ment to continue their operations till their poffeflions
t ol Isanti- are completely cleared from mofs.
Having now gone through, in detail, the whole pro-
grefs of the colony for many years after its firft fettle-
ment in the year 1767, it ftill remains to take a gene¬
ral view of the effects produced by that eftablifhment.
For feveral years, at firft, the water was ufed chiefly
to carry off mofs, in the forming of new roads, and
preparing refervoirs } which confiderably retarded the
principal obie£t, of gaining land. Neverthelefs there
have been cleared full 300 acres of excellent land, pro¬
ducing wheat, barley, oats, and clover, yielding from
fix to twelve bolls after one.
From the nature of the undertaking, there is good
reafon to fuppofe that the operations will yearly ad¬
vance with greater rapidity j efpecially as the greater
number of the fettlers have only of late begun to ope¬
rate. Many, befides maintaining their families other-
wife by occafional employments, have in the high
mofs cleared in a year one rood of land ; fome have
cleared two, fome three roods, and in the low mofs an
acre.
It was a remark often made, even by perfons of fome
obfervation, that by colle&ing together fuch a num¬
ber of people, Kincardine would be overftocked •, and
the confequence would be their becoming a burden on
the parifh : for as the bulk of them were labourers not
bred to any trade, and pofleffed of little flock, it was
forefeen, that, for fome time, they could not afford
to confine themfelves lolely to the mofs, from which
the return muft be flow •, but behoved, for immediate
fubfiftence, to work for daily hire. Happily thefe pre-
ditffions have proved entirely groundlefs ; for fuch is
the growing demand for hands in this country, that
not only do the whole of thefe people find employment
whenever they choofe to look for it, but their wages
have been yearly increafing from the time of their firft
eftabliftiment. In (hort, they have proved to the
corner where they are fet down a moft uleful nurfery
of labourers; and thofe very farmers, who, at firft, fo
ftrongly oppofed their fettlement, now fly to them as
a fure refource for every purpofe of agriculture. Still
they confider the mofs operations as their principal
bufinefs ; none pay them fo well ; and when they do
leave it to earn a little money, they return with cheer-
fulnefs to their proper employment. Many of them
already raife from 10 to 60 bolls of grain, and have no
occafion to go off to other work ; which will foon be
the cafe with the whole. Their original flock, indeed,
did not often exceed 25I. and fome had not even 10I.;
but what was wanting in flock is compenfated by in-
duftry.
Of the whole inhabitants full nine tenths are High¬
landers, from the neighbouring parifties of Callander,
Balquhidder, &c.; a fober, frugal, and induftrious
•people, who, inured to hardfhips in their own country,
are peculiarly qualified to encounter fo arduous an un¬
dertaking. From this circumftance, too, arifes a very
happy confequence ; that wearing a different garb and
fpeaking a different language from the people amongft
Pradice*
whom they are fettled, they conlider themfelves in a Preparation
manner as one family tranfported to a foreign land : . 01 J-and' ,
and hence upon all occafions of difficulty, they fly
with alacrity to each others relief. Neither ought it
to be forgotten, that, from their firft fettlernent to
the prefent day, not a Angle inftance has occurred a-
mongft them of theft, bad neighbourhood, or of any
other mifdemeanour, that required the interpofition of
the civil magiftrate. Nor, however poor in circum-
ftances, has any one of them ever ftooped to folicit af-
fiftance from the funds of the pariffi appropriated to
that purpofe.
Though few of the tenants entered with a large
flock, one only has been obliged to leave the mofs
from incapacity to proceed. Many indeed have fpent
their fmall flocks, and even run a little in debt : but
in this cafe they have been permitted to fell their tacks
upon the following conditions : ift, That the purchafer
ffiall be a good man 5 2dly, That the feller (hall take
another poffeffion. By this manoeuvre a new inhabi¬
tant is gained j while the old one, relieved from debt,
and aided by paft experience, recommences his opera¬
tions with double fpirit upon a new poffeffion. The
moneyed man again has at once a houfe and a piece of
ground, the want of which chiefly ftartled new begin¬
ners.
Some have even made a kind of trade of felling j
infomuch, that from the year 1774 t^ie year I792»
no fewer than fifty Tales have taken place, producing
in all the fum of 849I. fterling. This proved from time
to time a moft feafonable recruit to the colony, and
gave new vigour and fpirits to the whole.
The number of the fettlers is productive of an ex¬
cellent effeCt ; that although fome are generally abfent,
enough ftill remain to occupy the water conftantly.
In a favourable day, there may be feen hundreds, men,
women, and children, labouring with the utmoft afli-
duity. The women declare they can make more by
working at the mofs than at their wheel ; and fuch is
the general attachment to that employment, that they
have frequently been difcovered working by moonlight.
Another happy confequence arifing from their num¬
bers is the great quantity of mofs they confume for
fuel. There are in all 115 families. Each family re¬
quires at an average 10 dargues (c) of peats yearly.
Each dargue uncovers a fpace equal to 10 fquare yards
of clay ; fo that, by carting peats, the mofs tenants gain
yearly about 6 roods of land.
The advantage, too, of providing their fuel wTith fo
little trouble, is very great. They require yearly 1150
dargues of peats *, which, as each dargue when dried
and flacked is valued at five {hillings, are worth 287I.
Ios. fterling ; a fum which otherwife muft have been
expended on the prime coft and carriage of coals.—
Many of them call peats for fale *, and tool, worth are
yearly difpofed of in the town of Stirling, the village
of Down, &e.
Though mofs work be laborious, it is at the fame
time amufing. The operator moves the mofs five feet
only at a medium ; and the water, like carts in other
cafes,
AGRICULTURE.
(c) A dargue (or darg) of peats, is the quantity that one man can cart and two can wheel in a day to the
field where they are fpread out to dry.
Part I.
Preparation cafes, carrying it off as fail as it is thrown in, excites
of Land. to activity. Still he muft fubmit to be wet from
morning to night. But habit reconciles him to this
inconvenience •, while his houfe and arable land fill his
eye and cheer his mind. Nor is it found that the
health of the inhabitants is in the fmalleft degree in¬
jured either by the nature of the work or the vicinity
of the mofs.
The quantity of mofs that one man can move in a
day is furprifing ; when he meets with no interruption,
feldom lefs than 48 cubic yards, each weighing 90
Hones. The weight, then, of mofs moved per day is
no lefs than 43 20 Hones. A cubic yard is moved into
the water, and of courfe carried into the river Forth
for one farthing. It follows, that the expence of
moving 48 cubic yards is one drilling. But the fame
quantity moved to the fame didance by carts would
cod 24 (hillings. Hence the advantage derived from
the podibility of floating mofs in W'ater, and the great
importance of having water for that purpofe.
The mofs, when contraded with the rich lands fur¬
rounding, appeared, efpecially before the improve¬
ments, a very dreary fpot j one wide unvaried wild,
totally unprodubdive, unfit even to furnifh fudenance
to any animal, except here and there a few rvretched
draggling (beep. Befides, it entirely cut off all con¬
nexion betwixt the farms on either fide ; among which
no intercourfe was pradlicable but by a circuit of fe-
veral miles.
The fcene is already greatly changed. The follow¬
ing are the numbers of the inhabitants who fome years
ago refided in the mofs j alfo of their cows and horfes,
and of the acres gained by them from the mofs, to¬
gether with their produce.
Men - - - - 115
Women - - - 113
Boys - - - 199
Girls - - - - 193
Total 620
Number of cows, at lead, - 115
Ditto of horfes and carts, - - 34
Ditto of acres cleared from mofs, - 300
The produce in bolls cannot be exabtty afcertained :
but, confidering the goodnefs of the foil, may be fairly
dated at 8 bolls per acre. I/ide 2400 bolls.
As oats are the daple commodity, the calculation
fhall be confined to that grain. According to the fiars
of Stirlingdiire, crop 1790, carfe oats are valued at
14s. per boll. Inde 2400 bolls at 14s. is 1680I. Of
late this price has at times been doubled.
A trabt of ground fo confiderable, formerly a nui-
fance to the country, thus converted into a fertile field,
filled with inhabitants, comfortable and happy, cannot
furely be furveyed with an eye of indifference by any
perfon whofe mind is at all fufceptible of feeling or of
public fpirit.
An excellent gravelled road, 20 feet wide and a
mile and a half long, is now carried quite acrofs the
373
mofs. By this means, in the firfi place, a (hort and l'reParat>on
eafy intercourfe is edablifhed between two confider- °(L.*n(L ^
able parts of the edate, formerly as little connected as if
feparated by a lake or an arm of the fea. Secondly,
The inhabitants of the mofs, to whom, hitherto, all
paffage with carts or horfes was imprafticable for at
lead one half of the year, have now obtained the
effential advantage of being able, with eafe, to tranf-
port all the different commodities at every feafon of
the year. This road was entirely formed by the hands
of the mofs tenants, and gravelled by their own carts
and horfes : a work which, it will not be doubted,
they performed with much alacrity ; when it is con-
fidered that, to the profpeid of procuring a lading and
material benefit to themfelves, there was joined the
additional inducement of receiving an immediate fup-
ply of money, the whole being done at the proprietor’s
expence.
The poffeflions are laid off in the manner bed fitted
for the operations; and are divided by lanes running
in draight lines parallel to each other. Parallel to
thefe again the drains are carried : and this draight
diredlion greatly facilitates the progrefs of the water
with its load of mofs. Upon the bank of mofs front¬
ing the lanes, the operation of floating is begun •, and
twenty or thirty people are fometimes feen heaving
mofs into the fame drain. That the water may be
the more conveniently applied, the lanes include be¬
tween them the breadth of two poffeflions only. The
new houfes are erected upon each fide of thefe lanes
at the didance of 100 yards from each other.
Before the formation of lanes and roads, and while
yet no ground was cleared, the fird fettlers were obliged
to ere£t their houfes upon the furface of the mofs. Its
foftnefs denied all accefs to Hones ; which, at any rate,
are at fuch a didance as would render them too ex-
penfive. Settlers, therefore, were obliged to condruft
their houfes of other materials. Upon the low mofs
there is found for this purpofe great plenty of fod or
turf, which accordingly the tenants ufe for the walls
of their houfes. For the rudenefs of the fabric nature
in fome meafure compenfates, by overfpreading the
outfide with a luxuriant coating of heath and other
moorifli plants, which have a very piiffurefque appear¬
ance.
But upon the high mofs there is no fod to be found.
There the tenant mud go differently to work. Ha¬
ving chofen a proper fituation for his houfe, he fird
digs four trenches down to the clay, fo as to feparate
from the red of the mofs a folid mafs, containing an
oblong reftangular area, fufficienlly large for his in¬
tended houfe. This being done, he then fcoops out
the middle of the mafs, leaving on all fides the thick-
nefs of three feet for walls ; over which he throws a
roof, fuch as that by which other cottages are com¬
monly covered.
Upon the fofted parts of the mofs, even thefe w'alls
cannot be obtained. In fuch places the houfes are
built with peat dug out of the mofs, and clofely com-
preffed together while in a humid date (d). . It is ne-
ceffary .
AGRICULTURE.
(d) This does not apply to the morafs, upon the furface of which, it has already been obiCrKf.d, it is im
poffible to eredt houfes in any (hape.
374 A G R I C U
Preparation ceffary evm to lay upon the furface a platform of
of Land, boards to prevent the wall from finking ; which they
" v have frequently done when that precaution was ne-
glefted. After all, to ftamp with the foot will (hake
\ the w'hole fabric as well as the mofs for fifty yards
around. This, at firft, ftartled the people a good deal j
but cuftom foon rendered it familiar.
The colonifts have now made confiderable advance¬
ment in rearing better habitations for their comfort
and convenience. Their huts of turf are but tempo¬
rary lodgings. As foon as they have cleared a little
ground, they build houfes of brick : when the proprie¬
tor a fecond time furnilhes them with timber gratis.
It has alfo been found neceffary to relieve them en¬
tirely from the payment of the burdenfome tax upon
brick •, a tax which furely was never intended to fall
on fucli poor induftrious adventurers , and which, with¬
out this afliftance, would have proved a mod effe&ual
bar to the employment of thefe materials.
There are now erefled in the mofs 69 brick houfes,
fubftantially built with lime. The total expence a-
mounted to 1033I. fterling. And it is a very comfort¬
able circumftance, that the money expended upon
thefe houfes is moftly kept in circulation among the
inhabitants themfelves •, for as a number of them have
learned not only to manufadlure but alfo to build
bricks, and as others who have horfes and carts fur-
ni(h the carriage of lime and coals, they thus inter¬
change fervices with each other.
With a view to excite the exertion of the colonifts,
the following premiums were alfo offered : 1. To
the perfon who fhall in the fpace of one year remove
the greateft quantity of mofs down to the clay, a plough
of the beft conftnnffion. 2. To the perfon who (hall
remove the next greateft quantity, a pair of harrows of
the beft kind. 3. For the next greateft; quantity, a
fpade of the beft kind, and iclb. of red clover feed.
But as thefe premiums, if contefted for by the whole in¬
habitants, could reach but a very few of the number,
they were therefore divided into fix diftri&s according
to their fituation *, and the above premiums were offered
to each diftridf.
The eftabliftiment of this colony was no doubt at¬
tended with a very confiderable (hare of expence and
difficulty •, for the undertaking was altogether new,
and there were many prejudices againft it, which it
was neceffary to overcome. At the fame time it was
noble and interefting : it was to make a valuable addi¬
tion to private property *, it was to increafe the popula¬
tion of the country, and to give bread to a number
of people, many of whom having been turned out of
their farms and cottaries in the Highlands, might other-
wife, by emigrations have been loft to their country $
and that too, at a time when, owing to the great en¬
largement of farms, depopulation prevails but too
much even in the low countries. And it was to add
to the arable lands of the kingdom, making many
thoufand bolls of grain to grow where none ever grew
before.
Thefe confiderations have hitherto preponderated
with the proprietors againft the various obftacles that
prefent themfelves to the execution of fo extenfive an
undertaking. Should their example tend in any de¬
gree to ftimulate others, who both in Scotland and in
England poffefs much ground equally ufelefs to the
L T U R E. Praaice.
country, to commence fimilar itnprovements, it would F separation
be a moft grateful confideration iuperadded to the , ^
pfeafure already arifing from the progrefs of the infant
colony.
After all it will probably hereafter be thought, that
the great efforts of ingenuity, and of perfevering in-
duftry, which were requifite in the above operation,
might all have been avoided, and the work much eafier
performed, had the art been found out ot converting
mofs into fruitful foil, according to the plan pradlifed,
and undoubtedly brought to great perfection in Ayr-
(hire, by the gentleman already mentioned, John Smith, Mr Smith’s
Efq. of Swinridgemuir, near Beith. On a part of a mode of
mofs in this gentleman’s property, a quantity ot lime 1^Pf0VIDS
had been fpread in confequence of the miring of fome
carts in wet weather', to relieve which, their load was
laid over the ground in their neighbourhood, though
this was accounted at that period an abfurd operation,
as it was believed that lime would have the effedf of
confuming and rendering moffy ground ufelefs for ever.
The proprietor Mr Smith, was then in the army, to¬
wards the clofe of the American war. On returning
home the fucceeding fummer, and being informed of
the accident, he was furprifed to find that as good a
crop grew upon the patch of mofs on v\ hich the lime
had been fcattered, as upon another fpot that had been
pared and burned, in confequence of inftruftions that
he had tranfmitted home for that purpofe, from having
perufed fome treatifes in which burning of mofs was re¬
commended. He alfo remarked, that upon the places
which had neither been burned nor limed, nothing
grew, and that the crop upon the burned foil was in¬
ferior to that where the lime had been laid, being al-
moft choked with forrel. Mr Smith purfued the hint
thus obtained : He reclaimed by means of lime every
portion of mofs in bis own poffeffion, and having fatif-
fied his tenants of the utility of the pra&ice, he allowed
them to' dig limeftone gratis, and gave them the refufe
of his coal at prime coft to burn it. Thus, in a fhort
time, every part of the mofs upon his eftate was redu¬
ced under cultivation, and rendered highly valuable.
When Mr Smith began his operations, he met the
fate of innovators in agriculture, that is, he was ridi¬
culed by all his neighbours. His fuccefs, however, at
length made fome converts,and though the new fyftem at
firft advanced flowly, it was at laft univerfally approved
of, and extenfively imitated. The refult has been, that
what was once the word land in the country, is now
become the moft productive and fertile.
The following is a concife ftatement of Mr Smith’s
praftice, and confequently of the Ayrftiire praCtice, of
aCtually converting mofs into vegetable mould, capa¬
ble of bearing rich crops of corn, hay, potatoes, &c.
which we (hall give in the words of Mr Headrick.
“ 1. When they enter upon the improvement of zCotnmuni-
mofs in a natural ftate, the firft thing to be done is,
to mark and cut main or mafter drains, eight feet in qj jsrjeui.
width, by four and a half in depth, and declining to vol.«.
two and a half at bottom •, thefe coft is. per fall of
fix Scots ells. In fome inftances, it will be found ne¬
ceffary to cut thofe drains much deeper, confequently
at a greater expence. Thefe drains almoft in every in-
ftance can be, and are fo conduCled, as to divide the field
into regular and proper enclofures. They always make
it a rule to finifh off as much of a drain as they have
broken
r
Part I.
Preparation broken up, before they leave it at night; becaufe, if
of Land. a part js |eft dug^ fuppofe half way, the oozing of wa-
v ter from the fides would render the bottom fo foft, that
they could neither ftand upon it nor lift it with the
fpade. When the mofs is fo very foft, that the preffure
of what is thrown out of the drain may caufe its fides to
fall in again, they throw the clods from the drain a
confiderable way back, and fometimes have a man to
throw them ftill further back, by a fpade or the hand ;
for this reafon too, they always throw the fluff taken
from a drain as equally as poffible on each fide of it. In
digging the drains, the workmen ftand upon fmall
boards to prevent them from finking, and move them
forward as the work advances.
“ When the mofs lies in a hollow, with only one
outlet, it is neceflary to lead up a drain, fo as to let the
water pafs this outlet, and then condudt it along the
loweft or wetteft part of the mofs : this middle drain is
afterwards Hoped, and the fluff thrown bank into the
hollows that may occur ; upon it the ridges are made
to terminate on each fide, while a ring drain, ferving
the purpofe of a fence, is thrown round the mofs at the
line where the rifing ground commences. This can ge¬
nerally be fo managed as to divide the mofs into a
fquare field, leaving ftraight lines for the fides of the
contiguous fields. The ring drain intercepts the fur-
face water from the higher grounds, and condufls it
into the lower part of the outlet, while the Hoped drain
in the centre receives and difcharges all the water that
falls upon the mofs.
“ After the mofs collapfes in confequence of liming
and culture, it is often neceffary to clean out thefe
drains a fecond time, and to dig them to a greater
depth : their fides become at laft like a wall of peat,
which few animals will venture to pafs.
“ 2. The drains being thus completed, they mark
out the ridges, either with a long firing or with three
poles fet in a line. Mr Smith has tried feveral breadths
of ridges, but now gives a decided preference to thofe
that are feven yards in breadth. The ridges are form¬
ed with the fpade in the following manner: In the
centre of each intended ridge, a fpace of about two
feet is allowed to remain untouched ; on each fide of
that fpace a furrow is opened, which is turned over
fo as completely to cover that fpace, like what is call¬
ed veering or feering of a gathered ridge ; the work,
thus begun, is continued by cutting furrows with the
fpade, and turning them over from end to end of the
ridge on each fide, until they arrive at the divifion fur¬
rows. The breadth of the flices thus cut, may be
about 12 inches, and each piece is made as long as it
may fuit to turn over : the ridge, when finifhed, has
the appearance of having been done with a plough.
The divifion furrow is two feet in breadth, which, if
neceffary to draw off fuperfluous water, is partly cut
and thrown upon the fides, or into hollows in the
ridges on each fide. The depth of the divifion furrows
is regulated by circumftances, fo as not to lay the ridges
at firft too dry, but at the fame time to bleed, as it were,
the mofs, and condudl the fuptrfluous water into the
matter drains.
“ 3. The next operation is to top-drefs the ridges with
lime. The fooner this is done after the ridges are
formed, the better. When the mofs appears dry, ex¬
perienced farmers throw on the lime, but do not clean
375
out the divifion furrows until the enfuing winter. Preparation
When it is foaked in water, they clean the divifion Land. ^
furrow's as foon as the lime is ready, and after the wa¬
ter has run off apply the lime immediately. It is of
great importance to have the lime applied while the
mofs is ftill moift, and the lime in as cauftic a ftate as
poflible. For this purpofe, they have the lime con¬
veyed from the kiln in parcels, flaked and laid on as
faft as the ridges are formed. Being dropped from
carts, and flaked at the neareft acceflible ftation, it is
carried to the mofs by two men on light handbarrows,
having a hopper and bottom of thin boards, and there
fpread with (hovels as equally as poflible. During the
firft and fecond years, the crop is generally carried off
in the fame way. In fome places where a mofs is co¬
vered with coarfe herbage, and acceflible by carts in
dry weather, I faw them give a good dofe of lime to
the mofs before it was turned up with the fpade, and
another after the ridges were formed. It is furprifing
how quickly they execute thefe operations with the
handbarrows. In other places where coarfe boards
can be procured, they lay a line of them along the
crown of a ridge, and convey the lime upon them in
wheelbarrows.
“ The proportion of lime allowed to the acre is va¬
rious, being from three to eight chalders. Improvers
are much lefs fparing of this ingredient now than for¬
merly, and much greater proportions have been applied
with good effefl. Suppofe 1 20 bolls, or 480 Winchef-
ter bufhels, of flaked or powdered lime allowed to every
Scots acre, this would coft at the fale kilns 40s.; and
thus the reader may be enabled to calculate the expence
of lime in this diftricl at every given proportion : But
mod of the farmers here burn lime for themfelves in
vaft kilns of fod, and think they have it much cheaper
than it could be got from a fale kiln. In many places,
limeftone abounds fo much, that houfes, fences, and
roads are conftnnfted with it ; and when a farmer burns
the limeftone within his premifes, he at lead faves the
expence of carriage.
“ In fome cafes, after the limeftone is laid on, they
go over the ground with hoes, or with fpades, hacking
and mangling the clods, and mixing the lime more
completely with the fuperficial foil ; but where there
is much to do, and hands are fcarce, they never think
of thefe operations.
“ 4. The field thus prepared is ready to receive the
feed, which is fown at the proper feafon whether it be
wet or dry, and harrowed in with a fmall harrow drawn
by two men. Four men will with eafe harrow at lead
five or fix roods per day, two and two dragging the
harrow by turns, and two breaking and dividing the
mould with fpades. When the lime has been applied
early the preceding fummer, a good crop of oats may
generally be expedted ; but if it has been recently ap¬
plied, the firft crop of oats frequently mifgives, as the
lime has not time to combine with the mofs, and form
it into a foil.
“ The early Dutch or Polifti oats are always prefer¬
red by mofs improvers, as the common Scots or late
oats are too apt to run into draw, and lodge before the
grain arrives at maturity. The fame proportion of
feed is allowed per acre that is ufual in other places.
The great defideratum is, to procure plants which will
throw up a fufficient quantity of herbage, fo as toihield
AGRICULTURE.
I?6
AGRICULTURE.
Pradlice,
Preparation jurfaee frolii tiie winds and fun’s rays, and thus to
ot Land. - •   -' t~ <■> r r. —   f-
keep it moiit during the firft fummer after a mofs is
reclaimed.
“ This defideratum is effeftually fupplied by the po¬
tato, which thrives well on mofs at all times, whether
recently opened up and limed, or at any future period
of its cultivation j only it requires a proportion of
liable dung. It is now become the general pradljce
in Ayrlhire, to plant potatoes on thofe moffes which
have been but recently turned up and limed } and
where dung can be procured, it is generally the firit
crop on all their moffes.
“ The method of planting potatoes, whether they
be the firft crop or fucceed the firft crop of oats, is .by
lazy beds. If they be the firft crop, the mofs having
been delved into ridges, and limed as before directed,
fpaces of from five to fix feet in breadth are marked
out acrofs the ridges, having intervals of about two
feet, from which the mofs is taken to cover the fets.
Thefe fpaces or beds are covered over with a thin^ra-
tum of dung, laid upon the furface of the lime at the
rate of about fixteen tons to the Scots acre. The cut¬
tings of the potatoes are laid or placed upon the faid
beds, about ten or twelve inches afunder *, and the
whole are covered over with mofs, taken from the in¬
tervals which are thus converted into ditches, to be
followed by another covering about the time the po¬
tato plants begin to make their appearance, the cover¬
ing in the whole amounting to about four or five
inches : at the fame time the divifion furrows are
cleaned out to cover the fets that are contiguous to
them. The whole field is thus divided into fpaces or
lazy beds, like a chequered board. During lummer,
they cut the mofs with hoes, and draw it up a little
towards the Items of the plants. Few weeds appear,
except what are conveyed by the dung. This is the
pradtice univerfally followed when potatoes are plant¬
ed on mofs for the firft time j but after the mofs is
finely pulverized and reduced, they either plant them
in rows acrofs the ridges, or plant and drefs them with
the plough in the ufual manner.
“ Potatoes planted as the firft crop never mifgive,
and they are the beft and moft certain method at once
to reclaim a mofs, not owing fo much perhaps to the
dung aiding the putrid fermentation which the lime
has already excited, as to their roots pulhing and divi¬
ding the mofs, while the leaves {belter it from the
fun, caufe a ftagnation of air, and thus keep it in that
degree of moifture which is moft favourable to the ac¬
tion of lime upon mofs. The pradlice of making po¬
tatoes the firft crop is now univerfally followed, in fo
far as the farmers can command dung. The produce
is from 40 to 60 bolls per acre, the potato meafure be¬
ing eight Winchefter buftiels a little heaped to the
boll. Moffes that are fully reclaimed yield from 60
to 70 bolls of potatoes at an average, and in fome
places where manures are abundant, they have been
known to yield from 80 to 100 bolls per acre, of the
above meafure.
“ Mr Smith is about to try yams upon his moffes,
from the opinion that prevails among fome of the Mid-
Lothian farmers, where this plant is much cultivated,
that they require little or no dung, and that the fupe-
rior breadth of their leaves, will prove more favourable
4han thofe of potatoes, for ftieltering the ground.
“ When the potato crop is removed, the ridges are Pr^'“
again put into their original form ", in doing which, care 1
is taken to preierve the mould that is acquired upper-
moft ; this is done by moving the fubfurrow on each
fide with a ftrong fpade, half way into the intermedi¬
ate ditch from which the lazy beds were covered, and
fcattering the mould equally over the whole furface.
This operation cofts 18s. per acre. It is not eaty. to
calculate the expence of planting the potatoes forming
the lazy beds, &c. as this is feldom executed bj con-
trad 5 but the lazy beds being thus reduced, the land
is ready for a crop of corn.
“ Though a crop of oats frequently mifgives upon
mofs that has been but recently limed, yet in other
cafes, where the lime has lain feveral months upon the
land, it proves a good crop, and is lufficient to cover
ail the expence with a little profit, d he crops of fuc-
ceeding years are lufficient to aftord Irom their ftraw
putrefcent manure for fuch land in order that it may
be cleaned with potatoes, and prepared for grafs feeds.
“ But after potatoes of the firft year, with the flight
operation of reducing the lazy-beds, from 10 to 12 bolls
of oats are at an average produced per acre. The oats
are excellent, and yield from 18 to 20 pecks of meal
per boll j they would fell upon the ground.for id.
or I 2l. per acre. The ground continues to yield eats-
of the fame quality for feveral years, without any appa¬
rent diminution of fertility, and without receiving any
additional manure : the only apparent bar to the con¬
tinuance of this crop is, the foil becoming graffy.
When the grafs begins to contend with the crop for
pre-eminence, the land is thrown into pafture, and
would let ever after in that ftate at from 20s. to 25s.
per acre. Dailies, white clover, See. &c. now fpring
up in moffes, where their exiftence was never before
fufpe&ed y at the fame time thirties and other weeds
for fome time infeft the pafture.
“ The better praflice is, to take another crop of po¬
tatoes with a little dung and lime, and give it a trench-
delving, to bury the weeds and bring up new foil j
after the potatoes, to fow barley and grafs feeds.
“ Rye-grafs is univerfally fown here, and it attains
amazing perfedion upon mofs properly prepared ; along
with this, white and yellow clover are fometimes fown,
and thrive remarkably well. Red clover has been
tried, but did not fucceed, and is hence diferedited
for mofs-lands : perhaps it may have been unjuftly cen-
fured, becaufe it is certain that the feafons in which
it was tried, proved very unfavourable to red clover, in
all parts of the country, moft of it having died during
winter.
“ 5. We have already deferibed the levelling of the
lazy beds. All future delvings of the mofs are per¬
formed from one end of the ridge to the other j by this
method the flices that had been cut and turned oyer in
the firft operation of forming the ridge, are again cut
acrofs, and conftantly reduced into fmaller pieces, till
they moulder into earth.
“ The expence of delving a mofs for the firft time,
where the furface is tolerably fmooth, is 2^d. per fall,
or ll. 13s. 4d. per Scots acre j but where inequalities
occur, which muft be thrown down by the fpade into
hollows, it cofts about 2I. per acre. If there be emi¬
nences, which muft be removed into hollows by wheel¬
barrows running upon boards, the firft expence is great-
Part I.
Preparation er according to circumftances. The fecond delving,
t ofLan(P ^ potatoes have not intervened, colts from lU to
, il. 6s. per Scots acre, the divifion-furrows being at
the fame time cleaned out. The third delving and
cleaning of the divifion furrows colts il. per acre j but
the mofs is now fo friable, that it may be wrought with
the greateft eafe and rapidity. At the above rates, an
ordinary workman will earn is. 6d. per day, and an
able and experienced one, from that to 2s. 6d. per day.
They ufe a ftrong fpade, edged with Iteel, and have
always a gritftone near them for fharpening the fpade.
In the evening they repair its edge upon a grindltone j
and when the fteel is worn away, they lay it again
with new Iteel. Sometimes the mofs is fo foft that they
walk upon boards while they are turning it over.
“ Mr Smith has found, by long experience, that
it is improper to make the ridges too high or too nar¬
row : when they are too high, they throw the water
off from their lides without admitting it to penetrate
their fubftance j the top of courfe gets too dry : when
too narrow, there is a lofs of fur face from too many di¬
vifion-furrows } the breadth already mentioned is found
to be the bell : and when the improvement is com¬
pleted, the ridges appear like fegments of wide circles,
with a clean well defined divifion-furrow between each
of them. The moifture-is thus caufed llowly to filtrate
through the mofs rendered friable by lime until it
reaches the divifion-furrows, and is difcharged. As
the mofs fubfides for feme time, and clofes in towards
the furrows, it is generally necelfary to clean thefe out
before winter, and at the time the crop is fown, until
the mofs acquire folidity.
Some molfes may be ploughed the fecond year to
within two bouts or four fliees of the divifion-furrows,
and every operation performed by the force of horfes,
except turning over with the fpade the narrow ftripes
next to the divifion-furrows. In other moffes it re¬
quires three years before this can be done ; and it
feldom happens but every mofs may be wrought by the
plough after it has been wrought four years by the
fpade. When mofs is wrought by the fpade, it feems
of no confequence whether it be wrought wet or dry;
but when it is wrought by the plough, opportunities
mull; be watched, as horfes cannot walk upon it for
fome years during wet weather.
“ 6. With refpeft to the quality of the potatoes thus
produced upon moffes, I do not fcruple to pronounce
it molt excellent. Potatoes have been tried with dung
alone : but they are always watery, and frequently
hollow or rotten in the heart : thofe raifed upon moffes
that have been well limed, are frequently fo dry and
farinaceous, that it is difficult to boil them without re¬
ducing them to powder ; and they are often obliged to
lift them with fpoons : they come clean out of the
ground 5 keep remarkably well in heaps covered with
mofs in the field ; and are remarkably well flavoured.
“ No fuch difeafe as the curl was ever known among
mofs potatoes ; and, indeed, if Dr Coventry’s opinion
be true, that the curl is caufed by overloading the
fets with too much earth, or from the earth becoming
too hard around them, no fuch thing can take place
in mofs. But to whatever caufe the curl may be ow¬
ing, it is certainly propagated by difeafed feed *, it
would, therefore, appear advantageous to transfer the
potatoes raifed upon mofs as feed for folid land. They
Vol. I. Part I.
377
have a remarkably good fpecies of potato in this di- Preparation
ftrift, which was brought from Virginia to Largs, of ^a|,ri' ,
about eight years ago j and whether it be owing to
the beneficial nature of a moffy foil, or to its own in-
trinfic merits, this potato has long been fo much di-
ftinguiffied by the good quality and large quantity of
its produce, that it has fuperfeded the ufe of every
other fpecies. There feems to be no occafion for mofs
improvers to change their feed. Some perfons in this
diftrift, who have but fmall patches of mofs, have kept
them conftantly in potatoes more than ten years, with¬
out changing the feed, and without any fenfible dimi¬
nution either in the quantity or quality of the crop.”
4. Of bringing Land into Culture from a State of
Nature.
. . . 198
x o improve a moor, let it be opened, if poffible, in a moor
winter, when it is wet, which has one convenience,how to be
that the plough cannot be employed in any othercu^^vate^*
work. It is always fuppofed, however, that the moif-
ture has been fufficiently removed by draining, to ren¬
der this practicable. In fpring, after the froft is over,
a flight harrowing will fill up the interftices with
mould, to keep out the air and rot the fod. Thus it
may be fuffered to lie during the following fummer
and winter, which will tend more to rot the turf than
if laid open to the air by ploughing. Next April, let
it be crofs-ploughed, braked, and harrowed, till it be
fufficiently pulverized for turnip feed, to be fown broad-
caft, or in drills, after being manured, and the ma¬
nure mixed with the foil by repeated harrowings.
It fometimes happens, however, that the heath which
grows upon a moorilh foil is fo ftrong and vigorous as
to be fubdued with great difficulty. It has been
obferved, that after land is drained and the heath burnt
upon the furface, this plant is in time extirpated by
ffieep. Thefe animals are extremely fond of the ten¬
der fhoots and flowers of heath, but they will not tafte
it after it runs into feed, unlefs compelled by extreme
hunger. For fubduing it by a fliorter procefs, lime
is the beft remedy, as it feems a mortal enemy to heath,
A ftrong dofe of cauftic lime therefore laid upon the
furface of the land after it is firft ploughed, is attended
with the beft effeCl in confuming the roots of heath
and of coarfe grafles, and rendering the foil friable,
which it accompliffies in about fix months. Economy
in the ufe of this ingredient, therefore, at the firft break¬
ing up of moor land, is extremely mifapplied. Ac¬
cordingly fome fkilful farmers lay one dofe of lime
upon the land before it is ploughed, and another after it,
that the furrow flices, being wholly furrounded by it,
may be fooner brought into a friable ftate. But, al¬
though a very confiderable dofe of lime is abfolutely
neceffary, when fuch land is newly reduced from a
ftate of nature, it ought not to be folely trufted to.
To render the land permanently fertile, it foon becomes
neceffary to aid the foil, by vegetable or putrefeent
manure.
The turnip crop may be confumed upon the ground
by Iheep, which affords an excellent preparation for
laying down the field with grafs feeds ; a point which
every improver ought to have in view, on account of
the command of dung which it gives him. It is even
faid to be an improvement upon this method, to take
two or even three fucceffive crops of turnips, all con-
3 B fumed
AGRICULTURE.
378
agriculture.
Pradice,
vated.
Preparation fumed in the fame way. No dung will be neceffaiy for
of Land. ^wo iaft crops, and the foil will be greatly thick-
1 “~~v ened and enriched. # . ,
Swamnv With regard to fwampy lands and a foil covered with
lands, how nifties, ant hills, and coarfe graffes; after draining, the
to be culti- belf procedure which can be adopted, conufts ot par¬
ing and burning. When land is pared, a thin fod is
taken off, either by a paring fpade or paring plough,
over the w’hole futface. The fods being dried, are
colle&ed into fmall heaps and burned, and the alhes
are fcattered over the field.- Swampy land that is
overrun with rufties and coarfe graffes, and lands that
are covered with heath and other coarfe plants, fuit
beft for paring and burning. In this way thefe coarle
plants are deftroyed at once, and the land may be
ploughed and cropped immediately, without waiting for
the rotting of the turf, as in the former cafe. It is alio
faid, that this praaice deftroys all ftugs and other ver¬
min that infeft the foil. It is more efpecially va¬
luable in fituations where lime and other manures can-
Where lime is to be found in abund-
a oa¬
ring a
burning,
how far
ufefuL
not be procured.   -  
ance, however, it might probably be a better praftice,
inftead of burning the turf that has been cut from the
furface of the coarfe land, to colledt it all into heaps
in different parts of the field, and make it up into com-
poft with lime. The whole heaps in fuch cafes ought
to be thoroughly moiftened, and the mafs to be fre¬
quently turned and mixed. In this way, by ufing lime
in place of fire, the whole roots and coarfe herbage would
'i0°' be deftroyed, and reduced at once into a moft valuable
Paving and for enriching the foil. In the mean time it is
to be obferved, that paring and burning is fo evidently
advantageous to the immediately fucceeding _ crops,
that it has fometimes been abufed by overcropping af¬
ter it, and by extending it, perhaps unneceflarily, to all
foils, ’upon breaking them up from grafs, though for¬
merly cultivated and in good order : though even
in fuch cafes it may be found valuable, where lime
cannot eafily be obtained. The following remarks
upon the fubjea, in the Report of the Agricul¬
ture of the county of Northumberland, by J. Bayley
and G. Gulley, are worthy of attention. “ Paring
and burning is not much praftifed in the eaftern and
northern parts of the county : in the middle and lout -
cm parts it is moft prevalent •, but, even there, it is
confined to old fwards, and coarfe, rough, ruftiy, and
heathy lands. For the firif breaking up of fuch ground,
it is certainly very convenient, and preferable to any
other mode we have ever feen ; but though we are
fully convinced of its beneficial effects in fuch fitua¬
tions, yet we have our doubts whether it could be ufed
with advantage upon lands that have lain a few years
in grafs, and that would produce good crops of grain
immediately on being ploughed out, which is not the
cafe with coarfe rough heathy lands, or even very old
fwards on rich fertile foils ; it being found that crops
on the latter are frequently very much injured by
/taping for two or three years, which paring and burn¬
ing entirely obviate, and enfure full crops to the far¬
mer who need not be under any apprehenfion of his
foil being ruined by it, provided he purfue the follow¬
ing courfe: i. Turnips; 2. Oats; 3. Fallow well limed
for turnips: 4. Barley fown up with clover and grafs
feeds, and depaftured with fheep for three or four
years. It is the injudicious cropping, more than the
ill effeas derived from paring and burning, that has lJreparanon
been the chief caufe of bringing fuch an odiurn on this , 
pra&ice, which is certainly an excellent one in fome
fituations, and when properly conduced ; but, like the
fermented juice of the grape, may be too often repeated
and improperly applied. .
“ The popular clamour againft this practice, that
it deftroys the foil,” we can by no means admit; and
are inclined to believe, that not a fingle atom of loll
is abftrafted, though the bulk of the fod or turf be
diminilhed. This arifes from the burning of the roots
or vegetable fubftances, which, by this procefs, afford a
confiderable portion of alkaline falts, phlogiftic or car¬
bonic matter, and probably other principles friendly
to vegetation ; as we find thofe allies produce abundant
crops of turnips, which fatten ftock much quicker
than thofe after any other dreffing or manure we have
ever feen; and the fucceeding crops of corn are io
very luxuriant as to tempt the injudicious cultivator to
purfue it too far ; who, for the fake of a temporary
gain, may be faid to rip it up, as the boy did his goole
that laid golden eggs.” . .
But where the ground is dry, and the foil fo thin as
that the furface cannot be pared, the beft way of bnng-
injr it into tilth from the ftate of nature, as mentioned
above, is to plough it with a feathered fock, laymg the
eraffy furface under. After the new furface is mel¬
lowed with froft, fill up all the feams by harrowing
crofs the field, which by excluding the air will effec¬
tually rot the fod. In this ftate let it lie fummer and
winter. In the beginning of May after, a crots
ploughing will reduce all to fmall fquare pieces,_ which
muft be pulverized with the brake, and make it ready
for a May or June crop. If thefe fquare pieces be al¬
lowed to lie long in the fap without breaking, they
will become tough, and not be eafily reduced.
201
5. Forming RlDGES.
The firft thing that occurs on this head, is to con-of ridges.
fider what grounds ought to be formed into ridges, and
what ought to be tilled with a flat furface. Dry foils,
which fuffer by lack of moifture, ought to be tilled flat,
which tends to retain moifture. And the method tor
fuch tilling, is to go round and round from the cir¬
cumference to the centre, or from the centre to th&
circumference. This method is advantageous in point
of expedition, as the whole is finilhed without once
turning the plough. At the fame time, every inch ot
the foil is moved, inftead of leaving either the crown
or the furrow unmoved, as is commonly done in tilling
ridges. Clay foil, which fuffers by water Handing on
it ought to be laid as dry as poflible by proper ridges.
A loamy foil is the middle between the two mentioned.
It ought to be tilled flat in a dry country, Specially
if it incline to the foil firft mentioned. In a moift
country, it ought to be formed into ridges, high or
low according to the degree of moifture and tendency
to clay.
In grounds that require ridging, an error prevails,
that ridges cannot be raifed too high. High ridges
labour under feveral difadvantages. The foil is heap¬
ed upon the crown, leaving the furrows bare: the
crown is too dry, and the furrows too wet: the C^P*
which is always beft on the crown, is more readily tha-
ken with the wind, than where the whole crop is of an
equal
Part I. A G R I C U
preparation equal height : the half of the ridge is often covered
of Land. from the fun) a difadvantage which is far from being
u—  ' {|;ght in a cold climate. High ridges labour under an¬
other difadvantage, in ground that has no more level
than barely fufficient to carry off water : they fink the
furrows below the level of the ground ; and confe-
quently retain water at the end of every ridge. The
furrows ought never to be funk below the level of the
ground. Water will more effeaually be carried off by
leffening the ridges both in height and breadth : a nar¬
row ridge, the crown of which is but 18 inches higher
than the furrow, has a greater Hope than a very broad
ridge where the difference is three or four feet.
Next, of forming ridges where the ground hangs
confiderably. Ridges may be too fteep as well as too
horizontal: and if to the ridges be given all the fteep-
nefs of a field, a heavy fhower may do irreparable mif-
chief. To prevent fuch mifchief, the ridges ought to
be fo direfted crofs the field, as to have a gentle Hope
for carrying off water {lowly, and no more. In that
refpea, a hanging field has greatly the advantage of
one that is nearly horizontal j becaufe, in the. latter,
there is no opportunity of a choice in forming the
ridges. A hill is of all the beft adapted for direfting
the ridges properly. If the foil be gravelly, it may be
ploughed round and round, beginning at the bottom
and afcending gradually to the top in a fpiral line.
This method of ploughing a hill requires no more
force than ploughing on a level ; and at the fame time
removes the great inconvenience of a gravelly hill, that
rains go off too quickly *, for the rain is retained in
every furrow. If the foil be fuch as to require ridges,
they may be direfted to any dope that is proper.
In order to form a field into ridges that has not been
formerly cultivated, the rules mentioned are eafily put
in execution. But what if ridges be already formed,
that are either crooked or too high ? After feeing the
advantage of forming a field into ridges, people were
naturally led into an error, that the higher the better.
But what could tempt them to make their ridges
crooked ? Certainly this method did not originate from
defign ; but from the lazinefs of the driver fuffering the
cattle to turn too haftily, inftead of making them finifli
the ridge without turning. There is more than one
difadvantage in this floyenly praftice. Firft, the water
is kept in by the curve at the end of every ridge, and
fours the ground. Next, as a plough has the lead fric¬
tion poflible in a ftraight line, the friftion muft be in-
creafed in a curve, the back part of the mouldboard
prefling hard on the one hand, and the coulter preffing
hard on the other. In the third place, the plough mo¬
ving in a ftraight line, has the greateft command in
laying the earth over. But where the ftraight line of
the plough is applied to the curvature of a ridge in or¬
der to heighten it by gathering, the earth moved by
the plough is continually falling back, in fpite of the
moft fkilful ploughman.
The inconveniences of ridges high and crooked are
fo many, that one would be tempted to apply a rerne"
dy at any rifk. And yet, if the foil be clay, it would
not be advifeable for a tenant to apply the remedy upon
a leafe fhorter than two nineteen years. In a dry gra¬
velly foil, the work is not difficult nor hazardous.
When the ridges are cleaved two or three years fuc-
•cefiivelv in the courfe of cropping, the operation ought
L T U R E. 379
to be concluded in one fummer. The earth, by reite- l r^^t(|on
rated ploughings, (hould be accumulated upon the fur- 0 ^ar‘ ‘,
rows, fo as to raife them higher than the crowns: they
cannot be raifed too high, for the accumulated earth
will fubfide by its own weight. Crofs ploughing once
or twice, will reduce the ground to a flat furface, and
give opportunity to form ridges at will. The fame
method brings down ridges in clay foil : only let care
be taken to carry on the work with expedition ; be¬
caufe a hearty fliower, before the new ridges are form¬
ed, would foak the ground in water, and make the far¬
mer fufpend his work for the remainder of that year at
leaft. In a ftrong clay, we would not venture to alter * Effays on,
the ridges, unlefs it can be done to perfe&ion in one u
feafon. On this fubjeft Mr Anderfon has the follow-p ^
ing obfervations *. # 202
“ The difficulty of performing this operation pro-Inconveni-
perly with the common implements of hufbandry, and ^e^"the
the obvious benefit that accrues to the farmer from ha- metho<js 0f
ving his fields level, has produced many new inventions levelling,
of ploughs, harrows, drags, &c. calculated for fpeedily
reducing the fields to that ftate •, none of which have
as yet been found fully to anfwer the purpofe for
which they were intended, as they all indifcriminately
carry the earth that was on the high places into thofe
that were lower; which, although it may in fome cafes
render the furface of the ground tolerably fmooth and
level, is ufually attended with inconveniences far great¬
er, for a confiderable length of time, than that which it
was intended to remove. 203
“ For experience fufficiently ffiows, that even the Vegetable
beft vegetable mould, if buried for any length of timemouldbe-
fo far beneath the furface as to be deprived of the be- ^®s;^er
nign influences of the atmofphere, lofes its vis vitce, if long buried*.
I may be allowed that expreffion ; becomes an inert,
lifelefs mafs, little fitted for nourifhing vegetables; and
conftitutes a foil very improper for the purpofes of the
farmer. It therefore behoves him, as much as in him
lies, to preferve, on every part of his fields, an equal
covering of that vegetable mould that has long been
uppermoft, and rendered fertile by the meliorating in¬
fluence of the atmofphere. But, if he fuddenly levels
his high ridges by any of thefe mechanical contrivan¬
ces, he of neceffity buries all the good mould that vyas
on the top of the ridges in the old furrows; by which
he greatly impoverifhes one part of his field, while he
too much enriches another ; infomuch that it is a mat¬
ter of great difficulty, for many years thereafter, to get
the field brought to an equal degree of fertility in dif¬
ferent places; which makes it impoffible for the far¬
mer to get an equal crop over the whole of his field by
any management whatever : and he has the mortifica¬
tion frequently, by this means,-to fee the one half of
his crop rotted by an over-luxuriance, while other parts
of it are weak and fickly ; or one part ripe and ready
for reaping, while the other is not properly filled ; fo
that it were, on many occafions, better for him to have
his whole field reduced at once to the fame degree of
poornefs as the pooreft of it, than have it in this ftate.
An almoft impraaicable degree of attention in fpread-
ing the manures may indeed in fome meafure get the
better of this: but it is fo difficult to perform this pro¬
perly, that I have frequently feen fields that had.been
thus levelled, in which, after thirty years of continued
culture and repeated dreffings, the marks of the old
3 B 2 & ridges
38o AGRICULTURE. Pradice
Preparation ridges Could be diftin&ly traced when the corn was
. of^and' growing, although the furface was fo level that no
traces of them could be perceived when the corn was
off the ground.
“ But this is a degree of perfection in levelling that
cannot be ufually attained by following this mode of
praCtice, and therefore is but feldom feen. For all
that can be expeCted to be done by any levelling ma¬
chine, is to render the furface perfectly fmooth and
even in every part, at the time that the operation is
performed : but as, in this cafe, the old hollows are
luddenly filled up with loofe mould to a great depth,
while the earth below the furface upon the heights of
the old ridges remains firm and compaCt, the newraifed
earth after a fliort time fubfides very much, while the
other parts of the field do not fink at all j fo that in
a flrort time the old furrows come to be again below
the level of the other parts of the field, and the water
of courfe is fuffered in fome degree to ftagnate upon
them j infomuch that, in a few years, it becomes ne-
ceffary once more to repeat the fame levelling procefs,
and thus renew the damage that the farmer fuftains by
204 this pernicious operation.
Levelling “ On thefe accounts, if the farmer has not a long
Sometimes leafej it will be found in general te be much his intereft
.^tempted to ^eave the ridges as he found them, rather than to
attempt to alter their direction ■, and, if he attends with
due caution to moderate the height of thefe old ridges,
he may reap very good crops, although perhaps at a
fomewhat greater expence of labour than he would
have been put to upon the fame field, if it had been re¬
duced to a proper level furface, and divided into ftraight
and parallel ridges.
“ But, where a man is fecure of poflefling his ground
for any confiderable length of time, the advantages
that he will reap from having level and well laid out
fields, are fo confiderable as to be worth purchafing, if
it thould even be at a confiderable expence. But the
lofs that is fuflained at the beginning, by this mechani¬
cal mode of levelling ridges, if they are of confiderable
height, is fo very great, that it is perhaps doubtful if
any future advantages can ever fully compenfate it.
I would therefore advife, that all this levelling appa¬
ratus (hould be laid afide y and the following more effi¬
cacious praCtice be fubftituted in its ftead : A praCtice
that I have long followed with fuccefs, and can fafely
recommend as the very belt that has yet come to my
205 knowledge.
Belt me- “ If the ridges have been raifed to a very great
thod ot le- height, as a preparation for the enfuing operations,
veiling. may bg clovefl^ or fcalded out, as it is called
in different places ; that is, ploughed fo as to lay the
earth on each ridge from the middle towards the fur¬
rows. But if they are only of a moderate degree of
height, this operation may be omitted. When you
mean to proceed to level the ground, let a number of
men be collected, with fpades, more or fewer as the
nature of the ground requires, and then fet a plough
to draw a furrow direCtly acrofs the ridges of the whole
field intended to be levelled. Divide this line into as
many parts as you have labourers, allotting to each
one ridge or two, or more or lefs, according to their
number, height, and other circumftances. Let each
of the labourers have orders, as foon as the plough has
paffed that part affigned him, to begin to dig in the
bottom of the furrow that the plough has juft made, Preparation
about the middle of the fide of the old ridge, keeping ^ of Land,
his face towards the old furrow, working backwards ^
till he comes to the height of the ridge 5 and then turn
towards the other furrow, and repeat the fame on the
other fide of the ridge, always throwing the earth that
he digs up into the deep old furrow between the ridges,
that is direCUy before him ; taking care not to dig
deep where he firft begins, but to go deeper and deeper
as he advances to the height of the ridge, fo as to leave
the bottom of the trench he thus makes acrofs the
ridge entirely level, or as nearly fo as poffible. And
when he has finilhed that part of the furrow allotted to
him that the plough has made in going, let him then
go and finiffi in the fame manner his own portion of
the furrow that the plough makes in returning. In this
manner, each man performs his own talk through the
whole field, gradually railing the old furrows as the
old heights are depreffed. And, if an attentive over-
feer is at hand, to fee that the whole is equally well
done, and that each furrow is raifed to a greater height
than the middle of the old ridges, fo as to allow for the
fubfiding of that loofe earth, the operation will be en¬
tirely finilhed at once, and never again need to be re¬
peated.
“ In performing this operation, it will always be
proper to make the ridges, formed for the purpofe of
levelling, which go acrofs the old ridges, as broad as
poffible 5 becaufe the deep trench that is thus made in
each of the furrows is an impediment in the future
operations, as well as the height that is accumulated
in the middle of each of thefe ridges ; fo that the fewer
there are of thefe, the better it is. The farmer, there¬
fore, will do well to advert to this in time, and begin
by forming a ridge by always turning the plough to
the right hand, till it becomes of fuch a breadth as
makes it very inconvenient to turn longer in that man¬
ner $ and then, at the difiance of twice the breadth of
this new-formed ridge from the middle of it, mark off
a furrow for the middle of another ridge, turning
round it to the right hand, in the fame manner as was
done in the former, till it becomes of the fame breadth
with it \ and then, turning to the left hand, plough
out the interval that was left between the two new
formed ridges. By this mode of ploughing, each ridge
may be made of 40, 50, or 60 yards in breadth, with¬
out any great inconvenience ; for although fome time
will be loft in turning at the ends of thefe broad ridges,
yet as this operation is only to be once performed in
this manner, the advantage that is reaped by having
few open furrows, is more than fufficient to counter¬
balance it. And, in order to moderate the height
that would be formed in the middle of each of thefe
great ridges, it will always be proper to mark out the
ridges, and draw the furrow that is to be the middle of
each, fome days before you colled! your labourers to
level the field ; that you may, without any hurry or
lofs of labour, clear out a good trench through the
middle of each of the old ridges j as the plough, at this
time, going and returning nearly in the fame track, pre¬
vents the labourers from working properly without this
precaution.
“ If thefe rules are attended to, your field will be at
once reduced to a proper level, and the rich earth that
formed the furface of the old ridges be ftill kept upon
the
Part I.
Preparation
of Land.
206
Proper di¬
rection of
the ridges.
207
Narrow
ridges an
advantage.
the furface of your field ; fo that the only lofs that the
poffeffor of fuch ground can fuftain by this operation,
is merely the expence of performing it.”
He afterwards makes a calculation of the different
expences of levelling by the plough and by the fpade,
in which he finds the latter by far the cheapeft me¬
thod.
Let it be a rule to direct the ridges north and fouth,
if the ground will permit. In this diredtion, the eaft
and weft fides of the ridges, dividing the fun equally be¬
tween them, will ripen at the fame time.
It is a great advantage in agriculture, to form ridges
fo narrow, and fo low, as to admit the crowns and fur¬
rows to be changed alternately every crop. The foil
neareft the furface is the beft ; and by fuch ploughing,
it is always kept near the furface, and never buried.
In high ridges, the foil is accumulated at the crown,
and the furrows left bare. Such alteration of crown
and furrow is eafy where the ridges are no more but
feven or eight feet broad. This mode of ploughing
anfwers perfedtly well in fandy and gravelly foils, and
even in loam ; but it is not fafe in clay foil. In that
foil, the ridges ought to be 12 feet wide, and 20 inches
high •, to be preferved always in the fame form by call¬
ing, that is, by ploughing two ridges together, beginning
at the furrow that feparates them, and ploughing round
ancl round till the two ridges be finilhed. By this
method, the feparating furrow is raifed a little higher
than the furrows that bound the two ridges. But at
the next ploughing, that inequality is corrected by be¬
ginning at the bounding furrows, and going round and
round till the ploughing of the two ridges be completed
at the feparating furrow.
„ 6. Clearing Ground of Weeds.
208
Cleaning For this purpofe a new inftrument termed a cleaning
harrow. harrow has been introduced by Lord Kames, and is
ftrdngly recommended (e). It is one entire piece like
the firft of thofe mentioned above, confifting of feven
bulls, four feet long each, two and one-fourth inches
broad, two and three fourths deep. The bulls are uni¬
ted together by Iheths, fimilar to what are mentioned
above. The intervals between the bulls being three
and three-fourths inches, the breadth of the whole har¬
row is three feet five inches. In each bull are inferted
eight teeth, each nine inches free below the wood, and
diftant from each other fix inches. The weight of each
tooth is a pound, or near it. The whole is firmly
bound by an iron plate from corner to corner in the
line of the draught. The reft as in the harrows men¬
tioned above. The lize, however, is not invariable.
The cleaning harrow ought to be larger or lefs, accord¬
ing as the foil is ftiff or free.
To give this inftrument its full effect, ftones of fuch a
fize as not to pafs freely between the teeth ought to be
carried off, and clods of that fize ought to be broken.
The ground ought to be dry, which it commonly is in
the month of May.
In preparing for barley, turnip, or other fummer-
crop, begin with ploughing and crofs ploughing. If
the ground be not fufficiently pulverized, let the great
AGRICULT U RE. 381
brake be applied, to be followed fucceflively with the Preparation
Plate VIII,
fig. 6.
I ft and 2d harrows. In ftiff foil, rolling may be pro- , of Lmd
per, once or twice between the a6ts. Thefe operations pjate yju#
will loofen every root, and bring fome of them to the ftg, 3) 4.
furface. This is the time for the 3d harrow, conduced fig. 5.
by a boy mounted on one of the horfes, who trots
fmartly along the field, and brings all the roots to the
furface : there they are to lie for a day or two, till
perfedlly dry. If any ftones or clods remain, they
muft be carried off in a cart. And now fucceeds the
operation of the cleaning harrow. It is drawn by
fingle horfe, diredled by reins, which the man at the
oppofite corner puts over his head, in order to have
both hands free. In this corner is fixed a rope, with
which the man from time to time raifes the harrow
from the ground, to let the weeds drop. For the fake
of expedition, the weeds ought to be dropt in a ftraight
line crofs the field, whether the harrow be full or
not j and feldom is a field fo dirty, but that the har¬
row may go 30 yards before the teeth are filled. I he
weeds will be thus laid in parallel rows, like thofe of
hay raked together for drying. A harrow may be
drawn fwiftly along the rows, in order to (hake out
all the dull j and then the weeds may be carried clean
off the field in carts. But we are not yet done with
thefe weeds : inftead of burning, which is the ordinary
praflice, they may be converted into ufeful manure,
by laying them in a heap with a mixture of hot dung
to begin fermentation. At firft view, this way of
cleaning land will appear operofe j but, upon trial,
neither the labour nor expence will be found immode¬
rate. At any rate, the labour and expence ought
not to be grudged } for if a field be once thoroughly
cleaned, the feafons muft be very crofs, or the farmer
very indolent, to make it neceffary to renew the ope¬
ration in lefs than 20 years. In the worft feafons, a
few years pafture is always under command •, which
effe&ually deftroys triennial plants, fuch as thiftles and
couch grafs.
7. On the Nature of different Kinds of Soils, and the
Plants proper to each.
1. Clay, which is in general the ftiffeft of all foils, ciay leu],
and contains an undluous quality. But under the
term c/ai/s, earths of different forts and colours are in¬
cluded. One kind is fo obftinate, that fcarcely any
thing will fubdue it 5 another is fo hungry and poor,
that it abforbs whatever is applied, and turns it into
its own quality. Some clays are fatter than others,
and the fatteft are the beft j fome are more foft and
flippery. But all of them retain water poured on
their furface, where it ftagnates, and chills the plants
without finking into the foil. The clofenefs of clay
prevents the roots and fibres of plants from fpreading
in fearch of nouriftiment. The blue, the red, and the
white clay, if ftrong, are unfavourable to vegetation.
The ftony and loofer forts are lefs fo j but none of
them are worth any thing till their texture is fo loofen-
ed by a mixture of other fubftances, and opened, as to
admit the influence of the fun, the air, and frofts. A-
mong the manures recommended for clay, fand is of
all
(e) In his Gentleman Farmer ; to which performance the pra£lical part of this aticle is materially indebted.
3*2 A G R I C U
t'reparation all otliers to be preferred j and fea fand isthebeft of all
of Land, where it can be obtained : This moft effectually breaks
' '''T v the cohefion.
The reafon for preferring fea fand is, that it is not
formed wholly (as moft other fands are) of fmall ftones;
but contains a great deal of calcareous matter in it,
fuch as (hells grated and broken to pieces by the tide,
and alfo of falts. The fmaller the fand is, the more
eafily it penetrates the clay 5 but it abides lefs time in
it than the larger.
The next beft fand is that waftied down by rains on
gravelly foils. Thofe which are dry and light are the
worft. Small gritty gravel has alfo been recommend¬
ed by the beft writers on agriculture for thefe foils *,
and in many inftances we have found it to anfwer the
310
Chalky foil.
3X1
Light poor
foil.
purpofe.
Shell marl, allies, and all animal and vegetable fub-
ftances, are very good manures for clay ; but they have
been found moft beneficial when fand is mixed with
them. Lime has been often ufed *, but the writer of
this fe&ion would not recommend it, for he never
found any advantage from it fingly, when applied to
clays.
The crops moft fuitable for fuch lands are, wheat,
beans, cabbages, and rye-grafs. Clover feldom fuc-
ceeds, nor indeed any plants whofe roots require depth
and a wide fpread in the earth.
2. Chalk. Chalky foils are generally dry and warm,
and if there be a tolerable depth of mould, fruitful j
producing great crops of barley, rye, peafe,. vetches,
clover, trefoil, burnet, and particularly fainfoin. The
latter plant flourifties in a chalky foil better than any
other. But if the furface of mould be very thin, this
foil requires good manuring with clay, marl, loam, or
dung. As thefe lands are dry, they may be fown ear¬
lier than others.
When your barley is three inches high, throw in
lolb. of clover, or 151b. of trefoil, and roll it well.
The next fummer mow the crop for hay : feed off the
aftermath with (beep; and in winter give it a top-dref-
fing of dung. This will produce a crop the fecond
fpring, which (hould be cut for hay. As foon as this
crop is carried off, plough up the land, and in the be¬
ginning of September fow three bufhels of. rye per
acre, either to feed off with (beep in the fpring or to
ftand for harveft. If you feed it off, fow winter vetches
in Auguft or September, and make them into hay the
following fummer. Then get the land into as fine tilth
as poflible, and fow it with fainfoin, which, with a little
manure once in two or three years, will remain and pro¬
duce good crops for 20 years together.
3. Light poor land, which feldom produces good
crops of any thing till well manured. After it is well
ploughed, fow three buftiels of buck-wheat per acre,
in April or May: When in bloom, let your cattle in
a few days to eat off the beft, and tread the other
down ; thisj done, plough in what remains immediate¬
ly. This will foon ferment and rot in the ground 5
then lay it fine, and fow three Bufhels of rye per acre.
If this can be got off early enough, fow turnips ; if
not, winter vetches to cut for hay. Then get it into
good tilth, and fow turnip-rooted cabbages, in rows
three feet apart. This plant feldom fails, if it has
fufficient room, and the intervals be well horfe-hoed $
L T U R E. Practice.
and you will find it the beft fpring feed for fticep when Preparation
• „ of Land,
turnips are over. .
The horfe-hoeing will clean and prepare the land
for fainfoin ; for the fowing of which April is
reckoned the beft feafon. The ufual way is to fow
it broad-caft, four bufhels to an acre 5 but the writer
prefers fowing it in drills two feet afunder ; for then
it may be horfe-hoed, and half the feed will be fuffi-
cient.
The horfe-hoeing will not only clean the crop, but
earth up the plants, and render them more luxuriant
and lafting.
If you fow it broad-caft give it a top-drefling in
December or January, of rotten dung or afhes, or,
which is ft ill better, of both mixed up in compoft.
From various trials, it is found that taking only
one crop in a year, and feeding the after-growth, is
better than to mow it twice. Cut it as foon as it is in
full bloom, if the weather will permit. The hay will
be the fweeter, and the ftrength of the plants lefs im¬
paired, then if it ftand till the feed is formed. . 21e
4. Light rich land, being the moft eafy to cultivate Light rich
to advantage, and capable of bearing moft kinds ofland.
grain, pulfe, and herbage, little need be faid upon it.
One thing however is very proper to be obferved, that
fuch lands are beft adapted to the drill hufbandry,
efpecially where machines are ufed, which require (hal¬
low furrows to be made for the reception of the feed.
This, if not prone to couch grafs, is the beft of all foils
for lucerne; which, if fown in two feet drills, and kept
clean, will yield an aftonifhing quantity of the moft ex¬
cellent herbage. But lucerne will never be cultivated
to advantage where couch grafs and weeds are very
plentiful; nor in the broad-caft method, even where
they are not fo ; becaufe horfe-hoeing is effential to the
vigorous growth of this plant. .
5. Coarfe rough land. Plough deep in autumn ; c0arfe
when it has lain two weeks, crofs-plough it, and. let it rough lani
lie rough through the winter. In March give it ano¬
ther good ploughing ; drag, rake, and harrow it well,
to get out the rubbilh, and fow four buftiels of. black
oats per acre if the foil be wet, and white oats if dry.
When about four inches high, roll them well after a
(bower : This will break the clods ; and the fine mould
falling among the roots of the plants will promote their
growth greatly.
Some fow clover and rye-grafs among the oats, but
this appears to be bad hulbandry. If you defign it
for clover, fow it Angle, and let a coat of dung be laid
on in December. The fnow and rain will then dilute
its falts and oil, and carry them down among the roots
of the plants. This is far better than mixing the
crops on fuch land, for the oats will exhauft the foil
fo much that the clover will be impoverifhed. The fol¬
lowing fummer you will have a good crop of clover ;
which cut once, and feed the after-growth. In the ^
winter plough it in, and let it lie till February : Then
plough and harrow it well ; and in March, if the foil
be moift, plant beans in drills of three feet, to admit
the horfe-hoe freely. When you horfe-hoe them a fe¬
cond time, fow a row of turnips in each interval, and
they will fucceed very well. But if the land be ftrong
enough for fowing wheat as foon as the beans are off,
the turnips may be omitted.
1 Sect. Ill,
Part I.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
314
Culmife-
rous plants
215
Legumi
A G R I C U
Sect. III. Culture of particular Plants,
The articles hitherto infilled on, are all of them
preparatory to the capital objeft of a farm, that of raif-
ing plants for the nourifhment of man and of other a-
nimals. Thefe are of two kinds j culmiferous and le¬
guminous j differing widely from each other. Wheat,
rye, barley, oats, rye-grafs, are of the firft kind : of the
other kind are peafe, beans, clover, cabbage, and many
others.
Culmiferous plants, fays Bonnet, have three fets of
roots. The firft iffue from the feed, and pufh to the
furface an upright ftem ; another fet iffue from a knot
in that ftem j and a third from another knot, nearer
the furface. Hence the advantage of laying feed fo
deep in the ground as to afford fpace for all the fets.
  Leguminous plants form their roots differently.
nous plants. Peafe, beans, cabbage, have ftore of fmall roots, all
iffuing from the feed, like the undermoft fet of culmi¬
ferous roots *, and they have no other roots A potato
and a turnip have bulbous roots. Red clover has a
ilrong tap root. The difference between culmiferous
and leguminous plants with refpeft to the effe£ts they
produce in the foil, will be infifted on afterward, in
the fe£lion concerning rotation of crops. As the pre-
fent feflion is confined to the propagation of plants, it
falls naturally to be divided into three articles : firft,
Plants cultivated for fruit j fecond, Plants cultivated
for roots ; third, Plants cultivated for leaves.
I. Plants cultivated for Fruit.
1. Wheat and Rye.
Fallowing Any time from the middle of April to the middle of
for wheat. May, the fallowing for wheat may commence. The
moment (hould be chofen, when the ground, beginning
to dry, has yet fome remaining foftnefs: in that con¬
dition, the foil divides eafily by the plough, and falls
into fmall parts. This is an effential article, deferving
the ftri&eft attention of the farmer. Ground ploughed
too wet, rifes, as we fay, whole-fur, as when pafture
ground is ploughed : when ploughed too dry, it rifes
in great lumps, which are not reduced by fubfequent
ploughingsj not to mention, that it requires double
force to plough ground too dry, and that the plough is
often broken to pieces. When the ground is in proper
order, the farmer can have no excufe for delaying a
fingle minute. This firft courfe of fallow muft, it is
true, yield to the barley feed} but, as the barley feed
is commonly over the firft week of May, or fooner, the
feafon muft be unfavourable if the fallow cannot be
reached by the middle of May.
As clay foil requires high ridges, thefe ought to be
cleaved at the firft ploughing, beginning at the furrow,
and ending at the crown. This ploughing ought to
be as deep as the foil will admit: and water-furrowing
ought inftantly to follow j for if rain happen before
•water-furrowing, it ftagnates in the furrow, neceffarily
delays the fecond ploughing till that part ot the ridge
be dry, and prevents the furrow from being mellowed
and roafted by the fun. if this firft ploughing be well
executed, annual weeds will rife in plenty.
About the firft week of June, the great brake will
loofen and reduce the foil, encourage a fecond crop of
L T U R E.
annuals, and raife to
383
Culture of
particular
Plants.
217
the furface the roots of weeds
moved by the plough. Give the weeds time tofpring,
which may be in two or three weeks. Then proceed
to the fecond ploughing about the beginning of July $
which muft be crofs the ridges, in order to reach all
the flips of the former ploughing. By crofs-ploughing
the furrows will be filled up, and water-furrowing be
ftill more neceffary than before. Employ the brake
again about the 10th of Auguft, to deftroy the annuals
that have fprung fince the laft ftirring. The deftruc-
tion of w’eeds is a capital article in fallowing : yet fo
blind are people to their intereft, that nothing is more
common than a fallow field covered with charlock and
wild muftard, all in flower, and 10 or 12 inches high.
The field having now received two harrowings and
two breakings is prepared for manure, whether lime
or dung, which without delay ought to be incorporat¬
ed with the foil by a repeated harrowing and a gather¬
ing furrow. This ought to be about the beginning of
September, and as foon after as you pleafe the feed may
be fown. ^
As in ploughing a clay foil it is of importance to Drefling
prevent poaching, the hinting furrows ought to be done loam for
with two horfes in a line. If four ploughs be employ- wheat,
ed in the fame field, to one of them may be allotted
the care of finiftiing the hinting furrows.
Loam, being a medium between fand and clay, is
of all foils the fitteft for culture, and the leaft fubjeft to
chances. It does not hold water like clay $ and when
wet, it dries fooner. At the fame time, it is more re¬
tentive than fand of that degree of moifture which pro¬
motes vegetation. On the other hand, it is more fub-
je£l to couch grafs than clay, and to other weeds 5 to
deftroy which, fallowing is ftill more neceffary than in
clay.
Beginning the fallow about the firft of May, or as
foon as barley feed is over, take as deep a furrow as
the foil will admit. Where the ridges are fo low and
narrow as that the crown and furrow can be changed
alternately, there is little or no occafion for water fur¬
rowing. Where the ridges are fo high as to make it
proper to cleave them, water-furrowing is proper.
The fecond ploughing may be at the diftance of five
weeks. Two crops of annuals may be got in the in¬
terim, the firft by the brake and the next by the har¬
row ; and by the fame means eight crops may be got
in the feafon. The ground muft be cleared of couch-
grafs and knot-grafs roots, by. the cleaning harrow de-
fcribed above. The time for this operation is imme¬
diately before the manure is laid on. The ground at
that time being in its loofeft Hate, parts with its grafs
roots more freely than at any other time. After the
manure is fpread, and incorporated with the foil by
braking or harrowing, the feed may be fown under
furrow, if the ground hang fo as eafily to carry off
the moifture. To leave it rough without harrowing
has two advantages : it is not apt to cake with moifture,
and the inequalities make a fort of ftielter to the young
plants againft froft. But if it lie flat, it ought to be
fmoothed with a flight harrow after the feed is fown,
which will facilitate the courfe of the rain from the
crown to the furrow. 2Is
A fandy foil is too loofe for wheat. The only chance Drefling a
for a crop is after red clover, the roots of which bind fandy foil,
the foil} and the inftru&ions above given for loam are
applicable
384
Culture of
particular
Plants.
219
Time for
fowing.
220
Setting of
wheat,
AGRICULTURE.
221
a capital im
provement
in agricul¬
ture.
222
Method.
applicable here. Rye is a crop much fitter for fandy
foil than wheat; and like wheat, it is generally fown
after a fummer fallow.
Laftly, Sow wheat as foon in the month of October
as the ground is ready. When fown a month more
early, it is too forward in the fpring, and apt to be
hurt by froft j when fown a month later, it has not
time to root before froft comes on j and froft fpews it
out of the ground.
Setting of wheat, a method which by fome is reckon¬
ed one of the greateft improvements in hufbandry that
has taken place this century. It feems to have been
firft fuggefted by planting grains in a garden from mere
curiofity, by perfons who had no thought or opportunity
of extending it to a lucrative purpofe. Nor was it
attempted on a larger fcale, till a little farmer near
Norwich began it, about 25 years fince, upon lefs than
an acre of land. For two or three years only a few
followed his example 5 and thefe were generally the
butt of their neighbours merriment for adopting fo
fingular a praftice. They had, however, confiderably
better corn and larger crops than their neighbours :
this, together with the faving in feed, engaged more
to follow them : while fome ingenious perfons, ob-
ferving its great advantage, recommended and pub-
liftied its utility in the Norwich papers. Thefe re¬
commendations had their effeft. Fhe curiofity and
inquiry of the Norfolk farmers, particularly round
Norwich, were excited, and they found fufficient rea-
fon to make general experiments. Among the reft was
one of the largeft occupiers of lands in that country,
whe fet 57 acres in one year. His fuccefs, from the
vifible fuperiority of his crop, both in quantity and
quality, was fo great, that the following autumn he
fet 300 acres, and has continued the practice ever
fince. This noble experiment eftabliftied the pra&ice,
and was the means of introducing it generally among
the intelligent farmers in a very large diftrift of land j
there being few who now fow any wheat, if they can
procure hands to fet it. It has been generally obfer-
ved, that although the fet crops appear very thin during
the autumn and winter, the plants fide-ftroot and fpread
prodigioufiy in the fpring. The ears are indifputably
larger, without any dwarfilh or fmall corn j the grain is
of a larger bulk, and fpecifically heavier per buftiel
than when fown.
The lands on which this method is particularly pro-
fperous, are either after a clover ftubble, or on which
trefoil and grafs feed were fown the fpring before the
laft. Thefe grounds, after the ufual manuring, are
once turned over by the plough in an extended flag or
turf, at ten inches wide •, along which a man, who. is
called a dibbler, with two fetting irons, fomewhat big¬
ger than ramrods, but confiderably bigger at the lower
end, and pointed at the extremity, fteps backwards
along the turf, and makes the holes about four inches
afunder every way, and an inch deep. Into thefe holes
the droppers (women, boys, and girls) drop two grains,
, which is quite fufficient. After this, a gate bulbed
with thorns is drawn by one horfe over the land, and
clofes up the holes. By this mode, three pecks of
grain is fufficient for an acre j and being immediately
buried, it is equally removed from vermin or the power
of froft. The regularity of its rifing gives the beft
Fra&ice.
opportunity of keeping it clear from weeds, by weed- Culture of
ing or hand-hoeing. ^Plants1”
Wheat-fetting is a method peculiarly beneficial when 1 “ s‘ J
corn is dear ; and, if the feafon be favourable, may be 225
praftifed with great benefit to the farmer. Sir Tho-Peculiar
mas Beevor of Hethel-Hall, in Norfolk, found the a£lvautages.
produce to be two bulhels per acre more than from the
wheat which is fown j but having much lefs fmall corn
intermixed with it, the fample is better, and always
fetches a higher price, to the amount generally of two
(hillings per quarter.
This method, too, faves to the farmer and to the
public fix pecks of feed wheat in every acre ; which, if
nationally adopted, would of itfelf afford bread for
more than half a million of people.
Add to thefe confiderations, the great fupport given
to the poor by this fecond harveft, as it may be called,
which enables them to difcharge their rents, and main¬
tain their families without having recourfe to the pa-
rilh.—The expence of fetting by hand is now reduced
to about fix (hillings per acre •, which, in good wea¬
ther may be done by one dibbler, attended by three
droppers, in two days. This is fix (hillings per day ;
of which if the dibbler gives to the children fixpence
each, he will have himfelf three (hillings and fixpence
for his day’s work, which is much more than he can
poffibly earn by any other labour fo eafy to himfelf.
But put the cafe that the man has a wife who dibbles
with him, and two or three of his own children to drop
to him, you fee his gains will then be prodigious, and
enough to enfure a plenty of candidates for that work,
even in the lead populous parts of the country.
It is, however, to be obferved with regard to this
method, that in feafons when feed-corn is very cheap,
or the autumn particularly unfavourable to the pra&ice,
it muft certainly be leffened. In light lands, for in-
ftance, a very dry time prevents dibbling j as the holes
made with the inftrument will be filled up again by
the mould as faft as the inftrument is withdrawn. So,
again, in a very wet feafon, on ftrong and ftiff clays, the
feeds in the holes cannot be well and properly covered
by the buffies drawn over them. But thefe extremes of
dry and wet do not often happen, nor do they affeft
lands of a moderately confiftent texture, or both light
and heavy foils at the fame time j fo that the general
praftice is in faft never greatly impeded by them. .
Propagating of wheat by dividing and tranfplanting Propagat-
its roots. In the Philofophical Tranfaftions for 1768, ing ofwheat
we meet with a very important experiment, of which
the following is an abftraft. On the 2d of June
1766, Mr C. Miller fowed fome grains of the common
red wheat j and on the 8th of Auguft a fingle plant
was taken up and feparated into 18 parts, and each
part planted feparately. Thefe plants having puffied
out feveral fide-(hoots, by about the middle of Sep¬
tember j fome of them w'ere then taken up and divided,
and the reft of them between that time and the middle
of Oftober. This fecond divifion produced 67 plants.
Thefe plants remained through the winter, and another
divifion of them, made betw'een the middle of March
and the 12th of April, produced 500 plants. They
were then divided no further, but permitted to remain.
The plants were in general ftronger than any of the
wheat in the fields. Some of them produced upwards
Pait I.
Culture of 0f iqo ears from a fingle root. Many of the ears mea-
particular fure(j feVfcn inches in length, and contained between 60
■ and 70 grains.
The whole number of ears which, by the procefs
above mentioned, were produced from one grain of
wheat, was 21,109, which yielded three pecks and
three quarters of clean corn, the weight of which was
471b. 7 ounces ; and from a calculation made by count¬
ing the number of grains in an ounce, the whole num¬
ber of grains w'as about 386,840.
By this account we find, that there was only one
general divifion of the plants made in the fpring. Had
a fecond been made, Mr Miller thinks the number of
plants would have amounted to 2000 inftead of 500,
and the produce thereby been much enlarged.
The ground was a light blackilh foil, upon a gra¬
velly bottom ; and, confequently, a bad foil for W'heat.
One half of the ground was well dunged, the other
half had no manure. There was, however, not any
difference difcoverable in the vigour, or growth, or pro¬
duce, of the plants.
It muft be evident, that the expence and labour of
fetting in the above manner by the hand, will render it
fcarcely prafticable upon a large fcale fo as to be pro-
duftive of any utility. A correfpondent of the Bath
Society, therefore, (Robert Bogle, Efq. of Daldowin,
near Glafgow), with a view to extend the pradlice, has
225 propofed the ufe of the harrow and roller until feme
Method better implements be invented. This method occurred
to him from attending to the pradlice ufual with far-
! * r 0gie* njej-s on certain occafions, of harrowing their fields af¬
ter the grain is fprung up. Upon invefligating the
principles upon which thefe pradlices are founded, he
found them confined merely to that of pulverizing the
earth, without any attention to Mr Miller’s dodfrine.
They faid, “ that after very heavy rains, and then ex-
ceffive dry weather, the furface of their lands was apt
to be caked, the tender fibres of the young roots were
thereby prevented from pufhing, and of courfe the
vegetation was greatly obftru&ed j in fuch inflances,
they found very great benefit from harrowing and roll-
ing.”
1 hefe principles he acknowledges to be well found¬
ed, fo far as relates to pulverizing ; but contends, that
the benefit arifing from harrowing and rolling is not
derived from pulverizing entirely, but alfo from fub-
dividing and enabling the plants to tiller (as it is term¬
ed). “ The harrow (he obferves) certainly breaks the
incruflation on the furface, and the roller crumbles the
clods 5 but it is alfo obvious, that the harrow removes
a great many of the plants from their original Rations ;
and that if the corn has begun to tiller at the time it is
ufed, the roots will be, in many inftances, fubdivided,
and then the application of my fyltem of divifibility
comes into play. The roller then ferves to plant the
226 roots which have been torn up by the harrow.”
Obje&ions. But on this the Society obferve, that the teeth of a
harrow are too large to divide roots fo fmall and tena¬
cious as are thofe of grain ; and whenever fuch roots
(however tillered) Hand in the line any tooth makes,
they will, if fmall, be only turned on one fide by the
earth yielding to their lateral preffure, or, if large, the
w’hole root will probably be drawn out of the ground.
I he principal ufes, therefore, derived from harrowing
and rolling thefe crops are, opening the foil between
l Vol. I. Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
3§5
the plants, earthing them up, breaking the clods, and Culture ot
clofing the earth about their roots.
In a fubfequent letter, Mr Bogle, without conteft- . ‘ .
ing thefe points, further urges the fcheme of propaga¬
ting wheat by dividing and tranfplanting its roots. “ I
have converfed (fays he) much with many pradlical
farmers, who all admit that my plan has the appearance
not only of being praflical, but advantageous. I have
alfo feen, in the ninth number of Mr Young’s Annals
of Agriculture, the account of an experiment which
flrongly corroborates my theory. It was made by the
Rev. Mr Pike of Edmonton. From this and, other
experiments which have been made under my own eye,
I forefee clearly, that the fyllem is practicable, and
will certainly be productive of great benefit, fhould it
become general. Befides the faving of nine-tenths of Pradicabi-
feed in the land fown broad-call, other very important hty of the
advantages will attend the fetting out of wheat from a a^*
feed-bed : fuch as an early crop j the certainty of good
crops j rendering a fummer-fallow unneceflary ; faving
dung ; and having your wheat perfectly free from weeds
without either hand or horfe-hoeing. Five hundred
plants in April produced almoft a bulhel of grain. My
gardener fays, he can fet one thoufand plants in a day,
which is confirmed by the opinion of two other gar¬
deners. Mr Miller found no difference in the produce
of what was planted on lands that had dung, and on
what had none, except where the land was improper
for wheat at all.” „
2 2 •
On this letter we have the following note by the fo-Bath Socie-
ciety : “ Mr Bogle will fee, by the fociety’s premium ty’s obfer-
book this year, that by having offered feveral premiums vat‘ons-
for experiments of the kind he fo earneflly recom¬
mends, we wiflr to have his theory brought to the tell
of practice. Our reafon for this, as well as for print¬
ing Mr B’s letter, was rather to excite decifive trials
by ingenious perfons, than from any expectation of the
practice ever becoming a general one. General, in¬
deed, it never can be. A fulficient number of hands
could not be found to do it. Unkindly feafons at the
time of tranfplanting and dividing the roots would fre¬
quently endanger and injure, if not deRroy, the crops.
But admitting the mode generally practicable, we very>
much doubt whether all the advantages he has enume¬
rated would be derived from this mode of culture'.
Why Ihould dividing and tranfplanting the roots of
wheat caufe the crop to be early, or afford a certainty
of its being a good one ? We cannot think that lefs
manure is neceflary in this method than either in dril¬
ling or broad-cafl ; nor can we by any means admit,
fuch crops would ‘ be perfectly free from weeds with¬
out either hand or horfe-hoeing.’ We readily agree
with Mr Bogle, that by this mode of culture on a ge¬
neral fcale, an immenfe quantity of feed-corn would be
annually faved to the nation j and in this, wre believe,
the advantage, w'ere it practicable, would principally
confifl.” '
2 2 0
Upon the fame fubjeft, and that of harrowing all Further ob-
kinds of corn, we are informed, Mr Bogle afterwards Nervations
communicated to the Society his thoughts more at°^Mr
large, together with authentic accounts which were^0^'e*
made at his inRance, and which were attended with
very great fuccefs. Thefe muR undoubtedly be re¬
garded as of very great importance, and accordingly
the fociety, conceiving his fyflem may be attended
3 C with
4
CO '
86 AGRICULTURE.
culture of with confiderable advantages if brought into general
particular pra£Hce, have given, at the end of their third volume
Hants- a few of his leading principles. Mr Bogle ftates, I.
'rhat he has known many inltances of very great crops
having been obtained by harrowing fields of corn after
they were fprouted ; and therefore recommends the
pra&ice very warmly. , t f
2. That he alfo received an authentic account ot
one inftance where the fame good effe6ls were produced
by ploughing the field. ,
2. On the fyftem of tranfplanting, he ftates, that a
very great proportion of the feed will be faved, as a
farmer may have a nurfery, or fmall patch of plants,
from which his fields may be fupplied ; he calculates
that one acre will yield plants fufficient for too acres'.
4. That a very great increafe of crops may be ob¬
tained by this method, probably a double crop, nay
perhaps a triple quantity of what is reaped either by
drilling or by the broad-caft hufbandry.
c. That a great part of the labour may be perform¬
ed by infirm men and women, and alfo by children,
who are at prefent fupported by the parifti chanty •,
and that of courfe the poor’s rates may be confiderably
reduced. r
6 That the expence will not exceed from 2cs. to
2os. per acre, if the work be performed by able-bodied
men and women 5 but that it will be much lower it
that proportion of the work which may be done by
employing young boys and girls fhould be allotted to
That in general he has found the diftance of nine
. ... Alfl fill f rr 01 it
■7. A imt. Hi »**-   ^ #
inches every way a very proper diftance for felting out
the plants at •, "but recommends them to be tried at
other fpaces, fuch as 6, 8, or even x 2 inches.
8. That he conceives an earlier crop may be obtain¬
ed in this manner that can be obtained by any other
mode of cultivation.
o. That a clean crop may alfo be procured in tins
way, becaufe if the land be ploughed immediately be¬
fore the plants are fet out, the corn will fpring much
quicker from the plants than the weeds will do from
their feeds; and the corn wiU thereby bear down the
growth of the weeds.
10. That fuch lands as are overflowed in the winter
and fpring, and are of courfe unfit for fowing with
wheat in the autumn, may be rendered fit for crops of
wheat by planting them in the fpring, or even in the
^U1^I That he has known inftances of wheat being
tranfplanted in September, Oaober, November, Febru¬
ary, March, April, and even as late as the middle ot
May, which have all anfwered very well.
12. That he has known an early kind of wheat fown
as late ?s the middle of May, which has ripened in very
good time •, and from that circumftance he conceives,
if the plants ftiould be taken from that early kind, the
feafon of tranfplanting might be prolonged at leaft till
the ift of July, perhaps even later.
12. That he has reafon to think wheat, oats, and
barley, are not annuals, but are perennials, provided
they are eaten down by cattle and fheep, or are kept
low by the fey the or fickle 5 and are prevented from
fpindling or coming to the ear. _ .
14 That one very prevalent motive with him in
profecuting this plan, is, that he is of opinion it may
Practice.
enable government to devife means of fupporting the (
vagrant poor, both old and young, who are now to be ^ plants/
met with everywhere, both in towns and in the country,
and who are at prefent a burden on the ‘community :
but if fuch employment could be (truck out for them, a
comfortable fubfiftence might be provided for them, by
means of their own labour and induftry •, and not only
fave the public and private charitable contributions, but
may alfo render that clafs of people ufeful and profit¬
able fubjeds •, inftead of their remaining in a ulelels,
wretched, and perhaps a profligate and vicious courte
°f Laftly, Mr Bogle has hinted at a fecondary objeft
which he has in view, from this mode of cultivation,
which he apprehends may in time, with a fmall degree
of attention, prove extremely advantageous to agricul¬
ture. It is, that, in the firft place, the real and intrin-
fic value of different kinds of grain may be more ac¬
curately afeertained, by making a comparifon of it with
a few plants of each kind fet out at the fame time,
than can be done when fown in drills or broad-catt ;
and when the moft valuable kinds of wheat, oats, or
barley, are difeovered, he ftates, that in a v^ry “*ort
time (not exceeding four or five years) a fufficient
quantity of that valuable kind may be procured to iup-
ply the kingdom with feed from a fingle grain of each
kind; for he calculates, that 47,000 grains of wheat
may be produced by divifibility in two years and three
months. . , » .. rp, . ,a3°
Upon thefe propofitions the Society obferves, ‘. 1 hat obfem-
although Mr Bogle appears to be too fangu.ne m bK»n«ftte
expectations of feeing his plan reallied in genera/prac- “
ties it certainly merits the attention of gentlemen far¬
mers. We wiffi them to make fair experiments, and re¬
port their fuccefs. Every grand improvement has been,
and ever will be, progreflive. They muft rieceffanly
originate with gentlemen \ and thence the circle is ex¬
tended by almoft imperceptible degrees over provinces
and countries. At all events, Mr Bogle is juftly en*
titled to the thanks of the Society, and of the public
for the great attention he has paid to the fubjeef. 23I
There is perhaps no part of Great Britain where this Cu]ture 0f
fpecies of grain is cultivated to more perfeftion than wheat in
in Norfolk? Mr Marffiall informs us, that the fpecies Norfolk,
raifed in that county is called the Norfolk red, and
weighs heavier than any other which has yet been in¬
troduced, though be owns that its appearance is much
againft the affertion, it being a long thin gram, re-
fembling rye more than well-bodied wheat. About 15
or 20 years ago a new fpecies was introduced, named
the Kentijh cojh; againft which the millers were at brft
very much prejudiced, though this prejudice is now got
over. A remarkable circumftance reffe&ing this gram
is that though upon its introduftion into the county
the coft) or hufk be perfectly white, yet fuch is the
power either of the foil or of the mode of cultivation
to produce what the botanifts call varieties, that the
grain in queftion is faid to lofe every year fomewhat of
the whitenefs of its hufks, until they become at laif
equally red with thofe of the former kind. the
fouthern and fouth-eaftern parts of the county generally
enjoy a ftronger and richer foil than the more north¬
erly, and therefore are mere proper for the cultivation
of "that fpecies of grain. In the northern parts are
fome farms of very light foil, where the farmers low
Part I.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
232
Succeffion
of crops,
&c.
233
Rise-balk¬
ing, a parti¬
cular mode
of culture,
eiplaiued.
A G R I C U
only a fmall quantity of wheat j and thefe light lands
are called barley farms.
The greateft part of the wheat in Norfolk is fown
upon a fecand year’s ley •, fometimes it is fown upon a
firft year’s ley j fometimes on a fummer fallow j after
peafe, turnips, or buck harvefted or ploughed under.
The pra&ice adopted by thofe who are looked upon as
fu peri or hufbandmen in the county of Norfolk is as fol¬
lows : The lecond year’s leys having finilhed the bul¬
locks, and brought the flock cattle and horfes through
the fore part of 1'ummer, and the firft year’s leys having
been ready to receive his flock, the farmer begins to
break up his old land or ley ground by a peculiar mode
of cultivation named rice-balkingy in which the furrow
■is always turned toward the unploughed ground, the
edge of the coulter palling always clofe by the edge of
the flag laft turned. This is done at firft with an even
regular furrow ; opportunity being taken for perform¬
ing the operation after the furface has been moiftened
by a fummer Ihower. In this ftate his fummer leys re¬
main until towards the end of harveft, when he har¬
rows and afterwards ploughs them acrofs the balks of
the former ploughing, bringing them now up to the
full depth of the foil. On this ploughing he immedi¬
ately harrows the manure, and ploughs it in with a
ftiallow furrow. The effeas of this third ploughing
are to mix and effeaually pulverize the foil and ma¬
nure •, to cut off and pulverize the upper furfaces of the
furrows of the fecond ploughing ^ and thus, in the moft
effeeffual manner, to eradicate or Another^ the weeds
which had efcaped the two former ones. Thus it lies
until the feed time, when it is harrowed, rolled, fown,
and gathered up into ridges of fuch width as the farmer
thinks moft proper. Thofe of fix furrows are moft com¬
mon, though fome very good farmers lay their wheat
land into four-furrow and others into ten-furrow ridges;
“ which laft (fays our author) they execute in a ftyle
much fuperior to what might be expelled from wheel
ploughs.” They excel, however, in the fix-furrow
ploughing ; of which Mr Marlhall gives a particular
account. When ploughing in this manner, they carry
very narrow furrows; fo that a fix-furrow ridge, fet
out by letting the off-horfe return in the firft-made fur¬
rows, does not meafure more than three feet eight or
nine inches.
When wheat is cultivated after the firft year’s ley,
the feed is generally fown upon the flag or furrow
turned over. After peafe, one or two ploughings are
given ; the other parts of the management being the
fame with that after the fecond year’s ley already men¬
tioned. After buck harvefted he feldom gives more
than two, and fometimes but one, ploughing. In the
former cafe he fpreads his manure on the ftubble, and
ploughs it in with a (hallow furrow ; harrows, rolls,
fows, and gathers up the foil into narrow work. The
manure is in like manner fpread on the ftubble alter
once ploughing ; and the feed is then fown among the
manure, the whole ploughed in together, and the foil
gathered up into narrow ridges, as if it had undergone
the operations of a fallow. An inconvenience attend¬
ing this praftice is, that the buck which is neceffarily
Ihed in harvefting fprings up among the wheat, and
becomes a weed to it, at the fame time that the rooks,
if numerous, pull up both buck and wheat, leaving fe-
veral patches quite bare. This is obviated in a great
L T U It E. 387
roeafure by firft ploughing in the manure and fe|f-fov*n
buck with a (hallow furrow; in confequence ol which pP|ams
the buck vegetates before the wheat. u—y——J
It is like wife a favourite pradtice with the Norfolk
farmers to raife wheat after buck ploughed under. 1 hey
plough under the buck by means of a broom made of
rough bullies fixed to the fore tackle of the plough be¬
tween the wheels, which bears down the plant with¬
out lifting the wheels from the ground. Sometimes,
when the buck is ftrong, they firft break it down with
a roller going the fame way that the plough is intend¬
ed to go ; afterwards a good ploughman will cover it
fo effe&ually that fcarce a (talk can be feen. Some¬
times the furface of the ground is left rough, but it is
more eligible to harrow and roll it. The pra&ice of
fummer fallowing leldom occurs in Norfolk ; though
fometiraes, when the foil has been much worn down by
cropping, and overrun by weeds, it is efteemed a ju¬
dicious pradlice by many excellent hulbandmen, and
the pra&ice feems to be daily gaining ground. After
turnips the foil is ploughed to a moderate depth, and
the feed fown over the firft ploughing : but if the tur¬
nips be got in early, the weeds are fometimes firft
ploughed in with a (hallow furrow, and the feed plough¬
ed under with a fecond ploughing, gathering the foil
into narrow ridges. 234
With regard to the manuring of the ground for Manuring
wheat in Norfolk, that which has been recently clayed theSro^
or marled is fuppofed to need no other preparation
any more than that which has received 15 or 20 loads
of dung and mould for turnips ; the firft year’s ley
having been teathed in autumn, and the fecond fed
off. Where the foil is good, and the wheat apt to
run too much to draw, it is the praflice of fome judi¬
cious farmers to fet their manure upon the young clo¬
ver, thereby depriving the wheat in fome degree of its
ranknefs ; but it is moft common to fpread it upon
the broken ground ; or if the feed be (own upon the
turned furrow, to fpread it on the turf and plough it
under ; or to fpread it on the ploughed furface, and
harrow it in with the feed as a top-drefling. A fmall-
er quantity of manure is generally made ufe of for
wheat than for turnips. From eight to ten cart loads
(as much as three horfes can conveniently draw) are
reckoned fufficient for an acre ; three or four chaldrons
of lime to one acre, or 40 buftiels of foot to the fame
quantity of ground; or about a ton of rape-cake to
three acres. . 235
In this county they never begin to fow wheat till jpme ot
after the 17th of Oftober, and continue till the be- wing*
ginning of December, fometimes even till Chriftmas.
They give as a reafon for this late fowing, that the
wheat treated in this manner is lefs apt to run to draw
than when fown earlier. The feed is generally pre¬
pared with brine, and candied in theufual manner with
lime. The following method of preparing it is faid 23(5
to be effectual in preventing the fmut. “ The fait isofprepa-
diffolved in a very fmall quantity of water, barely fuf-ring the
ficient for the purpofe. The lime is flaked with thisfeed*
folution, and the wheat candied with it in its hotteft
ftate, having been previoufly moiftened with pure wa¬
ter.” According to our author’s obfervation, the
crops of thofe farmers who ufe this preparation are in
general more free from fmut than thofe who make ufe
of any other.
J 3 C 2 Tb«
388
A G R I C U
Culture of The pra&lce of dibbling or fetting of wheat has not
particular as vet become general throughout Norfolk, the common
, pla»ts- .broad-call: method being ufually followed, except on
7^ the Suffolk fide of the county. Some few make ufe of
Method of dibbling and fluting rollers j but drilling is almoft en-
fowing.
238
Ploughing
the feed
under fur¬
row de-
fcribed.
tirely unknown, notwithftanding the great aptitude of
foil for the pra&ice. Ploughing in the feed under fur¬
row is the favourite mode of the Norfolk farmers, and
is performed in the following manner : “ The land ha¬
ving been harrowed down level, and the furface ren¬
dered fmooth by the roller, the head ploughman (if at
leifure) marks out the whole piece in narrow flips of
about a ftatute rood in width. This he does by hang¬
ing up the plough in fuch a manner, that no part of it
except the heel touches the ground 1 and this makes a
fure mark for the feedfman, which he cannot by any
means miftake. In cafe the ploughs are all employed,
the feedfman himfelf marks the ground, by drawing a
piece of wood or other heavy body behind him.” Mr
Marfhall prefers this to the Kentiib method of fetting
up flicks in the form of a lane, as being lefs liable to
produce miftakes,
Inftruments In thofe places where wheat is dibbled, they make
for dibblingufe of iron inftruments for the purpofe. 1 he acfting
wheat de- t js an egg-fhapped knob, fomewhat larger than a
icnbed. pjgeoni3 egg. the fmaller end is _ the point of the
dibble, the larger having a rod of iron rifing from it
about half an inch fquare, and two feet and a half
long •, the head being received into a crofs piece, of
wood refembling the crutch of a fpade or ftiovel, which
forms the handle. The dibbler ufes two of thefe in¬
ftruments, one in each hand ; and, bending over them,
walks backward upon the turned furrows, making two
rows of holes in each of them. Thofe rows are ufually
made at the diftance of four inches from each other :
the holes being two and a half or three inches diftant,
viz. four in each length of the foot of the dibbler. Ihe
great art in making thefe lies in leaving them firm and
fmooth in the Tides, fo that the loofe mould may not run
in to fill them up before the feeds ate depofited.. This is
done by a circular motion of the hand and wrift ; mak¬
ing a femi revolution every ftroke ; the circular motion
beginning as the bit enters, and continuing until it is
entirely difengaged from the mould. 1 he operation is
not perfeft unlefs the dibbles come out clean and wear
bright. It is fomewhat difficult to make the holes at
equal diftances , but more efpecially to keep, the two
ftraight and parallel to each other,, fome praftice being
required to guide the inftruments in fuch a manner as
to correfpond exaftly with each other \ but though
couples have been invented to remedy this inconve¬
nience to keep them at a proper diftance, the other
method is ftill found to be preferable. A middling
workman will make four holes in a fecond. One dib¬
bler is fufficient for three droppers •, whence one man
and three children are called a fet. The. dibbler car¬
ries on three flags or turned furrows ; going on fo.me
yards upon one of the outfide furrows, and returning
upon the other, after which he takes the middle one ;
and thus keeps his three droppers conftantly.employed,
and at the fame time is in no danger of filling up the
holes with his feet. The droppers put in two.or three
grains of wheat into each hole 5 but much time and
patience is neceffarv to teach them to perform the bu-
ftnefs properly and quickly. An expert dibbler will
L T U R E. Praaice.
hole half an acre in a day •, though one third of an Culture of
acre is ufually reckoned a good day’s work. The feed
is covered by means of a bufti harrow j and from one 1 ' y ''__j
buffiel to fix pecks is the ufual quantity for an acre.
Notwithftanding the advantages of faving feed, as well
as fome others which are generally reckoned undeni¬
able, it is here afferted by fome very judicious farmers,
that dibbling of wheat on the whole is not really a pro- 240
fitable pratftice. It is particularly faid to be produc- Objedlions
tive of weeds unlefs dibbled very thick : which indeed
may probably be the cafe, as the weeds are thus allow- ^bbling.
ed a greater fpace to vegetate in. Mr Marffiall him¬
felf is of opinion, that “ the dibbling of wheat ap¬
pears to be peculiarly adapted to rich deep foils, on
which three or four pecks dibbled early may fpread
fufficiently for a full crop j whereas light, weak, dial-
low foils, which have lain two or three years, and have
become graffy, require an additional quantity of leed,
and confequently an addition of labour, otherwife the
plants are not able to reach each other, and the graf-
fes of courfe find their way up between, them, by
which means the crop is injured and the foil rendered
foul.” ... r 24r
The fame author has likewife given an account of Culture of
the method of cultivating wheat praftifed in other En-wheat m
gliffi counties. In the midland diftrift, including part
of Staffordftiire, Derbyftiire, Warwick, and Leicefter-ftri<ai
(hire, we are informed that the fpecies ufually fown is
that called Red Lammas, the ordinary red Avheat of
the kingdom : but of late a fpecies named the Eflex
dun, fimilar to the Kentijh white cojh of Norfolk, and
the Hertfordjhire brown of Yorkffiire, has been coming
into vogue. Cone-wheat, formerly in ufe in this di-
llridl, is now out of fafliion. Spring wheat is cultiva¬
ted with remarkable fuccefs, owing principally to the
time of fowing } viz. the clofe of April. Our author
Avas informed by an excellent farmer in thefe parts,
that by fowing early, as in the beginning of March,
the grain was liable to be ffirivelled, and the draw to
be blighted ; while that which was fown towards the
end of April, or even in the beginning of May, pro¬
duced clean plump corn. At the time he vifited this
county, however, it feemed to be falling into difre-
pute 5 though he looks upon it, in fqme fituations,
efpecially in a turnip country, to be eligible. In the.
ordinary fucceffion in this part of the kingdom, wheat
comes after oats •, and there is perhaps nine-tenths of
the wheat in this diftrifl fown upon oat-ftubble. Our
author has alfo feen a few examples of wheat being
fown upon turf of fix or feven years leying ; and fe-
veral others on clover ley ance ploughed, as well as fome
after turnips. The beft crops, however, produced in
this, or perhaps in any other diftridl, are after fum-
mer fallow. The time of fowing is the month of Oc¬
tober, little being towm before Michaelmas j and in a
favourable feafon, little after the clofe of the month.
Much feed is fown here without preparation. When
any is made ufe of, it is the common one of brine can¬
died with lime. The produce is very great, the.me¬
dium being full three quarters per acre, fometimes
four or five •, and one farmer, in the year 1784, had
on 50 acres of land together, no lefs than 45 buftiels
per acre. . 242
In the Vale of Gloucefter, the cone-wheat, a variety In the va e
of the triticum turgidum, is cultivated, as well as the lam- ouce
mas *
Fart I.
Culture of mas and fpring wheats.
AGRICULTURE.
particular
Plants.
M3
Remark¬
ably fmall
(heaves.
It is not, however, the true
cone wheat which is cultivated here, the ears being
nearly cylindrical •, but our author met with the true
fpecies in North-Wilt (hi re. Beans in this country are
the common predeceffors of wheat, and fometimes
peafej but here the farmers cultivate wheat upon every
fpecies of foil. The time of fowing is in November
and December, and the feed is thought to be fown in
fuffieient time if it is done before Chriitmas. In this
country it is thought that late fown crops always pro¬
duce better than thofe which are fown early j but Mr
Marthall accounts for this by the vaft quantity of weeds
the latter have to encounter, and which the late fown
crops efcape by reafon of the weaknefs of vegetation
at that time of the year. The produce, however,
throughout the Vale of Gloucefter, is but very indiffe¬
rent.—Setting of wheat is not praftifed, but hoeing
univerfally.—In harvefting, Mr Marfhall obferves, that
the grain is allowed to Hand until it be unreafonably
ripe, and that it is bound up into very fmall ibeaves.
The practice of making double bands is unknown in
this dilfrift ; fo that the (heaves are no bigger than can
be contained in the length of fingle draw. The in¬
conveniences of this method are, that the crop requires
more time to (look, load and unload, and flack: the ad¬
vantages are, that the trouble of making bands is avoid¬
ed; and that if rainy weather happens to intervene, the
fmall (heaves dry much fooner than the large ones.
Here the crop is cut very high, the flubble and weeds
being mown off in fwaths for litter foon after the crop is
cut : and fometimes fold as high as 5s. per acre.—Mr
Marfhall is at a lofs to account for the little quantity
produced in this country : it being hardly poflible to de¬
rive it from the nature of the foil, almoft all of it being
proper for the cultivation of the grain.
— , • • , Among the Cotfwold hills of Gloucefler the lam-
in the Loti- , 0 , . r , • . r
wold hil s rnas an“ cone wheats are (own ; and a new variety of
the latter was raifed not long ago by picking out a
fingle grain of feed from among a parcel. The body
is very long and large, but not lightly.—The Cotf-
wTold hills are almoft proverbial for early fowing of
wheat. The general rule is to begin ploughing in July,
and fowing the firft wet weather in Auguft ; fo that here
the feed-time and harveft of wheat coincide. If, in
confequence of this early fowing the blade becomes
rank in autumn, it is fuppofed to be proper to eat it
down by putting a large flock of (beep upon it at once.
Eating it in fpring is confidered as pernicious. It is
Inftance of dually weeded with fpud-hooks ; not lined, as in the
the good et-Vale. One inftance, however, is mentioned by our
M4
feCts of
hoeing
wheat.
author, in which a very thin crop full of feed-weeds
hoed in autumn with uncommon fuccefs, occurred in
the praftice of a fuperior manager in this diftri£t ;
as well as others in which wheat has been weeded in
autumn with great advantage. He alfo met with an-
24g other well authenticated inftance of the good efFeft of
Of cutting cutting mildewed wheat while very green. “ A fine
mildewed piece of wheat being lodged by heavy rains, and be-
iTeen veiy*ng foon after perceived to be infe&ed with the mil¬
dew, was cut, though ftill in a perfectly green ftate ;
namely, about three weeks before the ufual time of cut¬
ting. It lay fpread abroad upon the ftubble until it
became dry enough to prevent its caking in the fheaf;
when it was bound and fet up in fhocks. The refult
of this treatment was, that the grain, though (mall,
248
It is Obterva-
was of a fine colour, and the heavieft wheat which Culture of
grew upon the fame farm that feafon ; owing, no doubt, (macular
to the thinnefs of its (kin. What appears much more .
remarkable, the ftraw was perfectly bright, not a fpeck
upon it.—In this part of the country, the produce of
wheat is fuperior to that in the Vale ; but Mr Marfhall
is of opinion, that the foil is much more fit for barley
than wheat. 247
In Yorkfhire, though generally a grafs land coun-Cultivation
try, and where of confequence corn is only a fecon-0^ in
dary concern, yet feveral kinds of wheat are culti-Yor^ ire*
vated, particularly Zealand, Downy Kent, Conimon
White, Hertfordjhire Brown, Yellow Kent, Common
Red. All thefe are varieties of winter wheat; befides
which they cultivate alfo the fpring or fummer wheat.
Here our author makes feveral curious obfervations
concerning the railing of varieties of plants,
probable, fays he, that time has the fame effeft up-tions on rai-
on the varieties of wheat and other grains as it has on l\nS va'^.
thofe of cultivated fruits, potatoes, and other vegeta-0
ble productions. Thus to produce an early pea, the
gardener marks the plants which open firft into bloffom
among the moft early kind he has in cultivation. Next
year he fows the produce of thofe plants, and goes
over the coming crop in the manner he had done the
preceding year, marking the earlier of this early kind.
In a limilar manner new varieties of apples are raifed,
by choofing the broadeft leaved plants among a bed of
feedlings rifing promifcuoufly from pippins. Hufband-
men, it is probable, have heretofore been equally in-
duftrious in producing frelh varieties of corn ; or
whence the endlefs variety of winter wheats ? If they
be naturally of one fpecies, as Linnaeus has deemed
them, they muft have been produced by climature,
foil, or induftry ; for although nature fports with in¬
dividuals, the induftry of man is requifite to raife, efta-
blifti, and continue a permanent variety. The only
inftance in which I have had an opportunity of tracing
the variety down to the parent individual, has occurred
to me in this diftriCf. A man of acute obfervation,
having, in a piece of wheat, perceived a plant of un¬
common ftrength and luxuriance, diffufing its branches
on every fide, and fetting its clofely-furrounding neigh¬
bours at defiance ; marked it; and at harveft removed
it feparately. The produce was 15 ears, yielding 604
grains of a ftrong-bodied liver-coloured wheat, diffe¬
rent, in general appearance, from every other variety he
had feen. The chaff was fmooth, without awns, and
of the colour of the grain ; the ftraw flout and reedy.
Thefe 604 grains were planted fingly, nine inches
plunder, filling about 40 fquare yards of ground, on
a clover ftubble, the remainder of the ground being
fown with wheat in the ordinary way ; by which means
extraordinary trouble and deftruftion by birds were
avoided. The produce was two gallons and a half,
weighing 20^ lb. of prime grain for feed, befides fome
pounds of feconds. One grain produced 35 ears, yield¬
ing 1235 grains; fo that the fecond year’s produce was
fufficient to plant an acre of ground. What deters far¬
mers from improvements of this nature is probably the
mifehievoufnefs of birds : from which at harveft it is
fcarcely poflible to preferve a fmall patch of corn, ef-
pecially in a garden or other ground fituated near a
habitation ; but by carrying on the improvement in a
field of corn of the fame nature, that inconvenience is
got
39°
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
Culture of get rid of. In this filtration, however, the botanift will
particular be apprehenfive of danger from the floral farina of the
- Pla"V furrounding crop. But from what obfervations I have
V made, I am of opinion his fears will be groundleis. No
evil of this kind occurred, though the cultivation ot
the above variety was carried on among white^ wheat.
But this need not be brought as an evidence •, it is not
uncommon here to fow a mixture of red and white
wheats together j and this, it is confidently aflerted,
without impairing even the colour of either of them.
The fame mode of culture is applicable to the improve¬
ment of varieties; which perhaps would be more pro¬
fitable to the hufbandman than raifing new ones, and
249 more expeditious.” . r r j
Preparation In Yorklhire the very Angular preparation ot teed
of wheat wheat prevails which we formerly mentioned, viz. the
with arfe- ‘ k ;n a f0iution of arfenic, as a preventive ot
fmut Marlhall was informed by one farmer, that he
had made ufe of this preparation for 20 years with fuc-
cefs, having never during that long fpace of time iut-
fered any fenfible injury from fmut. Our author feems
inclined to believe the efficacy of this preparation ; but
thinks there may be fome reafon to apprehend aange^
in the ufe of fuch a pernicious mineral, either through
the careleffnefs of fervants, or handling of the feed by
the nerfon who fows it. The farmer above mentioned,
however, during all the time he ufed it never experi¬
enced any inconvenience either to himfelf, the feedf-
man, or even to the poultry ; though thefe laft, we
ffiould have thought, would have been peculiarly liable
to accidents from arfenicated feed. The preparation is
made by pounding the arfenic extremely fine, boiling
it in water, and drenching the feed with the decoc¬
tion. “ In ftriftnefs, fays Mr Marfhall, the arfenic
ffiould be levigated fufficiently fine to be taken up and
walked over with water, reducing the fediment until it
be fine enough to be carried over in the fame man¬
ner. The ufual method of preparing the liquor is to
boil one ounce of white arfenic, finely powdered, m a
gallon of water, from one to two hours : and to add
to the decoftion as much water or ftale urine as will
increafe the liquor to two gallons. In this liquor the
feed is, or ought to be, immerged, ftirnng it about in
fuch a manner as to faturate effeftually the downy end
of each grain. This done, and the liquor drawn oft,
the feed is confidered as fit for the feed balket, with¬
out being candied with lime, or any other prepara¬
tion. A bulhel of wheat has been obferved to take up
about a gallon of liquor. The price of arfenic is about
fixpence per pound ; which, on this calculation, will
cure four quarters of feed. If no more than three
quarters be prepared with it, the coft will be only a
farthing per buffiel ; but to this muft be added the la¬
bour of pounding and boiling. Neverthelefs, it is by
much the cheapeft, and perhaps, upon the whole, adds
Mr Marfhall, the beft preparation we are at prefent
acquainted with. In this county it is believed, that a
mixture of wheat and rye, formerly a very common
crop in thefe parts, is never affeaed with mildew ; but
our author does not vouch for the truth of this affer-
Wheat and ^We muft not here omit to take notice of a new mode
turnips 0f cultivating wheat contrived by Mr E. Walker of
fown toge- jqarpley, Norfolk; which mode of culture we (hall alfo
ther* afterwards have occafion to notice when we come to
treat of the culture of turnips. Mr Walker thus ex- CuUurc of
plains his mode of procedure in a letter addrened to the pjants
publifher of the Annals of Agriculture. “ I fow in   
broad-caft, after the turnips have been once hoed, twoVol. ix.
bufhels of wheat or two bufhels of rye per acre ; and
then hoe the fame in with the fecond hoeing : if it be
hoed by the day it may be beft, as it will be better
done by the ffiort ftrokes or cuts with the hoes than
otherwife. It is recommended to be done foon after the
firft hoeing, for many reafons : It becomes a fine her¬
bage, and keeps the land very clean, without any in¬
jury to the turnips, or to the wheat or rye. I began to
feed in laft September, the turnips, &c. the firft of the
month, and {hall continue till all are done. I have fed
off with all forts of flock mixed, and have drawn out the
turnips in lines to fet the hurdles,^ as is ufual, and fed
off the turnips and growing corn in wet and dry wea¬
ther ; but find that dry weather, and fheep, is the pro-
pereft time and flock; and that fheep and light beafts
are the beft for light lands, which, on the whole, this
method will greatly improve.
“ All my experiments have been made without
mucking, or any manure, for the turnip and wheat
crop; and on thofe parts where I have fed off at the
time it has been dry weather, though with all forts of
flock mixed, and drawing as above, I have grown at
the rate of one coomb of wheat per acre, and at the
rate of eight coomb of rye per acre; and fome was ai¬
med totally deftroyed by feeding off in wet weather, as
I was determined not to defiil, that 1 might know the
bad or good effeas from feeding off the turnips with the
corn in different weather, as well as the different
months; all which I (hall be able to give information
of next year, to thofe who with to know. I find the
feed nearly worth the coft of the feed corn, which is a
material confideration in cafe you plough the land for
barley or other dimmer corn ; but if the wheat or rye
Hands a crop to your mind, it will do better to harrow
it in the fpring, at which time you may fow your grafs
feeds, which I find anfwer very well; or plough the
Hubble early in the autumn, and fow with clover or
other feeds.” .
The well-known author of the Annals of Agricul¬
ture has given a farther account of this method of cul¬
tivation. The idea which led to Mr Walker’s experi¬
ments was this: Wheat requires a certain degree of
ftiffnefs and compaftnefs in the foil upon which it is
reared. Of this compaflnefs, fandy foils are apt to be
deficient in proportion to the degree of tillage they re¬
ceive. Hence it occurred to Mr Walker, that if
wheat could be fown without any ploughing at all,
there would be a better chance of a crop upon certain
foils, than after the moft expenfive fyftem of tillage.
Accordingly, in 1784, he executed his fcheme on fix
acres of turnips, which were fed during the fucceeding
winter by bullocks and fheep, like the reft of his tur¬
nip fields, without making the leaft diftinaion on ac¬
count of the wheat that had been fown and was grow¬
ing among them. It is known, that turnip-land, when
fed off, is left highly manured and much trodden ; and
the queftion was, whether the firft of thefe circumftances
would not counterbalance the laft ? and, whether even
the treading itfelf might not prove advantageous. The
fuccefs juftified the projea, and, in 1785, Mr Walker
extended it to 3 5 acres, a part of which was fown with
rye.
Part I.
A G R I C U
Culture of rye. The management was the fame as before ; the
particular wlieat did better than the rye, and the beft crop was
i ■where the turnips were eaten in the drieft weather.
* In 1786, the fame culture was extended to 70, and in
1797 to 100 acres, with complete luccefs ; but the
crop was not better than when raifed in the common
way, though in general as good. The effedt of this
mode of culture, or the profit arifing from it, coniifted
chiefly in this, that upon a farm of 600 acres, the
labour of five horfes was faved, and at the time of
the barley-fowing, when all his neighbours were in the
greateft hurry, he was at his eafe quietly ftirring his
turnip fallows. The chief difficulty attending this
mode of cultivating wheat arofe from the wetnefs of
the feafon at the time of feeding, as the ground was
apt to be too much trodden and poached, particularly
when the crop of turnips was very large, fo as to keep
the cattle long upon them. On the contrary, in dry
or frofty weather nothing of this kind happened. 1 he
greater the crop of turnips, and the more treading that
occurred, the crop of wheat fetmed afterwards to pro-
fper the better. In a wet feafon, however, the evil
arifing from the treading was diminiffied when ffieep
alone without bullocks were introduced to confume the
turnips. Under this hufbandry, the following rotation
was ufed : Two years grafs put in among the wheat-
ftubble, ploughed once, and harrowed both in autumn
and fpring with the whole dung of the farm j Third
year, oats j Fourth, turnips j Fifth, wheat.
aSt
Effects of As winter-ploughing enters into the culture of oats,
froft upon we muft remind the reader of the effe6f of froft upon
tilled land. iand. Providence has negle&ed no region in¬
tended for the habitation of man. If in warm climates
the foil be meliorated by the fun, it is no lefs meliora¬
ted by froft in cold climates. Froft a&s upon water, by
expanding it into a larger fpace. Froft has no eflfedt
upon dry earth witnefs fand, upon which it makes
no impreffion. But upon wet earth it afts moft vigo-
roufly ; it expands the moifture, which requiring more
fpace puts every particle of the earth out of its place,
and feparates them from each other. In that view,
froft may be confidered as a plough fuperior to any
that is made, or can be made, by the band of man :
its adlion reaches the minuteft particles j and, by di ¬
viding and feparating them, it renders the foil loofe
and friable. This operation is the moft remarkable in
tilled land, which gives free accefs to froft. With re-
fpeft to clay foil in particular, there is no rule in huf¬
bandry more eflential than to open it before winter in
hopes of froft. It is even advifable in a clay foil to
leave the ftubble rank ; which, when ploughed in be¬
fore winter, keeps the clay ioofe, and admits the froft
into every cranny.
To apply this doftrine, it is dangerous to plough
clay foil when wet ■, becaufe water is a cement for clay,
and binds it fo as to render it unfit for vegetation. It
is, however, lefs dangerous to plough wet clay before
winter than after. A fucceeding froft correfts the bad
effefts of fuch ploughing ; a fucceeding drought in-
creafes them.
Culture of The common method is, to fow oats on new-plough-
«ats. ed land in the month of March, as foon as the ground
is tolerably dry. If it continues wet all the month of
2. Oats.
L T U R E. 391
March, it is too late to venture them after. It is much Cllhu^of
better to fummer-fallow, and to fow wheat in the au- Pp"<^r
turan. But the preferable method, efpecially in clay
foil, is to turn over the field after harveft, and to lay it
open to the influences of froft and air, which leffen the
tenacity of clay, and reduce it to a free mould. The
furface-foil by this means is finely mellowed for recep¬
tion of the feed j and it would be a pity to bury it by
a fecond ploughing before fowing. In general, the
bulk of clay foils are rich ; and fkilful ploughing, with¬
out dung, will probably give a better crop, than un-
fkilful ploughing with dung.
Hitherto of natural clays. We muft add a word of
carfe clays which are artificial, whether left by the
fea, or fweeped down from higher grounds by rain.
The method commonly uied of dreffing carfe clay for
oats, is not to ftir it till the ground be dry in the
fpring, which feldom happens before the ift of March,
and the feed is fovvn as foon after as the ground is fuf-
ficiently dry for its reception. Froft has a ftronger ef-
fe£t on fuch clays than on natural clay. And if the field
be laid open before winter, it is rendered fo loofe by
froft as to be foon drenched in water. The particles at
the fame time are fo fmall, as that the. firft drought in
fpring makes the furface cake or cruft. I he difficulty
of reducing this cruft into mould for covering the oat-
feed, has led farmers to delay ploughing till the month
of March. But we are taught by experience, that this
foil ploughed before winter, is fooner dry than when
the ploughing is delayed till fpring } and as early fow¬
ing is a great advantage, the objection of the fuperficial
crufting is eafily removed by the firft harrow above de-
fcribed, which will produce abundance of mould for
covering the feed. The ploughing before winter not
only procures early fowing, but has another advantage :
the furtace-foil that had been mellowed during winter,
by the fun, froft, and wind, is kept above.
The dreffing a loamy foil for oats differs little from-
dreffing a clay foil, except in the following particular,
that being lefs hurt by rain, it requires not high ridges,
and therefore ought to be ploughed crown and furrow
alternately. # . .
Where there is both clay and loam in a farm, it is
obvious, from what is faid above, that the ploughing
of the clay after harveft ought firft to be difpatched. If
both cannot be overtaken that feafon, the loam may be
delaved till the fpring with lefs hurt.
Next of a gravelly foil: which is the reverfe of clay,
as it never fuffers but from want of moifture. Such a
foil ought to have no ridges; but be ploughed circu¬
larly from the centre to the circumference, or from the
circumference to the centre. It ought to be tilled af¬
ter harveft : and the firft dry weather in fpring ought
to be laid hold of to fow, harrow, and roll ; which will
preferve it in fap.
The culture of oats is the fimpleft of all. That
grain is probably a native of Britain : it will grow on
the worft foil with very little preparation. For that
reafon, as already noticed, before turnip was introdu¬
ced, it was always the firft crop upon land broken up
from the ftate of nature.
Upon fuch land, may it not be a good method, to
build upon the crown of every ridge, in the form of
a wall, all the furface-earth, one fod above another,
as in a fold for ffieep ? After ftanding in this form
all
2 53
Norfolk
cultivation
of oats.
392 _ A
Culture of all die fummer and winter, let the walls be thrown down,
P^'c-Iar and the ground prepared for oats. This will fecure one
or two good crops ; after which the land may be dunged
for a crop of barley and grafs-feeds. This method may
anfwer in a farm where manure is fcarce.
In Norfolk this kind of grain is much lefs cultiva¬
ted than barley j and the only fpecies obferved by
Mr Marlhall is a kind of white oat, which grows quick¬
ly, and feems to be of Dutch extraftion. Oats are
cultivated occafionally on all kinds of foils, but more
efpeeialiy on cold heavy land, or on very light, unpro-
duftive, heathy foils. They may frequently fucceed
wheat, or ley ground barley : “ but (fays our author)
there are no eftablifhed rules refpetSHng any part of the
culture of this time-ferving crop.” The culture of
the ground is ufually the fame with that of barley 5 the
ground generally undergoing a winter fallow of three
or four ploughings, though fometimes they are fowm
after one ploughing. They are more commonly fown
above furrow than barley. The feed-time is made
fubfervient to that of barley, beeing fometimes fooner
and fometimes later than barley feed-time : and Mr
Marfhall obferves, that he has fometimes feen them
fown in June ; it being obfervable, that oats fown late
ripen earlier than barley fown at the fame time. ’1 he
quantity of feed in Norfolk is from four to five bufhels
per acre *, but he does not acquaint us with the pro*
Method of duce. He mentions a very lingular method of culture
ploughing fometimes praftifed in this country, viz. ploughing down
the oats after they begin to vegetate, but before they
have got above ground j which is attended with great
fuccefs, even though the ground is turned over with a
full furrow. By this method weeds of every kind are
deftroyed, or at leaf! checked in fuel* a manner as to
give the crop an opportunity of getting above them *,
and the porofity communicated to the foil is excellent¬
ly well adapted to the infant plants of barley *, which
probably might frequently receive benefit from this
operation.
In the Vale of Glouceller, Mr Marlhall obferves,
that the wild oat is a very troublefome weed, as well
Gloucefler^38 ^"or^^1‘re i and °pinion» it is as
’ truly a native of Great Britain as any other arable
weed, and is perhaps the moft difficult to be extirpated.
It will lie a century in the foil without lofing its ve¬
getative quality. Ground which has lain in a ftate of
grafs time immemorial, both in Gloucefter and York-
Ihire, has produced it in abundance on being broken
up. It is alfo endowed with the fame feemingly in-
ftinftive choice of feafons and ftate of the foil as other
feeds of weeds appear to have. Hence it is exceffively
difficult to be overcome j for as it ripens before any
crop of grain, it ffieds its feed on the foil, where the
roughnefs of its coat probably fecures it from birds.
The only methods of extirpating this plant are fallow¬
ing, hoeing, and handweeding, where the laft is pradli-
cable, after it has ffiot its panicle.
No oats are cultivated in the Vale of Gloucefter j
though the wild oats grow everywhere as already faid.
GRICULTURE.
*54
down oats.
255
Wild oats
a weed in
a$5
Oats not
cultivated
Practice,
er cold lands in the area of the Vale, as they feldom Culture of
can be got fufficicntly fine for barley. The fodder P^icular
from oats he accounts much more valuable than that, ^ ,
from barley to a dairy country ; and the grain would
more than balance in quantity the comparative differ¬
ence in price.
In the midland diftrift the Poland oat, which was cuitivatinn
formerly in vogue, has now given place to the Dutch or in the Mid-
Friejland kind. It is conftantly fown after turf; one land di-
ploughing being given in February, March, or April.
The feed-time is the latter end of March and beginning
of April, from four to feven buffiels an acre •, the pro¬
duce is in proportion to the feed, the medium being
about fix quarters. 253
In Yorkffiire the Friefland oats are likewife pre-InYork.
ferred to the Poland, as affording more ftravv, and be- dure,
ing thinner Ikinned than the latter. The Siberian or
Tartarian oat, a fpecies unnoticed by Linnaeus, is like¬
wife cultivated in this country : the reed oat is known,
but has not yet come into any great eftimation. The
grain is light, and the ftraw too reedy to be affefted
by cattle.
Oats are particularly cultivated in the weftern divi-
fion of the Vale of Yorkffiire j where the foil is chiefly
a rich fandy loam, unprodudlive of wheat. Five or
fix buffiels, or even a quarter of oats, are fometimes
fown upon an acre; the produce from feven to ten
quarters. In this country they are threffied in the Singular
open air, and frequently even upon the bare ground, method of
without even the ceremony of interpofing a cloth. Thethrefllin2‘
reafons affigned for this feemingly ftrange pradlice are,
that if pigs and poultry he employed to eat up the
grain which efcapes the broom, there will be little or
no wafte. Here the market is always very great for
new oats, the manufadluring parts of Weft Yorkffiire
ufing principally oat-bread. The only objedlion to this
praftice is the chance of bad weather \ but there is al¬
ways plenty of ftraw to cover up the threffied corn, and
it is found that a little rain upon the ftraw does not
make it lefs agreeable to cattle.
In an experiment made by Mr Bartley near Briftol, Pa-
upon black oats, we are informed that he had the pro-^"^°,lv'
digious increafe of 98^ Winchefter buffiels from four on Experiment
the acre : the land was a deep, mellow, fandy loam. Iton black
had carried potatoes the former year, and received one oats,
ploughing for a winter fallow. Another ploughing was
given it in February, and the feed was fown on the
27th and 28th of the month. The fuccefs of the ex¬
periment was fuppofed to be owing partly to the early
lowing and partly to a good deep tillage.
3. Barley.
261
r-T Vaf- Marffiall is of opinion that it is better adapted to
ier. °UCe oats to barley. The reafon he affigns for the
preference given to the latter is, that in this part of
the country the monks were formerly very numerous,
who probably preferred a/e to oaten cake.—He now,
however, recommends a trial of the grain on the ftrong-
This is a culmiferous plant that requires a mellow Culture of
foil. Upon that account, extraordinary care is requi-barley,
fite where it is to be fown in clay. The land ought to
be ftirred immediately after the foregoing crop is re¬
moved, which lays it open to be mellowed with the
froft and air. In that view, a peculiar fort of plough- 2g2
ing has been introduced, termed ribbing ; by which the Ribbing,
greateft quantity of furface poffible is expofed to the
air and froft. The obvious objeftion to this method
is, that half of the ridge is left unmoved. And to ob¬
viate that objeftion, the following method is offered,
which moves the whole foil, and at the fame time ex-
pofes the fame quantity of furface to the froft and air.
As
Part I. A G R I C U
Culture of As foott as the former crop is off the field, let the
particular be gathered with as deep a furrow as the foil
, will admit, beginning at the crown and ending at the
263 furrows. This ploughing loofens the whole foil, giv-
A better, ing free accef> to the air and froft. Soon after, begin
method. a feconcJ ploughing in the following manner : Let the
field be divided by parallel lines crofs the ridges, with
intervals of thirty feet or fo. Plough once round an
interval, beginning at the edges, and turning the earth
toward the middle of the interval •, which covers a foot
or fo of the ground formerly ploughed. Within that
foot plough another round fimilar to the former •, and,
after that, other rounds, till the whole interval be fi-
nifhed, ending at the middle. Inftead of beginning at
the edges, and ploughing toward the middle, it will
1 have the fame effeft to begin at the middle, and to
plough toward the edges. Plough the other intervals
in the fame manner. As by this operation the furrows
of the ridges will be pretty much filled up, let them
be cleared and water-furrowed without delay. By this
method, the field will be left waving like a plot in a
kitchen garden, ridged up for winter. In this form,
the field is kept perfe&ly dry 5 for befide the capital
furrows that leparate the ridges, every ridge has a
number of crofs furrows that carry the rain inftantly
to the capital furrows. In hanging grounds retentive
of moifture, the parallel lines above mentioned ought
not to be perpendicular to the furrows of the ridges,
but to be dire&ed a little downward, in order to carry
rain water the more baftily to thefe furrows. If the
ground be clean, it may lie in that date winter and
fpring, till the time of feed-furrowing. If weeds hap¬
pen to rife, they muft be deftroyed by ploughing, or'
braking, or both •, for there cannot be worfe huthan-
dry, than to put the feed into dirty ground.
Advanta met^oc^ resembles common ribbing in appear-
esTf'this ance, but is very different in reality. As the common
method. ribbing is not preceded by a gathering furrow, the
half of the field is left untilled, compaft as when the
former crop was removed, impervious in a great mea-
fure to air or froft. The common ribbing at the fame
time lodges the rain-water on every ridge, preventing
it from defcending to the furrows; which is hurtful in
all fills, and poifonous in a clay foil. The Jlitclring
here defcribed, or ribbing, if you pleafe to call it fo,
prevents thefe noxious effe&s. By the two ploughings
the whole foil is opened, admitting freely air and froft ;
and the multitude of furrows lays the furface perfe&ly
dry, giving an early opportunity for the barley-feed.—
But further, as to the advantage of this method :
Manage- When it is proper to fow the feed, all is laid flat with
mentof the brake, which is an eafy operation upon foil that is
leredfln a dry and pulverized 5 and the feed-furrow which fuc-
j ry ea on. ceefj^ js p0 {hauow as to bury little or none of the fur-
face earth : whereas the ftirring for barley is common¬
ly done with the deepeft furrow j and confequently bu¬
ries all the furface foil that was mellowed by the froft
and air. Nor is this method more expenfive ; becaufe
the common ribbing muft always be followed with a
ftirring furrow, which is faved in the method recom¬
mended. Nay, it is lefs expenfive $ for after common
ribbing, which keeps in the rain-water, the ground is
commonly fo foured, as to make the ftirring a labo¬
rious work.
It is well known that barley is lefs valuable when it
Vol. I. Part I.
L T U R E. 393
does not ripen equally ; and that barley which comes
up fpeedily in a dulky foil, muft gain a great advantage p
over feed-weeds, iherefore, firft take out about one- M
third of the contents of the facks of feed barley or
bear, to allow for the fwelling of the grain. Lay the
facks with the grain to fteep in clean water \ let it He
covered with it for at leaft 24 hours. When the
ground is fo dry as at prefent, and no likelihood of
rain for 10 days, it is better to lie 36 hours. Sow the
grain wet from fteeping, without any addition of pow¬
dered quicklime, which, though often recommended in
print, can only poifon the feed, fuck up part of its ufe-
ful moifture, and burn the hands of the fewer. The
feed will fcatter well, as clean water has no tenacity ;
only the fewer muft put in a fourth or a third more
feed in bulk than ufual of dry grain, as the grain is
fwelled in that proportion : harrow it in as quickly as
poftible after it is fown ; and though not neceffary, give
it the benefit of frefti furrow, if convenient. You may
expeft it up in a fortnight at fartheft.
The following experiment by a correfpondent of the
Bath Society being confidered as a very interefting
one, is here fubjoined. • 266
“ The laft fpring (1783) being remarkably dry, I Important
feaked my feed-barley in the black water taken from a
refervoir which conftantly receives the draining of my fee(i_barley,
dung heap and ftables. As the light corn floated on
the top, I Ikimmed it off, and let the reft ftand 24
hours. On taking it from the water, I mixed the feed
grain with a fufiBcient quantity of fifted wood-alhes, to
make it fpread regularly, and fowed three fields with
it. I began fowing the 16th, and finiftied the 23d of
April. The produce was 60 buftiels per acre, of good
clean barley, without any fmall nv green corn, or weeds,
at harveft. No perfon in this country had better
grain.
I fewed alfe feveral other fields with the fame feed
dry, and without any preparation ; but the crop, like
thofe of my neighbours, was very poor 5 not more than
twenty buthels per acre, and much mixed with green
corn and weeds when harvefted. I alfe fewed fome of
the feed dry on one ridge in each of my former fields,
but the produce was very poor in comparifen of the
other parts of the field.”
Where the land is in good order, and free of weeds, Time of
April is the month for lowing barley. Every day is fowing.
proper from the firft to the laft.
The drefting loamy foil and light foil for barley, is
the fame with that defcribed •, only that to plough dry
is not altogether fe effential as in drefting clay foil.
Loam or fand may be ftirred a little moift : better,
however, delay a week or two, than to ftir a loam
when wet. Clay muft never be ploughed moift, even
though the feafon ftiould efcape altogether. But this
will feldom be neceffary ; for not in one year of 20
will it happen, but that clay is dry enough for plough¬
ing fome time in May. Froft may correft clay plough¬
ed wet after harveft ; but when ploughed wet in the
fpring, it unites into a hard mafs, not to be diffolved
but by very hard labour.
On the cultivation of this grain we have the follow- Mifcellane-
ing obfervations by a Norfolk farmer. ous obfer-
The beft foil, he obferves, is that which is dry and vations con-
healthy, rather light than ftiff, but jet of fufficient
tenacity and ftrength to retain the raoifture. On thi5 of barley^
3 D kind
A G R I C U
Culture of kind of land the grain is always the bell bodied and
particular coiourecl, the nimbleft in the hand, and has the thin-
. Plants- , neft rjnci. Thefe are qualities which recommend it mod
to the maltfter. If the land is poor, it (hould be dry
and warm j and when fo, it will often bear better corn
than richer land in a cold and wet fituation.
In the choice of your feed, it is needful to obferve,
that the belt is of a pale lively colour, and brightilh
call, without any deep rednefs or black tinge at the
tail. If the rind be a little (hrivelled, it is the better 5
for that flight (hrivelling proves it to have a thin Ikin,
and to have fweated in the mow. Ihe neceflity of a
change of feed by not fowing two years together what
grew on the fame foil, is not in any part of hufliandry
more evident than in the culture of this grain, which,
if not frequently changed, will grow coarfer and coar-
fer every fucceeding year.
It has generally been thought, that feed-barley
would be benefited by fteeping 5 but liming it has, in
many inftances, been found prejudicial. Sprinkling a
little foot with the water in which it is fteeped has
been of great fervice, as it will fecure the feed from
infe£b. In a very dry feed time, barley that has been
wetted for malting, and begins to fprout, will come up
fooner, and produce as good a crop as any other.
If you fow after a fallow, plough three times aUeaft.
At the firft ploughing, lay your land up in fmall ridges,
and let it remain fo during the winter, for the froft to
mellow it ; the fecond ploughing fliould be the begin¬
ning of February. In March fplit the ridges and lay
the land as flat as poflible, at the fame time harrowing
it fine. But in ftrong wet lands (if you have no other
for barley) lay it round, and make deep furrows to re¬
ceive the water.
“ I have often (continues he), taken the following
method with fuccefs : On lands tolerably manured, I
fowed clover with my barley, which I reaped at har-
veft} and fed the clover all the following winter, and
from fpring to July, when I fallowed it till the fol-
Iswing fpring, and then fowed it with barley and clo¬
ver as before. Repeating this method every year, I
bad very large crops, but would not recommend this
pradlice on poor light land.
“ We fow on our lighted: lands in April, on our
moift lands in May } finding that thofe lands which
are the molt fubjedl to weeds produce the bell crops
when fown late.
“ The common method is to fow the barley feed
broad-caft at two fowings 5 the firft harrowed in once,
the fecond twice •, the ufual allowance from three to
four bufhels per acre. But if farmers could be pre¬
vailed on to alter this pra&ice, they would foon find
their account in it. Were only half the quantity fown
equally, the produce would be greater, and the corn
lefs liable to lodge : For when corn Hands very clofe,
the ftalks are drawn up weak ; and on that account are
lefs capable of refilling the force of winds, or fupport-
ting themfelves under heavy rains.
“ From our great fuccefs in fetting and drilling
wheat, fome of our farmers tried thefe methods with
barley •, but did not find it anfwer their expedlations,
except on very rich land.
“ I have myfelf had 80 ftalks on one root of barley,
which all produced good and long ears, and die grain
was better than any other ) but the method is too ex-
L T U R E. Pradtice.
penfive for general practice. In poor land, fow thin, Culture of
or your crop will be worth little. Farmers who doPar“™l^r
not reafon on the matter will be of a different opi- . ^ *
nion ; but the fadl is indifputable.”
When the barley is fowed and harrowed in, he ad-
vifes that the land be rolled after the firft Ihower of rain,
to break the clods. This will clofe the earth about
the roots, which will be a great advantage to it in dry
weather.
When the barley has been up three weeks or a
month, it is a very good wTay to roll it again with a
heavy roller, which will prevent the fun and air from
penetrating the ground to the injury of the roots.
This rolling, before it branches out, will alfo caufe it
to tiller into a greater number of ftalks ; fo that if the
plants be thin, the ground will be thereby filled, and
the ftalks ftrengthened.
If the blade grows too rank, as it fometimes will in
a warm wet fpring, mowing is a much better method
than feeding it down with Iheep ; becaufe the fcythe
takes off only the rank tops, but the Iheep being fond
of the fweet end of the ftalk next the root, will often
bite fo olofe as to injure its future growth. 269
The county of Norfolk, according to Mr Marfhall, Cultivation
is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of this grain, of barlej in
the ftrongeft foil not being too heavy, and the lighted
being able to bear it j and fo well verfed are the Nor¬
folk farmers in the cultivation of it, that the barley
of this country is defired for feed throughout the whole
kingdom. It is here fown after wheat or turnips, and
in fome very light lands, it is fown after the fecond
year’s ley. After wheat, the feed time of the latter
being finifhed, and the ftubble trampled down with
bullocks, the land is ploughed with a lhallow furrow
for a winter fallow for barley. In the beginning of
March the land is harrowed and crofs-ploughed ; or if
it be wet, the ridges are reverfed. In April it receives
another ploughing lengthwife *, and at feed time it is
harrowed, rolled, fowTed, and the lurface rendered as
fmooth and level as poflible. After turnips the foil is
broken up as fall as the turnips are taken off; if early
in winter by rice-balkwg, a pra£lice already explain¬
ed ) but if late, by a plain ploughing.^ It is com¬
mon, if time will permit, to plough three times ; the firft:
{hallow, the fecond full, and the third a mean depth 5
with which laft the feed is ploughed in. Sometimes,
however, the ground is ploughed only once, and the
feed fown above, but more frequently by three plough-
ings, though, perhaps, the farmer has not above a
week to perform them in. After ley, the turf is ge¬
nerally broken by a winter fallow, and the foil treated
as after wheat.
This grain is feldom manured for, except when
fown after ley, when it is treated as wheat. No
manure is requifite after turnips or wheat, if the lat¬
ter has been manured for. If not, the turnip crop,
following immediately, the barley is left to take its
chance, unlefs the opportunity be embraced for win¬
ter marling.
Little barley is fown by the Norfolk farmers be¬
fore the middle of April, and the feed time generally
continues till the middle of May j though this muft in
fome meafure depend on the feafon j which, fays
Mr Marftiall, is more attended to in Norfolk than per¬
haps in all the world befides.” In the very backward
fpring.
Part I. A G R I C U
Culture of fpring of 1782, barley was fown in June with fuccefs.
particular preparation is ufed. It is all fown broadcaft, and
, Plants‘ almoft all under furrow ; that is, the furface having
been fmoothed by the harrow and roller, the feed is
fown and ploughed under with a lhallow furrow ; but if
the feafon be y-‘;t, and the foil cold and heavy, it is
fometimes fown above •, but, if the fpring be forward,
and the laft piece of turnips eaten off late, the ground
is fometimes obliged to be ploughed only once, and to
be fown above; though in this cafe Mr Marlhall thinks
it the molt eligible management, inftead of turning over
the whole thicknefs of the foil, to two-furrow it, and
fow between. This is done by onlyfkimming the fur-
face with the firft plough, fowing the feed upon this,
and then covering it with the bottom furrow brought
up by the fecond plough. Three bulhels are ufually
fufficient for an acre.
The barley, as well as the wheat, in Norfolk, is al¬
lowed to ftand till very ripe. It is univerfally mown
into fwath, with a fmall bow fixed at .the heel of the
fcythe. If it receive wet in the fwath in this county,
it is not turned, but lifted; that is, the heads or ears
are raifed from the ground, either with a fork or the
teeth of a rake, thereby admitting the air underneath
the fwaths ; which will not fall down again to the
ground fo clofe as before, fo that the air has free ac-
cefs to the under fide; and this method of lifting is
fuppofed not to be inferior to that of turning, which
requires more labour, befides breaking and ruffling tne
270 fwaths.
In the Vale In the Vale of Gloucefter the quantity of barley cul-
of Gloucef- tivated is very inconfiderable ; the only fpecies is the
common long eared barley, hordeum %eocriton. In this
county the grain we fpeak of is ufed, on the every
year’s lands, as a cleanfing crop. It is fown very late,
viz. in the middle or end of May ; fometimes the be¬
ginning or even the middle of June. I he reafon of
this is, that the people of the Vale think, that if a week
or ten days of fine weather can be had for the opera¬
tion of harrowing out couch, and if after this a full
crop of barley fucceed, efpecially if it fhould fortunate¬
ly take a reclining pofture, the bufinefs of fallowing is
effeclually done, infomuch that the foil is cleaned to a
fufficient degree to laft for a number of years. A great
quantity of feed is made ufe of, viz. from three to
four bufhels to an acre ; under the idea, that a full
crop of barley, efpecially if it lodge, fmothers all kinds
of weeds, couch-grafs itfelf not excepted. Our author
acknowledges this effe£t in fome degree, but does not
recommend the practice. “ If the land (fays he) be
tolerably clean, and the feafon favourable, a barley
fallow may no doubt be of effential fervice. But there
is not one year in five in which even land which is to¬
lerably clean can be fown in feafon, and at the fame
time be much benefited by it for future crops.” The
barley in this county is all hand-weeded. It is harveft-
ed loofe, mown with the naked fcythe, lies in fwath,
till the day of carrying, and is cocked with common
hay forks. The medium produce is three quarters per
acre. Its quality is preferable to that of the hill bar-
v]\ ley- r
In Cots- The common long-eared fpecies is fown among the
wo^- Cotfwold hills. It is fown in the latter end of March
and beginning of April, in the quantity of three bufhels
to an acre, producing from 20 bufhels to four quarters
L T U R E. 395
to an acre ; “ which, fays our author, is a low produce. Culture of
It muft be obferved, however, that this produce is from aI
land deficient in tillage; and that barley delights in a . ^— t
fine pulverous tilth.” 272
In the midland diftrift they cultivate two fpecies ofln the mid¬
barley, viz. the ‘zeocriton or common long-eared, andl"
the difichon or fprat barky ; the latter not being of
more than 50 years Handing, but the former of much
older date. The fprat is the more hardy, and requires
to be more early fown ; but the long ear yields the
better produce. It fucceeds wheat and turnips; but
on the ftrong lands of this diftrift, the crop after wheat
is much lefs productive, as well as lefs certain, than af¬
ter turnips : which circumftance is likewife obfervtd in
Norfolk. It is fometimes alfo fown with fuccefs upon
turf. When fown after wheat, the foil is winter fal¬
lowed by three ploughings ; the firft lengthwife in No¬
vember ; the fecond acrofs in March ; the laft, which
is the feed-ploughing, lengthwife. Between the two
laft ploughings the foil is harrowed, and the twitch Iha-
ken out with forks ; after which it is left loofe and
light to die upon the furface, without being either
burnt or carried off. After turnips the foil has com¬
monly three ploughings; the reafon of which is, that
the turnips being commonly folded off with Iheep, the
foil, naturally of a clofe texture, receives a ftill greater
degree of compaftnefs, which it is proper to break
down, to render it porous. The feed time is the two
laft; weeks of April and the firft of May ; from two
buftiels and a half to three bulhels an acre, fometimes
even as much as four buftiels: the produce very great,
fometimes as high as feven or even eight quarters an
acre ; but the medium may be reckoned from four to 273
four and a half quarters. Mr Marftiall remarks, that Culture of
the culture of barley is extremely difficult. “ Some-<h®"
thing, fays he, depends on the nature of the foil, muchcu
on the preparation, much on the feafon of fowing, and
much on harvefting. Upon the w iole, it may be
deemed, of corn crops, the moft difficult to be culti¬
vated with certainty. 374
In Yorkfhire there are four kinds of barley culti-In York-
vated, viz. the zeocriton or long-eared ; the difichon™-116'
or fprat; the vu/gare, big, four-rowed or fpring bar¬
ley ; and the hexafichon, fix-rowed or fpring barley.
The firft and third forts are principally cultivated ; the
winter barley is as yet new to the diftri£t. Battledoor
barley was formerly very common, but is now almoft;
entirely difufed. Mr Marfhall obferves, that lefs than
a century ago, barley was not faleable until it was malt¬
ed ; there were neither maltfters nor public houfes, but
every farmer malted his own grain, or fold it to a
neighbour who had a malt kiln. Brakes cut from the
neighbouring commons were the fuel commonly ufed
upon this occafion ; and a certain day for cutting them
was fixed, in order to prevent any one from taking more
than his (hare. The cafe is now totally reverfed, even
public malt-boufes being unknown, and the bufinefs
of malting entirely performed by maltfters, who buy
the barley from the farmer, and fell him what malt he
may want for his family. 275
To give fome idea of the importance of this grain,Importance
we (hall here ftate the amount of the revenue which^Jar^’te
the public draws from an acre of land when cultivatednu^re‘'i*
for barley, independent altogether of the profits reaped
from it by the landlord and tenant. Suppofing an
3 D 2 acre
2q6 ♦ A G R I C U
Culture of acre to produce eight bolls of barley, and the whole
particular ^ macie jnj0 ordinary fmall beer, the taxes paid by
. L‘'“u ' it ftand thus in 1802.
L. s. d.
8 bolls of barley made into malt, allowing
*7 bulhels per boll, at is. per bufhel
of malt duty - - - 4122
The whole may produce 40 barrels of fmall
beer, the duty upon each of which is 2s. 4 O o
Borough impoft, which is impofed in Scot¬
land, but not in England, at is. 3d. per
barrel - - - ■ 2100
L. 11 2 2
4. Buck-,Wheat.
Culture of The ul'es of tllis Plant have already been fuffici-
Viuck- ently noticed. It delights in a mellow fandy foil 5 but
wheat. fucceeds well in any dry loofe healthy land, and mo¬
derately fo in a free loamy ftone brafh. A ftiff clay
is its averfion, and it is entirely labour loft to fow
it in wet poachy ground. The proper feafon for fow-
ing is from the'laft week of May or the beginning of
June. It has been fown, however, fo early as the be¬
ginning of April, and fo late as the 22d of July, by
way of experiment ; but the latter was rather extreme
to be chofen, and the former was in danger from froft.
In an experiment upon a fmall piece of ground, the
grain of two different crops was brought to maturity
in the fummer 1787.—After fpring feedings, a crop
of turnip-rooted cabbage, or vetches, there will be fuf-
ficient time to low the land with buck-wheat. x3ro-
bably, in hot dry fummers, a crop of vetches might even
be mown for hay early enough to introduce a crop of
this grain after it.
In the year 1780, about feven acres of a fandy foil
on Briflington common (f), having been firft tolerably
well cleanfed from brambles, furze, &c. received one
ploughing. T o reduce the irregularities of the furface,
it was rolled \ and on the 9th of June in that year,
two bufhels and a half of buck-wheat per acre fown,
2^7 the ground rolled again without harrowing.
Advanta- The vegetation appeared in five or fix days, as^ is
ges of this conftantly the cafe, be the weather wet or dry. The
topping- growth was fo rapid, that the fern, with which this
land greatly abounded, was completely kept under.
About the middle of September the crop was mown ;
but by reafon ot a great deal of rain about that time,
it was not fecured until the beginning of Oftober 5
hence a lofs of a great part of the grain by (bedding,
as well as fome eaten by birds. However, there were
faved about 24 Winchefter bufhels per acre •, and, not-
withftanding its long expofure to the weather, received
no fort of damage, only perhaps that the fined and moft
perfecl grain was the firft to fall from the plant. The
ground after this had almoft the appearance of a fallow,
and was immediately ploughed.
When it had lain a moderate time to meliorate, and
to receive the influences of the atmofphere, it was har¬
rowed, fown with Lammas wheat, and ploughed in
under furrow, in a contrary diredlion to the firft
L T U R E.
Practice.
ploughing. Thus a piece of land, which in the Culture of
month of April was altogether in a date of nature, in
the following November was feen under a promifing —t
crop of what is well ftylcd the king of grain, and this
without the aid of manure, or of any very great degree
of tillage. Nor was the harveft by any means defi¬
cient ; for feveral perfons converfant in fuch things efti-
mated the produce from 26 to 30 bufliels per acre.
As foon as the wheat crop was taken off, the ground
had one ploughing, and on the firft of September fol¬
lowing was fown with turnip feed. The turnips were
not large, but of an herbage fo abundant, as in the fol¬
lowing fpring to fupport 120 ewes with their lambs,
which were fed on it by folding four weeks. After
this it was manured with a compofition of rotten dung
and natural earth, about 20 putt loads per acre, and
planted w'ith potatoes. The crop (old for 138I. be-
fides a confiderable number ufed in the family, and a
quantity referved with which ten acres were planted
the following feafon. T he enfuing autumn it was again
fown with wheat, and produced an excellent crop. In
the fpring of 1784, it was manured and planted with
potatoes, as in the preceding inftance 5 the crop,
(though tolerably good) by no means equal to the for¬
mer, producing about 100 facks per acre only. In
fpring 1785, the land was now for a third time under
a crop of wheat, it being intended to try how far this
mode of alternate cropping, one year with potatoes and
another with wheat, may be carried.
From the fuccefs of the preceding and other experi¬
ments, by Nehemiah Bartley, Efq. of Briftol, as de¬
tailed in the Bath Society Papers, it would feem, that
the culture of this plant ought in many cafes to be
adopted inftead of a fummer fallowing: for the crop
produced appears not only to be fo much clear gain in
refpeft to fuch pra&ice, but alfo affords a confiderable
quantity of draw for fodder and manure ■, befide that
a fummer fallowing is far from being fo advantageous
a preparation for a fucceeding crop.
c. Pease. „
•5 _ 27S
Peafe are of two kinds j the white and the gray. Culture of
The cultivation of the latter only belongs to this place, peafe.
There are two fpeeies of the gray kind, diftinguiftied
by their time of ripening. One ripens foon, and for
that reafon is termed hot feed: the other, which is
(lower in ripening, is termed cold feed.
Peafe, a leguminous crop, is proper to intervene be¬
tween two culmiferous crops •, lefs for the profit o( a
peafe crop than for meliorating the ground. Peafe,
however, in a dry feafon, will produce fix or (even bolls
each acre *, but, in an ordinary feafon, they feldom
reach above two, or two and a halt. Hence, in a
moift climate, which all the weft of Britain is, red
clover feems a more beneficial crop than peaie j as it
makes as good winter food as peaie, and can be cut
green thrice during fummer.
A field intended for cold feed ought to be ploughed
in October or November ; and in February, as foon as
the ground is dry, the feed ought to be (own on the
winter furrow. A field intended for hot feed ought to
be
(f) A very rough piece of land, at that time juft enclofed.
Part I.
Culture of be ploughed in March or April, immediately before
particular f0WJ„g. But if infefted with weeds, it ought to be al-
Phnts. pi0Ughed in October or November. .
peape la-d a foot below the furface will vegetate ; but
the moft a]>proved depth is fix inches in light foil, and
four inches in clay foil; for which reafon, they ought
to be Town under furrow when the ploughing is delay¬
ed till fpring. Of all grain, beans excepted, they are
the leaft in danger of being buried.
Peafe differ from beans, in loving a dry foil and a
dry feafon. Horfe-hoeing would be a great benefit,
could it be performed to any advantage; but peafe
grow expeditioufly, and foon fail over and cover the
ground, which bars ploughing. Horfe-hoeing has little
effeft when the plants are new fprung; and when they
are advanced to be benefited by that culture,_ their
length prevents it. Faff growing at the lame time is
the caufe of their carrying fo little feed : the feed is
buried among the leaves ; and the fun cannot penetiate
to make it grow and ripen. The only practicable re¬
medy to obtain grain, is thin fowing ; but thick lowing
produces more ffraw, and mellows the ground more.
Half a boll for an Engliib acre may be reckoned thm
fowing ; three firlots thick fowing.
Notwithftanding what is faid above, Mr Hunter, a
noted farmer in Berwicklhire, began fome time ago to
fiow all his peafe in drills; and never failed to have great
crops of corn as well as of ffraw. He fowed double
rows at a foot interval, and two feet and a half be¬
tween the double rows, which admit horfe-hoeing. _ By
that method, he had alfo good crops of beans on light
land. r r . .
Peafe and beans mixed are often fown together, in
order to catch different feafons. In a moift feafon, the
beans make a good crop ; in a dry feafon, the peafe.
The growth of plants is commonly checked by
drought in the month of July ; but promoted by rain
in Auguft. In July, grafs is parched ; in Auguft, it
recovers verdure. \Vhere peafe are fo far aovanced in
the dry feafon as that the feed begins to form, their
growth is indeed checked, but the feed continues to fill,
if only in the bloffom at that feafon, their growth is
checked a little ; but they become vigorous again in
Auo-uft, and continue growing without filling till Hop¬
ped' by froft. Hence it is, that cold feed, which is
early fown, has the beft chance to produce corn . hot
feed, which is late fown, has the beft chance to produce
^he following method is praftifed in Norfolk, for
fowing peafe upon a drv light foil, immediately opened
from pafture. The ground is pared with a plough ex¬
tremely thin, and every fod is laid exadfly on its back.
In every fod a double row of holes is made. A pea
dropt in every hole lodges in the flayed ground imme
diately below the fod, thrulT its roots horizontally, and
has fufficient moifture. This method enabled Norfolk
farmers, in the barren year 1740, tofurnifh white peafe
s7o at 12s. per boll.
Onfetting In the Bath papers, vol. i. p. 148. we have an ac-
peafein count of the fuccels gf an experiment by Mr Pavier
driils' near Taunton, on fowing peafe in drills. the fcale
on which this experiment was made, however, being
fo fmall, it would perhaps be rafti to infer from it
what might be the event of planting a large piece
A G R I C U L T U R E.
3^7
of ground in the fame manner. The fpace was only ^^
16 fquare yards, but the produce fo great, that by cal- 1 p2ants
culating from it, a ftatute acre would yield 600, or at ,—^ >
the leaft 500 pecks of green peafe at the firft gathering;
which, at the high price they bore at that time in the
country about Taunton, viz. i6d. per peck, would have
amounted to 33^" ^s* F)n this the fociety obferve,
that though they doubt not the truth of the calculation,
they are of opinion, that fuch a quantity as 500 or 600
pecks of green peafe would immediately reduce the
price in any country market. “ If the above-mentioned
crop (fay they) were fold only at ninepence per peck,
the farmer would be well paid for his trouble.” In a
letter on the drill hufhandry by Mr Whitmore, for
which the thanks of the fociety were returned, he in¬
forms us, that drilled peafe muff not be fown too thin,
or they will always be foul : and in an experiment of
this kind, notwithftanding careful hoeing, they turned
out fo foul, that the produce was only eight bufhels to 2So
the acre.—From an experiment related in the 5th vo-peafe muft
lume of the fame work, it appears that peafe, however not be
meliorating they may be to the ground at firft, will atT^^
the laft totally exhauft it, at leaft with regard to them: °hee"a™e
felves. In this experiment they were fown on the fame fp0t>
fpot for ten years running. After the firft two years
the crop became gradually lefs and lefs, until at laft the
feed would not vegetate, but became putrid. Straw¬
berries were then planted without any manure, and
yielded an excellent crop. 281
On the Norfolk culture of peafe, Mr Marlhall makes Mr Mar-
two obfervations. “ Leys are feldom ploughed, more
than once for peafe ; and the feed is in general dibbled
in upon the flag of this one ploughing. But ftubbles
are in general broken by a winter-fallow of three or
four ploughings ; the feed being fown broad-caft and
ploughed in about three inches deep with the laft
ploughing.”—In the Vale of Gloucefter they are plant¬
ed by women, and hoed by women and children, once,
twice, and fometimes thrice ; which gives the crop,
when the foil is fufficiently free from root-weeds, the
appearance of a garden in the fummer time, and pro¬
duces a plentiful crop in harveft. The diftance be¬
tween the rows varies from 10 to 14 inches, but 1 2 may
be confidered as the medium ; the diftance in the rows
two inches. In the Cheltenham quarter of the diftriil,
they fet the peafe not in continued lines, but in clumps;
making the holes eight or ten inches diftant from one
another, putting a number of peafe into each hole.
Thus the hoe has undoubtedly greater freedom ; all the
difadvantage is, that in this cafe the foil is not fo even¬
ly and fully occupied by the roots as when they are dif-
pofed in continued lines.—In Yorkthire it is common to
fow beans and gray peafe together, under the name of
blendings; and fometimes fitches (probably, fay* Mr
Marfhall, a gigantic variety of the ervum lens') are
fown among beans. Such mixtures are found to aug¬
ment the crop, and the different fpecies are eafily fepa-
rated by the fieve.
6. Beans.
The propereft foil for beans is a moift and deep may^
but they may alfo be raifed upon all heavy foils, i hey
are cultivated in two ways, either in the old wav by
broad-caft, or, according to the more recent praci.ee,
thev
AGRICULTURE.
Practice.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
282
Culture of
beans by
broarl-caft.
283
Culture of
beans in
drills.
they are drilled in diftin£i: rows. Of each of thefe we
lhall give a very (hort account.
When the mode of cultivating beans by broad-caft
is adopted, it is to be obferved, that as this grain is early
fown, the ground intended for it fliould be ploughed
before winter, to give accefs to the froft and air 5 be¬
neficial in all foils, and neceflary in a clay foil. Take
the firft opportunity after January, tvhen the ground is
dry, to loofen the foil with the harrow firft deferibed,
till a mould be brought upon it. Sow the feed, and
cover it with the fecond harrow. The third will fmooth
the furface, and cover the feed equally. Thefe har¬
rows make the very beft figure in fowing beans : which
ought to be laid deep in the ground, not lefs than fix
inches. In clay foil, the common harrows are altoge¬
ther infufficient. The foil, which has refted long after
ploughing, is rendered compaft and folid : the common
harrows Ikim the furface : the feed is not covered ; and
the firft hearty fliower of rain lays it above ground.
Where the farmer overtakes not the ploughing after
harveft, and is reduced to plough immediately before
fowing, the plough anfwers the purpofe of the firft har¬
row ; and the other two will complete the work. But
the labour of the firft harrow is ill faved } as the plough¬
ing before winter is a fine preparation, not only for beans,
but for grain of every kind. If the ground ploughed
before winter happen by fuperfluity of moifture to cake,
the firft harrow going along the ridges, and crofting
them, will loofen the furface, and give accefs to the air
for drying. As foon as the ground is dry, fow with¬
out delaying a moment. If rain happen in the interim,
there is no remedy but patience till a dry day or two
come.
Carfe clay, ploughed before winter, feldom fails to
cake. Upon that account, a fecond ploughing is ne-
ceffary before fowing : which ought to be performed
with an ebb furrow, in order to keep the froft-mould
as near the furface as poflible. To cover the feed with
the plough is, with regard to this as well as other grain,
expreffed by the phrafe to fow under furrow. The clods
raifed in this ploughing are a fort of a {belter to the
young plants in the chilly fpring months.
The foregoing method ivill anfwer for loam. And
as for a fandy or gravelly foil, it is altogether improper
for beans.
Previous to the year 1770, beans were feldom fown
in Scotland, unlefs upon the very rich clays j but fince
that time, by adopting the plan of railing them in
drills, or diftinft rows, they have been fuccefsfully cul¬
tivated upon all the heavy loams, and in many farms
they now conftitute a regular branch of rotation. With
very few exceptions, beans are conftantly drilled at in¬
tervals of from 20 to 27 inches. Of thefe modes, the
laft is the moft prevalent, becaufe it admits the ground
to be ploughed with a horfe, in the moft fufficient man¬
ner. Very little hand-hoeing is given ; nor is it required,
as the kind of land which is beft adapted for their
growth, and upon which they are commonly fown, has
not naturally a tendency to the produftion of an¬
nual weeds, and fine crops of wheat generally follow,
provided due attention has been given to working the
bean crop. The neceflity of fummer fallow, which the
prefent high price of labour, and the lofs of a year’s
crop, render an expenfive affair to the farmer, is con-
fequently much leffened : for if land is once thoroughly
cleaned, and afterwards kept in an alternate coutfe of Culture ot
leguminous and culmiferous crops, it will remain in good I
order for a confiderable number of years. . t—
As beans delight in a moift foil, and have no end
of growing in a moift feafon, they cover the ground
totally when fown broad-caft, keep in the dew, and ex¬
clude the fun and air : the plants grow to a great
height 5 but carry little feed, and that little not well
ripened. This difplays the advantage of drilling", which
gives free accefs to the fun and air, dries the ground,
and affords plenty of ripe feed.
II. Plants Cultivated for Roots.
1. Potatoes.
Thefe, next to the different kinds of grain, may be
looked upon as the crop moft generally ufeful for the
hufbandman ; affording not only a moft excellent food
for cattle, but for the human fpecies alfo ; and they are
perhaps the only fubftitute that could be ufed for bread
wdth any probability of fuccefs. In the anfwer by Dr An2^t
Tiffot to M. Linguet already mentioned, the former
objects to the conftant ufe of them as food ; not becaufe to man-
they are pernicious to the body, but becaufe they hurt kind,
the faculties of the mind. He owns, that thofe who
eat maize, potatoes, or even millet, may grow tall and
acquire a large fize $ but doubts if any fuch ever pro¬
duced a literary work of merit. It does not, however,
by any means appear, that the very general ufe of po¬
tatoes in our own country has at all impaired either the
health of body or vigour of mind of its inhabitants.
The queftion then, as they have already been fhown to
be an excellent food for cattle, comes to be merely
with regard to the profit of cultivating them ; and this
feems already to be fo well determined by innumerable
experiments, as well as by the general pra&ice of the
country, that no room appears left for doubt. ^
The choice of foil is not of greater importance in General
any other plant than in a potato. This plant in clay culture,
foil, or in rank black loam lying low without ventila¬
tion, never makes palatable food. In a gravelly or
fandy foil, expofed to the fun and free air, it thrives to
perfection, and has a good relifti. But a rank black
loam, though improper to raife potatoes for the table,
produces them in great plenty 5 and the produCl is, as
already obferved, a palatable food for horned cattle,
hogs, and poultry.
The fpade is a proper inftrument for railing a fmall
quantity, or for preparing corners or other places inac-
ceflible to the plough j but for railing potatoes in quan¬
tities, the plough is the only inftrument.
As two great advantages of a drilled crop are, to
deftroy weeds, and to have a fallow at the fame time
with the crop, no judicious farmer will think of railing
potatoes in any other way. In September or OClober,
as foon as that year’s crop is removed, let the field have
a roufing furrow, a crofs-braking next, and then be
cleared of weeds by the cleaning harrow. Form it into
three-feet ridges, in that ftate to lie till April, which
is the proper time for planting potatoes. Crofs-brake
it, to raife the furrows a little. Then lay well digefted
horfe-dung along the furrows, upon which lay the roots
at eight inches diftance. Cover up thefe roots with
the plough, going once round every row. This makes
a warm bed for the potatoes; hot dung below, and
%
/
Plants.
aS6
Particular
methods.
Part I. A G R I C U
Culture of a loofe covering above, that admits every ray of the
particular f0Hn as plants appear above ground, go
round every row a fecond time with the plough, which
will lay upon the plants an additional inch or two of
mould, and at the fame time bury all the annuals; and
this will complete the ploughing of the ridges. When
the potatoes are fix inches high, the plough, with the
deepeft furrow, mufi: go twice along the middle of each
interval in oppofite diredlions, laying earth firft to one
row, and next to the other. And to perform this work,
a plough with a double mouldboard will be more ex¬
peditious. But as the earth cannot be laid clofe to
the roots by the plough, the fpade mull fucceed, with
which four inches of the plants mud be covered, leav¬
ing little more but the tops above ground ; and this
operation will at the fame time bury all the weeds that
have fprung fince the former ploughing. What weeds
arife after mull be pulled up with the hand. A hoe
is never to be ufed here : it cannot go fo deep as to
dellroy the weeds without cutting the fibres of the
plants ; and if it Ikim the furface, it only cuts off the
heads of the weeds, and does not prevent their pulhing
again.
In the Bath Society Papers, we have the following
praftical obfervations on the culture and ufe of pota¬
toes, given as the refult of various experiments made
for five years fucceffively on that valuable root, the
growth of which cannot be too much encouraged.
When the potato crop has been the only objedl in
view, the following method is the moll eligible.
The land being well pulverized by two or three good
harrowings and ploughings, is then manured with 15
or 20 cart loads of dung per acre, before it receives its
laft earth. Then it is thrown into what the Suffolk
farmers call the trench ba/k, which is narrow and deep
ridge-work, about 15 inches from the centre of one
ridge to the centre of the other. Women and children
drop the fets in the bottom of every furrow 15 inches
apart; men follow and cover them with large hoes, a
foot in width, pulling the mould down fo as to bury
the fets five inches deep •, they muft receive two or
three hand hoeings, and be kept free from weeds ; al¬
ways obferving to draw the earth as much as poffible
to the ftems of the young plants. By repeated trials,
the firft or fecond week in April is found the moft ad¬
vantageous time for planting.
In the end of September or the beginning of Octo¬
ber, when the haulm becomes withered, they fhould be
ploughed up with a flrong double breafled plough.
The workman muft be cautioned to fet his plough very
deep, that he may ftrike below all the potatoes, to a-
Void damaging the crop. The women who pick them
up, if not carefully attended to, will leave many in the
ground, which will prove detrimental to any fucceeding
corn, whether wheat or barley. To avoid which in¬
convenience, let the land be harrowed, and turn the
fwine in to glean the few that may be left by their ne¬
gligence.
By this method, the fets will be 15 fquare inches
from each other; it will take 18 bufhels to plant an
acre ; and the produce, if on a good mixed loamy foil,
will amount to 300 buftiels.
If the potatoes are grown as a preparation for wheat,
it is preferable to have the rows two feet two inches
from each other, hand-hoeing only the fpace from plant
L T U K E. 399
to plant in each row; then turning a fmall furrow from Culture of
the infide of each row by a common light plough, and
afterwards, with a double-breafted plough with one . ' ^ .
horfe, fplit the ridge formed by the firft ploughing
thoroughly to clean the intervals. This work ftiould
not be done too deep the firft time, to avoid burying
the tender plants; but the laft earth ftiould be plough¬
ed as deep as pofiible; and the clofer the mould is
thrown to the ftems of the plants, the more advanta¬
geous it will prove. Thus 15 buftiels will plant an acre,
and the produce will be about 300 buftiels; but the
land, by the fummer ploughings, will be prepared to
receive feed wheat immediately, and almolt enlure a
plentiful crop. 2gy
The potato fets ftiould be cut a week before plant- To prevent
ing, with one or two eyes to each, and the pieces not the grub,
very fmall; two buftiels of frefti-flaked lime ftiould be
fowrn over the furface of the land as foon as planted,
which will effeftually prevent the attacks of the grub.
The expence attending an acre of potatoes well cul¬
tivated in the firft method, fuppofing the rent 20 Ihil-
lings, tithe and town charges rather high (as in Suf¬
folk), taking up, and every thing included, will be a-
bout fix pounds. In the laft method, it would be fome-
what reduced.
“ When predilections for old cuftoms are fubdued
(adds the author), I hope to fee the potato admitted in
the conftant courfe of crops by every fpirited hulband-
man. The moft beneficial eftefts will, I am certain,
accrue from fuch a fyftem. The advantages in my
neighbourhood are apparent; I cultivated and fed my
own children upon them, and my poorer neighbours
fenfibly followed the example. A great proportion of
every cottager’s garden is now occupied by this root,
and it forms a principal part of their diet. Potatoes
are cheap and excellent fubftitutes for peafe in foups and
broths, allowing double the quantity. 2Sg
“ Although it is nearly a tranfcript of the direClions a cheap
given by a very ingenious author, yet I ftrall take the preparation
liberty of inferting a receipt for making a potato-foup, ^or t^e'
which I have weekly diftributed among the poor tol50°ra
their great relief.
s.
An ox’s head 2
Two pecks of potatoes - - o
Quarter of a peck of onions - - o
Three quarters of a pound of fait - o
An ounce and a half of pepper - O
d.
9
6
3
z
3
Total 3 10
Ninety pints of water to be boiled with the above in¬
gredients on a flow fire until reduced to 60, which re¬
quires one peck of coals, value threepence. I have ad¬
ded the expence of every article, according to their
prices with me, that gentlemen may clearly perceive at
how eafy a rate they can feed 60 of their poor neigh¬
bours. I find from experience, a pint of this foup, with
a fmall piece of the meat, is fufficient to fatisfy a hear¬
ty working man with a good meal. If vegetables are
plentiful, fome of every fort may be added, with a few
fweet herbs.
“ I hope my inferting the above will not be efteem-
ed improper ; though fomewhat deviating from the cul¬
ture of potatoes, it may poflibly be a means of render¬
ing them more extenfively ufeful.”
•400
Culture or
particular
Plants.
2S9
Methods of
cultivating
A G R I C U
A premium having been offered by the above-men¬
tioned fociety for the cultivation of potatoes by' far¬
mers, &c. tvhofe rent does not exceed 40I. per annum,
the following methods were communicated, by which
thofe who have only a fmall fpot of ground may obtain
a plentiful crop.
J'irft, then, the earth fhould be dug 12 inches deep,
 0 if the foil will allow of it; after this, a hole (hould be
potatoes on ned akout fix inches deep, horfe dung or long lit-
Ituall ipots. ter (^ou|d be pUt therein about three inches thick 5 this
hole (hould not be more than 12 inches in diameter*,
upon this dung or litter a potato {hould be planted
whole, upon which a little more dung (hould be caft,
and then earth muft be put thereon. In like manner
the whole plot of ground muft be planted, taking care
that each potato be at lead 16 inches apart *, and when
the young (hoots make their appearance, they (hould
have frefh mould drawn round them with a hoe *, and
if the tender (hoots are covered, it will prevent the
froft from injuring them : they {hould again be earth¬
ed when the (hoots make a fecond appearance, but not
be covered, as in all probability the feafon will then
be lefs fevere. A plentiful fupply of mould (hould be
given them, and the perfon who performs this bufinefs
{hould never tread upon the plant, or the hillock that
is raifed round it; as the lighter the earth is, the more
room the potato will have to expand. From a fingle
root thus planted, very near 40 pounds weight of large
potatoes were obtained, and from almoft every other
root upon the fame plot of ground irom 15 to 20
pounds weight; and except the foil be (tony or gra¬
velly, 10 pounds or half a peck of potatoes may almoft;
always be obtained from each root, by7 puifuing the
foregoing method. But note, cuttings or fmall fets
will not do for this purpofe.
Methods of The fecond method will fuit the indolent, or thofe
culture a- who have not time to dig their ground } and that is,
dapted to -where weeds much abound and have not been cleared
small farms. jn ^ AVinterj a trench may be opened in a ftraight
line the whole length of the ground, and about 6 inches
deep : in this trench the potatoes (hould be planted
about ten inches apart *, cuttings or fmall potatoes will
do for this method. When they are laid in the trench,
the weeds that are on the furface may be pared off on
each fide about ten inches from it, and be turned upon
the plants ; another trench (hould then be dug, and the
mould that comes out of it turned carefully on the
weeds. It muft not be forgot, that each trench (hould
be regularly dug, that the potatoes may be through¬
out the plot 10 or 12 inches from each other. This
ilovenly method will in general raife more potatoes,
than can be produced by digging the ground twice,
and dibbling in the plants *, and the reafon is, that the
weeds lighten the foil, and give the roots room to ex¬
pand. They {hould be twice hoed, and earthed up in
* rows. And here note, that if cut potatoes are to be
planted, every cutting (hould have two eyes, for though
fewer fets will be obtained, there will be a greater cer¬
tainty of a crop, as one eye often fails or is deftroyed
by grubs in the earth.
Where a crop of potatoes fails in part (as will fome-
times be the cafe in a dry feafon), amends may (till be
made by laying a little dung upon the knots of the
41 raw or haulm of thofe potatoes that do appear, and
•xovering them with mould: each knot or joint tnus
L T U R E. ' Praaice.
ordered will, if the weather prove wet afterwards, pro- Cukiw of
duce more potatoes than the original roots. 1
From the fmalleft potatoes planted whole, from four
to fix pounds at a root were obtained, and feme of the
fingle potatoes weighed near two pounds. Thefe were
dug in as before mentioned, in trenbhes where the
ground was covered with weeds, and the foil "was a (lift
loamy clay.
A good crop may be obtained by laying potatoes
upon turf at about 12 or 14 inches apart, and upon
beds of about fix feet wide j on each fide of which a
trench (liould be opened about three feet wide, and the
turf that comes from thence fhould be laid with the
graffy fide downwards upon the potatoes ; a fpit of
mould (hould next be taken from the trenches, and be
fpread over the turf; and in like manner the whole plot
of ground that is defigned to be planted muft be treat¬
ed. And remark, that when the young (hoots appear,
another fpit of mould from the trenches, (hould be
ftrewed over the beds fo as to cover the (hoots ; this will
prevent the froft from injuring them, encourage them,
to expand, and totally deftroy the young weeds; and
when the potatoes are taken up in the autumn, a care¬
ful perfon may turn the earth again into the trenches,
fo as to make the furface level: and it will be right to
remark, that from the fame ground a much better crop
of potatoes may be obtained the following year.
For field planting, a good (if not the bed) method
is to dung the land, which fhould be once ploughed
previous thereto ; and when it is- ploughed a fecond
time, a careful perfon (hould drop the potato plants be¬
fore the plough in every third furrow at about eight or
ten inches apart. Plants that are cut with two eyes are
bed for this purpofe. The reafon for planting them at
fo great a diftance as every third furrow, is, that when
the-(hoots appear, a horfe-hoe may go upon the two
vacant furrows to keep them clean ; and after they are.
thus hoed, they (hould be moulded up in ridges; and if
this crop be taken up about October or November, the
land will be in excellent condition to receive a crop of
wheat. Lands that are full of twitch or couch-grafs
may be made clean by this method, as the horfe-hoeing
is as good as a fummer fallow ; and if, when the pota¬
toes are taken up, women and children were to pick
out fuch filth, not any traces of it would remain ; and
by laying it on heaps and burning it, a quantity of afhes
would be produced for manure.
After ploughing, none (hould ever dibble in pota¬
toes, as the perfons who dibble, plant, or hoe them,
will all tread the ground ; by which means'it will be¬
come fo bound, that the young fibres cannot expand,
as has been already obferved. Good crops have in¬
deed been obtained by ploughing the land twice, and
dropping the plants in every other furrow, ^ and by
hand-hoeing and earthing them up afterwards as the
gardeners do peafe ; but this method is not equal to
the other.
Vacant places in hedge-rows might be grubbed and
planted with potatoes, and a good crop might be ex¬
pelled, as the leaves of trees, thorns, &c. are a good
manure, and will furprifingly encourage their growth,
and gratify the wifties of the planter; who by cultivat¬
ing fuch places, will then make the mod of his ground,
and it will be in fine order to receive a crop of corn
the following year.
Account
•v
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
291
Method of
culture, Sue
for which a
premium
was grant¬
ed.
4
4
12
particular ^cc0t,ni °f^ic culture^ cxpences, and produce affix acres
Plants. °fpotatoes, being a fair part of near fevenhj acres,
  ' raifed by John Billingsley, Efq. and for which the
premium was granted him in the year 1784.
Expences.
Ploughing an out ftubble in October 1783,
' at 4s. per acre - - L.i
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 lack weigh¬
ing 24plb.) of the white fort - 10
Cutting the lets, 6d. per lack - 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 - - 1
Digging up the two feet interval, and throw¬
ing the earth on the plants, at 10s. 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, &c.
401
12
'10
i os. per acre
Pent
Tithe
Profit
72
73
9
11
Produce.
600 facks of bell potatoes at 4s.
120 facks middle-lized, 3s. 6d.
50 of fmall, 2s.
N. B. Each fack 2401b.
L.146
L.i 20 o
21
L.i 46
The field on which the above experiment was made,
was an out-llubble in the autumn of 1783. In Ofto-
ber it was ploughed, and left in a rough Hate 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 compoll of liable dung, virgin earth,
and ferapings of a turnpike road) was then brought on
the land, and depolited 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 5 in
this trench the potato fets were placed, at the diftance
ol nine inches from each other ; the dung was then
Ipread 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 contents thrown around the young
plants. This refrefhment, added to the ample manu¬
ring previoully bellowed, produced fuch a luxuriance
and rapidity of growth, that no weed could lliow its
*92 head.
thod oftak r^le ^llorlcft and moll certain method of taking up
iug them potatoes, is to plough once round every row at the di-
«p. llance of four inches, removing the earth from the
Vol. I. Part II.
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 leldom found above Plants,
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 j
which is better than a fpade, as it does not cut the po-
totoes. The potatoes thus laid above ground mull 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 prefer*,
people, it is of importance to have them all the year ing them,
round. For a long time, potatoes in Scotland were con¬
fined to the kitchen garden j and after they were planted
in the field, it was not imagined at firll that they could
be ufed after the month of December. Of late years, they
have been found to anfwer even till midfummer 5 which
has proved a great fupport to many a poor family, a?
they are eafily cooked, and require neither kiln nor
mill. But there is no caufe for Hopping there. It is
eafy to preferve them till the next crop : When taken
out ol the ground, lay in the corner of a barn a quan¬
tity that may ferve till April, covered from froll with
dry llraw preffed dow n : bury the remainder in a hole
dug in dry ground, mixed with the hulks of dried oats,
land, or the dry leaves of trees, over which build a
Hack of hay or corn. When the pit is, opened for
taking out the potatoes, the eyes of what have a ten¬
dency to pufh mull be cut out ; and this cargo w ill
ferve all the month of June. To be Hill more certain
of making the old crop meet the new', the letting ot‘ a
fmall quantity may be delayed till June, to be taken
up at the ordinary time before froH. This cargo, hav¬
ing not arrived at full growth, will not be fo ready to
pullf as what arc fet in April.
If the old crop happen to be exhauHed before the
new crop is ready, the interval may be fupplied by the
potatoes of the new crop that lie next the furface, to
be picked up with the hand 5 which, far from hurting
the crop, will rather improve it.
In the Trant'actions of the Society for the encou¬
ragement of Arts, a number of experiments are related
by Mr Y oung on that kind called the clujlered or hog
potato, w'hich he Hrongly recommends as food for the
poor in preference to the kidney or other more ex-
penfive kinds. The following is the refult of the moll
remarkable of his experiments. ^ ^
In the firll week of March 1780, twTo acres and a]\ir
quarter of barley Hubble were fown with the clufter Young’s
potato, which appeared on the 23d of May. A lharp cxPcr2"
froll on the 7th of June turned them as black as they
ulually are by the frofls of November and December.Rcred p0-
In time, however, they recovered •, and by the end oftato.
October produced 876 bufhels from the 2^ acres ;
which, when cleaned, were reduced to 780, or 350
bufliels per acre : thus affording, when only valued at
6d. per bufhel, a clear profit of 7I. 14s. 4d. per acre.
The experiment, however, in his opinion, wrould have
been Hill more profitable, had it not been for the fol¬
lowing circumHances : 1. The foil was not altogether
proper. 2. The crop was grievoully injured by the
froff already mentioned, which, in our author’s opi¬
nion, retarded the growth for about fix weeks. 3. The
dung was not of his oivn raifing, but purchafed 5 which
cannot but be fuppofed to make a great difference, not
only on account of the price, but likewife of the qua-
3 E ' lity,
402
Culture of
particular
Plants.
29S
Experi¬
ments on-
alarger
,£eale.
296
Conclufion
favourable
to the cul¬
tivation of
this kind.
A G R I C U
lity, as happened to he the cafe at prefent. He is of
opinion, however, that potatoes, at leail this Kind o
them, are an exhaufting crop. Having fown the held
after this large crop of potatoes with wheat, his neig 1-
hours were of opinion that it would be too rank •, but
fo Hr was this from being the cale, that the wheat
ihowed not tlie leaft fign of luxuriance, nor the leait
fuperioritv over the parts adjacent which were town
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 m the poilel-
hon of the former tenant. In another expenmen ,
however, in which the ground had been hkewile ex-
haufted by fevere cropping, the fucceeding crop 0
wheat Ihowed no luxuriance ; io that the former luipi-
cion of the exhaufting quality of the chiller potato was
rather confirmed. The ground was a line turnip
loam ; hut though the produce was even greater than
in the former cafe, viz. 367 bulhels from an acre, the
profit was much lefs, viz. only 4I. 15s. 6d. An acre
of lev 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 j which ftiows that the latter have a more
poAverful vegetative faculty.
Having fuccceded fo well with his experiments on
this kind of potato hitherto, Mr Young determined to
try the culture of them upon a larger icale, and there¬
fore, in the year 1782, fowed 11 acres : but being ob¬
liged to commit the care of fowing them to an ignorant
labourer, his unikilfulnefs, together with the excelhve
cold and moifture of that feafon, fo dimimlhed the pro¬
duce, that he had only a fingle acre out of the whole.
This produced 180 bnfliels, winch 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 ot
clufter-potatoes, though not of any other kind. 2. lhat
the manure for potatoes ought to be carted and ipread
upon all foils inclinable to wet before the planting iea-
fon, either in autumn preceding, or elle during a
hard froft.” In 1783 he fucceeded ftill worle *, tor ha¬
ving that year fown three acres and a ball, the profit
did not exceed I is. 4d. per acre. The produce was about
224 bulhels per acre. He gives two reafons lor the
failure of this crop : 1. The cluftered potato thrives
heft in wet years ; but the fummer 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 weeds. Barley was fown after the laft crop, and
produced well : fo that our author thinks the potatoes
feem to he a better preparation for fpring corn than
wheat. His experiment in 1784 produced a clear
profit of 2l. os. 4d. 5 the produce being 250 bulhels
per acre. Still, however, an error was committed, by
employing an old man and woman to cot the fets, by
whofe unikilfulnefs there were many great gaps among
the potatoes as they came up •, ,fo that, on the waole,
he reckons that he thus loft from 560 to 800 bulhels.
On the whole, however, his opinion is favourable to
3
L T U Ft E. Pra&ice.
the duller potato. “ Yv ith fmall crops (fays he), Culture of
and at the low rate of value which is produced by con- Particular
fuming them at home, they are clearly proved to be a v   ;
crop which will pay the expence of manuring, and ve- ,
rv ample tillage and hoeing. 'I his is, after all, the
chief object of modern hulbandry ; for if a man can
rely upon this potato for the winter conlumption for
his'' yard, in fattening or keeping hogs, in feeding his
horfes, and fattening his bullocks, he has made one of
the greateft acquiiitions that can be defired j fince he
can do all this upon land much too ftift and wet loi
turnips ; houfes his crops before the winter rams come
on ; and confequently without doing any of that inju¬
ry- to his land which the turnip culture is known to en¬
tail, and from which even Cabbages, are not net.
Thole who know the importance of winter food on a
turnip farm cannot but admit the magnitude of this ob¬
ject on wet foils.” „ v . n • nr
Mr Marfliall, in his Rural Economy of A orkflnre, Mr Mar-
has feveral very interefting remarks on the potato. Its
varieties, lie lavs, arc endlefs and tranhtory. Ihe
rough fkinned Ruffian potato, which was long a favour¬
ite of the Yorkfhire farmers, he is of opinion has now
no longer an exiftence, more than many others which 298
fiourifiied for a time. “ There is feme realon to be-on the curl,
lieve (fays he) that the difeafe which has of late years
been fatal to the potato crop in this and in other di-
ftrids, under the name of CURLED TOPS, has arilen
from too long a continuance of declining varieties. Be
this as it may, it appears to be an eftabliihed opinion
here, that/re/% varieties, raifed from feed, are not liable
to that difeafe.” Our author, however, does not look
upon this to be a fa<ft abfolutely eftablilhed : though
one inftance fell under his ohlervation, m which its
removal was in all probability owing to the introduc¬
tion of new varieties. It made its appearance between
40 and to years ago, and Ipread in fome degree ovei
the whole kingdom. In fome places it continued mt
a fliort time, fo that its effects are almoft forgotten.
It is feldom obvious at the firft coming up ot the
plants ; hut attacks them as they increafe m fize ; the
entire top becoming dwarfifh and fhrivelled as if affected
by drought or loaded with infefts : they nevertheleis
liye, and increafe, though flowly, in fize 5 but the roots
are unproduclive. Some crops have been almoft wholly
deftroyed by this difeafe. In Yorkflure the Morelands
are in a manner free from it, hut the \ ale is m lome
meafure infected. Plants procured from the More¬
lands remain free from it in the A ale the firft year,
but, being continued, become liable to the diieaie.
Where the attack has been partial, weeding out the
difeafed plants as they failed, is laid to have had a
good effect •, and it is Hid the Morelanders got rid ol
the difeafe by this means. 2^, ,
In Yorklhire fome intelligent hufbandmen are ae-Me^ot
quainted with the method ol raffing potatoes Irom ^
feed 5 which is as follows: “ In autumn when thefee(L
apples are beginning to fall fpontaneoufly, they aie
gathered by hand, and preferved among land until the
fpring, when they are maflied among the land or among
frelli mould •, feparating the feeds and mixing them
evenly with the mould. As foon as the Ipring ro s
are judged to be over, they are fown in fine garden
mould j and as fall as the plants get into rough leaf,
and are ftrong enough to be handled without wjury.
Part I. A G Pt I C U L T U R L 40^
Culture of they are tranfplanted into another bed of rich mould
particular in rows, which are kept clean during iummer. In an*
, Plants. ^ tumn bunches of fmall potatoes are found at the roots
of thefe plants ; varying in fize, the lirit year, from a
hazel nut to that of a crab. Thefe being planted next
fpring, produce potatoes of the middle fize j but
they do not arrive at their fulleft bulk until the
third or fourth year. Where the ufe ot the Hove or
the garden frame can be had, this proceis may be
fliortened. The feeds being town within either of
thefe early in the fpring, the plants will be fit to
be planted out as foon as the frofts are gone j by
which means the fize of the roots Avill be much in-
creafed the firft year, and will in the fecond rife nearly
to perfesStion.”
Another account of the mode or railing potatoes
. from Iced is given by Mr Henry I)oby ot W oodiide
MricvL Chapel, Allerton, near Leeds. “'Take the largelt po-
vsl. xix. tato apples, of the kind you with to renew, and living
them on a very ftrong coarfe thread, and hang them
in a dry warm place till the latter end of I' ebruary;
when breaking them very Imall, and wafhing them in
feveral waters, the feed is to be feparated from the
flelliy part and fkms ; this done, it fliould be fpread on
brown paperand, when dry, fow it in the beginning
of March, or fooner, on a hot-bed, in lines about nine
inches afunder, and one third of an inch deep, and very
thin : water between the lines frequently, and when the
plants are rifen a little height, introduce fine rich earth
between the lines to ftrengthen them. They Hiould
have air admitted frequently, the better to enable them
to bear being removed into the open air as foon as the
weather fliall be lufficiently temperate. Before they
are tranfplanted, they fhould be plentifully watered, to
make them rife with a large ball at their roots } old
rotten horfe dung and yellow mols are the heft ma¬
nures ; 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 j as they grow 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 lormed 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 pota¬
toes a piece } the produce of which for ten or twelve
,0o years after will be prodigious.”
! Dr Ander- In the 4th volume of the Bath Papers, Dr Anderfon
) ion’s expe- relates fome experiments made on potatoes raifed from
I r*raents. feed. The firfl year they were of different fizes, from
a pigeon’s egg to that of a fmall pea. On planting
thefe next year, it was invariably found, that the lar-
gefl potatoes yielded the largcft crop} and the fame
happened the third, when a few Ihowed bloffom ‘7 but
not even thefe had bulbs equal to what would have
been produced by very large potatoes. Whence he
concludes, that it is impoffible to affign any time in
which thefe feedling potatoes Will arrive at what is
called perfc&ion ; but that it muft. depend very much
on the nature of the foil and the culture bellowed up¬
on them. From the practice of the Yorkfhire far¬
mers, however, and even from the expei'iments of the
Debtor himfelf, it is evident, that potatoes raifed in
this way will at lall grow’ to the ufual fize, as during
the three years in which his experiments wore conti- Culture of
nued they conftantly increafed in bulk. Dr Ander- particular
ion likewife contends, that there is no reafon for fup- , 1 ,
pofing that potatoes raifed from bulbs in the ordinary ^QI
way degenerate, or require to be renewed by feminal whether
varieties 3 and he inflances the uni verbal practice of potatoes de-
Britain and Ireland for a great number of years pafL generate.
But this may be accounted for from an obfervation of
Mr MarfhaR’s, that varieties of potatoes, like thofe of
corn, are partial to particular foils and lituations
Hence, bv tranfplanting all the different varieties of
potatoes into all polfible foils and fituations, as has been
done within this lall century in the iflands of Britain
and Ireland, thefe varieties have continued for a much
longer time than they would otherwife have done.
In Yorkfhire, 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 neceffity from time to time
of renewing them for feed 3 though it deferves well
to he confidercd whether it would not be more eligible
to choofe the feed from a plant in full vigobr than from
that which is fo far degenerated that it can fcarce pro¬
duce its feed. “ Potatoes raifed from feed (fays Mr
Marfliall) are a mifcellany of endlefs varieties. Some¬
times thefe varieties are planted mifcellaneoufly 3 fomc-
times particular varieties are lelebled. In felebling
varieties from feedling potatoes, two things are to
be attended to 3 the intrinfic quality of the potato, and
its produefivenefs. If thefe two defirable properties
can be found in one plant, the choice is determined.
To this fpecies of attention and induftry w’e are indebt¬
ed for the many valuable kinds which have been and
now are diflributed throughout the ifland. It is ob-
fervable, however, that varieties ot potatoes, like
thofe of corn, are partial to particular toils and litua¬
tions. Hence the propriety of hulbandmen raifing po¬
tatoes from feed 3 as by this means, they obtain, until
a degree of moral certainty, a fort adapted to their
own particular foils and fituations. W hoever has at¬
tended clofely to the work of taking up potatoes,
mull have obierved 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 fub-va-
rieties; through whole means, it can hardly be doubted
the parent variety may he improved, and its continu¬
ance be prolonged. Thus the farmer has another mean
in his power of improving the quality and productive-
nefs of his potato crop, by improving varieties 3 or, in
other Words, felecting fub-varieties, fuperiorly adapted
to his foil and fituation.” . Farmer's
Sir Archibald Grant, Baronet, of Monymulk, in a Magazine,
letter to the conductors of the Farmer’s Magazine, has 1802.
recently made known a mode practifed by him with a ob_
view to the faving of feed, and the obtaining an early tain an ear-
crop of potatoes. “ In fpring 1800, (fays that gentle-ly crop,
man), from a fcarcity of feed, I followed a method
fometimes ufed by gardeners, for forcing early potatoes,
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 he good plants, and the leaves about an inch
3 E 2 long.
404
Culture of
particular
Plants.
AGRICULTUR E.
Pradice.
303
Potatoes
planted by
fcooping-
out the
long. The diunghiil was about three feet broad and 18
inches high, witR from 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 Aberdeenfhire meafure (or 32lb.
l)utch to the peck) of fifiall potatoes cut into lets,
fluek as dole to each other as poffible in the rows, and
each row about two inches afunder. On the 17th of
April they were put upon the dunghill •, 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
alunder each way. On the 12th June they were earthed
with the plough, and were afterwards dreifed in the or¬
dinary method. On the iff Monday of October, 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
parifh, 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 fix weeks
were gained in growth by this method.”
During the late great dearth of all kinds of provifions,
a plan was adopted with a view to fave for food a part
of the potatoes ufed as feed, which confifted of not
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 fuccefsful with a
great number of perfons } but in fome inftances, where
the ground was not in an excellent Hate of preparation,
the crop is underftood to have been moi*e defective
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 muft Hill be confidered as doubtful or worthy of
farther inveHigation. We are rather difpofed to think
that the practice of (lightly fcooping out the eye will
not ultimately prove beneficial, becaufe in ordinary
cafes the plant Avill he left deHitute of due nourifliment
from the parent root at too early a period of its growth,
sand before it is completely capable of deriving its fub-
fiHence 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 objeftion may not in¬
deed hold good with regard to potatoes planted on a
very fine foil, or upon a hotbed, for tranfplanting after
the manner adopted by Sir Archibald Grant above men¬
tioned. But on poor lands, where the Hrength of the
young plants is more feverely tried, any deleft in the
fize of the root planted will probably always be produc¬
tive of bad effefts.
2. Turnip.
Culture of Turnip delights in a gravelly foil 5 and there it can
turnip. be raifed to the greateil perfeftion, and with the leaH
hazard of mifearrying. At the fame time, there is no
foil hut will bear turnip when well prepared.
No perfon ever deferved better of a country than he
who firH cultivated turnip in the field. No plant is
better fitted for the climate of Britain, no plant prof-
pers better in the coldefl part of it, and no plant con¬
tributes more to fertility. In a word, there has not
lor two centuries been introduced into Britain a more
valuable improvement.
Of all roots, turnip requires the fiaeft mould; ami
3°4
to that end, of all harrows froH is the beH. In order Culture of
to give accefs to froH, the land ought to be prepared particular
by ribbing after harveit, as above direfted in preparing , *>larits- .
land for barley. If the field be not fuhjeft to annuals,
it may lie in that Hate till the end of May; otherwife,
the weeds muH be deHroyed by a braking about the
middle of April, and again in May, if weeds arife.
The firH week of June, plough the field with a (hallow
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
fuffieiently, by going round it with the plough, and
forming the three feet (paces into ridges. The dung
comes thus to lie below the crown of every ridge. 305
The feafon of fowing muH he regulated by the time Seafons and
intended for feeding. Where intended for feeding in ’“A1”)1 ^
November, December, January, and February, the
feed ought to be fown from the iH to the 20th of June.
Where the feeding is intended to be carried on to
March, April and May, the feed muH not be fown till
the end of July. Turnip fown earlier than above direft¬
ed, flowers that very fummer, and runs fail 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 of
any thicknefs, the fafeH 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 hear the ravage of the
black fly, and leave a fufficient crop behind. It is a
proteftion againH drought, gives the plants a rapid pro-
grefs, and eHablifiies them in the ground before it is
neceflary to thin them.
The fowing turnip broad-caH is almofl univerfal in
England, and common in Scotland, though a barbarous
praftice. The eminent advantage of turnip is, that, he-
fides a profitable crop, it makes a mofl complete fallow;
and the latter cannot he obtained hut by horfe-hoeing.
Upon that account, the foiving turnip in roA\rs at three
feet dillance is recommended. W ider toavs anfwer no
profitable end, Hraiter roAvs afford not room for a horfe
to Avalk in. When the turnip is about four inches high,
annual Aveeds Avill appear. Go round every interval
Avith the flighteff furrow poflible, at the diHance of
tAvo inches from each toav, moving the earth from the
roAvs toward the middle of the interval. A thin plate
of iron muff 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 Aveed the
rows Avith their fingers ; which is better, and cheaper
done, than Avith the hand-hoe. The hand-hoe, befi4p,
is apt to diffurb the roots of the turnip that are to
Hand, and to leave them open to drought by removing
the earth from them. The Handing turnip are to be
at the diHance of twelve inches from each other : a
greater diHance makes them fwell too much ; a lefs
diHance affords them not fufficient room. A woman
foon comes to be expert in finger-Aveeding. The fol-
loAving hint may be neceflary to a learner. To fecure
the turnip that is to Hand, let her cover it Avith the left
hand; and Avith the right pull up the turnip on both
fides. After thus freeing the Handing turnip, (lie may
fafely ufe both hands. Let the field remain in this
Hate till the appearance of new annuals niake a fecond
ploughing
Part I.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
306 _
Properties
!of different
forts of tur¬
nips.
307
Obferva-
tions with
regard to
feed.
A G R I C U
ploughing necefiary j which muft he in the fame fur¬
row with the former, 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;
the reft 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 oppoiite direc¬
tion, which lays the earth to the roots of the plants.
This ploughing may be about the middle of Auguft j
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, may be cleared
with a hand-hoe, which can do little mifehief among
plants diftant 12 inches from each other. It is certain,
however, that it 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 heft 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 lows three or four rows at
once. Hand-hoeing is proper for fuch gronud •, be-
caufe the foil under the burnt Jlratum is commonly full
ol roots, which digeft and rot better under ground than
when brought to the furface by the plough. In the
mean time, while thefe are digefting, the allies will fe-
cure a good crop.
In cultivating turnips to advantage, great care fliould
be taken to procure a good, bright, nimble, and well-
dried feed, and of the beft kinds.
The Norfolk farmers generally raife the oval white,
the large green-topped, and the red or purple-topped
kinds, which from long experience they have found to
be the moft profitable.
The roots of the green-topped will grow to a large
fize, and continue good much longer than others. The s
red or purple-topped will alfo grow large, and continue
good to the beginning of February •, but the roots be¬
come hard and ftringy fooner than the former.
The green-topped growing more above ground, is in
more danger of fuftaining injury from fevere frofts than
the red or purple, which are more than half-covered
by the foil ; but it is the fofteft and fweeteft, when
grown large, of any kind. We have feen them brought
to table a foot in diameter, and equally good as garden
turnips.
Turnips delight in a light foil, confifting of fand and
loam mixed \ for when the foil is rich and heavy, al¬
though the crop may be as great in weight, they will
he rank, and run to flower earlier in fpring.
Turnip-ieed, like that of grain, will not do well
without frequent changing. The Norfolk feed is fent
to moft parts of the kingdom, and even to Ireland : but
after two year’s it degenerates; fo that thofe w7ho wifh
to have turnips in perfection fliould procure it frefli e-
very year from Norwich, and they will find their ac-
L T U R E. 405
count in fo doing. For, from Its known reputation, Culture of
many of the London feedfmen fell, under that charac- particular
ter, feed raifed in the vicinity of the metropolis, which , ,
is much inferior in quality.
When the plants have got five leaves, they fliould be
hoed, and let out at leaft fix inches apart. A month
afterward, or earlier, if it be a wet feafon, a fecond hoe¬
ing ihould take place, and the plants be left at leaft 14
inches diftant from each other, efpecially if intended for
feeding cattle } for where the plants are left thicker,
they will be proportionably iinaller, unlefs the land is
very rich indeed. ^0§
Some of the beft Norfolk farmers fow turnips in Methods of
drills three feet afunder, and at a fecond hoeing leave cu!ture in
them a foot apart in the rows. By tins means the 'sorlolk-
trouble and expence of hoeing is much lelfened, and
the crop is of equal weight as when 1'own 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- Communi-
ture, the refult of fome interefting experiments, which to
we lliall here ftate, that were made by Mr W. Jobfon 0f A^ricuL
of Turvelaws, with a view to afeertain the comparative tare, vol. ik
merits of the two modes of rearing turnips by drill or
broad-caft. The trial was made upon a part of a field 309
of 15 acres fown in the month of June 1797. “ The Culture of
whole field, fays Mr Jobfon, was in equal tilth, was^™1?^
manured as equally as pofliblc immediately before |iro.l(j_cafl.'
flowing with rotted fold-yard dung, at the rate of 17 compared,
cart loads per acre, each load containing about 28
A\ inchefter bufliels j and in order to make the experi¬
ment perfectly fair, there were breadths of land of
20 yards each, fown in broad-caft and drills alternate¬
ly throughout the whole field. Part of the drills on
one-hout ridges, of 27 inches each, with the dung laid
immediately underneath, where the row of feed was
depofited j the reft of the drills upon a level furface,
were fown by Mr Bayley’s machine at 21 inches di-
ftance. The produce per acre is calculated from the
weight of four fquare perches, or the fortieth part of a
ftatute acre of each, having firft cut oft the tails, or fi¬
brous part of the root, and thrown them afide, as unfit
for food, and then, taken the weight of the tops and
roots feparately.
“ It is neceflary to obferve, that this field of turnip
was but a middling crop, having been much hurt im¬
mediately after the firft hoeing, by the grub (a final!
worm which deftroys the root), particularly the drilled
part of the field, which, having had the plants fet out,
at the diftances 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-
ftanding which, it was found that thofe on the one-
bout ridges exceeded the others in weight 5 alfo, that
thefe parcels of turnips were taken from an inferior
(though not the worft) part of the field, and may
therefore he deemed to be a pretty fair average of the
whole:
(g) Children under thirteen may be employed to weed turnips with the fingers. We have feen them go on
in that work with alacrity 5 and a final] premium will have a good efl’eft. For boys and girls above thirteen, a
band-hoe adapted to their fize is an excellent inftrument: it ftrengthens the arms amazingly. In driving the
plough, the legs only are exercifed 5 but as the arms are chiefly employed in hufbandry, they ought to he prt pa
*'ed beforehand by gentle exercife.
406
Culture of whole : there were alfo three other portions weighed,
particular which were taken from a part of the field where the
Plants. |'oots Avere larger, and a fuller crop, Avith a view to af-
i certain what might have been expected, had not the
grub feized them in the manner deferibed ; but unfor¬
tunately the paper containing their Aveight has been
loll or miilaid, which puts it out of my poAver to fur-
nilh you with it. There Avas alfo an account taken of
the number (but not the Aveight) of loads Avhich Avere
produced upon a feAV acres of the worll part of the field,
Avhich Avas in favour of the broad-call, in the propor¬
tion of ten of broad-call to nine of thofe drills on one-
bout ridges, and eight of Mr Bayley’s drill.
“ From this experiment (though defe&ive from the
reafon afiigned) avc have reafon to conjecture, though
not to form a conclufion, that a heavier crop may be
raifed by fowing in drills at 27 inches diftance Avith
the dung immediately beneath the plants, than in broad-
call or in drills at 21 inches on a level furface: but
whether the advantage arifes from the fituation in
Avhich 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.
Notwithllanding this, it Avill be found, that each ol
thefe methods poffeOTes peculiar advantages and difad-
A'antages, according to fituations and circumllances j
the reafons for Avhich I deduce from the obfervations
I have made refpecling this as Avell as former crops.
In the firll place, the one-bout ridges I think prefer¬
able for early foAving, 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 *, alfo irt fituations where it is difficult to
procure a fufficient number of experienced hoers,
Practice.
thofe under the drill fyllem can lye more eafily mana- Culture of
ged and at lefs expence, as boys and girls may be rea- particular
dily taught to fet out the plants with great regularity , f
in very little time ) but turnips under this fyftem are
liable to the inconvenience of being more apt to be in¬
jured by fevere frofts from their high expoiure. Ano¬
ther inconvenience I have alio obferved on wet and
heavy lands, more efpecially Avith little declivity, that,
although there fliould, and poffibly may, be a larger
crop produced thereby, yet the land aviII 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. W hen it
is attempted to raife turnips upon land of this deienp-
tion, it Avill be found more advantageous to form it
into ridges @f fufficient height to carry oft the water
Avith eafe into the water furrows, and ol fufficient
breadth (fuppofe fifteen feet) to allow a cart to pals
along them freely, Avithout forcing the earth in to
choke up thefe furroAvs. The turnips may be foAvn ei
ther in broad-caft or in drills, upon the furface of thefe
ridges. If the land is addicted to annual Avceds, they
Avill be bell in drills, which Avill expedite the hoeing:
but if not, or if they be late in foAving, or if the land
be fubjeft to the grub, broad-caft will 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 vigoroufly be-
tAveen the firft and fecond hoeings.”
The refult of the experiment here alluded to, is
Hated in the folloAving manner :
agriculture.
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 Avith Mr Bayley’
machine, on a level fur¬
face, at 21 inches di¬
ftance.
III. Broad-caft.
I V.Drilled on one-bout rid ees,
at 27 inches diftance.
V. Broad-caft. Thefe and the
preceding were round
Avhite turnips.
VI. Broad-caft (Red.)
Time of
weighing.
January
ditto
do.
Mar. 2.
Number
upon four
fquare
perches.
354
428
568
334
628
561
Weight on four fquare
perches, or the 40th
part of ah acre.
ROOTS.
Cwt. qr. lb
8 1 1
7 1 ^ Si
7 2 124
8 2 22.
6 3
TOPS.
Cvvt. qr. lb
1 1 3
1 Si
o ii£
1 22
1 1 8
2 3 5
Average
Weight per ftatutej weight
of each
turnip.
Tons. cwt. qr. lb.
19 I O 20
17 7
17 8
1 8
1 26
Average diftance of
each turnip.
20 7 3 12
20 O 2 24
19 II I O
lb. oz.
3
2 4!
1 ii4
61
1 11
1 15J
16^ in. by 27 in.
17 in. by 21 in.
16% each Avay.
17 by 27 in.
16 each Avay.
164- each Avay.
“ By noting the average diftance of each turnip, as
is done in the laft column, is intended to Ihow, at one
view, how many plants there Avere wanting in the drills
to have made them a full crop} for, if 550 be ftated
as a medium number in a full crop, upon the 40th part
of an acre, they Avill be found to occupy a fpace of 17
inches each way in broad-caft, io-J by 27 inches on
the one-bout ridges, and 134- by 21 inches of thofe
drilled
Part I.
Culture of dtilled on the level iarface ; from whence may be ea-
partieular lily leen, how much thole were wider in the rows than
Plants, they ought to have been,”
1 'v Great quantities of turnips are raifed in Norfolk
every year for feeding black cattle, which turn to great
„10 advantage. ^
Vaiue as It is well known, that an acre of land contains 4840
food for fquare yards, or 43,560 fquare feet 5 fuppofe then that
cattle. every fquare foot contains one turnip, and that they
weigh only two pounds each on an average, here wrill
be a mats 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 oft the land. In feeding
them oft", the cattle fhould not be fuffered to run over
too much of the ground at once, for in that cafe they
will tread down and ipoil twice as many as they eat.
In Norfolk, they are confined by hurdles to as much
as is fuffieient 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
tailed •, but this is a vulgar error. The bell mutton in
Norfolk (and few counties have better) is all fed with
turnips. It is by rank pallures, and marlhy lands, that
rank mutton is produced.
If the land be wet and fpringy, the bell 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 lo lliff, that you mull be at
an additional expence in ploughing.
Method of To preferve turnips for late fpring feed, the bell me-
prefening thod, and which has been tried with luccels by lome
uirnips. 0f the heft Englilh farmers, is, To Hack them up in
dry llraw, 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 to Iheep), 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 j and then another layer
of llraw, and fo on alternately, till you have brought
the heap to a point. Care mull be taken to turn up
the edges of the layers of llraw, to prevent the turnips
from rolling out ; cover the top well with long ftraw,
and it will ferve as a thatch for the whole.
In this method, as the llraw imbibes the moifture ex¬
haled from the roots, all vegetation trill be prevented,
and the turnips will be nearly as good in May, as when
firll drawn from the field. If llraw be Icarce, old haulm
or Hubble will anfwer the fame purpofe.
But to prevent this trouble and expence, perhaps
farmers in all counties would find it moil to their inte-
rell to adopt the method ufed by our neighbours the
Norfolk farmers, which is, to continue fowing turnips
to the latter end of Augull j 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.
The advantages of having turnips good till the fpring
feed is generally ready, are fo obvious, and lo great,
4®7
that many of the moll intelligent farmers (although at Culture of
firll prejudiced againll the practice) are now come into particular
it, and find their account in fo doing. , Pl^Dts- t
Turnips have long been in fuch general ufe as food ,I2
for cattle, that the profit on railing them might be rea- Their cul-
fonably thought to be altogether certain •, neverthe- ture faid to
lefs, Mr Young, in the paper already quoted, informs j36 gcneral-
us, that “ turnips dunged for are univerfally a lofing e
cropj for if they are Hated from 30s. to 40s. an acre, profit,
their value does not amount to the dung alone which
is fpread for potatoes j yet the latter pays that dung,
all other expences, and leaves a profit fometimes cou-
fiderable. I admit that turnips fed upon the land Avill
prepare better for corn j but that is by no means the
quellion. Would 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 ? 1 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 ules to which the other ^13
root cannot be applied.”—In the fecond volume ol the Compared
Bath Papers, p. 101. we have a comparative account with other
of the value of turnips, turnip-rooted cabbage, and lu-ve|^b^
cerne, as food for cattle. The refult of this writer’s cuUlc_
obfervations is, that “ when flieep are allowed as many
turnips as they can cat (which Hiould always be the
cafe when they are fattening), they will, on an average,
eat near 20 pounds each in 24 hours. An acre of tur¬
nips, twice hoed, will, if the land be good, produce a-
bout 50 tons ; which will, on the above calculation,
maintain 100 flieep 52 days. The flieep mentioned
weigh 20 pounds per quarter. An acre of turnip-root¬
ed cabbage will maintain 100 flieep for a month, and
fometimes five weeks y but an acre of Scots cabbages
will maintain 200 flieep a full month.” The number
fed by lucerne is not determined. 3x4
The greatefl difadvantage which attends a crop of The fly oc-
turnips, is their being fo ready to be damaged by the jnthe
fly, which fometimes deHroys them fo completely, that £onvelli ‘
they mull be fown over again two or three times the ence in tur-
fame feafon, and even this without any certainty of fuc- nip culture,
cefs. Innumerable methods of avoiding this evil have
been projected, which may all be reduced to the fol¬
lowing dalles : 1. Steeping the feed in certain liquids.
2. Fumigation of the fields wifli the fmoke of certain
herbs. 3. Rolling. 4. Strewing foot, lime, allies, &e.
on the furface of the ground. It is very difficult, how¬
ever, to determine, with any degree of certainty, whe¬
ther remedies of this kind are effedual or not •, becaufe
fometimes the turnips are not injured though no pre¬
caution has been made ufe of: and when this happens
to be the cafe, after the ufe of any fitppofed preven¬
tive, the prefervation of the crop is aferibed to the
ufe of that preventive, whether it be really efficacious ^
or not. The virtues of Heeps feem to have been fully whether
afeertained by Mr Winter Charlton near Briflol, to fteeps for
whofe experiments an account is given in the Tranfac-
tions of the Society for encouraging Arts, vol. v. The ^ any
feeds were of the Dutch kind, lowed on beds in the
kitchen garden in drills, about twelve inches diflant,
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 follow ing table}
AGRICULTUR E.
*
4o8 A G R I C U
Culture of the hell being marked I } and thofe of inferior quality,
particular 2, 3, &c. The observations were taken on the 26th
1 Plants. ^ 0^- Jmie#
Seed without any preparation, - - I
fteeped in train oil flourifhed extremely,
fteeped in linfeed oil, fomewhat inferior, I
Seed mixed with foot and water, - - 2
with drainings of a dunghill, - 2
with elder and barton draining, - 2
with foot, 3
with elder leaf juice, ^ - 3
with elder and barton draining, foot
being fowed over the covered drills, 3
with ditto, and lime fowed over the
drills, » - 3
fowed with foot fcattered over, and then
covered, ~ - 3
with barton draining, - - 4
an elder bulb drawn over when the
plants appeared, - - 4
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 flaked
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 j 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
ol the beds were found free from the ravages of the
fly ", but the feed which had been fteeped in train oil
and linleed oil were 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 iuppofed 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 much 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 allies, wood allies, pounded
gunpowder, brimftone, flaked limev foot, barton-drain¬
ing } fometimes mixed together in various proportions,
and fometimes with the addition of a portion of fifted
mould.
Thefe experiments fhow, that no dependence can be
had on fteeps or mixtures of any kind with the turnip-
feed 5 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
3x6 indeed does it feem eafy to be tried in fuch a manner
tor Gul- as might enfure fuccefs.—In the fourth volume of the
tionslbrC" Tapers, Mr Gullet of Devonfhire gives fuch di-
iumigation re<^ons f°r performing the operation as he thinks would
be productive of fuccefs.—In a preceding paper he had
explained the good effeCts of fumigating orchards j but
L T U R E. ' radiiee.-
the cafe with thefe mull lie very confiderably different Culture of
from a field of turnips. The trees in an orchard are particular
elevated above the ground, and the fmoke naturally af- ^anti>-
cends, and is blown along their tops : but in fumigatingv
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 j and without an exceffive degree of labour,, as well
as a vaft quantity of burning materials, there cannot be
the leal! hope of fuccefs. Mr Gullet’s directions are as
follow : “ If the turnip-ground be fpaded and burnt, or
the weeds, &c. 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 flowing, let heaps be
made at different places and intervals round by the
hedges and boundaries of the turnip-ground, 'and fome
few fcattered through the field j then, as foon as the
feed is flown, let the heaps on the windward fide and
the fcattered ones be lighted and kept fmothering 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 fliift, thofe heaps on the quarter it
fliifts to mull then be lighted and kept fmothering in
like manner j fo that during the growth of the tender
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 j
which I venture to alfert, will effectually deter and
prevent any winged infect tribe from approaching the
turnip ground: nay more, if there already, it would
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 fuch 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 as fife 3 and few,
I believe, will difagree with me, thatpreventioji is better
than remedy.”
Our author does not fay that he has ever tried this
method with turnips 3 but lays great ftrefs upon his fuc¬
cefs in a fimilar experiment with cabbages, in order to
pi-eferve them from the caterpillar. To make the mat¬
ter more fure, however, he recommends the trailing of
a bulb: of elder over the turnip field at the time of har¬
rowing or bruflung in the feed : but this I'emedy has
by numberlefs experiments been found xnfignificant,
and by thofe above related feems even to be pernicious:
fo that whatever good effects we can expect from this
method, muft depend on the fumigation alone 3 and
even this is attended with very great uncertainties, as
has already been obferved. ^
Kolling promifes to be of fervice when the young Of rolling,
turnips are attacked by fnails, which frequently deftroy
them 3 but it cannot be fuppofed to have much effect
in deftroying flies, thefe being too numerous and too
minute to be effedtually crufhed by the roller: and in¬
deed, though this has been frequently recommended,
we have no decifive proofs of its having ever been at¬
tended with any good effeft.
The ftrewing of foot, lime, allies, &c. upon the
ground, have been determined ineffedtual by the expe¬
riments already related, at leaft when applied before
the turnips come 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
Part I.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
3i8
Early f<nv-
iutf recom¬
mended.
\ -J19
mowing a
great quan¬
tity of feed.
A G It I C U
indeed a priori about the tafte or fmell of foot, lime,
&c. being difagreeable to infers •, but of this we have
no proof: and even though this were the cafe, the leaf
foon emerges from under this covering, or the ini cots
will feed on the under part of the leaves, where thefe
•fubftances cannot lie. It is evident, therefore, that very-
little can he expedled from any of the methods hitherto
propofed either by way of cure or prevention. The
more probable methods are,
1. To low the turnips at fuch a.feafon of the year
that they may be well grown before the fly makes its
appearance. In the Bath Papers, vol. iv. p. 132. Mr
Wimpey obferves, that in order to procure food for
their cattle in the fpring before the grais is grown, far¬
mers are obliged to poiipone the lowing of turnips be--
yond the natural time of vegetation : but were turnips
to 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 {bowers, foon after the feed is fown : and
this Our author luppofes to be the true reafon why the
turnip is a more uncertain article than any other. But
though fpeculations of this kind have a great fliow of
probability, there is not any experiment hitherto pub-
lilhed, even by our author himfelf, by which the truth
of the above conjedture can be abfolutely afcertained.
Our author, however, is of opinion, that none of the
common methods propoied can anfwer any good pur-
pofe, farther than as by means of them the Vegetation
of the plant may be invigorated. Mr Wimpey recom¬
mends allies, loot, or a rich compoft of lime and dung
ufed in fufficient quantities ; but the method of ufing
them is, either to fow them with the feed, or rather by
themfelves immediately before, and to harrow them well
in, that they may be completely incorporated with the
foil. This for the moll part would fo invigorate and
encourage the growth of the plants, as to be an over¬
match for the molt vigorous attacks of the fly.
2. Another method propofed for fecuring turnips
from the fly, is by fowing fuch a quantity of feed as
will be more than fufficient for the confumpt of the in-
fects. This we find recommended in a letter to the
Bath Society, by a gentleman-farmer in Elfex, vol. ii.
p. 238. His method is to make the land clean and
fine as loon as the fealon will permit, and to fow four
pints per acre. It may be objected, that if the fly does
not take them, the plants will ftand fo thick, that they
cannot ealily be hoed ; but this may be obviated by har¬
rowing them fii-ft, which will make them fit for the
hoe. There can be no expectation of a crop if the fly
takes them when only a pint of feed is fown per acre 5
but this gentleman remarks, that he has not in any one
inllance miffed of a crop when he fowed four pints}
becaufe, though the fly has fometimes deftroyed more
than one half, and much damaged the other, flill there
was a fufficient number left behind. He alfo agrees
with other of the Society’s correfpondents, that the
ground ffiould be well dunged and manured previous to
the fowing of turnips, as this makes them grow vigo-
roufly, fo that they quickly get into the rough leaf, in
which ftate the fly will not touch them.
Vol. I. Part II.
L T U R E. 409
In the fame volume, a gentleman of Norfolk remarks, Culture of
tuat manuring the ground in autumn for turnips is pre- particular
ferable to the doing lo in fpring. This diicovex-y he Rlants.
made in confequence of the following accident.—“ A ' *
neighbouring farmer, not having a fufficient quantity of Manuring
manure tor all his turnip land, was under the nccelfity in autumn
of fowing four acres unmanured. The efleet was, that Feferabl®
the turnips on the manured part of the land wereto fPnnS
mollly eaten oil by the fly, while four acres unmanured
efcaped without injury.” In confequence of having
obferved this, the gentleman made a limilar experi¬
ment, by manuring five acres well for turnips, and tilling
three acres and a half in the ufual way without any
manure. The manured crops were aim oft all deftroyed
by the fly, fo that he was obliged to low moft of the
land over again. 'Ihe three acres and a half which
had no manure Were entirely fx-ee from injury, though
the plants were much fmaller than thole of the manu¬
red ground which came up. Not content with this
trial, however, he repeated the experiment by manu¬
ring fix acres of wheat Hubble 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-
prifing luccefs 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 loies its noxious qualities, though it ftill 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 no manure at all, have been almoft totally deftroy¬
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 almoft immediately, and are moftly
killed by the cold of the fucceeding winter, while the
few that remain can fcarce efcape deftrudtion from the
plough lb are. o2r
Mr Wimpey is alfo of opinion, that it is proper to Mr Wim-
fow a large quantity of feed; but thinks two pounds I’W5 °P*-
will he fufficient for an acre. A few ounces indeed a
would be fufficient to flock the land ; but as the article great"qcan-
is fo precarious, he thinks it by far the fafeft way to tity of feed,
allow feed in plenty, and reduce the plants afterwards
by harrowing. He obferves alfo, that it is of great
confequence to have feed both good in quality and of
the heft fpecies. He prefers the large and green top¬
ped, as being the moft fweet and juicy ; others give
the preference to the red or purple-topped, as being 32-2
hardier : but at any rate, the feed from the largell and ^tbe
fineft tranfplanted turnips, of whatever fort, is greatly
to be preferred, even though it fliould coft double or
treble the price. Such as is fold by tlie feedfmen in
London he found generally of a mixed kind, and often
in great part not worth cultivating. “ Whether plants
from new or old feed are moft fecure from the depre¬
dations of the fly (fays he), is perhaps a queftion which
cannot be eafily determined even by experiments ; for
concomitant circumflances are frequently fo much more
operative and powerful, as to render the differefTce be-
3 F tween.
4io
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
Plants
323
Of fowing
turnips
324
With
wheat.
Culture of ttveen them, it there he any, imperceptible. It is, how-
particular ever, known to every practical man, that new feed
fprouts or vegetates feveral days before old; and i
think more vigoroully : 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, cceteris paribus, is
more fecure from the fly than old 5 and for my own ufe
I would always prefer it.”
3. The fowing of turnips along with grain.—
This, of all others, feems to be the moll eligible and
with gram, efficacious. In the fecond volume of Bath Papers,
p. 210. a Hertfordffiire 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; 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-call 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
harvefl 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-
riments of nipS between rows of beans. The advantages of this
fowing method are llrongly fet forth by R. P. Anderdon, Efq.
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 bell Norfolk farmers give five plough-
mgs. 3. It is hoed cheaper, more effedtually, and con-
fequently more profitably, than in any other w'ay.
4. The ground is kept clean from weeds. 5. It is in
order for a Lent crop the fucceeding 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 perfection in poor gronnd, where it would not be¬
come fo otherwife. 8. It doubles the crop in any
ground whicli 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 farmer, by this
mode, renders land which is naturally unfit for turnips,
fo free and open by feafonable horfe-hoeings, that it
will bring this ufeful plant to great perfection.
On this paper the Society made fome remarks, and
by the Bath Hated the following objections: 1. That the fame foil
Society. cannot he proper for both crops. Scotch cabbages are
more adapted for a bean foil; and they wilhed him to
repeat the experiment with cabbages inflead of turnips
325
Mr Ander-
them with
beans.
326
Objections
betwixt his beans. 2. The Norfolk farmers rarely ufe £u]ture
more than three ploughings for turnips, inflead of five, particular
as Mr Anderdon reprefents, unlefs the ground be full Plants,
of couch-grafs. 3. They think him too fanguine in his 11 *"'
expectations of having double crops on the fame field.
4. Nothing renders a clay foil fo free and open as to
have it expofed to frofls and fnow by being laid up in
high ridges in January and February; but, on Mr An-
derdon’s plan, this cannot be done, unlefs the turnips
are leffened in value by being fed off in autumn.
Thefe Uriel ores were feat to Mr Anderdon before Mr Ander-
the papers were printed, but did not make any altera- don’s n pK.
tion in his opinion j and he replied to the following
purpofe.
1. The fame foil cannot be properfor beans and tur¬
nips, &c.—Granted.—But had Mr Anderdon adhered
rigoroully 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
rows, four feet afunder or more, from half a dozen to
half a fcore tons of turnips per acre, after, or rather
between, a crop of beans in my heavy lands, I lha!l
feel that product here more beneficial than to drop the
mode. 1 believe the medium of the two, fo far as I
can judge by the eye or get information, to be fupe-
rior to the average produce of prepared fallow turnip
crops in 10 miles round me.”—On this the Society
make the following remarks: “ The quellion here
is, Whether, if, inflead of turnips, Mr Anderdon had
planted his beans two feet diltance only, the extra
produce of his crop would not have exceeded in value
that of his turnips ? We think they wrould, as thefe
intervals 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 wifh-
ed with Scotch cabbages, inllead of turnips betwixt
the rows of beans 5 but the crop of the turnips was fo
much preferable, that he found himfelf inclined to fup-
pofe the cabbage wrould not get to fo great perfeftion
there as to be profitably introduced on a large fcale,
for wrant 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 fearch of food,
and feed as ravenoufly where they can penetrate, as
thofe of almofl any other vegetable } and the plant cer¬
tainly derives more nourifhment from thofe than from
its tap-root (h). Thofe fine fibrous roots, almofl im¬
perceptible to the eye, ifl’ue chiefly from the apple or
body of the turnip, and get into the richefl part of the
foil near the furface, and will bring the plants to a con-
fiderable magnitude in heavy lands adapted to beans,
when mellowed by the horfe-hoe. Some of his turnips
weighed ten pounds each : and if he could have only
two fuch turnips on every fquare yard, it would be at-
the rate of 43 tons per acre..
2. The Committee doubt of the poffibilityof doubling the
crop,. Mr Anderdon gives the'following explanation.
(h) Here the Society remai-k, that this is not the cafe Avith thofe kinds of turnips Avhicb grow chiefly aboAce,
ground, and Avhich are generally the bell crops, and mofl capable of refiffing the frolls.
Fart 1.
AGRICULTURE*
4*i
Culture of “ f have made many comparative trials on turnips
particular between this mode and broad-caft lowing, and always
Plants. foun(l on my ground the horfe-hoed crops the belt.
^ But here, in denoting the benefits of the horfe-hoe
by its doubling a Crop, I wifli to be underltood, that
if, in foils like mine, a crop be drilled, leaving proper
intervals for horfe-hoeing, and one pai't 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 com¬
mittee, gives an account of another experiment he
made in confequence of being deficient in winter fodder
for his cattle. By this necellity he was induced to fow
turnips wherever he could } and on the 18th of July
drilled a fingle row between his drilled wheat. On the
the 20th and 22d of Augulf 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 Warmeil
expectation, are thick enough, and give me the pleat¬
ing profpect and hope, that I lhall not, when my dry
meat is gone, want a feafonable fupply of early green
2S fodder that will laft me till my lucerne comes on.’’
MrPavier’s This fubjecl is farther confidered in the fame vo-
epinion. lume by Mr Pavier, who viewed Mr Anderdon’s tur¬
nips, and gave in a report of them to the committee.
Pie fuppofes a crop of beans drilled in fingle rows at
four feet diftance, and the turnips drilled in the inter¬
vals, according to Mr Anderdon’s method, there will
then be four rowrs 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 239
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 (viz.
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 Town in broad-caft, twice hoed, and the
diftance on an average 15 inches, eacli turnip will then
Occupy little more than one foot and a halt, and the
number produced on an acre may be about 27,920 j an
excefs which may reafonably be iuppofed to overba¬
lance the value of the beans, let us fuppofe the crop
as great as we can reafonably do. Thus far the argu-
jnent 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-
fiderably 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 preferr¬
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 feme other caufe 5 though they do not alfigrt
Culture rtf
particular
Plants.
any reafon for this opinion. “ The principal point
(fays Mr Pavier) in determining this queftion, feems
to me to be this ; if the crop of beans drilled as above,
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 rea¬
fonably expedited in the broad-caft method more than
in the other, I lhall not hefitate to declare in favour of
drilling between the beans.”
Thus far the argument feems t6 be carried on d
priori* Mr Wimpey, in the letter above quoted, in¬
clines to the practice of fowing turnips between beans
planted in rows. “ It exactly correfponds (fays he)
with all my obfervations on the fuccefsful vegetation
of that root. A confiderable degree of moillure is
necefl'ary to the rapid vegetation of that very juiev
root, and nothing x-etains moifture equal to lhade ; and
fhade can be bbtained and fecured by no means fo ef-
fcdually 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 propriety of the
method, and its fuccefs in preventing the fly. The
beans were planted in di-ills not quite twro feet afun-
der, on two 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 clavey foil, but had 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 wrere fown pro-
mifeuoufly among the beans at the laft hoeing, which
was given about midfummer $ from which time no¬
thing was done but drawing off the beans, and carry¬
ing them off the land. 2. The crop of beans was be¬
lieved 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 befoi'e he
faw the turnip Crop, he did not expedt any thing confi¬
derable from the latter 5 but as it tuimed out, the pro¬
duce muft be accounted highly profitable, when we
confider that there was no crop loft; no preparation,
dreffing, nor any expence whatever, except the price
of the feed and fowing it. 3. This he confidei’S as one
of the ftrongeft recommendations of the drill hulhand-
ry he ever knew or heard of; but he is of opinion that
it never can anfwer, except where the ground is per¬
fectly clean and free from weeds, by the cx-ops having
been horfe-hoed for a few year’s before. 4. He thinks
the beans ought to have been planted at wider inter¬
vals, by which the fun and air would be fx-eely admit¬
ted, and the plants would alfo be lefs damaged by the
operation of the hoe.
Mr Pavier likewife informs the Society of two other Ollier expe
experiments on a fimilar plan; but with this difference,'bnents on
that the turnips were fown among the beans at the fe- ^oum^ tur'’
cond horie-hoemg. I he turnip crops were very good, iieans,
and the beans more than double the value of thofe rail¬
ed in the ufual mode of hufbandry. “ I think it is
Very evident (fays he) that the beans preferve the tur¬
nips from the fly; and as no expcnce or trouble attends
3 F 2 the
329
Plants.
412 A G R I C U
Culture of the practice, I apprehend it will foon become more
particular general.” The Society own, that the uncommon 1'uc-
cefs of Mr Bait’s experiment Jeans to militate at leall
again It what they faid on Mr Anderdon’s letter j but
they infill that the cafes are by no means fimilar.
“ Though the land (fay they), in both inllances, is cal¬
led a heavy clay, they are very different. Mr Ander¬
don’s is poor, wet, and cold ; the other a good rich clay,
and we apprehend naturally mixed with a kind of
marl, which is called clay by perfons not thoroughly
acquainted with the nice diftin£tion of foils apparently
alike, but very different in their nature. Our prin¬
ciple, therefore, that cold wet clay lands are unfuit-
able for turnips, remains unaffected by this experi¬
ment ; and general practice confirms the truth of the
theory.”
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 horfedioed,
and the produce from about 25 to 30 bufhels the com¬
puted acx-e, or from 30 to 36 bulhels the flatute acre.
The preceding fummer had been very unfavourable to
beans, and the produce per acre in the common husban¬
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} but whether the fecond hoeing was per-
formed too foon, the ground not clear, 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 allured
by a very intelligent farmer, that this was the bell
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 j but the work was badly performed,
the plants coming up in fome places vaftjy too thick,
and in others as much too thin 5 but wherever they
happened to be of a proper thicknefs, the farmer told
him it was one of the moll profitable crops he ever had.
J he foil was wet, heavy, and not very favourable for
turnips. Hence Mr Pavier deduces the following con-
clufion : 1. That with refpeef to beans in particular,
the drilling and hoeing is vallly fuperior to the com¬
mon mode of hulbandry. 2. That the beans are un¬
doubtedly a good prefervative of the turnips from the
depredations of the fly. 3. That as by this method no
crop is loll, and confequently no rent, but a mere
trifle of expence (if any) chargeable to the turnip crop,
it mull be one of the moll profitable as well as the moll
certain methods of propagating that ufeful root ever
yet practifed.—He Hill infills, however, that if he
had an opportunity of trying this method, he would
drill the beans in rows at a greater dillance, that the
turnips might be hand-hoed eafily ; and that he Humid
prefer the London tick-beans to any other, by reafon
of their Ihortnefs and being Inch bearers 5 that he fliould
alfo take oft' their tops as foon as the under bloffoms be¬
gan to decay; which, he fuppofes, would be of great
fervice.
In this differtation on the culture of turnips, we
cannot avoid taking notice of an inllrument ufed in
Norlolk for tranfplanting them, and thus filling up
the gaps which frequently happen in fields from the
2
L T U R E.
Practice.
330
Jnftrument
for tranf-
planting
tunJps.
lailure of the plants*in particular fpots. It is repre- Culture of
fented on the margin } and the conllrudion and mode particular
ol uling are obvious from the figure.—When the turnips Plants,
are to be traniplanted, the workman holds the long ^ v_
handle with the left hand, and the fliort one with the^/^f^j'.
right hand drawn up. Put the inllrument then overj, iV’
the plant that is to be taken up, and with your foot
force it into the ground; then give it a twill round,
and by drawing it gently up, the earth will adhere to
the roots ol the plant in a lolid body j then with ano¬
ther inllrument of the fame liz.e 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; 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 undillurb-
ed. In this operation two men will be employed, each
of them having an inHrument of the form reprefented
on the margin. One man takes up a plant, while the
other fills his inHrument 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 j
which being depofited, he takes up a plant, and re¬
turns to the place he firfi let 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 briikly.—This
inHrument was the invention of Mr Cubbit Gray of
Southrepps, Norfolk.
Turnips being the grand bafis of the Norfolk huf-
bandry, Mr Marfliall gives a very particular account
of their culture in that county.—The fpecies cultiva¬
ted ai-e, 1. 'Flic common white Jlock, called in many*
places the Norfolk turnip. 2. The purple Jiock is fimi¬
lar to the former, but its rind is of a dark red or purple Norfolk
colour 5 its fize in general fmaller, and its texture cultivatioa
clofer and firmer than that of the common whiteoi tuinips*
Hock 5 it alio Hands the winter better, and is more fuc-
culent in the fpring ; but it is not fo well reliflied by
cattle as the former, whence it is lefs generally culti¬
vated. 3. The puckluig-Jiock, the tankard-turnip of the
midland counties, is in lliape fo perfectly different from
the common fort, that it might be ranked as a difiinet
Ipecies. It riles in a cylindrical form, eight, ten, or
twelve inches high, Handing in a manner wholly above
ground ; generally taking a rough irregular outline, and ,
a fomewhat reclining pollure. It very much refembles
the common turnip, and is by much its moil formidable
rival. In many refpeSs it ieems to be fuperior, parti¬
cularly in being readily drawn, and eaten oft’ by Iheep
with much lefs waHe than the common turnip.—The
difadvantage is, that they are liable to the attacks of
froH, by realon of their Handing lo high above the fur-
face of the ground j lo that on the whole, Mr Marfliall
concludes, that the common white turnip is to be pre¬
ferred to every other.
In Norfolk, turnips are fown upon every fpecies of Advantages-
arable land. Marl is found to be highly beneficial} of ufmg
and, by means of this manure, a foil naturally unfitniar^
lor turnips may be rendered proper for it. They fuc-
ceed barley better than any other crop } fome few are
fown on wheat or pea Hubble after harveH 5 but this is
not a general practice. The manures in greateH repu¬
tation for turnips arc dung, with a greater or fmaller
admixture
331
Part I.
Culture of admixture of mould •, malt-coombs are alfo in good re-
particular pute, and oil-cake is uied 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
depends on the quantity on hand, and the quantity of
turnip ground to be manured. From 10 to 15 cart
loads of muck are confidered as a good dreffing \ and
about a ton of oil cake to three acres ; 50 or 60 bulli-
els of malt-coombs, and 40 or 60 buihels of foot, to an
AGRICULTURE. 413
Eut now, when the efficacy of marl is leffened, and Culture of
Plants.
333
Manures
of different
kinds.
334 .
Cultivation
of turnips
for early
confump-
tion.
335
Method of
When the turnips are intended for early confump-
tion, the fooner they can be got into the ground the
better ; but when they are intended to Hand the win¬
ter, the beginning of July is thought foon enough.
The moll general rule is to begin lowing about a
week before midfummer, and continue till about a fort¬
night after, viz. from the 17th or 18th of June to the
fowin°a and or 8th of July.—Broad-call lowing is univerfal, in
culture. the quantity of two pints to an acre. The feed is co¬
vered by two lines of a pair of light harrows drawn
backward, in order to prevent the tines, which ufuaily
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 cullom ; the quick
zig-zag motion of the harrows at once affifling to le¬
vel the furface, and to diilribute the feeds more even¬
ly.—They are univerfally hoed •, and unlefs they be
fown very late, are generally hoed twice. The di-
llance of time between the lowing and the firfl hoeing
depends upon the foil and feafon : the fize 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 fngly, and are liable to be drawn
up by weeds, thereby acquiring a Header upright ten¬
dency ; whereas their natural growth in their infant
fiate, is procumbent, fpreading their iirll leaves on the
ground, and taking the form of a role.—If the hoe be
put in too foon, the plants which are fet out are liable
to be buried, and their tender roots difturUed in the
adt 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 the
ground, are about the lize of the palm of the hand :
if, 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 llender they
Ihould acquire a weak and fickly habit. The proper
diftance depends upon the nature of the foil and the
time of lowing j fuch as are fown early, in a rich pro-
dudtive foil, require to be fet out wider than thofe
town late on a foil of a contrary nature. If the foil
be at par, the diftance 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 Marfliall com¬
plains of the condudl of the Norfolk farmers in gene¬
ral in this refpect, who “ hack out their turnips, 14,
15, or perhaps 18 inches afunder, without any regard
to the ftate of the foil, or time of fowing. This prac¬
tice was eftablifned while the Norfolk foil was full of
marl, and new to turnips 3 and when, it is probable,
11 or 12 inches in diameter was no uncommon fize,
with tops proportionally large and fpreading 3 and
44 or 15 inches might then be a proper diftance.
the foil no longer the favourite of turnips, which fel- particnlaE
dom reach more than feven or eight inches in diameter, , ^‘int-s' ,
it is ruinous and abfurd to continue the practice.”
Turnips are cultivated either for feed, for fale, or
for confumption. When cultivated for feed, it is fup-
pofed in moft parts of the kingdom that it ought al¬
ways to be taken from tranfplantcd roots 3 but in Nor¬
folk they are frequently railed from fuch as are untranf-
pianted. “ It is a fact (fays Mr Marlhall) well un- Cultivation
derftood by every kufbandman herb, that if the feed be 0f turnips
gathered repeatedly from untranfplanted roots, the for feed,
plants from this feed will become coarfe-necked and
foul-rooted 3 and the flelh of the root itfelf will be¬
come rigid and unpalatable. On the contrary, if it be
gathered year after year from tranfplanted roots, the
necks will become too fine, and the fibres too few 3
the entire plant acquiring a weak delicate habit, and
the produce, though fweet, will be fmall. For the
neck, or onfet of the leaves, being reduced to the fize
of the finger (for inftance,) the number and fize of the
leaves will be. reduced in proportion 3 and in a limilar
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 wrift, the fize of the root will be inf
proportion.
“ With refpect to the fibres or rootlings, this is a
juft inference 3 but with refpect to the bulb, it is in
a great meafure erroneous. For a few generations the
lize of the bulb will keep pace with the increafe o£
leaves and fibres 3 but after having once reached the
limits which nature has fet to its magnitude, it begins
to revert to its original ftate of wildnefs, from which to
its prefent ftate it has undoubtedly been railed bv
tranfplantation. The farmer has therefore two ex¬
tremes to avoid. The one is difcoverable by the thick¬
nefs and coarfenefs of the neck, the Italy roughnefs
of the bulb, the thicknefs of the rind in general, the
foulnefs of its bottom, and the forkednefs of its main
or tap-root : the other by the liendernefs 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 conlli-
tution or habit, in a middle ftate between thefe two
extremes.. There is net, however, any general rule
refpccling how many years turnips ought to be tranf¬
planted fucceffively, and how often they ought to be
fuffered to run up from the feed-bed: the foil and fi-
tuation have, and other circumftances may have, in¬
fluence on die habit and conflitution of vegetables as
of animals 3 and the farmer mull attend alone to the
ftate of the turnips themfelves. Whenever he judges,
that, by repeated tranfplantation, they have palled the
acme of perfection, then it is his duty and intereft to
let them run up to feed without tranfplantion. In
Norfolk it has been found, by long experience, that
tran {'planting two, three, or'four years, and letting
the plants run up the third, fourth, or fifth, will keep
the flock 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 cleaneft plants without regard to fize 3 or
more
4i4
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
337
Method of
planting.
338
Method of
fearing
away birds.
339 .
Of drawing
tbe-turnips.
340
Snow-
iledge de¬
scribed.
more accurately fpeaking, lie makes choice of fuch
as arc near, but not at or above the ftate of perfec¬
tion. In ahnoft 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 diftances
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 } but the practice
of a man who, he tells us, is indifputably near the
head of his profellion, 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
cai*e is requifite to keep it from birds. If the plot be
large, it is necelfary to employ a boy to fcare them }
but if it be fmall, and. near the houfe, Mr Marlhall has
known the following expedient ufed with fuccefs. “ On
a flender poll, riling in the midft of the patch of feed,
was fixed a bell 5 from which a line paffed into the
kitchen : in the moft frequented part of this hung
the pull. Whoever palled the pull rung the bell 5 fo
that in a farm-houfe kitchen, where a miftrefs and
two or three maids were fome of them almoft always
on the foot, an incefl'ant 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 procefs
of drawing, he fays, “ in fevere weather, is an employ¬
ment which nothing but cuftom could reconcile to thole
whofe lot it is to go through it, namely, flout lads, and
youths ; whofe hands are frequently Iwelled until the
•joints are difcernible only by the dimples they form ;”
neverthelefs he never heard of any inftance of bad ef-
fedts 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 with two-tined forks named crooms. If the
roots are buried under deep fnow, it is removed by
means of an implement called the Jhoiv-Jledge, This
confifts of three deal-boards from one to two inches
thick, 10 or 12 inches deep, and from feven to nine
feet long, fet upon their edges in the forrti of an equi¬
lateral 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 ftripe of turnips
is left bare, without having received any material in¬
jury 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 in-
creafe in fiz.e, and to throw out tops in the fpring ; it
being obfervable, that a fmall turnip fends up a top
nearly equal to one whofe bulb is larger. There is one
inconvenience, however, arifing from this practice 5
3
the plough is prevented from entering upon the foil un- Culture of
til late in the fpring ; which upon fome foils is an un- particular
furmountable objeftion j though it may be very proper Plants,
upon land which will bring good barley with one v
ploughing after turnips. ^.j
Mr Marfliall relates the following fimple method, by Method of
which a Norfolk farmer preferved turnips through a prefervinj
confiderable part of the winter feafon. Having cut UinilPs-
off their tops with a fpade, he gave them to his cows,
and carried the bulbs to a new-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 frelh drawn
turnips j and in general they came out as frelh as they
went in. Our author is of opinion, that this method
might be extended to the prefervation of turnips till the
fpring.
2. Carrot.
. . 342 „
Of all roots, a carrot requires the deepeft foil. It ^l|bure c-f
ought at leail to be a foot deep, all equally good fromcariot'
top to bottom. If fuch a foil be not in the farm, it
may be made artificially by trench-ploughing, which
brings to the furface what never had any communica¬
tion with the fun or air. When this new foil is fuffi-
ciently improved by a crop or two with dung, it is fit
for bearing cai*rots. Beware of dunging the year when
the carrots are fown; for with frefli dung they feldom
efcape rotten fcabs.
The only foils proper for that root are a loam and a
fandy foil.
The ground mull he prepared by the deepeft furrow
that can be taken, the fooner after harveft the better ;
immediately upon the back of which, a ribbing ought
to fucceed, as directed for barley. At the end of March,
or beginning of April, which is the time of fowing the
feed, the ground mull be fmoothed with a brake. Sow
the feed in drills, with intervals of a foot for hand-hoe¬
ing 5 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 front
each other, in order to carry off any redundant moi-
fture.
At Parlington in Yorklhire, from the end of Sep¬
tember to the firll of May, 20 work horfes, four bul¬
locks, and fix milk cotvs, were fed on the carrots that
grew on three acres} and thefe animals never tailed any
other food but a little hay. The milk was excellent:
and, over and above, 30 hogs were fattened upon what
was left by the other beafts. We have this fad from
undoubted authority.
Carrots have been greatly recommended as food for
cattle, and, in this refped, bid fair to rival the potato j
though, with regard to the human fpecies, they are far
inferior. The profit attending the cultivation of them,
however, appears to be much more doubtful than that
of potatoes. Mr Arthur Young informs us, that from
Norden’s Surveyor’s Dialogue, publilhed in 1600, it Bath Va-
appears, that carrots were commonly cultivated at that pert, toL n-
time about Orford in Suffolk, and Norwich in Nor-P-I*
fplk j
fart I.
Culture of
particulsir
Plants.
343
3Inch cul¬
tivated in
Suffolk and
part of Nor¬
folk.
344
Why the
culture has
not extend¬
ed itfelf.
345 .
Superiority
of carrots
to turnips.
34*5
difficulty
«f afeer-
taining the
'raluc.
A G R I C U
folk j anti lie remarks, that the tract of land between
Orford, Woodbridge, and Saxmundum, has probably
more carrots in it than all the reft of the kingdom put
together.” In 1779, ^ew farmers in thefe parts had
lei’s than five or fix acres ; many from 10 to 20 ; and
one had 36 acres: the ftraight, handfome, and clean
roots were lent at 6d. per bulliel to London; the reft be¬
ing 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 ; fothat
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 negledt, he obferves,
that “ the charge of cultivation is not fo great as is
commonly imagined, w'hen managed with an eye to an
extenfive culture, and not a confined one for one or two
particular objects.” 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 higher ; and
when he tried the experiment 15 years before, his ex¬
pences, 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 turnips
which he cultivated along with the carrots xvere all eat¬
en by the fly ; but had they fucceeded, the expence of
the crop would have been 18s. 5d. 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 he appa¬
rent that thd expence of 20s. per acre cannot he the
caufe of the culture fpreading fo little ; for, to anfwer
this expence, there are favourable circumftances which
muft not he forgotten. 1. They (the carrots) are
much more impenetrable to froft, which frequently de-
ftroys turnips. 2. They are not fubject to the diftem-
pers and accidents which frequently afl’etd: turnips ; and
they are fown at a feafon when they cannot he affedled
by drought, which frequently alfo deftroys turnips.
3. They laft to April, when ftock, and efpecially ftieep
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, fo 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 lo
limited, does not arife from the expence, but hecaufe 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 ; and therefore in fucli
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 moll confiderable practice, and the only one of
common farmers upon a large fcale, is that of the fands
of Woodbridge; but here they have the benefit ol a
London market, as already mentioned. Amongft
thofe whole experiments are publilhed, Mr Billingfley
ranks foremoft. Here again the value of carrots is ra¬
ther depreciated than advanced ; for he rafted great
crops, and had repeated experience upon a large fcale of
their excellence in fattening oxen ami Iheep; feeding
L T U R E. 415
cows, horfes, ami hogs; and keeping ewes and lambs Culture of
in a very fuperior manner, late in the fpring, after tur- particular
nips were gone : but notwithftanding thefe great ad- , pluIlts- ,
vantages, he gave the culture up ; 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 bulhel, heaped mealure ; eftimating which at 7olb.
■weight, the ton is il. 14s.” The following are the
valuations of feveral gentlemen of the value of carrot
in the way of fattening cattle :
Per Ton.
J3 9
I 6 O
I 13 6
confulted.
Mr Mellifh of Blyth, a general valuation of
horfes, cows, and hogs, - L.
Mr Stovin of Honcafter, hogs- bought lean,
fatted, and fold off,
Mr Moody of Ratford, oxen fatted, and the
account accurate,
Mr Taylor of Bifrons, faving of hay and
corn in feeding horfes,
Mr Le Grand of Afh, fattening wethers,
Sir John Hobby Mill of Bifhan, fattening
hogs, - -
Mr Billingfley, for fattening hogs,
Some other gentlemen whom our author
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 4].; but others could not fatten hogs
upon them at all: and fome of Mr Young’s neighbours
told him, that carrots wrere 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 ; yet two circumftances feem to militate againft
it. 1. The ffieepwere put lean to them ; whereas it is
a fart well known, that if they are not half fat when
put to turnips, no profit will refult; and it is poffible
that the cafe may he the fame with carrots. 2. He
gave them alfo as much fine hay as they would eat. ^
In this uncertain ft ate of the matter, the only thing New expe-*
that can be done is to make a number of experiments nments re-
with as much accuracy as poffible, in order to afeertain ^°mraen^’
the real value per ton : and our author endeavours to
Ihow, that there is no danger of lofing much by expe¬
riments of this kind. “ I have fliown (fays he), that
they are to be cultivated for 4I. per acre, left on the
ground for fheep. Suppofe the crop only two buffids
at 70II). each per rood, 3 20 per acre, or ten tons; it
will readily he 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 worth 2I. 5s. eats i61b. of
carrots, and four pounds of hay per day : dropping the
hay, and calculating for fheep of lefs than half that fize
(which are much more common), it will be perhaps an
ample allowance to allign them I2lb. of carrots a-day.
If they are, as they ought to be, half fat when put up,
they will be completely fattened in 100 dfcys. At 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:;
•416
AGRICULTURE,
Pradice
Culture of calculation : from tvliicli it appears, than one acre of
particular carrots is, for this purpofe, oi more value than two oi
Plants, turnips. Further, let us luppofe liorfes fed with them
v inftead of oats; to top, cart and pack up, 10 tons of
carrots, I know may he done for 20s.—An acre there¬
fore (other expences included) colls 5I. 1 ilty pounds
weio-ht of carrots are an ample allowance for a horte a
day ; ten tons, at that rate, lall three hories for live
months. But this 5I. laid out in oats at 16s. per quar¬
ter, will purchafe little more than fix quarters } which
will lall three, horfes, at two bufliels each per vyeek, no
more than two months } a moll enormous inferiority to
348 the carfots.”
Experiment In the fame volume, p. 187. Mr Young gives an ae¬
on leeding t0Ul^ 0f another experiment made by himfelf on the
thenT Wlth feeding of lambs with carrots. The quantities they ate
varied exceflively at different times } thirty-fix of them
confumed fi‘om five to ten bufliels per day 5 but on an
average, he rates them at four bufliels of 56 pounds per
day. In all, they confumed 407 bufliels 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 25k 4s. j fo that
the value of the carrots, was exa&ly 7I. 4s. or about
4d. per bulliel. This price he fuppofes to be fufficient
to 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 befl
wheat crops in this kingdom.” The land on which the
carrots grew was fown next year with barley* and pro¬
duced the cleanell in the parifii; which contradicts an
affertion oOr author had heard, that carrots make land
foul. The grafs upon which the llieep Were fed with
the carrots, and which amounted to about an acre, was
very little improved for the crop of hay in 1781, 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 feabiofa, filago, rhin-
anthus, crilla galli, and linum catharticum, with other
plants of little value, it encouraged a very beautiful llieet
of the heft plants that can appear in a meadow, viz. the
lathyrus pratenfis, achillea millefolium, trifolium repens,
trifolium ochroleucrum, trifolium alpeftie, and theplan-
tago lanceolata.
In the fame volume of the Bath Papers, p. 227, Mr
Billingfley gives an accovint 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. 11 Si 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 bullxels ; which, at
<561b. to the bufliel, is from five to ten tons and a half*
Culture of In the fame volume, p. 320, the Rev. Mr Onley feems
carrots pre-to prefer the culture of carrots to potatoes. “ How¬
ever valuable (fays he), from eafe of culture, and great-
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 bnt furmife
(for my trials are too trivial to venture bolder language),
deferve every encouragement, even on foils hitherto
849
Carrots
compared
with cab¬
bages.
85°
ferred to
potatoes.
thought too heavy for them.—I ani from experience Culture of
convinced, that an acre of carrots will double in the particular
quantum, of equally hearty provender, the product of, r
an acre of oats ; and from the nature of their vegeta¬
tion, the nice mode ot cultivation, and even of taking
them up (all of which, expenlive as they are, bear a
very inferior proportion to the value ot a medium crop),
mull leave the land, elpecially if taken oil it in an early
period, fo mellow for the plough, as to form a leed-bed
for barley equal to any fallow-tilth.”
Mr Onley’s defideratum was a fnbftitute 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, it theie have at the fame time the
ihack of the barn door in threfhing ieafon, &c. In
the 5th volume he refumes the fubjeft, and acquaints
us, that he applied a tingle acre in his bean field to the
culture of carrots, which generally produced 400 bu-
tliels 5 and this .he confiders as a tmall produce. u I am,
however, fenfible (fays he) that they will amply repay
every expence ot the fineft culture j aijid luould, from
their extenfive utility on found, deep, and friable land,
be everywhere attempted. Some ot my neighbours,
who have been induced to try them on rather a larger
fcale, with finer culture, and frefiier toil, have railed
from 600 to 900 buftiels per acre, and applied them
more profitably, as well as. more generally, than any
other winter herbage, to deer, llieep, bullocks, cows,
and horfes. At the 1 awe 11 calculation* from our little Superior to
trials, they are Computed to exceed turnips in value one- turnips and
third, as to quantity of food : but are far fuperior inoats-
what arifes from convenience for tire liable * where to *
us they feem to be a fubftitute tor corn to all hories, at
leaft inch as are not uted in any quick work 5 and par¬
tially to with corn for thole that are.”
In making a comparifon betwixt the prolit on oats
and carrots, Mr Onley found the latter exceed by no
lefs than 2I. 15s. 8d. per acre. His method of culti¬
vation is to fow them in March or April; to hoe them
three times, harrowing after each hoeing. Sometimes
he left them in the ground till after Chriilmas, taking
them up as wanted } hut afterwards he took them up m
Oiftober, in dry days, putting them directly into imall
upright cocks of iq bufliels each, covered entirely, with
the tops cut oil.—Thus, they appear to dry better
than in any other way, and hear the weather with very
little lofs. If, after being thus dried, they are carried
into any barn or flied, it will be better, if they are in
large quantities, not to pack them dote, on account
of the danger of heating, hut rather to throw them
promifeuouily into heaps, with a little ftraw over them.
When perfedly dry, they do not in general require
any wafliing, 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 ot
prefling
Part'!. A C It I C U
Culture of preying upoft the public attention the importance and
particular utility of this root, mentions an ufe to which we Ijc-
Plants. lieve it is not unfrequcntly applied in the dairy. “ In
our dairies (fays he) as many carrots are bruifed be¬
fore churning, as produce, Iqueezed through a cloth
into as much cream as makes eight or ten pounds of but¬
ter, a half pint of juice ; this adds fomewhat to the co-
Camitsufed^our’ 1-ic^ne^» and flavour of winter butter; and we
to colour ~ think, where hay is allowed befides, contributes much
to counteracting the flavour from the feed of turnips.
At pretent (our carrot feed being exhaufted) from tur¬
nips and hay, with this juice, our butter is equal to that
of the Epping dairies.”
We may conclude by taking notice here of an ad-
vantageoul-vantageous mode of cultivating carrots, by making ufe
lv culti- of them with a view to ftir the ground in young planta¬
in T U R E.
417
Amnh of
Agricul¬
ture,
vol. xii.
butter.
353
Carrots ad-
4. Parsnips.
™ 354 .
Fhe culti
ration of
. Parfnips have never in this country received from huf-
bandmen that attention to which they are well entitled,
iarfnipstoo from the eafe with which they are cultivated, and the
Jtouch ne- great quantity of faccharine or nourifliing 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.
To cultivate this root (fays Mr Hazard) fo as to
make it advantageous to the farmer, it will be right to
fow the feed in the autumn immediately after it is
ripe ; by which means the plants will appear early the
Vol. I. Part II.
dedted.
Hath pa¬
vers, vol. iv.
>• 244.
tivation.
ly culti
young plan- H was adopted by Thomas Walford, Efq. of
tations. Birdhrooke, Elfex, who gives the following account
of it:—“ It has been my eonftant practice for thtfe
lall five years, wherever I made a plantation of firs, or
deciduous trees, to fow 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 ipits deep in October, and planted
immediately, leaving it in that flate until the middle
or latter end of March, or beginning of April ; then,
it 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 productive
upon ground frelli dug than that which was dug in the
autumn.—I give for digging 8d. per rod ; hoe only
twice ; the produce is generally four bufhels of clean
carrots, which I fell at 6di per bufliel, the buyer to
fetch them from their place of growdli.
“ The foil in fome places loofe and hollow ; the un¬
der ftratum clay: in others a fine vegetable mould up¬
on 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 greateib 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 ftate than it is after carrots ; for
when the carrot is drawn, the cavity is filled immedi¬
ately with loofe mould, through which the young fibres
will ftrike with great freedom, and very much accele¬
rate the growth of the trees.
following fpring, and get flrong before the weeds catt Culture of
rife to injure them. Neither the feeds nor young particular
plants are ever materially injured by trolls ; on which , 1‘lants. <
account, as well as many others, the autumn is prefer- ^r. „
able to the fpring (owing* The heft foil for them isMT Ha-
a rich deep loam, and next to this fand. They willzard's me-
thrive well in a black gritty foil, but not in Hone-cul-
braih, gravel, or clay ; and they are always large lb in1
the deepeib earth. If the toil 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 uling any; but when he laid on about
40 cart loads of fand per acre upon, a tlift’ loam, and
ploughed it in, he found it antwer 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 diitance from one another, that the plants
may be the more conveniently hand or horfe-hoed;
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 mull he care¬
fully drawn, and the ground well pulverized by harrow¬
ing and rolling ; after which a furrow fliould he open¬
ed with the plough, about fix or eight inches deep, in
which the plants fliould be regularly laid at the diftance
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 mull be opened about 18 inches
from the former, in the fame direction, and planted as
before; and fo on in like manner until all the plants
are depofited, or the field be completely cropped;
and when the weeds appear, hoeing will be necefiary,
and it will afterwards he proper to earth them ; but if
the leaves of the plant be covered with earth, the roots
wjll.be injured. Parfnips ought not to be planted by-
dibbling, as the ground thus becomes fo bound, as fel-
dom to admit the fmall lateral fibres with which tbefe.
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 attend¬
ed to, there is little doubt that a crop of parfnips would
anfwer much better than a crop of carrots. They arc
equal, if not fuperlor, in fattening pigs, as they make
their fiefh whiter, and the animals themfelves are more
fond of thefe roots than of carrots. Horfes eat them
greedily when clean walked and lliced among bran,
and thrive very well upon them ; and black cattle are
faid likewife to approve of them.
Though parfnips are little ufed in Britain, they arc
highly elleemed in France. In Brittany they are
thought, as food for cattle, to he little inferior to wheat;
and cows fed with them are faid to give as much milk,
and of as good quality, as in the fummer months. In
the iiland of Jerfey they have long been conlidered as
of the higheft importance ; 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
\
8
A G R I C U L T U li £.
Pradice.
Culture of
particular
Plants.
356
Culture of
parinips
with beans
in Jerfey
and Guern-
fev.
the Agricultural Society of Jerfey to the Britilli Board
of Agriculture.
“ It is impollible, fay thefe gentlemen, to trace the
period when the cultivation of this plant was firft intro¬
duced aniongll us. It has been known for feveral cen¬
turies, and the inhabitants have reaped fuch benefit
therefrom, that, for fattening their cattle and pigs,
they prefer it to all the known roots of both hemifpheres.
The cattle fed therewith yield a juicy and exquifite
meat. The pork and beef of Jerfey are inconteftably
equal, if not fuperior, to the heft 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. Wre are ignorant of the realon, having ne¬
ver made any analyfis of the parfnip. It tvould be cu¬
rious, interelling, and ufeful, to inveftigate its charac-
teriflic principles : it is certain that animals are more
fond of it than of any other root, and fatten more quick¬
ly. The parfnip pollelfes, without doubt, more nutriti¬
ous juices than the potato. It has been proved that the
latter contains eleven ounces and a half of water, and
one gros of earthy fubftance, French weighty there¬
fore, there only remain four ounces and five gros of nu¬
tritive matter. Probablv the parfnip does not contain
near fo much watery particles j neverthelefs, they di-
geft very eafily in the animal’s body. The cows fed
with hay and parfnips during winter yield butter of a
fine yellow hue, of a fafFron tinge, as excellent as if
they had been in the moft luxuriant pafture.”
Thefe gentlemen proceed to ftate, that, in the illand
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, W ith the
fpade ; 2d, With the plough and fpade 5 and, 3d, W ith
two ploughs, the one called the fmall and the other the
great plough. This la 11 method, as being the moll
economical and advantageous to the hufbandman, is the
only one deferibed. In the month ol September, a
llight ploughing and preparation is fometimes given
to the field dellined for beans and parfnips in the en-
fuing year; but more generally the whole work is
performed in high grounds about the middle of I ebru-
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 conUrufted 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
clfential point is to plough deep and to cover the clods
over again.
The field thus prepared, is fullered to remain 15 days,
after which it is very lightly harrowred. On the fame
dav, or on the enfuing, the beans are planted in the fol¬
lowing manner. Straight lines muft be drawn from north
to fouth with a gardener’s rake at 4^ feet diltance. On
thefe ftraight lines, 19 inches in breadth, women plant
four or five beans in rows 4 inches dillant from each
other, or the beans are planted in double rows all over
the field, at the ufual depth, and 12 feet dillance from
each other, with the beans fpaced out 18 inches from
each other. When all this is done, the parfnips are
3
fown in broadcaft 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- t
and dry, the ground is harrowed again to cut up the
weeds. In five or fix weeks the beans Ihoot out, and
the ground foon appears as il covered by hedges or
laid out in paths for walking ; 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 firll 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 Sep¬
tember, they are immediately plucked up, not to incom¬
mode the parfnips. The crop of beans is not always
certain. If high winds or fogs prevail when they are
in flower, the produce will be icanty but the parfnips
in a manner never fail. They neither dread the incle¬
mency of the weather, nor are a fie c ted by the hardeft
froft, nor by any of thofe accidents which at times will
inftantly deftroy a whole crop.
Parfnips grow till the end of September, but fome
give them to cattle they wifli to fatten in the beginning
of September. The people of thefe iflands confider the
parfnip as the moll juicy and nutritious of all roots
known. Its cultivation is an excellent preparation
for wheat, which is lown there without manure after
parfnips, and yields a plentiful crop. It muft be ob¬
ferved, that though this cultivation of parfnips is ex-
penfitfe where the price of labour is high, no dung or
manure is neceflary either for the parfnips or the wheat*
They reckon 20 perches of parfnips, with a little hay,
will fatten an ox of three or four years old, though
ever lo lean j 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 largeft are flit into three or four pieces j but
not waflied unlefs very much covered with earth. In
the intermediate hours, at nine in the morning, two in
the afternoon, and nine at night, a little hay is given.
Experience has fliewn, that when cattle, pigs, or poul¬
try, are fed with parinips, they are fooner fattened and
are more bulky than with any other root or vegetable
whatever. The meat of iuch is moft delicate and fa-
voury. In fpring the markets are furniflied 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 parfnips is about I200lb. weight
of parfnip, Rouen meafure, and 30 cabots or half
bufhels of beans, and three cabots and a half of peafe y
which altogether, according to the price at which thefe
articles are actually fold there, amount to the. lum of
256 livres French currency. The following inlorma-
tion was alfo received from the prelident of the Jerfey
Society on ift March 1796, viz. “ Since writing con¬
cerning the crop of beans and paiinips together, we-
have found that an individual who cultivates parfnips
without flowing either peafe or beans along with them
had a crop of 14,7^®^* weight Rouen meafure pel
vergee.” The vergee is 40 perches in length and one
perch in breadth.
1 III. Plants
Part I.
Culture Of
particular
Plants.
! 357 .
Cultivation
of the tur¬
nip-rooted
cabbage.
35s . .
Their utili¬
ty and va¬
lue.
A G R I C U
III. Plants cultivated for Leaves, or for both
Leaves and Root.
i. Turnip-rooted Cabbage.
This plant may defervedly be reckoned next in va¬
lue to the turnip itfelf. Its advantages, according to
Sir Thomas Beevor, are, “ that it affords food for cat¬
tle late in the fpring, and refills mildew and froft,
which fometimes deftroy the common turnip 5” whence
he is of opinion that every farmer who cultivates the
common turnip, fliould 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
we have the following account of Sir Thomas Beevor’s
method of cultivating them •, which from experience he
found to he cheaper and better than any other.
“ In the firft or fecond yveek of June, I foyv the
fame quantity of feed, hoe the plants at the fame lize,
leave them at the fame diflance from each other, and
treat them in all refpecls like the common turnip. In
this method I have always obtained a plentiful crop of
them ; to afcertain the value of which I need only in¬
form you, that on the 23d day of April laft, having
then tyvo acres left of my crop, found, and in great
perfection, 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 ftone yveight each
(141b. to the ftone), and 30 middle-fized fat yvethers,
which, at the end of the firll yveek, after they had eaten
doyvn the greater part of the leaves, and fome part of
the roots, I fliifted into the fecond divifion, and then
put 70 lean flieep into yvhat yvas left of the firll *, theie
fed off the remainder of the turnips left by the fat
llock ; and fo they yvere fluffed through the three di-
vifions, the lean llock following the fat as they wanted
food, until the yvhole was confumed.
“ The 24 bullocks and 30 fat yvethers continued in
the turnips until the 21ft of May, being exactly four
weeks j and the 70 lean fheep until the 29th, which is
one day over four yveeks : fo that the tyvo acres kept
me 24 fmall bullocks and no fheep four yveeks (not
reckoning the overplus day of keeping the lean fheep) 5
the value, at the rate of keeping at that feafon, cannot
be eftimated in anv common year at lefs than 4d. a-yveek
for each fheep, and is. 6d. per yveek for each bullock,
yvhich yvould amount together to the fum of 14k 10s. 8d.
for the two acres.
“ You yvill hardly, I conceive, think I hayre fet the
price of keeping the flock at too high a rate ; it is be¬
neath the price here in almoll everv fpring, and in this
laft it yvould have coft double, could it have been pro¬
cured ; which yvas fo far from being the cafe, that hun¬
dreds of fheep and lambs here yvere loft, and theN refl
greatly pinched, for rvant of food.
“ You yvill dbferve, 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 fufl'er his grafs to get into a forward
growth, nor for the fuperior quality of thefe turnips
in fattening his flock : both yvhich circumflances muft
flamp a new and a great additional value upon them.
But as their continuance on the land may feem to he
419
Culture of
particular
Plants.
L T U R E.
injurious to the fucceeding crop, and indeed yvill de¬
prive the farmer totally of either oats or barley 5 lo to
fupply that lot's I have ahvays fown buck-yvheat on the
firft earth upon the land from which the turnips were
thus fed off •, alloyving one hufliel 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
refl, I fow my cWer 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 layer
(ley) of it afteryvards.
“ 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 diflreffed,
and his cattle almoft ftarved, a confiderable profit may
likeyvife be obtained, much beyond yvhat is ufually de¬
rived from his former praftice, by the great produce
and price of a crop raifed at fo eafy an expence as that
of buck-wheat, yvhicli yvith us fells commonly at the
fame price as barley, oftentimes more, and but very
rarely for lefs.
“ The land on yvhich I have ufually foyvn turnip-root¬
ed cabbages is a dry mixed foil, worth 15s. per acre.”
To the preceding account the fociety have fuhjoin-
ed the folloyving note : “ Whether yve regard the im- Recom-
portance of the fubjedl, or the clear and practical in- mendation
formation which the foregoing letter conveys, it may ^ 4e Bat^
be confidcred as truly interefling as any yve have ever' 0C1C
been favoured yvith : and therefore it is recommended
in the flrongefl manner to farmers in general, that they
adopt a mode of praftice fo decifively afcertained to he
in a high degree judicious and profitable.”
To raife the turnip-rooted cabbage for tranfplanting, To raife the
the heft method yet difeovered is, to breaft-plough and turnip root-
burn as much old paflure as may he judged neceffary cabbage
for the feed-bed ; tyvo perches well flocked yvith plants 1 a
359
yvill be fufficient to plant an acre. The land Ihould1
he dug as fhalloyv as poffible, turning the afhes in 5 and
the feed fliould be fown the beginning of April.
The land intended for the plantation to be cultiva¬
ted and dunged as for the common turnip. About mid-
fummer (or fooner if the yveather will permit) yvill he
a proper time for planting, yvhich is befl done in the
folloyving manner*: the land to be thrown into one-bout
ridges, upon the tops of which the plants are to be fet,
at about 18 inches diflance from each other. As foon
as the yveeds rife, give a hand-hoeing •, afterwards run
the ploughs in the intervals, and fetch a furroyv from
each ridge, yvhich after lying a-fortnight or three
yveeks, is again thnwn hack to the ridges 5 if the
yveeds rife again, it is necelfary to give them another
hand-hoeing.
If the young plants in the feed-bed fliould be attack¬
ed by the fly, foyv yvood-afhes over them yvhen the dew
is' on, yvhich yvill effe&ually prevent the ravages they
yvould otherwife make.
In another letter from Sir Thomas Beevor, Bath
Papers, vol. viii. p. 489. he expreffes his hope that the ^61
turnip-rooted cabbages he had yvould lafl until he Conipari-
fliould have plenty of grafs for all his flock. To make^011 of the
a comparative eflimation of the quantity of food yield-
ed by the turnip-rooted cabbage and the common tur-an(j jn tjlfc
nip, he fele6ted fome of each kind, and having girted common
them with as much accuracy as pofiible, he found, that turnip.
3 G 2
a
420
Culture of
particular
Plants.
AGRICULTURE.
Practice.
362
Other ex¬
periments.
# 363
Difad van¬
tages at¬
tending
the cultiva¬
tion of this
plant.
3<>4
Why every
farmer
ought to
cultivate
this plant.
a turnip-rooted cabbage of 18 inches in circumference
weighed 5|Ib. and a common turnip of the fame lize
only 4'lb.; 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 weighed in the
month of March ; but had this been done at Chriltmas,
our author is of opinion that the difference would not
have been fo great; though he reckons this very cir-
cumftance of their continuing fo long to afford a nou-
rifhing food, an inftance of their excellency above almoft
any other vegetable whatever.
In the fourth volume of the fame work, Sir Tho¬
mas gives an account of another experiment on live
acres of turnip-rooted cabbage, four of which were
eaten upon the field, the other was pulled up and car¬
ried to the Ifables and ox-houfes. They were town
and cultivated as other turnips; the healls were put to
them on the 12th of April, and continued feeding
upon them till the nth of May. The cattle fed for
this fpace of time were, 12 Scotch bullocks weighing
40 flone each; eight homebreds, two years old ; fif¬
teen cows full-fixed ; 40 fheep ; 18 hories ; befides 40
flore-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-
cluiive 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 ium 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 trolly nights)
until it gets to fuch a length and thieknefs as to be
afterwards hut little affected by the fumrner’s drought.
Befides this, the tops or leaves are in the fpring much
more abundant, and much better food than thole of the
common turnip, as already obferved; and they continue
in full perfection after all the common turnips are rot¬
ten or worthlefs.
• The difadvantages attending the cultivation of tur¬
nip-rooted cabbages are, that they require a great deal
of time and pains to take them up out of the ground,
if they are to be carried off the field ; and if fed where
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 mull he cut
in two in order to enable the cattle to eat them. To
obviate fome of thefe objections, it will be proper to
fow the plants on rich and very light land; and as they
are longer in coming to the hoe than the common tur¬
nip, it will he proper to fow them about the beginning
of June.
In another experiment upon this plant by the fame
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 2ift of April 1789, the
average produce of an acre was found to be fomewhat
more than 24^ tons, though the tops had not iprout-
ed above three inches. Confidering the precarioufuefs
of turnips and other crops, Sir T homas is decifively of
opinion, that all farmers ought to have as many turnip-
sooted cabbages as would afford and eilfure tliOEl a full
provilxon for the cattle for about three or four weeks Culture of
during the latter part of the fpring. This quantity he particular
reckons fufficient, as the confumption, particularly Wants,
when drawn and carried off the land, is attended with v
more trouble aud expence than that of common turnips,
efpecially if the foil be wet and heavy. In another
letter, dated May 3. 1790, Sir Thomas Beevor once
more lets forth the advantages of having a crop of thefe
vegetables during the fpring feafon. “ In confequence
(fays 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 occalions much diftrefs among the far¬
mers for want of fome green vegetable food for their
flieep and cattle ; whereas, by the alliftance of my tur¬
nip-rooted cabbages, I have abundance of the belt and
molt 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 weeks
of April, or firii week of May, when the grafs Ihdots
late.”
In the 4th volume of the Tranfa£tions 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 brajh, inclining to land, not worth more than
10s. per acre ; 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 ; and he commonly ufes an old pafture where
the ilieep-fold has been in the winter, after taking away
the dung, and digging it very {hallow ; “ as the roots
of the young plants (fays he) might foon reach the
dung or falts, which mult confequently he left, in or¬
der to force them out of the fly’s way.” Thefe in¬
fers, 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 railed
by a double plough made for the purpofe.. Seven thou-
fand plants are fufficient for one acre ; but if only fix
are ufed, the roots will be the larger. ^
To determine how many fheep might be. kept upon Kumber of
an acre of turnip-rooted cabbage, our author flint up flieep fed
200 ewes with their lambs upon a piece of poor pafture bv an )cre
land of no great extent ; the whole not exceeding ten
acres. One ton was found fufficient for keeping them j,ages>
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 cl
April, the time that thefe were fed. 366
Frqm fome trials made on the turnip-rooted cabbage Expen-
at Cullen Houle in the north of Scotland, it appears
that the plant is adapted to the climate of every part }j0Ufe.
of our ifland. The firft trial was made in the year
1784. The feeds were fown about the middle cf
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
ii'vm each other, wad at, the diilaace of 29 inches m
the
Part I.
A G It I C U
L T U R E. , *21
them, were from four to five feet high, and in full Culture of
flower. I Ihould have continued the experiment longer, particular
had not the quantity I had left for that purpofe been Hants. ^
exhaufted, and a few only left for feed. v
“ This experiment, however, fully proves, that this
kind of turnip may be employed as a fucculent food
for cattle till the middle of May at leall, in an ordina-
rv year 5 and 1 have not the finalleit doubt but it will
continue perfecilv good for that purpofe till the end
of May in any feafon 5 at which time grafs and other
fpring crops can eafily be had for bringing beafts for¬
ward in fleih. I can therefore, without hefitation, re¬
commend this plant to the farmer as a moll valuable
fpring feeding for cattle and fheep ; and for this pur¬
pofe, I think no wife farmer fhould be without a pro-'
portion of this kind of turnip to fucceed the other
forts after they fail. The profitable method of con-
fuming it, where it is to be kept very late, is, I am
convinced, to cut off the tops with a icy the or fickle
when from one foot to eighteen inches high, to induce,
it to fend out frelh Hems, that will continue left and-
fucculent to the end ; whereas, without this procefs,,
the Hems would become llicky and ufelefs.
“ I cannot, however, recommend this kind of tur¬
nip, from what I have yet feen, as a general crop 5 bc-
caufe I think it probable, that unlefs in particular cir-
cum{lances, the common field turnips grow to a much
larger fize, and afford upon the whole a more weighty
crop, Thefe, therefore, ihould Hill continue to be cul¬
tivated for winter ufe, the other being referved only for
fpring confumption. 1
“ Experiments are Hill wanting to afcertain with
certainty the peculiar foil and culture that bell agree
with this plant j 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 wilh to be underffootl as here
fpeaking pofitively *, I merely throw it out as a hint
for future obfervations : on fpongy foil it profpers.
“ Though 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 feme of thefe
to be picked off the Hems 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 moil, if not
all, other kinds of greens that have been hitherto cul¬
tivated are known to acquire after their Hems are con-
fidcrably advanced 5 no family, therefore, can ever be
at a lots 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 feed-ftalks were firm and woody,
the pods full formed, and in feme of them the feeds
were nearly ripe. The root, however, was as foft
and fucculcnt as at any former period of its growth ;
nor was the Ik in, as I expected, hard or woody. It
was made ready and brought to the table : feme per-
fens there thought the tafte as good, if not better, than
at any former period ol its growth 5 but I rnyfelt, per¬
haps through prejudice, thought it had not quite fa
high a relilh as in winter: At any rate? however, there
can*.
Planis.
Culture of the rows. They were kept very clean, and the earth
particular was hoed up to the roots of the plants ; by which
(means they were probably prevented from attaining
the hardnefs they would otherwife have arrived at ;
though, after all, it was neceffary to cut the roots in
two before the fheep 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 lead a month after the common turnips were unfit
for ufe : feme of them weighed from eight to ten
pounds, and a few of them more. Other trials have
iince been made 5 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. From a comparative trial made by
the earl of Fife upon this root with feme others, the
quantities produced upon 100 fquare yards of ground
were as follows:
Itone. lb.
Common turnips
Turnip-rooted cabbage
Carrots
Boot of fcarcitv
92 4
88 o
95 0
77 0
The • turnip-rooted cabbage was planted in lines 20
inches afunder •, the common turnips fown broad-cafe,
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 lor fix weeks with
the turnips, two with the turnip-rooted cabbage, and
two with the root of icarcity for an equal time : the
two fed with turnips gave mofe 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
a{. the rate of two pecks a-day, with no cprn, and little
more than half the ufual quantity of hay. “ They were
kept at work every day from {even to eight hours, and
were never in better order.”
3^7
O the
2. Swedish Turnip, or Roota Baga.
The roota baga, or Swedifli turnip, is a plant from
roota baga. ^j,;^ gTeat expectations have been formed. It is laid
to be hardier than the common turnip, and of greater
fweetnefs and folidity. It alto preferves its frefemefs
and fucculence till a very late period of its growth,
even after it has produced feed 5 on account ol which
property it has been recommended to the notice ol
farmers as an excellent kind of fucculent food lor do-
mefeic animals in the fpring of the year, when common
turnips and moll other winter crops have failed, and
before grafs has got up to furnilli an abundant bite for
feeding beafts. This peculiarity, lo valuable, yet fo
lingular as to have led many at firft to doubt the fact,
feems to he fufficiently afeertained by experiment. Dr
voHT ^eC’ Anderfon * in particular informs us, that it “ begins
s!)!.111 ** to fend out its flower-ftems in the fpring, nearly about
the fame time with the common turnip; but that the
root, in confequence of that change of ftate, fullers very
little alteration. I continued to ufe thefe turnips at
my table every day till towards the middle ol May }
and had I never gone into the garden myfelf, I fhould
not even then have fufpecled, from the tafte or appear¬
ance of the bulb itfelf, that it had been fhot at all.
The feems, however, at the feafen I gave over ullng
2
i
422
Culture of
particular
Plants.
36S
Culture of
the roota
baga in
Notting-
hamlhire.
A G R I C U
can be no doubt, that if ever it could be neceflary, it
might, even now, be employed very properly as a feed¬
ing for cattle.”
This vegetable, from its obvious utility, is gradually
coming to be much ufed in various quarters of the
illand. In the Agricultural Survey of Nottingham-
fhire, the following defcription of the modes in which
it has been fucceisfully cultivated, is well tvorthy of
attention. “ The roota baga, or Swedifh turnip, is
now cultivated by a few farmers in the diftridt. It
appears to be fuperior to the common turnip in many
refnecls, particularly in hardinefs, as it flood the lall
ievere winter without the lead injury. It is eaten with
greedinefs 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 wifli of every perion who has
yet tried it. The turnips are put into a tub or bar¬
rel, and cut fmall with an inflrument like a hoe, with
the blade put perpendicularly into the fhaft j 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
corn. The Swedifli turnip fhould be lowed early, from
the 17th of May to the 10th of June.”—The follow¬
ing information on the culture of the roota baga, is gi¬
ven in the fame Survey, upon the authority' of J. Daiken,
Efq. of Nottingham.
Mr Daiken, about the 10th of May 1794, fowed
about four acres with the feed of roota baga, about
libs, per acre, on good fand land, worth 20s. an
acre, manured as for turnips, and having been ploughed
four or five times j the reft of the field, to the amount
of nine acres in all, with common tnrnip and turnip-
rooted cabbage, all broad-caft. They were not tranf -
planted, but hoed out nine inches afunder, at three
hoeings, at 7s. 6d. an acre ; no other culture. In
November began to ufe them for horfes, giving at
firft clover and rye-grafs hay, oats and beans j but find¬
ing that the horfes did well upon them, left oil all
corn, and continued them on hay and the roots only j
fifteen were thus fed for about two months, were con-
ftantlv hard worked, and preferved themfelves in very
good condition. Mr Daiken is w'ell convinced, that
in this application they were worth 30I. an acre, that he
■would in future, if he could not get them otherwife,
rather give that fum per acre for one or two acres,
than not have them for this ufe. They loft their leaves
entirely when the froft fet in j but the roots were not
the leaft affected, though the common turnips in the
fame field were totally deftroyed. Pafl’engers palling
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 i61bs. and Mr Daiken thinks the average of
the crop 81bs. and much to exceed in tonnage per
acre common turnips.
Mr Daiken gave them alfo to hogs, cattle and flieep.
They are excellent for hogs j and flieep being let
into the field before the common turnips were de¬
ftroyed, gave Xo decided a preference to the roota baga.
L T U R E.
Practice.
that they would not fettle on the common turnips while Culture of
the others were to be had. particular
The method of giving them to horfes is to cut off Plants,
the tap-root, to walh them, and to cut them roughly v
with a perpendicular hoe, and then given directly,
without keeping them to dry. The horfes ate them
with avidity, and feemed even to prefer them to com.
Their qualities appear to be lingular, as they bind
horfes, inflead of relaxing them as other roots do. One
mare was 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 effeft upon making the coats fine, and
one or two affected by the greafe, were cured by them,
as they act 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 fufpects there are two forts of the roota
baga, becaufe fome, upon cutting, are white within, but
in general yellow 5 otherwife of the fame external ap¬
pearance. The yellow is the heft.
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 5 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 ,5^
kitchen garden as well as for cattle. The heft time Method of
for lowing 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 mahagement with
brocoli as to diftance, tranlplanting, &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 muft be ftripped clean
of its thick fibrous rind j 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 whole account in the Bath
Papers, vol. v. this article is taken, thinks that the tur¬
nip-cabbage is more nutritious than the common turn-
nip. The largeft bulb he meafured was 23 inches cir¬
cumference j but the thicknefs of the rind is fo great,
that fome farmers imagined that the bulb would be too
hard for flieep. The objection, however, was obviated
by Mr Broughton, who gave fome of the oldeft and
tougheft bulbs to his flieep, 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
Part I. AGRICULTURE. 423
Cult rc of r^ence as an excellent food for cattle. Its ufes as part
particular °f human food are alfo well known. It is therefore an
Plants, interefting article in huibandry. It is eafdy railed, is
1 v ' fubject to few difeafes, refills froll more than turnip,
Culture of *S Pa^atah‘e t0 cattle, and fooner fills them than turnip,
cabbage.0 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 fown 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 mull be fet the firll
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 5 by which
means they have a vigorous growth the following
fpring. And this crop 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 x-ye, fown at Michaelmas, will fupply
the want. After tlie rye is confumed, 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 harveft in ridges three feet wide.. In that form
let it lie all winter, to be mellowed with air and froll.
In March, take the firll opportunity, between wet and
dry, to lay dung in the fui-rows. Cover the dung with
a plough, which will convert the furrow into a crown,
and eonfequently the crown into a furrow. Set the
plants upon the dung, diftant from each other three
feet. Plant them fo as to make a llraight line ci’ofs
the ridges, as well as along the furrows, to which a
gardener’s line llretched perpendicularly crofs the fui--
rows will be requifite. This will fet each plant at the
dillance precifely of thi-ee 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-hoing, it is a more complete
dreffing 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 immediate¬
ly befoi'e the dunging for the jxlants.
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 dellroy them with a hand-hoe.
Unlefs the foil be much infelled with annuals, twice
ploughing after the plants are fet will be a fufficient
di’effing. The firft removes the earth from the plants j
the next, at the diftance of a month or fo, lays it
back.
Where the plants are to be fet in July, the field
mull be ribbed as directed for barley. It ought to
have a flight ploughing in Jirfie before the planting, in
order to loofen the foil, but not fo as to bury the fui’-
face-earth *, after which the three feet ridges mull be
formed, And the other particulars earned on as diredt-
ed above with refpeci to plants that ax*e to be fet in
March.
In a paper already quoted from thofe of the Bath
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 Hand particular
next in value to the carrots •, and they are recommend- -p^ants- ,
ed as not liable to be aifedted by froft, if they be ^
of the true flat-topped firm kind. Fifty-four tons QUantity
have been raifed upon an acre of ground not worth raifed on an
moi’e than 12 Ihillings. There is likewife an advan- acre> &c-
tage attending the feeding of cattle with cabbages, viz.
that their dung is more in proportion than when fed
with turnips or with hay ; the former going off more
by urine, and the latter having too little moiflure.
They alfo impoverilh the ground much lefs than grain.
Mr Billingfley accounts 46 tons per acre a greater crop
than he ever read of j but Mr Vagg, in the 4th vo¬
lume of Bath Papei’S, gives an account of a crop for
which he received a premium from the Society, which
was much fuperior to that of Mr Billingfley. Its ex¬
tent was 12 acres*, the produce of the wprfl was 42,
and of the bell 68 tons. They were manured with a
compoll of lime, weeds, and earth, that lay under the
hedges round the field, and a layer of dung, all mixed
and tuimed together. About 25 cart loads of this
were fpread upon an aci’e with the ufual ploughing gi¬
ven to a common fummer fallow ; but for this, he fays,
“ admitting fuch cx*op to exhaull the manure in fome
degi’ee by its growth, an ample reft oration will be
made by its refufe ploughed in, and by the ftfrring
and cleaning of the gx-ound.” The whole expence of
an acre, exclufive of the rent, according to Mr \ agg’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 fiieep, for three months; improving
them as much as the grafs in the bell months of the
year, May, June, and July. He recommends flowing
the feed about the middle of Auguft, and tranfplant-
ing the young cabbages where they may be fheltei'ed
from the froft j and to the neglecl of this he aferibes
the partial failure, or at leaft inferiority of one part
of his ground on the crop juft mentioned, the young
plants not being removed till near midfummer, and
then in fo dry a time, that they were almoft fcoi'ched
UP- , . . , 372
In the Farmer’s Magazine, vol. xx. p. 217, we have Of water-
feveral pei’tinent x’emarks upon the culture of this ufe- ing cab¬
ful plant, particularly with regard to watering. “ It lja8cs‘
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 thfc expence
mull be confiderabie ; but it is probable, in very dry
feaflons, when the new fet plants have nothing but a
buiming fun on them, that watering would lave 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, viz. the
planting of lands where turnips have failed. A late
fown crop of thefe fleldom turns to any account ; but
cabbages planted on the ground without any plough¬
ing would prove very beneficial for llxeep late in the
fpx-ing ; in all px-obability (unlefs on light, iandy, or
limeftone foils) of greater value than the turnips, had
they fucceeded.
Mr Marlhall obferves, that in the midland diftrict, a *
valuable.
4H
A G R I C U
Culture of
particular
Plants.
373
Cabbages
Cultivated
in the mid¬
land di¬
ll riel:.
. 374
Diftance at
Valuable fort of large green caLbage “ is propagated, if
not raifed, by Mr Bakewell, who is not more celebra¬
ted for his breed of rams than for his breed of cabba¬
ges. Great care is pbi'erved here in raifing the feed,
being careful to fufl’er no other variety of the brainea
tribe to blow near feed cabbages ; by which means
they are kept true to their kind. To this end, it is
faid that fome plant them in a piece of wheat ; a good
method, provided the feed in that fxtuatioh can be pre-
ferved from birds.”
The advantage of having large cabbages is that of
which they ])ejng al,le to plant them wide enough from each other,
pkceV0 C admit of their being cleaned with the plough, and
yet to afford a full crop. The proper diftance depends
in fome meafure on the natural lize of the fpecies and
the ftrength of the foil) the thinner they ftand, the
larger they will grow : but our author is of opinion
that cabbages, as Well as turnips, are frequently fet
out too thin. Four feet by two and a half, according
to Mr Marlhall, are a full diftance for large cabbages
on a rich foil.
We think it of importance to take notice of the fol-
tranfplnnt- ](Wing mode of tranlplanting cabbages, or earthing
them, as being confifteht with the heft mode of prac¬
tice, and coming from the moft relpectable practical
authority, Mr Geoige Cully of Fenton. “ We plant
the cabbages, fays he, not only in right lines hut equi-
diftant every way, fo that wTe can plough between the
rows, both long-ways and crofs over 5 which, by loof-
ening the earth fo effectually on all Tides, very much pro¬
motes their growth. But the matter I wiflied to inform
375
Method of
ing and
earthing
them.
Annals of
Agricul¬
ture, vol.
xv.
you of, is the taking them up by the roots in the au¬
tumn 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 furrow7 in
the moft convenient place ; and at 20 yards diftance,
more or lefs, the ploughman makes another furrow
parallel to the firft. The cabbages are now turned out of
the carts as conveniently as may be for a fufficient num¬
ber of women to lay them along thefe furrows as clofe
one to another as poflible. The ploughman begins a-
gain where he firft ftarted, and turns a large furrow up¬
on the cabbages, which is trodden down and righted by
one, two, or more, as occafion requires, with each a
fpade in his hand to affift where the plough has by
chance or accident not thrown earth enough. Thus the
work goes on till all is finifhed.
“ We think we derive twro 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 draw 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 5 which grain, in general, anfwers well
after that green crop.”
How pro- Cabbages and greens in general are apt to be infeft-
tedted from etj },y caterpillars. They may ufually however be pro-
tefted againft thofe vermin by pulling off the large
Undemioft leaves, which may be given to cows in the
month of Auguft, or when the common white 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
eonfifts of fow’ing beans among the cabbages, which will
L T U R E. Prach'cc.
greatly prevent the breeding of tliefe worms 5 for it is Culture of
laid that the butterflies have an antipathy to the flavour Grafs,
of beans. v_
5. The Root of Scarcity.
377
The ratine de difette, or root of fcarcity (Beta ci- Culture of
cfa), delights in a rich loamy land well dunged. It is the root of
directed to be fown in row's, or broad-caft, and as foon fcarcity.
as the plants arc of the fi?.e of a goofe quill, to he tranf-
planted in rows of iS inches diftance, and iS inches
apart, one plant from the other: care mull be taken
in the flowing, to flow very thin, and to cover the feed,
which lies in the ground about a month, an inch only.
In tranfplanting, the root is not to he fhortened, but the
leaves cut at the top ; the plant is then to he planted
'with a fetting flick, fo that the upper part of the root
fliall appear about half an inch out of the ground : this
laft precaution is very neceffary to be attended to.
Thefe plants will ftrike root in twenty-four hours, and
a man a little accuftomed to planting will plant with
Tafe 1800 or 2000 a-day. In the feed-bed, the plants,
like all others, muft: be kept clear of wTeeds : when
they are planted out, after once hoeing, they will take
care of themfelves, and fuffocate every kind of W'eed
near them.
The heft time to fow the feed is from the beginning
of March to the middle of April: it is, however, ad-
vifed to continue flowing 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 infers ; for
no infefit touches it, nor is it affedted by exceffive
drought, or the changes of fcafons. Horned cattle,
horfes, pigs, and poultry, are exceedingly fond of it
when cut fmall. The leaves may be gathered every
12 or 15 days j 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 lie taken to proportion the
leaves with other green food, other wife 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. Culture of Grafs.
37S
The latter end of Auguft, or the beginning of Sep-Of laying
tember, is the heft feafon for flowing grafs feeds, as there down fields
is time for the roots of the young plants to fix them- 0 ^
felves before the fliarp frofts fet in. It is fcarce necef¬
fary to fay, that moift weather is heft for flowing 5 the
earth being then warm, the feed will vegetate immedi¬
ately 5 hut if this feafon prove unfavourable, they will
do very well 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 burn them
on the land, and fpread the afhes as a manure. Thefe
ploughings and harrowings fhould be repeated in dry
weather.
Grafs.
Part I. A G R I C
Culture of weather. And if the foil he clayey and wet, make
i'ome under-drains to carry off the water, which, if fuf-
fered to remain, will not only chill the grafs, but make
it four. 1 Before fowing, lay the land as level and line
as poflible. If your grafs feeds are clean (which lliould
always be the cafe), three bufhels will be fufficient per
acre. When fown, harrow it ill gently, and roll it in
'with a Wooden roller. Wheli it comes up, {ill up all
the bare fpots by frefli feed, which, if rolled to fix it,
will foon come up and overtake the reft.
In Norfolk they fow clover with their graffes, parti¬
cularly with rye-grafs j but this ftiould not be done ex¬
cept when the land is defigned for grafs only three or
four vears, 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 fpi'ing, root up
thiftles, 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 fliading them, without confidering how much the corn
draws away the nourifliment from the land.
Others take their feeds from a foul hay rick 5 by
which means, befides filling the land with rubbilh and
weeds, what they intend for dry foils may have come
from moift, where it grew naturally, and vice verfa.
The confequence is, that the ground, inftead of being
covered with a good thick fward, is filled with plants
unnatural to it. The kinds of grafs moft 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 fefeues, the vernal oat-grafs, and the ray or
rye-grafs. WTe 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.
Horfes will fcarccly eat hay which" oxen and coWs
will thrive upon ; Iheep are particularly fond of fome
kinds, and refufe others. The darnel-grafs, if not
cut before feveral of the other kinds are ripe, becomes
lo hard and wiry in the ftalks, that few cattle care to
eat it.
As the fubject of paftures is very important, wre lhall
firft take notice of the general mode of improving or¬
dinary paftures, and of the particular grafs plants that
ought to be cultivated in them. After which we lhall
mention the celebrated modern improvements upon
grafs lands, by flooding them artificially with Water.
Failure land is of fuch advantage to hulbandry, that
many prefer it even to corn land, becaufe of the fmall
hazard and labour that attend it ; and as it lays the
foundation for moft of the profit that is expected from
the arable land, becaufe of the manure afforded by
the cattle which are fed upon it. Failure ground is
of two forts : the one is meadow land, which is often
overflowed 5 and the other is upland, which lies high
and dry. The firll of thefe will produce a much
Vol. I, Part II.
,379
Different
kinds of
grafs.
U L T U R £. 425
greater quantity of hay than the latter, and will not Culture of
require manuring or dreffing fo often: but then the Grafs,
hay produced on the upland is much preferable to the v 1
other ; as is alfo the meat which is fed in the upland
more valued than that Which 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 Lincolnlhire. But where
people are nice in their meat, they will give a much
larger price for fuch as hath been fed upon the downs
or in ihort upland pafture, than for the other which
is much larger. Befides this, dry paftures have an
advantage over the meadows, that they may be fed
all the winter, and are not fo fubjedt to poach in
wet Weather •, nor will there be fo many bad weeds
produced 5 which are great advantages, and do in
a great meaftlre recompenfe for the imallnefs of the
crop. _ _ 3S0
The firft improvement of upland pallure is, by fen-Uow toim-
cing it, and dividing it into fmall fields of four, five, Prove UP~
fix, eight, or ten aci-es each, planting timber trees "
in the hedge-rows, which will lereen the grafs from
the dry pinching winds of March, which will prevent
the grafs from growing in large open lands ; fo that if
April proves a dry month, the land produces very
little hay; whereas in the flickered fields, the grafs
will begin to grow early in March, and will cover the
ground, and prevent the fun from parching the roots
of the grafs, 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 mull not be
made too fmall, efpecialiy where the hedge rows 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 grafs
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 rulhes, bullies, 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 theie Hiould
be laid in pretty good quantities, otherwife they will be
of little fervice to the land.
If the ground is overrun with bullies or rulhes, 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 allies over the
ground juft before the autumnal rains ; at which time
the furface of the land Ihould be levelled, and fown
with grafs feed, which will come up in a lliort time,
and make good grafs the following fpring. So alfo,
when the land is full of mole-hills, thefe lliould be pa¬
red off, and either burnt for the allies, or fpread imme¬
diately on the ground when they are pared off, obferv-
ing to fow the bare patches with grafs feed juft as the
autumnal rains begin.
Where 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 wooden roller; always
obferving to do it in moift weather, that the roller
may make an imprellion ; this will render the lurface
3 H level,
426 A G R I C U
Culture of level, and make It much eafier to mow the grafs than
Grafs. when the ground lies in hills •, and will alio caufe the
' v 1 turf thicken, fo as to have what people ufually term a
good bottom. The grafs likewife tvill he the fweeter
for this ha (ban dry, and it tv ill be a great help to de-
ftroy bad weeds.
Another improvement of upland paflures is the feed¬
ing of them } for where this is not practifed ; the land
mull be manured, at leafl every third year \ and where
a farmer hath much arable land in his poffeffion, he
will not care to part with his manure to the pafture.
Therefore every farmer fhould endeavour to proportion
his paflure to his arable land, efpecially where manure
is fcarce, otherwife he will foon find his error; for the
pallure is the foundation of all the profit which may
arife from the arable land.
Whenever the upland pallures 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-
llance, all hot fandy land llsould have a cold manure ;
neats dung and fwines dung are very proper for fueh
lands } but for cold lands, horfe dung, allies, and other
warm manures, are proper. And when thele are
applied, it fhould be done in autumn, before the rains
have foaked the ground, and rendered it too loft to
eart on } and it lliould be carefully fpread, breaking
all the clods as fmall as poflible, and then harrow¬
ed with buflies, to let it down to the roots of the
grafs. When the manure is laid on at this leafon,
the rains in winter will walh it down, fo that the
following fpring the grafs will receive the advantage
of it.
There fliould alfo be great care taken to deflroy
the weeds in the paflure every fpring and autumn :
for, where this is not pradlifed, the weeds will ripen
their feeds, which will fpread over the ground, and
thereby fill it with fuch a crop of weeds as wrill loon
overbear the grafs, and dellroy it ; and it will be very
difficult to root them out after they have gotten luch
poffeffion, efpecially ragwort, and luch other weeds as
have down adhering to their feeds.
The grafs which is fown in thefe upland pallures
feldom degenerates, if the land is tolerably good ; where¬
as the low meadows, on which water flagnates in win¬
ter, in a few years turn to a harfb rulhy grabs, though
the upland will continue a fine fweet grals for many
years without renewing.
There is no part of hufbandry of which the farmers
are in general more ignorant than that of the pallure :
moll of them fuppofe that when old pallure 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 Hand two years after the
corn is taken off the ground, or rye-grafs mixed with
trefoil but as all thefe are at moll but biennial plants,
whofe roots decay foon after their feeds are perfected, fo
the ground having no crop upon it, is again ploughed
for corn 5 and this is the conilant round which the lands
are employed in by the better fort of farmers.
But whatever may have been the practice of thefe
people, it is certainly poifible to lay down lands which
have been in tillage with grafs, in fuch a manner as that
ifoe fward lliall be as good, if not better, than any na-
L T U R E. Praaice.
tural grabs, and of as long duration. But this is never Culture of
to be expended in the common method of lowing a crop Grafs.
of corn with the grafs leeds 5 for, whenever this has v 1 ‘
been pradtifed, if tbe corn has fucceeded well, the
grafs has been very poor and weak •, lo that if the land
has not been very good, the grafs has icarcely been
worth faving 5 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 expected
to be otherwife, for the ground cannot nouriffi two
crops ; and if there were no deficiency in the land, yet
the corn being the firll and moll vigorous of growth,
will keep the grafs from making any conliderable pro-
grefs, fo that the plants will be extremely weak, and
but very thin, many of them which come up in the
fpring being dellroyed by the corn; for wherever there
are roots of corn, it cannot be expedted there fhould
be any grafs. Therefore the grafs mull be tbin ; and
if the land is not in good heart, to fupply the grafs
with nourilhment, 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 llrongell plants will perifh foon after they are
cut , and the weak plants, which had made but little
progrei's 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 fow
there fhould be no crop of any kind fown with the upland paf-
feed : or at leaff the crop Ihould be fown very thin,tures*
and the land Ihould be well ploughed and cleaned from
weeds, otherwile the weeds will come up the firfl, and
grow fo Hrong as to overbear the grals, and if they
are not pulled up will entirely fpoil it. The beff fea-
fon to fow the grafs leeds 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 alter the feed is lowrn, the grals
will foon make its appearance, and get iufficient root¬
ing in the ground before winter} fo will not be in dan¬
ger of having the roots turned out of the ground by
frofl, efpecially if the ground is well rolled before the
froH comes on, which will preis it down, and fix
the earth clofe to the roots. Where this hath not
been pradtifed, the IroH has often looiened 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 objedtion to the autumnal lowing ol grafs} but
it will be found to have no weight il the above direc¬
tion is pradtifed : nor is there any hazard ol lowing
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 Odlober, or
the beginning of November, and repeated again the
beginning of March, the fward will be clolely joined
at bottom, and a good crop of hay may be expedted
the fame fummer. But where the ground cannot be
prepared for lowing 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, we have often lowed the
grafs in the middle of April with luccels } but there is
danger, in fowing late, of dry weather, and elpecially
if the land is light and dry } for we have feen many
. times
Part I.
AORI CULTURE.
427
Culture of times tlie whole furfaee of the ground removed by
Grafs, ftrong winds at that feafon 5 fo that the feeds have been
'J' v driven in heaps to one fide of the held. Therefore,
whenever the feeds are fown late in the fpring, it will
be proper to roll the ground well loon after the feeds
are fown, to fettle the furface, and prevent its being re¬
moved.
The forts of feeds which are the heft for this pur-
pofe, are, the belt fort of upland hay feeds, taken
from the cleanelt paltures, where there are no bad
weeds } if this feed is fifted to clean it from rubbifh,
three bulhels will be fufficient to fow an acre of land.
The other fort is the trifolium prat erfe album, which is
commonly known 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 Ihould
be fown frit, and then the Dutch clover feed may be
afterwards fown ; but they fhould 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 ; for where
this has been negle&ed, the weeds have taken fuch
polfeffion of the ground as to keep down the grafs,
and ftarve it ; and when thefe weeds have been fuffer-
ed to remain until they have (lied their feeds, the land
has been fo plentifully flocked with them as entirely
to deflroy the grafs ; therefore it is one of the principal
parts of hulbandry never to fuffer weeds to grow on
382 the land.
Advanta- If the ground is rolled two or three times at proper
ges of roll- diftances after the grafs is up, it will prefs down the
Jflg grafs. grafSj aml 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
preffing down of the flalks, the roots will mat fo clofely
together, as to form a fward 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 paflures in fummer, in moll of
which there are patches of this white honeyfuckle grafs
growing naturally, we fhall find thefe patches to be the
only verdure remaining in the fields. And this, the
farmers in general acknowledge, is the fweetell feed for
all forts of cattle } yet never had any notion of propa¬
gating it by feeds, nor has this been long pra&ifed in
England.
As the white clover is an abiding plant, fo it is cer¬
tainly the very bell fort to fow, where pallures are
laid down to remain •, for as the hay-feeds which are
taken from the bell pallures will be compofed of va¬
rious forts of grafs, fome of which may be but annual,
and others biennial; fo, 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 expected where this is not
town *, for in moll of the natural pallures, we find this
plant mak^s no fmall fliare of the fward 5 and it is equal¬
ly good for wet and dry land, growing naturally upon
gravel and clay in moll parts of England : which is a
plain indication how eafily this plant may be cultivated
to great advantage in moll forts of land throughout this Culture of
kingdom. * Grafs.
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 diltinguilhing which graffes are annual from thofe
which are perennial: for if annual or biennial graffes
are fown, thefe will of courfe foon decay ; fo that,
unlefs where fome of their feeds may have ripened and
fallen, nothing can be expeded 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 inereafing the pallure 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 direded, and brought to a good fward, the way
to preferve it good is, by conllantly rolling the ground
with a heavy roller, every fpring and autumn, as hath
been before direded. This piece of hulbandry is rarely
pradifed by farmers ; 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; this will
increafe the quantity of good grafs, and preferve the pa¬
llures in beauty. Dreffing of thefe pallures every
third year is alfo a good piece of hulbandry ; for other-
wife it cannot be expeded the ground fhould continue
to produce good crops. Befides this, it will be necef-
fary to change the feafons of mowing, and not to mow
the lame ground every year, but to mow one feafon
and feed the next; for where the ground is every year
mown, it mull be conllantly dreffed, as are moll of the
grafs grounds near London, othei’wife the ground will
be foon exhaulled.
Culmiferous graffes might be divided into two ge- fulmitV-
neral claffes for the purpofes of the farmer, that it rous grade*,
might be of ufe for him to attend to ; viz. ill, Thofe
which, like the common annual kinds of corn, run
chiefly to feed-llalks ; the leaves gradually decaying as
they advance towards perfe&ion, and becoming totally
withered, or falling off entirely, when the feeds are
ripe. Bye-grafs belongs to this clafs in the llriftell
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-llalks are
formed, and retain their verdure and fucculence during
the whole feafon, as is the cafe with the fefeue and poa + Tracis re-
tribes of graffes, whofe leaves are as green and fucculent luting to
when the feeds are ripe and the flower-llalks fading, as Nat-
at any other time. ^LC' .
“ It is wonderful, Mr Stillingfleet l remarks, to fee Culpable
hoW long mankind have neglected to make a proper negligence
advantage of plants of fuch importance, and which, in of farmers
-almoft every country, are the chief food of cattle. a^out t^e
The farmer, for want of diftinguilhing and felecting^j^f
graffes for feed, fills his pallures either with weeds or grades,
bad or improper graffes ; when, by making a right
choice, after ibme trials, he might be lure of the bell
grafs, and in the greatell abundance that his land ad¬
mits of. At prefent, if a farmer wants to lay down
his land to grafs, What does he do ? he either takes
3 H 2 his
42B
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
Culture of his feeds indifcriminately from his own foul hay rack,
Grafs, or fends to his next neighbour for a fupply. lly this
^ means, befides a certain mixture of all forts of rubbifh,
which muft necelfarily 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 moilt,
where it grew naturally, and the contrary. This is
fuch a flovenly method of proceeding, as one would
think could not poflibly 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 ol
the Suffolk-grafs; and this latter inftance is owing, I
believe, more to the foil than any care of the hulband-
man. Now, would the farmer be at the pains of le-
parating once in his life half a pint or a pint of the
difi'erent 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 lup-
plying the feed (hops. The number of grades fit for
the farmer is, I believe, fmall 5 perhaps half a dozen
or half a fcore are all he need to cultivate *, and how
fmall the trouble would be of fuch a talk, and how
great the benefit, mull be obvious to every one at firil
fight. Would not any one be looked on as wild who
fliould 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 grades ? Does it not import
the farmer to have good hay and grafs in plenty ?
and will cattle thrive equally on all forts of food ? We
know the contrary. Hordes 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 falter than any other, in Sweden, if we may
give credit to Linnaeus. And may they not do the
fame in Britain ? How lhall we know7 till we have
. 385
Kinds of
grafs com¬
monly
/own.
3S6
Of red clo-
t«x.
tried ?”
The grades commonly lown for pallure, for hay, or
to cut green for cattle, are red clover, white clover,
yellow' clover, rye-grafs, narrow-leaved plantane, com¬
monly called ribwort, fainfoin, and lucerne.
lied clover is of all the moll proper to be cut green
for fummer food. It is a biennial plant when fuffered
to'perfect its feed j but when cut green, it will lall
three years, and in a dry foil longer. At the fame
time the fafell courfe is to let it Hand but a fmgle year:
if the fecond year’s crop happen to be fcanty, it proves,
like a bad crop of peafe, a great encourager of w eeds,
by the Ihelter 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 red
when hurt in the drying, and of a faint colour when
unripe.
Red clover is luxuriant upon a rich foil, whether
clay, loam or gravel: it will grow even upon a moor
when properly cultivated. A wet foil is its only bane ;
for there it does not thrive.
To have red clover in perfection, weeds muft. be ex¬
tirpated, and ftones 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 fufii-
ciently fmooth without it. This gives opportunity for
dillributing the feed evenly j 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-' y
der *. In barrowing, the man ftiould walk behind * pjate
with a rope in his hand fixed to the back part of the ym. fig.
harrow, ready to difentangle it from ftones, clods, tur¬
nip or cabbage roots, which would trail the feed, and
difplace it.
Nature has not determined any precife depth for the
feed of red clover more than of other feed. It will
grow vigoi'oufly from two inches deep, and it will grow
when barely covered. Half an inch may be reckoned
the moll advantageous pofition in clay foil, a whole
inch in what is light or loofe. It is a vulgar error, that
fmall feed ought to be fparingly covered. Milled by
that error, farmers commonly cover their clover feed
with a bulky 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 firil of March to the end of Auguft } but iuch
liberty ought not to be taken except from neceflity.
There cannot be a greater blunder in hufbandry 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 Hand. This rule may be admitted where grain is
the object \ but it will not anfwer with refpect to grals.
Grafs feeds cannot be lown too thick : the plants fhel-
ter one another •, they retain all the dew 5 and they
muft pulli upward, having no room laterally. Obierve
the place where a lack of peale, or of other grain, has
been fet down for lowing: the feed dropt there acci¬
dentally grows more quickly than in the reft of the
field fown thin out of hand. A young plant of clover,
or of fainfoin, according to Tull, may be railed to a
great lize where it has room ; but the field wrill not
produce half the quantity. V\ hen 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 ftem be, the more acceptable it is
to cattle. It is often too thin; and when fo, the ftems
tend to wood. \
Grain may be fown more
than with aimed any other
proper grain has been found to be
• .387
fafely with red clover Of fowing
grafs ; and the moll clover with.
flax. The foilSranL
muft be highly cultivated for flax as well as for
red clover. The proper lealon of fowing is the lame
for both}- the leaves of flax being very fmall, ad¬
mit of free circulation of air 5 and flax being an early
crop, is removed fo early as to give the clover time for
go wing. In a rich foil it has grown io fall, as to af¬
ford a good cutting that very year. Next to flax, bar¬
ley is the bell companion to clover. Tho foil muft be
loofe and free for barley; and fo it ought to be lor
clover : the feafon of fowing is the lame } and the clo¬
ver is well eftablilhed 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
word, barley is rather a nurfe than a llepmother to
clover during its infancy. When clover is fown in
fpring upon wheat, the foil which has lain five or fix
months without being ftirred,’is an improper bed for
it 3 and the wheat, being in the vigour of growth,
overtops
Part I.
383
White and
yellow clo¬
ver, rib¬
wort, and
rye-grafs.
A G R I C U
overtops it from the lieginning. It cannot be town
along with oats, becaufe of the hazard of froft; and
when fown as ufual among the oats three inches high,
it is overtopped, and never enjoys free air till the oats
he cut. Add, that where oats are fown upon the win¬
ter furrow, the foil is rendered as hard as when under
wheat.—Ked clover is lometimes fown by itfelf with¬
out other grain : but this method, belide lofmg a crop,
is not falutary; becaufe clover in its infant Hate re¬
quires Ihelter.
As to the quantity of grain proper to be fown with
clover: In a rich foil well pulverized, a peck of barley
on an Englifh acre is all that ought to be ventured j
hut 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; hall
a firlot for what produces nine bolls. To thole who
ai’e governed by cuftom, fo fmall 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 thernfelves with the remedy of cutting bar-
ley green for food, if it happen to opprefs the clover.
This is an excellent remedy in afield of an acre or two j
but the cutting an extenfive field for food mult be flow }
and while one part is cutting, the clover is imothered
in other parts.
The culture of white clover, of yellow clover, of
ribwort, of rye-grafs, is the fame in general with that
of red clover. We proceed to their peculiarities. \ el-
low clover, 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 palture. llye-grafs is lefs hurt by
froft than any of the clovers, and will thrive in a
moifter foil: nor in that foil is it much affected by
drought. In a rich foil, it grows four feet high : even
in the dry fummer 1775, it role to three feet eight
inches ; but it had gained that height before the drought
came on. Thefe graffes are generally town 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 5 they bind
the foil by their number; and though fmall, are yet
fo vigorous as to thrive in hard foil, lied clover has a
large-tap-root, which cannot penetrate any foil but
what is open and free 5 and the largenefs of the root
makes the foil ftill more open and free. Rye-grais,
once a great favourite, appears to be diicarded 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 yellow 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
2
429
L T U R E.
ought to be cleared of weeds, were it for no other pur-
pofe than that the feed cannot otherwife be preferved
pure; what weeds efcape the plough ought to be taken
out by the hand. In England, when a crop of feed is
intended, the clover is always firft cut for hay. This
appears to be done, as in fruit trees, to check the
growth of the wood, in order to encourage the fruit.
This pra&ice wTill not anfwer in Scotland, as the feed
would 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 when, 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 firft opportunity ot a hot day
for threlhing it on boards covered with a coarfe fheet.
Another way, lefs fubject to riik, is to flack the dry
hay, and to threfh it in the end of April. After the
firft threfhing, expofe the hufks to the fun, and threih
them over and over till no feed remain. Nothing is
more efficacious than a hot fun to make the hulk part
with its feed ; in which view it may be expofed to the
fun by parcels, an hour or two before the flail is ap¬
plied.
White clover, intended for feed, is managed in the
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 ride. The
feed is ripe when it parts eafily with the hulk. The
yeilownefs of the ftem is another indication of its ripe-
nefs ; in which particular it refembles oats, barley, and
other culmiferous plants. The bell 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 ftand ereft ; as is done with oats in moift wea-
tlier. In that ftate they may ftand till fufficiently dry
for threfhing. By this method they dry more quickly,
and are lefs hurt by rain, than by dole binding and
putting the fheaves in fliocks like coin. The worft
way of all is to fpread the rye-grafs on the moift ground,
for it makes the feed malten. The fheaves, when fuf¬
ficiently dry, are carried in dole carts to where they
are to be threfhed on a board, as mentioned above for
clover. Tut the ftraw in a rick when a hundred Hone
veight or fo is threfhed. Carry the threfhing board to
the place where another rick is intended ; and lo on
till the whole feed be threfhed, and the ftraw ricked.
There is neceffity for clofe carts to lave the feed, which
is apt to drop out in a hot fun ; and, as obferved above,
a hot fun ought always to be chofen tor tbrefhing.
Carry the feeds in facks to the granary or barn, there
to be leparated from the hulks by a fanner. Spread
the feed thin upon a timber floor, and turn it once or
twice a-day till perfeffly dry. If fuffered to take a
heat, it is ufelefs for feed.
The writers on agriculture reckon fainfoin prefer- Culture ef
able to clover in many relpeds: They fay, that it pro- fainfoin.
duces a larger crop ; that it does not hurt cattle when
eaten green ; that it makes better hay ; that it conti¬
nues four times longer in the ground ; and that it will
grow 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 ;
and the larger they are, they penetrate to the greater
depth and hence it may be concluded, that this grafs,
when
Grafs.
430 A G R I C U
Culture of tvlien it thrives well, receives a great part of its nou-
rifhment from below the Jiaple of the foil: of eonrfe, a
deep dry foil is heft for the culture of fainfoin. W hen
plants draw their nourifliment from that part of the loil
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 Ihoot their roots deep are often fupplied
with moillure, when thofe near the furface are parched
with drought.
To render the plants of fainfoin vigorous, it is ne-
eeflarv that they be fown thin. The bell method of
doing this is by a drill 5 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
imperfect Hate, will make but a poor crop for the firft
year or two. It is therefore necefl'ary 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
as to leave a proper number of plants. In this fi-
tuation the field may remain two years 5 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 in the fame manner, fo as to
leave double rows, with partitions of ten inches, and
intervals of thirty: All of which may he hoed at
once or alternately, as it may be found moft conve¬
nient.
The great quantity of this grafs which the writers
on this fubject affure us may be raifed upon an acre,
and the excellency and great value of the hay made of
it, fhould induce farmers to make a complete trial of
it, and even to ufe the fpade in place of the hoe or
hoe-plough, if neceffary.
The plants taken up from a field of fainfoin may be
fet in another field ; 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 fufficiently recompenfed by the
largenefs of the crops. In tranfplanting, it is necef¬
fary to cut off great part of the long tap-root : this
will prevent it from llriking very deep into the foil,
and make it pulli out large roots in a Hoping dire&ion,
from the cut end of the tap-root. Sainfoin managed
in this manner, will thrive even on lhallow land that
has a wet bottom, provided it be not overftocked with
plants.
Whoever inclines to try the culture of this grafs in
Scotland, fhould take great pains in preparing the land,
and making it as free from weeds as poflible.
In England, as the roots flrike deep in that chalky
foil, this plant is not liable to be fo much injured by
drought as other graffes are, whofe fibres flrike hori¬
zontally, and lie near the furface. The quantity of hay
produced is greater, and better in quality than any
3
L T U R E.
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 v
of milk which it makes is aflonifhing, 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 Englifh farmer are
made from much experience and obfervation. ^90
Sainfoin is much cultivated in thofe parts where Remarks
the foil is of a chalky kind. It will always fucceedon ^
well where the roots run deep} the worfl foil of all for
ture of fuin-
foin in
it, is where there is a bed of cold wet clay, which the England,
tender fibres cannot penetrate. This plant will make
a greater increafe of produce, by at leafl 30 times,
than common grafs or turf on poor land. Where it
meets with chalk or flone, it will extend its roots
through the cracks and chinks to a very great depth
in fearch of nourifhment. The drynefs is of more
confequence than the richnefs of land for fainfoin ; al¬
though land that is both dry and rich will always pro¬
duce the largefl crops.
It is very commonly fown broad-call ; but it is- found
to anfwer bell 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 pufli out its roots
above ground, and thefe will be killed by the air.
March and the beginning of April are the bell feafons
for fowing it, as the feverity of winter and the drought
of fummer are equally unfavourable to the young plants.
A bufhel of feed fown broad-caft, or half that quantity
in drills, if good, is fufficient for an acre. The drills
ffiould be 30 inches apart, to admit of horfe-hoeing
between them. Much, however, depends on the good-
nefs of the feed, which may be bell judged of by the
following marks :
The hulks being of a bright colour, the kernel plump,
of a gray or hluiffi colour without, and if cut acrofs,
greenifh and freffi withinfide ; if it be thin and furrow¬
ed, and of a yellowiffi call, it will feldom grow. When
the plants Hand fingle, and have room to fpread, they
produce the greatell quantity of herbage, and the feed
ripens bell. But farmers in general, from a millaken
notion of all that appears to be walle ground being
unprofitable, plant them fo clofe, that they choke and
impoverilh each other, and often, die in a few years.
Single plants run deepell and draw moll nouriffiment ;
they are alfo eafiefl kept free from weeds. A fingle
plant will often produce half a pound of hay, when dry.
On rich land this plant will yield two good crops in a
year, with a moderate fliare of culture. A good crop
muft not be expefted the firll year; but, if the plants
Hand not too thick, they will increafe in fize the fecond
year prodigioully.
No cattle ffiould be turned on the field the firll win¬
ter after the corn is off with which it was fown, as
their feet would injure the young plants. Sheep fhould
not come on the following fummer, becaufe they would
bite off the crown of the plants, and prevent their
ffiooting again. A fmall quantity of foapers allies as a
top-dreffing will be of great fervice, if laid on the firll
winter.
If
Psrt I.
Culture of
Grafs.
AGRICULTURE.
If the fainfoln be cut juft before it comes into bloom, their greateft perfeftion
39*
Its excel-
ence as
food for
cows.
392
Culture of
ucerne.
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 perfected ; for great care muft be taken,
in making it into hay, that the flowers do not drop oft',
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 Hand 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 heft 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 Hand till too ripe. Seeded fainfoin
lliould always be cut in a morning or evening, when
the dew's render the ftalks tender. If cut when the
fun fhines hot, much of the feed wall 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; of April to the end of November $ and afford, be-
iides, 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 1 9 to 20 years in prime 5 but at the end of
feven or eight years, it will be necefl’ary to lay on a
moderate coat of well-rotted dung; or, if the foil be
very light and fandy, of marl. By this means the
future crops, and the duration of the plants in health
and vigour, will be greatly increafed and prolonged.
Hence 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 perfection ; and of¬
ten, if the foil be cold and moift, near half the plants
Avill 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 rilk
and certain expence are avoided, and a larger annual
profit accrues to the farmer.
The vtiters 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. There 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,
it comes up very well, and Hands the winter froft. But
the chief thing which prevents this grafs from being
more ufed in Scotland, is the difficulty of keeping the
foil open and free from weeds. In a few years the
furface becomes fo hard, and the turf fo ftrong, that it
deftroys the lucerne before the plants have arrived at
43 r
fo that lucerne can fcarce be Culture of
cultivated with fuccefs there, unlefs fome method be Grafs,
fallen upon of dcftroying the natural grafs, and prevent- 1
ing the furface from becoming hard and impenetrable.
This cannot be done effedtually by any other means
than horfe-hoeing. This method was firft propofed by
Mr Tull, and afterwards praclifed fuccefsfully by M.
de Chateauvieux near Geneva. It may be of ufe there¬
fore to give a view of that gentleman’s method of culti¬
vating 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 Ihould be fpared in preparing it.
He tried the fowing of lucerne both in rows upon the.
beds where it was intended to Hand, likewife the low¬
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 off, and the plant Ihoots out a number of lateral
branches from the cut part of the root, which makes it
fpread its roots nearer the furface, and confequently
renders it more eafily cultivated : befides, this circum-
ftance adapts it to a fhallow foil, in which, if left in its
natural ftate, it would not grow.
The tranfplanting of lucerne is attended with many
advantages. The land may be prepared in the fummer
for receiving the plants from the nurfery in autumn :
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 obfer-
ved; and confequently the hoeing can be performed more
perfectly, and with lefs expence. M. Chateauvieux like¬
wife tried the lucerne in fingle beds three feet wide,
with fingle rows j in beds three feet nine inches wide,
with double rows j and in beds four feet three inches
wide, with triple rows. The plants in the fingle rows
were fix inches afunder, 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 pro¬
duced more than a triple row of the fame length. The
plants of lucerne, when cultivated by tranfplantation,
fhould be at leaft fix inches afunder, to allow them room
for extending their crowns.
He further obferves, that the beds or ridges ought
to be raifed in the middle j that a fmall trench, two
or three inches deep, lliould be drawn in the middle ;
and that the plants ought to be let in this trench, co¬
vered with earth up to the neck. He lays, that if the
lucerne be fown in fpring, and in a warm foil, it will
be ready for tranfplanting in September ; that, if the
weather be too hot and dry, the tranfplanting ftiould
be delayed till Odtober; and that if the iveather be
unfavourable during both thefe months, this operation
muft be delayed till fpring. He further dire&s, that
the plants ftiould be carefully taken out of the nurfery,
fo as not to damage the roots; that the roots be left
only about fix or feven inches long ; 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 fliould
be planted with a planting ftick, in the fame manner
as cabbages.
He does not give particular diredtions as to the
times of horfe-hoeing; but only fays, in general, that-
the-
43:
Culture of
Grafs.
393
Culture of
burnet.
394
Bulbous
foxtail-
grafs.
EJfays
Agricul¬
ture, &c.
A G R I C U
thf; intervals fliould be fllrred once in the month da¬
ring the whole time that the lucerne is in a growing
' Hate. He like wile obferves, that great care ought to
be taken not to fuller any weeds to grow among the
plants, at leall for the firft two or three years ; and
for this purpofe, that the rows as well as the edges of
the intervals where the plough cannot go, fliould be
weeded by the hand.
Burnet is peculiarly adapted to poor land j be-
ftdes, it proves an excellent winter pafture when hard¬
ly any thing elfe vegetates. Other advantages are, It
makes good butter; it never blows or fwells cattle 5
it is fine pailure for flieep; and will flourifh Avell on
poor, light, fandy, 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 weeds.
On the failure of turnips, either from the fly or the
black worm, fome of our farmers have fown the land
with burnet, and in March following had a fine pa¬
fture for their flieep and lambs. It will perfect its feed
twice in a fummer 5 and this feed is faid to be as good
as 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; but it is beft to fow it
fingly in the beginning of July, when there is a pro-
fpect of rain, on a fmall piece of land, and in O&ober
following tranfplant it in rows two feet apart, and
about a foot diftant in the rows. This is a proper di-
ftance, and gives opportunity for hoeing the intervals
in the fucceeding fpring and fummer.
After it is fed down with cattle, it fhould be harrow¬
ed clean. Some horfes will not eat freely at firft, but
in two or three days they are generally very fond of it.
It affords rich pleafant milk, and in great plenty.
A gentleman farmer near Maidilone, fome years
fince, lowed four acres as foon as the crop of oats was
got oft, which wras the latter end of Auguft. He
threw in 12 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 however a good crop 5 and in the fpring he
let the plants out with 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 fliillings 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 fhall here enumerate a few more of the grafles
which have been accounted valuable, or are likely to
become fo.
Alopecurus bulbofrs, Bulbous Foxtail-grass, is
recommended by Dr Anderfon *, as promifing on fome
occafions to afford a valuable pafture-grafs. It feems
chiefly, he obferves, to delight in a moift foil, and
therefore promifes to be only fit for a meadow pafture-
grafs. The quality that firft recommended it to his
notice, was the unufual firmnefs that its matted roots
L T U R E. Practice.
gave to the furface of the ground, naturally foft and Culture of
moift, in which it grew j which feemed to promife that Grafs,
it might be of ufe upon fuch foils, chiefly in prevent-
ing them from being much potched by the feet of cat¬
tle which might pafture upon them. Molly foils efpe-
cially are fo much hurt by poaching, that any thing
that promifes to be of ufe in preventing it deferves to
be attended to.
Poa pmtaifis, Great Meadow-grass, feems to Gre^
approach in many re 1 peels to the nature oi the purple dow-grafs.
fefeue 5 only that its leaves are broader, and not near fo
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 aflects
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 he fuffered to remain till the
ftalks are quite dry. It bloflbms the beginning of June,
and its feeds are ripe in July. ^96
Poa comprcjfu, Creeping Meadow-grass, accord-Creeping
ing to Dr Anderfon, feems to be the moft valuable meadow-
grafs of any of this genus. Its leaves are firm and fuc-Srafs*
culent, of a dark Saxon-green colour; and grow 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; and when the
ftalks fade, the leaves continue as green as before. Its
leaves are much larger and more abundant than the
common meadow-grafs, poa trivia Us ; and therefore it
better deferves to be cultivated.
Anthoxanthum odor at urn, Vernal Grass, grows Vernal
very commonly on dry hills, and like wife on iound grafs.
rich mea^low-land. It is one of the earlieft graifes we
have } and from its being found on fuch kinds of pa¬
ftures as flieep are fond of, and from whence excellent
mutton comes, it is moft likely to he a good grafs for
flieep paftures. It gives a grateful odour to hay. In
one reipebt it is very eaiy to gather, as it flieds its
feeds upon the leaft rubbing. A correfpondent oi the
Bath Society, however, mentions a difficulty that oc¬
curs in collebiing them, owing to its being iurrounded
with taller grafles at the time oi its ripening, and be¬
ing almoft hid among them. If it be not carefully
watched when nearly ripe, he obierves, and gathered
within a few days after it conies to maturity, great
part of the feed will he loft. The twilled elaftic awns,
which adhere to the feeds, lift them out oi their recep¬
tacles with the leaft motion from the wind, even while
the ftraw and ear remain quite ere A. It is iound moft-
ly in the moift parts oi meadows $ very little oi it on
dry paftures. It flowers about the beginning of May,
and is ripe about the middle of June. ^
Cynofurus crijiatus. Crested Dog’s-tail grass. crcftecl
Mr Stillingfleet imagines this grafs to be proper for dog’s-tail
parks, from his having known one, where it abounds, grafs.
that is famous for excellent venifon. He recommends
it alfo, from experience, as good for flieep; the beft.
mutton he ever tailed, next to that which comes from
hills where the purple and flieep’s fefeue, the fine bent,
and the filver hair graffes abound, having been from
flieep fed with it. He adds, that it makes a very fine
turf upon dry fandy or chalky foils: but unlefs iwept
over with the feythe, its flowering-ftems will look
brown j
Part I.
Culture of
Grafs.
AGRICULTURE.
399
Cock’s-tail,
or feather
grafs.
400
Fine bent.
401
Mountain
hair.
402
Silver hair.
4°3
Flote
fefcue.
brown j winch is the cafe of all grades which are not
| fed on by a variety of animals. For that fome animals
will eat the flowering ftems is evident from commons,
where fcarcely any parts of grafl'es appear but the ra¬
dical leaves. This grafs is faid to be the eafieft of the
whole group to col left a quantity of feeds from. It
flowers in June, and is ripe in July.
Stipapennata, Cock’s Tail, or Feather Grass.
AgroJHs capillarisy Fine Bent, is recommended by
Mr Stillingfleet, from his having always found it in
great plenty on the beft flieep p a I hires in the different
counties in England that are remarkable for good mut¬
ton. This grafs flowers and ripens its feed the latell: of
them all. It feems to be loll the former part of the
year, but vegetates luxuriantly towards the autumn. It
appears to be fond of moill grounds. It retains its feed
till full ripe ; flowers the latter end of July, and is ripe
the latter end of Auguft.
Aira jle.vunfa, Mountain Hair.
—— caryophillea, Silver Hair.
The fame may be faid of thefe two graffes as of
the preceding one.
Fcjluca fhiitans, Flote Fescue. In a piece pub-
lifhed in the Amoenitates Academicae, vol. iii. entitled
Plantes EJculentce, 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
nourilhing quality and agreeable tafte. It is wonderful
(adds the author), that amongft us thefe feeds have hi¬
therto been neglected, frnce they are fo eafily colle&ed
and cleanfed.” There is a clamminefs on the ear of
the flote fefcue, when the fefcds are ripe, that taites like
honey: and for this reafon perhaps they are called
manna feeds.
Linnaeus (Flor. 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. “ Mr Dean, a very fen-
iible farmer at Rufcomb, Berkfhire, allured me that a
field, always lying under water, of about four acres,/'
that was occupied by his father when he was a bov,
was covered with a kind of grafs, that maintained five
farm horfes in good heart from April to the end of
harveft, 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 rhixture of the marfli-
bent ; whether this laft contributes much towards fur-
nifliing 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 longljjlmurn, growing not far
from Salifbury, 24 feet long. This muft by its length
be a grafs with a creeping flalk 5 and that there is a
grafs in Wiltfhire 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-
flances incline me to think it muft be the flote fefcue $
but whatever grafs it be, it certainly muft deferve to be
inquired after.
VOL. I. Part IL
Alopccurtispratenfis, Meadow FOXTAIL. Li imams Culture of
fays that this is a proper grafs to fow on grounds that Grafs,
have been drained. Mr Stillingfleet was informed, that '
the beft hay which comes to London is from the mea-
dows where this grals abounds. It is fcarce in many foxtail,
parts of England, particularly Herefordfliire, Berkfhire,
and Norfolk. It might be gathered at almoft any time
of the year from hay-ricks, as it does not flied its feeds
without rubbing, which is the cafe of but few grafl’es.
It is among the moft grateful of all grades to cattle.
It is ripe about the latter end of June.
Poa annua, Annual Meadow Grass. “ThisAnnual
grafs (fays Mr Stillingfleet) makes the fineft of turfs.meadoW
It grows everywhere by way fides, and on rich found 1’iafs‘
commons. It is called in fome parts the Suffolk grafs.
I have feen whole fields of it in Pligh Suffolk without
any mixture of other graffes 5 and as fome of the beft
ialt butter we have in London comes from that coun¬
ty, it is moft likely to be the beft grafs for the dairy.
I have feen a whole park in Suffolk covered with this
grais : but whether it afford good venifon, I cannot
tell, having never tailed of any from it. I Ihould ra¬
ther think not, and that the beft pafture for flieep is al¬
io the beft for deer. However, this wants trial. I re¬
marked on Malvern-hill fomething particular in relation
to this grais. A walk that was made there for the
convenience of the wrater drinkers, in lefs than a year
was covered in many places with it, though I could not
find one lingle plant of 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 muft be very fer-
viceable to it. It has been objedted that this grafs is
not free from bents, by which word is meant the llowrer- ,
ing-ftems. I anfvver, that this is moft certainly true,
and that there is no grafs without them. But the.
flowers and ftems do not grow fo foon brown as thole
of other grades ; and being much fliorter, they do not
cover the radical leaves fo much 5 and therefore this
grafs affords a more agreeable turf without mowing than
any other whatever that I know of.” The feeds of this
fpeeies drop off before they are dry, and, to appearance,
before they are ripe. The utmoft care is therefore ne-
ceffary 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 Octo¬
ber ; but moftly difappears in the middle of the fum-
mer. It grows in any foil and fituation, but rather af-
fedts the ftiade.
A new grafs from America (named Agrofis cornu- Agtoftis
copies'), was fome time ago much advertifed and extolled, cornucopia,
as poffelfing 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 ex-
pectation. On the contrary, we are informed by Dr
Anderfon, in one of his publications *, that “ it has up- *jzee voi. j,
on trial been found to be good for nothing. Of the p. 38.’
leeds fown, few of them ever germinated : but enough
of plants made their appearance, to afeertain, that the
grais, in refpedt of quality, is among the pooreft of the
tribe : and that it is an annual plant, and altogether
unprofitable to the farmer.”
Chicorum Intybus, Chicory. 407
Mr Arthur Young has anxioufly endeavoured to Chicory,
diffufe a knowledge of this plant, and he appears to
3 I have
4-34 A G R I C U
Culture of have been the firll perfon that introduced it into the
Grafs, agriculture of England from France, where it glows
—\ ' naturally on the fides of the roads and paths, and is
fometimes cultivated as a falad. W hen it has been town
by itfelf, in ground prepared by good tillage, it has
yielded two crops the fame year. hen fown amongit
oats, no crop is expected till the following year. A bis
plant defies the greateft droughts, and relilts every
ftorm. Being of very early growth, its firll leaves,
which are large and tufted, fpread lidewife, and cover
the ground fo as to retain the moillure, and prelerve its
roots from the heat which fo often dries up every other
vegetable produdion: it has not any thing to fear from
ftorms, for its thick and ftiff ftalks fupport themfelves
againft the winds and heavieft rains, Hie molt fevere
colds and frolts cannot injure it. The quicknefs oi its
growth, above all, renders it moll valuable, became it
furnilhes an abundance of falutary fodder in a feafon,
when the cattle, difgufted with their dry winter food,
greedily devour frelh plants.
This plant is greedily eaten by all iorts ol cattle,
but it is difficult to make into bay. 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. T'16 1® "
lowing is the refult ol an experiment made with it by
Mr Young upon an acre of ground,
fown April 1788.
Annals of
Agricul-
turef vol.
XV.
Cut July 24,
October 17,
Green produce.
Tons. cwt.
9 10
9
Produce of the year of timing, 19 4
1789. Cut May 21,
July 24,
December 3,
12
16
9
11
4
14
Produce of the fecond year, 38 9
1790. Cut June 8,
Augull 15,
18
19
*5
9
Produce of the third year, 38 4
L T U R E. Pradice.
of all the grades ; grows naturally on the tops of the Culture of
higheft limeftone rocks in the northern part ol Great, (1 {‘' ,
Britain : not very productive, yet may perhaps anfwer
in certain fit nations, efpecially as a grafs for Iheep
bears the drought of fummer remarkably well : at all
events feems more likely to anfwer than the Jlieeps
fefeue grafs, on which Inch encomiums have, moll 1111-
jullly, been laviffied. 413
“ DaBylis fame rat us, rough cocksfoot grafs ; a Rough
rough coarfe grafs, but extremely hardy and produc-codc’s-foot
tive : foil and iituation the lame as the meadow fejcue. ^
“ Fejluca elatior, tall fefeue grafs ; tall and coarfe, >pajj fefcue
but very productive j a Heels wet fituations. grafs.
“ Ftfuca duriufcula, hard fefeue grafs ; affeCls fuch 41S
fituations as \\\e fmooth-falked meadow grafs ; is eafly raySi
and tolerably productive : its foliage is fine, and of a
beautiful green } hence we have fometimes thought it
was of all others the fittell for a grafs-plat 01 bowling-
green 5 but we have found, that though it thuves veiy
much when firlt fown or planted, it is apt to become
thin, and die "away after a wdiile. 4i6
“ Phleum pratenfe, meadow cats-tail grafs ; alleds Meadow
wet fituations } is very productive, but coarfe and late.”
To fow grafs feeds in fmall quantities, this author
gives the following directions :— 4T7
“ If a piece of ground can be had, that is neither Ru es for
very moift nor very dry, it will anfwer for feveral torts™
of feed : they may then be fown on one ipot} out it wjt}j grafs
fuch a piece cannot be obtained, they mull be lown onfecds.
feparate fpots according to their relpeCtive qualities,
no matter whether in a garden, a nuriery, or in a held,
provided it be well fecured 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 Augull or beginning of September will be
the moll proper time for this bufinefs. If the wreather
be not uncommonly dry, the feeds will quickly vege¬
tate, and the only attention they will require will be to
be carefully weeded. 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, fo as to make more rows of the lame
“ If the winter Ihould be veiy fevere, though na¬
tives, as feedlings they may receive injury 5 therefore
will uni Hr mnifs to nroteCl them with mats, tern, or
The follmving Engliffi graffes are recommended to
attention by Mr Curtis, author of the Flora Londmen-
fs; and he has given direftions for making expen-
40S ments with grafs feeds in fmall quantities.
Tall oat- “ Avena elatior, tall oat-grefs; common m wit
grafs. meadows, and by the fides of hedges *, early, and veiy
409 productive, but coarfe. (
Yellow “ Arena flavefcens, yellow oat-grafs ; aneCts a dry
•at grafs. ig ear}y amj productive, bids fair to make a good
410 ffieep pallure, - r, r.
Rough oat- “ Arena pubefeens, rough oat-grafs ; ion and htua-
grafs. tjon nearlj fimilar to that of the meadow fefeue ; hardy,
411 early, and productive.
Upright « Bromus ereBus, upright broom-grajs ; peculiar to
bror' chalky foils ; early and produdive ; promifes to be a
g good grafs for chalky lands, and thrives indeed very
412 well on others.
Blue dogs- ,< Cyntfurus ceeruleus, blue dogs-tail grafs ; earlicll
by fome other contrivance.
' “ Advantage Ihould be taken of the firll dry wea¬
ther in the fpring, to roll or tread them down, in order
to fallen their roots in the earth, which the Irolt ge¬
nerally loofens : care mull Hill be taken to keep them
perfectly clear from weeds. As the Ipring advances,
many of them will throw up their flowering Hems, and
fome of them will continue to do fo all the fummer.
As the feed in each fpike or pannicle ripens, it mult
be very carefully gathered and lown in the autumn,
at which time the roots of the original plants which
will now bear feparating, Ihould be divided, and trail -
planted, fo as to form more rows-, the roots ot the
fmooth-Halked mcadow-grafs, in particular, creeping
like couch-grafs, may readily,be inereafed in this way ,
and thus by degrees a large plantation of theie grailes
may be formed and much feed collected.
“ While the feeds are thus increafing, the piece or
pieces
1
Part I.
Culture of pieces of ground, which are intended to be laid down,
Grafs. fliould be got in order. If very foul, perhaps the bell
' V ' pradtice (if pafture land) will be to pare oft' the fward
and burn it on the ground ; or if this fliould not be
thought advifable, 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 j to render it perfedly fo, fome
cleanfing crop, as potatoes or turnips, fliould be plant¬
ed or fown.
“ By this means, the ground we propofe laying
down will be got into excellent order without much
lots; and being now ready to form into a meadow or
pallure, fliould be fown broad-call with the following
eompofttions:
Meadow fox-tail, one pint j
Meadow fefcue, ditto j
Smooth-Jlalked meadow, half a pint
Rough-Jlalked meadow, ditto •,
Crejled dog's-tail, a quarter of a pint *,
Sweet-fcented vernal, ditto
■ Dutch clover (trifolium repens'), half a pint }
Wild red clover (trifolium pratenje), or in its Head,
Broad clover of the Jhops, ditto j
For wet land, the crejlcd dog's-tail and fmooth-
Jlalked meadow may be omitted, eipecially the
former.
“ Such a compofttion as this, fown in the proportion
of about three bufliels to an acre on a fuitable foil, in a
favourable fituation, will, I am bold to aftert, form in
two years a moll excellent meadow and, as all the
plants fown are llrong, hardy perennials, they will not
eafily fuffer their places to be ufurped by any noxious
plants, which by manure or other means, in ipite of all
our endeavours, will be apt to infinuate themlelves 5 if
they fliould, they mull be carefully extirpated j for luch
a meadow is deferving of the greatell attention : but it
that attention cannot be bellowed on it, and in procefs
of time weeds fliould predominate over the crop origi¬
nally fown, the whole fliould be ploughed up, and frefli
fown with the fame feeds, or with a better compofition,
if fuch fliall be difeovered •, for I have no doubt but,
at fome future time, it will be as common to fow a
rtieadow with a compofition fomewhat like this, as it
now is to fow a field with wheat or barley.
“ One of the mofl important improvements in agri¬
culture that has occurred of late years, is the practice
of overflowing or flooding grafs lands, which is now
coming greatly into ufe, not only on level grounds, but
in all fituations in which a command of water can be
When the obtained. In the Monthly Review for Odtober 1788,
watering of the editors acknowledge the favour of a correfpondent,
meadows wj10 inf01-meJ them, that watering of meadows was
nra&ifed in Pra&ifed during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and
England. James I. A book was written upon the iubjedl by
one Rowland Vaughan, who feems to have been the in¬
ventor of this art, and who practifed it on a very ex-
tenfive plan in the Golden Valley in Herefordfliire.
Till this note to the Reviewers appeared, the inhabi¬
tants of a village called South Cerney in Gloucefler-
fliire had aflumed the honour of the invention to them-
felves, as we are informed in a treatife upon the iub-
je£t by the Rev. Mr Wright, curate of the place. Ac¬
cording to a received tradition in that village, water¬
ing of meadows has been pra&ifed there for about a
agriculture.
century, and was introduced
435
by one Wettadvife, a Culture of
wealthy farmer in South Cerney. His firil experiment | Grafs. ^
was by cutting a large ditch in the middle ot his
ground, from which he threw the water over fome
parts, and allowed it to llagnate in others : but finding
this not to anfvver his expectations, he improved his me¬
thod by cutting drains and filling up the hollows ; and
thus he fucceeded to well, that his neighbours, who at
firil called him a madman, foon changed their opinion,
and began to imitate his example. . 419
“ The advantages which attend the watering of mea- Advantages
dows are manyr and great j not only as excellent crops p|jva^er
of grafs are thus i-aifed, but as they appear lo cany, 3
that they are of infinite fervice to the farmers lor food
to their cattle in the fpring, betore the natural grals
rifes. By watering we have plenty of grafs in the be¬
ginning of March, and even earlier when the lealon is
ipild. The good eff'eas of this kind of grals upon all
forts of cattle are likewife allonifliing, eipecially upon
fuch as have been hardly wintered} and Mr VN right
informs us, that the farmers in his neighbourhood, by
means of watering their lands, are enabled to begin
the making of cheefe at leail a month fooner than
their neighbours who have not the fame advantage.
Grals raifed by watering is found to be admirable lor
the nurture of lambs j not only thofe defigned lor lat-
tening, but iuch as are to be kept for It ore For ii
lambs when very young are Hopped and Hinted in
their growth, they not only become contracted lor life
themfelves, but in fome meafure communicate the fame
diminutive fize to their young. Ihe beH remedy lor
preventing this evil is the Ipring feed from watered
meadows j and IVIr Wright is of opinion, that if the
young of all kinds of farmer’s Hock were immediately
encouraged by plenty of lood, and kept continually in
a growing Hate, there would in a few years be a
notable change, both in the fize and fliape of cattle in
general. Such indeed is the forwardnefs of grafs
from watered meadows, that the iced between March
and May is worth a guinea per acre } and in June an .
acre will yield two tons of hay, and the after-math
is always worth twenty fliillings j and nearly the
fame quantity is conHantly obtained whether the fum-
mer be dry or wet. In dry fummers, alio, luch far¬
mers as water their meadows have an opportunity ot
felling their hay almoH at any price to their neigh¬
bours. 42°
“ Land treated in this manner is continually impro- Land con-
ving in quality, even though it be mown every year:
the herbage, ii coarfe at firil, becomes finer \ the toil, watering,
if fwampy, becomes found j the depth of its mould
is augmented, and its quality meliorated every year.
“ To thefe advantages (fays Mr Bofwell in his trea¬
tife upon this fubjedl) another may be addrefled to
the gentleman who willies to improve his eHate, and
whofe benevolent heart prompts him to extend a cha¬
ritable hand to the relief of the induHrious poor, and
not to idlenefs and vice : almoH the whole of the ex¬
pence in this mode of cultivation is the aftual ma¬
nual labour of a clafs of people, who have no genius
to employ their bodily flrength otherwife for their
own fupport and that of their lamilies } confequently
when viewed in this light, the expence can be but
comparatively fmall, the improvement great and va¬
riable.”
2 I 2 ■ As
AGRICULTURE.
43°
Culture of As a proof oi the above doctrine, Mr Wright ad-
Grafs. duces an inftance of one year’s produce of a meadow
his neighbourhood. It had been watered longer
Example of than the eldeft perlon in the neighbourhood could re-
the produce member ; but was by no means the bell meadow upon
ot a water- the flream, nor was the preceding winter favourable
ed meadow. for watering. It contains fix acres and a half. The
ipring feed was let for feven guineas, and fupported
near 200 flieep 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 flill more remark¬
able proof of the efficacy of watering, is, that two of
the mofl fkilful watermen of that place were font 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 the Ikill 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 pradtice of watering, that they never fuffer
the Imallefl fpring or rivulet to be unemployed. Even
thofe temporary floods occafioned by fudden fhowers
are received into proper ditches, and fpread equally
over the lands until their fertilizing property be totally
exhaufted. “ Neceffity (fays he) indeed compels us
to make the mofl of every drop : for we have near 300
acres in this parifh, that mufl all, if poffible, be wa¬
tered ; and the flream 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 almofl as
much dreaded by us as by the celebrated inhabitants
,22 of the hanks of the Nile.”
The prac- Conlidering the great advantages to be derived from
lice of wa- the practice of watering meadows, and the many un-
to bc doubted teflimonies in its favour, Mr Wright exprelfes
more gene- his furprife, that it has not come into more general
ufe, as there is not a flream of water, upon which a
mill can he ere£ted 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 leall one pound in annual value. The ge¬
neral adoption therefore of watering is capable of be¬
ing made a national advantage of more than 100,000k
per annum, befides the great improvement of other land
arifing from the produce of the meadows and the em¬
ployment of the induflrious poor. Such an improve¬
ment, one would think, is not unworthy of public no¬
tice j but if I had doubled the fum, I believe I fliould
not have exceeded the truth, though I might have
gone beyond the hounds of general credibility. In
this one pariffi where I refide there are about 300 acres
now watered 5 and it may he eafily proved that the
proprietors of the land reap from thence 1000I. yearly
profit.”
In Mr Bofwell’s treatife upon this fubject, publifhed
in 1790, the author complains of the neglect of the
practice of improving the wet, boggy, and rufliy 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 tracts of heath in various parts of the king-
rally ex
tended.
Practice.
dom : and he complains likewife of the little informa- Culture of
tion that is to be had in books concerning the method Grafs,
of performing this operation., The only author from '—
whom he acknowledges to have received any informa¬
tion is Blyth ; and even his method of watering is very
different from that pracufed in modern times j for
which reafon he propoies to furnilh an original trea¬
tife upon the fubject; and of this we fliall now give
the fubllanee. •
The firfl thing to be confidered is, what lands are Land ca-
capable of being watered. Thefe, according to Mr palde of
Bofwell, are all fuch as lie low, near the banks of ri-^”» vva"
vulets and fprings, efpecially where the water courfe
is higher than the lands, and kept within its bounds
by banks. If the rivulet has a quick defeent, the im¬
provements by watering will be very great, and the ex-
pences moderate. On level lands the water runs but
llowly, which is alfo the cafe with the large rivers j and
therefore only a fmall quantity of ground can be over¬
flowed by them in companion of what ean be done in
other cafes : but the water of large rivers is generally
poffefled of more fertilizing properties than that of ri¬
vulets. In many cafes, however, the rivers are navi¬
gable, or have mills upon them ; both of which are
llrong objections to the perfeCt improvement of lands
adjacent to them. From thefe coniiderations, our au¬
thor concludes, that the watering of lands may be per¬
formed in the bell and leall expeniive 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 almoil inllantaneous im¬
provement ; and the fafter the water runs over it the
better. 2. Boggy, miry, and rulhy foils, which 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 deferi-
bed, if we compare the value of both in their unim¬
proved Hate, this kind of ground being fearce worth
any thing in its unimproved Hate. 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 Hate, it would fcarce pi'oduce any thing to
maintain Hock in the ivinter, and very little even irt
fummer. Much more Ikill, as well as expence, how¬
ever, is requifite to bring this kind of land into culture
than the former. 3. The foils moll difficult to be
improved are Hrong, W'et, and clay foils 5 and this dif¬
ficulty is occafioned both by their being commonly on
a dead level, which will not admit of the w’ater run¬
ning over them ; and by their tenacity, which will not
admit of draining. Even when the utmoll care is ta¬
ken, unlefs a Hrong body of water is thrown over
them, and that from a river the water of which has a
very fertilizing property, little advantage will be gain¬
ed ; but wherever fuch advantages can be had in the
winter, and a warm fpring fucceeds, thefe lauds will
produce very large crops of grafs. 424
The advantage of ufing fprings and .rivulets for wa- Springs and
tering inllead of large rivers is, that the expence ofr*vl^ets
railing wares acrofs them w ill not be great 5 nor are [0 ]arge
they liable to the other objections which attend theTivers)
ufe
Part I.
Culture of ufe of large rivers. When they run through a culti-
Grafs. vated country alfo, the land floods occaiioned by vio-
lent rains frequently bring with them fuch quantities of
manure as contribute greatly to fertilize the lands, and
which are totally loll where the practice of watering is
not in ufe.
Springs may be ufeful to the coarfe lands that lie
near them, provided the water can be had in fufficient
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 iffuing from
them is generally fo /mall 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 arifing out of a chalky or gra¬
velly found firm foil, in a cultivated country. Thefe
are invaluable } and every poffible advantage fhould be
taken to improve the ground near them. The author
knows a confiderable tract of meadow land under this
predicament 5 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 diltance below the head of
the rivulet, and the rivulet itfelf is fed all the way by
fprings riling 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 whether the friction 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 well drained, in a warm fpring, the grafs
lias been frequently cut for hay within five weeks from
the time the Itock was taken out of it, having ate it
bare to the earth : almoll 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 lleam or vapour which
arifes from the warmth of the fprings acted 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 fcum 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 effects) 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 rully foil could only be feen 5 and one acre
will then' be found to maintain more flock than ten
could do before.”
Explana Mr Bofwell next proceeds to an explanation of the
tion of the terms tiled in this art •, of the inflruments neceffary to
terms ufed perform it; and of the 4 principles on which it is found-
in water- ed. The terms ufed are,
inS- 1. A W are. This is an erection acrofs a brook,
rivulet, or river, frequently' conftrudted of timber, but
more commonly of bricks or Hones and timber, with
openings to let the water pals, from two to ten in num¬
ber according to the breadth of the Itream; the height
2
437
being always equal to the depth of the flream compa- Culture of
red with the adjacent land. The ufe of this is occa- Grafs,
fionally to Hop the current, and to turn it afide into L“—11
the adjacent lands.
2. A Sluice is conHru&ed in the fame manner as
a ware } only that it has a iingle paffage for the
water, and is put acrofs fmall Hreams for the fame pur-
pofe as a ware.
3. A Trunk is defigned to anfwer the fame pur-
poles as a fluice j but being placed acrofs fuch Hreams
as either cattle or teams are to pafs over, or where it
is neceffary to carry a fmall ffream 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 circumilances
determine.
4. A Carriage is made of timber or of brick. If
of timber, oak is the beff j if of brick, an arch ought
to be thrown over the Hream that runs under it, and
the lides bricked up: But when made of timber,
which is the moH common material, it is conffru&ed
with a bottom and fides as wide and high as the main
in which it lies. It muff be made very ffrong, clofer
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 itcroffes. The carriage is the moil
expenlive inffrument belonging to watering.
5. A Drain-Sluice, or Drain-trunk, is always
placed in the lower part of fome main, as near to the
head as a drain can be found } 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 neareff. The dimenfions are various, and de¬
termined by circumffances. The uie of it is, when the
water is turned iome other way, to convey the leaking
water that oozes through the hatches, &.c. into the
drain, that otherwife would run down into the tails oi
thole trenches which lie loweff, and there poach and
rot the ground, and probably contribute not a little to
the making it more unfound lor Iheep. I his operation
is of the utmoff confequence in watering ; for if the
water be not thoroughly drained off the land, the foil
is rotted ; and when the hay comes to be removed, the
wheels of the carriages fink, the horfes are mired, and
the whole load fometimes Hicks fail for hours together.
On the other hand, when the drain trunks are proper¬
ly placed, the ground becomes firm and dry, and the
hay is fpeedily and eafily removed.
6. Hatches are bell made of oak, elm, or deal
the ufe of them is to fit the openings of wares, trunks,
or Unices 5 and to keep back the water when neceffa¬
ry, from palling one way, to turn it another. Ihey
ought to be made to fit as dole as pollible. M hen,
hatches belong to wares that are eredted acrofs large
Hreams, or where the Hreams fwell quickly with heavy
rains, "when the hatches are in their places to water the
meadows, they are fometimes made lo, that a loot or-
more of the upper part can be taken off, lo that venfc
may be given to the fuperfluous water, and yet enough,
retained for the purpofeof watering the meadows- Iiv
this •>
AGRICULTURE.
438
Culture of
Grafs.
AGRICULTURE.
this cafe, they are called flood-hatches: but MrBofwell
entirely difapproves of this conftruclion, and recom¬
mends them to be made entire, though they Ihould he
ever fo heavy, and require the alliftance ot 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 ot 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 ot its ufual cur¬
rent, to water the lands laid out for that purpote, by
means of leffer mains and trenches. The head-main is
made of various dimen fions, according to the quantity
of land to be watered, the length or defeent of it, &.c.
Smaller mains are frequently taken out of the head
one } and the only difference is in point of lize, the
fecondary mains being much imaller than the other.
They are generally cut at right angles, or nearly fo,
with the other, though not invariably. Tdie ule 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 purpole ot
watering the land. It ought always to be drawn in a
ffraight line from angle to angle, with as few turnings
as poflible. It is never deep, but the width is in pro¬
portion to the length it runs, and the breadth ot 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 neceflary. It ought always, if poflible, to
he cut down to a ftratum of land, gravel, or clay. It
into the latter, a tpade’s depth into it will be ot 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 ot the
land by five, fix, or more yards, according to the na-
ture of the foil. Its form is directly the reverie of the
trench ; 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 are fo lituated that they cannot empty them-
felves into the river. It thould run, therefore, nearly
at right angles with the trenches, though generally it
is thought moll 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-
ell defeent; which is ufually in one of the fence-
ditches : and hence a fence-ditch is ufually made ufe
of inllead 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;
and in which the grafs grows 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.
Pradice,
13. A Way-Pane is that part of the ground which Culture of
lies, in a properly watered meadow, on the fide of the Grafs,
main where no trenches are taken out, but is watered' v *
the whole length of the main over its banks. A drain
for carrying olF the water from this pane runs parallel
to the main. The ufe is to convey the hay out of the
meadows, inllead of the teams having to crofs all the
trenches.
14. A Bend is made in various parts of thofe
trenches which have a quick defeent, to obllruct the
water. It is made, by leaving a narrow llrip of green
fward acrofs the trench where the bend is intended to
be left; cutting occalionally a piece of the lliape 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 •,
which, were it not for thefe bends, would run rapidly
on in the trench, and not flow over the land as it pafl’es
along. The great art in watering confills in giving to
each part of the panes an equal proportion of water.
15. A Gutter is a fmall groove 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 ol the pane. Thole panes
which are interfered by the trench and tail-drains,
meeting in an obtufe angle, require the aflillance of
gutters to convey the vrater to the longell fide. They
are likewife ufeful, when the land has not been lo wrell
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
pall, thofe places wmuld appear rully 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 fliould either
be levelled, or filled up. Hence the waterman’s Ikill is
fliown in bringing the water over thole places to which
it could not naturally rife, and in carrying it off from
thofe where it would naturally llagnate.
16. A Catch-Drain is fometimes made ufe of when
water is fcarce. When a meadow is pretty long, and
has a quick defeent, and the water runs quickly down
the drains, it is cullomary to Hop one or more of them
at a proper place, till the water flowing thither rifes fo
high as to llrike back either into the tail drains fo as to
llagnate upon the fides of the panes, or till it flows over
the banks of the drains, and waters the ground 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, or by trenches taken properly out
of it. In cafe of a llagnation, the defign will not fuc-
ceed •, and it will then be neceffary to cut a paffage to
let’ the llagnating water run off. Even when the me¬
thod fucceeds bell, Mr Bolwell is of opinion, that it is
not by any means eligible ; the water having been fo
lately ftrained over the ground, that it is fuppofed by
the watermen not to be endowred with fuch fertilizing
qualities as at firll *, whence nothing but ablolute ne-
ceflity can jullify the practice.
17. A Pond is any quantity of water llagnating
upon
Part I. AGRICULTURE.
43^
Culture of upon the ground, or in the tail-drain, trench-drains,
Grafs. &c. fo as to annoy the ground near them. It is oe-
——Y—* cafioned fometimes by the flats not having been pro¬
perly filled up ; at others, when the ware not being
dole Ihut, in order to water tome grounds higher up,
the water is thereby thrown back upon the ground
adjacent.
18. A Turk of water fignifies as much ground as
can be watered at once. It is done by (hutting down
the hatches in all thole wares where the water is in¬
tended to be kept out, and opening thofe that are to
let the water through them. The quantity of land to
be watered at once mud vary according to circum-
(lances; 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 dream can fupply
regularly with a fufficient quantity of Avater; and if
this can be procured, water as much ground as pof-
lible.
19. The Head of the meadow, is that part of it in¬
to which the river, main, &c. fird enter.
20. The Tail is that part out of which the river,
&c. lad pafles.
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 lower fide is the oppo-
fite.
22. The Upper Pane in a meadow is that which
lies on the upper fide of the main or trench that is
drawn at right angles with 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 ead and wed. Then all thofe panes
which lie on the north fide of the mains are called up¬
per panes j and thofe on the fouth fide the lower panes.
But when the mains, trenches, &c. run parallel to the
river, there is no didinftion of panes into upper and
lower.
The indruments ufed in watering meadows are,
1. A Water-level. The ufe of this is to take the
level of the land at a didance, and compare it with
that of the river, in order to know whether the ground
can be overflowed by it or not. This indrument, how¬
ever, is ufed only in large undertakings •, for fuch as are
on a fmaller dale, 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 fol¬
low them. In drawing a tail drain, they begin at the
lower end of it, and work upivards, to let the tail wa¬
ter come after them. By this method we obtain the
mod exaft level.
2. The Line, Reel, and Breajl-Plough, are abfolutely
neceflary. The line ought to be larger and dronger
than that ufed by gardeners.
3. Spades. Thofe ufed in watering meadows are
made of a particular form, on purpofe for the work 5
having a dem 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 dem
almod to the point. The edges on both fides are drawn
very thin, and being frequently ground and whetted,
the whole foon becomes narrow •, after which the
fpades are ufed for trenches and drains j new ones be¬
ing procured for other purpofes. The ftems being Culture of
made crooked, the workmen (landing in the trench or Grafs,
drains, are enabled to make the bottom quite fmooth v
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 foft to admit
the ufe of wheel-barrows, and when clods are to be
removed during the time that the meadow is under
water.
5. Three-wheeled Carts are neceflary when large
quantities of earth are to be removed \ particularly'
when they are to be carried to fome diftance.
6. Short and narrow Scythes are made ufe of to mow
the weeds and grafs, when the water 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, rufhes, reeds,
&c. which grow in the large mains and drains. The
crooks fhould be made light, and have long (lems to
reach wherever the water is (0 deep that the workmen
cannot work in it.
8. Strong Water-boots, the tops of which will draw
up half the length of the thigh, are indifpenfably necef-
fary. They muft alfo be large enough to admit a quan¬
tity of hay to be (luffed down all round the legs, and be
kept well tallowed to refill the running water for many
hours together.
The principles on which the practice of watering Principles
meadows depends are few and eafy. on which
1. Water will always rife to the level of the recep- t^ie practice
tacle out of which it is originally brought. de'ends™^
2. There is in all dreams a defeent greater or fmall¬
er ; the quantity of which is in fome meafure fhown by
the running of the dream itfelf. If it run fmooth and
flow, the defeent is fmall; but if rapidly and with
node, the defeent is confiderablc.
3. Hence if a-main be taken out of the river high
enough up the dream, water may be brought from that
river to flow over the land by the fide of the river, to a
certain didance below the head of the main, although
the river from whence it is taken Ihould, oppofite to
that very place, be greatly under it.
4. Water, funk under a carriage which conveys
another dream at right angles over it, one, two, or
more feet below its own bed, will, when it has paf-
fed the carriage, rife again to the level it had be¬
fore.
5. Water conveyed upon any land, and left there
dagnant for any length of time, does it an injury *, de-
droying the good herbage, and filling the place with
ruffles, flags, and other weeds.
6. Hence it is abfolutely neceffary, before the work
is undertaken, to be certain that the water can be tho¬
roughly drained off. ^2y
In Mr Wright’s treatife upon this fubjeft, the au- Wright’s
thor conliders a dilution of the three following q uef- method,
tions as a neceflary preliminary to the operation at wa¬
tering. I. Whether the dream of water will admit of
a temporary dam or ware acrofs it? 2. Can the farmer
raife the water by this means a few inches above its
level, without injuring his neighbour’s land ? 3. Can
the water be drawn off from the meadow as quick as
it is brought on ? If a fatisfa&ory anfwer can be given
to
44-o A G R I C U
Culture of to all thefe queftions, lie dlre6ts to proceed in the fol-
Grafs. lowing manner.
v Having taken the level of the ground, and compa¬
red it with the river, as directed by Mr Bofwell, cut
a deep wide niche as near the dam as poffible, and by
it convey the water directly to the higheft part of the
meadow, j 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 wall fome-
times be neceffary to have three works in different di-
reftions, each five feet wide, if the meadow contains
15 acres, and if the higheft part be fart heft from the
ftream. A ditch of to 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,
when the water has run over one divifion of the land,
for io days, it may then be taken off that and tumbled
over to another, by taking up another hatch and let¬
ting down the former; 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 of the meadow will admit of it ; for the
deeper the water is drawn, the more mud it carries
along with it. From the works, cut at right angles,
fmaller ditches or troughs, having a breadth propor¬
tioned to the diftance to which fome part of the vTater
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 well as ditch place fre¬
quent Hops and obftrudtions, efpecially when the wa¬
ter is rapid, to keep it high enough to flow through
the notches or over the fides. Each-ditch and trough
is gradually contracted in width, as the quantity of
water conftantly decreafes the farther they proceed.
Between every two 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
whole fheet of water in conftant motion } 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 I). Young for the improvement
of arable land, is what we never admit in our fyftem
of watering 5 for we find that it rots the turf, foaks and
ftarves the land, and produces nothing but coarfe grafs
and aquatic weeds.
“ When a meadoiv 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; for
the more you cut, the more water you require. The
fall of the bed in every meadow fliould be half an inch
in a foot: lefs will do, but more is definable 5 for when
the draught ,is quick, the herbage is always fine and
Jswcet. The water ought never to flow more than
L T U R E. Pradice,
two inches deep, nor lefs than one inch, except in the Culture of
warm months.” Grafs.
Mr Wright proceeds now to anfwer fortie objec- ' v“"
tions made bv the Reviewers in their account of the objections
firft edition of his work. 1. That the Gloucefterfliireto his me-
farmers ufe more water for their lands than is necef-thod an-
fary. To this it is anfwered, That where water is plen- fvvcrc^-
tiful, they find it advantageous to ufe even more water
than- he recommends 5 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
whole. 2. The Reviewers like wife recommend a re¬
peated ufe of the fame water upon different and lower
parts of the fame meadow, or to make each drain ferve
as a trough to the bed which is below it. But though
this method is in fome degree recommended by the
celebrated Mr Bakewell, and taught by a fyftematic 429
waterer in Staffordfhire, he entirely difapproves of it} A repeated
excepting where the great declivity of the land will“^eott^e
not admit of any other plan. “ This cannot (fays he)
he a proper mode of watering grafs-land in the win- gibic.
ter time } for it can be of no fervice to the loweft
parts of the meadow, unlefs as a wetting in fpring or
fnmmer. The firft or higheft part of a meadow laid
cut according to this plan will indeed be much im¬
proved } the fecond may reap fome benefit; but the
third, which receives the exhaullcd thin cold water, will
produce a very unprofitable crop. Our farmers never
choofe more than a fecond ufe in the fame meadow,
and that very feldom; they call even the fecond running
by the fignificant name oi Jhiall beer ; which they fay
may pollibly 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 meadow, 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 of 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 finiftied. The earth and
mud thrown out in cleanfing and paring the ditches
fliould be carried to fill up the low hollow parts of the
meadow, and be trodden down with an even furface;
which will eafily be done when the water is on, the
watermen 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 5 but
if it is fedgy and coarfe, turn it under, and the water
if it runs quick will 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 yards wide. Here
the water is eafily carried along the ridge by means ol
a fmall ditch or trough cut along its fummit, and then,
by means of the flops in it, is made to run down the
fides or beds into the furrows, by which it is carried
Grafs. ver.
43°
done.
Part I. A G II I C U
Culture of into tlie mailer-drain, wliieli empties itfelf into the ri-
Every meadow, before it is well watered, muft
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 fhould be as nearly as poflible 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 balls Ihould
be deep and firmly fixed, well fecured with itone and
clay, that it be not blown up. The following direc¬
tions are given for each month of watering.
Of cleaning l*1 tta beginning of November, all the ditches,
and repair- troughs, and drains, are to be thoroughly eleanfed by
ing the the fpade and breaft-plough, from weeds, grafs, and
woiks.^ mud ; and well repaired, if they have received anyin-
Thick and jury from cattle. After a fliower, when the water is
muddy wa- thick and muddy, turn over the meadow as much wa¬
ter to be u- ter as you can without injuring the banks of the works,
»an b>e611 ^ e^Pec^a^y the land be poor ; as in this month, accord¬
ing to our author, the water contains many more ferti¬
lizing particles, which he calls Jalts and richnefs, than
later in the winter. In defence of this poiition, of
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 firll walking of farm yards, various
finks, ditches, and the furface of all the adjoining
fields, which have lain dry for fome time, the com¬
mon llream Ihould then contain much more fatnefs
than when the fame premifes have been repeatedly
walked.” This is confirmed by the experience of the
Gloucefterlkire farmers j who, if they can at this fea-
ion of the year procure plenty of muddy water to
overflow their grounds for one week, look upon it to
he equally valuable with what is procured during all
the x’ell of the winter. In fupport of this, he quotes
the following words of Mr Forbes, in a treatife on
watering: “ The water Ihould be let in upon the
meadow in November, when the firll 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 walked into it by the rain j and as the fe¬
diment brought by the firll floods is the richell, the
carriages and drains of the meadow Ihould all be fcour-
ed clean and in order, before tbefe 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
the mud is of as much conlequence 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 collects 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 dillributed over
the furlace ol the land, and applied home to the roots
ol the grafs. It is true, that any the moll Ample
water thrown over a meadow in proper quantity, and
not fullered to llagnate, will ffielter it in winter, and
in the warmth of fpring will force a crop; but this
unufual loi'ce mull exhaufl the llrength of the land,
which will require an annual fupply of manure in fub-
ilance, or, in a courfe of years, the foil will be im¬
paired rather than improved. The meadowrs in this
Vot,. I. Part II.
L T U R E, 44*
county, which lie next below a market town or vil- Culture of
lage, are invariably the bell; and thofe which receive Grafs,
the water after it has been two or three times ufed,' a ’
reap proportionably lefs benefit from it: For every
meadow that is well laid out,- and has any quantity of
grafs upon its furface, will act as a fine fieve upon the
water, which, though it flow in ever fo muddy, will
be returned back to the llream as clear as it came from
the fountain. This circumllance, when there is a
range of meadows to be wratered, the property of dif¬
ferent perfons, when water is fcarce, creates vehement
contentions and llruggles for the firll ufe of it. The
proprietors are therefore compelled to agree among
themfelves, either to have the firll ufe alternately, or
for the higher meadows to dam up, and ufe only one
half or a lefs portion ol the river. Our farmers know
the mud to be ol fo much confequence in watering,
that whenever they find it colledted at the bottom of
the river, or the ditches, they hire men whole days to /
dillurb and raile 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 incontellable proof of the confequence ol the good
muddy water. It is watered by a branch of the com-6^0^5
mon ’llream that runs for about half a mile down a™“ddywa'
public road. This water, by the mud on the road
being continually dillurbed by carriages and the feet
ol cattle, becomes very thick, and when it enters the
meadow is almoll as white as milk. This field, which
conlills of feven acres, was a few years ago let for 10s.
an acre, but is already become the richell land in the
parilk, 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 afferts, Mr Wim.
he quotes, from the Annals of Agriculture, the fol- IK7'S °pi-
lowung words of Mr Wimpey : “As to the forts of n1ionru1po“
water, little is to be found, I believe, which
not encourage and promote vegetation, even the moll'’
limple, elementary, and uncompounded fluid : heat
and moillure, as wTell as air, are the Jine qua non of
vegetation as well as animal life. Difterent plants re¬
quire different proportions of each to live and flou-
rifli; but fome ol each is abfolutely neceffary to all.
However, experience as well as reafon univerfally
lhowrs, that the more turbid, feculent, and replete
with putrefeent matter the water is, the more rich
and fertilizing it proves. Hally and impetuous rains,
of continuance fufficient to produce a flood, not only
difl’ol ve the falts, but walk the manure in fubllancc oil
the circumjacent land into the rapid current. Such
turbid water is both meat and drink to the land 5 and,
by the unctuous 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 llrata or beds of
earth it paffes through, which, according to the nature
ot fuch llrata, may be friendly or otherwife to ve¬
getation. If it paffes through chalk, marl, foffil Ikells,
or any thing of a calcareous nature, it would in moll
loils promote the growth of plants ; but if through me¬
tallic ores, or earth impregnated with the vitriolic acid,
it would x'ender the land unfertile, if not wholly bar¬
ren. In general the water that has run far is fuperior
to that which immediately flowrs from the fpring, and
more efpecially that which is feculent and muddy, con-
3 K filling
. the tub-
doesje<a.
442
A G R I C U L T U R E.
Pra&ice.
Culture of
Grafs.
434
Confirmed
by Mr For¬
bes.
435
Mr Bof-
Avell’s opi-
nion.
Ailing chiefly of putrid animal fuhfiances waflied down
the llream.”
To the fame purpofe alfo, fays Mr 1' orhes, Iheic
is great difference in the quality of water, a riling
from the particles of different kinds of matter mixe
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 vatci
is clear, though it may he railed by art high enough
to overflow the adjoining lands, and be of tome fervice
to them, the improvement thus made is far fhort of
what is obtained from the fame water when it is thick
and muddy.”
l\lr Bofvvell, though quoted by Air Wright as an
advocate for the doctrine juft now laid down, feems,
in one part of his work at leaf!, 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 of which he does not mention .
“ In page 4. of that pamphlet (lays Mr Bofwell)
the w'riter informs us, ‘ if the water ufed be always
pure and Ample, the effe<a will by no means be equal
to the above ; that is, of a llream that is fometimes
thick and muddy. We have a llriking inftance of this
in two of our meadows, which are watered immediate¬
ly from fpringsj that arife in the grounds themielves.
Their crops are early' and plentiful, hut not of a good
quality, and the land remains unimproved after many
Years watering.’ ^ • r
“ The writer of this treatife (Air Bofwell), m a for¬
mer edition, had afferted, and in this repeated, the
contrary effects from a llream very near the fpnng-
head, as clear as cry Hal.
“ The gentleman (Mr Beverly of Keld) whom that
writer mentions in his preface, made a fhort vilit lafl
fpring into Dorfetfliire, to fatisfy himfelf of the fact.
The editor had the plealure to lliow him the llream al¬
luded to, which he traced almoll to the fountain-head.
It was perfeclly clear, and the water was then immedi¬
ately conveyed out of the llreani upon the lands adjoin¬
ing, fome of which it was then running over others it
had been upon, and the verdure was then appearing.
The gentleman expreffed himfelf perfectly latisfied with
the fact. To him the editor willies to refer, &c. Mr
George Culley of Fenton near Wooler in Northumber¬
land,°with a truly noble and public fpirit that does him
great honour as sl friend to his country, fent a very fen-
lible young man from thence mto Dorfetllnre, to learn
the art of watering 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
llream. Alight the editor prefume to offer his opinion
upon this feeming con tradition, it is very probable that
the foils, both the upper and under ftrata, are very dif¬
ferent, as well as thofe through which the different fprings
run.”
From this paffage, the latter part of which is not
very intelligible, we may conclude that Air Bolwell
prefers clear to muddy water for overflowing mea¬
dows. In his chapter on land-floods, however, he ex-
prefles himfelf as follows : “ They will (fays he) al¬
ways he found of great ufe where the fweepings of Culture of
towns, farm-yards, c. are carried down by them ; t Grafs. ^
leldom any other erection is wanting befides a lluice
or fmall ware to divert and convey them over ^Advantages’
lands. If the fituation of the land happen to be on 0f land-
the fide of a hill, catch-drains are abfolutely neceflary floods,
for watering the lower part of the hill, after the wa¬
ter has been ufed upon the upper. In many parts ol
the kingdom, where there are large hills or extenhve
rifing lands, great quantities ol water run from them
into the valleys after heavy rains: Thefe might with
proper attention be collefted together before they get.
to the bottom or flat ground, and from thence be di¬
verted to the purpofe of watering thole lands that lie
below, with great advantage to the occupier, and at 437
a fmall expence. And lliould the land thus fituated be Of convert-
arable, yet it would he found a beneficial exchange
to convert it into pafture j particularly if pallure- pa^-uve
ground lliould be a defirable object to the occupier.
The method of performing it is thus recommended.
Obferve the piece oi land or field bell adapted to the
purpofe, both for fituation and loll. If it Ihould 1m
arable, make it firft very level; and with the crop oi
corn low all forts of hay leeds: and as loon as it has
got a green fward it may be laid out. In the loweft
part of the ground draw a deep ditch lor the current
to run in through it j and continue it into fome ditch
or 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 fides 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 he watered •, then crediting 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-
on the fide of the field. It mull then he conveyed by
fmall mains or trenches, and fubdivided again by
branch-trenches, according to the fite of the field and
quantity of water that can be collefted j trench drains
mull 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 colle£ted, and conveyed over this,
ipecies of water-meadow (ii it may be io called), being
generally a firm good foil j but the water running
down from rich cultivated hills, eminences, &8r
fweeps away with it, when the rain falls very heavy,
vaft quantities of dung dropped by Iheep and 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 lealon, or
of being filtered from it as it dribbles through the graft
at another j after which the warm weather pufhes on *
vegetation amazingly. Meadows thus fituated would
be vaftly fuperior to any other, if they had the advan¬
tage of a conftant ftream } but even as they are, 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 ftrenuoufly 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 ; and the expencs of con¬
vert mts
Part I.
Culture of
Grafs.
43S
Mr
Wright’s
direflions
for water-
the year.
A G R I C U
verting tliem into tliis kind of water-meadow is exceed¬
ing fmall, the annual charges afterwards quite trifling,
and the produce very confulerahle.”
Mr Wright, having difcufled the fuhjeft of the qua¬
lity of the water, proceeds to give dire&ions for Wa¬
tering through the diflerent months of the year:—
“ In December and January, the chief care confifts
ing through in keeping the land flickered by the water from the
the different fever*ty 0f frofty nights. It is neceffary, however,
months of tjiroUgj1 t|ie whole winter, every ten days or fortnight,
to give the land air, l>v taking the water on entirely,
otherwife it would rot and dekroy the loots of the
grafs. It is neceffary, likewife, that a proper perlon
ihouhl go over every meadow at lead twice every week,
to fee that the water is equally dikributed, and to re¬
move all ohllrucUons arifmg from the continual influx
of weeds, leaves, kicks, and the like. In February
a great deal depends upon care and caution. 11 you
now fliftin' the water to remain on the meadow for
many days without intermiffion, a white feum is railed,
very deftructive to the grais } and 11 you ta.-ee oft the
water, and expofe the land to a fevere froky night,
without its being previoufly dried for a whole day, the
greatek part of the tender grafs will be cut oft. The
only ways to avoid both theie injuries are, either to
take the water oft' by day to prevent the leum, and
to turn it over again at night to guard againk the
frok } 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 fxrk day ol tab ing
oft' be a dry one 5 for if the grafs experience one fine
drying day, the frok at night can do little or no in¬
jury. The feum is generated chiefly by the warmth ol
the fun, when the water is thin and ufed too plentilully.
Towards the middle of this month we vary our pra&ice
in watering, by ufing 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
inoik kate, and to force vegetation.
u At the beginning of March, the crop of grafs in
the meadows is generally fufficient to afford an abun¬
dant pakure for all kinds of kock, 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 firk week of eating off the fprxng-feed,
if the feafon be cold, to give the cattle a little hay each
night.”
“ It is a cukom (fays Mr Wright) with fome
farmers in Hamplhire, to eat off the fpring grafs of
ipring grafs their meadows with ewes and lambs, in the lame man¬
ner that we do a field of turnips, by inclofmg a cer¬
tain portion each day with hurdles or kakes, and gi¬
ving them hay at the lame time. This is certainly
making the mok of the grais, and an excellent me¬
thod to fine and fweeten the future herbage. In tins
month and April, you may eat the grafs as fliort and
tdofe 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 grais will become foft and
woolly, and have more the appearance and quality of
an after-math than a crop. At the beginning of May,
or when the fpring feeding is finifhed, 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 any kind of her-
L T U R E.
443
bace which is the caufe of the rot in fheep , hut has Culture of
11 Grafs.
440
. How wa-
rendered terjng may
was occafion
439
Of eating
off the
with ewes
and lambs.
been known to remove the caufe from meadows, which
before had that baneful effect. If, however, you ui'e
the water only a few days in any of the lummer
months, all the lands thus watered will be
unfafe for the pakurage of fheep. Of this 1
lately convinced from an experiment made by a friend, the rot in
At the beginning of July, when the hay was carried ^U'<1’-
oft, and the water rendered extremely muddy and
abundant by feveral days rain, lie 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 difc&vered krong lymptoms
of rottennefs ; and in about a month afterwards one
of the ewes was killed, and though it proved very-
fat, the liver was putrid and replete with the inlect
called the fluke or weevil: the other ewes were fold to
a butcher, and all proved unfound. This experiment,
however, convinces me, by the very extraordinary im¬
provement made thereby m the meadow, that muddy
Avater in the furamer is pinch more enriching than it is
in autumn or winter *, and ought, therefore, to be ufed
for a week at leak every Avet fummer, notwithkanding
its inconveniencies to Iheep, the mok profitable fpecies
of kock.” \
Mr Bofvvell, befides his general directions for Ava-
tering, gives many plans of the ditches, drains, &e.
for particular meadoAvs, fome of them done frpm an
actual furvey. But theie being confined to particu¬
lar fituations, avc lliall here only fpeak of his method
in general. In his third chapter, entitled A general Mr Bot
Defcription of JFater-meadows, he obferves that “ lands well’s ge-
eapable of being Avatered, lie generally only on one ^ral direo-
llde, and fometimes on both fides of the kream de-
figned to fupply them Avith Avater. In the former caie,
Avhen they have a pretty quick defeent, the land may
he often watered by a main drawn out of the kream
itfelf, without any A\rare }” though he acknoAvledgcs that
it is by far the bek Avay to erect a Avare, and to draAV
mains on each fide, to difpole of the water to the boll
advantage.
Boggy lands require more and longer continued A\ra-
tering than fuch as are fandy or gravelly ; and the lar¬
ger the body of Avater that can be brought upon them,
the better. The weight and krength of the water will
greatly affik in comprefling the foil, and dekroying the
roots of the Aveeds that grow upon it j nor can the Ava¬
ter be kept too long upon it, particularly in the winter
feafon ; and the clofer it is fed, the better.
To improve krong clay foils, we muk endeavour to
the utmok to procure the greatek poflible defeent Irom
the trench to the trench drain j which is bek done by
making the trench drains as deep as poflible, and ap¬
plying the materials draAvn out of them to raife the
trenches. Then, Avith a krong body ol Avatei, taking
the advantage of the autumnal floods, and keeping the
water fome time upon them at that feafon, and as often
as convenient during the winter, the greatek impioAe-
ment on this fort of foils may be made. W arm land
or gravelly fbil, are the mok profitable under the wa¬
tering fykem, provided the Avater can be brought over
3 K 2 them
Grafs.
442
Method of
improving
a fpringy
water mea¬
dow.
444 A G R I C U
Culture of them at plea!tire. In foils of this kind, the water muft
not be kept long at a time, but often fhifted, thorough¬
ly drained, and the land frequently refrellied 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 5 and this, probably, where in a
dry fummer fcarce grafs enough could be found to keep
a fheep 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 llrtam is fmall,
the expence will be fo in proportion.
The following method of improving a water-mea¬
dow that was fpringy has been tried by Mr Bofwell
with fucCefs. The meadow had been many years
watered by a ipring rifing juft above it from a barren
fandy heath 5 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 yellowiftx
red water ftood in many parts, and oozed out of others ;
the herbage being no other than a poor, miferable,
hairy grafs and fmall fedge. Chalk and allies had
been thrown over it to very little purpofe. It was then
drained underground allant all the difi'erent defeents,
and all thefe drains carried into one large drain, which
had been already cut for the purpofe of carrying oft’ the
water when the meadow was overflowed. Thtfe drains
were cut quite through the mixture of clay and fand,
and as much deeper as the fall of the ground below
would admit of; 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 5 the
foil was found firmer than before, and none of that nafty
red water to be met with upon the furface, though it
continually oozed into the drains. In autumn the mea¬
dow wTas again prepared for waterings, by repairing
thofe trenches and drains that were properly 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 an-
fwered the moft fanguine wilhes of the proprietor }
the effects were vifible the firft year, and the ground
has been conftantly improving ever fince.
Mr Bofwell alfo informs us, that a gentleman in
Scotland had applied to him for directions to water
on the fides fome lands lying on the fides of hills, where the de-
•f hills. ftent is quick 5 and of which there are many in this
country, as well as in the north of England. It would
be difficult to water fuch lands by means of drains and
trenches according to the directions already given ;
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 diredts 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 j
L T U R E.
Practice.
443
Of water¬
ing; lands
the laft ploughing with the Kentifli plough, which has Culture of
a moveable mouldboard, and is called a turn-wriji Grafs,
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 flat with¬
out any open furrows in it: drefs ft down in the fpring
very fine, and fow it with oats, and mix with fome
kinds of grafs feeds very thick. Thus the ground will
have but*few irregularities •, and as foon as the corn is
carried oft, or the following fpring at fartheft, the
mains and drains may be cut out. 444
For watering coarfe lands that are firm enough to W water-
bear the plough, and fituated near a ftream, our author ”’^0:u!e
gives the following directions.
“ Let the land thus fituated be ploughed once in
the fpring, and fown with any grain that will rot the
fward. As loon as the crop is off, plough it again,
and leave it rough through the winter. W ork 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 j
work it fine ; then gather the ridges up again in the
fame manner, making the laft 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 } and with a fliovel 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 ;
and after the corn is carried oft, 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 •, 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
will nearly pay all the expenee, and the land will be
in excellent order.
445
After the work of watering a meadow is totally Of the raa>-
finiflied, and the hay carried off, cattle may be let in to“j^™eni:
eat the after-math. \\ hen this is done, it will then tiows after
be neceffary to examine whether or not the mains have watering,
fuffered any injury from their feet : whether there be
quantities of mud or fand collecfed at the angles, &e.
all of which muft be thrown out and the breaches re¬
paired •, by which means the trenches, drains, &c. will
laft three years, but otherwife not more than two.
The roots, mud, &c. may be tiled 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 ; where, if it be allowed
to accumulate, it occafions a ftagnation of water upon
the meadow itfelf. In repairing the trenches, particu¬
lar care ought to be taken that the workmen do not
make them any wider than before, which they are
very apt to do; neither are they to be allowed to
throw7 the materials which they dig out in a ridge be¬
hind the edge of the trench, which both widens it land
promotes weeds. 4^5
During the time of watering, it will be neceffary to Of the
examine the meadow every two or three days in ordertimes tbe
to remove obftruftions, &c. If the drains fliould be n
nlied with water and run over, they ought to be made tinue upon,
deeper j or if this cannot be done, they ihould betiiemea-
widened daws.
Part I.
Culture of
Grafs.
Of fpring-
feeding.
AGRICULTURE.
445
widened. In the winter time a regular flrong water
fliould be kept, avoiding very ftrong great floods. In
this feal’on the water may be kept on the ground with
fafety for a month or even fix weeks, if the foil be
eorkv 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
lon-r. 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 ; which may then he 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 feed till the beginning of May, changing them into
diflerent meadows. As foon as they are taken out,
the water mull be turned in for a week, carefully ex¬
amining every trench antTdrain for the realons already
given. " The water is then to be fhifted into others,
alternately watering and draining, leffening the time
the water remains upon it as the weather grows
warmer j and in five, fix, or feven weeks, the grafs
will he fit to be mown for hay, and produce from
one to two tons, or even more, an acre, upon good
ground.
Mr Bofwell dircifts, that about a week before the
grafs is to be mown, the water fliould be let into the
meadow for 24 hours ; which, he lays, will make the
ground moift at the bottom, the Icythe will go through
it the more eafilv, and the grafs, will be mown cloler
to the grqnnd. This practice, however, is entirely
difapproved of by Mr M right. “ Though it may
prevail in Dorfetftiire (fays he), it is very feldom ad-
vifahle, for the following realons : Water made to
run through a thick crop of grafs, though it may ap¬
pear ever fo pure, will leave a certain quantity of ad¬
herent feum or fediment, which can never be feparated
from the hay, but will rendef it unpalatable, il 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 iome days, which in difficult fea-
fons is of very great conlequence, and it will like-
wife make the turf too foft and tender to fupport the
wheels of a loaded waggon in carrying off the hay.
Befides, there is realon to believe that one day’s wet¬
ting in the fummer, will, upon moll meadows, endanger
the foundnefs of every flieep that feeds upon the after-
math.”
The fpring-feeding ought never to be done by hea¬
vier cattle than fheep or calves •, for large cattle do
much hurt by poaching the ground w'ith their feet,
deftroving the trenches, and i polling the grafs. Mr
Bofwell likewife greatly recommends a proper ufe of
fpring floods, from which he fays much benefit may be
derived ; hut, 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
ftick 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 faud and mud
2
brought down by the floods is foon incorporated with Culture of
the foil, and becomes an excellent manure. Ihe cer- Grafs. ,
tain rule wuth regard to this matter is, “ Make uie of
the floods when the grafs cannot be tiled 5 avoid them
when the grafs is long or foon to be cut.” 44S
“ It has often been a fubjecl of difpute (fays MrOfwater-
Bofwell), whether, from the latter end of autumn to^ ^r°“of
Candlemas, the throwing a very ftrong body of water, autumn to
where it can be done, over the meadows, is 01 any ei- Candlemas.
fential fervice or not ? Thofe who confider it as ad¬
vantageous, aflert, that when the waters run rude and
ftrong over the ground, they beat down and rot the
tufts of foggy or rough grals fedges, &c. that are al¬
ways to be found in many parts of coarfe meadorv-
ground ; and therefore are of peculiar fervice to
them. On the other fide it is alleged, that by com¬
ing in fo large a body, it beats the ground (in the.
wreak places particularly) lo bare, that the iward 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 water meadows which are upon a warm,
fandy, or gravelly foil, with no great depth of loam up¬
on them, rude ftrong watering, even in winter, always
does harm without anv poffihle eflential fervice. On
the contrary, cold ftrong clay land will bear a great '
deal of water a long time without injury ; and boggy,
corky, or fpongy foil, will alio admit of a very large
and ftrong body of water upon it with great advantage
for almoll any length of time at that feafon, provided
the drains are made wide and deep enough to carry it
off', without forcing back upon the end of the panes.
The weight and force of the water vaftlyaffifts in eom-
preffing thofe,foils, which only want folidity and tena¬
city to make them produce great burdens of hay: no¬
thing, in their opinion, corrects and improves thoie toils
fo much as a very ftrong body of water, kept a confi-
derable time upon them at that feafon.”
Notwithftanding the above reafons, however, Mr
Bofwell informs us, that he has doubts upon the fub-
ject •, nor can he by any means acquiefce in this opinion,
unlefs, by rude ftrong w aters, he is permitted to under-
ftand only ralrher a larger quantity of water conveyed
over the land at this early feafon than ought to be ufed
in the fpring or fummer : unmanageable waters he be¬
lieves always hurtful.
“ It may be proper juft to add (continues he), that
as foon as the hay is carried off the meadows, cattle ol
any fort except llieep 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 meadows in the manner already
deferibed, taking care to mow the long grafs which
obftru&s the water in the trenches 5 and this mowing
is beft done wdien the water is in them. Let the weeds,
leaves, &c. be taken out and put in heaps, to be car¬
ried awav into the farm yards ; examine the trenches,
make up the breaches, Sec. take particular care that
the wrater onlv dribbles over every part of the panes
as thin as poffible, this being the warmeft ieaion of
the year. The firft watering ftiould not be fullered to
laft’longer than two or three days before it is fhifted
off (and if the feafon be wet, perhaps not fa long, as
warmth-:
Grafs.
4+6 , A G R I C U
Culture of warmth ieems to be the greateil requitite after the land
is once wet to aflift vegetation) to another part or mea¬
dow beat out by the cattle, by this time 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 all times, when the water is taken out of a
meadow, to draw up the drain-fluice hatches ) as, with¬
out doing that, watering is an injury. By the time
that three or four parts are thus regularly watered, the
firll will have an after-math, with fuch rich and beau¬
tiful verdure as will be aftonilhing 5 and both quantity
and quality will be beyond conception better than if
the lands had not been watered.
“ Hence we fee why every perfon fliould, if pofiible,
have three or four meadows that can be watered ; for
here, while the cattle are eating the firll, the fecond is
growing, the third draining, &c. and the fourth under
water. In this manner the after-math will in a mild
feafon Jail till Chrillmas. A reafon was given why the
fpring-grafs lliould be fed only by iheep or calves ; a
reafon equally cogent may be given, why the after-grafs
ought not to be fed by them, becaufe it will infallibly
rot them. No {beep (fays our author), except thole
which are juft fat, muft ever he fuft’ered even for an
hour in water meadows except in the fpring of the
year *, and even then care muft be taken that every part
of the meadows have been well watered, and that they
are not longer kept in them than the beginning of May.
Although at prefent it is unknown what is the occalion
of the rot, yet certain it is, that even half an hour’s feed¬
ing in unhealthy ground has often proved fatal. After
a Ihort time they begin to lofe their flelh, grow weaker
and weaker} the bell feeding in the kingdom cannot
improve them after they once fall away ; and when
they die, animalcula like plaice are found in the livers.
Scarcely any ever recover from a flight attack ; but
when farther advanced, it is always fatal. Guard by
all means againft keeping the water too long upon the
meadow in warm weather 5 it will very foon produce a
white fubftance like cream, which is prejudicial to the
grafs, and fhowrs that it has been 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
conliftence of glue, and as tough as leather, which will
quite deftroy it wherever it is fuffered to be produced.
The fame bad effects feem to arife from rude waters ;
^.0 neither can the feum eafily be got off.
Advantages “ Bolling meadows in the fpring of the year is an
of rolling excellent method. It fliould be done after Candlemas,
when the meadow has been laid dry a week, it fliould
be aftvays 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 5 for the lit¬
tle hillocks, fpewings of worms, ant-hills, &c. are by
this means preffed clofe to the ground, which would
otherwife obflruCt the feythe and take off its edge ; and
to avoid that inconvenience, the workmen always mow
over them.”
As a w'ater-meadow has with fo much juflice been
called a hot-bed of graft, and as the practice 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 inquired into.
3
449
"Water
ought not
to be kept
too long
upon mea¬
dows.
meadows.
L T U R E. Pradice.
That it may be more clearly underftood, therefore, we Culture of
fhall here give a ilatement of the mode in which it is Grafs.
praCtifed in Gloucefterfhire, as explained from Mr'
Wright’s pamphlet, by the Rev. Mr Charles Findlater, 4)!
in a letter to the conductors of the Farmer’s Magazine. explained
“ Fig. 6. reprefents a float-meadow under irrigation j by Mr Find-
the dark fhading reprefenting the water. later-
“ When the hatch of the water dam-dike (marked H) plate XIL
is lifted up, the water runs in the natural channel of
the river ; when the hatch is fliut, as reprefented in the
figures, the natural channel is laid dry below it, and
the water runs laterally along the main-feeder, in the
dire&ion of the arrows, and is from it diftributed into
the floating-gutters (g, g, g, g), wdiich are formed along
the crowns of the ridges, into which the meadow is
arranged, overflowing on both fides of faid gutters, and
running down the fides of the ridges into the furrows
or di'ains betwixt the ridges ft, d, d, d), which drains
difeharge it into the main drain, whereby it is returned
into its natural channel at tlyflbot of the meadow.
“ The marks (o o, or A A), and the tufts, in the
main-feeder and the floating-gutters, denote—The firft,
obftruftions (made Ly fmall flakes, or fods, or ftones)
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 fides, with a fimilar intention. If, however, the
main-feeder and floating-gutters are properly conilrucl-
ed at their firft formation, thefe fupplementary aids will
be, in a great meafure, 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 the meadow j and gradually to contract
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 water may, by their primary con-
ftrudlion, overflow their fides, through their whole
courfe. That as little as poflible of the furface may be
unproduftive, a fimilar conftrudion fhould be adopted
for the drains } they ought to be narrow neareft to the
main-feeder, where they receive little water, and to
diverge as they approach the main-drain j which laft
is, for the fame reafon, fimilarly conflruded. In the
plan, this mode of conftruftion is made obvious to the
eye-
“ The meadow, in this plate, muft be conceived to
lie in a regular and very gentle Hope from the main-
feeder to the main-drain.
“ Fig. 4. and 5. prefent a view of the ridges cut
acrofs with the feeding-gutter (g) upon their crown,
and the furrows, or difeharging drains ft, d} along
their fides. Fig. 5. fliows the fliape (of gradual flope)
into which they ought to be formed at firft, were it not
for the expence, i. e. when they are to be formed out
of grafs fields, preferving the grafs fward. Fig. 4. re¬
prefents the mode in which they may, more cheaply,
though more roughly, be formed at firft } when, the
depofitions of fediment from the floating water, will
gradually fill the ftioulders of the floating-gutters, up
to the dotted line, forming the ridge into the lhape of
% 5-
“ In the formation of the meadow (particularly if the
declivity is very fmall), care fliould be taken to lofe as
little as poflible of the level in the main-feeder, and in
the
Part I.
A G K I C U
of 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 fides with the
moi'e rapidity, and in the more quick fucceffion.
“ The diftance from the floating-gutter to the dif-
charging-drain, ought not to he lets than four yards,
i. e. the breadth of the ridge eight yards j nor more
than five yards and a half, i. e. the breadth of the ridge
eleven yards.
“ It is evident from the plan, that, when the hatch
(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 mull be carried olf by under-draining: for
it mull be thoroughly drained before you can drown it
to good elFect.
Pig, y. “ 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 meadow7, it is fuppofed that the ground rifes,
from the natural channel of the river, up to (F I.),
which is a feeder, with its floating-gutters (g, g) ;
and thence defeends to the hollow (D I.), which is a
drain communicating with the main-drain, and re¬
ceiving the water from the lefier drains or receiving
furrows (T/, (/, d). It is fuppofed that the ground rifes
again from the hollow (D I.), up to the fecond feeder
(F 2.) *, and thence defeends again into the hollow,
along which is condufted the receiving-drain (IX 2.).
The remainder of the meadow is fuppofed to lie in a re¬
gular Hope, from the main-feeder to the drain laft men¬
tioned, and the main-drain. The letter (r) marks a
very fm4U rut, made with a fpade, or triangular hoe,
for conducing water to places upon which it appears
not to fcatter regularly.
“ The hatch upon the river’s natural channel, and that
upon the feeder (F 2.) are reprefented as flint } 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 I ),
and upon the main-feeder, are reprefented as drawn up*,
and, confequently the twm 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, becaule,
when • the whole is w'atered at once, the w'ater float¬
ing over the uppermoft pitches is catched in the float¬
ing-gutters, which diflribute 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 flint by fods or Hones, &c. (8)-; and confe¬
quently thefe firfl and fecond pitches appear dry : The
whole water is reprefented as palling down the main-
feeder into the loweft floating-gutter, whence it floats
the loweft or third pitch ■, 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-
ftruftions (8) are taken from the lateral floating-gutters:
obftructions, mean time, are placed in the main-feeder,
immediately under the floating-gutters, to force the
water into faid gutters.
L T U K E. 447
“ N. B. In obftrudting the main-feeder, care muft be Rotation of
taken not to obftruft it entirely, hut to allow always Crops,
a part of the water it contains to efcape in it to the
lower pitches ; for, fuppofing the main-feeder to be en¬
tirely flint under the feeding-gutter (g i-), 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 quali¬
ties, as to be incapable of communicating almoft any
perceptible benefit to the pitches lying below. Water
i’o filtrated, is called technically ///ed /cater; 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 pi’oper breadth of the pitches of catch-meadow,
from gutter to gutter, does not feem well determined ;
they ought, probably, not to be much broader than
the diftance from the floating-gutter to the receiving-
drain in float-meadow, i. e. from four to five or fix
yards.—Catch-meadow is not fo much prized as float-
meadow.
“ In the conftrudtion of the float-meadows, the float¬
ing gutters die away to nothing before they meet the
main-drain j the water from the end of the gutter finding
its way over the intervening fpace, or being aflifted in
fcattering by fmall ruts marked (r). The receiving-
drains fliould, for like reafon, not be commenced till
within half a ridge breadth of the main-feeder.”
It is to be obferved with regard to the laft of thefe
modes of flooding, called catch-meadow, that although
laqds thus watered do not become equal to more level
grounds fubjedted 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 conliderable crop of valuable grafs. As flreams
of water are in high countries frequently found defeend-
ing from very lofty fituations, and as in thefe cafes the
expence of forming catch-meadow is very trifling, it may
be regarded as of the moft extenfive utility.
Sect. V. Rotation of Crops.
453
No branch of hufbandry requires more {kill and fa-Iiotatiou
gacity than a proper rotation of crops, fo as to keep the croPs>
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 confiftently with keeping the ground in trim. In
that view, the nature of the plants employed in huf¬
bandry mull be accurately examined. ^
The difference between culmiferous and leguminous Culmife-
plants, is occafionally mentioned above. With re-rous,and k*
fpect to the prefent fubject, a clofer infpedtion is necef- pj™”*0"
fary. Culmiferous plants, having fmall leaves and few
in number, depend moftly on the foil for nourilhment
and little on the air. During the ripening of the feed,
they draw probably their whole nourilhment from the
foil } as the leaves by this time, being dry and wither¬
ed, mull have loft their power of drawing nourilhment
from the air. Now, as culmiferous plants are chiefly
cultivated for their feed, and are not cut down till the
feed!
44» A G R I C U
Rotation of iced be fully ripe, they may be pronounced all of them
* roPs' to be robbers, iome more fome lefs. But fuch plants,
v while young, are all leaves j and in that ftate draw
moil of their nourifliment from the air. Hence it is,
that where cut green for food to cattle, a culmiferous
crop is far from being a robber. A bay-crop accor¬
dingly, even where it confiils moftly of rye-grafs, is not
a robber, provided it be cut before the feed is formed ;
which at any rate it ought to be, if one would have
hay in perfeflion. And the foggage, excluding the
troll by covering the ground, keeps the roots warm. A
leguminous plant, by its broad leaves, draws much of
its nourifhment 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 lame time a feed is that part of a plant which
requires the moll nourifhment \ and for that nourith-
ment a culmiferous plant mull be indebted entirely to
the loil. A leguminous crop, on the contrary', when
cut green for food, mull be very gentle to the ground.
Peafe and beans are leguminous plants } but being cul¬
tivated for feed, they feem to occupy a middle llation :
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 dillinguifhed no lefs remarkably by
the following circumllance. All the feeds of a culmi¬
ferous plant ripen at the fame time. As foon as they
begin to form, tbe plant becomes llationary, 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 pufliing 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 5 the former
green and fucculent. The difference, therefore, with
refpect to the foil, between a culmiferous and a le¬
guminous crop, is great. The latter growing till cut
down, keeps the ground in conflant 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 compadt and hard. Nor is
this all. Hew falling on a culmiferous crop after the
ground begins to harden, refls on the furface, and is
fucked up by the next fun. Dew' that falls on a legu¬
minous crop, is fliaded from the fun by the broad
leaves, and finks at leifure into the ground. The
ground accordingly, after a culmiferous crop, is not
only hard, but dry : after a leguminous crop, it is not
only loofe, but foft and undtuous.
Of all culmiferous plants, wheat is the moll 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-
rifliment than either. It is obferved above, that as
peafe and beans draw part of their nourifhment from
the air by their green leaves while allowed to Hand,
they draw the lefs from the ground 5 and by their con-
llant growing they leave it in good condition for fub-
L T U R £. Pradtice,
fequent crops. In both refpedls they are preferable to Rotation 0
any culmiferous crop. Crops.
Culmiferous crops, as obferved above, are not rob- l'“—"V"
bers when cut green: the foil, far from hardening, is
kept in conllant motion by the pulhing 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
loil better than can be done by the plough} confequent-
ly, whatever be the natural colour of the foil, it is
black wdien a potato-crop is taken up. The potato,
however, with refpect to its quality of dividing the
foil, mull 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 y but as its bul
bous root grow’S mollly above ground, it divides the
loil lefs than the potato, the carrot, or the parfnip.
Red clover, in that refpect, 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 nourifhment from the foil
than the latter, when cut green. On the other hand,
potatoes divide the foil more than turnip, and leave it
more loofe and friable. It appears no lefs puzzling,
to determine between cabbage and turnip *, the former
draws more of its nourifhment from the air, the latter
leaves the foil more free and open.
The x’efult of the whole is what follow's : Culmi¬
ferous plants are robbers j fome more, iome leis ; they
at the fame time bind the foil ; forne more, fome lefs.
Leguminous plants in both refpects are oppoftte: if
any of them rob tbe foil, it is in a very flight degree ;
and all of them without exception looien 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 lome length
in directing a proper rotation ot crops. here dung,
lime, or other manure, can be procured in plenty to
recruit the foil after fevere cropping, no rotation is
more profitable or proper in a llrong foil, than wdieat,
peafe or beans, barley, oats, fallow. The whole farm
may be brought under this rotation, except io far as
hay is wanted. But as fuch command of manure is
rare, it is of more importance to determine what ihould
be theTotation when no manure can be procured but
the dung collected 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
will admit fuch frequent culmiferous crops without fuf-
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 w ill
Hand good, even with this favourable rotation, un¬
lefs relieved from time to time by pafluring a few
years. If fuch extended rotation be artfully carried
Part I.
Rotation of
Crops.
454
The nature
of foil con-
fidered,
with re¬
gard to the
rotation of
drops.
A G R I C U
on, crops without end may be obtained in a tolerable
good foil, without any manure but what is produced in
the farm.
It is fcarce neceffary to be mentioned, being known
to every farmer, that clay anfwers heft for wheat,
moiil clay for beans, loam for barley and peafe, light
foil for turnip, fandy foil for rye and buck-wheat; and
that oats thrive better in coarfe foil than any other
grain. Now, in dire&ing a rotation, it is not fuffi-
cient that a culmiferous crop he always fucceeded by
leguminous : attention mult alio he given, that no crop
he introduced that is unfit for the foil. Wheat, being
a great hinder, requires more than any other crop a
leguminous crop to follow. But every fuch crop is
not proper : potatoes are the greateft openers of foil;
hut they are improper in a wheat foil. Neither will
turnip anfwer, hecaufe it requires a light foil. A very
loofe foil, after a crop of rye, requires rye-grafs to hind
11* nr* tnp frpn^linnr nf ruttlr* in nultm'Inrr * kli-wl
L TUBE.
449
or the treading of cattle in pafturing : but to bind
the foil, wheat muft not be ventured j for it fucceeds
ill in loofe foil.
Another confideration of moment in dire&ing the
rotation is, to avoid crops that encourage weeds. Peafe
is the fitteft of all crops for fucceeding to wheat, be-
caufe it renders the ground loofe and mellow, and the
fame foil agrees with both. But beware of peafe, un-
lefs the foil he left by the wheat perfectly free of weeds j
hecaufe peafe, if not an extraordinary crop, foller
weeds. Barley may he ventured after wheat, if the
farmer he unwilling to lofe a crop. It is indeed a rob¬
ber j better, however, any crop, than run the hazard of
poifoning the foil with weeds. But to prevent the ne-
ceffity of barley after wheat, the land ought to be tal-
k>wed 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 rooting out
weeds ; but turnip does not fuit land that is proper for
wheat. Cabbage does well in wheat foil 5 and a horfe-
hoed crop of cabbage, which eradicates weeds, is a
good preparation for wheat to be fucceeded by peafe j
and a crop of beans, diligently hand-hoed, is in that view
little inferior*. As red clover requires the ground to be
perfectly clean, a good crop of it infures wheat, and
next peafe. In loam, a drilled crop of turnip or pota¬
toes prepares the ground, equal to a fallow*, for the fame
fuccelfion.
Another rule is, to avoid a frequent repetition of the
lame fpecies ) for to produce good crops, change of fpe-
eies is no lefs neceffary than change of feed. The fame
fpecies returning every fecond or third year, will infal¬
libly degenerate, and be afeanty crop. This is remark¬
ably the cafe of red clover. Nor will our fields bear
pleafantly perpetual crops of wheat after fallow, which
is the praClice of fome Knglifh farmers.
Hitherto of rotation in the fame field. We add one
rule concerning rotation in different fields j which is, to
avoid crowding crops one after another in point of time ;
hut to choofe fuch as admit intervals fufficient for lei-
lurely drefiing, which gives opportunity to manage all
with the fame hands, and with the fame cattle ; for ex-
fcmple, beans in January or February, peafe and oats in
March, barley and potatoes in April, turnip in June or
July, wheat and rye in October.
I or illuftrating the foregoing rules, a few inftances
Vol. I. part II,
of exceptionable rotations will not he thought amifs. Rotation of
The following is an ufual rotation in Norfolk. Firft, Crops,
wheat after red clover. Second, barley. Third, tur- 'v—
nip. Fourth, barley with red clover. Fifth, clover Exception-
cut for hay. Sixth, a iccond year’s crop of clover, able rota-
commonly paftured. Hung is given to the wheat and lions,
turnip.—Againft this rotation feveral objections lie.
Barley after wheat is improper. The two crops of bar¬
ley are too near together. The fecond crop of clover
muft he very had, if pafturing he the heft way of con-
fuming it y and if had, it is a great eucourager of
weeds. But the ftrongeft objection is, that red clover
repeated fo frequently in the fame field cannot fail to
degenerate*, and of this the Norfolk farmers begin to he
fenfible. Salton in Fall Lothian is a clay foil : and the
rotation there ufually has been wheat after fallow and
dung. Second, barley after two ploughings; the one
before 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 fallow, is not fufficient to
loofen a ftift 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 ftiil more feverely handled : wheat 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 io, to fupport many rounds of
fuch cropping.
In the parifhes of Tranent, Aherlady, Dirleton,
North-Berwick, and Athelftoneford, the following ro¬
tations were formerly univerfal, and to this day are much
more frequent than any other mode.
1. After fallow and dung, wheat, bai’ley, oats, peafe
and beans, barley, oats, wheat.
2. After fallow and dung, barley, oats, peafe and
beans, w'heat, barley, oats, peafe, wheat.
3. After fallow and dung, bailey, oats, peafe, barley*
oats, wheat.
4. xlfter fallow and dung, barley, oats, beans, wheat,
peafe, barley, oats.
In the feveral Tours that are publifhed by Young, are
found, in the heft counties of England, examples with¬
out end, of rotations no lefs exceptionable than piany of
tbofe mentioned.
W here a field is laid down for pafture in order to he Fields not
recruited, it is commonly left in that ftate many years jt0 be kept
for it is the univerfal opinion, that the longer it lies, t0° lonS *n
the richer it becomes for bearing cox*n. This may he1
true ; but in order to determine/the mode of cropping,
the important point is, what upon the whole is the
moft profitable rotation j not what may produce luxu¬
riant crops at a diftant period. Upon that point it
may be affirmed, that the farmer who keeps a field in
pafture beyond a certain time, lofes every year confi-
derably; and that a few luxuriant crops of corn, after
20 years of pafture, and ftiil more after 30, will not
make up the lofs.
Pafture-grafs, while young, maintains many animals j
and the field is greatly recruited by what they drop;
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 when the
pafture begins to fail 3 and after a few crops, it ought
3 L to
45®
A G R I C U
Rotation of to be laiil down again with grafs feeds. Seduced by a
Crops, chimerical notion, that a field, by frequent corn crops,
[s fatigued, and requires reft like a labouring man or
animal, careful farmers give long reft to their fields by
pafture, never adverting that itaft'ords little profit. It
ought to be their ftudy, to improve their foil, by mak¬
ing it free, and alfo retentive of moifture. If they ac-
complifh thefe ends,- they need not be afraid of exhauft-
4S7 ing the foil by cropping.
Examples Where a farmer has accefs to no manure but what
of rotations. |s ]j[s 0Wn production, the cafe under confideration,
there are various rotations of crops, all ol them good,
though perhaps not equally fo. We {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 tor 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 pal-
ture, a fingle plough with good cattle will be lufficient
to command the remaining 60 acres.
1.
2.
3-
4-
5*
6.
7-
Hotation in a clay foil.
^Pi-
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Bariev.
Hay.
Oats.
Pafture
1796-
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley,
Hav.
Oats.
Fallow
Pafture.
1797.
Peafe.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Pafture
1798.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
F allow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Pafture
1799-
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley.
Pafture
1800.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley.
Hay.
Pafture.
When the rotation is completed, the feventh inelo-
fure, having been fix years in pafture, is ready to be
taken up for a rotation of crops, which begins with
oats in the year 1801, and proceeds as in the fixth in-
olofure. In the fame year 1801 the filth inclolure 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. Here the labour is equally diftributed} and there
is no hurry nor confufion. But the chief property of
this rotation is, that two culmiferous or white-corn
crops are never found together : 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 pa¬
fture get time to degenerate. The 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.
, I795-
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Pafture
i796.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Pafture
1797.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Pafture.
i798.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Pafture,
I799-
F low.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Pafture,
1800.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
'[Fallow.
.Pafture.
L T U R E.
Pra&ice.
For the next rotation, the feventh inclofure is taken Rotation of
up for corn, beginning with an oat crop, and proceed- Crops,
ing in the order of the fourth inclofure } in place of' v 1 '
which, the third inclofure is laid down for pafture by
lowing pafture-graffes with the laft crop in that inclo¬
fure, being barley. This rotation has all the advanta¬
ges 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 inclofed for a kitchen garden, affording
plenty of red clover to be cut green for the farm cattle.
The remaining 64 acres are divided into four inclofures,
16 acres each, to be cropped as in the following table.
I795- I796- J797
Beans.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Beans.
Hay.
Oats.
Beans.
Barley
i798.
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. Fallow, 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, red clover, 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 x-otation has proved fuccefsful in a foil
proper for wheat. 1. Oats with red clover, after fal¬
low without dung. 2. Hay. The clover ftubble dung¬
ed, and wheat fown the end of October with a fingle
furrow. 3. Wheat. 4. Peafe. 5. Barley. Fallow-
again. Oats are taken the fix-ft cx-op, to fave the dung
for the wheat. Oats always tln-ive on a fallow, though
without dung, which is not the cafe of baxdey. But
barley feldom fails after peafe. In ftrong clay foil, the
following rotation anfwers. 1. Wheat after fallow and
dung. 2. Beans fown under furrow as early as poffi-
ble. Above the beans, low peafe end of March, half
a boll per acre, and harrow them in. The two grams
will ripen at the fame time. 3. Oats or barley on a
winter furrow xvith grafs-feeds. 4. Hay for one year
or two 5 the fecond growth paftux-ed. Lay Avhat dung
can be fpared on the hay-ftubble, and fow Avheat with a
fingle furrow. 5. Wheat. 6. Beans or peafe. 7- Oats.
Fallow again.
In addition to thefe, Ave lhall here ftate from the
Agricultural Sux-vey of Yorkftiire, an example of a ro¬
tation ufed in that county upon a xnarfh-land farm con-
lifting of 432 acres of arable land, in which a very
great number of hands and horfes appear to have been
employed, but in Avhich very valuable produffs are
reared. The foil, Avhere the principal part of the po¬
tatoes are groxvn, is a good Avarp } the other part on
Avhich potatoes are alfo cultivated, a mixture of warp
and fand : the remainder of the land, clay, with a Imall
portion of Avai'p, but too ftrong to groAV potatoes, ex¬
cept about 70 acres, Avhich is tolerably good potato-
Part 1.
AGRICULTURE.
4Si
Reaping land, but at too great a diftance from the river. Grafs
and Storing land only fufficient to keep two milch cows, and horfes
up Corn necefliiry for working the farm : 69 acres of the heft
and Hay. warD jan(j divided into three equal parts ^ I. fallow,
with from 16 to 20 loads of manure per acre 5 fet it
with potatoes 5 after, low wheat *, and then fallow
again : 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 } let potatoes
and then fow wheat, and fallow again: 42 acres of
land, lately an old pafture, divided into three parts :
one-third llax, then fown with rape, and alter they,
come off, plough and harrow the land three or four
times, 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 al¬
ter: 150 acres divided into three parts j 1. fallow j
2. wheat ; 3. beans, drilled at 9 inches dittance, hand-
hoed twice at 6s. per acre ; fallow again, &c.: 80
acres of land that was lately in old grafs, divided into
four parts, fallow, wheat, beans drilled, and oats}
then fallow again, &c. The remaining four acres
thrown to any of the crops that are likely to fail.
Kent 25s. per acre } affelfments 5s. acre.
“ Dijlribution of crops for 1795.
Wheat,
Beans,
Oats,
Flax, -
Rape,
Potatoes,
F allow,
To be thrown where a
crop is likely to fail,
Acres. Average Produce of an Acre.
12i from 3 to 5 quarters*
70 from 3 to 6 quarters.
20 from 6 to 10 quarters.
14 from 45 to 55 Hones.
14 from 3 to 5 quarters.
68 from 60 to 100 lacks.
121
43 2
“ Servants, Hotfes, and Cows, kept upon the 1'arm,
4 Houfe fervants,
16 Labourers,
26 Horfes,
2 Milch cows.
“ The above is an account of a farm belonging to
One of the bell managers of marlh-land* We mull ob-
ferve he fallows his land very often •, yet he is well paid
by his fuperior crops. The lall year (1795) he had
100 lacks per acre off moll 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 \\ incheller bufliels,
though I believe their meafure rather overruns.”
Sect. VI. Of Reaping Corn and Hay Crops, and
Storing them up for Ufe.
458 „
Ofripenefe. Culm I FERGUS plants are ripe when the Item is to¬
tally white : they are not fully ripe if any green llreaks
remain. Some farmers are of opinion, that wheat ought
to be cut before it is fully ripe. Their reafons are, Reaping
firll, that ripe wheat is apt to lhake } and next, that and Storing
the flour is not fo good. With refpedt to the lall, it is
contrary to nature, that any feed can be better in an f1 ^ J' 7
unripe Hate than when brought to perfedion; nor
will it be found fo upon trial. With refped to the
firll, wheat, at the point of perfedion, is not more apt
to lliake than for fome days before : the hulk begins
not to open till after the feed is fully ripe •, and then
the fuffering the crop to Hand becomes ticklilli ; after
the minute of ripening, it Ihould be cut down in an
inllant, if polfible. 459
This leads to the hands that are commonly engaged Of reapers,
to cut down corn. In Scotland, the univerlal pradice
was, to provide a number of hands in proportion to
the extent of the crop, without regard to the time ol
ripening. By this method, the reapers were often idle
for want of work; and, what is much worfe, they had
often more work than they could overtake, and ripe
fields were laid open to fhaking winds. 1 lie Lothians
have long enjoyed weekly markets for reapers, where a
farmer can provide himfelf with the number he wants ;
and this pradice 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 lliould imagine, that a caution againll cutting
corn when wet is unneceffary ; yet from the impatience
of farmers to prevent lliaking, no caveat is more fo.
Why do they not confider, that corn Handing dries in
half a day ', When, in a clofe flieaf, the weather muff
be favourable if it dry in a month ? in moift weather it
will never dry. > 460
With refped to the manner of cutting, we muff pre- Manner at
mife, that barley is of all the moll difficult grain to be cutting,
dried for keeping. Having no hulk, rain has an ea y
accefs $ and it has a tendency to malten when wet.
Where the ground is properly fmoothed by rolling, it
feems bell to cut it down with the feythe. Ihis man¬
ner being more expeditious than the fickle, removes it
fooner from danger of wind and gives a third more
Hraw, which is a capital article for dung, where 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 feythe. As it ought to be dry when
cut, bind it up diredly: it allowed to lie any time in
the fwath, it is apt to be difcoloured.—Barley fown
with grafs-feeds, red clover eipecially, requires a dif¬
ferent management. Where the grafs is cut along
with it, the difficulty is great of getting it io dry as
to be ventured in a Hack. The bell 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
feythe the Hubble and grafs : they make excellent winter
food. The fame method is applicable to oats ; with
this only difference, that when the field is expoied 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 feythe $ for Which reafon the fickle is pre¬
ferred in England. Peafe and beans grow io irregular¬
ly, as to make the fickle neceffary. 461
' The bell way for drying peafe, is to keep feparate Drying of
the handfuls that are cut} though in this way they wet peafe.
eafilv, they drv as foon. In the common way ol heap-
3 L 2 ing
452
Reaping
and Storin'
up Corn
and Hay.
462
Size of
flieaves.
A G E I C U L T U R E.
4^3
Carrying
oft’ the
■victual.
46'4
Of flack¬
ing.
ing peafe together for compofmg a flieaf, they wet as
; eaiily, and dry not near fo foon. With refpeft to beans,
the top of the handful lall cut ought to be laid on the
1 bottom of the former 5 which gives ready aceefs to the
wind. By this method peafe and beans are ready for
the Hack in half the ordinary time.
A flieaf commonly is made as large as can be con¬
tained in two lengths of the corn made into a rope. To
fave frequent tying, the binder prefl’es it down with his
knee, and binds it lo 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 flieaf; which is perfected in the Hack, to the
deflruCtion both of corn and Hraw. How flnpid is it,
to make the fize of a llicaf depend on the height of the
plants ! By that rule, a wheat flieaf is commonly fo
weighty, as to be unmanageable by ordinary arms: it
requires an effort to move it that frequently burffs the
knot, and occalions iofs of grain, behde the trouble of
a fecond tying. Sheaves ought never to be larger than
can be contained in one length of the plant, cut clofe
to the ground ; without admitting any exception, if
the plants be above 18 inches, high. The binder’s
arm can then comprefs the flieaf fufficiently without
need of his knee. The additional (lands 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 ; it
feldom in the ordinary way requires lefs than 'a fort¬
night, and frequently longer. Of a finall flieaf com-
preffed by the arm only, the air pervades every part
nor is it fo apt to be unloofed as a large flieaf, how¬
ever firmly bound. We omit the gathering of flieaves
into lliocks, becaufe the common method is good* which
is to place the fliocks directed to the fouth-weff, in or¬
der to refiH the force of the wind. Five flieaves on
each lide make a fufficient Hay ; and a greater number
cannot be covered with two head-flieaves.
Every article is of importance that haHens the ope¬
ration in a country, like Scotland, fubjeCted to unequal
harvell weather •, for which reafon the moH expediti¬
ous method fliould be chofen for carrying corn from the
field to the Hack-yard. Our carriages are generally
too fmall 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 muH Hand in the yard till unloaded flieaf by
flieaf. The beH way is to ufe long carts moveable
upon the axle, fo as at once to throw the whole load
on the ground; which is forked up to the Hack 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 fhut up from
the air } and it muH be exceeding dry, if it contraft
not a muHinefs, which is the firft Hep to putrefaHion.
Add to this, that in the yard, a Hack is preferved from
rats and mice, by being fef on a pedellal : whereas no
method has hitherto been invented for preferving corn
in a houfe from fuoh deHructive vermine. The proper
manner of building, is to make every flieaf incline
downward from its top to its bottom. Where the
flieaves 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 j and the top of the
Practice,
cone fliould be formed with three flitaves drawn to a Reaping
point. If the upper part of the cylinder be a little and Storing
wider than the under, fo much the better. ’'P t'orn
Y he delaying to cover a Hack for two or three, anc^^ay-i
w'eeks, though common, is, however, exceeding ab- ^4-
furd } for it much rain fall in the interim, it is beyond Covering
the power of wind to dry the Hack. Vegetation be-th6 flacks,
gun in the external parts, flints out the air from the
internal 5 and to prevent a total putrefaction, the Hack
muH be thrown down and expofed to the air every
flieaf. In order to have a Hack covered the moment
it is finillied, Hraw and ropes ought to be ready 5 and
the covering ought to be fo thick as to be proof againfl
rain.
Scotland is fubject not only to floods of rain, hut t®
high winds. Good covering guards againll the for¬
mer, and ropes artfully applied guard againH the lat¬
ter. The following is a good mode. Take a hay-
rope wTell twiHed, and furround the Hack with it, two
feet or fo below the top. Surround the Hack with
another fuch rope immediately below the eaiing. Con-
nedt thefe two with ropes in an up-and-down pofition,
dillant from each other at the eafmg about five or fix
feet. Then furround the Hack with other circular
ropes parallel tyi the two firfi mentioned, giving them
a twill round every one of thefe that lie up and down,
by winch the whole wrill be connected together in a
fort of net-work. W hat remains is, to finifli the two
feet at the top of the Hack. Let it be covered with
bunches of flraw laid regularly up and down ; the un¬
der part to be put under the circular rope firfl men¬
tioned, which will keep it faH, and the upper part be
hound by a imall rope artfully twiHed, commonly call¬
ed the crown of the Jtach. This method is preferable
to the common way of laying long ropes over the top
of the Hack, and tying them to the belting ropes ; which
flattens the top, and makes it take in rain. A Hack
covered, in the way here deferibed, will Hand two years
fccured both againH wind and rain } a notable advan¬
tage in this variable climate. ^
The great aim in making hay is, to preferve as much Xlay-ma-
ol the fap as pollible. All agree in this ; and yet differing,
widely in. the means of making that aim effe&uaL To
deferibe all the different means would be equally tedi¬
ous and unprofitable. We lliall confine ourfelves to
tw’o, 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
Imall cocks. After turning the rows once and again,
make fmall cocks weighing a Hone or twTo. At the
diHance 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 eock, that the leall
damage poflibre may he done to the grafs. Proceed
in putting two cocks into one, till fufficiently dry for
tramp-ricks of 100 Hone each. The eafieH way of
erefting tramp-ricks, is to found a rick in the middle
ot the row of cocks that are to compofe it. 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 50 yards or fo, the reH of
the cocks will be more expeditioufly carried to the
rick, by a rope wound about them and dragged by a
horfe,,.
Part I. AGRICULTURE. 453
Reaping horfe. Two ropes are fufHcient to fecure the ricks
and Storing from wind the ihort time they are to fbind in the field.
up Corn xn the year 1775, 10,000 Hone were put into tramp-
^and Hay. ^ the fourth day after cutting. In a country fo wet
as many parts of Scotland are, expedition is of mighty
1 confequence in the drying both of hay and corn. With
refpedt to hay intended for horned cattle, it is by the
generality held an improvement, that it be heated a
little in the Hack. But we violently lulpedt this doc¬
trine to have been invented for excufing indolent ma¬
nagement. An ox, it is true, will eat i'uch hay j but
it will always be found that he prefers fweet hay j and
it cannot wrell be doubted, but that fuch hay is the moH
^ falutary and the moH nourifhing.
Hay of red The making hay conliHing chiefly of red clover,
clover. requires more care. The feafon of cutting is the laH
week of June, when it is in full bloom ; earlier it may
he cut, but never later. To cut it later would indeed
• produce a weightier crop } but a late firlt cutting
makes the fecond alfo late, perhaps too late for drying.
At the fame time, the want of weight in an early firil
cutting, is amply compenfated by the weight of the
fecond.
When the feafon is too variable for making hay of
the fecond growth, mix Hraw with that growth, which
will be a fubHantial food for cattle during winter.
This is commonly done by laying Hrata of the Hraw
and clover alternately in the Hack. But by this me¬
thod, the Hrata of clover, if they do not heat, turn
mouldy at leall, and unpalatable. The better way is,
to mix them carefully with the hand before they be put
into the Hack. The dry Hraw imbibes the moiilurc from
the clover, and prevents heating.
Other me- But the belt method of hay-making feems to be that
thod. recommended by Mr Anderfon *. “ Inflead (fays
* onije), ()f al]owing the hay to lie, as ufual in moH pla-
ture Toi i ces> f°r H>me days in the fwathe after it is cut, and
p. 186. 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 fubjechs it very much to the danger of getting rain,
and thus runs a great rifle of being good for little, I
make it a general rule, if pollible, never to cut hay
but when the grafs is quite dry •, 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 Hand with : always giving each of them
a flight kind of thatching, hy 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 utmoH
eafe and expedition : and when it is once in that Hate,
I confider my hay as in a great meafure out of dan¬
ger : for unlefs a violent wind fliould arife immediately
after the cocks are put up, fo as to overturn them, no¬
thing elfe can hurt the hay; as I have often experienced,
that no rain, however violent, ever penetrates into theie
cocks but for a very little way. And, if they are Reaping
dry put up, they never fit together fo clofely as toan(l Storing
heat j although they acquire, in a day or two, fuch a
degree of firmnefs, as to be in no danger of being ^ ‘ ' 1
overturned by wind after that time, unlefs it blows a
hurricane.
“ In thefe cocks I allow the hay to remain, until,
upon infpeftion, 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 greateH eafe, and carry them one after an¬
other 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 finifhed.
“ The advantages that attend this method of ma-Advanta-
king hay, are, that it greatly abridges the labour ; asges of this
it does not require above the one half of the work thatmet^°^*.
is necefl’ary in the old method of turning and tedding
it : That it allows the hay to continue almoH as green
as when it is cut, and preferves its natural juices in the
greateH perfection j for, unlefs it be the little that is
expofed to the fun and air upon the furface of the
cocks, which is no more bleached than every Hraw of
hay laved in the ordinary way, the uhole is dried in
the moH flow and equal manner that could he delired ;
and, lallly, That it is thus in a great meafure fecured
from almoH the poffibility of being damaged by rain.
This laH circumltance deferves to be much more at¬
tended to by the farmer than it ufually is at prelent:
as I have feen few who are fufficiently aware of the
lofs that the quality of their hay fuflains by receiving a
flight Hiower after it is cut, and before it is gathered 5
the generality of farmers feeming to be very well iatis-
fied if they get in their hay without being ablolutely
rotted, never paving the leall 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 lame field
that has received a Ihower while in the fwathe, or even
a copious dew, they will loon be fenhble ol a very ma-
nifell difl’erence between them ; nor will their hories or
cattle ever commit a millake in cboofing between the
two. _ ; 470
“ Let it be particularly remarked, that in this man • Particular,
ner of making hay, great care mult be taken that it be caution re-
dry when firlt put into the cocks j for if it is in the
leaH degree wet at the time, it will turn inHantly tj10^
mouldy, and fit together fo as to become totally imper¬
vious to the air, and will never afterwards become dry
till it is ipread out to the fun. For this reafon, it at
any time during a eourfe ot good lettled weather you
fhould begin to cut in the morning before the dew is oil
the grafs, keep hack the gatherers till the dew is eva¬
porated-, allowing that which was firH cut to lie till it
is dry before it is cocked. In this cafe, you will al¬
moH
(1) If the hay is to be carried to any confiderable diflance, this part of the labour may be greatly abridged,
by caufing the carriers to take two long Hicks of a fufficient Hrength, and having laid them down by the fmall
cocks parallel to one another-, at the diHance ol one and a hall or two feet afundcr, let them lilt three or four
cocks, one after another, and place them carefully above the Hicks, and then carry them altogether, as if upo»
$ handbarrow, to the place where the large rick is to be built.
454 A G ft I C U
inoft always hnd that the uncut grafs will dry foouer
aru^Storing than that which has been cut when wet j and there-
up Corn fore, the gatherers may always begin to put up that
and Hay. which is frefh cut before the other j 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 ol ne-
cellity, you lliould be obliged to cut your hay before it
is dry, the fame rule mult be obferved always to allow
it to remain in the fwathe till it is quite dry : but, as
there is always a great riik of being long in getting it
up, and as it never in this cale wins (k) lo kindly as it
it had been dry cut, the farmer ought to endeavour, it
pollible, in all cafes to cut his hay only when dry; even
if it lliould colt him fome additional expence to the cut¬
ters, by keeping them employed at any other works, el¬
even allowing them to remain idle, il the weather ihould
be variable or rainy.
“ But if there is a great proportion ol clover, and
the weather lliould chance to be dole and calm at the
time, it may, on fome occalions, be neceffary to open
up the cocks a little to admit fome freih air into them ;
in which cale, il they have ftood a day or two, it may
be of great ufe to turn theie cocks and open them up
a little, which ought to be done in the drielt time ol
the day •, the operator taking that part ol each cock
which was the top, and with it forming the bale of a
new one} fo that the part which was moll expoled to
\ the air becomes excluded from it, and that which ivas
undermoll comes to be placed upon the top, lo as to
make it all dry- as equally as poflible.
“ If the hay has not been damp when it was firll put
up, the cock may be immediately finiihed out at once ;
but if it is at all wet, it will be of great ule to turn
over only a little of the top of the cock at firll, and
leaving it in that Hate to dry a little, proceed to an¬
other, and a third, and fourth, &c. treating each in the
fame way > going in that manner till you find that the
infide of the firll opened cock is iufficiently dried, when
it will be proper to return to it, turning over a little
more of it, till you come to what is llill damp, when
you leave it, and proceed to another, and io on round
the whole } always returning alrefli till the cocks are
entirely linilhed. This is the bell way of laving your
hay, if y6u have been under the necellity of cutting it
while damp j but it is always bell to guard againll this
inconvenience, if polfible.”
In the yard, a Hack of hay ought to be an oblong
fquare, if the quantity be greater than to be ealily
llowed in a round Hack } becaule a fmaller iurface is
expofed to the air than in a number of round Hacks.
For the fame reafon, a Hack of peafe ought to have
the fame fox-m, the Hraw being more valuable than that
of oats, wheat, or barley. The moment a Hack is finilh-
ed it ought to be covered j becaufe the furface hay is
much damaged by withering in dry weather, and moill-
ening in wet weather. Let it have a pavilion roof j
for more of it can be covered with Hraw in that lliape,
than when built pei'pendicular at the ends. Let it be
roped as directed above for corn-Hacks -, with this dif¬
ference only, that in an oblong fquare the ropes muH
L T U ft E. Practice.
be thrown over the top, and tied to the belt-rope be- Manures.
low. This belt-rope ought to be fixed with pins to the ’ “J
Halk : the reafon is, that the ropes thrown over the Hack
will bag by the finking of the Hack, and may be drawn
tight by lowering the belt-rope, and fixing it in its neW
polition with the fame pins.
The Hems of hops, being long and tough, make ex¬
cellent x’opes } and it will be a faving article, to propa¬
gate a few plants of that kind for that very end.
A Hack of rye-grafs, a year old, and ot a moderate,
iize, will weigh, each cubic yard, n Dutch Hone. A
Hack of clover hay in the fame circumHances weighs
fomewhat lefs.
Sect. VII. Manures.
472
Jlay-ftacks.
“ The life of manures (fays M. Parmentier*), hasM. Par- 1 j
been known in all ages j but we are yet far from having meatier s
any clear and precife ideas oi the nature of the.juices°P““°^®.
which are deilined for the nourilhment of vegetables, manures> 8
and of the manner in winch they are tranfmitted to c Memoirs
their organs. The writers on agriculture who have en- of the Ray-
deavoured to explain thefe matters, perceiving falts in
moH plants, were perfuaded that theie falts, by the help j.l(re n0y
of water and heat, palled, in a laline form, through the Paris.
vegetable filter. Theie firH philoiophers did not hefi-
tate to confider every thing that has been done by the
induHry of man, to improve the nature of land, and its
productions, as merely forming refervoirs of thefe ialts,
which they confider as the principle of fertility. This
opinion was fo well eflablilhed among the improvers oi
’ land, that, to this day, many of them have no object in
view, in their operations, but to difengage ialts j 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, off now, of
dew,'and fogs ; of t\w falts of the earth, of dung, of
marl, of lime, of chalk, &c. and make ufe of thole
vague terms, oil, fulphur, fnrit, &e. which ought
henceforward to be baniihed from our elementary books
on agriculture.
“ Among the authors who have attacked, and com¬
bated with moll fuccefs the opinion that the fruitfulnefs
of foils, and the aliment of vegetables, refide in faline
fubHances, muH be reckoned Eller and Wallerius.
Thefe philofophers examined, by every means which
chemiHry at that time could furnifh, the various kinds
of earth proper for cultivation, and alfo thofe fubHances
which have always been conlidered as the moll power¬
ful manures, without being able to obtain, from any of
them, any thing more than mere atoms of lalt.
“ Animated with the fame zeal, and taking advan¬
tage of the inllructions found in their Writings, 1
thought it neceffary to determine, by experience, whe¬
ther, as has been afferted, there really exill neutral
falts in earths j and alfo, whether thofe earths are more
fertile in proportion to the quantity of fuch lalts they
contain. With this view, I lixiviated by means oi
dillilled water, many fpecies of cultivated earths, ta¬
ken in various Hates from frelh earth to that which
(k) By winning hay,
of a dry fodder.
is meant the operation by which it is brought from the fueculent Hate of grals to that
AGRICULTURE. 455
had been impoveriflied by the growth of feveral crops :
I aifo tried dung, reduced more or lefs into the Hate of
mould j and likewife the molt active manures, fuch as
the ofl'al of animal fubftances rotted by putrefadion j
but in none of thefe, however carefully analyzed, were
found any falts in a free Hate. They contain indeed
the materials proper tor forming lalts, but it 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 fotvn tome
oats in allies, not lixiviated, and in land ilrongly im¬
pregnated with potafli and with fiiltpetre, 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 abfolutely prevented it. It
is well known that in Egypt there are diflricts where
the earth is entirely covered with fea-lalt, and thefe di-
ilribls are quite barren. It is probably' owing to this
property of fea-falt, that the Homans were accuftomed
to fcatter large quantities ot 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.
“ The idea that falts had great influence in vegeta¬
tion ought to have been greatly weakened by the fol¬
lowing iimple refleftion. Suppofmg that talts exifted
in garden mould, they would very loon be diffolved by^
the rain, and carried away, towards the lower ftrata of
the earth, to a depth to which the longeft roots would
not reach. Indeed the famous experiment of Van Hel-
mont would have been lufficient 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 lurprifing 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, were only vehicles loaded with faline matter,
analogous to the vegetables nourilhed by them.
“ To the experiment of Van Ilelmont, which was re¬
peated by many accurate obfervers, fucceeded thofe of
modern plniofophers } from which it clearly appeared,
that plants could grow, and produce fruit, in the air of
the atmofphere, and in dillilled water, alfo in pure fand,
in powdered glafs, in wet mofs or fponge, in the cavity
of fleftiy roots, &c. and that plants which had nothing
but the above-mentioned fluids for their nourifhment,
gave, when fubmitted to chemical analyfis, the fame
produdts as thofe which had undergone their procefs of
vegetation in a foil perfectly 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 was repeatedly
evinced in different ways: from thefe obfervations was
formed the following fyftcrn, that water riles in plants
in the form of vapour, as in dillillation $ that air intro¬
duces itfelf into their pores ; and that if falts contribute
to the fruitfulnefs of foils, it is only in confequence oi
their containing the two fluids above mentioned in great
abundance.”
Our author, after making many experiments upon
various foils and falts, maintains “ that faline fubftan¬
ces have no fenfible efferis in promoting vegetation,
3
except inafmuch as they are of a dcliquefcent nature, Manures,
have an earthy bafis ealily decompofed, and are ufed v "■
only in fmall quantity. In thofe circumftances they
have the power of at trailing, from the immenfe refer-
voir of the atmofphere, the vapours which circulate in
it} thefe vapours they retain, along with the moifture
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 divifion, 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 aflimrlation. As every kind of vegetable
manure poffeffes a vifeous kind of moifture, it thereby
partakes of the property of deliquefeent falts. In fliort,
the preparation of land for vegetation has no other ob-
je£t in view but to divide the earthy particles, to foft-
en them, and to give them a form capable of pro¬
ducing the above-mentioned efferis. It is fufficient,
therefore, that water, by its mixture with the earth
and the manure, be divided, and Ipread 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 (hade, even in the heft
foil, are weakly, and as the greater part of thofe which
are made to grow in a place that is perfectly dark, nei¬
ther give fruit nor flowers, it cannot be denied that the
influence of the fun is of great importance in vegetable
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 a6t their part in that procefs,
not in a compound ftate, but by means of the princi¬
ples of which they confitt. He now concluded that
the value of manured earth conlifts 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 } and hence arifes the value of thofe
in which putrid animal matters are diffolved. Salts
and dung a£t 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
limple vegetables. Too great a quantity of falts pre¬
vents fermentation, or the decompofition of water, and
hence is prejudicial to vegetation, while a fmall quan¬
tity is more advantageous, as more favourable to that
proceis 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
456
Manures- properties of niariufe, 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
progrefs of vegetation. At the fame time, as the earths
themfelves have a chemical a6tion upon water, and are
capable of affording a proper bafs for plants, he confi-
ders them as in many cafes fufficient to promote vegc-
' tation. Upon thefe principles, M. Parmentier takes a
view of different fubflances ufed as manures.
Marl, in his opinion, is capable of acting in the
fame manner as the molt fertile foil,- when the princi¬
ples of which it is compofed, namely, clay, fund, cal¬
careous earth, and magneiian earth, are juilly propor¬
tioned to each other. But it is fometimes compact and
tenacious, becaufe it contains a fuperabundant portion
of clay, and at other times porous and friable, becaufe
it contains too much land) and therefore is not in ge¬
neral fit for vegetation by itfelf. Thefe confiderations
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 exprefiion, intended to denote the bringing toge¬
ther or dividing the earthy particles by means of clay
or land. 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, a6ts very powerfully upon the different aeriform
fluids, is eafily reduced to powder, eft’ervefees with a-
cids, and fends forth a quantity of air-bubbles Avhen wa¬
ter is poured upon it. Now this matter, which in a
particular manner does the office of manure, refides
neither in clay nor 4n 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 conifituent parts it contains
in the greateft proportion, otherwife in fome cafes we
ihould only add one common kind of earth to another.
Hence our 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-allies, as a manure, may be, in fome refpects,
compared to marl y at leaft they contain the fame earths
as thofe which generally enter into the compofition of
marl, but they contain a greater quantity of faline fub-
1 lances, proceeding from the vegetables of which they
wre the refidue, and from the procefs made ufe of in
their combuftion ; a procefs which inereafes their acti¬
vity, and Ihould render us careful in what manner and
for what purpofe we employ them. Wood-alhee,
when fcattered over fields, at proper times and in pro¬
per quantities, dellroy weeds, and encourage the vege¬
tation of good plants. But do the allies produce this
effect by a fort of corrolive power? I cannot (fays our
author) thirtk it •, for in that cafe all kinds of plants
would indiferiminately be acted upon by them, and to
a certain degree dellroyed. '
“ Befides, the allies of frelli wood are feldom em¬
ployed until they have been lixiviated ; in which Hate
they are deprived of their cauftic principle} thofe allies
which are moll commonly made ufe of for manure are
produced either from wood that has been floated in Ava-
Pradtice.
ter, or from turf, or from pit-coal, and contain little Manures,
or no alkaline fait. ......
“ It appears much more probable that allies, when
laid upon ground, dellroy the weeds by a well known
effect, namely, by feizing with eagernefs that moillure
Avhich ferved to produce thole weeds, and which in a
fuperabundant quantity is neceffary to their exillence
and fupport. W hereas thofe plants which have a firmer
texture and a longer root, which are rendered Itrong
by age and by haA ing Avithllood the rigour of winter,
and Avhich are in fact the plants of which the fields are
compofed, do not fuller any damage from the applica¬
tion of the allies ; but, on the contrary, by being freed
from the fuperfluous Aveeds Avhich Hilled them, and rob¬
bed them of a part of their fullenance, they receive a
quantity of nourilhment proportioned to their wants.
The Hate of relaxation and languor to which they Avere
reduced by a fuperabundance of Avater, leaves them, the
foil gets its proper confiHence, and the grafs, corn, &c»
acquiring the Hrength and vigour which are natural to
them, foon overcome the mofs, rallies, and other weedsy
thus a good crop, of Avhatever the field confiffs of, is
produced. It is in the above manner that Avood allies
ad, Avhenever in the fpring it is neceffary to apply
them to meadows, corn fields, &c. the plants of Avhich
are Hilled arid Aveakened by a luxuriant vegetation of
Aveeds, the ufual confequence of mild and Avet Avinters.
“ When Avood allies produce an effed different from
what is above deferibed, 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 Avliich they are applied Avere not fulficientlv
wet to reHrain their adion ; for Avhen they are fcatter¬
ed upon cold foils, and buried by the plough before
the time of foAving, they are, like lime, of great fer-
vice. The laff mentioned fubHance is very efficacious
in other circumHances •, and there is a Avell knoAvn me¬
thod of ufing it pradifed by the Germans, as folloAvs :
A heap df lime is formed by the fide of a heap of poor
earth, and Water is poured upon the lime ; the earth
is then thrown over it, and becomes impregnated with
the vapours Avhich efcape from the lime Avhile it is
flaked. The earth, after being thus aerated, may be
feparated 5 and although no lime remains mixed with
it, is, by the operation jull deferibed, rendered capa¬
ble of giving a luxuriant vegetation to Avhatever plants
may be put into it.
“ It is pollible, therefore, to aerate earth as Avell as
fluids •, for this ptirpofe, by mixing it Avith certain fub-
Han'ces during their decompofition, Ave muff attach to
it the principles of which thofe fubffances are compo-
fed j from Avhich there x*efults a matter fo loaded with
gas, as to form a more compound fubHance, and one
Avhich has acquired neAV properties. The Arabians, for
example, Avho take great pains to improAre their land,
are accuffomed to make large pits, Avhich they fill Avith
animals which happen to die : thefe pits they after-
Avards Cover Avith calcareous or clayey earth j and after
fome time thefe earths, Avhich of themfelves are Herile,
acquire the properties of the richeff manures.
“ The foregoing obfervations may at leaff be confi-
pered as proving, that thofe fubffances which, Avhen
employed frelli and in too great quantity, are moff pre¬
judicial to Aegetation, have, on the contrary, an advan¬
tageous
AGRICULTURE,
I
Part I.
Manures, tageous effeft, when they are previoufly made to under-
i—v——' go a fermentation ; or when they are mixed with earth
or water in a proportion adapted to the end propofed.
The grafs of fields in which cattle or poultry go to
feed, after the firlt or fecond crop of hay, appears to be
dried by the urine and dung of thofe animals, as if lire
had been applied to it j whereas thefe fame excremen-
titious iubllances, when combined with earth, or diluted
with water, are capable, without any other preparation,
of performing the office of good manure.
“ But if animal fecretions, when applied in fubilance
to plants, were capable of acting 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, fo circumltanced, grow
and produce feed. Is it not more conliftent with ex¬
perience and obfervation to fuppofe, that thefe excre-
mentitious fubftances, being ftill endowed with animal
heat, and with an organic motion, diffufe round plants
in vegetation a deleterious principle or inllamn able gas,
which deftroys them ? for foon after their application
the foliage of the plant grows yellow, dries up, and
the plant withers, unlefs there happens a lliower of rain,
which revives it. When thefe fubftances are diluted,
by being mixed with water and earth, they lofe that
principle which is fo deftrudtive to vegetable life, and
an incipient fermentation augments their power as a ma¬
nure, fo that they may be immediately made ufe of
without any appprehenlion of injury from their effects,
“ It appears, therefore, that any operation upon ex-
crementitious fubftances, by which they are dried and
reduced to powder, cannot be pradifed without de¬
priving thofe fubftances of a great part of fuch of their
principles as are eafily evaporated, and upon which
their fluidity depends \ 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 leed, 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 ;
nor do they obferve, that the fodder produced from
fields fo manured, whether eaten frelh or dry, is dif-
agreeable to their cattle. The excrements of all ani¬
mals would be injurious to plants, if applied too freffi,
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 muft certainly be allowed, that exerementitious
fubftances are a very advantageous manure for cold foils,
and fuited to moft vegetable productions •, a long ex¬
perience of their effects over a large tract of country,
and the acknowledged intelligence of the Flemilh far¬
mers, ought to be confidered as fufficient to overcome
the prejudice that has been raifed againft this fort of
manure. Suppofmg that the bad effeCts which have
Vol. I. Part II.
457
been attributed to it, when ufed in the ftate in which Manures,
it is taken out of privies, &c. are not the offspring 0f'■""•'V—-'
a prejudiced imagination, they may have arifen from
its having been made ufe of at an improper time, or in
too great a quantity 5 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 effect is produced by watering them too fre-
quentlv. Striking examples of this change are feen in
the ftrawberry and in the violet, when fuch as have
grown in the woods are compared to thofe produced
from iome of our over-manured gardens } alio in the
lettuce and fome other plants, when thole raifed for
fale by the gardeners about Paris are compared to thofe
of fome particular kitchen gardens. In the max-kets of
fome cities, the carrots, turnips, and potatoes of the
fields, are preferred to the fame kinds of roots cultiva¬
ted by the gardeners ; for though the laft are of a lar¬
ger fize, they have not fo good a flavour. Some vege¬
tables, therefore, are like certain wild fpecies of the
animal kingdom-, they refill every kind of culture, as
thofe animals x-elift every effort to tame them.
“ Although experience has taught the Flemifli far¬
mers, that excrementitious fubftances are mox-e active
in their natural ftate than when dried, yet it cannot be
denied that drying them, and reducing them into pow-
dex-, is fometimes vexy advantageous, becaufe in that
ftate they are much lefs oftenfive, are eafily tranfport-
ed to any dillance, and may be ufed when moll conve¬
nient or moft proper. In many cities the inhabitants
pay to have their privies emptied : in other places, thofe
ivho empty them pay for their contents j and it would
aftonilli any one to be told how great a revenue is pro¬
duced in the city of Lille 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 Hate of concenti’ation $
it would be better, in my opinion, to follow the ex¬
ample of the Flemifli farmers, who ufe it the fix'll year
for the cultivation of plants for oil, or for fiemp or flax j
and the fecond year for the bell kinds of grain : thus
obtaining two cx-ops, inftead of one, without any far¬
ther preparation of the land. What is laid 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 activity. Fiem thefe obferva-
tions another fadl may be deduced, namely, that ma¬
nure fliould not be taken from the place where it has
been thrown together, until the feafon of the year and
the Hate of the land are fuch that it may be put into
the ground as foon as it is brought to it. In iome di-
11 rJeffs a very injurious tuftom prevails of carrying the
manure into the fields, and leaving it there formed into
fmall heaps, expofed for fome days to the elements >
during which time, either the fun and wind di-y up its
natui'al moifture, leaving a mafs which is much lefs ac¬
tive ; or the rain diffolves and caiwies away the ex-
tractive parts impi’egnated with the fait. This kind of
brine, which is the moll powerful part of the manure,
penetrates the earth to a confidei'able depth, and (hews
(by the thick tufts which arife in thofe places, and
which produce more llraw than grain) that manure
3 M ought
AGRICULTURE.
458
agriculture.
Manures.
473
Practical
rule for
forming
manures.
* No. 75,
76, 77>73
ought to be put into the ground as foon as it is brought
to it, becaufe it then po tie lies its full force and e fleet,
and confequently would be then ufed to the greatell ad¬
vantage.
“ We have always at hand the means of compofmg,
from a great variety ol vegetable and animal lubftances,
fuch manures as, when brought into a proper flate, and
mixed with land, contribute to its fertility. Cliemiftry
alfo offers to us a number of fubftances, which, although
when ufed feparately they tend to diminifli the fertili-
z.ing quality of the earth, are yet capable, by being
combined, of forming excellent manures •, fuch, for in-
llance, is that faponaceous combination which is pro¬
duced from a mixture of potafli, oil, and earth. What
an, advantage it would he, if, inftead ol being fparing
of manure, the inhabitants of the country would endea¬
vour to increafe the number of thefe relources, and to
render them more beneficial, by employing them in a
more elledtual manner ! How many years had palled
before it was known that the retufe ol apples and pears,
after they are preffed (and which ufed to he thrown a-
way as ufelefs), is capable of forming as valuable a ma¬
nure, in cyder and perry countries, as the refuie ol
grapes does in wine countries !”
From what has been obferved, our author concludes,
that manures act, in many circumltances, like medi¬
cines, and confequently that the lame iort ol manure
cannot be adapted to every fituation, and every kind
of foil we mult therefore take care to make proper di-
ilinctions between them. Whoever ihall 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 amonglt thofe
quacks who undertake to cure all perfons with the fame
remedy, without any regard to their age, conllitution,
&.c. It is probably from not having paid fufficient at¬
tention to the forementioned diftinctions, that lome au¬
thors have found fault with particular manures, while
others have fpoken too highly in their favour.
Having thus-far Hated the obfervations ol this inge¬
nious author, we think it neceffary to remark, that the
practical farmer, who willies to advance lafely and pro-
fperoully in his occupation, will probably find that the
heft principle upon which he can proceed in forming
his plans for the preparation of manure, will confill of
keeping itrictly in view the ideas which we formerly
Hated *, when confidering the theory of agriculture.
When we with to fertilize land by art, we ought to
follow nature, or to imitate the procefs by which Ihe
fertilizes it. Vegetable fubHances, fermented by the
putrefaftion of animal matters, rapidly fall down into
earth, and affume the form of that r\ch black mould
which is the moll productive of all toils. The great
object of the hufbandman, therefore, ought to be to
procure large quantities of vegetable fubHances of every
kind, fuch as Hraw, Hubble, rallies, weeds, &c. and'to
lay thefe up to ferment along with the frelh dung of
animals, particularly thofe animals which chew the cud,
for by digelting their food in a very perfedt manner,
their dung contains a large portion of animal matter.
As horfes, on the contrary, digeH their food very weak¬
ly, their dung is often only fuffieiently animalized to
bring on its own fermentation, which, however, is very
Hrong, on account of the large quantity of bits of Hraw,
hay, and other undecompofed parts of their food which
' 3
Pradice.
it contains. In the neighbourhood of cities, other ani- Manurc3_
mal fubHances, befides dung, may frequently be obtain- >——»
ed *, fuch as bullocks blood, and the refute of works in
which train oil is prepared, none of which ought to be
neglected by the hufbandman.
The art of fermenting vegetable by animal matters,
or the true art of making dung, has not yet been brought
to perfection, nor is it in almoil any fituation fufficient-
ly attended to. In many places, we fee large quanti¬
ties of ferns, rufhes, and the coarfe grafs of bogs, which
no cattle will confume, allowed to run to walle j where¬
as, though thefe plants do not readily of themfelves 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 Ihall here Hate a mode of preparing
dung upon the above principles, that has lately been
difeovered, and fuceefsfully adopted in Mid Lothian
by the Hon. Lord Meadowbank, one of the fenators oi
the College of Juflice in Scotland. It conliHs of lub-
ieCting common peat-mofs to the proceis of fermenta¬
tion, now mentioned, and has been explained by his
lordfhip in a. fmall printed pamphlet, of which, though
not fold to the public, a confiderable number of copies
have been diHributed among his lordfhip’s friends. It
is in the following terms : “ It is proper to Hate in the
outfet,” fays his lordfhip, “ fome general fads concern¬
ing the preparation of manure, which every practical
farmer fhould be acquainted with.
“ i. All recently dead animal or vegetable matter,
if fufficiently divided, moiH, and not chilled nearly to
freezing, tends fpontaneoufly to undergo changes, that
bring it at length to be a fat greaiy earth, which when
mixed ivith fands, clays, and a little chalk, or pounded
limeHone, forms what is called rich loam, or garden
mould. ^ . . 474
“ 2. In vegetable matter, when amaffed in quanti- Lord Me a-
ties, thefe changes are at firH attended with very con~
iiderable heat, (fometimes proceeding the length of convert;ng
inflammation), which, when not exceeding blood- mofs into
heat, greatly favours and quickens the changes, both manure,
in animal matter, and the further changes in vegetable
matter, that are not fenfibly attended with the pro¬
duction of heat. The changes attended with heat, aie
faid to happen hy a fermentation, named from what^ is
obferved in making of ale, wine, or vinegar. Ihe
latter are aferibed to what is called putrej'aElivefermer-
tation.
“ 3. Befides moderate moiHure and heat, and that
divifion of parts which admits the air in a certain de¬
gree, circumHances which feem to be neceflary to the
production of thefe changes, Hirring, or mechanical
mixture, favours them \ and a fimilar efteCt anfes fiom
the addition of chalk, pounded limeHone, lime, rub-
bifh of old buildings, or burnt lime brought back to
its natural Hate j and alfo of allies of burnt coal, peat,
or wood, foap-leys, loot, fea-fliells, andfea-ware. Anda
on the other hand, the changes are Hopped or retarded
.by preffure or confolidation, excluding air; by much
water, efpecially when below the heat of a pool in
fummer ; by aHringents j and by cauHic fubHances, as
quicklime, acids, and pure alkalies, at leaH till their
cauHicity is mollified, at the expence of the deHruCtion
of part of the animal and vegetable matter to which
they are added.
J ‘‘ 4, Thefe
Part I.
Manures.
A G
« 4. Thefe changes are accomplifliecl by the fepara-
1 tion or decompolition of the parts or ingredients of which
the dead vegetables and animals are compofed by the
efcape of feme what of their fubftance in the form of va¬
pours or gaffes *, by the imbibing alio fomewhat from
water and from the atmofphere 5 and by the formation
of compound matters, from the reunion of parts or in¬
gredients, which had been feparated by the powers ot
the living vegetables and animals. The earlier chan¬
ges, and in general thofe which take place previous to
the dcftru&ion of the adhefion and texture of the dead
vegetables and animals, appear to be rather pernicious
than favourable to the growth of living vegetables, ex-
pofed to the direft eflect of them ; whereas the changes
fubfequent to the deHruetion of the animal and vegeta¬
ble texture promote powerfully the growth oi plants,
and, partly by their immediate efficacy on the plants
expofed to their influence, partly by the alterations they
produce in the foil, conilitute what is to be confidered
as enriching manure (l).
“ 5. It ffiould be the object of the farmer to give
his foil the full benefit of thefe latter changes, decom-
pofitions, and recompofitions, which proceed llowly,
and continue to go on for years after the manure is
lodged in the foil. Even loam or garden-mould is
ilill undergoing feme remaining changes oi the iame
fort y 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
failer than in its ordinary and more ftationary ilate,
and, in fo doing, nouriffies vegetables more abundantly,
or forms new combinations in the adjoining ioil, that
enable it to do fo.
“ It ihould alfo be the object of the farmer, to employ
the more early changes, not only to bring forward the
iubftances 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 pioper
feafons, with as little lofs as poflible, from part being
too much and part too little decompofed ; and alio to
avail himfelf of the activity of thofe changes, to reftore
to a ftate of fufficiently rapid fpontaneous decompoii-
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 Hates 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 5 et Jinium ejl aurum. On the othei
hand, by inattention to them, part of the manure is put
into the foil unprepared, that is, in a fituation where
t^ie texture of the vegetable is ftill entire ; and, its de-
compofition never having been carried far by the heat
and mixture of a fermenting mafs, proceeds in the toil
fo flowly, that, like ploughed-down ftubble, it does not
merit the name of manure. Part, again, is apt to be
K I e U L T U R E.
too much rotted, that is, much of it is too nearly ap¬
proaching to the ftate of garden-mould, whereby much
benefit is loft, by the efcape of what had been iepara-
ted during the procefs it has undergone, and the good
efleets 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, when
properly employed, are certainly moft efficacious in
converting into manure many lubftances that are other-
wife very ftationary and flow in their decompolition,
are loft to the farmer, fo that he is often reduced to
adopt dfn imperfect and little profitable mode oi culti¬
vation, from the want of the manure requisite for a
better, though fuch manure may be lying in abun¬
dance within his reach, but ufelefs from his ignorance
how to prepare it.
“ Peat-mo/s is to be found in confiderable quanti¬
ties within reach of moft farms in Scotland, particu¬
larly in thofe diftri&s 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 ffirubs, trees, heath, and other
vegetables, which, under the influence of a cold and
moift climate, and in wet lituations, 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 ol
frelh vegetables experience : But it is ftill a powerful
fuel when dried •, and, on the other hand, it requires
long expofure to the feafons, in a dry fituation, before,
without mixture, it is fit for the nouriffiing of living
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 fuffered any thing that
unfits it to be prepared for manure. Jt is no doubt
found fometimes mixed with particular mineral fub¬
ftances, that may be, for a time, pernicious to vegeta¬
tion 5 but, in general, there is no fuch admixture, and,
when it does take place, a little patience and attention
will 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 two, and
both abounding in frebli vegetables of the forts of
which mofs is chiefly compofed : Thefe are, gallic
acid, and the aftringent principle, or tan *, and, as
thefe are got the better of in freffi vegetables by the
hot fermentation to which they are fubjedt, to 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 accomplifhed with
the acid and tan of peat. Again, the powers of peat
as a fuel, and of affies 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
459
Manures.
(l) Hot fermenting dung partakes of both forts of fermentation.
460 AGRICULTURE. Pra&ice.
Manures, of manure, remain entire in peat. Here the inflam-
mable oils and carbonaceous matter which abound in
the frelli vegetable, and the latter of Avhich alio
abounds in garden-mould, remain entire : the foot and
allies, too, which are the refults of the inflammation of
each, feem to be nearly equally fertilizing •, and, in
ihort, little feems to be loll in peat but the efiefts/of
the firft fermentation in preparing the matter to un¬
dergo its future changes with the rapidity requiflte to
conllitute manure. Eelides, the foil produced from
peat-earth, by expofure for a courfe of years, feems not
to be fenfibly diflerent from that obtained from dung in
the fame way. Both are deficient in firmnefs of tex¬
ture hut are very prolific Avhen mixed with clays,
lands, and calcareous earths, in due proportion.
“ From confidering the preceding circumllances, and
from trying what fubltances operated on tan, and on
the acid found in peat-mofs, it was determined to fub-
je6t it to the influence of different forts of fermenting
dung, with due attention to the proportions ufed, and
to the effects of the different preparations •, and the
following is the direftion, which an experience of fix
crops recommends to practice.
“ Let the peat mofs, of which compoll is to be form¬
ed, be thrown out of the pit for feme weeks or months,
in order tolofe its redundant moilture. By this means,
it is rendered the lighter to carry, and lefs compact
and weighty, when made up with frefli 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
conllrudting 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 conipoll-dunghill,
and the rows of peat fhouid be near enough each other,
that workmen in making up the compoll, may be able
to throw them together by the fpade, without wheel¬
ing. In making up, let the ivorkmen 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 two fides, and above. It lliould not he railed
above 4 feet, or 4-5- '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 compoll, as they are furnilhed
with the three rows of materials, directed to be laid
down for them. They mull take care not to tread on
the compoll, or render it too compaft and, of confe-
quence, in proportion as the peat is wet, it lliould 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 j but in cold weather, a larger pro¬
portion of dung is defirable. To every 28 carts of
the compoll, when made up, it is of ufe to throw on
above it a cart-load of allies, either made from coal, Manures,
peat, or wood 5 or if thefe cannot be had, half the v—y——^
quantity of flaked lime may be ufed, the more finely
pow'dered the better. But thefe additions are nowile
effential to the general fuccefs of the compoll.
“ The dung to be ufed lliould either have been recent¬
ly made, or kept frelh by compreflion; as, by the
treading of cattle or fwine, or by carts palling over it.
And if there is little or no litter in it, a fmaller quan¬
tity will ferve, provided any fpongy vegetable matter
is added at making up the compoll, as frelli w'eeds,
the rubbilh of a Hack-yard, potato-lliaivs, fawings of
timber, &c. And as fome forts of dung, even when
frelh, are much more advanced in decompofition than
others, it is material to attend to this 5 for a much
lefs proportion of fuch dung, as is lefs advanced, will
ferve for the compoll, provided care is taken to keep
the mafs fuffieiently open, either by a mixture of the
above-mentioned fubllances, or, if thefe are wanting,
by adding the mofs piece-meal, that is, firll 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 character, of great-
ell 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 } and to a certain extent,
alfo, as to that which is collefted from totvns, and
made by animals that feed on grains, refufe of dillil-
leries, &c.
“ The compoll, 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
looner 5 in winter, not perhaps for many weeks, if the
cold is fevere. It always, howe'er, has been found to
come on at lail *, and in fummer it fometimes rifes f©
high as to he mifehievous, by confuming the materi¬
als, (fire-fanging). In that feafon, a Hick fiiould be
kept in it in different parts, to pull out and feel nowr
and then : for if it approaches to blood-heat, it lliould
either be watered,, or turned over ; and on fuch an oc-
cafion, advantage may be taken to mix it with a little
frelh mofs. The heat fubfides after a time, and with
great variety according to the weather, the dung, and
the perfedtion of the making up of the compoff } which
then Ihould be allowed to remain untouched, till with¬
in three weeks of ufing, when it fliould be turned over,
upfide down, and outfide in, and all lumps broken:
then it comes into a fecond heat ; but foon cools, and
fliould be taken out for ufe. In this Hate, 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; and it will be
found, in a courfe of cropping, fully to Hand the com-
parifon.
“ The addition recommended of aflies or lime, is
thought to favour the general perfection of the prepa¬
ration, and to haflen the fecond heat. The lime laid
on above the dunghill, as directed, is rendered mild by
the vapours that efcape during the firfl heat.
“ Compofl, made up before January, has hitherto
been
(m) This alludes to the propriety, in clay lands, of fuiting the dunghill to the breadth of a Angle ridgey free of
each furrow.
Part I.
A G R I C U
Manures, been In goocT order For tKe fpring-crops ; but this may
‘ not happen in a long froft. In fummer, it is ready in
eight or ten weeks} and if there is an anxiety to have
it loon prepaTred, the addition of allies, 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 confiderably.
“ Lime has been mixed previoufly with the peat;
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 Alliance, viz. on
a bit of fallow fown with wheat, it was manifellly per¬
nicious. Neither with 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-drefliqg. Something ol the lame lort
happens with foap-fuds, and water of common fewers,
&c. Lime-water was not found to unite with the tan
in peat, nor was urine (n). Peat made with fea-
weeds gets into heat, and the peat feems to undergo
the fame change as when prepared with dung. But
the effect of this preparation on crops has not yet been
experienced. Peat has alfo been expofed to the fumes
of a putrefying carcafe. In one inllance 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 adion of the living principle of turnips
in growing, was not found entitled, when ufed as a
top-drefling, to the character ol manure. It had been
made up in the view of preferring the turnips during
froll. But the turnips Iprung, and the mafs heated.
The turnips were taken out, and the peat afterwards
ufed as a top-drefling. Peat is now under trial, aspre¬
paring with turnips and frefli weeds, in fermentation,
without the admixture of any animalized matters.
“ It is faid that dry peat-earth is ufed as a manure
in fome parts of England. But unlefs in chalky loils,
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-allies were
found to raife turnips, but to have no fenfible eftedt on
the next crop.
“ The quantity of the compoll ufed per acre, has va¬
ried confiderably, according to the richnefs of the foil
manured, and the condition in which it is at manuring,
and the feafon m which the manure is applied, rrom
23 to 3 5 cart-load, by two horfes each, is about what
lias been given} the lefler to fallows and ground in
L T U It E. 4®r
good tilth, and the larger when to be ploughed in with Manures,
the fward of poor land 5 and the intermediate quantities, "v '
with tares, peafe, potatoes, &c.; and it has in moft
cafes undergone comparative trials with diflerent 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 t he reception of manure. It ihould be clean, pret¬
ty dry at the application, and well mixed and friable.
Much of the manure applied is othcrwife loll, whether
lime, dung, or compoll. The additional quantities
recommended when the land is coarle, is jull lo much
that would have been laved by better' cultivation.
Common farmers are little aware of this. I hey might
fave at leall half their lime, did they lay it on in pow¬
der (o), and on fallows, only harrowing it, and let¬
ting it wait for a fliower before it is ploughed in 5 and
perhaps not much lefs of their dung. It is aflonifliing
what a vilible ell eel is produced on land properly mix¬
ed by a fallow, from the addition of only a very fmall
quantity of properly prepared dung or compoll. Both
its texture and colour undergo a very fenlible change,
which cannot be accounted for, except from the extri¬
cation of fubllances from the decompofing manure,
(probably from its fpontaneous tendency to decompofe
being aided by the chemical aftion of various matters
in a foil fo prepared) : And from thefe fubllances ope¬
rating in the foil, numberlefs compofitions and decom-
poiitions, or tendencies to them, take place, from the
various eledive attradions of the different parts of
which it is compofed. It is obvious, that an immenfe-
ly greater proportion of manure mull be required to
produce even a little of this, where the foil is coarfe or
lumpy, or confolidated by v^etnefs, than when put into
a Atuation favourable to the reciprocal adion of the
various fubllances contained in it, a variety and an ad¬
mixture formed by nature m perfedion in the more fa¬
voured foils, (as in the bottom of drained lakes, haughs,
Delta ground), and which it is the bufinefs of the Ikilful
and indullrious farmer to form or make compenlation
for the want of, by judicious manuring, where nature
has been lefs bountiful ol her gifts.
“It was meant to have given a detailed account of
many ol the experiments that have been made, whether
in Agriculture or Chemillry. But as thele are Hill
going on, and the pradical refults have attraded fome
attention, and prompted imitation by neighbours and
acquaintance, fo that manufcript diredions have been
often applied for and obtained, it has been preler-
red to print, in the mean time, this fhort account
of the bufinefs, diverted of fcientiflc language, and lull¬
ed to the perufal of any pradical hufbandman. It
was indeed felt as a degree of wrong, not to take fome
Heps to make it public, as loon as the certainty of
fuccefs warranted. And both the power and the dura¬
tion
(N) Tan combines with animal gelly, and lofes its aftnngency. The annualized matter, extricated m Rent¬
ing dung, has probably this effed on the tan in peat, as well as to render the acid innocent. As vegetable matters
feem in general to contain the ingredients of, and often fomewhat flmilar to, animal gluten, it is poflible that the
fermentation of frefli vegetables alone may prove fufficient to prepare the peat to rot in the foil expedition!ly, but
it is certainlv dedrable to ufe alfo animalized matter for this purpofe.
(o) This they may, though driven in winter, and drowned in the heaps by rains. They have only to turn u
over with a very fniall additional quantity ol new burnt fliells when they come to u e 1 .
Z
462
AGRICULTURE.
Practice»
Manures.
475
Of the more
common
kinds of
manure.
476
Manures
ufed in
Norfolk.
tion of tlie manure have now Hood the teft of a great
variety of trials on a confiderable extent of ground,
and of much diverfity of foil, continued without in-
termiffion during the laft fix years. Hitherto it has
been found equal, and even preferable, to common
farm-yard dung, for the firft threer'years, and decidedly
to furpafs it afterwards. It has been conjectured,
from the appearance and effects of the compoft, that
its parts are lefs volatile and foluble than thofe of
dung y but that it yields to the crop what is re-
quiiite, by the aftion of the living fibres of vegetables ;
and in this way waftes llower, and lafts longer. What¬
ever be in this, nothing has appeared more remarkable,
than its fuperiority in maintaining (for four and five
years) frefli and nourifhing the pafture of thin clays,
that had been laid down with it, and in making them
yield well wdien again ploughed, and that without any
top-dreffing, 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 ftunt-
ed; and hence fuch 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 practifed,
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 va¬
luable.
“ Let it be obferved, that the object in making up
the compoft is to form as large a hot-bed as the quanti¬
ty of dung employed admits of, and then to furround it
on all fides fo as to have the whole benefit of the
heat and effluvia. Peat, as dry as gax-den-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. Workmen
muft begin with ufing layersbut, when accuftomed 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 j and jhey 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 ufed in this country, their efficacy is well known ;
the only difficulty is to procui'e 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-yake, malt-coombs, the refufe of llaughter-houfes,
&c. all are excellent where thev can be got : but the
fituations 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 fanev of the
hufbandman.
In all countries where chalk, marl, or lime are to 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 Marfliall tells us, that the qua- Manures.
Hty of dung is attended to with greater precifion than in
moft other diftrifts. Town-muck, as it is called, is held
in moft eftimation; and the lax-ge towns Norwich and
^ armouth fupply the neighbouring countxy. As Yar¬
mouth, however, is a maritime place, and otherwife in
a manner furrounded by maidhes, ftraw is of courfe a
fcarce and dear article ; whence, inftead of littering
their horfes with it, they ufe land. As the bed becomes
foiled or wet, freffl land 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 heft ;
that of fatting cattle the next; while the dung of lean
cattle, particularly of coxvs, 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 ftock.—Compofts
of dung with maid or earth ax-e vexy generally ufed.
In the midland counties of England, Mr Marftxall In the mid-
informs us, the cores of horns cruflxed in a mill have di-
been ufed as a manure ; though he knows not witb "uc‘'
what fuccefs. His only objection is the difficulty of
reducing them to powder. Dung is extremely dear
in Norfolk j half a guinea being commonly given for
a waggon-load driven by five horfes. Great quantities
of lime and maid are found in this diftrict. With re¬
gard to the method of raifing dung in general, peidiaps
the obfervations of Mr Marfliall upon the management
of the Yorkflxire farmers may be equally fatisfactory
with any thing that has yet been publiflied on the fub-
jeft- . 478
“ The general practice (fays he) is to pile the Mr Mar-
dung on the higheft part of the yard; or, which is thall’s •li¬
ft ill lefs judicious, to let it lie flattered about on the rc^lons ^
fide of a Hope, as it were, for the purpofe of diffipating^1”*’
its virtues. The urine which does not mix with the
dung is almoft invariably led off the neai’eft way to the
common fewer, as if it were thought a nuifance 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 fti'aw,
will difeharge, even in dry weather, fome of its more
fluid pai*ticles; and in rainy weather, is, notwithftand-
ing the ftraw, liable to be waffled away if expofed on a
rifing ground. But how much more liable to wafte is
a mixture of dung and urine, with barely a fufficiency
of ftraw to keep them together ! In dry weather the na¬
tural oozing is confiderable; and in a wet flafon every
fflower of rain waflies 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 gx-afs, and has gene¬
rally a more vifible effe6t than the dung itfllf. Under
this management the arable land would have the felf-
fame dung it now has ; while the grafs-land w-ould
have an annual fupply of x'iches, which now run to wafte
in the fewers and rivulets. But befoi’e a dung-yard
can xvith propriety be bottomed with mould, the bot¬
tom
Part I.
Manures. ^oni t^ie yai‘^ itl’elf ought to be properly formed,
u——y i. ' A part of it fituated conveniently for carriages to come
at, and low enough to receive the entire drainings of
the liable, cattle-flails, and hog-llies, lliould be hol¬
lowed out in the manner of an artificial drinking-pool,
with a rim fomewhat riling, 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 fhovellings of roads, the maiden earth
of lanes and walle corners, the coping of Hone-quar¬
ries, &c. &c. leaving the fnrface fomewhat dilhed J
and within this dilli let the dung-pile, carefully keep¬
ing up a rim of mould round the bale of the pile higher
than the adjoining furface of the yard •, equally to pre¬
vent extraneous matter from finding its way into the re-
fervoirs, and to prevent the efcape of that which falls
4y9 within its circuit.”
Of lime as The ufe of lime as a manure, was formerly men-
a manure, tioned *, and alfo the principle upon which its value de-
S-^S Pen^s* It ought to be ufed not for the purpofe of
' giving food to the plants, but as a llimulant, tending
to bring the foil into activity, 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 exhaulled by repeated
8 cropping, and that are in a clean Hate.
Its opera- However people may differ in other particulars, all
tion. agree, that the operation of lime depends on its inti¬
mate mixture with the foil ; and therefore that the pro¬
per time of applying it, is when it is perfedlly powder¬
ed, and the foil at the fame time in the higheil degree
of pulverization. Lime of itfelf is abfolutely barren ;
and yet it enriches a barren foil. Neither ot the two
produces any good effedt without the other} and con-
fequently, the more intimately they are mixed, the ef-
fedt muff 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 moff effedtually into poivder.
Lime left to be flaked by a moiff 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} and it is
commonly thrown into a heap without cover, truffing
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 lime with iod,
fo as to defend it from rain. One, however, fliould
avoid as much as poflible the bringing home lime be¬
fore the ground be readv for it. W here allowed to
lie long in a heap, there are two bad confequences:
Hrff, lime attracts moiffure, even though well covered,
and runs into clots, which prevents an intimate mix¬
ture ; and, next, we know that burnt limellone, whe¬
ther in fhells or in powder, returns gradually into
its original Hate of limeffone 5 and upon thqt account
' alfo, is lefs capable of being mixed with the foil. And
this is verified by a fact, that, after lying long, it is fo
hard bound together as to require a pick to feparate the
parts.
For the fame reafon, it is a bad practice, though
(A
463
common, to let fpread lime lie on the furface all win- Manures,
ter. The bad effects above mentioned take place here '■ —v ■■ ’
in part: and there is another, that rain wafhes the
lime down to the furrows, and in a hanging field car¬
ries the whole away. 481
As the particles of powdered lime are both fmall and Time of
heavy, they quickly fink to the bottom of the furrow, lmunS-
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 flowing, or along with the feed. In
this manner of application, there being no occafion to
move it till the ground be Hirred for a newr crop, it
has time to incorporate with the foil, and does not rea¬
dily feparate from it. Thus, if turnip-feed is to be
flown broad-caff, the lime ought to be laid on imme¬
diately before flowing, 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 refpedt to wheat, the lime ought to be
fpread immediately before feed-furrowing. If fpread
more early, before the ground be lufficiently 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 ffrong
foil, it finks' not fo readily to the bottom, and there¬
fore, before flawing the barley, the lime ought to be
mixed with the foil by a brake. here moor is lum-
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 iufficient time
to incorporate with the foil before the land be ftirred
again. 4s?
The quantity to be laid on depends on the nature of Quantity,
the foil. Upon a ffrong ioil, ’jo or 80 bolls ot iliells
are not more than fufficient, reckoning four fmall firlots
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 toils j and upon the thin or gra¬
velly, between 39 and 40. It is notfafe to lay a much
greater quantity on inch foils. 483
It is common to lime a pafture-field immediately Limingpaf-
before ploughing. This is an unfate practice} it is ture-fields.
thrown to the bottom of the furroiv, 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 leatl, or two, before ploughing. It is walked
in by rain among the roots of the plants, and has time
to incorporate wfith the foil. 4S4
Limeffone beat fmall makes an excellent manure ; Beat lime-
and fupplies the want of powdered lime where there is ftone.
no fuel to burn the limeffone. Limeftone beat imall
has not hitherto been much ufed as a manure •, and the
proportion between it and powdered lime has not been
afcertained. What follows may give flome light. Three
pounds of raw lime is by burning reduced to two
pounds of Ihell-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 ftiell-
lime contain as much calcareous earth as three pounds
of raw limeftone. Shell-lime of the bell quality, when
flaked w'ith water, will meafure out to thrice the quan¬
tity. But as limeftone loles none of its bulk by being
burnt into fhells, it follows that three bufliels of raw
limeftone contain as much calcareous earth as fix bu¬
fliels of powdered lime } and confequently, if powdered
lime *
AGRICULTURE.
464
Manures.
4s 5
Of fhcll-
marl.
A G R I C U
lime poffeiTs not fome virtue above raw limeftone, three
hulhels of the latter beat fmall lliould equal as a manure
lix bufliels of the former.
Shell-marl, as a manure, is managed in every refpect
like powdered lime } with this only difference, that a
fifth or a fourth part more in meafure ought to be given.
The reafon is, that fhell-marl is lefs weighty than lime ‘7
and that a boll of it contains lefs calcareous earth, which
4S6 is the fructifying part of both.
Of clay and Clay and llone marls, with refpect to hufbandry, are
itone marls, the fame, though in appearance different.
The goodnefs of marl depends on the quantity of cal¬
careous earth in it: which has been known 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
moft fubftantial of all manures ; becaufe it improves the
weakeft ground to equal the bell borough-acres. The
low part of Berwicklhire, termed t/ie Merfe, 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 ;
and it ought to lie fmoothed with the brake and har¬
row, in order that the marl may be equally fpread.
Marl is a follil on which no vegetable will grow •, its
eflicacy depends, like that of lime, on its pulverization,
and intimate mixture with the foil. Towards the for¬
mer, alternate drought and moifture contribute great¬
ly, as alfo frolt. Therefore, after being evenly fpread,
it ought to lie on the furface all winter. In the month
of Odober it may be roufed with a brake ; which will
bring to the furface, and expofe to the air and froll, all
the hard parts, and mix with the foil all that is pow¬
dered. In that refped it differs widely from dung and
lime, Avhich ought ufually to be ploughed into the ground
without delay. Oats is a hardy grain, which will an-
fwer for height the hill 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 with an ebb furrow immedi¬
ately before lowing, and braked thoroughly. It is tick-
lilh to make wheat the fir ft, crop: if fown before winter,
froft Iwells the marl, and is apt to throw the feed out of
the ground ; if fown in fpring, it will fuffer more than
oats by want of due mixture.
Summer is the proper feafon for marling; becaufe in
that feafon the marl, being dry, is not only lighter, but
is ealilv reduced to powder. Froft, however, is not im¬
proper for marling, efpecially as in froft there is little
opportunity for any other work.
Marl is a heavy body, and finks to the bottom of the
furrow, if indifcreetly ploughed. Therefore the firft
crop fliould always have an ebb furrow. During the
groAving of that crop, the marl has time to incorporate
with the foil, and to become a part of it 5 after which
it does not readily feparate.
Of late a neAV manure has been introduced into fome
L T U R E.
Pra&ice.
487
Of gypfum
as a ma-
aure.
countries. This is gypfum, Avhich is lime united Avith
fulphuric acid. In the eighth volume of the Annals
of Agriculture We are informed, that it is commonly
ufed as a manure in Switzerland. In the 10th volume
of the fame Avork, Sir Richard Sutton gives fome ac¬
count of an experiment made with it on his eftate *, but
in fuch an inaccurate manner, that nothing could be
determined. “ The appearance in general (fays he), I
think, Avas rather againft the benefit of the plafter.
though not decidedly fo.” He tells us, that its virtues Manures.
Avere a fubject of debate in Germany. In America this
fubftance feems to have met Avith more fuccefs than in
any other country. In the fifth volume of Bath Pa¬
pers, Mr Kirkpatrick of the ille of Wight, who had
himfelf vifited North America, informs us, that it is
much ufed in the United States, on account of its cheap-
nefs and efficacy j though, from what is there Hated, wre
mull undoubtedly be led to fuppofe, that its ejficacy mull
be very great before it can be entitled to the praife of
cheapncj's. In the firft place, it is brought from the hills
in the neighbourhood of Paris to Havre de Grace, and
from thence exported to America j which of itlell mull
occafion a coniiderable expence, though the plafter were
originally given gratis. In the next place it mull be
powdered in a llamping mill, and the finer it is poAvder-
ed fo much the better. In the third place, it mull be
Jbwn over the ground to be manured with it. The
quantity for grafs is fix bufhels to an acre. It ought
to be foAvn on dry ground in a Avet day j and its efficacy
is faid to lall from feven to twelve years. It operates
entirely as a top-dreffing.
In the 10th volume of the Annals of Agriculture, we
have fome extra&s from a treatife by Mr PoavcI, prefi-
dent of the Philadelphia Society for encouraging Agri¬
culture, upon the i'ubject of gypfum as a manure } of
the efficacy of Avhich he gives tlie following inllances.
1. In Odober 1786, plafter of Paris was foAvn in a
rainy day upon wheat Hubble without any prev ious cul¬
ture. The crop of wheat had Icarce been Avorth reap¬
ing, and no kind of grafs feed had been ioAvn upon the
ground *, neverthelefs, in the month of June it Avas co¬
vered Avith a thick mat of white clover, clean and even,
from fix to eight inches in height. A piece of ground
adjoining to this white clover was alfo foAvn with gyp¬
fum, and exhibited a fine appearance of Avhite and red
clover mixed Avith Ipcar-grals. Some Avet ground Ioavu
at the fame time was not in the leall improved.—1 his
anecdote refts entirely on the veracity of an anonymous
fanner. 2. Eight buftiels of plafter of Paris fpread
upon tAvo acres and a half of Avheat Hubble ground,
which the fpring before had been foAved with about
tAvo pounds of red clover-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 effects of the plafter upon arable as well as grafs
land.
Other accounts to the fame purpofe have been puh-
liflied, though it mull alfo be remarked, that various
perfons Avho have made trial of this manure, declare
themfelves diffatisfied with it ; but it does not appear
that it has hitherto been at all tried in this part of the
illand.
When a foil abounds too much in particles of a par¬
ticular kind, it has been found expedient to mix it Avith
earth of a different character. Hence we are informed
in the I2th volume of the Annals of Agriculture, that ^
in Cornwall, large quantities of fea-fand are annually offea-fand
conveyed to the land, and laid upon the foil j a prac- as a ma¬
lice Avhich 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 vieAV, and alfo to fave
fuel, a practice is faid to exift in the Netherlands, of
Hi
4$*
Fart I.
Prill or
Horfe-
lioeing
Huftrimdry.
489
Idvanta-
;cs aferibed
to horfe-
aociug.
490.
•Icthod of
owing in
be drill
itilbandry.
A fc Tf I C U L T U R E. 46$
baking up tbe ilrofs or culm of coal, and alfo peat-
earth, with clay, into lumps or bricks, which when
dried in the air, make excellent fuel, and alfo aflbrd
an immenfe quantity of valuable allies 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
hnlbandry may be reduced to two, viz. the promoting
the growth of plants by hoeing, and the laving of feed j
both of which are equally profitable to the farmer.
The advantages of tillage before towing have already
been pointed out. In this place we muft confine our-
felves to the utility of tillage after lowing. This kind
of tillage is moil generally known by the name of horfe-
hoeing.
Land foWed with wheat, however well it may be cul¬
tivated in autumn, finks in the winter j the particles get
nearer together, and the weeds rife j fo that in fpring,
the land is nearly in the fame iituation as if it never had
been ploughed. 'I bis, however, is tbe feafon when it
lliouid branch and grow with moll vigour 5 and confe-
quently Hands moil in need of ploughing or hoeing, to
deftroy the weeds, to fupply the roots with frefli earth,
and, by dividing anewr the particles of the foil, to allow
tbe roots to extend and collect nourilhment.
It is well known, that, in gardens, plants grow with
double vigour after being hoed or tranfplanted. If
plants growing in arable land could be managed with
( ale and fafety in this manner, it is natural to expert,
that their growth w'ould be promoted accordingly. Ex¬
perience fliows, that this is not only practicable, but at¬
tended with many advantages.
In the operation of hoeing wheat, though fome of
the roots be moved or broken, the plants receive no
injury j for this very circumftance makes them fend
forth a greater number of roots than formerly, which
enlarge their pafture, and Confequently augment their
growth.
Sickly wheat has often recovered its vigour after a
good hoeing, efpecially Avhen performed in weather not
very hot or dry.
Wheat, and fuch grain as is fown before winter, re¬
quire hoeing more than oats, barley, or other grain
fown in the fpring 5 for, if tbe 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 practice 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 hulbandry that has been chiefly objedied to j 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 will foon be removed,
when it is confidered, that in the bell land cultivated
in the common method, and fown very thick, each
feed produces but one or two ears 5 that, in the fame
land fown thinner, every feed produces two or three
ears-, and that a Angle feed fometimes produces 18 or
ears.
Vol. I. Part II.
In the common method, as there ai’e many more j)rin 0r
plants than can find fufficient nourifhment, and as it is Horfe-
impoffible to aflill them by hoeing, numbers die before hoeing
thev attain maturity j the greatell part remain lickly Iluibanihy
and drooping j 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, aflifted by hoeing, they become fo vigorous as
to equal in their production the numerous but lickly
plants cultivated in the common method.
Of Hoeing.
The new hulbandry is abfelutely impracticable in
lands that are not eafily ploughed. Attempting to cul¬
tivate land according to this hulbandry, without attend¬
ing to this circumftance, that it is practicable in no land
excepting fuch as has already been brought into good
tilth by the old method, has gone far to make it con¬
temptible 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 well ploughed and harrowed,
it muft be divided into rows, at the diftance of 30 inches
from one another. On tbe fides of each of tbefe rows,
two rows of wheat muft be fowed fix inches diftant from
each other. By this means there will be an interval of
two feet wide betwixt the rows, and every plant will
have room enough to extend its roots, and to fupply it
with food. The intervals will likewife be fufficient for
allowing tbe earth to be hoed or tilled without injuring
the plants in the rows. - 4pi
The firit hoeing, which fliould be given before the The differ-
winter, is intended to drain away the wet, and to dif- enthoeing*
pole the earth to be mellowed by the frofts. Thefe two
ends will be anfwered by drawing two fmall furrows at
a little diftance from the rows, and throwing the earth
taken from the furrows into the middle of the intervals.
This firft hoeing lliouM be given when the wheat is in
leaf.
The fecond hoeing, which is intended to make the
plants branch, fliould be given after the hard frofts are
over. To do this with advantage, after ftirring the
earth a little near the rows, the earth which was thrown
into the middle of the intervals lliouid be turned back
into the furrows. This earth, having been mellowed
by the winter, fupplies the plants with excellent food,
and makes the roots extend.
The third hoeing, which is intended to invigorate
the ftalk, fliould be given when the ears of the corn
begin to fhow themfelves. This hoeing may, however,
be very flight.
But the laft hoeing is of the greateft importance, as
it enlarges the grain, and makes the ears fill at their
extremities. This hoeing fliould he given when the
wheat is in bloom j a furrow muft be drawn in the
middle of the interval, and the earth thrown to the
right and left on the foot of the plants. This fupports
the plants, prevents them from being laid, and prepare#
the ground for the next fowing, as the feed is then to be
put in the middle of the ground that formed the in¬
tervals.
The heft feafon for hoeing is two or three days af¬
ter rain, or fo foon after rain as the foil will quit the
inftrument in hoeing. Light dry foils may be hoed al-
moft at any time, but this is far from being the cafe with
3 N llron^
466 A G R 1 C U
Drill or ftrong clay foils ; tly; feafon for hoeing fucli is fre-
Horfe- quently Ihort and precarious ; every opportunity there-
hoeing fore fhould be carefully watched, and eagerly embra-
‘ 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 fuperfiuous wet, and the time of their
caking by drought, in which they are perfectly ma¬
nageable. This is the juncture for hoeing } and fo
much land as fhall be thus feafonably hoed, will not
cake or cruft upon the furface, as it otherwife ■would
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 lliall quit the inftrument, and as of¬
ten as necelfary •, by which time the growing crop will
begin to cover the ground, fo as to act as a fereen to
the furface of the land againft the intenfe heat of the
fun, and thereby prevent, in a great meafure, the bad
effe6ts of the foil’s caking in dry weather.
By this fuccclfive tillage, or hoeing, good crops will
be obtained, provided the weather is not very unfavour¬
able.
But as ftrong vigorous plants are long before they
arrive at maturity, corn raifed 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 ‘y and this dung
muft be covered with the earth that was before thrown
towards the rows of wheat. But, if the land does not
require mending, the deep furrow is filled without any
dung. This operation ftiould be performed immediate¬
ly after harveft, that there may be time to give the
land a flight ftirring before the rows are fowed ; which
fhould 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 necelfary, 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 tlie Instruments commonly ufed in
the New Husbandry.
Tnftruments Fig. I. is a marking plough. The principal ufe of
deferibed, this plough is to ftraight and regulate the ridges. The
Plate X. |jj.ft line is traced by the eye, by means of three poles,
placed in a ftraight line. The plough draws the firft
furrow in the direction of this line j and at the fame
time, with tfie tooth A, fixed in the block of wood
near the end of the crofs-pole or Aider BB, marks the
breadth of the ridge at the diftance intended. The
ploughman next traces the next line or rutt made by
the tooth, and draws 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
up the bottom of land when greatly exhaufted. By its
eonftru&ion, the width and depth of the furrows can
be regulated to a greater certainty than by any other
hitherto known in this country. Its appearance is
heavy : but two horfes are fufficient to plough with it
in ordinary free land ; and only four are neceffary in
L T U R E. Practice.
the ftiffeft clay-foils. The plough is likewife eafily Drill or
held and tempered. A, is the fword fixed in the fizers Hori'e-
B, which runs through a mortoife E, at the end of ^ '
tl^e beam C, and regulates the depth of the furrow <
by raifing or deprefling the beam ; it is fixed by putting
the pin D through the beam and fword, and is move-
able at E.
Fig. 3. is a jointed brake-harrow with 24 teeth, Ilia- Plate 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 j which is done by preffing it down by
the handles where the ridge is high, and raifing it up
when low.
Fig. 4. is an angular weeding harrow, which may
follow the brake when necelfary. The feven hindmoft
teeth ftiould Hand at a more acute angle than the reft,
in order to collect the weeds, which 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 ftiafts. This harrow
is ufed for covering the feed in the drills, the horfe go ¬
ing in the furrow.
Fig. 6. is a drill-plough, conftru£ted 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 leed 5 B, circular
boxes for receiving the feed from the happer} CC, two
fquare boxes ■which receive the feed from imall holes iir
the circular boxes, as they turn round j and, laft of all,
the feed is dropped into the drills through holes in the
fquare boxes, beljind the coulters D. I he cylinder E
follows, which, together with the wheel F, regulates
the depth of the coulters and covers the feed ; the har-
x'ow 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 } and,
I, is a ketch which holds the rungs, and prevents the
boxes from turning, and lofing 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 ol the plants, and
at the fame time the weeds are deftroyed. A A the
mouldboards, which may be raifed or deprefled at plea¬
fure, 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 incloiures of light
grounds, is a fort of ftrong plough rake, with four
large teeth at a, a, b, b, a little incurvated. The di¬
ftance from a to a, 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 fufficient room for
the hole-plough to move in. To the piece of timber
c c, forming the head of the rake, are fixed the handles
(I, and the beam e to which the horie is faftened. W hen
this inftrument is drawn over a piece of land made
thoroughly fine, and the man who holds it bears upon
the handles, four furrows, f g, h, z, will be formed, at
the diftances determined by the conftrudion of the in¬
ftrument. Thefe diftances may be accurately preferr¬
ed, provided that the teeth a a return when the plough-
maru
Part I. AGRICULTURE. 467
Drill or nian conies back, after having ploughed one turn in
Hotfe- two of the channels formed before, marked bb: thus
hoeing au thc furrows in the field will be traced with the fame
. *u T regularity. When the ground is thus formed into drills,
the peafe may be fcattered by a lingle motion of the hand
at a certain diftance from one another into the channels,
and then covered with the flat part of a hand-rake, and
prefl’ed down gently. This inftrument is fo fimple, that
any workman may eafily make or repair it.
Plate XI 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 lower part of the feed-box, from whence it is
taken up by cups or ladles applied to the cylinder
D, and dropped into the funnel E, and conveyed
thereby into the furrow or drill made in the land
by 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 A/?. L, a Hiding
lever, w-ith a weight upon it, by means of which the
depth of the furrows or drills, and confequently the
depth that the grain or feed will be de poll ted in the
land, may be eafily afeertained. M, a ferew 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 ftapples and ferew nuts at n n, by which
many ufeful purpofes are anfw-ered, 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 ; in which cafe, the feed-box, the ladle cylin¬
der, the coulters, the funnels, and harrows, are all taken
away.
The fide view of the machine is reprefented, for the
fake of perfpicuity, with one feed-box only, one coul¬
ter, one funnel, one harrow, &c. whereas a complete
machine is furnifhed with five coulters, five harrows,
feven funnels, a feed-box in eight partitions, &c. w'ith
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 let¬
ting or planting all forts of grain or feeds, even carrot-
feed, to exactnefs, after the rate of from eight to ten
chain acres per day, with one man, a boy, and two
horfes. They depolite the grain or feed in any given
quantity, from one peck to three bufhels 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 row's at the diftance of
twelve, fixteen, and twenty-four inches, or any other
diftance. They are equally ufeful on all lands, are du¬
rable, eafy to manage, and by no means fubjeft to be
put out of repair.
The ladle cylinder D is furnilhed with cups or la¬
dles of four different fizes for different forts of grain Drill or
or feeds, which may be diftinguiflied by the numbers Horfe-
I, 2, 3, 4.—N° I. (the fmalleft fize) is calculated for hoeing
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, flax, &c. and wall low
fomething more than one buihel per acre. N° 3. for
barley 5 and will fow one bufliel and a half per acre.
N° 4. for beans, oats, peafe, vetches, &c. and will fow
two bufhels per acre.
Notwithftanding the above fpecified quantities oi
grain or feeds, a greater or lefs quantity of each may
be fown at pleafure, by Hopping up with a little clay
or by adding a few ladles to each refpective box. The
grain or feeds intended to be fown, muft be put in thole,
boxes, to which the cups or ladles as above deferibed
refpeftively 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 lowing beans, oats, peafe, &c. with a five-coul¬
ter machine, four large ladles muft occalionally be ap¬
plied at equal diftances round thofe parts of the cy¬
linder which fubtend the tw-o end boxes. And for
flowing barley, eight large ones muft be applied as a-
bove ; or four ladles, N° 2. to each of the wheat boxes.
Thefe additional ladles are fixed on the cylinder with
nails, or taken oft’, in a few minutes j but for lowing
with a four-coulter machine, the above alterations are
not neceffary.
The funnels are applied to their refpedlive places by
correfponding numbers. Care Ihould be taken, that
the points of the funnels Hand diredlty 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 refpeCtive places.
The machine being thus put together, which is rea¬
dily and expeditiouily done, as no leparate 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 refpedtive boxes, the land alfo being pre-
vioufly ploughed and harrowed once or fo in a place to
level the furface 3 but if the land be very rough, a rol¬
ler will heft 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 3 which being done, the driver
fliould walk down the furrow or edge of the land, and
having hold of the laft horfle’s head with his hand, ho
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 fliould keep his arm till he comes
to the end of the land 3 where having turned round,
he muft come to the other fide of his horfes, and walk¬
ing upon the laft outfide drill, having hold of the horfle’s .
head with his hand as before, he will readily keep the
machine in fuch a direftion, as will ftrike the lucceed-
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 fliould 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 3 and at the end of the land, he inuft ap-
3 N 2 ply
468 A G R I C U
Drill or ply Ins right hand to the middle of the rail between
florfc- the handles, by which he will keep the coulters in the
hoeing gV0Und, while he is lifting up the lever H with his lelt
Iluibandry., |ianfg to prevent tlie 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 ufmg the machine, it
conlills in driving it llraight. As to the perfon who
attends the machine, he cannot poffibly commit any er¬
rors, except fuch as are wilful, particularly as he lees
at one* view the whole procefs of the bufinefs, 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 j 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 bis hand, as the machine goes along, to the lever
c. The lower boxes B fhould 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 a diftance from the ends as the feed fhould
be depofited in the ground (viz. about two inches for
wheat, and from two to three for fpring corn), the per¬
fon that attends the machine will be better able to al-
certain the depth the feed fhould be depofited in the
drills, by obferving, as the machine goes along, whe¬
ther the chalk lines are above or beloiv 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 j if below, the lever L and weight
muff be reverfed, which will prevent their finking too
deep.
In different parts of the kingdom, lands or ridges
are of different lizes ; 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 confifling of fo many
feet wide from outlide to outfide, as the machine con¬
tains coulters, when fixed at twelve inches diftance, or
twice or three times the number, &c. are bell calcula¬
ted for the machine. In wet foils or ftrong clays,
lands or ridges of the width of the machine, and in dry
foils, of twice the width, are recommended. For low¬
ing of narrow high-ridged lands, the outlide coulters
fhould 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 fhould 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 ma¬
chine, fhould be ploughed a deep llrong 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 j and when
fown, if any of the feed appears iu the drills uncovered
L TURK. . Practice.
by reafon of the lliff textui’e of the foil, or toughnefs of Drill or
the roots, a light harrow may be taken over the land, Horfe-
once in a place, which will effectually cover the feed,
without difplacing it all in the drills. For fowintr leys.. 1 ^ j
a eonliderable weight mufl be applied to the lever L, to
force the coulters into the ground j and a fet of wrought-
iron coulters, well Heeled, and made lharp at the front
edge and bottom, are recommended ; they will pervade
the foil more readily, eonfequently require lefs draught,
and expedite bufinefs more than adequate to the addi¬
tional expence.
For every half acre of land intended to be fown by
the machine with the feed of that very valuable root,
carrot, one bulhel of faw-duft, and one pound of car¬
rot-feed, fhould be provided 5 the faw dull fhould be
made dry, and fifted to take out all the lumps and
chips, and divided into eight equal parts or heaps 5 the
carrot-feed fhould like wife be dried, and rvell rubbed
between the hands, to {hake off the beards, fo that
it may feparatc readily 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-duft, and fo on,
till all the parts of carrot-feed and faw-duft are v'ell
mixed and incorporated together 5 in which ftate it
may be fown very regularly in drills at twelve inches
diftance, by the cups or ladles N° 2. Carrot-feed re~
fembling faw-duft very much in its fize, roughnefs,
weight, adhefion, &c. rvill remain mixed as above du¬
ring the fowing 5 a ladleful of faw-duft will, upon an
average, contain three or four carrot-feeds, by which
means the carrot-feed cannot be otberwife than regular
in the drills. In attempting to depolite fmall feeds
near the furface, it may fo happen that fome of the
feeds may not be covered with foil: 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 always been found troublefome, fometimes
impracticable, to low any kind of grain or feeds (even
broad-call) in a high wind. This inconvenience is en¬
tirely obviated by placing a fereen of any kind of cloth,
or a lack, fupported by two uprights nailed to the fides
of the machine, behind the funnels, which will prevent
the grain or feed being blown out of its diredion in
falling from the ladles into the funnels. Small pipes of
tin may alfo be put on to the ends of the funnels, to
convey the grain or feed lo near the furface oi the land,
that the highell wind lliall not he able to interrupt its
defeent into the drills.
Befpeding the uie of the machine, it is frequently-
remarked by iome people not converfant with the pro¬
perties of matter and motion, that the foil Avill dole
after the coulters, before the feed is admitted into the
drills. Whereas the very contrary is the cale 5 for the
velocity of the coulters in palling through the foil, is
fo much greater than the velocity with which the foil
clofes up the drills by its own fpontaneous gravity, that
the incifions or drills will be conftantly open for three
or four inches behind the coulters ; by which means it
is morally impoffible (if the points of the funnels Hand
diredly behind the coulters) that the feed, with the ve¬
locity it acquires in falling through the funnels, lliall not
he admitted into the drills..
Part L
Drill or
Hoife-
liaeing
Httlbandry.
: Plate XL
493
Summary
of the ope¬
rations.
A G R I C U
Fig. 12. is a new conitrueled fimple harul-hoe, by
whieli one man will efleclually 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 ilfue from the
firft joint of the ilem, above the furface of the land,
Which otherwife would never have cxilled.
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 liz.e of
the perfon that works it, by means of an iron wedge
being refpectively applied to the upper or under lide 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 iifue from the lirft joint of the ftem
above the furface, which otherwife would not have ex-
ifted, Ihould never he ufed for the firft hoeing, hut ihould
always he 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 neceflary in executing
the New Husbandry with the Plough.
1. It is indifpenfahly neceffary that the farmer he
provided with a drill and hoe-plough.
2. The new hulbandry may he 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 mull be done in dry weather,
to prevent the earth Irom kneading.
9. The land mull be harrowed in the fame manner
as if it were fowed in the common way.
6. The rows of wheat Ihould be fowed very llraight.
7. When the field is not very large, a line mull be
{trained acrofs it, by which a rill may . be traced with
a hoe for the horfe that draws the drill to go in ; and
when the rows are lown, $0 inches mull be left betwixt
each rill. But, when the field is large, flakes at five
feet dillance from each other mull be placed at the two
ends. The workmen mull then trace a fmall furrow
with a plough that has no mouldboard, lor the horie
to go in that draws the drill, directing himfelf with his
eye by the flakes.
8. The lowing Ihould be finilhed at the end of Sep¬
tember, or beginning ol Odober.
9. The furrows mull be traced the long way of the
land, that as little ground as poffible may be loll in
head-lands.
10. The rows, if it can be done, Ihould run down the
Hope of the land, that the water may get the eafier oil.
11. The feed-wheat mull be plunged into a tub of
lime-water, and {birred, that the light corn may come
to the furface and be fkimmed oft.
12. The feed mull be next fpread on a floor, and fre¬
quently llirred, tilt 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 allies and lime.
14. Good old feed-wheat Ihould be cbofen in prefe¬
rence to new, as it is found by experience not to be m
iubjecl to fmut.
15. After the happers of the drill arc filled, the
L T U R E. ' 46?
horfe mull go llowly along the furrow that was traced. Drill or
That a proper quantity of feed may be {own, the aper- Horfe-
ture of the happer mull be fuited to the fize of the jj^nJry.
16. As the drill is feldom well managed at firll, the
field fliould be examined after the corn has come up,
and the deficiencies be fnpplied.
17. Upon wet foils or itrong clays, wheat Ihould not
he depofited more than two inches deep, on any account
whatever ; nor lefs than two inches deep on dry toils.
From two to three inches is a medium depth for all
fpring corn. But the exaft depth at which grain lliould
be depofited in different loils, from the lighteil fand te
the llrongell clay, is readily afeertained only by obfer-
ving at what diftanee under the furface ol the land the
fecondary or coronal roots are formed in the fpring.
18. Stiff lands that retain the wet mull be llirred or
hoed in October. This Ihould he done by opening a-
furrow in the middle of the intervals, and afterwards
filling it up by a furrow drawn on each fide, which will
raife the earth in the middle of the intervals, and leave
two fmall furrows next the rows, for draining oil the
water, which is very hurtful to wheat in winter.
19. The next llirring mull be given about the end of
March, with a light plough. In this llirring the fur¬
rows made to drain the rows- mull be filled -up by earth
from the middle of the interval.
20. Some time in May, the rows mull be evened 5
which, though troublefome at firll, foon becomes ealy,
as the weeds are loon kept under by tillage.
21. In June, jull before the wheat is in bloom, an¬
other llirring mull be given with the plough. A deep
furrow mull be made m the middle of the intervals, and
the earth thrown upon the fides ol the rows.
22. When the wheat is ripe, particular care mull bo
taken in reaping it, to trample as little as poffible on
the ploughed land.
23. Soon after the wheat is carried olf the field, the
intervals mull lie turned up with the plough, to prepare
them for the feed. The great furrow in the middle
mull not only be filled, but the earth railed as much as
poffible in the middle of the intervals.
24. In September the land mull be again fowed with
a drill, as above directed.
2 In Odober, the Hubble mull be turned in for
forming the new intervals j and the lame management
mull be oblerved as direded in the firll year.
We pretend not to determine whether the old or new
bulb an dry be preferable in every country, \\ith regard
to this point, the climate, the fituation of particulai land,
{kill and dexterity in managing the machinery, the
comparative expence in raffing crops, and many other
circumilances, mull be accurately attended to, before a
determination can be given. _
To give an idea of the arguments by which the drill
hufbandry was originally lupported, we lliall nere take
notice of a comparative view 0! the old and new methods
of culture which was furnilhed for the editors of Mr
Tull’s Horfe-Hoeing Huffiandry, by a gentleman who
for fome years pradifed both in a country where the foil
was light and chalky, like that from which he drew his
obfervations. It is neceffary to remark, that in the new
hulbandry every article is liated at its full value, and
the crop of each year is four buffiels ffiort of the other j
r though,
47°
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice,
Drill or though, in feveral years experience, it has equalled and
Horfe- generally exceeded thofe in the neighbourhood in the
HufaXy. old way-
“ An eftimate of the expence and profit of 10 acres of
land in 20 years.
I. In the old way.
494
Compara¬
tive view
pence and Firft year> for wheat> cofts 33I. 5s.
profits of viz. L. s
the old and Firft ploughing, at 6s. per acre 3 o
new huf- Second and third ditto, at 8s.
bandry.
J per acre - - '40
Manure, 30s. per acre - 0
Two harrowings, and fowing,
at 2s. 6d. per acre
Seed, three bufhels per acre, at
4s. per bulhel
Weeding, at 2s. per acre,
Reaping, binding, and carry¬
ing, at 6s. per acre
Second year, for barley, cofts
ill. 6s. 8d. viz.
Once ploughing at 6s. per
acre
Harrowing and fowing, at
is. 6d. per acre
Weeding, at is. per acre
Seed, four bufliels per acre,
at 2s. per bufliel
Cutting, raking, and carrying,
at 3s. 2d. per acre
Grafs-feeds, at 3s. per acre
!5
10
11
10
d.
o
o
o
L.
22
11
11 6 8
44 11 8
Third and fourth years, lying in grafs,
coft nothing: fo that the expence of
ten acres in four years conies to 44I.
ns. 8d. and in twenty years to - 222 18 4
Firft year’s produce is half a
load ofwheat per acre, at 7I. 35 o o
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. los.peracre 15 o o
So that the produce of ten 
acres in four years is 70 o o
And in twenty years it will be 330 o o
Dedudt the expence, and there remains T
clear profit on ten acres in twenty > 127 1 8
years by the old way J
II. In the new way.
Firft year’s extraordinary expence is, for
ploughing and manuring the land, the
fame as in the old way, L. 22 O O
L. s. d.
Ploughing once more at 4s*
per acre
Seed, nine gallons per acre,
at 4s. per bulhel
Drilling at 7d. per acre -
Hand-hoeing and weeding,
at 2s. 6d. per acre
Horfe-hoeing fix times, at
I os. per acre
Reaping, binding, and carry¬
ing, at 6s. per acre
The Handing annual charge
on ten acres, is
200
250
O 5 IQ
I 5 6
5 0 0
3 0 0
13 15 10
L.
d.
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing
Hiifbandry.
Therefore the expence on ten acres in
twenty years is - -
Add the extraordinaries of the firft year,
and the fum is - -
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 - -
Therefore, all things paid, there remains
clear profit on ten acres in twenty
years by the new way
275 16 8
297 16 8
560 o o
262 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 01
135I. is. 8d. and confequently is confiderably more than jj^ndry.
double thereof j and ample encouragement to pradile a
fcheme, whereby fo great advantage will arife from 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 objections, allowed the charge thereof
for the firft year j 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 aCtual
experiment and meafure, found the produce ot his
drilled wheat crop amounted to almoft four quarters on
an acre.7’
It appears alfo from a comparative calculation of ex¬
pence and profit between the drill and common hui-
bandry, taken from Mr Baker’s report to the Dublin
Society, of his experiments in agriculture for the year
1765, that there is a clear profit ariling upon an Irifli
acre of land in 15 years, in the drill hulhandry, of
52I. 3s. 1 id. and in the common hufbandry, of 27I. 19s.
2d. j and therefore a greater profit in the drilled acre
in this time of 24I. 4s. 9d. which amounts to il. 12s
3fd. per annum. From hence he infers, that in every
15 years, the fee-fimple of all the tillage-lands of the
kingdom is loft to the community by the common courfe
of tillage. Inflating 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 hufbandry thofe in¬
curred by the other.
Befides, the certainty of a crop is greater in this new
wav
Parti. • A G R I C U
IIrill or way than in the old way of lowing 5 for moll of the
Horfe- accidents attending wheat crops are owing to their
hoems being late Town, which is necefl’ary to the farmer in
, m ^ . the old way *, but in the horl'e-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 hufbandry, the land may be ploughed
dry and drilled wet, without any inconvenience ; and
the feed is never planted under the furrow, but placed
juft at the depth which is moil proper, that is, at about
two inches; in which cafe it is eafy to preferve it,
and there is no danger of burying it. Thus the feed
has all the advantage of early lowing, and none of the
difad vantages 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 gfeat principle of the exhaufting of land. In the
common hulbandry, 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 corn, 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 perfectly 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 hufbandry.
Objeftions The farmers who are againft this method object, that
and an- -j. majies tbe plants too ftrong, and that they are more
liable to the blacks or blights of infects for that rea-
fon *, but as this allows that the hoeing can, without
the ufe of dung, give too much nourilhment, it is very
plain that it can give enough ; and it is the farmer’s
fault if he do not proportion his pains fo as to have the
advantage of the nourifhment without the difadvanta-
ges. It is alfo objedted, 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-
rilhed : or, if this is not chofen, the land, when thus
made too rich, may foon be fufficiently impoveriflied
by fowing corn upon it in the common old way.
The method of hoi’fe-hoeing hufbandry, fo ftrongly
recommended by Mr Tull, is objedted 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: 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-
ved, that the rows of corn feparated by thefe intervals
need not be fmgle j 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 bignefs as to the whole quan-
3
L T U R E. 471
tity, and it will be but as fifteen inch intervals to plants Drill or
in lingle rows. Corn that is fown irregularly in the Horfe-
common way, feems indeed to cover the ground bet- _
ter than that in rows ; but this is a mere decepiio vifus ; , ^ ■
for the ftalks of corn are never fo thick as when they
come out of one plant, or as when they Hand in a row}
and a horfe-hoed plant of corn will have 20 or 30
ftalks in a piece of ground of the fame quantity, where
an unhoed plant will have only two or three ftalks. If
thefe ftalks of the hoed plants 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 fown 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 Avhen well horfe-hoed they are all employed
in the nouyifliment of the crop : the roots of the plants
in the adjoining rows fpreading themfelves through the
whole interval, and drawing fuch nourifhment from it,
that they increafe accordingly. When the plants Hand
in the fcattered way, as in common fowing, they are too
clofe to one another ; each robs its neighbours 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, where the different methods have
been tried, thofe parts where the intervals were 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
poifible that plants could Hand as thick, and thrive
as well over the whole furface of the ground, as they
do in the rows feparated by thefe large intervals, the
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 Hand 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 nourifli, and there¬
fore the fame number that Hand in that row, and no
more than thefe, could he nourifhed, if fcattered over
the whole interval : and they would be much worfe
nourilhed in that way ; becaufe, while the interval is
void, the earth may be ftirred about them, and new
roots Avill 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 feattered over the whole furface, hecaufe the
ground is then all occupied, and cannot he moved be¬
tween the plants. 497
All foils and all fituations are not equally proper for In what
this method of planting in rows, with large intervals fituation
and hoeing between. The lighteft foils feem to he beft^new^
for'it, and the tough and wet clays the worft. Such lefs
grounds as lie on the fides of hills are alfo lefs proper
than others for this work.
This
473 A G R 1 C U
3)ril] or This method is not fo proper in common fields, but
Horfe- that not in refpect of the foil, but of the hufbimdry of
liocing owners, who are ufually in the old way, and change
ll >t anury. fpecies of corn, and make it necelfary to fallow
every fecond, third, or fourth year, Neverthelcfs it
has been found by later experiments, that the intervals
between the rows of plants, as recommended by Mr
Tull, were too great, perhaps double-of what they ihould
be in the moft profitable method of culture-; by which
means much lels crops are obtained than might be pro¬
duced 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, confequent-
Iv, has proved a great difadvantage to it in comparifon
with the broadcaiL Mr Tull was led into this, partly
from the want of more perfect inftrumellts for hoeing,
and of ploughs proper for drilling.
To the preceding flatements, the following obferva-
tions by Sir John Anltruther, publiflied among the Se¬
lect Papers of the Bath Society, may not be improperly
498 fubjoined.
Obferva- The flow progrefs which the drill hufhandry has
John AnSl1’made in many parts of Great Britain fince Mr Tub’s
iftruther!1" time, he obferves, lias been principally owing to the
•Want of proper drill-ploughs. Before drilling can be¬
come general, thofe ploughs muft he fimple, Inch as a
common ploughman accuftomed to ule fuch 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
he a quarter of a peck more or lefs fown, 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 fuflicient ftrength for any
land made fit for turnips or wheat. It was tried on
very rough ground unfit for lowing, in order to afeer-
taiii its ftrength ; and it had been ufed for eight years
without its needing any repair. It is a double drill-
plough, which lows 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 ; which with
a fingle drill muft be the cafe, and does much harm by
the hones 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 practice of the new huf-
bandry, and fome other authors, who give a more
clear and diftinCt account of the different operations
in drilling than had heretofore been given, I wilh-
ed to try them, and to adapt my plough to fow the
quantities therein direCfed. It was, however, ad-
]ufted to fow a fmaller quantity, and the feed was not
fteeped.
“ Not having ground To proper as I wilhed, it wras
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 wheat on an acre
and a quarter, which is nearly one peck and a fifth per
L T U R E.
Pra&icc.
Englifli acre. was drilled the 27th of October, and Drill or
rolled after drilling. The crop was late in its appear- Horfe-
ance and very backward in the fpring UuZmL
“ March 31ft, it was horfe-hoed one furrow Jrom the 1 ,..
rows.
“ April 8th, it was hand-hoed and weeded in the
rows.
“ 25th, horfe-hoed again, laying a furrow back to
the rows.
“ May 15th, hand-hoed the fecond time.
“ June 2d, lidrfe-hoed /r&w; the rows.
“ June 12th, -hand-hoed the third time.
“ July 14th, horfe-hoed to the rows.
“At this laft hoeing, asmanyof the ears were beat¬
en 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 thrcftied, yielded inc
36 Lufliels on one acre and a quarter, which is 28 buih-
els and three pecks per acre; 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 fact, that
on a fine loam exquifitely prepared, 144 bufhels have
been produced from one acre. And, i believe, it is not
known wl*at 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 rows, which
Were three feet apart, and ploughed in the intervals.
The land adjoining was fown with beans and peafe,
which were a good crop; but thofe fown among the
potatoes a better one. I pulled one ftem of-tlie beans
planted with the potatoes, which had three branches
riling from the bottom, and it produced 225 beans. Ill
all the trials of drilled beans, moft of the ftems had two
branches, with many pods upon each.- From thefe
and pther inftances, I believe it is not yet known to
what increafe grain may be brought by drilling, good
cultivation, and manure.
“ H orfe-hoeing is certainly preferable to dole drilling
or hand-hoeing; but the latter is fuperior to broad-
caft.
' “ Horfe-hoeing the full depth increafes the crop, by
making it tiller or branch more than it otherwife would
do ; and the advantage is diftindtly obfervable every
hoeing, by the colour of the grain. It prepares the
ground for the next crop, at the lame time that it in¬
creafes the crop growing, which hand-hoeing does not,
although it may deftroy the weeds. Thus drilled ground
is kept in a loofe open ftate to receive the benefit of the
influence of the air and weather, 11111011 broad-caft has
not; and it is evident, from certain experience, that crops
may be drilled many years to good advantage without
manure.
“ Suppofe the crops only 20 hufliels per acre, what
courfe of broadcaft-crops will give 5I. an acre for the
courfe ? But fuppofe they are dunged the fame as any
ground in the moft approved courfe, thbre is the great-
eft reafon to expert as much as in the above experi-
ment,
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
I)r;j, .or ment, which is 28|-, and at 5s. per bufliel, amounts to
Horfe- 7h 3s- 9d- .
'hoeing- “ Calculations may be of fervice to thofe who wifli
Ilui-bandry. drilling, and have few books to direct them.
" v “ One acre is 10 chains long, of 660 feet or 220
‘.'Vafds long, and one vard broad, containing 4840
fquare yards. Then if the ridge is four feet lix 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
149 for the fpare three feet, and it will be 3 226 yards.
And as two rows are drilled on a ridge, the number
of rows will be in length 6452 yards } but as a deduc¬
tion of 172 yards mull be made for the head-ridges,
fuppofe three yards each, &c. the whole length to be
Town will be 6280 yards clear. Now a gallon (Win-
chefter) holds about 80,000 grains. The quantity re¬
commended to be drilled by Mr Forbes and others, be¬
ing fix gallons, or two-thirds of a bufliel, 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 deflroyed by vermine.
“ 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 iu eight hours, or
28,460 yards. As he lows 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.
“ Mr Tull directs four hoeings, and Mr Forbes live,
ill, In November, when the plant has four blades.
2dly, In March, deep, and nearer the rows than the
former *, both thefe hoeings fliould be from the rows.
3dly, Hand-hoed when it begins to fpindle, if the earth
be crumbly, to the rows. 4thly, When it begins to
bloffom, from the rows, but as near to them as in the
fecond hoeing, ythly, W hen done bloffoming, to ripen
and fill the grain, to the rows.
“ The lalt hoeing Mr Tull does not direct, 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-hoeing twice,
Seed, one peck and a half at 5s. a bufliel,
L.
o
o
d.
o
4
o
4
o
499
The drill
and the
hread-caft
methods
Whole expence per acre, L. 1 26’
Drill hufbandry is, as a good writer has jullly de-
finedit, “ the practice of a garden broaph t into thefield?'*
cidariyart*~ Every man of the leaft reflection muft be fenfible, that
compared the practice of the garden is much better than that of
Vojl. I. Part II.
the field, only a little more expenfive ; but if (as is the
cale) this extra expence be generally much more than
repaid by the fuperior goodnefs and value of drilled
crops, it ought to have no weight in comparing the tw'o
modes of hulbandry.
In the broad-cafl method the land is often fown in
bad tilth, and always fcattered at random, fometimes
by very unlkilful hands. In drilling, the land muft be
in fine order } the feed is let in trenches drawn regu¬
larly ; all of nearly an equal depth, and that depth
fuited to the nature of each kind of feed. Thefe feeds
are alfo diftributed at proper diftauces, and by being
equally and fpeedily covered, are protected from vermine
and other injuries ; lo that the practice of the garden is
here exadly introduced into the field.
In the broad-caft method the feed falls in fome places
too thick 5 in others too thin ; and being imperfectly
covered, a part of it is devoured by vermine which fol¬
low the fower} another part is left expofed to rain or
froft, or to heats, which greatly injure it. When har¬
rowed, a great part of it (fmall feeds efpecially) is
buried fo deep, that, if the foil be wet, it periflies before
it can vegetate.
Again : When thus fown, there is no meddling with
the crop afterwards, becaufe its growth is irregular.
The foil cannot be broken to give it more nouriflmient,
nor can even the weeds be deftroyed without much in¬
convenience and injury.
But in the drill-hulbandry the intervals between the
rows, whether double or lingle, may be horfe-hoed j and
thereby nourifliment may repeatedly be given to the
plants, and the weeds almoft totally deftroyed.
The very fame effects which digging has upon young
fhruhs 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 faCt, 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; for in the broad-caft hufbandry it cannot
be ufed : but the crop receives greater benefit from the
tillage of the land by the horfe-hoe, while it is grow¬
ing, than it could in the preparation. No care in til¬
ling the land previous to fowing can prevent weeds ri
fing with the crop } and if thefe weeds be not deftroyed
while the crop is growing, they will greatly injure it.
In the broad-caft hufbandry this cannot be done j but in
drilling, the horfe-hoe will eff’eCt it eafily.
And what adds to the farmer’s misfortune is, that
the moft 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
two anfwers which may very properly be made: The
firft is, that this expence is much lefs than that ol hand-
hoeing were it practicable, or of hand-weeding. The
fecond is, that it is more than repaid by the quantity of
feed faved by drilling} to fay nothing of the extra quan¬
tity and goodnefs of the crops, which are generally felf-
evident.
Upon the whole, if the particular mq^es of culti¬
vating land by the new hufbandry fliould, alter all, be
3 Q confidered
473
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing.
Hufbandry.
474
Flax and
Hemp
A G R I C U
confulcred as perhaps too limited to be imiverfally
adopted j yet it has been of great ufe in railing 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 thele fufpicions j and as this
fpirit of inquiry remains in full vigour, a iolid founda¬
tion is laid for expending Hill further improvements in
500 this ufeful art.
The drill- It may be proper here to remark, however, that the
hufbandry Jj-il 1-hufbandry is by no means a modern European in-
derndlfco- venti°n> It 1S now ul'c^ m t]ie Carnatic, and in all
L T U R E. Pradice;
probability has exifted among the indullrious nations of Flax and
India from a very early period. It is uled not only for i Hemp. ^
all grains, but alio for the culture of tobacco, cotton, v
and the catlor oil plant. Beiides the drill-plough, and
the common plough, the Indians ufe a third, with a
horizontal lhare, which immediately follows the drill-
plough at work. It is fet in the earth, about the
depth of 7 or 8 inches, and pafl'es under three drills at
once. It operates by agitating the earth, io as to make-
tlie fides of the drills fall in and cover the feed, which
it does fo effectually as fcarcely to heave any traces of a
drill.
very.
PART II CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES MORE PROPERLY ARTICLES OF
COMMERCE.
THESE in general are fuch as cannot be ufed for
food } and are principally flax, hemp, rape, hops, and
timber of various kinds. Of each of theie we fhall treat
particularly in the following fe£tions.
Sect. I. Of Flax and Hemp.
Flax and Elax is cultivated not only with a view to the
hemp. common purpofep of making linen, but for the fake of
its feed alio ; and thus forms a moft extenfive article of
commerce} all the oil uied by painters, at leafl fox
common purpofes, being extraded from this feed. The
Xdnfeed cake which remains after the extraction of the oil is
cake, tin- in fome places ufed as a manure, and in others fold for
feed itfelf, fattening of cattle. In the Vale of Gloucefler, Mr
and linfeed Marfliall informs us, that it is, next to hay, the main
fattenin'/01"artIcle °f Hall-fattening j though the price is now be-
cattlc. g come id 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 loweff
price being five guineas per ton : and even this is lower
than it was lately. Hence fome individuals have been
induced to try the effeCt of linfeed itfelf boiled to a
icily, 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
Herefordihire. Though this plant is in univerfal cul¬
ture over the whole kingdom, yet it appears, by the vaff
quantity imported, that by far too little ground is em-
Gulture of ployed in that way. As Mr Marfhall takes notice of
flax in its culture only in the county of Yorkfliire, it probably
Yorkfhire. (]oes not make any great part of the hufbandry of the
other counties of which he treats *, and even in V ork-
fliire, he tells us that its cultivation is confined to a few
diffriCts. The kind cultivated there is that called b/ea-
Une, or the blue or lead-coloured flax, 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 weeds, and rendered
perfectly friable by a fummer-fallow. Manure is fel-
dom or ever fet on for a line crop : and the foil pro-
eefs, confiffs generally of a Angle ploughing. The feed-
time is in the month of May, but much depends on the
Hate of the, foil at the time of lowing. “It fhould
neither be wet nor dry } and the furface ought to be
made as flne as that of a garden bed. Not a clod of
the Aze of an egg fliould remain unbroken.” Two
bufhels of feed are ufually fown upon an acre : the fur-
face, after being harrowed, is iometimes raked with
garden or hay rakes } and the operation would be HiL
more complete if the clods and other obHruc»ionst
which cannot be ealily removed, were drawn into the
interfurrows. A light hand-roller ufed between the
Anal raking and harrowing would much affiH this ope¬
ration. The chief requifite during the time of vegeta-
tation is weeding, which ought to be performed with the
utmoff care 3 and for this reaion it is particularly le- .
quifite that the ground fliould be previoufly cleanfed as
well as poffible, otherwife the expence of weeding be¬
comes too great to be borne, or the crop muff be con - .
Aderably injured. It is an irreparable injury, if,
through a dry feafon, the plants come up in two crops 3
or if by accident or mifmanagement they be too thin.
The goodnefs of the crop depends on its running up
with a Angle Halk without branches : for wherever it
ramiAes, there the length of the line terminates 3 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 off in drefling 5 and
the Hem itfelf, unlefs it bear a due proportion to the
length of the crop, is likewife worked oil among the
refufe. This ramiAcation of the flax will readily be oc-
cafioned by clods on the ground when fown. A fecond
crop is very feldom attended with any profit 3 for being
overgrown with the fpreading plants of the firff 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 froff, and
is fometimes attacked even when got five or fix inches
high, by a fmall white flug, which ffrips oil the leaves
to the top, and the Halks bending with their weight are
thus fometimes drawn into the ground. Hence, if the
crop does not promife fair at weeding,time, our author
advifes not to beffow farther labour and expence upon
it. A crop of turnips or rape will generally pay much
better than luch a crop of flax. 1 he time of flax-har-
veff in Yorkfliire is generally in the latter end of July
or beginning of Auguff. 504
On the whole, our author remarks, that “ the good-Mr Mar-
nefs of the crop depends in fome meafure upon its fhahs re¬
length 3 and this upon its evennefs and clofenefs upon^1'^®^
the ground. Three feet high is a good length, and
thQ
Part II.
AGRICULTUR E.
Flax and
Hemp.
S°5
Mt Bart¬
ley’s expe¬
riments.
506
Remarks
ihire gen¬
tleman,
the tliicknefs of a crow’s qtiill a good thicknefs. A
fine {talk affords more line and fewer fliivers than a
thick one. A tall thick fet crop is therefore deft-
rable. But unlefs the land be good, a thick crop can¬
not attain a fufficient length of item. Hence the fol¬
ly of lowing flax on land which is unfit for it. Ne-
verthelefs, with a fuitable foil, a fufficiency of feed
evenly dillributed, 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 dillriets, where harveft is a fecondary object, and
where its exhauftion may be rather favourable than
hurtful to Succeeding arable crops, by checking the
too great ranknels of rich frefh broken ground.
In the 5th volume of Bath Papers, Mr Bartley, near
Briftol, gives an account of the expences and produce
of five acres of flax cultivated on a rich loamy land.
The total expence was 42I. 13s. qd. ; the produce was
ten packs of flax at 5I. 5s. value 52I. 10s. 35 bufhels
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 Dorfetlhire
ty a Dorfet-gentieman, who writes on the culture of hemp and flax,
gives an account fomewhat different from that of Mr
Marfliall. Inftead of exhavjling crops, he maintains
that they are both ameliorating crops, if cut without
feeding \ and as the bell crops of both are railed from
foreign feed, he is of opinion that there is little occa-
fion for raifing 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 heft hiftorical rela¬
tions, and the verbal accounts of honell ingenious
planters, concur in declaring it to be a vain prejudice,
unfupported by any authority} and that thefe crops
really meliorate and improve the foil.” He is like-
wife of opinion, that the growth of flax and hemp is
not neceffarily confined to rich foils, but that they may
be cultivated with profit alfo upon poor fandy ground,
well as rich if a little expence be laid out in manuring it. “ Spal-
foils. ding-moor in Lincolnfhire is a barren land ; and yet
with proper care and culture it produces the heft hemp
in England, and in large quantities. In the ifle of
Alholme, 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
Marfliland the foil is a clay or ftrong warp, thrown
up by the river Qufe, and of fuch 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 heat comes on, the ground
will not crack that fummer. When the land is fandy,
they firft low 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 fliort
teeth. A good crop deftroys all the weeds, and makes
vo S°7
Flax and
hemp may
be cultiva¬
ted upon
poor as
475
it a fine fallotv 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.”
Our author takes notice of the vaft quantity of flax yag qUart.
and hemp, not lefs than 11,000 tons, imported in the tides of flax
year 1763 into Britain j and complains that it is not-rndhemp
raifed in the illand, which he thinks might be done,™P0^d
though it would require 60,000 acres for the purpofe. tajn
He obferves, that the greater part of thofe rich marlliy
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.
The vaft quantities of hemp and flax (fays he) which
have been raifed on lands of the fajne kind in Lincoln¬
fhire marflies, and the fens of the ifle of Ely and Hun-
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 {hillings
per acre, have been readily let at 4I. the firft year, 3I.
the fecond, and 2I. the third. The reafon of this fuppo-
fed declining value of land, in proportion to the num¬
ber of years fown with flax, is, that it is ufual with
them to feed for the purpofe of making oil, that being
the principal eaufe of the land being thereby impove-
rifhed.
It is certain, however, that the quantity of hemp
exported from St Peterfburgh in Britifh fliips has con¬
tinued to increafe, fo that in 1785 the quantity ot
hemp exported from Peterihurgh in Britilh fliips was as
follows:
Of clean hemp,
Outfhot,
Half clean,
Hemp codille,
Poods.
1,038,791
37>382
i8>374
I>II3»798
509
There are 63 poods to a ton, confequently the
whole amounted to 17,695 tons; and it is faid that this
quantity has fince been tripled and quadrupled. It is
therefore an object 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 {hall here ftate the fubftance
of a report made by Mr Durno, Britilh conful in Pruf-Mr Durho’s
fia in 1789, to the lords of the Committee of Council report on
for Trade, concerning the method of cultivating flax t^e cultui'e
and hemp in Pruflia, Ruffia, and Poland. hempen11
A black, nut morally, open gravelly foil is preferred, pruffia, &c.
as flax and hemp become exuberant and coarfe on too
rich a foil. To afcertaih the proper middle degree of
ftrength of foil, previous crops of grain are taken. On
a vigorous foil wheat is firft foWn 5 then rye, barley,
oats; and laft of all flax or hemp. Two fucceftive
crops of hemp are taken it 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
476
AGRICULTURE.
Practice.
J'la-K and ploughed immediately before fowiug. Another win-
Hemp. ter crop of rye may immediately be town in the lame
field after drawing the flax or hemp, but after the flax 5
dung is in this cafe neceifary. 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 are limn
from the 25th of May to the 10th of June, and the
flax is reaped in the end of Auguft, and hemp in the
end of September.
As to their cfleets 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 fuffbeating, by its broad leaves, all forts of
weeds or undergrowth, but flax mull be weeded once
or twice before it blooms. Flax is plucked when the
ilalk becomes yellowifh, the pods brown, and the feed
hard and full bodied. For finer flax, the ftalk is pull¬
ed while yet green *, but the feed is then facrificed, and
fit only for crufliing for oil, of which it produces a
fmall quantity. Hemp is alfo plucked or drawn when
the llalks anil pods have changed colour. If the flax
is very dry when plucked, the feed is ftripped oft’ 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-
felves } when it is threfihed 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 moiil ftate for any length of time.
As foon as the feed has been gained, the flax 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 fuffieient for this purpofe. In hard water,
with cold weather, from fourteen days to three weeks,
are requifite. Stagnate is preferred to running water ;
but fiili ponds and the drinking places of cattle mull
be avoided, as the lifli would be deftroyed, and the
water would be rendered unwholefome and unpalata¬
ble to the cattle •, but a muddy or llimy bottom is pre¬
ferred. In the fouthern provinces of Poland, as Vol-
hinia, Podolia, &c. fteeping is not pradtifed, on the
fuppofition that it weakens the harl and darkens
the colour, though this idea feems to have no founda¬
tion.
After being taken out of the fteep, the flax is dried
on a grafs field ; after which it is gathered up into fmall
Hacks } but the hemp, inftead of being fpread out on a
field, is fet up againft the walls or 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
5IO of any kind of grain.
Culture of To this we fliall add a concife ftatement of the mode
flax in Ire- 0f cultivating flax in Ireland. A good crop of flax is
^and' there expected from any ftrong clays that are fit for
the growth of corn ; but an open black loamy foil, en¬
riched by having lain long in pafture, is preferable.
The ground mull be in fine tilth, and as frCe from
weeds as poflible. Potatoes ufually precede flax, though
turnips, beans, or any manured crop, are a good pre- Rape or
paration : but the firlt or fecond crop after pafture is Cole-Seed,
preferred to any of thefe. Stubble lands, that have v
been long in tillage, may, by proper preparation, bring
a crop 5 but it is apt to fail in fuch fituations, the ftalks
turning to a reddifti colour called firing before it ri¬
pens •, upon which it mull immediately be pulled.
Two bulbels of feed are ufed to the Englifli acre, un-
lefs for the purpofe of a very line manufa&ure 5 in
which cafe a large quantity of feed is uled, and the
flax is pulled very green. The lealon of lowing is the
firft fine weather after the middle of March. The
moll approved mode ol culture is in beds about fix leet
broad, covering the feed about an inch and a half deep,
with earth lliovelled out of the furrows : but the moll
ordinary mode is to low on common ridges, and to
harrow in the feed. Before the flax is live inches
high it fhould he carefully hand-weeded *, and if any
part lodges, it lliould be turned over. The produce-
is ufually worth 7I. fterling the Englifli acre. The-
crop Ihould Hand till the lower part ol the ftalk be¬
comes yellowilh, and the under leaves begin to wither^
unlei’s 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. Turf-bog wa¬
ter, if clear, an fivers well, but foul ftagnate water ftains
the flax. Too pure a fpring is injurious. A refer-
voir dug in clay is preferred. The time of lying in
the fteep depends upon the quality ol the water and
the ftate of the weather. It is dried on grafs by be¬
ing fpread thin 5 artificial heat has been recommended
for drying flax} but no good form ol it has been lug-
gefted. 511
In addition to what is here Hated, the compiler of Sheep em-
this article accounts it proper to take notice of a mode
of weeding flax that has frequently been prattifed in"ctt
Scotland. It confifts of turning a flock ol llieep at
large into the field. They will not tafte the young
flax plants, hut they carefully fearch for the weeds,
which they devour. It may alto be remarked, that for
drying flax in wet feafons, the fteam kiln formerly pro-
pofed (N° 84.) would he a valuable inftrument.
Sect. II. Rape or Cole-Seed.
This, as well as linfeed, is cultivated for the pur¬
pofe of making oil, and Avill grow almoft anywhere.
Mr Hazard informs us, that in the north of Fngland \0f jv.
the farmers pare and burn their pafture lands, and then ’
fow them with rape after one ploughing j the crop
commonly Handing for feed, which will bring from 25k 512
to 30I. per laft (80 bulhels). Poor clay, or Hone-Advantage
bralh land, will frequently produce from 12 to 16 or
18 bufhels per acre, and almoll any frefii or virgin
earth will yield one plentiful crop ; lo that many in
the northern counties have been railed, by cultivating
this feed, from poverty to the greateft affluence. The
feed is ripe in July or the beginning ol Auguft 5 and
the tbreihing of it out is concluded with the greateft
mirth and jollity.
The rape being fully ripe1, is firft cut with fickles, andof cutting
then laid thin upon the ground to dry; and when inandthrefli-
proper condition for ihrefliing, the neighbours arc ra^feed*
vited, who readily contribute their affillance. Thera^e
threllxing is performed on a large cloth in the middle
of
Part II.
AGRICULTURE.
477
Rape or °f the field, and the feed put into the facks and carried
Cole-Seed. home. It does not admit of being carried from the field
v— 1 in the -pod in order to he threihed at home, and there¬
fore the operation is always performed in the field; and
by the number of affiftants procured on this occaiion, a
field of 20 acres is frequently threihed out in one day.
The ftraw is burnt for the lake of its alkali, the allies
being faid to equal the bell kind of thole imported from
abroad.
Of lowing The proper time of fowing rape is the month of
it. June and the land Ihould, previous to the fowing, be
twice well ploughed. About two pounds of feed are
fufficient for an acre ; and, according to our author, it
fhould be call upon the ground with only the thumb
and two fore fingers } for if it be call with all the fin¬
gers, it will come up in patches. If the plants come
up too thick, a pair of light harrows Ihould be drawn
along the field length-wife and yrofs-wife •, by which
means the plants will be equally thinned *, and when
the plants which the harrows have pulled up are wither¬
ed, the ground Ihould he rolled. A few days after the
plants may be fet out with a hoe, allowing l6 or 18
jj- inches defiance betwixt every two plants.
Tranfplaiit- Mr Hazard llrongly recommends the tranfplanting
ing recom- 0f rape, having experienced the good efte6ts of it him-
meuded. \ rood of ground, town in June, will produce
as many plants as are fufficient for 10 acres 3 which
may he planted out upon ground that has previoufly
borne a crop of wheat, provided the wheat he harvefled
by the middle of Augufl. One ploughing will be
fufficient for thefe plants 3 the bell of which Ihould be
I(j felecled from the feed-plot, and planted in rows two
Sheep may feet afunder and 16 inches apart in the rows. As rape
be fed in is an excellent food for flieep, they may be allowed to
the fpring feed upon it in the fpring 3 or the leaves might be ga-
with rape, thered, and given to oxen or young cattle: frelli
leaves would iproufc again from the fame llalks, which
in like manner might be fed oil by ewes and lambs in
time enough to plough the land for a crop of barley
and oats. Planting rape in the beginning of July,
however, would be mofl 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 practice of fowing rape with turnips,
as the crops injure one another. “ rIhoie who look
for an immediate profit (fays he), will undoubtedly
cultivate rape for feed ; but perhaps it may anfvver
better in the end to feed it with fheep 3 the fat ones
might cull it over firfl, and afterwards the lean or
ilore-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 wheat 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 flems,
it will endure the feverell winter 3 but the fame cannot
he advanced in favour of that which is fown broad-
call.
Culture of Cole-feed is cultivated in Brabant, in the following
rape-feed manner, according to the Abbe Mann. “ It is fown
in JJrabant about ^ mJt|{pe 0f Ju]y, and the young plants are
tranfplanted 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
motion, makes a fufficient opening to receive the plant 3
a boy or girl follows the labourer with plants, and put- Coriander-
ting one of them into each hole, treads againfl it to Seed, Ca-
clofe it up. If the plantation is done with the plough, nary-Seed,
the plants are placed at regular diilances in the furrow, ■ ^' .
and are covered with the earth turned up with the fuc-
ceeding furrow. Sometimes, after the cole-feed is
planted, the foot of the flalks is covered, by means of
a common fpade or hoe, with' the earth near it, which
furnifhes nouriffiment 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 threihed on a kind of fail-cloth, fpread 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 8olbs. weight each. It
is to be obferved, that the ground whereon cole-feed is
to be planted, mull be dunged and twice ploughed the
fame year it is put in ufe.”
Sect. III. Coriander-Seed.
This is ufed in large quantities by dillillers, drug-
gills, and confectioners, and might be a confiderable
objeCt to fuch farmers as live in the neighbourhood of
great towns 3 bat the price is very variable, viz. from
16s. to 42s. per cwt. In the 4th volume of Bath Ba-
pers, Mr Bartley gives an account of an experiment Mr Bart-
made on this feed", which proved very iuccefsftil. Ten’ey.s cx_
-perches of good fandy loam were fown with coriander ^Krmitrij'
on the 23d of March 1783. Three pounds of feed
were fufficient for this fpot 3 and the whole expence
amounted only to 5s. lod. The produce was 87 pounds
of feed, which, valued at 3d. yielded a profit of 5s. nd.
or 15I. 18s. 4d. per acre. Pie afterwards made feve-
ral other experiments on a larger fcale 3 hut none of the
crops turned out fo well, though all of them afforded a
good profit.
Sect. IV. Canary-Seed.
519
This is cultivated in large quantity in the Me of Culture of^
Thanet, where it is faid they have frequently 20 bulliels canai^
to an acre. Mr Bartley, in the month of March 1783}
fowed half an acre of ground, the foil a mixture of loam
and clay, but had only eight buffiels and a half, or 17
bulhels per acre. With this produce, however, he had
a profit of 4]. 2s. 3d. per acre.
Sect. V. Wood.
S2°
The ufe of this in dyeing is well known, and the Woad ea*.
confumption is fo great, that the railing of the plant fily culti-
might undoubtedly be an objeCt to a hufbandman, 'a^'
provided he could get it properly manufactured 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 Keynlham near Briitol in England. Mr Bartley
informs us, that in a converfation he had with thefe
growers, the latter afferted, that the growth of woad
was peculiar to their loil and iituation. the foil about
this place is a blackilh heavy mould, with a confider¬
able proportion of clay, but works freely : that oi:
Brill ingtoDj
\
478 A G R I C U
Hops. Briflington, where Mr Bartley refides, a hazel fan-
' v dy loam j neverthelefs, having fowed half an acre of
this foil with woad-feed, it throve fo well, that he ne-
x ver faw a better crop at Keynfham. Having no ap¬
paratus, however, or knowledge of the manufacture,
he fuffered it to run to feed, learning only from the
experiment, that woad is very eaiily cultivated, and
that the only difficulty is the pi'eparing 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 poflefs iuch deleterious qualities, that the ufe
of them was forbid by act of parliament in the reign
of James VI. But though this a6t was never repeal¬
ed, it does not appear that much x’egard was ever paid
to it, as the ufe of hops has flill continued, and is
found not to be attended xvith any bad eflefts on the
human conftitution. The only queftion, therefore, is,
How far the railing a crop of them may be pi’ofitable
to a hufbandman ? and indeed this feems to be very
doubtful.
Mr Arthur Young, in a Foi'tnight’s Tour through
* Annals o/^ent and Elfex, informs us*, that at Caflle Hedingham
Agricul- he was told by a Air liogers, who had a confiderable
tune, vol. ii. hop plantation, that four acres of hop-ground coll him
Expencc of uPwar^s °f 1201. and that the ufual expences of lay-
cultivating out an acre °f ground in this way amounted to
them at 34^ 6s* -^7 a calculation of the expences of an acre
Caltle Hed-in Kent, it appeared that the money funk ty plant an
ingham. acre there amounted to 32I. 8s. 6d. ; that the annual
expence was 23I. and the profit no moi’e than il. 8s.
id. In another place, he was informed by a Mr Potter,
who cultivated great quantities of hops, that if it wei'e
^23 not for lome extraordinary crops which occurred now
InEffex. and then, nobody would plant them. In Effex, the
expences of a hop-plantation are Hill greater than thofe
we have yet mentioned; an aci’e many years ago re¬
quiring 75I. to lay it out on hops, and now not lefs
than look; the annual expence being ellimated at
31I. is. while the produce commonly does not exceed
321-
In the neighbourhood of Stow-market in this
county, Air Young informs us, there are about 200
acres planted with hops, but “ 18 or 20 are grabbed
up 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 moi’e wet the better for
the crop, elpecially if the gravel which conllitutes
the bottom, be not more than thi-ee feet from the fur-
lace. 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 12 inches diameter, three rows up¬
on a bed. Into each hole/ they put about half a peck
of very rotten dung or rich compoll; fcatter earth up¬
on it, and plant ieven fets in each ; drawing earth
enough to them aftei-wards to form fomething of a
hillock. A hop-gai’den, Air Young informs us, “ will
lall almoll for evex-, by I'enewing the hills that fail, to
the amount of about a fcore annually, but it is rec¬
koned better to grub up and new-plant it every 20 or
2$ years.”
5*1
Hops for¬
bid by adt
of parlia¬
ment.
L T U R E.
Pra6Hce.
In this volume of the Annals, Air Young informs Cultivation
us, that “ one profit of hop-land is that of breaking of Fruit,
it up. Air Potter grubbed up one gai’den, which fail- ‘
ing, he ploughed and fowed barley, the crop great: pro(';f (^
then mazagan beans, two acres of which produced 16 breaking
quarters and five bulhels. He then fowed it with up bop-
wheat, which produced 13 quarters and four bulhelsP1'eca~
and a half: but fince that time the crops have notli0lu
been greater than common. The fame gentleman has
had 10 quarters of oats after wheat.” In the ninth
volume of the fame work, however, we have an ac¬
count of an experiment by Air Le Bland of Sitting-
bourn in Kent, of grubbing up 12 acres of hop-
ground, which wras not attended with any remarkable
fuccefs. Part of the hops were grubbed up in the
year 1781, and mazagan beans fown in their Head : but
by reafon of the feed being bad, and the di'y fummer,
the ci’op turned out very indifferent. Next year the
x’emainder of the hops were grubbed up, and the whole
12 acres fown with wheat ; but Hill the crop turned
out vei’y bad, owing to the wet fummer of that year.
It wras next planted with potatoes, which turned out
w ell: and ever fince that time the crops have been
good. This gentleman informs us, that the perfon
wrho had the hop-ground above mentioned did not lole
lefs by it than 1500I. 525
The culture of hops feems to be confined in a great C ulture
meafure to the fouthern counties of England; for AIr''0Psr^
JVlarlhall mentions it as a matter 01 iurprxie, that in t]le ^ecjjne
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 parilh
(Blowfield) where he refided: which was more than
could be collected in all the refl 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
moH uncertain and precarious crop on which the huf¬
bandman can bellow his labour. Mr Young is of opi¬
nion, that fome improvement in the culture is necefla-
ry : but he does not mention any, excepting that of
planting them in efpaliers. This method was recom¬
mended both by Air Rogers and Air Potter above
mentioned. The former took the hint from obferving,
that a plant which had been blown down, and after¬
wards Ihot out horizontally, always produced a great¬
er quantity than thole which grew upright. He alio
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. The only rea¬
fon for picking early is, that the hops appear much more
beautiful than the others.
Sect. V. Cultivation of Fruit.
>
In Herefordlhire and Gloucefferffiire the cultivation
of fruit for the purpofe of making a liquor from the
juice, forms a principal part of their hulbandry. In
Hevonlhire alfo confiderable quantities of tins kind of ^
liquor are made, though much lefs than in the two jrraits ctl]_
counties above mentioned. tivated in
The fruits cultivated in Herefordlhire and Gloucef- Hereford-
terlhire are, the apple, the pear, and the cherry. From^j^®^®^
the two firH are made the liquors named cyder and per- ftl;rc
ry ;
Fart IT.
AGRTCULTUR E.
tirely arti¬
ficial.
528
Varieties
cannot he
made per¬
manent.
Cultivation rtj; but though it is probable that a liquor of fome va-
of Fruit, lue might be made from cherries alfo, it does not ap-
""" pear to have ever been attempted. Mr Mariliall re¬
marks, that nature lias furnilhed only one fpecies of
pears and apples, vi%. the common crab of the woods
£-27 and hedges, and the wild pear, which is likewife pretty
Varieties of common. The varieties of thefe fruits are entirely ar-
fruits en- tificial, being produced not by feed, but by a certain
mode of culture whence it is the bufinefs of thofe
who willt to improve fruit, therefore, to catch at fupe-
rior accidental varieties *, and having raifed them by
cultivation to the higheft perfection of which they are
capable, to keep them in that ftate by artificial pro¬
pagation. Mr Marfliall, however, obferves that it is
impoflible to make varieties of fruit altogether perma¬
nent, though their duration depends much upon ma¬
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 nowr loif, or fo far on the decline as to be deem¬
ed irrecoverable. The red-Jireak is given up ; the ce¬
lebrated Jiir-apple is going off; and the J'quaJh-pear,
which has probably furnilhed this country with more
champaign than was ever imported into it, can no longer
be got to llourifh : the Hocks canker, and are unproduc¬
tive. In Yorklhire fimilar circumftances have taken
place : feveral old fruits which were productive w ithin
my owrn recolleCtion are loft ; the ftocks cankered, and
the trees would 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 frelh grafts from abroad, particularly from
Normandy, from whence it is fuppofed that apples
were originally imported into this country. Mr Mar-
ftiall, however, thinks, that thefe original kinds have
been long fmce loft, and that the numerous varieties of
which wre 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
others 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 negleCled wilding in an Englilli hedge.
The procefs of raifing new varieties of apples, accord¬
ing to Mr Marfhall, is fimple and eafy. “ SeleCt (lays
he) among the native fpecies individuals of the higheft
flavour 5 fow the feeds in a highly enriched feed-bed.
When new varieties, or the improvement of old ones,
are the objeCts, it may perhaps be eligible to ufe a
frame or ftove 5 but where the prefervation of the ordi¬
nary varieties only is wanted, an ordinary loamy foil
will be fufficient. At any rate, it ought to be perfectly
clean at leaftfrom root weeds, and ftiould be double dug
from a foot to 18 inches deep. The furface being le¬
velled and raked fine, the feeds ought to be fcattered
on about an inch afunder, and covered about half an inch
deep with fome of the fineft mould previoully raked oft
the bed for that purpofe. During fummer the young
plants ftiould be kept perfectly free from weeds, and
may be taken up for tranfplantationthe enfuingwinter;
or if not very thick in the feed-bed, they may remain in
it till the fecond winter.
The nurfery ground ought alfo to be enriched, and
double dug to the depth of 14 inches at leaft ; though
18 or 20 are preferable. The feedling plants ought to
479
, 529
Mr Mar-
fliall’s di¬
rections for
raifing new
varieties of
fruit.
^ S30
Of tlie
nurfery
ground.
be forted agreeably to the ftrength of their roots, that Cultivation
they may rife evenly together. The tap or downward of Fruit,
roots ftiould be taken oft, and the longer fide rootlets ' ■ v ’
ftiortened. Ihe young trees ftiould then be planted in
rows three feet alunder, 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 lituation until they
be large enough to be planted out; though, in ftriCt
management, they ought to be re-tranfplanted two
years before their being transferred into the orchard,
“ in freflx but unmanured double-dug ground, a quin¬
cunx four feet apart every way.” In this fecond tranf¬
plantation, as well as in the firft, the branches of the
root ought not to be left too long, but to be ftiortened
in inch a manner as to induce them to form a globular
root, fufficiently fmall to be removed with the plant ;
yet fufticiently 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 : “ SeleCt chooiing
from among the feedlings the plants whofe wood and t^ie plants*
leaves wear the moft apple-like appearance. Tranfplant
thefe into a rich deep foil in a genial iituation, letting,
them remain in this nurfery until they begin to bear.
With the feeds of the faireft, richeft, and beft-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, bell-flavoured
apple; repeating this operation, and transferring the
fubjeCt under improvement, from one tree and fort to
another, as richnels, flavour, or firmnefs, may require;
continuing this double mode of improvement until the
delired fruit be obtained. There has, no doubt, been a
period when the improvement of the apple and pear
w^as attended to in this country ; and fhould not the
fame fpirit of improvement revive, it is probable that
the country will, in a courfe of years, be left deilitute
of valuable kinds of thefe two fpecies of fruit ; which,
though they may in fome degree be deemed objeCts of
luxury, long cuftom feems to have ranked among the
neceftaries of life.”
532
In the fourth volume of Bath Papers, Mr Grimwood Mr Grim-
fuppofes the degeneracy of apples to be rather imagi- "'0°d’s opi¬
nary than real. He fays, that the evil complained ofU^.^r^y
“ is not a real decline in the quality of the fruit, but0f apples,
in the tree ; owing either to want of health, the feafon,
foil, mode of planting, or the flock they are grafted on
being too often raifed from the feed of apples in- the
fame place or country. 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-flock ; 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-
flocks 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 beino mon-
too near each other. In coniequence 01 this notion,
he
thod of re¬
covering
the beft
fruit.
48o A G R I C U
Cultivatim lie alfo thinks that the old and heft kinds of apple trees
of Truk, are not loft, hut only corrupted from being planted too
' ' near bad neighbours: “ Remove them (lays he) to a
fituation where they are not expofed to this inconveni¬
ence, and they will immediately recover their former
excellency.” This theory, however, is not iupported
by a fmgle experiment.
Mr Samu In this volume alio Mr Richard Samuel expreffes his
cl’s opinion concern at the “ prefent neglect of orchards, where the
of the me- old trees are decaying, without proper provilion being
made for the fucceedxng age : for if a farmer plants
frefli trees (which does not frequently happen), there
is feldom anv care taken to propagate the better torts,
as his grafts are ufually taken promifcuoully from any
ordinary kind, molt ealily procured in the neighbour¬
hood.” His remedy is to colle6t grafts from the beft
trees j by which means he fuppofes that the iuperior
kinds of fruit would toon 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
places.
Cultivation With regard to the method of cultivating fruit trees,
&.c. of fruit it is only neceflary to add, that while they remain
trees. in the nurfery, the intervals between them may be oc¬
cupied by Inch kitchen-ftuffs as will not crowd or
overlhadow 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 fhould
be taken off j but if the leader be loft, and not eafily
recoverable, the plant fliould be cut down to within a
hand’s-breadth of the foil, and a frefli ftem trained.
The undermoft houghs 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
ftems up too tall, which would make them feeble in the
lower part. The ftems 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 lowed-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 ftem ought to be in proportion to its height ; for
which reafon a tali ftock ought to remain longer in
the nurfery 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 •, which fixe, with pro¬
per management, they will reach in feven or eight
years. The price of thefe flocks in Herefordfliire is
is. 6d. each. Our author met with one inftance of
crabftocks being gathered in the woods with a good
profpeft of fuccefs.
In Herefordfliire it is common to have the ground
managing tj)e orcliart[s in tillage, and in Gloucefterfliire in
oforchards grafs ; which Mr Marfhall fuppofes to be owing to the
in Here- difference betwixt the foil of the two counties ; that
of Herefordfliire being generally arable, and Gloucef-
ter grafs land. Trees, however, are very deftrudtive,
not only to a crop of corn, hut to clover and turnips *
though tillage is favourable to fruit trees, in general,
efpecially when young. In grafs grounds their pro¬
gress is comparatively flow, for want of the earth being
ftirred about them, and by being injured by the cattle,
efpecially when lowed-headed and dropping. After they
begin to bear, cattle ought by all means to he kept
L T U R E.
Practice.
536
Method of
fordfliire
and Glou-
eciteiihire.
away from them, as they not only deftroy all the fruit Cultivation j
within their reach, but the fruit itfeif is dangerous to i of 1''rnit- [ j
the cattle, being apt to flick in their throats and choke 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 Marfliall is of opinion, that it is wrong to plant
orchards in grais land. “ Let them (fays he) lay their
old orchards to grafs •, and if they plant, break up their
young orchards to arable. This will he changing the
eourfe 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 Herefordfliire and Glou-^e*se.^ar' I
cefterfliire farmers manage their orchards. The natu- t)iefe parts
ral enemies of fruit trees (he fays) are, 1. A redun-complained
dancy of wood. 2. The milletoe. 3. Alois. 4. Spring of.
frolls. 5. Blights. 6. Infects. 7. An excefs of fruit.
8. Old age. 538
1. A redundanev of wood is prejudicial, by reafon Excels of ^
of the barren branches depriving thoie which bear fruit wood how
of the nonrifliment which ought to belong to them.rcme le v 3
A multitude of branches alio give the wind 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 want of circulation
of dir, 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 diflrict, with two or three
tires of boughs prefling down hard upon one another,
with their tings fo intimately interwoven, that even
when the learves are off', a fmall bird can i'carely creep
in among them.” 539 |
2. The mifletoe in this country is a great enemy to Mifletoe
the apple tree. It is cafily pulled out with hooks in
frofty weather, when, being brittle, it readily breaks off l0>t
from the branches. It likewife may be applied to a
profitable purpofe, flieep being as fond of it as of ivy.
3. Mofs can only be got the better of by induftry inMofs of
clearing the trees "of it; and in Kent there are people f™it trees,
who make it their profeflion to do fo. 541
4. Spring-frolls, cfpecially when they fuddenly fue- Spring
ceed rain, are great enemies to fruit trees dry frofts
only keep back the bloffoms for fome time. Art can
give no farther afliflance in this cafe than to keep the
trees in a healthy and vigorous Hate, fo as to enable them
to throw out a ftrength of bud and blofiom 5 and by
keeping them thin of wood, to give them an opportu¬
nity of drying quickly before the froft let in. ^2
5. Blight is a term, as applied to fruit trees, which Blights an
Mr Marfliall thinks is not underftood. Two bearing ^certain
years, lie remarks, feldom come together j and he is ei '
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 hearing any the next.
The only thing, therefore, that can be done in this cafe
is, to keep the trees in as healthy and vigorous a ftate
as pofiible. 543
6. Infe6ts deftroy not only the bloffoms and leaves, Method
hut fome of them alfo the fruit, efpecially pears. deft^roving
the year 1783 much fruit was deftroyed by wafps. wafpS"
Mr Marfliall advifes to fet a price upon the female
wafps in the fpring 5 by which thefe mifehievous in-
fefts would perhaps be exterminated, or at leaft greatly
leffened.
1. An
Part IT. A G R I C U
Y An fexcefs «f fruit Hints the growtli of young
trees, and renders all in genex*al barren for two or three
years ; while in many cafes the branches are broken off
by the weight of the fruit; and in one cafe Mr Mar¬
cels of fruit, fhkll mentions, that an entire tree had funk under its
burden. To prevent as much as pollible the bad effects
of an excefs of fruit, Mr Marlhall Recommends “ to
graft in the boughs,” and when fully grown, to thin
the bearing branches •, thus endeavouring, like the gar¬
dener, to grow fruit every year.
Duration of 8. Though it is impoflible to prevent the effects of
fruit trees old age, vet bv propel' management the natural life of
may be fruit tfees may be confulerably protracted. The moft
lengthened. e]jgjb}e method ig to graft Hocks of the native crab in
the boughs. The decline of the tree is preceded by a
gradual decline of fruitmlnefs, which takes place long
before the tree manifefts 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 ; ant| beyond this period it ought
by no means to he allowed to Hand.' In the Vale of
GlouceHer, however, our author faw an inHance of
fome healthy bearing apple trees, which then had the
fecond tops to the fame Hems. The former tops hav¬
ing been worn out, were cut off, and the Humps faw-
grafted. Our author obferves, that* the pear tree is
much longer lived than the apple, and ought never to
he planted in the fame ground. He concludes with
the following general obfervation: “ Thus eonfidering
fruit trees as a crop in hufbandry, the general manage-
lervauon on raen^ appears to be this : Plant upon a recently bro
the culture , rr ... — - - - J ~
546
Mr Mar-
fliall’s ob¬
fervation on
of fruit
trees.
ken-up worn-out fward. Keep the foil under a Hate
of arable management, until the trees he Well grown:
then lay it down to grafs, and let it remain in fward
until the trees be removed, and their roots he decayed j
when it will again require a courfe of arable manage¬
ment.”
' Sect. VIII. Of Timber Trees.
The importance and value of thefe are fo well known,
that it is fuperfluous to fay any thing on that fubjeft
at prefent: notwithHanding this acknowledged value,
however, the growth of timber is fo flow, and the re¬
turns for planting fo diHant, that it is generally fup-
pofed for a long time to he a pofltive lofs, or at leafl
to be attended with no profit. This matter, however,
when properly confidered, will appear in another light.
There are four diflindt fpecies of woodlands ; viz.
Woods, timber groves, coppices, and woody WaHes.
The woods are a collection of timber trees and under-
woodlands. wood 5 the timber groves contain timber trees without
any underwood ; and the coppices are collections of
underwood alone. All thefe turn out to advantage
fooner or later, according to the quick and flow growth
of the trees, and the fituation of the place with refpect
to certain local advantages. Thus in fome places un¬
derwood is of great confequence, as for rails, hoops,
Hakes, fuel, &e. *, and by reafon of the quicknefs of its
C4S growth, it may be accounted the moH 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 or
20 years ; while a plantation rf oaks will not arrive
at perfection in lefs than a century. This laH period
is fo long, that it may not unreafonably be fuppofed
Vol. i. Part IL
. 547
Diftcrent
kinds of
549
L T U R E.
likely to deter people from making plantations of
this kind, as few are willing to take any trouble for
what they are never to fee in perfection. It muH be
remembered, however, that though the trees them-
felves do not come to perfection in a fliorter time, the
value of the ground will always increafe in proportion
to their age. Thus, fays one author upon this fub-Advanta-
ject, “ we have iome knowledge of a gentleman now
living, who during his lifetime has made plantations, P antin^'
which in all probability will be worth to his lou as
much as his whole eilate, handfome as it is. Suppofing
that thofe plantations have been made 50 or 6b years,
and that in the courfe of 20 or 30 more they will be
worth 50,000!. j may we not fay, that at preient they
are worth fame 20,oCol. or 30,000k ? Mr Pavier,
fooneft
bring in j
return of
profit.
in the 4th volume of Bath Papers, computes the value
of 90 acres of oak timber in 100 years to he 12,100k
which is nearly 50s. annually per acre *, and if we co.n-
fider that this is continually accumulating, without any
of that expence or rilk to which annual crops are fub-
je£t, it is probable that timber planting may be ac¬
counted one of the moll profitable articles in hufbandry.
Evelyn calculates the profit of 1000 acres of oak land,
in 150 years, at no lefs than 670,000k *, but this is
moH probably an exaggeration. At any rate, however,
it would be improper to occupy, efpecially with timber
of fuch flow growth, the grounds which either in grafs
or corn can repay the trouble of cultivation with a
good annual crop. 550
In the fourth volume of the Bath Papers, Mr V ag- Planting
flaffe recommends planting as an auxiliary to cnltiva- ”orytcs
tion. He brings an inHance of the fuccefs of Sir Wil¬
liam Jerringham, who made trial of “ the moil unpro-
mifing ground perhaps that any fuccefsful planter has
hitherto attempted.” His method was to plant beech
trees at proper diHances among Scotch firs, upon o-
therwife barren heaths. “ Thefe trees (lays Air W ag-
flaffe), in a foil perhaps without clay or loam, with the
heathy fod trenched into its broken flrata of fand or
gravel, under the protedtion of the firs, have laid hold,
though flowly, of the foil j and accelerated by the fu-
perior growth of the firs, have proportionally rifen,
until they wanted an enlargement of fpace for growth,
when the firs were cut down.” He next proceeds to
obferve, that when the firs are felled, their roots decay
in the ground j 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. 55 r
In the 6th volume of the Annals of Agriculture, we Culture of
find the culture of trees recommended by Mr Harries j
and he informs ns, that the larch is the quickeH grower
and the moH valuable of all the refinous timber trees ; Harries,
hut unlefs there he pretty good room allowed for the
branches to flretch out on the lower part of the trunk,
it will not arrive at any confiderable fize j 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 obHruft the growth of the larch.
Some of thefe larches he had feen planted about 30
years before, which, at 5 feet diHance from the ground,
meafured from 4 feet to 5 feet 6 inches in circumfer-
3 P ence.
4
A G R I C U
ence. The moft barren grounds, he fays, would an-
fwer for thefe trees, but better foil is required for the
oaks. In this paper he takes notice of the leaves ot
one of his plantations of oaks having been almoil en¬
tirely dellroyed by infects 5 in confequence of which they
did not increafe in bulk as ufual: but another which
had nearly efcaped thefe ravages, increafed at an ave-
I»cxeafe of rage 1 inch in circumference. “ A tree 4 feet round
oak trees, (fays he), that has timber 20 feet in length, gains by
this growth a folid foot of timber annually, worth one
Ihilling at leaft, and pays 5 per cent, for Handing. 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 {hilling
each per annum, or 150I. a-year. My poplars have
gained in circumference near two Indies, and a Wor-
. cefter and witch elm as much. I have lately been in¬
formed, that the fmooth cut of a holly tree, that mea-
fures 20 inches and upwards round, is worth to the ca-
binet-makers 2s. 6d. per foot.
In create of The following table Hiows the increafe of trees in
itrees in the 2i years from their firft planting. It was taken from
the marquis of Lanfdowne’s plantation, begun in the
year 1765, and the calculation made on the 13th of
July 1786. It is about fix acres in extent j the foil
partly a fwampy meadow upon a gravelly bottom.
The meafures were taken at five feet above the furface
of the ground j the fmall firs having been occafionally
drawn for polls and rails, as well as rafters for cottages j
and when peeled of the hark, will Hand well for feven
years.
marquis
of
downe’s
plantation.
Height in
Feet.
Circumference
in Feet. Inch.
Lombardy poplar
Arbeal
Plane
Acacia
Elm
Chefnut
Weymouth pines
Cluller ditto
Scotch fir
Sruce ditto
Larch
8
6
6
4
6
9
5
5
10
2
10
554
Of under¬
wood, &c.
60 to 80
50 to 70
50 to 60
50 to 60
40 to 60
30 to 50
30 to 50
30 to 50
30 to 50
30 to 50
50 to 60
From this table it appears, that planting of timber-
trees, where the return can be waited for during the
fpace 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 worth the attention of a
proprietor of land, as the ground on which they grow
may be fuppofed good for very little elfe. From a com¬
parative table of the growth of oak, afh, and elm tim¬
ber, given in the 11 th volume of the Annals of Agri¬
culture, it appears that the oak is by much the Howell
grower of the three.
With refpert 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 exart: num¬
ber of fowings mull be regulated by the ufes to which
it is intended to be put. Thus if, as in Surry, Hakes,
edders, and hoops are faleable, there ought to be
eight or ten annual fowings 5 or if, as in Kent, hop-
L T U R E. Pradice.
poles are demanded, 14 or 15 will he required } and
if, as in Yorkfhire, rails be wanted, or, as in Glou-
ceflerlhire, cordwood be moH marketable, 18 or 20
fowings will be necefiary to produce a fucceffion of
annual falls. Thus the bufinefs, by being divided,
will be rendered lefs burdenfome : a certain propor¬
tion being every year to be done, a regular fet oi hands
will, in proper feafon, be employed} and by begin¬
ning upon a fmall fcale, the ei-rors of the firfl year will
be correrted in the prartice ot the lecond, and tbofe
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 fuccellion. The greateH objertion to this
method of lowing woodlands is the extraordinary trou¬
ble in fencing: but this objertion does not hold if the
fowings lie at a dillance from one another on the con¬
trary, if they lie together, or in plots, the entire plot
may be inclofed at once } and if it contain a number
of fowings, fome fubdivifions will be neceffary, and
the annual fowings of thefe fubdivifions may be fenced
off with hurdles, or fome other temporary contrivance :
but if the adjoining land be kept under the plough, lit¬
tle temporary fencing will be neceffary. It muff be
obferved, however, that in raifing a woodland from
feeds, it is not only neceffary to defend the young plants
againff cattle and Iheep, but againff hares and rabbits
alfo : fo that a clofe fence of fome kind is ahlolutely ne¬
ceffary.
With regard to the preparation of the ground for
raifing timber, it may be obferved, that if the foil be of
a ffiff clayey nature, it Ihould receive a whole year’s
fallow as for wheat 5 if light, a crop of turnips may
be taken } but at all events it muff be made perfectly
clean before the tree feeds be fown, particularly from
perennial root weeds } as, after the feeds are lown,
the opportunity of performing this neceffary bufinefs
is in a great meafure loff. li the fituation be moiff,
the foil Ihould be gathered into wide lands,, lufficiently
round to let the water run off from the furface, but 555
nothigh. The time of fowing is either the month of Method o£
Ortober or March } and the method as follows : “ Thefowul§’
land being in fine order, and the feafon favourable, the
whole fliould be fown with corn or pulfe adapted to the
feafon of fowing: if in autumn, wheat or, rye may be
the crop} but if in fpring, beans or oats. Which¬
ever of thefe three fpecies be adopted, the quantity of
feed ought to be lefs than ufual, in order to give a
free admiffion of air, and prevent the crop from load¬
ing. The fowing of the grafs being completed, that
of the tree-feeds muff be immediately fet about.
Thefe are to be put in drills acrofs the land : acorns and
nuts Ihould be dibbled in, but keys and berries fcat-
tered in trenches or drills drawn with the corner of a
hoe, in the manner that gardeners fow their peafe.
The diffance might be a quarter of a Hatute rod, or
four feet and one inch and a half. A land-chain fliould
be ufed in fetting out the drills, as not being liable to
be lengthened or fliortened by the weather. It is rea¬
dily divided into rods } and the quarters may be eafily
marked.
The fpecies of uuderwood to be fown muff be
determined by the confumpt of it in the neighbour¬
hood of the plantation. Thus, if Hakes, hoops, &c.
he in requeff, the oak, hazel, and afli, are effeemed
as
fart II.
Timber
Trees.
as mi tier wood. Where charcoal is wanted for iron
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 alh fometimes lie two
or even three years in the ground, it will be proper to
have the places where they are fown diftinguilhed by
fome particular marks, to prevent them from being
difturbed by the plough after harveft : as a few beans
fcattered along with them, ii the crop be oats j or oats,
if the crop be beans. The crop Ihould be reaped, not
mown, at harveft time, and be carried off as faft aspoi-
fible. Between harveft and winter, a pair ot furrows
ftiould 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 \ while the ftubble of the un¬
ploughed ground on each fide of the drills will keep
them warm during the winter. The next year’s crop
may be potatoes, cabbages, turnips, 01* it the firft w as
corn, this may be beansif 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 aie
thickeft} but the drills of the atli fliould be let alone
till the fourth year. The whole Ihould afterwards be
looked over ftom time to time} and this, with culti¬
vating the intervals, and keeping the drills free from
weeds, will be all that is neceflary 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 ot
confiderable advantage by keeping the ground ftirred,
and preferving the plants from hares and rabbits.
Even after the crops are difeontinued, 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 winter in order to throw it up to the trees on both
fides; this will preferve the roots from froft : gather
it again in the fpring, which will check the weeds, and
give a frefli 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
Ihould 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 ; and thofe
defigned to ftand muft now be planted at about two
rods diftant from each other, and as nearly a quin¬
cunx as poffible. The fecond cutting muft be deter¬
mined by the demand there is for the underwood ;
with only this provifo, that the timber Hands be not
too much crowded by it 3 for rather than this Ihould
be the cafe, the coppice ftiould 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
raifing other trees in timber groves. The fpecies moft
ufually railed in thefe are the afli, elm, beech, laich,
fpruce fir, Weymouth pine, poplar, willow, alder,
-chefnut, walnut, and cherry. The three laft are ufed
AGRICULTURE. 4^3
as fubftitutes for the oak and beech, and thefe two for Timber
the mahogany.
Trees.
The following account of the mode of planting that
was adopted bv the earl of Fife, for no lefs than 550
acres of moorlfh lands, is worthy of attention. It is^ol. ix.
contained in a letter from his lordfliip to the publiflier ^
of the Annals of Agriculture. “ Where there areEarfof
ft,ones in the moor, I enclofe with a ftone wall five feet Fite’s plan-
high, coped with two turfs, which cofts about ijs.latioBs.
every Scots chain of 24 ells, and where there are no
ftones, which is moftly tbe cafe in the moors in the coun¬
ty of Murray, I enclofe 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 notv
above 20 years old, as good as at firft. 1 plant in every
acre about 1200 trees. I ufed to plant above 3000, but
by experience I find it better not to plant them lo thick,
but make them up, if neceffary, the third year (Spe¬
cially in my plantations in the county of Murray),
where fcarcely a tree planted ever fails. I he greateft
number of the trees are Scots firs railed 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 for fire, and ufeful in agriculture. I plant
every other fpecies of foreft trees intermixed with the
firs. I order difterent pieces of the moor to be trenched
where the foil is beft, and moft flickered, 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-
feries. I nurfe them for three years, and then plant
them all over the plantation: 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 3 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 of 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 fo 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 profpenty of the woods depends npon the unre¬
mitted attention in weeding it.
“ I begin to plant in Oftober, and continue 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 fubjeCt, to remark,
^ 3 P 2 that,.
484
Cattle pro¬
per to be
employed.
557
"Where
plantations
are eligible
or other-
wife.
AGRICULTURE.
Practice.
that the value of plantations of timber trees, as conne£t-
ed with other branches of agriculture, is not a little li¬
mited. In a mountainous country, and in bleak moor-
ilh fituations, nothing tends more to increafe the value
of the foil, than plantations properly diftributed. They
give flielter both to the cattle and to the corn crops 5
and by preventing the warmth which is produced by
proper manures, and by tbe germination of vegetables,
from being diflipated, they give efl'eft to all the efforts
of induftry. Accordingly, in iuch fituations, planta¬
tions are no fooner reared, than the whole face of the
country around them allumes an improving afpefit, and
difplays a richer verdure. When fuddenly cut down, in
confequence of the necefllties of an improvident propri¬
etor, the reverfe of all this occurs. Vegetation is chil¬
led by the piercing blafts which now meet with no re-
iiftance, and the cattle droop from want of fhelter} lo
that in a few years the place can fcarcely be known.
But the cafe is very different with regard to a rich and
level country that is meant to be cultivated for corn. Cattle pro-
There the eifedt of numerous plantations, of high trees per to be
and lofty hedge rows, is altogether dillreffing to the huf- employed,
bandman. It is only in open fields that grain appears v
well ripened and completely filled. When furrounded
with timber trees, on the contrary, it ripens ill, and is
ill-coloured and unequal. In fpring the high Ihelter
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 fmalf
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 condition. In wet feafons it
is utterly ruined. In winter, when the fnow is drifting
about, the trees prepare a refting place for large quanti¬
ties of it; thefe frequently remain and flop the fpring
work. Add to this, that in a low country even the cattle
are hurt by the fwarms of vermine that are bred, and come
forth, under the fhelter of lofty trees and high fences.
PART III OF THE CATTLE PROPER TO BE EMPLOYED IN FARM WORK REAR¬
ING AND MANAGEMENT OF THEM. OF HOGS, POULTRY, &c. OF THE DAIRY*
MAKING OF FRUIT LIQUORS. OF FENCES.
Sect. I. Of the Cattle proper to be employed.
AS great part of the flock of a hufbandman muft al¬
ways confifl of cattle, and as one of his principal expen-
ces mull confifl of the maintenance of them, this part of
his bufinefs 4s certainly to be looked upon as extremely
important. The cattle belonging to a farm may be di¬
vided into two claffes, viz. fuch as are intended for
work, and fuch as are defigned for fale. The former
are now principally horfes, the oxen formerly employed
being fallen into difufe, though it does not yet certainly
^ .3 appear that the reafons for the exchange are fittisfaclory.
Mr Ked- In the fecond volume of Bath Papers, we have an ae-
ington’s count of a comparative experiment of the utility of
®*P^ment horfes and oxen in hufbandry by Mr Kedington near
parative° * Bury in Suffolk, in which the preference is decifively
utility of given to oxen. He informs us, that at the time he be-
borfes and gan the experiment (in 1799), he was alrnofl certain
oxen. that there was not an ox worked in the whole county ;
finding, however, the expence of horfes very great, he
purchafed a fingle pair of oxen, but found much difficulty
in breaking them, as the workmen were fo much preju¬
diced againfl them, that they would not take the pro¬
per pains. At lafl he met with a labourer who under¬
took the talk 5 and the oxen “ foon became as tradable
and as handy, both at ploughing and carting, as any
hones.” On this he determined to part with all his
cart-horfes ; and by the time he wrote Iris letter, which
was in 17S1, he had not a fingle horfe, nor any more
than fix oxen } which inconfiderable number performed
with eafe all the work of his farm (confifling of upwards
of 100 acres of arable land and 60 of paflure and wood),
befides the flatute duty on the highways, timber and
corn carting, harrowing, rolling, and every part of ru¬
ral bufmefs. They are conflantly flioed : their harnefs
is the fame as that of horfes (excepting the neceffary al¬
terations for difference of lize and ffiape) 5 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 acx-e of ground in
lefs than eight hours time ; he is of opinion that they
could do it in feven. The intervals of a fmall plan¬
tation, in which the trees are fet in rows ten feet afun-
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 three, ac¬
cording to the load. Four oxen will draw 80 bufhels
of barley7 or oats in a waggon with eale 5 and if good
of their kind, will travel as fall as horfes with the lame <■
load. One ox will draw 40 bufhels in a light cart,
which our author thinks is the bell carriage of any. On
the whole, he prefers oxen to horfes for the following
reafons.
1. They are kept at much lefs expence, never eating j^eafoUS
meal or corn of any kind. In winter they are fed preferring
with llraw, turnips, carrots, or cabbages ; or inllead ofo-en to
the three lali, they have each a peck of bran per Jaybories.
while kept conllantly at work. In the fpring they eat
hay ; and if working harder than ufual at leed-time, .
they have bran befides. When the vetches are fit for
mowing, they get them only in the liable. After the
day’s xvork in fummer they have a fmall bundle ol hay,
and Hand in the liable till they cool 5 after which they
are turned into the pallurC. Our author is of opinion,
that an ox may be maintained in condition for the
fame conllant work as a horfe, for at leall 4I. lefs an¬
nually.
2. After a horfe is feven years old, his value declines
every year ; and when lame, blind, or very old, he is
fcarce worth any thing 5 but an ox, in any of thefe fi¬
tuations, may be fatted, and fold for even more than
the firll purchafe } and wall always be fat looner after
work than before.
3. Oxen are lefs liable to difeafes than horles.
4. Horfes are frequently liable to be fpoiled by fer-
vants .
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
Cattle pro¬
per to be
employed.
56°
Difficulty
in Ihoeing
oxen.
561
Mr Mar-
fhall’s cal¬
culations.
562
A million
annually
loft by
keeping
horfes.
vants riding them without their mailer’s knowledge,
which is not the cafe with oxen.
5. A general ufe of oxen would make beef plentiful,
and confeqnently all other meat; which would be a na¬
tional benefit.
Mr Kedington concludes bis paper with acknow¬
ledging that there is one inconvenience attending the
ufe of oxen, viz. that it is difficult to fhoe them j
though even this, he thinks, is owing rather to the
unlkilfulnefs of the fmiths who have not been accullom-
ed to fhoe thefe animals, than to any real difficulty. He
confines them in a pound while the operation is perform-
ing-
Mr Marffiall, in his Rural Economy of the Midland
Counties, lliows 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 cul¬
tivated ground. Suppofing the work of hufbandry to
be done by horfes only, and each fquare mile to em¬
ploy 20 horfes, which is about 3 to 100 acres, the
whole number ufed throughout Britain would be
600,000 •, from which deducting one-fixth of the num¬
ber of oxen employed at prefent, the number of horfes
juft now employed will be 500,000. Admitting that
each korfe works ten years, the number of farm-horfes
which die annually are no fewer than 50,000 5 each of
which requires fujl four years keep before he is lit for
work. 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 fingle article of
food, clothing, or commerce } even his Ikin for eco¬
nomical purpofes being barely worth the taking off.
By working horfes in the affairs of hufbandry, there¬
fore, “ the community is lofmg annually the amount
of 200,000 years keep of a growing horfe 5” which at
the low eftimate of five pounds a-year, amounts to a
million annually. On the contrary, fuppofing the bu-
finefs of hufbaridry 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 ftone each, are annually flaughtered ; it is evident
that a quantity of beef nearly equal to what the city
of London confumes would be annually brought into
the market} or, in other words, 100,000 additional
inhabitants might be fupplied xvith one pound of ani¬
mal food a-day each j and this without confuming one
additional blade of grafs. “ I am far from expeding
(fays Mr Marfhall), that cattle will, in a ffiort fpace
of time, become the univerfal beafts of draught in huf¬
bandry ■, nor will I contend, that under the prefent
circumftances of the illand they ought in ftrid pro¬
priety to be ufed. But T know that cattle, under
proper management, and kept to a proper age, are
equal to every work of hulbandry, in moll, if not all
fituations : And l am certain, that a much greater
proportion than there is at prefent might be worked
with confiderable advantage, not to the community
2
485
only, but to the owners and occupiers of lands. If on- Cattle pro-
ly one of the 50,000 carcafes now loft annually to the per to be
community ffiould be reclaimed, the favino; would be an emPloyed.
objed.” ^
In Norfolk, our author informs us, that horfes are y0 oxen
the only beafts of labour 5 and that there is not per-ufed in
haps one ox worked throughout the whole county. Norfolk.
It is the fame in the Vale of Gloucefter, though oxen 564
are ufed in the adjoining counties. Formerly fome Objedion
oxen were worked in it double j but they were found
to poach the land too much, and were therefore given Qp^efter
up. Even when worked fingle, the lame objedion is
made : but, fays Mr Marffiall, “ in this I fufped there
is a fpice of obftinacy in the old way; a want of a
due portion of the fpirit of improvement; a kind of
indolence. It might not perhaps be too fevere to favv
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 flioes, in
our author’s opinion, might remedy the evil complained
of 5 “ but if not, let thofe (lays 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.” 565
In the Cotfwold oxen are worked as well as horfes; Ufed in tins'
but the latter, our author fears, are Hill in the pro-Colfwoltl*
portion of two to one : he has the fatisfadion 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
moll cafes they are for oxen. “ They appear (fays our
author) to be perfedly handy; and work, either at
plough or cart, in a manner which ffiow'S, that although
horfes may be in fome cafes convenie?it, and in moll cafes
pleaj'urable to the driver, they are by no means neccj- 5^
fary to huffiandry. A convenience ufed in this coun-^^^le
try is a moveable hurmj'.s-houfe with a fledge bottom, houfes.'
which is drawn from place to place as occafion may re¬
quire. Thus no labour is loft either by the oxen or
their drivers. ^
In Yorkffiire oxen are Hill ufed, though in much Why the
fewer numbers than formerly ; but our author does not of.?x.en
imagine this to be any decilive argument againft their
utility. The Yorkffiire plough was formerly of fuchfhire.
an unwieldy conftrudion, that four or fix oxen, in
yokes, led by two horfes, were abfolutely requilite to
draw it; but the improvements in the conftrudion of
the plough have of late been fo great, that two horfes
are found to be fufficient for the purpofe; fo that as
Yorkihire 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 Marlhall 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-
way of hard limeftones, which hurt the feet of oxen
even when lliod. Thus it even appears matter of fur-
prife to our author that fo many oxen are employed
in this county; and the employment of them at all 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
486 A G R I
Cattle pro- but to bear long Lours 'better than horfes going in the
per to be fame pafture. An ox in a good pafture foon fills his
employed. bgUy^ an(j lies down to reft j but a horfe can fcarce
fatisfy his hunger in a fliort fummer’s night. Oxen are
CULTURE. Practice.
tive ftatement between horfes and oxen, for the pur- Cattle pro.
Superiority alfo confidered as much fuperior at a difficult pull to
of oxen to borfes) but this he is willing to fuppofe arifes from
horfes. their ufing half-bred hunters in Yorkfhire, and not the
true breed of cart horfes. “ But what (fays he) are
thorough-bred cart horfes ? 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
nobody beftows upon them, be ufed for any other pur¬
pofe. This fpecies of beafts 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
fmall fliare of the attention paid to the breeding of
draught oxen which is now bellowed on the breeding
of cart horfes, animals equally powerful, more a&ive,
lefs coftly, equally adapted to the purpofes of huffian-
dry if harnefled 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 harnefs at two or three years old,
hut ffiould never be fubjetted to hard labour until he
be five years old j 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 Surry, might at 17 or 18 years of age have chal¬
lenged for ftrength, agility, and fagacity, the beft bred
569 horfe in the kingdom.
Horfes are Notwithftanding all that has been faid, however,
everywhere an(j written about the fuperiority of oxen to horfes,
ovwoxen ^ie ^atter are coming into more general ufe, efpe-
cially in proportion as the breed of horfes improves;
and we may add, in proportion as the ftate of cultiva¬
tion in any part of the country improves. The reafon
is obvious. The horfe is a more attive 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 j and for the ufe
of the plough upon a well ordered farm, there is no
comparifon 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 poffef-
fion of great ftrength, as in the a&ivity which, he exerts
in going over a great extent of ground in a Ihort time.
In this laft refpect a good breed of horfes fo far fur-
paffes every kind of oxen yet known in this country,
that we fufpedl much the horfe will Hill continue to be
preferred by enterprifing hulbandmen.
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
of Northumberland, we have the following compara-
3
ufe of
, horfes.
pofe of the draught:—“ By way of preliminary, it will per to be
be neceflary to admit as data, that a horfe which eats i employed.
70 buffiels of oats per year, will not confume of other ' _v" J
food fo much as an ox that gets no corn 5 but in the Calcula-
following eftimate we fhall allow horfes to eat as much tions in fa-
as oxen, as the difference is not yet fufficiently after-vour of the
tained.
“ That the oxen are yoked at three years old, 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 tradtable and ftronger, fix
are equal to two horfes, either by being yoked three at
a time, or two, and driven by the 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 year,
cannot work more than half a day at a time.”
Expences of an Ox per annum.
Summering.—Grafs 2 acres at 20s. per
acre L.2 o 0
Wintering.—On ftraw and tur¬
nips L.2 O O
But if on hay 400
The average is
L.5 o o
Intereftat 5 per cent, for price of the ox o 10 o
Harnefs, Ihoeing, &c.
Deduct for the increafed value of an ox
for 1 year
o 15 o
650
100
Gives the expence per annum of an ox for
the team 5 5 0
And the expence of fix oxen L.31 10 o
To which muft be added the expence of a
driver for half a year 3 10 0
^•35
Total expence of a team of 6 oxen
An Eight-Ox team.
The expence of an ox per annum being L.5 5 o
8
That of eight will be
To which add the expence of a driver
42 o o
800
Gives the expence per annum pf an ^ ^
eight-ox team 3
5°
Therefore the expence of a team of oxen
for the firft year will be
Ditto the fecond year
Ditto the third year
Divided by
L.50 o o
35 o 0
35 0 0
3)120 o o
Part III.
Cattle pro¬
per to be Divided by
employed.
A G R r C
Brought over,
3)120 o
Gives the average expence per annum 1 ^
of an ox team from 3 to 6 years old 3
Expence of a Horfe per annumv
Summering.—’Grafs 2 acres at 20s. per
acre - - L.2 o
Wintering.—Straw 13 weeks at pd. per
week - - o 10
Hay 16 ditto tons at 2l. 3 O
Corn (for a year) 70 bufhels of oats at 2s. 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 C
Expence of a. horfe per annum
Expence of a two-horfe team
That of three will be
To which add the expence of a driver
L.15 15 o
L.31 10 o
“ If a three-horfe team be ufed, the ac¬
count will Hand thus :
The expence of a horfe per annum being L.15 15
47 5
8 o
Horfes.
U L T U R E. 487
employed in fupporting thofe animals, he ufed in the Different
) moil profitable mode to the community, as well as to Kinds of
> the occupier.
“ With the latter, the firft quellion for confideration
) is, whether eight oxen ufed in the team or in grazing
> 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. 4<1. 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, Ihoeing, &c.) will be 42I.
) hut if they plough only five acres per week (which is
> probably nearer the truth), then their whole earnings
) will be only 34I.
> “ The fame oxen put to graze at the fame money
fliould improve in value 5I. 5s. each in the firft cafe, and
4I. 5s. in the latter $ 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 confiderably
“ In refpedt to the community, the account will be
nearly as follows:
“ From the above ftatements, we find that an ox for
fummering and wintering requires 3^
Therefore a fix-ox team will require 21
And two horfes for grafs and hay per annum
require - - - - 7
For corn and ftraw - - 4
Land neceffary for keeping two horfes per
annum - - - 11
acres
ditto
ditto
ditto
ditto
Gives the expence of a three-horfe team L.55 5 o
“ 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
ftand thus :
The expence of one horfe per annum be¬
ing - - - - L.15 15 o
5
That of five will be - - - 78150
To which add the expence of a man to drive 18 o o
The expence of a team of five horfes 7
will be j
ditto of 3 ditta
ditto of 2 ditto
ditto of 8 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
L.96 15 o
55
31
50
40
7 5
10
o
“ The conclufions to be drawn from the above ftate-
ment are fo obvious as to need little elucidation. But
we cannot help remarking, how ftrongthe force of pre¬
judice muft be, to continue the ufe of five horfes, and
heavy, clumfy, unwieldy wheel ploughs, where a fingle
fwing plough and two horfes yoked double, and driven
by the holder, would do the fame quantity of work,
equally well and at one half of the expence.”
“ But before any proper conclufion can be drawn,
whether ox teams or horfe are the moft eligible, it will
he neceffary to confider, whether the quantity of land
The difference in the quantity of land re¬
quired for a team of oxen more than horfes I o 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 will do the fame work •, and of courfe
the produce which might be derived from thefe ten
acres is loft to the community. Suppofe it be one half
in grafs, the other half in tillage, then we iliall have
“ 5 Acres of clover or grafs,.
l-f- Ditto of oats,
14 Ditto of turnips or fallow,
1 ^ Ditto of wheat.
“ It would then fend to market yearly, at the loweft
computation,
7I cwt. of beef,
8 quarters of oats,
And 5 ditto of wheat.
u From this view of the fubjeft, it appears that if
oxen were univerfally ufed for the draught, in the room
of horfes, there would be a confiderable defalcation, in
the fupply of the markets, both in corn and animal food.
And the lofs to the farmer would be the profit derived
from the produce 4 which, by the ufual mode of allow¬
ing one-third for the farmer’s profit, would in this cafe
be about 10I.”
Sect. II. Of the different hinds of Horfes, and the
Method 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 the black
black cart-hoife ; though Mr Marfhall is of opinion that cart-horfe.
this kind are unprofitable as beafts of draught in huf-
bandry.
488
A G R I C U
ST2
Horfes be-
Different Ha miry. The prereiit improvement in the breed took
Kinds of its rife from fix Zealand mares , fent over by the late
Horfes- , Lord Chefterfield during his embafly at the Hague.
"""Y Thefe mares being lodged at his lordlhip’s feat at Bret-
by in Derbyfhire, the breed of horfes thus became
improved in that county, and for fome time it took
the lead for the fpecies of thefe animals. As the
improved breed palfed into Leicefterlhire, however,
through fomc unknoAvn circumftances, it became Hill
more improved, and Leicefter has for fome time taken
the lead. It is now found, however, that the very
large horfes formerly bred in this diftrict are much lels
ufefnl than fuch as are of a fmaller fize. Mr Marfhall
longing to defcribes in magnificent terms one of thefe large horfes,
JVIr Bake- a llallion belonging to Mr Bakewell named K (q.),
well delcri- ]ie fays, was the handfomeft horfe he ever law .
“ He was (fays he) tlie fancied ivarJiorJe of the
German painters *, w ho, in the luxuriance of imagi¬
nation, never perhaps excelled the natural, grandeur of
this horfe. A man of moderate fize feemed to Ihrink
behind his fore end, which rofe fo perfectly upright,
his ears ftood (as Mr Bakewell fays every borfe’s ears
ought to Hand) perpendicularly over his fore feet. It
may be faid, with little latitude, that in grandeur and
fymmetry of form, viewed as a picturable object, he
exceeded as far the horfe which this fuperior breeder
had the honour of Blowing to his Majefty, and which
wras afterwards fhown publicly at London, as that horfe
does the meaneft of the breed.” A more vfeful horfe,
bred alfo by Mr Bakewell, however, is defcribed as
having a “ thick carcafe, his back fhort and ftraight,
and his legs lliort and clean •, as ftrong as an ox, yet
active 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 bufmefs 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 Hal-
lion-men who travel about writh them to different
places.—The prices given for them are from 50 to
200 guineas by purchafe j from 40 to 80 or a hun¬
dred by the feafon 5 or from half a guinea to twTo 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
bell time for foaling is fuppofed to be the month of
March or April *, and the time of weaning that of
November.—“ The price of foals (fays Mr Marfhall),
for the laft ten years, has been from five to ten pounds
or guineas } 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 abftradtedly in the light in
which they appear here, are evidently a profitable fpe¬
cies of live ftock, and as far as there is a max-ket for
fix-years old horfes of this breed, it is profitable to
agriculture. “ But (fays he) viewing the bufinefs of
agriculture in general, not one occupier in ten can
partake of the profit j and being kept in agriculture
after they have reached that profitable age, they be-
.573
Prices of
ftallions.
574
Mr Mar-
ihall’s ob-
fervations
on breed¬
ing horfee.
L T U R £. Practice,
come indifputably one of its heavieft burdens. For be- Different
fides a ceffation of impx*ovement of four or five guineas Kinds of
a-year, a decline in value of as much yearly takes place. , Hoijes' ,
liven the brood-mares, after they have palled that age,
may, unlefs they be of a very fuperior quality, be deem¬
ed unprofitable to the farmer.” 575
Our author complains that the ancient breed of Nor-Norfolk
folk horfes is almoft entirely worn out. They were
fmall, brown-muzzled, and light boned ; but they
■could eudui'e very heavy work with little food *, two
of them were found quite equal to the plough in the
foil of that countv, which is not deep. The prefent
bi’eed is produced by a crofs with the large one of Lin-
colnlliire and Leicefterlhire already mentioned. He Suffolk and
approves of the Suffolk bi’eed, which (he fays) are a (rfouccftcr
“ half-horfe half-hog race of animals, but better adapt-*,ree s’
ed to the Norfolk hulbandry than the Leicefterlhire
breed: their principal fault, in his opinion, is a llatnefs
of the rib.—In the Vale of Gloucefter moll farmers x-ear
their own plough-horfes, breeding of hories not being
practifed. They ax'e of a very ufeful kind, the colour
moftly black, inclinable to tan colour, Ihort and thick
in the barrel, and low on their legs. The price of a
fix-year old horfe fi’om 25I. to 35I. Some cart-horfes
are bi’ed in Cotfwold hills 5 the mares are wrorked till
the time of foaling, but not while they luckle and the
foals ai’e weaned early, while there is plenty ol grafs
upon the gi’ound. 577
Yorkfliire, which has been long celebi-ated for its Yorkfliire
breed of horfes, Hill Hands foremoft in that refpect bones,
among the Engl illi counties. It is principally remarkable
for the breed of faddle-horfes, which cannot be reared
in Norfolk, though many attempts have been made for
that purpofe. Yorkfliire ftallions are frequently fent
into Norfolk 3 but though the foals may be handfome
when young, they lofe their be&uty when old. In
Yoi’kfhii’e, on the other hand, though the foal be ever
fo unpi’omifing, it acquires beauty, ftrength, and a<Eli-
vity as it grows up. Mr Marfhall luppofes that fi'om
five to ten thoufafld horfes are annually bi’ed up between
the eaftern Morelands and the Humber.
“ Thirty years ago (fays Mr Marlhall), fti’ong fud¬
dle horfes, fit for the road only, were bred in the
Vale 3 but now the pi’evailing breed is the falhionable
coach-horfe, or a tall, fti’ong, and over-fized hunter 3
anti the Ihows of ftallions in 1787 Avere fi11*- an^ fpirit-
lefs in comparifon with thofe of 1783.” The black
cart-horfe, an object of Mr Marflxall’s peculiar aver-
fion, is alfo coming into the Vale.
In the breeding of horfes he complains gi’eatly of
the negligence of the Yorklhire people, the mares be¬
ing almoft totally negledted ; though in the brute crea¬
tion almoft every thing depends upon the female. 573
Of late years a very valuable breed of hories has Lanark-
been reared in the upper part of Clydefdale or Lanax-k-
fhire. They are of a middle fize, w'ell lhaped, and ex¬
tremely aftive. They are not fit for a very heavy
draught, but the very quick Hep which they pofteis
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 fhort
time.
(q) Mr Bakewell diftinguifhes all his horfes, bulls, and rams, by the letters of the alphabet.
Fart III.
AGRICULTURE.
489
579
Norfolk
manage¬
ment of
horfes re¬
commend-
ed.
Different time where the draught is not fevere. The fame qua-
Kmds of Hties render them highly ufeful for the ordinary pur-
Hoifes. ^ p0{*es 0f 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 hasalfo
of late been encouraged, which adds very conliderable
flrength or power to the activity of the former kind.
They are in great requeJi about Glafgow and other ma¬
nufacturing 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,
we have already mentioned feveral kinds of food upon
which experiments have been made with a view to de¬
termine the moll 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 moll in ufe. Mr Marlhall
recommends the Norfolk management of horfes as the
cheapeft method of feeding them praefifed anywhere 5
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 harley-llraw 5 a referve of clover-hay be¬
ing ufually made againll the hurry of feed-time. A
bufliel of corn in the moft bufy feafon is computed to
be an ample allowance for each horfe, and in more
leifure times a much lefs quantity fuffices. Oats, and
fometimes barley, when the latter is cheap and unfale-
able are given ; hut in this'eafe the barley is generally
malted, i. e. 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
of natural chaff; fo that cut chaff'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 Marfhall approves of in the Norfolk farm-
ces inScot-ers, is praftifed, and probably has been fo from time im-
ktnd. memorial, in many places of the north of Scotland;
and is found abundantly fufficient 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 4th volume of the Annals of Agriculture,
Mr Young gives an account of the expence of keep¬
ing horfes 5 which, notwithftanding the vaft numbers
kept in the illand, feems ftill to be very indeterminate,
as the informations he received varied no lefs than from
81. to 2 ft. 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:
.58°
This me¬
thod ibl-
iowed in
many pla-
„ S8*
Calcula¬
tions of the
expence of
keeping
borfes.
1763 Six horfes coft per horfe
' 1764 Seven do.
1764 Eight do.
1766 Six do. _ _ _
Average on the whole, III. 12s. 3d.
Vol. I. Part II.
L.
10
8
M
12
s. d.
Ed
10
6
18
o
11
6
Bv accounts received from Northmans in Hereford- Different
fliire, the expenee flood as follows
L. s. d.
1768 Expence per horfe - * 20 7 o
1769 - - - 15 8 5
177° /- - • 14 M 2
1771 - - - 15 3
1772 - - - 18 4 o
!773 - - - 15 11 8
1774 - - - 14 4 5
1775 - - - 19 0 5
1776 - - ' - 16 14 5
Average 16I. 13s. id.
Rinds of
Horfes.
On thefe difeordant accounts Mr Young obferves,
undoubtedly with juilice, that many of the extra ex-
pences depend on the extravagance of the fervants $
while fome of the apparent favings depend either on
their carelefsnefs,. or Jlealinp; provender to their beafts
privately, which will frequently he done. He con¬
cludes, however, as follows : “ The more exactly the
expenee of horfes is examined into, the more advanta¬
geous will the ufe of oxen be found. Every day’s ex¬
perience convinces me more and more of this. If horfes
kept for ufe alone, and not for Ihow, have proved thus
expenfive to me, what muft be the expence to thofe far¬
mers who make their fat lleek teams an object of vani¬
ty ? It is eafier conceived than calculated. 582
It mu ft be obferved, however, that the above trials Ufe pf root*
or accounts are of an old date ; and that during the late |'or
dearth a variety of experiments were made, which (hew
that horfes may be fuccefsfully fed, even when engaged
in hard labour, with other articles than grain. With
this view, different roots have been given them as fub-
ftitutes 5 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
fyftem is a matter of much importance to the public.
The articles that have been chiefly employed are tur¬
nips, roota baga, potatoes, carrots, &c.—Turnips have
been given in a raw ftate, withholding about one half of
the ufual allowance of corn, and in moft inftanccs the
animals 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 ; but when potatoes, yarns, roota baga, &c.
are boiled, which has fometimes been done, it does not
appear that grain is at all necefl’ary. ,It is to be obfer¬
ved, that young horfes eat thefe roots readily and with
great relilh *, and that, during the winter, with them
and a fmall portion of dry food, they are kept in as good
condition and fplrit 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
cafes, when reared without the ufe ol’ thefe roots, they
are fed in winter, when fubftantial food is moft neceffary
to fupport them againft the feverity of the weather, in
fuch a manner as to he barely kept alive. During the
winter months their growth is thus ftopt j they lofe the
little flefli they had acquired during the preceding fum¬
mer, become ftinted and hide-hound, and, when the
fpring arrives, they are in fo miferable a ftate, that a
confiderable part even of the fummer elapfes before they
3 Q cans
49o A G R I c U L T U R E.
Breeding can refume tlieir growth. In this way four or five
and Feed- years are required to bring them to the fize that others
Black Cat ^ie fanie fpecies attain in half that time under difi’er-
tje ent management.
Sect. III. Of the Breeding and Rearing of Black
Cattle.
583 _ r
A hornlefs These are reared for two different purpoles, viz.
breed of work, and fattening for daughter. For the former
Ge defirable PurP°^e» Marfliall remarks that it is ahfolutely ne-
&r vvoi'k!' C ceffary to procure a breed without horns. rI his he
thinks would he no difadvantage, as horn, though for¬
merly an article of fome requeft, is now ol very little
value. The horns are quite ufelefs to cattle in their
domellic ftate, though nature has bellowed them upon
them as weapons of defence in their wild Hate j and
our author is of opinion that it would be quite practi¬
cable to produce a hornlefs breed of black cattle as
well as of llieep, which lall has been done by attention
and perfeverance ; and there are now many hornlefs
breeds of thefe creatures in Britain. Nay, he infills
that there are already three or four breeds ol hornleis
cattle in the illand ; or that there are many kinds of
which numbers of individuals are hornlefs, and from
thefe, by proper care and attention, a breed might he
formed. The firil llep is to feleft females and hav¬
ing obferved their imperfections, to endeavour to cor-
584 reft them by a well chofen male.
Properties The other properties of a perfeCt breed of black cat-
reqmfite m tje for t[ie pUrp0fes of the dairy as well as others,
black cat- accor(Ung to Mr Marlhall, to be as follow :
1. The head fmall and clean, to leffen 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
lit 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 5 to give
Hrength of frame and conHitution, and to admit of
the intellines being lodged within the ribs. 4. The
fhoulders lliould be light of bone, and rounded off at
the lower point, that the collar may be eafy, but broad
to give Hrength, and well covered with flelh for the
greater eafe of draught, as well as to furnifli a defired
point in fatting cattle. 5. The back ought to be wide
and level throughout *, the quarters long ; the thighs
thin, and Handing narrow at the round bone j the ud¬
der large when full, but thin and loofe when empty, to
hold the greater quantity of milk ; with large dug
veins to fill it, and long elallic teats for drawing it off
with greater eafe. 6. The legs (below the knee and
hook) firaight, and of a middle length ; their bone, in
general, light and clean from flefliinefs, but with the
joints and iinews of a moderate fize, for the purpofes of
Hrength and activity. 7. The flelli ought to be mel¬
low in the Hate of flefliinefs, and firm in the Hate of
fatnefs. 8. The hide mellow, and of a middle thick-
nefs, though in our author’s opinion this is a point not
585 yet well determined.
Of rearing As the milk of cows is always an article of great
calves importance, it becomes an objeCt to the hulbandman, if
mbk°Ut poflible, to prevent the walle of this ufeful fluid, which
in the common way 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-
3
Practice,
thumberland. His plan was to make fkimmed milk an- Breeding
fwer the purpofe of that which is newly drawn from the and Feed.
teat *, and which, he fuppofed, might anfwer the purpofe inS of
at one-third of the expcnce of new milk. The articles d^le at"
to be added to the fkimmed milk are treacle and the 1 -v—
common linfeed oil cake ground very fine, and almofl Armah of
to an impalpable powder, the quantities of each being
fo fmall, that to make 32 gallons would only coH 6d/°‘ ^
befides the fkimmed milk. It mixes very readily*
and almoH intimately with the milk, making it more
rich and mucilaginous, without giving it any difagree-
able taHe. The receipt for making it is as follows:
Take one gallon of fkimmed milk, and to about a
pint of it add half an ounce of treacle, flirring it un¬
til it is wrell mixed ; then take one ounce of linfeed
oil cake finely pulverized, and with the band let it fall
gradually in very final 1 quantities into the milk, ftir-
ring it in the mean time with a fpoon or ladle until it
be thoroughly incorporated j then let the mixture be
put into the other part of the milk, and the whole be
made nearly as warm as new milk when it is firH taken
from the cow, and in that Hate it is fit for ufe. I be
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 lubjedt Mr Mr Young'j
Young remarks, that in rearing calves, there are two experi-
objeds of great importance. 1. To bring them upments-
without any milk at all 5 and, 2. To make fkimmed
milk anfwer the purpofe of fuch as is newly milked or
fucked from the coiv. In confequence of premiums
offered by the London Society, many attempts have
been made to accomphfli thefe defirable purpofes •, and
Mr Budel of Wanborough in Surry was rewarded
for an account of his method. This was no other
than to give the creatures a gruel made of ground bar¬
ley and" oats. Mr Young, however, who tried this
method with two calves, allures 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 colledted various receipts. In
confequence of thefe he tried hay-tea, bean-meal mixed
with wheat-flour, barley and oats ground nearly, but
not exactly, in Mr Budd’s method } but the principal
one was flax-feed boiled into a jelly, and mixed with
warm water} this being recommended more than all
the reff. The refult of all thefe trials was, that out
of 30 calves only three or four were reared *, thefe few
were brought up with barley and oat-meal, and a very
fmall quantity of flax-feed jelly 5 one only excepted,
which at the defire of his coachman was brought up on
a mixture of two-thirds of fkimmed milk and one-third
of water, with a fmall addition of flax jelly well dif-
folved.
The fecond objed, 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 com¬
municated it gave alfo a favourable report.
In the third volume of the fame work we are in¬
formed that the Cornwall farmers ufe the following
method in rearing their calves. “ They are taken
from
Part HI.
A G R I C U
Breeding from the cow from lire fourth to the fixth day ; after
and reed- which they have raw milk from fix to ten or fourteen
hig of days. After this, they feed them with fcalded fkim-
Blac^Cat- me(j mjj]. an(j gruel made of llielled oats, from three
,  » quarts to four being given in the morning, and the fame
<587 in the evening. The common family broth is thought
Method of to be as good, or better, than the gruel, the favour of
rearing t],e fait being fuppofed to llrengthen 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 tiic 5lil volume of Bath Papers, we have an ac-
niethod. count by Mr Crook of a remarkably fuccefsful experi¬
ment on rearing calves without any milk at all. I his
gentleman, in 1787, weaned 17 calves •, in 1788, 23
and in 1789, 15. In 1787, he bought three lacks of
linfeed, value 2I. 5s. which lafled the whole three
years. One quart of it was put to fix quarts of water j
which, by boiling 10 minutes, was reduced to a jelly :
the calves were fed with this, mixed with a fmall quan¬
tity of tea, made by ileeping the beft hay in boiling
water. By the ufe of this food three times a-day, he
fays that bis calves throve better than thofe of his
* neighbours, which were reared with milk. Thefe un¬
natural kinds of food, however, are in many cafes apt
to produce a loofenefs, which in the end proves fatal to
the calves. In-Cornwall, they remedy this fometimes
by giving acorns as an aftringentj fometimes by a cor¬
dial ufed for the human fpecies, of which opium is the
bafis.
In Norfolk, the calves are reared with milk and tur¬
nips 5 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
with their dams or with cows of lefs value bought on
purpofe. Each cow is generally allowed one male or
two female calves. Thus they grow very fall, and
become furprifingly vigorous. 1 he method of the
dairy-men is to let the calves fuck for a week or a
fortnight, according to their flrength } next they have
new milk in pails for a few meals ‘y after that, new and
fkimmed milk mixed ; then fkimmed 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 whey-porridge, or
fweet whey in the field, being carefully houfed in the
night until the warm weather comes in.
-x. A late intelligent Scottifli clergyman, Mr John
fute’smode. Bradfute of Dunfyre, once or twice luccefsfully made
trial .of treacle, as a food hy 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 uling
common food was 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 time.
For feeding cattle, two modes of practice have been
propofed, and in fome fituations adopted; the one
mode, which is the moll ancient, and the moll extem
5*9
Norfolk
Method,
&c.
59°
Mr Brad-
592
„ 591
mttk are
paftured,
L T U R E. 491
lively pnictifed in agricu'tural countries, confills of Breeding
turning out the cattle during the whole fealon that and Feed-
any food for them can be found on the ground, and of in£ of
taking them into the houfe during the feverity of win¬
ter, and of feeding them with fuch articles as can be
moll conveniently procured in the climate and litua-
tion, fuch as, llraw or hay of different kinds, and
roots.
The other mode, which has been adopted to fomeor lccl
extent by hulbandmen in Germany, and at times alio
in our own great towns, by perions called cow-feeders,
who fupply the inhabitants with milk, is called the.
fyllem of Hall-feeding. It confills ol keeping the
cattle continually in the houfe at every fealon oi the
year, and of feeding them there. By many German
writers upon rural economy this fyllem is highly ap¬
proved of, as affording the means ol drawing the high-
ell pollible produce from every portion of the land,
and as employing a great number of hands in the uie-
ful occupations of hulbandry. In a communication to
the Board of Agriculture from A. Ihaer, M. ID. phy- stalEfeed-
fician of the electoral court of Hanover, the advanta-ing in Ger
ges of this fyllem are faid to be founded upen the fol- many,
lowing incontrovertible principles :
“ 1. A fpot of ground which, when pallured upon,
will yield fufficient food for only one head, will abun¬
dantly maintain four head of cattle in the liable, it ’ he
vegetables be mowed at a proper time, and given to the
cattle in a proper order.
“ 2. The Hall-feeding yields at leaff double the
quantity of manure from the fame number of cattle ^
for the beH and moll efficacious fummer manure is pro¬
duced in the liable, and carried to the fields at the
moH proper period of its fermentation, whereas, when
fpread on the meadow, and exhauHed by the air and
fun, its power is entirely wafted.
“ 3. The cattle ufed to Hall-feeding will yield a much
greater quantity of milk, and increale lafter in weight
when fattening than when they go to the field.
“ 4. They are lels iubject to accidents, do not fuf-
fer by the heat, by flies, and infects, are not afleCted
by the baneful fogs which are frequent in Germany,
and bring on inflammation: 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 ftable, 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 ftable, if plenty of food be given,
yields annually 16 double cart loads of dung. I he
rotation of crops that is moft frequently ufed in Ger¬
many upon farms occupied in ftall-feeding, appears to
be the following : “ One year, manured for beans,
peafe, cabbages, potatoes, turnips, linfeed, &c. }
2. Rye., 3. Barley, mixed with clover 5 4. Clover,
to be mowed two or three times j 5. Clover, to be
mowed once, then to be broken up, ploughed three
or four times, and manured j 6. Wheat} y. Oats. In
confequence of the large quantity of liable dung pro-
3 Q 3 dneed".
’feeding
492 A G R I C U
Urcedin" tlnced upon farms thus occupied, every acre of land
and Feed- receives every three years 10 double cart loads of that
belt of all kinds of manure.
It is undoubtedly to be wilhed that a fimilar mode
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 W'hich
mult arife from making the molt of every part of the
foil. It has already been introduced into feveral places
in England, and we have little doubt that the practice
will gradually extend itfelf, in confequence of the in-
creafing demand for butcher’s meat, and for all the pro¬
ductions of the dairy.
Two Anodes Of Itall-feeding, however, whether with a view to
of ft all- the maintenance or to the fattening of cattle, it mull
be obferved, that there are tvTo 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 conflitute 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 two modes of 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. The fame quan¬
tity of thefe roots, if given in a rawr Hate, that will
barely fupport a horfe in idlenefs, will enable him when
boiled to encounter the feverell labour without injury
to his health or fpirit. There are many animals alfo,
fuch as hogs, which cannot be fattened by roots unlefs
they undergo this procefs. Thefe animals can be rear¬
ed to the full lize upon raw potatoes, yams, carrots,
roota baga, Sac. and may be kept in good health for
any length of time without the aid of any other food.
Under that management, however, they very feldom
if ever fatten ; but when the roots arc boiled, they im¬
mediately begin to feed, and foon become fat upon a
fmaller allowance than what was neceffary to keep them
barely alive when 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 which are now cul¬
tivated, and which will perhaps one day be accounted
the moH valuable productions of our foil, it is abfolute-
ly necefiary that they fliould be given to cattle boiled.
Many hulbandmen 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 20 horfes, and 100
head of black cattle. There is nothing more true,
however, than that this labour when undertaken upon
Ikilful principles, may be rendered not only eafy, but
fo trifling, that it may be performed by a Angle old
man, or by a woman. To accomplilh this objeCt,
however, it is neceffary, that the roots be boiled not
over the fire in a chaldron of metal, but at a diHance
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 foup $
both modes are performed with equal eafe. All that
is neceffary, is to ereCt a boiler in any outhoufe: The
boiler, which may be of caff iron, ought to have a clofe
595.
Hoots gi
fee boiled.
, S96
Cheap
mode of
boiling
roots by
tteana.
L T U n E. Practice.
cover or lid, having a fmall hole for filling it with Breeding
water, which can be eafily doled up, and another and Feed-
hole in the centre of about one-fourth of the diameter *n£ ^
of the cover. To this lait hole ought to be foldered a ^act^e^at*
tube of tin-plate, commonly called white iron, by which ■ - ^ - '
the Hearn may alcend. This tube ought to rife perpen¬
dicularly to the height of fix feet, narrowing gradually
to about two inches diameter. It may then bend off at
right angles, to the moff convenient fituation for the.
tub or vat in which the roots are to be boiled. When
it comes perpendicularly over the centre of the vat, it
muff be made to defeend to-within two or three inches
of the bottom of it, being properly 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 white-iron tube defeends. The tub ought
then to be covered negligently. The water in the
boiler being heated to ebullition, its Hearn or vapour
riles and paffes along the whke-iron tube, and at laff
defeends 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 wilhed to convert thefe
roots into foup, it is only neceffary to throw among
them a quantity of water, and to mafii them down
with any large ladle or other inffrument. The ffeam
continuing to defeend will fpeedily boil the ivater, and
agitate and mingle the whole ingredients of which the
foup may be compofed. in this way by various mix¬
tures of roots, with little or no trouble, rich broths,
which human beings would not diflike, may be formed
for feeding a multitude of cattle, and the loup may ea-
iily be drawn oft’ from the bottom of the vat by means
of a hole to be occafionally opened or flint with a round
jiiece 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 ulually filled with
water, as the liquor in the vat might otherwife, in con-
fequence of the preffure of the atmofphere, afeend
through the white-iron tube and come over into the
boiler. To ffrengthen the white-iron tube, it may be
proper alfo to cover it all over with paper palled to it
with glue, or with a mixture of peafe-meal and water. 597
To fatten cattle with fuecefs, then, we apprehend Itiiles for
that the following rules ought to be adhered to. As
a man is kept thin and meagre by whatever agitates his
mind, or renders him anxious, fretful, and uncomfort¬
able, fo we ought to confider that cattle, though they
want forefight of the future, have neverthelefs minds
capable of being irritated and diflurbed, which muff
fo far waffe 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 pollible 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 things it
ought to be made as far as pollible of eafy digeffion,
that they may receive it in larger portions, and that a
greater quantity of it may incorporate with their con-
Hitution, and not be thrown oft’ by dung, as happens
when they receive coarfe nourifhment. It is in vain to
object to this artificial mode of proceeding, that the
natural food of animals is grafs alone, and that their
natural
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
Rearing natural dwelling is in tlie open air. The fame might be
and Fatten-faid with regard to the human fpecies. In his natural,
mg Hogs. t})at ;n his -unimproved fcate, a favage may he un¬
der the neceffity of eating ravp flelli or herbs, or of
climbing into a tree for llielter •, but although it may
be pollible for him to fubfift in this way, yet we know
that this is by no means the heft mode of his exiftence,
and that his life and health are better preferved by the
llielter of a fettled dwelling, and by more delicate food
prepared by induftry. In the fame manner it is no
doubt true, that cattle can cxift upon very coarfe food,
and may be even fattened by means of it $ but as a great¬
er quantity of it becomes necelfary, the hutbandman’s
profit in rearing them is fo far diminifhed, and the value
of his lands to the community is lefi’ened.
Sect. IV. Of the Rearing and Fattening of Hogs.
The pra6tice of keeping thefe animals is fo general,
efpecially in England, that one fhould think the profit
attending it would be abfolutely indifputable 5 and this
the more efpecially, when it is conlidered how little
nicety they have in their choice of food. From inch
experiments, however, as have been made, the matter
appears to be at leaft very doubtful, unlefs in particu¬
lar circunvftances. In the fir ft volume of Annals of
Agriculture, we have an experiment by Mr Mure of
feeding hogs with the clufter potato and carrots 5 by
which it appeared, that the profit on large hogs was
much greater than on fmall ones; the latter eating al-
moft as much as the former, without yielding a pro¬
portionable increafe of flelli. 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.i 3 6
20 fmall, ^ - 078
2 ftag hogs, - — 1178
tin being finiflied with peafe, however, it appeared, that
there was not any real profit at laft ; for the accounts
flood ultimately as follow :
59*
Mr Mure’s
experi¬
ments.
Dr
Value of hegs at
putting up,
33 comb peafe,
at 14s.
2 ditto, 2 bufhels
barley, at 14s.
56 days attend¬
ance of one
man, at I4d.
950 builiels of Car¬
rots, and 598 of
potatoes, at 3-|d.
per buftiel,
L.44
23
Cr
42 hogs fold
O fat at L.95
3 5 4
22 15
L.
95
l-95
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 was attended
With a lofs of one guinea per hog; the fecond with a
lofs of ns. 8d. *, the third, of only 3s. In thefe three
the hogs were fed with peafe; given whole in the two
2
493
firft, but ground into meal in the laft. The fourth ex- Rearing
periment, in which the hog was fed with Jerufalem ar-andFatten-
tichokes, was attended with no lofs ; but another, in lag Hogs.*
which peafe were again tried, was attended with a lofs 'r~
of 4s. Other experiments were tried with peafe,
which turning out likewife unfavourable, bai-ley -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 were 14I. 13s. 10 Jd. the value 15I. 11s.
3-J-d. fo that there was a balance in his favour of
17s. 4^d. . In another experiment, in which the hogs
were fed with peafe and barley ground, the beans be¬
ing omitted as ufelefs, there was a profit of 12s. 3d.
upon an expence of 20I. 15s. pd. j 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 was attended
in two other inftanees 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 railed 5 and that the farmer can thus
ufe his peafe and 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, luch as
yams, potatoes, &c. 3 but thefe roots, as already men¬
tioned, ought always to be boiled, or made into loops.
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 w7ell as of moll 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 necelfary
to fupport a fmall animal, and the quantity neCeffary to
fupport a large animal of the fame kind.
Hogsties are of Ample conftruction 3 they require bn- Defcriptio*
ly a warm dry place for the fw ine to lie in, with a fmalf?* a ProPer
area before, and troughs to hold their food. They are 13
generally made with {bed 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 effect upon with re-
fpedtTo their thriving and feeding. In orderr to keep
them dry, a fufficient Hope mull be given, not only to
the infide where they lie, but to the outlide area, with
proper drains to carry off all moifture. The infide
Ihould alio be a little elevated, ami have a ftep up from
the area at leaft 5 or 6 inches. Ilogfties fhould have
feveral divifions to keep the different forts of fwine fe-
parate, nor fhould 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 divilions mull there¬
fore be made, fome for fwine when with the boar,
others for brood fwfine, and for them to farrow in, for
iveaning the pigs, for feeding, &c.
Swine are apt to fpill and wafte a great deal of theif
meat by getting their feet among it, unlefs proper pre¬
cautions
494
/
A G R I C U
cautions are taken to prevent them. This may be done
by making a rail or covering of thin deal Hope from the
back part of the trough towards the fore part, leaving
juft room enough to admit their heads. There fliould
alfo be divifions acrofs the troughs, according to the
number of fvvine, to prevent the itrongeft driving away
the weakeft. Thefe divifions need not extend to the
bottom of the troughs, but fhould rife a little higher
than the top, and may be made of pieces of board about
8 or ten inches broad.
Sties ought to be conftructed that the fwine may be
eafily fed without going in among them. In iome 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 kit¬
chen, which perhaps would otherwife be thrown away.
Where pigs are to be reared on an extenfive fcale, there
ought to be what is called in England a pigs kitchen,
that is, a proper apparatus ought to be erected adjoin¬
ing to the hogfty, for boiling their food. To avoid ex¬
pence, fleam ought always to be ufed for this purpofe,
in the wray already defcribed.
Sect. V. Sheep.
^00 • •
Experi- The rearing of fheep properly belongs to the article
meats on. pafturage. So far, however, as they are fed upon the
feeding products of human induftry, they belong to the prefent
roots!"111 f'ubject. In the Memoirs of the Royal Society of A-
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
Hates that the cuftom of feeding flieep 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 confifted of giving them clean corn and
choice hay: That in fubllituting roots for corn, hay
was continued to be given to them, either of clover,
lucern, after-math, or any other fort; The corn com¬
monly ufed for fattening fheep is barley and oats.
Sometimes gray peafe, or the marfhed bean, and rye.
“ Although the flieep fed upon roots (fays M. Crette)
did not acquire quite fo great a degree of fatnefs as
ihofe fed upon corn, it jy however true, that they all
fattened, and that if their food had been varied, they.
L T U It E. Practice!
would have made great progrefs: I can even afl’ert Sheep.
the fatft of four, which were put upon change of food ’ v—
towards the end of the experiment, and ate much
more.
“ The flieep put to potatoes ate little at firft, for
feme days, which prevented them from thriving fo much
as the others •, but they recovered the fecond month
what they loft the firft. As for thole 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 flieep are intended to be fold, two feeds oi
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 poffibility of fat¬
tening flieep with different kinds ol roots j it was far¬
ther neceffary to afeertam the qualities which their flefli
might acquire, by the ufe of them. I bur flieep, fed
upon the four regimens, were killed the lame day } there-
was indeed fome. trifling difference in the texture of
their flefli, 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 flieep, but alio 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 5 corn, on the contrary,
is exported ; and the grower may fell the roots inftead
of confuming 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 fubjebt, like corn, to
the inclemencies of the feafons 5 the produce is always
more certain } thefe plants being of different natures, it
is not likely that they fliould all fail, the earth is a
more faithful depofitory- of our treaiures than the atmo-
fphere j the dreadful hurricane of the 15th of this month
(July) deftroyed every thing but roots 5 they are the
only product which efcaped its ravages } if the hail tore
their leaves, others will foon flioot and carrots, beets,
turnips, and potatoes, will be fafe.”
The refult of the experiments alluded to is given in.
the following terms :
Experiment.
49S
Sheep.
Part III.
Sheep.
AGRICULTURE.
Experiment upon Fatting Sheep, and their Increafe from Month to Month.
Sixteen flieep 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; I divided them into four lots, and fed them on different forts of food, as under.
Food.
Beets,
N°
Potatoes,
T I ^
turnips, -< ^
L 8
Breeds.
Weights at difl’erent Periods—1788.
 A 
Increafe each Month.
—A—
Jan. 20. Feb. ao. Mar. 20. April 20. May 20. ift M zd M 3d M. 4thM
[fie de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
69^ lb.
7°t
88
Oats, bar- 1 |
ley, and< ^
gray peas,
Ifle de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
Ifle de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
Ifle de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
69
71
68J
79
72
77i
80
74
73-f-
71
71
79il8.
82.*-
83
95
86
86
784
95i
83^
80^
9°t
93^
91
841
86^
77
90^ lb.
82^
IOI
87
82^
97i
9°7
86
98^
95?
9Ii
93
93 lb.
84
84
97?
94
iooi
102
96
— 10 lb.
95lb. il|
— !i3^
—
lb.
7t
lofs^
6 '
i5°i
84-J
17
l5
10
164-
101
106
583'
10
J3?
48
J7
lS?
16
59
!3i
7l
5t
I7?
4?
7?
64-
184
lb.
4t
3?
i4
64
4?
Total incr. which
each food has pro
duced upon four
iheep.
]
70 lb.
}
674
}
71
h
“ Observation. The increafe of thefe flieep, 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 to fatten, eat greedily un¬
til they are cloyed, which only fills them, without
much increafing their flefli j but, on the contrary, the
increafe produced in the enfuing months, although ap¬
parently lefs, turns all to profit in flefli and tallow.”
Sect. VI. Of 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, confift-
ing of barren hills or heaths, are proper for their re¬
ception. They delight in the fides of fandy hills,
which are generally unproductive when tilledbut
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 -^th of his carcafe j the fkin Rabbits
of a fheep may, in full wool, be worth from a fixth to more va-
a tenth of its carcafe ; but the fur of a rabbit is luable thaH
worth twice the whole value of the carcafe j therefore h!a.c.k caU*c
fuppofing a rabbit to confume a quantity of food iii°r
proportion to its carcafe, it is, on the principle offered,
a fpecies of flock nearly three times as valuable as ei¬
ther cattle or flieep. Rabbit warrens ought to be in-
clofed with a flone or fod wall $ and at their firft
flocking, it will be neceffary 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 bell method that can be praCtifed. Eagles,
kites, and other birds of prey, as well as cats, weafels, 6o2
and pole-cats, are great enemies of rabbits. The Nor- Method of
folk warreners catch the birds by traps placed on the deftroying
tops of flumps of trees or artificial hillocks of a coni-b‘r(ls
cal form, on which they naturally alight. Traps alfo^re^'
feem to be the only method of getting rid of the other
enemies 3 though thus the rabbits themfelves are in
danger of being caught.
Rabbits may be fed during the fummer with clover
and
603
Angora
breed of
yabbits.
A G R I C U
and other green food, and during the winter with cab¬
bages. Where they are kept in an inclolure as part
of the ilock of the farm, a practice 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 ; but if they are once al¬
lowed to fuller hunger in any great degree, they be¬
come extremely ravenous, and for a long titne can
fcaixely be fatisfied with food, in a communication
to the Board of Agriculture from M. Bertrand ot
Mechlin, in the Netherlands, we are informed that thp
rabbits of the Angora breed yield in Normandy an
uncommonly valuable wool, which ferves as a primary
material in feveral conliderable manufaftures. rihe
Normans affert, that each rabbit yields -wool of the
value of a crown or fix livres. M. Bertrand having
difeovered that thefe rabbits are extremely fond of the
leaves of the robinia pfeudo-acacia, (the talfe acacia),
made the following trial of its effedts. He fed fome
females with thefe leaves only, while to others he gave
cabbage leaves and the common food furnilhed to
thefe animals. He obferved that the young ones pro¬
ceeding from the females fed on the leaves ol the lobi-
nia, grew larger and in lefs time, and that their coats
and wool were liner 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, all’erting 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 into
hay, which rabbits and other animals devour eagerly.
One perl'on is able to cut a fufficient quantity of branch¬
es for a great number of rabbits 5 and turnips, vetches,
beans, and other vegetables, can be fown under the
trees.
Sect. VII. Poultry.
604
Poultry Poultry, if rightly managed, might be a fource of
beSonfined £reat P1’0^ to ^ie farmer; but where many are kept,
* thev ought not to be allowed to go at large, in which
cafe little profit can be expeded from them, for not
only will many of their eggs be loll, and many of
themfelves perhaps deftroyed by vermine, but at cer¬
tain feafons they do a great deal of mifehief 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 threlhed and fha-
ken, there would be very little of this. In the com¬
mon carelefs way of threfhing, a great deal of corn is
undoubtedly 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
cattle, this is no objed. It is much better to allow
the poultry a certain quantity of food, and to let the
cattle 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 fliould have a fpacious airy place properly
conftruded for them. Some people are of opinion
that each fort of poultry Ihould be kept by itfelfi
L T U R E.
Pra&ice.
This, however, is not abfolutely neceflary •, for all forts Poultry,
may be kept promifeuouily together, provided they have —v—J
a place fufficiently large to accommodate them conveni¬
ently, and proper divilions and nelts for each kind to re¬
tire to feparately, which they will naturally do of them¬
felves.
This method is pradifed with great luccefs atMr^”^”*"'
Wakefield’s, near Liverpool, who keeps a large flock the Board
of turkeys, geefe, hens, and ducks, all in the fame of Agricul-
place ; and although young turkeys are in general ture ty
confidered fo difficult to bring up, he rears great num- g°eaf?n
hers of them in this manner every feafon with little or ’
no trouble whatever. He has about three quarters or “ 605
near a whole acre inclofed with a fence only fix or Example of
feven feet high, formed of flabs fet on end, or any
thinnings of fir or other trees fplit and put clofe t°-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 ; and a pond or Itream of wa¬
ter running through it. Thefe poultry are fed al-
moft entirely with potatoes boiled in fleam, and thrive
aftonifhingly well. The quantity of dung that is made
in this poultry-place is alio an objed worth attention j
and when it is cleared out, a thin paring of the furface
is at the fame time taken off, which makes a valuable
compoft.
It is generally underftood that a full-grown hen con¬
tinues in her prime for three years, and that during that
period, if properly fed, fhe 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 warm and comfort¬
able, by its being placed contigtious to a rvall on the
other fide of which a fire is kept) or by its being heat¬
ed in any other manner. In the cottages of the poor
in Scotland, where the poultry and the inhabitants
fleep under the fame roof, the hens continue with a mo-
derate portion of food to produce eggs during the great-
eft part of the winter. 6o6
In Norfolk a great number of turkeys are bred, of a Qrcat niJSI,
fize and quality fuperior to thofe in other parts. Mr her oftur-
Marfliall accounts for their number in the following keys reared
manner: “It is underftood in general, that to rear111 ^ollolk*
turkeys with iucceis, it is neceflary that a male bird
Ihould be kept upon the fpot to impregnate the eggs
fingly 5 but the good houfewives of this counfry know,
that a daily intercourfe is unneceffary ; and that if the
hen be fent to a neighbouring cock previous to the fea¬
fon of exclulion, one a<ft of impregnation is lufficient for
one brood. Thus x-elieved from the expence and dif-
agreeablenefs of keeping a male bird, moll little farm¬
ers, and many cottagers, rear turkeys. ^This accounts
for their number •, 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 Lincolnfliive manage¬
ment of geefe is given by Mr John I note ol Bran¬
don, in the Annals of Agriculture. “ It is generally Vbl. xiv.
allowed, that three geefe to one gander is fufficient *,
more geefe would he too many, io as to render the ^;-rc ma_
eggs abortive. The quantity of eggs to every goole nagemenfc
for fitting about 12 or 13. They muft be fed with of geefe.
com
Part m. A G R I C
Manage- corn m tlieir water wlnlil fitting, near them, fo as to
meat of the feed at pleafure. Hie ganders ill on Id be allowed to
Dairy, keep near them, fo thatj^iey can fee them, as they will
naj.uraj]y watc{, as a guard over their own geefe.
“ Their nefts lliould be made for them of ft raw, and
confined fo as the eggs cannot roll out when the geefe
turn them, which they do every day.
“ When near hatching, the ftiell fiiould be broke a
little again!! the beak or bill of the golling, to give air,
or to enable it to receive ftrength to throw oil’ the (hell
at a proper time. The method of plucking them about
the beginning of April is this : Pluck gently and care-
'fully the fine feathers of their breaft and back 5 but be
careful not to pull or interrupt their down or pen fea¬
thers.
“ You alfo pull their quills, five out of a wing; but
I think four would 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; and then
again feven weeks after, which is the laft pulling ol the
year.
“ The 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 expe£t the brood
geefe fiiould 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 better in quality ; they
muft have plenty of grafs and water.
“ Although perfons not acquainted with the manage¬
ment of geefe, as above defcribed, may think it inhu¬
man ; yet I am credibly informed, they will do better
than where they do not pluck them, if they are pro-
perly done, as they lofe their feathers by moulting, and
would not be fo healthy.
“ It is proved, that by annually plucking geefe, as
in Lincolnftiire, there is laved, by the increafe of fea¬
thers, many hundred pounds value, which other coun¬
tries wafte, through a miftaken opinion, as not an objedt
worth their attention. Goofe feathers are now fold at
18s. a Hone, that ufed about 25 years ago to be bought
at ids. or ns. in that county. s
“ A goofe will produce by this method about is. 6d.
annually of good feathers and quills.”
Sect. VIII. Of the Management of the Dairy.
608
Importance
of the
dairy.
In all but the richeft corn countries, this is a mol! im¬
portant branch of the bufinefs of a hufbandman. It in¬
cludes not only the proper method of preferving milk in
a wholefome and uncorrupted Hate, but alfo the manu-
fadturing from it the two valuable articles of butter and
cheefe.. We fliall firft confider the fubjedt of the dairy
in a general manner; after which we lliall take notice
609 of the mode of preparing butter and cheefe.
oifwhlclT d)r James Anderfon remarks, that when a dairy is
a dairy eftabliflied, the undertaker may fometimes think it his
ought to be interel! to obtain the greatel! pofiible quantity of pro-
managed. duce; fometimes it may be more beneficial for him to
have it of the fine!! quality ; and at other times it may
be neceffary to have both thefe objedls in view, the one
or the other in a greater or lefs proportion ; it is there¬
fore of importance that he Ihould know how he may
Vol. I. Part II.
U L T U R E. 497
accomplilh the one or the other of thefe purpofes in the IVlanage-
eafiell and mol! diredt manner. ment of the
To be able to convert his milk to the higheft poffi-, .
ble profit in every cafe, he ought to be fully acquaint¬
ed with every circumftance relpedling the manufadture
both of butter and of cheefe ; as it may in forae cales
happen, that a certain portion of that milk may be
more advantageoully converted into butter than into
cheefe, while another portion of it wnuld return more
profit if made into cheefe.
The firft thing to be adverted to, in an undertaking
of this nature, is to choofe cows of a proper tort. A-
mong this clafs of animals, it is found by experience,
that forne kinds give milk of a much thicker confift-
ence, and richer quality, than others ; nor is this rich-
nefs of quality necelfarily connedted with the imallnefs
of the quantity yielded by cows of nearly an equal fize;
it therefore behoves the owner of a dairy to be peculi¬
arly attentive to this circumftance. In judging ol 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 ftiewn hereafter
to be of more importance than is generally imagined.
The fmall cows of the Alderney breed afford the rich-
eft milk hitherto known; but individual cows in every
country may be found, by a careful leledlion, that afford
much thicker milk than others ; thele therefore ought
to be fearched for with care, and their breed reared with
attention, as being peculiarly valuable.
Few 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 refpedtiye 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 lets in quantity, in px-oportion to the time fince
the cow has calved. The colour of the milk, loon alter
calving, is richer than it is afterwards •, but this, elpe-
cially for the firft two weeks, is a faulty coloux-, that
ought not to be coveted.
To make the cows give abundance of milk, and of a
good quality, thev muft at all times have plenty oi
food. Grafs is the lieft food yet known for this pur-
pofe, and that kind of gx*afs which fprings up fpontane-
oully on rich dry foils is the heft ol all. II the tempe¬
rature of the climate be fuch as to permit the cows to
graze at eafe throughout the day, they fliould be fuller¬
ed to range on fuch paftures at freedom ; but if the
cows are fo much incommoded by the heat as to be pre¬
vented from eating throughout the day, they ought in
that cafe to be taken into cool flieds for protection ;
where, after allowing them a pi’oper time to ruminate,
they fliould be fupplied with abundance of green food,
frelh-cut for the purpofe, and given them by hand
frequently, in fmall quantities, frelh and frefh, io 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 fliould be allowed to range with freedom all night,
during the mild weather of iummer.
Cows, if abundantly fed, fliould 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 R night-
498
AGRICULTURE. Practice.
Manage- night-fall. In the choice of perfons for milking the
ment of the cows, great caution fhould be employed ; for it that
( Dairy, operation be not carefully and properly performed, not
v only the quantity of the produce of the dairy will he
greatly diminifhed, but its quality alfo will be very
much debated ; for if all the milk be not thoroughly
drawn from a cow when flic 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 watte of what has been taken away.
If this leffened quantity be not again thoroughly drawn
off, it occafions a yet further diminution of the quan¬
tity of milk generated} and thus it may be made to
proceed, in perpetual progreffion from little to lefs, till
none at all is produced. In tliort, this is the practice
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 diminilhed ; fo that it much behoves the
owner of it to be extremely attentive to this circum-
ftance, if he willies 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
management of hired fervants. Its importance will be
Hill more manifeft. from the following aphorilms,
Aphorifm I. “ Of the milk that is drawn from any
cow at one time, that which conies off at the firft is al¬
ways thinner, and of a much worfe quality, than that
which comes afterwards ; 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 ignorant that the milk which is laft
of all taken from the cow at milking (in this country
called Jlroakings} is richer than the reft of the milk ;
but fewer Hill are aware of the greatnefs of the dilpro-
portion between the quality of the firft and the laft
drawn milk, from the fame cow, at one milking. The
following facts (fays our author) refpe£ting 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, exactly of the
fame fize and lliape, one of thefe tea-cups was filled at
the beginning of the milking, and the others at regular
intervals, till 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 j and from a great number of experiments fre¬
quently repeated with many different cows, the refult
was in all cafes as follows :
Firji, The quantity of cream obtained from the firft-
drawn cup was, in every cafe, much fmaller than from
that which was laft drawn j and thofe between afforded
lefs or more as they were nearer the beginning or the
end. It is unneeeffary here to fpecify thefe intermedi¬
ate propofitions; but it is proper the reader fhould be
informed that the quantity of cream obtained from the
laft-drawn cup, from fome cows, exceeded that from
the firft in the proportion of fixteen to one. In other
cows, however, and in particular circumftances, the dif-
proportion was not quite fo great; 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 fcund to
rUR as ten or twelve to one.
3
Secondly, The difference in the quality of the cream, Man^e-
however, obtained from thefe two cups, was much nient of the
greater than the difference in 'the quantity. In the firft , f
cup, the cream was a thin tough film, thinner, and per¬
haps whiter, than writing paper 5 in the laft, the cream
was of a thick butyrous coniiftence, 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 feparated, was per¬
haps ftill greater than either in refpect 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 bad been mixed with ordinary milk \ that in the
laft cup was of a thigh 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 fact about as much cream as
would be afforded by fix or eight pints of the begin¬
ning, and lofes, belides, that part of the cream which
alone can give richnefs and high flavour to his butter.
Aphorifm 2. “ If milk be put into a difh, and allowed
to ftand 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 5
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 confeffies, that his experiments
not having been made with 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 •, but they have been fo often re¬
peated as not to leave any room to doubt the fadt, and
it will be allowed to be a fact 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 always throws up a fmaller
proportion of the cream it adtually 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 fact that every perfon attentive to a dairy
muft have remarked 5 but t 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 effefts of mixing water with the
milk in a dairy are at leaft afcertained j and the know¬
ledge of the fa£t will enable attentive perfons to follow
that practice which they think will beft promote their
own intereft.
Aphorijm “ Milk which is put into a bucket or-
qtheii
Part III. AGRICULTURE. 499
Manage- other proper veflel, and carried in it to any confideralde
ment of the diftance, fo as to he much agitated, and in part cooled,
Dairy- 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 directly af¬
ter 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
poffeffion of any experiments which fufficiently afeer-
tain how much is to be alcribed to the time, and the
agitation, taken feparately. On every branch of agri¬
culture we find experiments wanting, at each Hep we
advance in our inquiries •, and it is the duty of every
inquirer to point out, as he goes along, where they are
wanted, fince the labours of no one man can poifibly
complete the whole.
From the above fa£ls, the following corollaries feem
to be clearly deducible :
Fi/fl, It is of importance that the cows fhould be
always milked as near the dairy as pofiible, to prevent
the necefiity of carrying and cooling the milk before it
is put into the diflies; 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 velfel, as it is milked,
there to remain till the \vhole milking is finiflied, 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 diftinguifliing the good from the bad cow’s milk,
fo as to feparate thefe from each other, where it is ne-
ceffary. He may thus have the whole of his daily pro-
dudt greatly debafed by the milk of one bad cow, for
years together, without being able to difeover it. A
better pradlice, therefore, will 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 wTho wifli to
he Angularly nice in this refpeft, will do well 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-
nifhing its quantity. In different fituations prudence
will point out different kinds of pra&ice as moft eli¬
gible and all perfons muft be left, after making accu- Manage-
rate trials, to determine for themfelves. It is likewifement of the
a confideration of no fmall importance, to determine in , Dairy- ^
what way the inferior milk, that is thus to be fet apart
w here 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 practice in
this refped. As the rearing of calves is there a prin¬
cipal objeri with the farmer, every cow is allowed to
fuckle her own calf w ith 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 cow-,
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, where the young
calves fail not to meet them. Each calf is then fiepa-
rately let out, and runs direfilly to its mother, where it
fucks till the dairy-maid judges it has had enough ; fhe
then orders it to be driven away, having previoully
fhackled the hinder legs of the mother, by a very fimple
contrivance, to oblige her to Hand ftill. Boys drive
away the calf with fwitches, and return it to the inclo¬
fure, while the dairy-maid milks off what w-as 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 ) which, in the hands of fuch of the inhabitants
as know how to manage it, is manufafilured into the
richeft marrowy butter that can be anyw'here met witln
This richnefs of the Highland butter is univerfally
aferibed to the old grafs the cows feed upon in their
remote glens; but it is in fafil chiefly to be attributed
to the prafilice here deferibed, which has long prevailed
in thofe regions. W hether a fimilar prafitice could be
economically adopted elfeWhere, our author takes not
upon him to fay j 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 •, on other occafiohs, it might be fold
fweet, where the fituation of the farm was within reach
of a market-town 5 and on others, it might be convert¬
ed into cheefes, which, by being made of iweet milk,
would be of a very fine quality if carefully made.
Still other ufes might be deviled for its application $
of which the following is worthy of notice. Take
common tkimmed 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 into 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 two parts j 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 wigg) 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, which, when well made, feems to be as rich and
fat as real cream itfelf, and is only diftinguifhed from
it by its fournefs. It is eaten with fugar, and efteemed
a great delicacy, and ulually fells at double the price
3 R 2 of
Dairy.
500
Manage- of frefh imikimmeil milk, it requires practice, how-
Hle”t ?f t*le ver, to be able to make this nicely 5 the degree of the
heat of the water, and many other circumftances, great¬
ly all'ecHng 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 laft drawn milk, but alfo to
take nothing but the cream that is firft feparated from
the heft milk, as it is this firft rifing cream alone that
is of the prime quality. The remainder of the milk,
which will be Hill fweet, may be either employed for
the pm-pofe of making fweet-milk cheefes, or may be
allowed to ftand, to throw up cream for making butter
of an inferior quality, as circumftances may diredt.
Fifthly, From the above fadts, we are enabled to
perceive, that butter of the very beft poffible quality
can only be obtained from a dairy of confiderable ex¬
tent, judicioufiy managed ; for when only a fmall por¬
tion of each cow’s milk can be let 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-
confiderable), that the quantity of prime cream pro¬
duced would be fo fmall as to be fcarcely worth manu-
fadturing feparately.
Sixthly, From thefe premifeswe are alfo led to draw
another conclufion, extremely different from the opi¬
nion that is commonly entertained on this fubjedt, viz.
That it feems probable, that the very beft butter could
be made with economy in thole dairies only where the
manufadlure of cheefe is the principal objedt. The rea-
fons are obvious : If only a fmall portion of milkiliould
be let apart for butter, all the reft may be made into
chfeefe, while it is yet warm from the cow, and perfedt-
ly fweet ; and if only that portion of cream which idles
during the firft three or four hours after milking is to
be referved for butter, the rich milk which is left after
that cream is feparated, being ftill perfedtly fweet, may
he converted into cheefe with as great advantage nearly
as the newly-milked milk itfelf.
But as it is not probable that many perfons could be
found who would 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 lliew the curious in what ivay butter poffef-
fing this fuperior degree of excellence may be obtained,
if they chooie to be at the expence j 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 it begins fenfibly to talte
fourilli), and that cream be afterwards carefully mana¬
ged, the butter thus obtained will be of a quality great¬
ly fuperior 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 luperior quality,
could be afforded at a price that would always enfure it
a rapid fale.
Our author now proceeds to enumerate the proper¬
ties of a dairy. The nnlk-houfe ought to be cool ia
3
agriculture.
Practice.
6lO
Dairy de
icribed.
fummer and warm in winter ; fo that an equal tern- Manage-
perature may be preferred throughout the year. It meat of the
ought alfo to be dry, fo as to admit of being kept Dairy,
fweet and clean at all times. A feparate building v f
fhould be erected for the purpofe, near a cool fpring
or running water, where the cows may have eafy ac-
cefs to it, and where it is not liable to be incommo- ■
ded by ftagnant waiter. The apartment where the
milk Hands fliould be well thatched, have thick walls,
and a ventilator in the top for admitting a free circu¬
lation of air. There thou Id alfo be an apartment with
a fire-place and caldron, for the purpofe of fealding
and cleaning the veffels. The doctor 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 eafily be kept up, or nearly
fo, both fummer and winter. ^
The utenfils of the dairy fliould be all made of wood, \^00^la
in preference either to lead, copper, or even call iron, utenfils pie.
Thefe metals are all very eafily foluble in acids j the fo-ferable to
lutions of the two firft highly poifonous j and though the ol^er
latter is innocent, the tafte of it might render the pro-
duds highly difagreeable.
Butter, though ufed at prefent as food in moft conn-..612 .
. ’ & * , . Hiftory ®£
tries 01 Furope, was not known, or known very im-|)Ultcn
perfedly, 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 mention
made of butter at very early periods : but, as the Pro-
fefl'or well obferves, the greateft mafters of biblical cri-
ticifm unanimoully agree, that the word fo tranflated
fignifies milk or cream, or four thick milk, and cannot
poffibly mean what we call butter. The word plainly
alludes to fomething liquid, which was ufed for wafhing
the feet, which was drunk, and which had fometimes
the power of intoxicating} 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 fliaken by their blind Haves, and fe¬
parate the part which arifes to the furface, as they
confider it as more valuable and delicious than what
is collefted below it.” That this fubftance mull have
been a foft kind of butter, is well known } and Hip¬
pocrates gives a fimilar account of Scythian butter,
and calls it which Galen tranllates by the
word fiovlvgov. The poet Anaxandrides, who lived
foon after Hippocrates, deferibing the marriage-fealt
of Iphicrates, who married the daughter of C'otys king
of Thrace, fays, that the Thracians ate butter, which
the Greeks at that time confidered as a wonderful kind
of food.
Diofcorides favs, that good butter was prepared from
the fatteft milk, inch as that of flieep or goats, by {ba¬
king it in a veil'd till the fat was feparated. To this
butter he aferibes the fame effects, when uled external¬
ly, as thofe produced by our butter at prelent. He
adds alfo, and he is the firft writer who makes the ob¬
fervation, that frefli butter might be melted and pour¬
ed over pulfe and vegetables, inftead of oil, and that it
jiiight be employed in paltry in the room of other fat
fubftances^
Part III. A G R I C U
Manage- ful)(lances. A kind of foot likewife was at that time
ment of the prepared from butter for external application, which
, Dail-y- was ufed in curing inflammation of the eyes and other
T1^v 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 collected in a vefiel
placed over it.
Galen, who diftinguilhes 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 goat’s milk is lefs rich;
and that afl’es milk yields the poored. Fie exprefles
his adonilhment, therefore, that Diofcorides fliould fay
that butter was made only from the milk of fheep and
goats. He allures 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 ; and when leather is befmear-
ed with it, the fame purpofe is anfwered as when it is
rubbed over with oil. In cold countries, which do not
produce oil, butter is ufed in the baths ; and that it is
a real fat, may be readily perceived by its catching fire
when poured over burning coals.” What has been
here faidis fufficient to (hew that butter mud have been
very little known to or ufed by the Greeks and 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 refpecting 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 poliflied nations
had learnt the art of making it, they ufed it not as
food, but only as an ointment, or fometimes as a medi¬
cine. “ w e 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 5 nor is there any thing laid of it in that
refpect byr the authors who treat on agriculture, though
they have given us very particular information concern¬
ing milk, cbeefe, and oil.”
The ancient Chriftians of Egypt burnt butter in their
lamps inftead of oil; and in the Roman churches, it
was anciently allowed, during Chriftmas time, to burn
butter inilead of oil, on account of the great confump-
tion of it otherwife.
Butter is the fat, oily, and inflammable part of the
L T U R E.
613
Qualities of
butter, milk. This kind of oil is naturally diftributed through
all the fubftance of the milk in very fmall particles,
which are intei pofed betwixt the cafeous and ferous parts,
amongft which it is fufpended by a flight adhefion, but
without being diffolved. It is in the fame Rate in which
oil is in emulfions: hence the fame whitenefs of milk
and emullions •, and hence, by reR, the oily parts fe-
parate from both thefe liquors to the furface, and form
a cream. See Emulsion.
When butter is in the Rate of cream, its proper oily
parts are not yet fuflicient'y united together to form a
homogeneous mafs.. They are Rill half feparated by
the interpofition of a pretty large quantity of ferous
and cafeous particles. The butter is completely form¬
ed by preffing out thefe heterogeneous parts by means
501
of continued percuflion. It then becomes an uniform Manage-
foft mafs. ment of the
Frelli butter, which has undergone no change, has Dairy,
fcarcely any fmell; its taRe is mild and agreeable, it' ' ' v ' 1
melts with a weak heat, and none of its principles are
difengaged by the heat of boiling water. Thofe pro¬
perties prove, that the oily part of butter is of the na¬
ture of the fat, fixed, and mild oils obtained from many
vegetable fubRances by expreflion. See Oils.—The
half fluid confiRence of butter, as of moR other concrete
oily matters, is thought to be owing to a confiderable
quantity of acid united with the oily part; which acid
is fo well combined, that it is not perceptible while the
butter is frefh, and has undergone no change 5 but when
it grows old, and undergoes fome degree of fermentation,
then the acid is difengaged more and more f and this is
the caufe that butter, like oils of the fame kind, becomes
rancid by age.
Butter is conRantly ufed in food, from its agreeable
taRe} but to be wholefome, it muR be very frefli and
free from rancidity, and alfo not fried or burnt} other-
wife its acrid and even cauRic acid, being difengaged,
diforders digeRion, renders it difficult and painful, ex¬
cites acrid empyreumatic belchings, and introduces much,
acrimony into the blood. Some perfons have Romachs
fo delicate, that they are even affefted with thefe incon¬
veniences by frefli butter and milk. This obfervation
is alfo applicable to oil, fat, chocolate^ and in general
to all oleaginous matters.
Hr J ames Anderfon, whom we have already quoted,
gives the following minute diredtions for making and ^
preferring butter. The creaming dilhes, when pro- Rules for
perly cleaned, fweet, and cool, ought to be filled withmaking
the milk as foon as it is drawn from the cow, having butter,
been firR carefully Rrained through a cloth, or dole
(trainer made of hair or wire : the dodtor prefers lilver
wire to every other. The creaming difnes ought never
to exceed three inches in depth 5 but they may be fo
broad as to contain a gallon and a half j when filled
they ought to be put on the (helves of the milk-houfe,
and remain there until the cream be fully feparated.
If the fined butter be intended, the milk ought not to
Rand above fix or eight hours, but for ordinary butter
it may Rand 12 hours or more ; yet if the daily be
very large, a fufficient quantity of cream will be fepa¬
rated in two, three, or four hours, for making the bed
butter. It is then to be taken off as nicely as poffible
by a Rimming dilh, without lifting any of the milk $
and immediately after put into a vefl’el by itfelf, until
a proper quantity for churning be colledted. A firm
neat, wooden barrel feems well adapted for this purpofe,
open at one end, and having a lid fitted to clofe it. A
cock or fpigot ought to be fixed near the bottom, to
draw olf any thin or ferous part which may drain from
the cream; the infidc of the opening fhould be covered
with a bit of fine filver wire gauze, in order to keep
back the cream while the ferum is allowed to pafs ; and
the barrel fliould be inclined a little on its Rand, to al¬
low the whole to run off.
The doctor contradicts the opinion that very fine Cream"5
butter cannot be obtained, except from cream that fs ought to
not above a day old. On the contrary, he infills tliatbekeP_t
it is only in very few cafes that even tolerably good
butter can be obtained from cream that is not above nK.^hito^
one day old, The feparation of butter from cream butter,.
oidy x
502
A G H I C 0
6x6
Of the
churn.
Manage- onty takes place after the cream has attained a cer-
ment of the tain degree of acidity. If it be agitated before that
Dairy, acidity has begun to take place, no butter can be ob-
1——Y——j tamed, and the agitation muft be continued till the
time that the fournefs is produced •, after which the
butter begins to form. “ In fummer, while the di-
mature is warm, the heating may be, without very
much difficulty, continued until the acidity be pro¬
duced, fo that butter may be got : but in this cafe the
proceik is long and tedious ; and the butter is for the
moft part of a foft confiflence, 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 affifts in producing a
very inferior kind of butter, white, hard, and brittle,
and almoll unfit for any culinary purpofe whatever.
The judicious farmer, therefore, will not attempt to
imitate this pradtice, but will allow his cream to remain
in the v( \1 appropriated for keeping it, until it has ac¬
quired the proper degree of acidity. There is no rule
for determining how long it is to be kept *, but our au¬
thor is of opinion, that a very great latitude is allowable
in this cafe : and that if no ferous matter be allowed to
lodge among the cream, it may be kept good for mak¬
ing butter a great many weeks.
The churn in which butter is made likewife admits
of confiderable diverfity •, but our author prefers the
old-faffiioned 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 moft people are aware of; as
a few hafty and irregular ftrokes will render butter bad,
which otherwife would have been of the fineft quality.
After the procefs is over, the whole ought to be fepa-
rated from the milk, and put into a clean diffi, the in-
fide of which-, if made of wood, ought to be well rub¬
bed Avith common fait, to prevent the butter from ad¬
hering to it. The butter fliould be prefled and worked
with a flat wooden ladle or Ikimming diffi, having a
fliort 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 ftrength as well as dex¬
terity ; but our author condemns the beating up of the
butter with the hand as “ an indelicate and barbarous
pra&ice.” In like manner he condemns the employ¬
ing of cold water in this operation, to iva//i the butter
as it is called. Thus, he fays, the quality of it is de-
bafed in an aftonilhing degree. If it is too foft, it may
be put into fmall veflels, and thefe allowed to fwim in
a tub of cold water : but the water ought never to
touch the butter. The beating ffiould 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 falted. The veffel into which
it is to be put muft 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. Inftead of common
6lj. . fait alone, the doftor recommends the following com-
for prcfSr pofition. “ Take of fugar one part, of nitre one part,
ing butter, and of the bell Spanilli great fait, two parts. Beat the
617
Butter
ought not
to be put
into water.
L T U R E. Pratfice.
whole into a fine powder, mis them well together, and Manage-
put them by for ufe. One ounce of this is to be ment of the
thoroughly mixed with a pound of butter as foon as it, • i
is freed from the milk, and then immediately put into
the veffel defigned to hold it ; after which it muft be
preffed fo cloi’e as to leave no air-holes ; the furlace is
to be fmoothcd and covered with a piece of linen, and
over that a piece of wet parchment; or, in defedt ot
this laft, fine linen that has been dipped in melted but¬
ter, exadtly fitted to the edges of the veffel all round,
in order to exclude the air as much as polfible. 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 effedtually every cranny, and totally to ex¬
clude the air. “ If all this (fays the doctor) be care¬
fully done, the butter may be kept perfedly found in
this climate for many years, How many years 1 can¬
not tell ; but I have feen it two years old, and in every
refpedt as fweet and found as when only a month old.
It deferves to be remarked, that butter cured in this
manner does not taftc well till it has Itood at leaft a
fortnight after being falted ; but after that period is
elapfed, it eats with a rich marrowy tafte that no other
butter ever acquires ; and it taftes lo little lalt, that
a perfon who had been accultomed 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 uling,
in order the more effectually to preferve it from the air,
and to avoid rancidity. _ ,jI9
As butter contains a quantity of mucilaginous mat-t,, prcpa^
ter, much more putrefcible than the pure oily part, our butter for
author recommends the purifying it from this mucilage fading to
by melting in a conical veffel, in which the mucilage
will fall to the bottom ; the pure oily part fwimming
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 other. 62Q
He propofes another method of prelerving butter, viz. preferved[
by mixing it with honey, which is very antifeptic, and by honey,
mixes intimately with the butter. Thus mixed, it eats
very pleafantly, and may perhaps be fuccefsfully ufed
with a medicinal intention. . ^2I
In England no butter is efteemed equal to that which Epping but-
is made in the county of Efl'ex, well known by the ter.
name of Epping butter, and which in evei7 feafon of
the year yields at London a much higher price than any
other. The following directions concerning the mak¬
ing and management of butter, including the Epping
method, are extracted from the^d 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 ffiould 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 ; whereas
a good one will bring from feven to ten pounds per an¬
num : therefore it is obvious that bad cows ffiould be
parted with, and good ones purchafed in their room.
"When fuch are obtained, a good fervant ffiould be
employed to milk them ; as through the neglect and
millnanagement of few ants, it frequently happens that
Part III.
Manage- the brfl cows are fpoiled. No farmer fliould truft en-
ment of the tirely to fervants, but fometimes fee themfelves that
, I:>:I‘r>r- , their cows are milked clean ; for if any milk is fullered
to remain in the udder, the cow will daily give lefs, till
at length file will become dry before the proper time,
and the next feafon file will Icarce give milk fufficient
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 tins is the cafe, we fliould by no
means mix it with the fweet milk, but give it to the
pigs ; and that which is conveyed to the dairy-houfe
ihould remain in the pail till it is nearly cool, before
it be flrained, that is, if the weather be warm j but
in frofty weather it fliould 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 fkim-
med from the milk ere the dairy becomes warm } nor
fliould the milk, at that feafon, ftand longer in the vats,
&e. than 24 hours, nor be fkimmed in the evening till
after funfet. In winter milk may remain unfkimmed
for 36 or 48 hours. The cream fhouldke depofited in
a deep pan, which fliould 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 flill better.
Where people have not an opportunity of churning
every other day, they fhould fliift the cream daily into
dean pans, which will keep it cool, but they Ihould
never fail to churn at leafl twice in the week in hot
weather; and this work fliould 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 chum
be to be ufed, it may be plunged a foot deep into a tub
of cold water, and fliould remain there during the whole
lime of churning, which will very much harden the but¬
ter. A ftrong rancid flavour ivill be given to butter, if
we churn fo near the fire as to heat the wood in the
winter feafon.
After the butter is churned, it fliould be immediate¬
ly wafhed in many different waters till it is perfe&ly
cleanfed from the milk; but here it muft be remarked,
that a warm hand will foften it, and make it appear
greafy, fo that it will be impoffible to obtain the bell
price for it. The cheefemongers ufe two pieces of wood
for their butter ; and if thofe who have a very hot hand
were to have fuch, they might work the butter 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 Somer¬
set, they difli it in half pounds for fale ; but if they
forget to rub fait round the infide of the difli, it will
be difficult to work it io as to make it appear hand-
fome.
Butter will require and endure more working in
winter than in fummer ; but it is remarked, that no
perfon whofe hand is warm by nature makes good
butter. *
Thofe who ufe a pump-chum muff; endeavour to
keep a regular ftroke ; nor fliould they admit any per-
lon to aflift them, except they keep nearly the fame
ftroke: for if they churn more flowly, the butter will
5®3
in the winter go back, as it is called; and if the ftroke Manage-
be more quick and violent in the fummer, it will caufe ment of the
a fermentation, by which means the butter will imbibe , Dairy-
a very difagreeable flavour. v
Where people keep many cows, a barrel-churn is
to be preferred; but if this be not kept very clean,
the bad effedls will be difeovered in the butter ; nor
muft we forget to flnft the htuation of the churn when
we ufe it, as the feafons alter, lo as to fix it in a warm
place in winter, and where there is a free air in lum-
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 Epping
ufe any colour *, but when they do, it is very innocent.
They procure fome found carrots, whofe juice they ex-
prefs through a fieve, and mix with the cream when it
enters the churn, which makes it appear like May but¬
ter ; nor do they at any time ufe much fait, though a
little is abfolutely neceffary. v
As they make in that county but very little cheefe,
fo of courfe very little whey butter is made ; nor indeed
fliould any perfon make it, except for prefent ufe, as it
will not keep good more than two days; and the
whey will turn to better account to fatten pigs writh.
, Nothing feeds thefe fafter, nor will any thing make
them fo delicately white; at tfie fame time it is to be
obferved, that no good bacon can be made from pigs
thus fatted. WTiere much butter is made, good cheefe
for fervants may be obtained from fkimmed milk, and
the whey will afterwards do for ftore pigs.
The foregoing rules will fuflice for making good Weft of
butter in any country ; but as fome people are partial England
to the weft country method, it ffiall be deferibed asmo??of
briefly as poffible. ^
In the firft place, they depofite 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 with hot embers 5 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 •, it is afterwards removed ffea-
dily 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 butter; but a cleanlier way
is to make ufe of a churn. Some feald it over the fire,
but then the fmoke is apt to affedt it; and in either cafe,
if the pans touch the fire, they will crack or fly, and the
milk and cream will be w?fted. fa-
The Cambridgefliire fait butter is held in the higheft Camlridge-
efteem, and is made nearly after the fame method as butter,
the Epping ; and by waffling and working the fait
from it, the cheefemongers in London often fell it at a
high price for frefli butter. They depofite it when
made into wooden tubs or firkins, which they expofe to
the air for two or three weeks, and often wafli them 5
but a readier way is to feafon them with unflaked lime,
or a large quantity of fait and water well boiled will
do 5 with this they muft be ferubbed feveral times, and
afterwards thrown into cold water, where they fhould
remain three or four days, or till they are wanted ;
then they fliould be ferubbed as before, and well rinfed
with cold water} but before they receive the butter,
carej
AGRICULTURE.
Dairv.
624
Yorkfhire
and Sufiblk
504 A G R I C U
Manage- care muft he taken to rub every part of the firkin with
ment of thefalt: then, if the butter be properly made, and per-
fectly fweet, it may be gently preHed into the firkin j
but it muft be well failed when it is made up, and the
fait fhould 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 fliould be immediately put on.
They purfue nearly the fame method in Suffolk and
Yorklhire; nor is the butter that is made inthele coun-
tmtter. t;es mLlc]1 inferior to that made in Cambridgeflxire *> in¬
deed it is often fold in London for Cambridge butter :
and no people make more butter from their cows than
the Yoi-klhire farmers do, which is certainly owing to
the care they take of their cows in the winter 5 as at
that feafon they houfe them all, feed them with good
hay, and never fuller them to go out (except to water)
but when the weather is very fercne } and when their
cows calve, they give them comfortable malt mefhes
for two or three days after ; but thefe cows never an-
fwer if 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 a fie ft the
butter. If wild garlick, charlock, or May-weed, be
found in a pafture ground, cows fliould not feed therein
till after they have been mown, when fuch pernicious
plants will appear no moi’e till the following fpring } but
thole cows that give milk muft not partake of the hay
made therefrom, as that will alfo difl'ufe its bad quali¬
ties.
’'Cheat part of the Epping butter is made from cows
that feed during the fummer months in Epping Foreft,
where the leaves and fhrubhy plants contribute greatly
to the flavour of the butter. The mountains of Wales,
the highlands of Scotland, and all the moors, commons,
und heaths in England, produce excellent butter where
it is properly managed ; and though not equal in quan¬
tity, yet far fuperior in quality to that which is produced
from the richeft meadows } and the land is often blamed
when the butter is bad through mifmanagement, llut-
tifbnefs, or inattention.
Turnips and rape aft'eft milk and butter, but brewers
grains are fweet and wholefome food, and will make
cows give abundance of milk 5 yet the cream thereon
will be thin, except good hay be given at the fame
time, after every meal of grains. Coleworts 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 wa¬
ter ; ftagnated pools, water wherein frogs, &c. fpawn,
common fewers, and ponds that receive the drainings of
g25 ftables, are improper. /
Frauds in Divers abufes are committed in the packing and falt-
the fale of ing of butter, to increafe its bulk and weight, againft
Gutter. which we have a ftatute exprefs. Pots are frequently
laid with good butter for a little depth at the top, and
with bad at the bottom $ fometimes the butter is fet in
rolls, only touching at top, and Handing hollow at bot¬
tom. To prevent thefe cheats, the faftors at Utoxeter
keep a furveyor, who, in cafe of fufpicion, tries the
pots with an iron inftrument called a butter-bore, made
like a cheefe-tafter, to be lluck in obliquely to the bot¬
tom.
L T U It E. ' Practice.
In the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xvii. the following Manajje-
mode of preventing butter and cream from receiving a ment of the
taint from the cows feeding on cabbages and turnips is , t
ftated by J. Jones, Efq. of Bolas-heath, Newport, Shrop-
fhire. “ I find by experience (fays he), that a Imallnow butter
bit of faltpetre, powdered and put into the milk-pan, may be
with the new milk, does effeftually prevent the cream
and butter from being tainted, although the cows he
fed on the refufe leaves of cabbages and turnips. In an(i turnips,
the beginning of this laft winter, my men were Very
careful in not giving to the cows any outfide or decayed
leaves of the cabbages or turnips \ yet the cream and
butter were fadly tainted: but as loon as the maid uied
the faltpetre, all the taint was done away ; and after¬
wards no care was taken in feeding the cows, for they
had cabbages and turnips in all ftates. Our milk-pans
hold about nine pints of milk.” 627
The trade in butter is very confiderable. Some com-nt^of
pute 50,000 tons annually confumed in London. It isj^A^u ef
chiefly made within 40 miles round the city. Fifty
thoufand firkins are laid to be fent yearly from Cam¬
bridge and Suffolk alone •, each firkin containing yfilhs.
Utoxeter, in Staffordfhire, is a market famous lor good
butter, infomuch, that the London merchants have efta-
bliflied a faftory there for that article. It is bought by
the pot, of a long cylindrical form, weighing 14 lbs. ^2S
The other grand objeft of the dairy is cheefe-mak-Cheefe de-
ing. Cheefe is the curd of milk, precipitated or fepa- fenbed.
rated from the whey by an acid. Cheele differs in
quality according as it is made from new or fkimmed
milk, from the curd which feparates fpontaneoufly upon
Handing, or that which is more fpeedily produced by
the addition of runnet. Cream alio affords a kind ol
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 inloluble in
every’ liquid except fpirit of nitre, and eauftic 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- ^
commended in the SAvedifh Memoirs to he uied byw,e?
anglers as a bait. It may he made into any form, is
not foftened by the cold water, and the fillies are fond
of it. As a food, phyficians condemn the too free uie
of cheefe. When new, it is extremely difficult ol di-
geftion j when old, it becomes acrid and hot j and,
from Dr Percival’s experiments, is evidently t>i a fep-
tic nature. It is a common opinion that old cheefe di-
gefts every thing, yet is left undigefted itfelf •, but this
is without any folid foundation. Cheefe made from the
milk of fiieep digefts fooner than that from the milk oi
cows, buf is lei's nourifliing j that from the milk ol
goats digefts fooner than either, but is alio the leaft nou-
rilhing. In general, it is a kind of food fit only for
the laborious, or thofe whofe organs of digeftion are
ftrong.
Every country has places noted for this commodity :
• thus Chefter and Gloucefter cheefe are famous in Eng¬
land ; and the Parmefan cheefe is in no lefs repute
abroad, efpecially in France. This fort of cheefe is
entirely made of fweet c6w-milk: but at Rochefort in
Languedoc, they make it of ewes milk; and in other
places it is ufual to add goat or ewes milk in a certain
proportion to that of the cow. There is likewife a
kind
6i$
Making of
cheefe.
Part HI. "A G R I C U
Manage- kind of medicated cfteefe made by intimately mixing
went of the the expreffed juice of certain herbs, as fage, baum,
. Da‘ry' . &c. with the curd before it is fafhioned into a
cheefe. The Laplanders make a fort of cheefe of the
milk of their rein-deer ; which is not on>y of great fer-
yice to them as food, but on many other occaiions. 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 cheefes ; they catch
what drops out, and with this anoint the limb, which
foon recovers. They are 1 abject alfo to coughs and
difeafes of the lungs, and thefe they cure by the fame
fort ot medicine : they boil a large quantity of the
cheefe in the frefli deer’s milk, and drink the decoc¬
tion in large draughts warm feveral times a-day. They
make a lets flrong decoction of the lame kind alfo,
which they ule as their common drink, for three or
four days together, at feveral times of the year. They
do this to prevent the mil’chiefs they are liable to from
their water, which is otherwife their conftant drink, and
is not good.
In making cheefe the fame precaution is to be ob-
ferved as with regard to butter, viz. the milk ought
not to be agitated by carrying to any dillance 5 nor
ought the cows to be violently driven before they
are milked, which reduces the milk aljnofl to the fame
Hate 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 fonic-
times met with in making the milk coagulate; four
or five hours.being fometimes neceffary inftead of one
(the ufual time employed) ; and even after all, the
curd will be of fuch a loft nature, that the cheefe will
fwell, puff up, and rent in innumerable places, without
ever coming to that folid conliftence which it ought
to have. As this frequently happens in confequence
of heat, Mr Iwamley advifes to mix a little cold
fpring Water with the milk. It is a bad pradtice to
put in more runnet 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
by the addition of more.
Generalde- The moll common defects of cheefe are its appear-
efts of ing w]ien cUt full of fmall holes -ailed eyes; its puffing
Tip, cracking, and pouring out quantities of thin ferous
liquor 5 becoming afterwards rotten and full of mag¬
gots in thole places from which the liquor iffued. All
this, according to our author, proceeds from the for¬
mation of a fubflance called by him flip 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 il in larger pieces, occafions thole
rents and cracks in the cheefe already mentioned 3 for
though this kind of curd retains its coagulated nature
for fome time, it always fooner or later dillblves into
a ferous liquid. This kind of curd may be produced,
I. By ufing the milk too hot. 2. By bad runnet.
3* n°t allowing the curd a proper time to form.
I he firil 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 affion 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 IL
630
cheefe.
L T U R E. sos
tious can be given, farther than that the utmoft care Mana e
mull be taken that it have no putrid tendency, norment of the
any rancidity from too great heat in drying. The Dairy.
only rule that can be given for its preparation is to ' 
take out the maw of a calf which has fed entirely upon 0f 631
milk 3 and if it is cold, fwill it a little in water 3 rub it ini^mmet.
well with lalt 3 then fill it with the fame, and after*-
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 flirring or turning them for four, fix, or nine
months 3 after which they are opened to dry, flretch-
ed out Upon flicks or fplints. They may be ufed im¬
mediately aftep being dried, though it is reckoned bell
to keep them till they be a year old before they are
uied. The bell method of making the runnet from
the {kins, according to our author, is the following :
“ ^ pure fpring water, in quantity proportioned
to the runnet you intend to make 3 it is thought bell
by feme two {kins to a gallon of water 3 boil the wa¬
ter, which makes it fofter or more pure : make it
with lalt into brine that will fwim an egg: then let it
Hand till the heat is gone off to about the heat of
blood-warm 3 then put your maw-lkin in, either cut
in pieces or whole 3 the former I fliould imagine beff
or moH convenient 3 letting it Heep 24 hours, after
which it will be fit for ufe. Such
uantity
judged neceffary muff then be put into the milk 5
about a tea-cupful being neceffary for ten cows milk 3
though in this reipecl very particular directions cannot
be given.”
In the Bath Papers Mr Hazard gives the follow-Mr Ha-
ing receipt for making runnet: “ When the maw-fkin zard’s re-
is well prepared-and fit for the purpofe, three pints orceiPtfor
two quarts ol loft water, clean and fvveet, fliould l}£mnnet-
mixed with fait, wherein fhould be put fweet brier,
role leaves and flowers, cinnamon, cloves, mace,
and in fhort almoff every fort of fpice and aromatic
that can be procured; and if thefe are put into two
quarts of Avater, they muff boil gently till the liquor
is reduced to three pints, and care fhould be taken that
this liquid is not fmoked 3 it fhould be Hrained clear
from the Ipices, &c. 3 and when found not to be warmer
than milk from the cow, it fliould be poured upon
the veil or maw ; a lemon may then be fliced into it,
ivhen it may remain a day or two 3 after which it fliould
he llrained again and put into a bottle, Avhere, if well
corked, it Avill keep good for tivelve months or more 3
it Avill fmell like a perfume, and a fmall quantity of it
will turn the milk, and give the cheefe a pleafing fla¬
vour.” He adds, that if the veil or maw be falted and
dried for a Week or tivo near the fire, it Avill do for the
purpofe again almoff as well as before.
In the making of cheefe, fuppofing the runnet to Particular.-
be of a good quality, the following particulars muff to be ob-
be obferved: 1. The propel* degree of heat 're:,, o-rvivl m
ought to he what is called milk-warm, or,
degrees removed from coolnefs,” according to Mr
Twamley 5 confiderably beloiv the heat of milk taken
from the coav. If too hot, it may be reduced to a
proper temperature by cold Avater, as already men¬
tioned. 2. The time alloAved for the runnet to take
effeCl. This, our author obferves, ought never to be
lefs than an hour and a half. The procefs may he ac¬
celerated, particularly by putting fait to the milk be-
3 S fore
This ferved
a fewTki?S°f
cneele.
5°6
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&ice.
,T fore the ruraiet is added. Mr Tvvamley advifes two
nrenTofthehandfuls to ten or twelve cows milk ; but he allures
Dairy, us, that no bad confequence can follow from the curd
' being formed ever fo foon: as it then only becomes
more folk! and fit for making cheefe of a proper qua¬
lity. 3. To prevent any difficulty in ieparating the
curd from the whey, prepare a long cheefe-knife from
lath •, one edge being lharpened to cut the curd acrois
from top to bottom in the tub, croffing it with lines
checkerwife: by which means the whey riles through
the vacancies made by the knife, and the curd finks
with much more eafe. A fieve has been ufe.d with
fuccefs, in order to feparate the whey perfedly from
the curd. 4. Having got the curd all firm at the bot¬
tom of the tub, take the whey from it} let it fland 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 gi\en.
Some dairy-women allow the curd to Hand for two
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 well by
fqueezing thoroughly to make it fit clofe 5 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 lign 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 j indeed this colour of the whey is always 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 fliong 5
to take care that it be clean, and not tainted } to be
certain that the curd is fully come, and not to flu it
before the air has had time to efcape } a quantity of
air being always difcharged in this as in many other
chemical procelfes. h]. Cheefe is very apt to iplit in
confequence of being “ falted 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 1 wam-
ley prefers falting 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 fir ft become too ftiff and hard before it is
mixed with the other. 9- Cnrdly 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 Gloucefterfhire,
what is called the fecond or two-meal cheefe, is made
from one meal of new milk and one of fkimmed or old
milk, having the cream taken away. Skimmed cheefe,
or det-milk cheefe, is made entirely from fkimmed milk,
the cream having been taken oft to make butter. It
goes by the name of Suffolk chcefe, and is much ufed
atfea* being lefs liable to be affected 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
cheefe.
ty of it, which our author fuppofes to arife chiefly Manage-
from greater care being taken in fome places than in ment of the
others. _ . v—
Slip-coat or foft cheefe is made entirely of flip-curd,
and diflolves 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. 635
Be/l methods of making cheefe in England. The dou- J?ouble
ble Gloucefteris a cheefe that pleafes almoft every palate. Glouccfteir
The beft of this kind is made from new, or (as it is cal¬
led 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 fliape of a heart, fo that any perfon may know
them. ,
It will be every farmer’s intereft (if he has a lufli-
cient number of cows) to make a large cheeie fjom one
meal’s milk. This, when brought in warm, will be
eafily changed or turned with the runnet } but it the
morning or night’s milk be to be mixed with that
which is freffi from the cow, 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 will give the cheeie a very
difagreeable flavour.
When the milk is turned, the whey ffiould be care¬
fully {trained from the curd. The curd Ihould be bro¬
ken fmall with 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 ffiould
be filled an inch or more above the brim, that when
the whey is prefled out, it may not ffinnk below, the
brim ; if it does, the cheefe will be worth very little.
But firft, before the curd is put in, a eheefe-cloth or
ft rain er, fliould be laid at the bottom of the vat . and
this fliould 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 ot two hours,
when it fliould be turned and have a clean cloth put
under it and turned over as before. It muft then be
prefled 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 project, they fliould be pared ofl : it may
then be put on a dry board, where it fliould be regu¬
larly turned every day. It is a good way to have three
or four holes bored round the lower part of the yat, that
the whey may drain fo perfeftly from the cheefe as not
the leaft particle of it may remain.
The prevailing opinion of the people of Gloucefter-
fliire and the neighbouring counties is, that the cheefes
will fpoil if they do not ferape and wafli them when
they are found to be mouldy. But others think that
fuflering the mould to remain mellows them, provided
they are turned every day. Thofe, however, who will
have the mould off, fliould caufe it to be remove (
with a clean dry flannel, as the walking the checks
is
636
Chedder
cheefe.
637
Chefliire
clieefe.
Part III.
Manaire- i* only a means of making the mould (which is a
juent of the fpecies of fungus rooted in the coat) grow again im-
Dairy. mediately.
Some people fcald the curd : hut this is a bad and
mercenary praftiee ; it robs the cheeie of its fatnefs,
and can only be done with a view 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 moll 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 leaft
add to the goodnefs, it is perfe&ly innocent in its na¬
ture 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 is the fame
as is.purfued throughout Somerfetfhire and the adjoin¬
ing counties.
Chelhire 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 ; 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
excellence may be attributed. Indeed they fait the
curd (which may make a difference), and keep the
cheefes in a damp place after they ai'e made, and are
very careful to turn them daily.
The following account of the mode of making this
cheefe is ftated in the Annals of Agriculture, by Mr
John Chamberlaine of Chefter. “ The procefs of ma¬
king Chefliire 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, wrhen the cream is taken off, and put to warm
in a brafs pan heated with boiling water ; then one
third part of that milk is heated in the fame manner,
fo as to bring it to the heat of new milk from the cow;
(this part of the bufinefs is done by a perfon who does
not aflift 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 pre¬
pared, 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, iuf-
Lcieiit to coagulate the milk ; and at the fame time, if
arnotto he ufed to colour the cheefe, a iinall quantity,
as requifite for colouring, (or a marigold or carrot in-
fufion) is rubbed very fine, and mixed w'ith the milk,
by ftirring all together ; then covering it up warm, it
is to Hand about half an hour, or until coagulated ; at
which time it is firft turned over with a bowl, to fepa-
rate the whey from the curds, and broken foon after
with the hand and bowl into very fmall particles; the
whey being feparated by Handing feme time, is taken
from the curd, which finks to the bottom ; 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 fide ufe of feparating them ; and a
board is placed thereon, with weights, from fixty to
AGRICULTURE. say
a hundred and twenty pounds, to prefs out thd w'hey : Manage-
when it is getting into a more folid confiftence, it is cut, nient of the
and turned over in flices feveral times, to extract , ^)air^
all the w'hey, 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 polfible,
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 hulk when final¬
ly pat into the prefs. Then prefs the fide wrell by
hand, and with a hoard at top well weighted ; 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 fluff it
out of the vat; firft put a cloth upon the top of it, and
reverie it on the cloth into another vat, or the fame,
which vat fliould be well fcalded before the cheeie is
returned into it; then the top part is broken by hand
down to the middle, and fait mixed with it, and Ikew-
ered as before, then preffed by hand, weighted, and all
the whey extracted. This done, reverie 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 fides of the
vat, the cheefe being firft inclofed in a cloth, and the
edges of it put within the vat.
“ N. B. The cloth is qf fine hemp, one yard and a
half long by one yard wide. It is fo laid, that on one
fide of the vat it lhall be level with the fide of it, on
the other it lhall 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
Ikewers, which are fluffed occafionally. In four hours
more it fliould be fluffed and turned, and in four hours
more, the fame, and the Ikewering 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 ; at noon ta¬
ken out finally to the faffing room, there faff the out-
Jide, and put a cloth binder round it. The cheefe
fliould, after fuch faffing, 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 fliould be moderately warm; but no
wind or draught of air fliould be permitted, which ge¬
nerally cracks them. Some rub the outlides with but¬
ter or oil to give them a coat.
“ The fpring-made cheefe is often Ihipped for the
London market in the following autumn, and it is fup-
pofed to be much ameliorated by the heating on board
the veffel.” , 6„g
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 weigh from fix to twelve pounds each cheefe. Im¬
mediately after they are made, it is neceflary to put
them into fquare boxes made exaftly to fit them ; they
being fo extremely rich, that except this precaution
3 S 2 be
5° 8
AGRICULTURE.
Manage- taken they are apt to bulge out, and break afunder.
jnent of the They lliould be continually and daily turned in thei'e
Dairy, boxes, and mull be kept two years before they are pro-
v perly mellowed for fale.
Some make them in a net fomewhat like a cabbage
net j 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 pleafmg.
It is proper to mention that the making of thefe
cheefes is not confined to the Stilton farmers, as many
others in Huntingdon Hi ire (not forgetting Rutland and
jNorthamptonfhire) make a fimilar fort, fell them for
the fame price, and give all of them the name of Stilton
cheejes.
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
tlefcribed for making runnet were put in practice, they
would make their cheefe llill better} at leall they
would not have fo many faulty and unfound cheefes *,
for notwithllanding their cheefes bear inch a name and
price, they often find them fo bad as not to be faleable j
which is probably owing to their being fo carelefs about
the runnet.
It has been alleged, that as good cheefe might he
made in other counties, if people w ould 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 •, for, from the niceft obfervation, it does not ap¬
pear that their land is in any refpect fuperior to that
of other counties.
Excellent cream cheefes are made in Lincolnlhire, by
adding the cream of one meal’s milk to milk wliioh
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 radilhes, falad, &c.
Many people give Ikimined milk to pigs j but the
whey will do equally well after cheefes are made
from this milk : fuch cheefes will always fell for at
leafl 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
ealier of digeilion than any new milk cheefes. A
good market may always be found for the fale of them
at Briftol.
Account of the making of Panne fan cheefe ; by Mr
Zappa of Milan : in anfwer to queries from Arthur
Young, Efq.
“ Are the cows regularly fed in llables?”—From
the middle of April, or fooner, if poffible, the cows are
fent to pafture in the meadows till the end of November
ufually.
“ Or only fed in ftahles in winter ?”—When the fea-
fon is paft, and fnow comes, they are put into llables for
the whole winter, and fed with hay.
2
6S9
Parmefan
eheefe.
Practice.
“ Do they remain in the pallure from morning till Manage-
night, or only in hot weather?”—Between nine and ment of the
ten in the morning the cows are fent to water, and Dairy,
then to the pallures, where they remain four or five ' 1 v'"' '
hours at molt, and at three or four o’clock are driven
to the llables if the feafon is frelh, or under porticoes if
hot; where, for the night, a convenient quantity of hay
is given them,
“ In what months are they kept at pallure the
whole day ?”—Mollly anfwered already ; but it might
he faid, that no owner will leave his cattle, without
great caufe, in uncovered places at night. It hap¬
pens only to the Ihepherds from the Alps, when they
pals, becaufe it is impoilible to find llables for all their
cattle.
“ What is the opinion in the Lodefan, on the bell
conduct for profit in the management of meadows ?”—
For a dairy farm of ioo cows, which yields daily a
cheefe weighing 70 or 75II). of 28 ounces, are wanted
1000 perticas of land. Of thefe about 800 are Handing
meadows, 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 cow's being wanted to make a Lo¬
defan each day, it is fuppofed that it is made with the
milk of the evening and the follow ing morning •, or of
the morning and evening of the fame day : how is it ?”
—The loo cows form a dairy farm of a good large
cheefe j it is reckoned that 80 are in milk, and 20 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 with the morning milk, becaufe
it is frelher than if it was that of the morning and even¬
ing of the fame day. The morning milk w ould be 24
hours old when the next morning the cheefe Ihould he¬
rn ad e.
“ Do they Ikim or not the milk to make butter be¬
fore they make the cheefe ?”—From the evening milk
all the cream poffible is taken away for butter, mafear-
poni (cream cheefe), Sic. The milk of the morning
ought to be fkimmed flightly ; but every one Iki ms 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: the cheefe lofes
one-third of it, is fubject to heat, and requires expences
of fervice, attention, warehoules, Sic. before it is fold \
and a man in two hours makes 45 or yolb. of butter
that is fold diredtly. HoAvever, it is not poffible to-
leave much cream in the milk to make Lodefan cheefe,
called grained cheefe ; becaufe, if it is too rich, it does
not laft long, and it is necefl’ary to confume it while
young and found.
“ Is Parmefan or Lodefan cheefe made every day in
the y ear or not?”—With 100 cows it is. In wi liter,
however, the milk being lefs in quantity, the cheele is
of lefl’er weight, but certainly more delicate.
“ After gathering or uniting the milk, either Ikim-
med or not, what is exadtly 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 to
the
Part HI. AGRICULTURE. 509
Manage- the northern way to account hours, the fkimming of
ment of the that morning’s milk, gathered only two hours before,
Dairy. was finifiled. I did, meanwhile, examine the boiler or
v pot. At the top it was eight feet (Engliili) diameter,
or thereabout, and about five feet three inches deep j
made like a bell, and narrowing towards the bottom
to about two 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 laft milk was double in quantity to that of the
morning milk, becaufe it had the whole night to unite,
and that of the morning had only two hours to do it:
in which it could not feparate much. Of the cream,
fome was deftined to make mafcarponies (cream cheefe),
and they put the reft 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 wood ; which being
burnt, were fufficient to give the milk a warmth a
little fuperior to lukewarm. Then the boiler being
withdrawn 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 5 and after it was perfectly dif-
fblved, 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 went
then to look on the man that was making mafcarpo¬
nies, &c. and then wre went twice to examine if the
milk was fufficiently coagulated. At the 18 hours, ac¬
cording to the Italian clocks, or noon, the time manu¬
factory of cheefe began. The milk was coagulated in
a manner to be taken from the boiler in pieces from
the furface. The foreman, with a ftick 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 exactly 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 ftate.
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 act 5 and then the underman
began to work in the milk with a ftick, like the above,
Imt only with four fmaller fticks 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 ivas
all in knobs atul fiimr grained than before, by the ef¬
fect of turning and breaking the coagulation or curd,
continually. Every moment the fire was renewed or
fed ; 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 greateft confe-
quence to mind when the grain begins to take a con-
fiftence. When it comes to this ftate, 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 fuhfides to the bottom of
the boiler ^ and leaving only in it whey enough to
keep the grain covered a little, tlv foreman extending
himfelf as much as lie can over and in the boiler,
unites with his hands the grained mil];, making like a
body of pafte 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 diredly put, (1U0I'S- t
again into the boiler, by which is facilitated the means
®f railing that pafte 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 5 which boiler is turned again di¬
rectly on the fire, to extract the mafearpa (whey
cheefe) $ and is a fecond produdt, eaten by poor peo¬
ple. After the pafte remained for a quarter of an
hour in that receiver, it wras taken out and turned into
the wooden form called fajjera, without any thing elfe
made than the rotundity, having neither top nor bot¬
tom. Immediately after having returned 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 ferve 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 wnrehouie
for 15 or 20 days j but in fummer only from 8 to 12
days. Meanwhile the air and fait form the cruft to it j
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 only
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 produdt 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 Vereilino, becaufe we have fine
meadows and dairy farms.
Sect. IX. Making of Fruit-Liquors.
640
These, as objects of Britifh huibandry, are princi-Fruit-ll-
pally fwo, Cyder and Perry; the manufacturing of which 1ll01's-
forms a capital branch in our fruit-counties, and of
which the improvement muft be confidered as of great
importance to the public, but particularly fo to the in¬
habitants of tbofe diftridts where thefe liquors conftitute
-their common beverage.
Cyder and perry, when genuine and in high pel*-Excellence,
fedtion, are excellent vinous liquors, and are cer-of cyder
tainly far more wholefome than many others which and perry,
at prefent are in much higher eftimation. TV hen
the muft is prepared from the choiceft fruit, and un¬
dergoes the exadt degree of vinous fermentation re-
quifite to its perfection, the acid and the fweet are
fo admirably blended with the aqueous, oily, and Ipi-
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-
racter ; grows lively, fparkling, and exhilarating 5 and
when completely mellowed by time, the liquor becomes
at once highly delicious to the palate, and congenial
to the conftitution ; fuperior in every reipedt to moll
other Engiifh wines, and perhaps not inferior to many * Bath Pa*
of the heft foreign wines. Such (fays Dr Fothcrgill*)^ A,°1- T-
wouldp- 343>
AGRICULTURE,
642
Art of ma¬
king them
derftood.
* Rural
JEcon. of
510
Making of would it be pronounced by all competent judges, were
Fruit-Id- it not for the popular prejudice annexed to it as a cheap
qHors. ^ home-brewed liquor, and confequently within the reach
of the vulgar. To compare fuck'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 plealantnefs,
as much as it excels them in wholefomenefs and cheap-
nefs. But rarely do we 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 courle
very injurious to the conftitution. Is it not very mor¬
tifying, after the experience of fo many centuries,
noGet per-that the art of preparing thofe ancient Britifh liquors
fe&ly un- fliould Hill be fo imperfectly underilood as to feem to
be in its very infancy ?—That throughout the princi¬
pal cyder dillri<5ts, the practice fliould Hill reft on the
moft vague indeterminate principles, and that the ex¬
cellence of the liquor fliould depend rather on a lucky
random hit, than on good management? Yet fuch ap¬
pears to be really the cafe, even amongft the moft expe-
riencedcyder-makers of Herefordfliire and Gloucefter-
fliire.
Mr Marfliall, that nice obferver of rural affairs, in
his tour * through thofe counties (exprefsly under-
Gloucejter- taken for the purpofe of inquiry on this fubject),
Jhire, ii. informs us, that fcarcely two of thefe profeflional ar-
p. 308. tifts are agreed as to the management of feme of the
Errors* uioft effential parts of the procefs : That palpable er-
pointed out.rors are committed as to the time and manner of ga¬
thering the fruit—in laying it up—in neglecting to
feparate the unfound—and to grind properly the rinds
and kernels, &c.: That the method of conducing
the vinous fermentation, the moft critical part of the
operation, and which ftamps the future value of the
liquor, is by no means afeertained j while fome pro¬
mote the fermentation in a fpaciouS open vat, others
reprefs it by enclofing the liquor in a hogfliead, or
ftrive to prevent it altogether: That no determinate
point of temperature is regarded, and that the ufe of
the thermometer is unknown or negleCted : That they
are as little confiftent as to the time of racking off j
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, bul¬
locks blood, when the intention might be much better
anfwered by whites of eggs or ifinglafs. And, finally,
that the capricious tafte of particular cuftomers is ge¬
nerally confulted, rather than the real excellence of the
liquor j and confequently that a very imperfedt liquor is
often vended, which tends to reduce the price, to dif-
grace the vender, and to bring the ufe of cyder and per¬
ry into difrepute.
The art of making vinous liquors is a curious chemi¬
cal procefs ; and its fuccefs chiefly depends on a dexte¬
rous management of the vinous fermentation, belides a
clofe attention to fundry minute circumftances, the
theory of which is perhaps not yet fully underftood by
the ableft chemifts. Can we longer wonder then that
fo many errors Ihould be committed by illiterate cyder-
makers, totally unverfed in the fix-ft principles of the
chemical art ? Some few, indeed, more enlightened
than their brethren, and lel^s bigotted to their own
opinions, by dint of obfervation ftrike out improve-
Pra&ice.
ments, and produce every now and then a liquor of Making of
fuperior quality, though perhaps far fliort of excel- Fruit-Li-
lence, yet Hill fufficient to fhow what might poflibiy , (lllors- a
be aecompliflied by a feries of new expei’iments con-
ducted on philofophical principles. This might lead Means of
to fucceflive improvements, till at length our Englilh improve-
fruit-liquors might be carried to a pitch of perfectionment"
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
eftates increafed, and the health and profperity of
thefe counties proportionably advanced. This might
alfo help to point out a method of correcting the
imperfettions of thefe liquors; and of jmeliorating
thofe of a weak meagre quality, by fafer and more
effectual means than are now practifed : and though
nothing can fully compenfate the defect of funfliine
in maturing the faccharine juices in unfavourable
feafons, yet probably fuch liquors might, without
the dangerous and expenlive 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 pra&ice of the cyder diftrids; or
perhaps rather by a portion of rich muft, or fome
wholefome fweet, as honey, fugar-candy, or even mo-
laffes, added in due proportion, previous to the fermen¬
tation. In fad, it appears from a late publication f, f Hopfon'i
that the Germans are known to meliorate their thm^hemyiry.
harfh wines by an addition of concentrated muft, not
by evaporation, but by freezing. By this Ample pro¬
cefs they are made to emulate good French wines : a
pradice worthy of imitation, efpecially in the northern
climates.
Cyder, as is well known, is made from apples, and per¬
ry from pears only. The general method of preparing
both thefe liquors is very much the fame j and under the
article Cyder a defeription will be given of the way
in which thofe fruits are gathered, ground, and preffed.
The mill is not effentially different from that of a com-
mon tanner’s mill for grinding bark. It confifts of a mill- Defcriptioa
Hone from two and a half to four feet and a half in of a cyder
diameter, running on its edge in a circular ftone trough, rnjj|
from nine to twelve inches in thicknefs, and from one1111 'ltm
to two tons in weight. The bottom of the trough in
which this ftone runs is fomewbat wider than the
thicknefs of the ftone itfelf; the inner fide of the groove
rifes perpendicularly, but the outer fpreads in fuch a
manner as to make the top of the trough fix or eight
inches wider than the bottom ; by which means there
is room for the ftone to run freely, and likewife for
putting in the fruit, and ftirring it up while grinding.
The bed of a middle-fized mill is about 9 feet, lome
10, and fome 12 j the whole being compofed of two,
three, or four ftones cramped together and finiflied
after being cramped in this manner. The heft ftones
are found in the foreftof Dean } generally a dark reddifli
gritftone, not calcareous } for if it were of a calcareous
quality, the acid juice of the fruits would a<ft upon
it and fpoil the liquor : a clean-grained grindftone
grit is the fitteft for the purpofe. The runner is mo¬
ved by means of an axle palling through the centre,
with a long arm reaching without the bed of the mill,
for a horfe to draw by, on the other fide is a Ihorter
arm palling through the centre of the ftone, as repre-
. fented
Part III. AGRICULTURE. <11
Making of fen ted in the figure. An iron holt, with a large head,
Fruit-Li- pafles through an eye, in the lower part of the fwivel
(luors- on which the ftone turns, into the end of the inner
"v arm of the axis; and thus the double motion of it is
obtained, and the Hone kept pcrfe&ly 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 like-
wife makes the ivork more eafy for the horfe. Thefe
wheels ought to be made with great exa£tnefs. Mr
Marfhall obferves, that it is an error to make the
horfe draw by traces : “ The acting point of draught
(fays he), the horfe’s fhoulder, ought, for various rea-
fons, to be applied immediately at the end of the arm
of the axis 5 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 inclofed ought to be
of fuch a fize, that the horfe may have a path of three
feet wide betwixt the mill and the walls; fo that a
middling-fized mill, with its horfe-path, takes up a
fpace of 14 or 1 5 feet every way. The whole dimen-
iions of the mill-houfe, according to our author, to
render it any way convenient, are 24 feet by 20 : it
ought to have a fioor thrown over it at the height ol
feven feet $ 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
mull be as near the mill as convenience will allow,
for the more eafy conveying the ground fruit from
the one to the other. The prefs, which is of a very
Ample conllruftion, has its bed or bottom about five
feet fquare. This ought to be made entirely either
of wood or Hone 5 the pradlice of covering it with
lead being now univerfally known to be pernicious.
It has a channel cut within a few inches ol its outer
edge, to catch the liquor as it is exprefled, and con¬
vey it to a lip formed by a projedtion on that fide
of the bed oppofite to the mill *, having under it a
Hone trough, or wooden veffel, funk within the ground,
when the bed is fixed low, to receive it. The prefs
is worked with levers of difierent lengths; firlt a Ihort,
and then a moderately long one, both worked by hand ;
and, lallly, a bar eight or nine feet long worked by a
capflan or windlafs. Tbe 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 diilance and car¬
riage of the Hone : when once fitted up, it will lall
many years.
The making of the fruit-liquors under confideration
requires an attention to the following particulars.—
I. The fruit. II. The grinding. III. Preffing. IV.
The fermenting. V. Correcting. VI. Laying up.
VII. Bottling :—Each of which heads is fubdivided
646 into feveral others.
Manage- I. In the management of the fruit the following par-
thefr0^ ticulars are to be confidered.
I. The time of gathering, 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 , though, by reafon
of accidental circumllances, they are frequently manu-
3
fadtured before that time. For fale cyder and keeping Making of
drink, they are fullered to hang upon the tree till fully Fruit-Li-
ripe •, and the middle of Odtober is generally looked, <iu”rs-
upon to be a proper time for gathering the Hire-apple.
The criterion of a due degree of ripenefs is the fruit fal¬
ling from the tree : and to force it away before that
time, in Mr Marlhall’s opinion, is robbing it of feme
of its moll valuable particles. “ The harvefting ol
fruits (fays he) is widely different in this refpedt from
the harvelling of grain } which has the entire plant to
feed it after its feparation from the foil •, while fruit,
after it is fevered from the tree, is cut oft from all pol-
fibility of a further fupply of nourilhment *, and al¬
though it may have reached its wonted fize, fome of its
more eflential 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 frolls j though weak watery fruits feem to be moll
injured in this manner*, and Mr Marfhall relates an
inllance of very fine liquor being made from golden
pippins, after the fruit had been frozen as hard as ice.
2. The method of gathering. This, as generally Method of
practifed, is diredtly contrary to the principle laid down gathering
by Mr Marfhall, viz. beating them doAvn with long14,
ftender poles. An evident difadvantage of this method
is, that the fruit is of unequal ripenefs ; for the apples
on the fame trees will differ many days, perhaps even
weeks, in their time of coming to perfection ; whence
fome part of the richnefs and flavour of the fruit will be
effectually and irremediably cut oft. Nor is this the
only evil to be dreaded 5 for as every thing depends on
the fermentation it has to undergo, it this be interrupt¬
ed, or rendered complex by a mixture of ripe and un¬
ripe fruits, and the liquor be not in the firll inllance
fufficiently purged from its feculencies, it is difficult to
clear the liquor afterwards. The former defied the cy¬
der-makers attempt to remedy by a mixture of brown
fugar and brandy, and the latter by bullocks blood and
brimflone } but neither of thefe can be expeCted to an-
fwer the purpofe very effectually. The bell method of
avoiding the inconveniences arifing from an unequal
ripening of the fruit is to go over the trees twice, once
with a hook, when the fruit begins to fall Ipontane-
oufly y the fecond time, when the latter are lufficiently
ripened, or when the winter is likely to fet in, when
the trees are to be cleared with the poles above men¬
tioned. _ 648^
3. Maturing the gathered fruit. rl his is ufually done Maturing
by making it into heaps, as is mentioned under the ar- it, &c.
tide Cyder 5 but Mr Marffiall entirely difapproves of
the pradice } becaufe, when the whole are laid in a
heap together, the ripefl fruit will begin to rot before
the other has arrived at that degree of artificial ripenefs
which it is capable of acquiring. “ The due degree
of maturation of fruit for liquor (he obferves) is a lub-
jed about which men, even in this diflriCt, differ much
in their ideas. The prevailing pradice of gathering
into heaps until the ripell begins to rot, is wafting the
bell of the fruit, and is by no means an accurate crite¬
rion. Some ffiake the fruit, and judge by the rattling
of the kernels 5 others cut through the middle and
judge by their blacknefs *, but none of thefe appear to
be a proper tell. It is not the Hate of the kernels but
of the flefh 5 not of a few individuals, but of the greater
part of the prime fruits, which render the coliedive bo¬
dy.
5*2
Making of <Jy fit ftr unfit to be fent to the mill. The moft ra-
Frnit-Ii- tional teft of the ripenels of the fruit, is that of the flefli
r<u°rs' , having acquired fuch a degree of mellownefs, and its
texture fuch a degree of tendernefs, as to yield to mo¬
derate prcffure. Thus, 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 Hate for grind¬
ing.” _ ^
4. Preparation for the mill. The proper manage1-
meat of the fruit is to keep the ripe and unripe fruit ie-
parate from each other : but this cannot be done with¬
out a considerable degree of labour ; for as by number-
lefs accidents the ripe and unripe fruits are frequently
confounded together, there cannot be any effectual me¬
thod of feparating them except by hand : and Mr Mar-
thall is of opinion, that this is one of the grand fecrets of
cyder-making, peculiar to thole who excel in the buii-
nefs } and he is furprifed that it fhould not before this
time have come into common practice.
5. Mixing fruits for liquor. Our author feems to
doubt the propriety of this practice } and informs us,
that the liner liquors are made from felect 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.
Grinding. II. Grmdingt and management of the fruit when
ground.
1. For the greater convenience of putting the
fruit into the mill, every mill-houfe fliould have a
fruit-chamber over it, with a trap-door to lower the
fruit down into the mill. The bell manner in which
this can he accomplifhed, is to have the valve over the
bed of the mill, and furnifhed with a cloth fpout or
tunnel reaching doWrn to the trough in which the Hone
moves. No ftraw is ufed in the lofts $ but foraetimes
the fruit is turned. In Herefordlbire, it is generally
believed, that grinding the rind and feeds of the fruit as
well as the llelliy part to a pulp, is neceffary towards
the perfection of the cyder 5 whence it is neceifary, that
every kind of pains Ihould be taken to perform the
grinding in the moll perfect manner. Mr Marlhall
complains, that the cyder-mills are fo imperfectly liniili-
ed by the workmen, that for the lirll fifty years they
cannot perform their work in a proper manner. Inllead
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 elfectually and com¬
pletely broken by rough than fmooth Hones. Some ufe
fluted rollers of iron •, but thefe will he corroded by the
juice, and thus the liquor might be tinged. Smooth rol¬
lers will not lay hold of the fruit fulficiently to force it
through.
Another improvement requifite in the cyder-mills
is to prevent the matter in the trough from rifing before
the Hone in the lafl Hage of grinding, and a method
of flirring it up in the trough more effedtually than
can be done at prefent. To remedy the former of
thefe defedls, it might perhaps be proper to grind the
fruit firll in the mill to a certain degree ; and then put
it between two fmooth rollers to finifli the operation in
the mofl perfeft manner. It is an error to grind too
much at once } as this clogs up the mill, and prevents
k from going eafily. *The ufual quantity for a middle-
Pradice,
lized mill is a bag containing four corn bufhels but Making of
our author had once an opportunity of feeing a mill Fruit-Li-
in which only half a hag was put 5 and thus the work tlut>l's- .
feemed to go oh more ealily as well as more quickly
than when more Was put in at once. The 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 hogfheads of perry or two of
cyder.
2. Management of the ground fruit. Here Mr Mar-
fliall condemns in very Hrong terms the practice of pref-
fing the pulp of the fruit as foon as the grinding is fi-
nilbed ; becaufe thus neither the rind nor feeds have
time to communicate their virtues to the liquor. In or¬
der to extract thefe virtues in the moll proper manner,
fome allow the ground fruit to lie 24 hours or more af¬
ter grinding, and even regrind it, in order to have in
the moll perfect manner the flavour and virtues of the
feeds and rind. 5^0
III. Prefing the fruit, and management of the re- Preffmg,
Jidiium. This is done by folding up the ground fruit ^c*
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 almoil dry
cakes. The lirll runnings come off foul and muddy j
hut the laH, efpcciaily in perry, will 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 fome¬
times 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 ref ufe with the
hands only gives the prefs freih power over it ; for
though it has been prefled to the lall drop, a gallon or
more of additional liquor may he got by this means.
Regrinding them has a Hill greater effect: In this
Hate of the materials the mill gains a degree of power
over the more rigid parts of the fruits, which in the
firH grinding it could not i*each. 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 efcape unbroken, or a dr Op of liquor re¬
main undrawn.”
But though the whole virtue of the fruit cannot be
extrafted without grinding it very fine, fome inconve¬
nience attends this pradice, as part of the pulp thus
gets through the haircloth, and may perhaps be inju¬
rious to the fubfequent fermentation. This, however,
may he in a great meafure remedied by Hraining the
firH runnings through a fieve. The whole fhould alfo
be allowed to fettle in a calk, and drawn off into a
frefh 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 extract with
the rind and kernels : hut this mull not be pulhed too ^
far, as in that cafe the colour of the cyder would be
hurt; and the moll judicious managers object to the
pulp remaining longer than 12 hours without preflare.
“ Hence (fays our author), upon the whole, the molt
eligible
AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
quors.
651
Fementa-
'tion.
Making of eligible management in this ftage of the art appears to
Fruit-Li- be this : Grind one prefsful a day ; prefs and regrind
, the refiduum in the evening ; infufe the reduced mat¬
ter all night among part of the firlt runnings ; and
in the morning reprefs while the next prefsful is grind¬
ing.
IV. Fer 'mentation. The common practice is to have
the liquor tunned j that is, put into catks or hogf-
heads immediately from the prefs, and to fill them
quite full : but it is undoubtedly more proper to leave
fome ipace 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. Froll is pre¬
judicial: hut when the procefs ufually commences,
that is, about the middle of October, the liquor is put
into airy fhades, where the warmth is fcarce greater than
in the open atmofphere; nay, the calks are frequently
expoied to the open air without any covering farther
than a piece of tile or flat flone over the bunghole,
propped up by a wooden pin on one fide to caufe the
rain water to run 01T. In a complete manufactory of
fruit-liquor, the fermenting room fliould be under the
fame roof with the mill-houfe; a continuation of the
prefs-room, or at leaft opening into it, avith windows
or doors on every fide, to give a free admillion of air
into it; fufficient defences againft frofl; 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 purpofe of
conveying the liquors occalionally from the one to the
other.
In making of fruit-liquors, no ferment is ufed as in
making of beer; though, from Mr Marlhall’s account
of the matter, it feems far from being unneceflary.
Owing to this omiffion, the time of the commencement
of the fermentation is entirely uncertain. It takes
place fometimes in one, two, or three days ; fometimes
not till a week or month after tunning : but it has been
obferved, that liquor which has been agitated in a car-J
riage, though taken immediately from the prefs, will
iometimes pafs almoft immediately into a ftate of fer¬
mentation, The continuance of the fermentation is no
lefs uncertain than the connnencemenls of it. Liquors
when much agitated, will go through it perhaps in one
day; 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-
ftances. When produced from fruits improperly ma¬
naged, it generally throws up a thick feum refembling
that of malt liquor, and of a thicknefs proportioned to
the fpecies and ripenefs of the fruit; the riper the
fruit, the more fcitm being thrown up. Perry gives
but little feum, and cyder will fometimes alfo do the
fame; fometimes it is intentionally prevented from doing
it.
After having remained home time in the fermenting
veffel, the liquor is racked or drawn off from the lees
and put into frefh calks. In this part of the opera¬
tion alfo Mr Marihall complains greatly of the little
attention that is paid to the liquor. The ordinary
time for racking perry is before it has done hilling, or
fometimes when it begins to emit fixed air in plenty.
The only intention of the operation is to free the li-
Vol.T. Partll.
513
quor from its feces by a cock placed at a little diftance Making of
irom the bottom , after which the remainder is to be Fruit-Li-
filtered through a canvas or flannel bag. This filtered <luors-
liquor differs from the reft in having a higher colour;' » 1 #
having no longer any tendency to ferment, but on the
contrary checking the fermentation of that which is
racked oft ; and if it lofes its brightnefs, it is no long¬
er ealily recovered.— A frefli fermentation ufually
commences after racking ; and if it become violent, a
frelh racking is neceffary in order to chock 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 called 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 Marfhall informs us that
the heft manufacturers, however, repeat the rackings
until the liquor will lie quiet, or nearly fo; and if it
be found impracticable to accompany this by the ordi¬
nary method of fermentation, recourfe filtift be had to
fumigation with fulphur, which is called Jlumming 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 leafoned, and every vent except the
bunghole tightly flopped; a match is kindled, lowered
down into the calk, and held by the end undipped
until it be well lighted, and the bung be driven in:
thus fufpending the lighted match within the calk.
Having burnt as long as the contained air will fupply
the fire, the match dies, the bung is raifed, the rem- '
Want 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 oft" in a fhort
time, and no bad eftedl 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¬
lected upon the furface is taken oft’, it being fuppofed
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 frefh calk, and the lees filtered as
above directed. The author mentions a way of fer¬
menting fruit-liquors in broad fhallow vats, not lefs
than five feet in diameter, and little more than two
feet deep; each vat containing about two hogfheads.
In thefe the liquor remains uiitil it has done rifing, or
till the fermentation has nearly ceafed, when it is rack¬
ed off without Ikimming, the critical juncture being
caught before the yeaft fall ; the whole finking gradu¬
ally together as the liquor is drawn off. In this prac¬
tice alfo the liquor is feldom drawn off a fecond time.
Cyder is made of three different kinds, viz. rough. Different
fiveet, and of a middle richnefs. The firft kind being kinds of cy-
ufually deftined for fervants, is made with very little ^er‘
ceremony. “ If it is but •zeyder (fays Mr Marfhall),
and has body 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 mafters. A
palate accuftomed to rough cyder would judge the
3 1 rnng*
5X4
Making of
Fruit-Li¬
quors.
65?
Of corred:
ing or doC
toring the
liquors.
A G R I C U
rough cyder of the farm-houfes to be a mixture of
vinegar and water, with a little diffolved alum to give
it roufrlineis.” The method of producing this auilerc
liquor is to grind the fruit in a crude under-ripe 11 ate,
and fubjeft the liquor to a full fermentation.—t or the
fweet liquor, make choice of the iweet fruits *, ma¬
ture them fully} and check the fermentation of the
liquor.—To produce liquors of a middle nchnels, the
nature of the fruit, as well as the fealon in which it is
matured, muft he confidered. The fruits to be made
choice of are fuch as yield juices capable of affording
a fufficiency both of richnefs and ftrength •, though
much depends upon proper management. Open vats,
in our author’s opinion, are preferable to dole veffels .
but if calks be ufed at all, they ought to be very
large, and not filled 5 nor ought they to lie upon their
iides, hut to he fet on their ends with their heads out,
and to he filled only to fuch a height as will produce
the requifite degree of fermentation ' tbl'tTin "',1|at.CVe1’
way the liquor be put to ferment, Mr Marfhall is of
opinion that the operation ought to he allowed to go on
freely for the firft time •, though after being racked of,
any fecond fermentation ought to he prevented as much
aS Correcting, provincially called doBoring. The
' imperfections which art attempts to fupply m theie
' liquors are, 1. Want of flavour 5 2. Want of rich¬
nefs j 3. Want of flavour 5 4. Want of coloui and
^The^ant of ftrength is fupplied by brandy or any
other fpirit in fufficient quantity to prevent the ace¬
tous fermentation. The want of richnefs is tupplied
by what are generally termed Jweets, hut prepared m
a manner which our author fays has never fallen un¬
der his notice. To fupply the want of flavour, an m-
fuiion of hops is fometimes added, which is laid to
communicate an agreeable bitter, and at the lame time
a fragrance \ whence it becomes a fubftitute tor the
juices of the rind and kernels thrown away to the
pigs and poultry, or otherwife watted. 1 he want of
colour is fometimes fupplied by elder berries, hut more
generally by burnt fugar, which gives the dehred co¬
lour, and a degree of hitter which is very much liked.
The fugar is prepared either by burning it on a fa-
lamander, and fuffering it to drop, as it melts, into wa¬
ter ; or by boiling it over the fire (in which cale brown
fuo-ar is to be ufed), until it acquire an agreeable bit¬
terthen pouring in boiling water in the propoition of
a gallon to two pounds of fugar, and far until the li¬
quor become uniform. A pint of this preparation wi
colour a hogfliead of cyder. Brightnefs is obtained by
a mixture of the blood of bullocks and Ineep j that of
fwine being rejeded, though it does not appear to be
more unfit for the purpofe than either of the other
two. The only thing neceflary to be done here is to
ftir the blood well as it is drawn from the animal, to
prevent the parts from feparatingand it ought to be
ftirred “ both ways for a quarter of an hour.” Ihe
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 he tried in a vial. A
quart or lefs will be fufficient for a hoglnead. After
the blood is poured in, the liquor fhould he violently
agitated, to mix the whole intimately together, ft his
is done by a ftick flit into four, and mferted into the
L T V Pi lb.
Practice.
bunghole •, working it brifldy about in the liquor until Making of
the whole he thoroughly mixed. In about 24 hours
the blood will he fubfided, and the liquor ought in- , —...
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 re¬
finement with the blood carries down not only the faeces,
but the colour alfo ; rendering the liquor, though ever
fo highly coloured before, almoft as limpid as \vater.
Ilinglafs and eggs are fometimes made ule of in fining
cyder as well as wine. . _ <>54
VI The laying up or fliutting up the cyder 111 dole Of laying
calks,” according to Mr Marftiall, is as little underftoodup or cafk-
as an v of the reft of the parts; the bungs being com-^S-
monly put in at fome certain time, or in fome parti¬
cular month, without any regard to the ftate t ie li¬
quor itfelf is in. “ The only criterion (lays he) 1
have met with for judging the critical time ot laying
up, is when a fine white cream-like matter firft begins
to form upon the furface. But this may be too late ;
it is probably a fymptom at leaft of the acetous fermen¬
tation, which if it takes place in any degree muft be in-
jurious. Yet if the calks be bunged tight, fome crite¬
rion is neceflary; otherwife, if the vinous fermenta¬
tion have not vet finally ceafed, or fhould recommence,
the calks will be endangered, and the liquor injured.
Hence, in the praftice of the moft cautious manager
whole pra&ice I have had an opportunity of obferymg,
the bungs are firft driven in lightly, when the liquoi
is fine,°and the vinous fermentation is judged to be
over;'and fome time afterward, when all danger is
pail, to fill up the calks, and drive the bungs fecurely
with a rag, and rofin them over at top. Moft farmers
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 iome put in parched beans,
others egg-fliells, fome mutton fuet, &c. Mr Mar-
fliall does not doubt that fomething may he ufeful; and
thinks that ilinglafs may be as proper as any thing that ^
Ca VVC’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 calks ;
and this it will preferve for many years in bottles. It
ought to he quite fine at the time of bottling ; or if
not fo naturally, ought to be fined artificially with ilm-
glafs and eggs. ^5
The liquor, called cyderkin, purre, orperkin, is madeOf cyder-
of the murk or grofs matter remaining after the cydei
is preffed out. To make this liquor, the murk is put
into a large vat, with a proper quantity of boiled water,
which has flood till it be cold again: if half the quan¬
tity of water be ufed that there was of cyder, it will
be good; if the quantities be equal, the cyderkin will
he fmall. The whole is left to infufe 48 hours, and
then well preffed ; what is fqueezed out by the profs is
immediately tunned up and flopped ; it is fit to drink m ^
a few da vs. It clarifies of itfelf, and lerves in families Qf cytjei.
inilead of fmall beer. It will keep, if boiled, after prei- winA a<>
lure, with a convenient quantity of hops.
We muft not conclude this fedion without parti-receipt.
rular
p- 330.
Part TIT. ' AGRICU
Making of cular notice of tlie liquor called cyder wine, which is
Fruit-Li- made from the juice of apples taken from the preis
quors. alu( boiled, and which being kept three or four years
' v ' is faid to referable Rheniih. The method of pre¬
paring this wdne, as communicated by Dr Rufli of
America, where it is much practifed, confifts in eva¬
porating in a brewing copper the frefli 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 pafk, wkIi an addition
of yeaft, and fermented in the ordinary way. J he
procefs is evidently borrowed from what has long
been pradtifed on the recent juice of the grape, undei
the term of vin cuit, or boiled wine, not only m Italy,
but alfo in the iflands of the Archipelago, from time
immemorial. .
This procefs has lately become an objed 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 tells, it is confidered as peried-
ly wholefome, and is accordingly drunk without ap-
prehenfion by the common people. Others, fioweyer,
fufped its innocence j whence it appeared an object
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. Wuh
* Hath Pa- tins view Dr Fothergill * made a variety of expen-
pers, vol. v. mentg • and the refult feemed to aflord a flrong pre-
fumption that the cyder wine does contain a minute
impregnation of copper ; not very confiderable indeed,
hut yet fufficient, in the dodor’s opinion, to put the
public on their guard concerning a liquor that comes
in fo very “ quellionable a fliape.”
It is a curious chemical fad, he obferves, if it be
reallv true, that acid liquors, while kept boding in
copper velfels, acquire little or no impregnation of
the metal, but prefently begin to ad upon it when
left to Hand in the cold. Can this be owing to the
agitation occafioued 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 menflruum of copper than the
In the prefent procefs the liquor is properly direded
to he palled into a wooden cooler as loon as the bod¬
ing is completed. But as all acids, and even common
water, acquire an impregnation and unpleafant talte,
from (landing in copper veffels in the cold, why may
not the acid juice of apples ad 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 bellowed on them in keeping
them clean, are extremely apt to contrad verdigiile,
(a rank poifon), as appears from the blue or green
llreaks very vilible when thefe veffels are minutely exa¬
mined. Should the unfermented juice be thought in¬
capable of ading on the copper either ih a cold or
boiling Hate, yet no one will venture to deny its
power of wafhing off or diffolving verdignfe already
formed on the internal furface of the veffel. Sup-
pofe only one-eighth part of a grain of verdignfe to be
L T U R E. 515
contained in a bottle of this wine, a quantity that Making of
may elude the ordinary tells, and that a bottle fhould 1-
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 fhould continue
even this quantity of a flow poifon 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 alio with many of the foreign
wines prepared by a fimilar procefs. I or the grape
juice, when evaporated in a copper veffel, under the
denomination of vino cotto or boiled wine, cannot but
acquire an equal, if not yet llronger impregnation of the
metal, than the juice of apples, feeing that verdigrife it-
felf is manufadured merely by the application ot the
acid hulks of grapes to plates of copper. _ .
Independent of the danger of any metallic impreg¬
nation, the dodor thinks, it may be juflly queitioned
how far the procefs of preparing boiled wines is necef-
fary or reconcileable to reafon or economy. Ihe
evaporation of them mull by long boiling not only oc-
cafion an unneceflary walle of both liquor and mi ,
but alfo diflipates certain effential principles, without,
which the liquor can never undergo a complete fer¬
mentation 5 and without a complete fermentation there
can be no perfed wine. Hence the boiled wines are
generally crude, heavy, and flat, liable to produce 111-
digeflion, flatulency, and diarrhoea. If the evapora¬
tion be performed haftily, the liquor contrads a burnt
empyreumatic tafle, as in the prefent inffance •, 11 1 ow-
ly, the greater is the danger of a metallic impregna¬
tion. For the procefs may be prefumed to be gene¬
rally performed in a veflel of brafs or copper, as few
families poffefs any other that is fufficiently capacious.
Nor can a veffel of call-iron, though penedly late, be
properly recommended for this purpofe, as it would pro¬
bably communicate a chalybeate talle and dark coloui
to the liquor. At all events, brafs and copper vel els
ought to be entirely banilhed from this and every other
culinary procefs.
Sect. X. Of Fences.
658
We Hi all conclude the prefent fubjed of agriculture Kinds of
by taking notice of tbe various kinds of fences that
may be found valuable in it.—Robert Somervike, Eiq.
of 'Haddington, in a communication to the board of
Agriculture, has endeavoured to enumerate the whole
fimple and compound fences that are at prefent uie .
Simple fences are thofe that confill 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 he ge
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 ditch, with a bank of earth between.
HI. 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 roflgh timbei.
2. Jointed horizontal paling.
2. Upright lath paling. Tr • . \
0 r & 3 T 2 4- Horizontal
*
Si 6
Fences. 4. Horizontal paling of young firs.
—Y*—* 5. Upright ditto of do.
6. Chain fence.
7. Net fence.
8. Rope fence.
9. Flake or hurdle fence.
10. Ofier or willow fence.
11. Fence of growing polls.
12. Shingle fence, horizontal.
13. Ditto, upright.
14. Warped paling.
*5' Open paling, warped with dead thorns or branches
of trees.
^ I. Dead hedges, various kinds.
MI. Live hedges.
VIII. Walls.
1. Dry Hone wall, coped and uncoped.
2. Stone and lime ditto, do.
3. Stone and clay, do.
4. Stone and clay, harled, or dallied with lime.
5. Dry Hone, ditto, lipped with lime.
O. Dry Hone, ditto, lipped and harled.
7. Dry Hone, pirned and harled.
8. Brick walls.
9. Frame walls.
10. Galloway dike or wall.
11. Turf wall.
12. Turf and Hone in alternate layers.
13. Mud walls, with ftraw.
u 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.
3. Hedge on the top of a bank.
6. Devonfhire fence.
7. Hedge, with lingle 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.
12. Hedge and ditch, with rows of trees.
13. Hedge, or hedge and wall, with belt of planting. .
14. Hedge with the corners planted.
15. Reed fence, or port and rail, covered with reeds.”
e59
Ditches. Of the nature of each of thefe, and the advantages
attending the ufe of them, we fliall take feme Ihort no¬
tice. The ditch, which is one of the Ample fences, is
moll frequently confidered merely as an open drain in¬
tended to relieve the foil of fuperfluous moillure. It
is frequently, alfo, however, made ufe of without any
fuch intention, as a fence for the confinement of cattle 5
hut 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 object 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 practice, as
formerly Hated, 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 mull be followed. In that
Practicer.
cafe, the objedl in view will be greatly forwarded by Fences
forming the earth taken out of the ditch into a bank l—-y—
upon its fide, and 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 i time, fuch ditches have been found very
ufeful in low-lying clay or carfe foils where the country
is level. From the nature of the foil, the fides of the
ditches in fuch fituations are tolerably durable. No ra¬
pid current of water can exiil to undermine them ; and,
by their figure, they withdraw from the plough the
fmallefl poflible portion of furface.
Other ditches are conflruCfed wide above, with a
gradual Hope from both fides downwards. This form
of a ditch is in general the heft, where it is at all 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 cur¬
rent of water. Hence it is more durable, and by dimi-
nifliing 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 perfections and
imperfections of the two former. It is extremely ufe¬
ful, however, in fields of which flieep form a part of
the flock, and where the bottom of the ditch contains
a current of water •, for, in fuch cafes, when flieep
tumble into a deep ditch, whole fides are pretty fleep,
they are very apt to perifli ; but by making one fide
of the ditch very much Hoped, while the other ap¬
proaches to the perpendicular, they are enabled to make
their efcape 5 while at the fame time by the bed of
the flream being widened, the perpendicular fide of
the ditch is lefs liable to be undermined. When the
earth taken out of a ditch is formed into a bank on one
fide, a projecting vacant fpgce of fix or eight inches
ought always to be left between the bank and the ditch,
to prevent the earth from tumbling in and filling 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 iingle ditch,
when confidered as a fence ; for the earth taken out of
the two ditches, wrhen properly laid up in the middle,
ivill 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 ought 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
walking down or overflowing the road in the time of
heavy rains : an inconvenience which frequently cannot
otherwife be avoided.
I he bank of earth, with a perpendicular facing of Bank #f
fod, and a Hope behind, is ufeful in fome fituations, as earth,
in making folds for the confinement of flieep or cattle,
in which cafe the front or perpendicular fide of the
bank
AGRICULTURE.
Part III. AGRICULTURE.
Fences tank muft be turned inwards. It is alfo valuable on
■■■■ i the Tides of highways to protect the adjoining fields,
and alfo for fencing-belts of planting, or inclofing Hack-
yards and cottages. The front of the bank is made with
the turfs taken from the furface of the Hoping ditch,
and the mound at the back with the earth taken out of
it. This fence, when well executed, is laid to lall a
6^! confiderable time.
The ha-ha, The ha-ha, or funk fence, very nearly refembles the
or funk mound of earth with the perpendicular facing of turf,
with this diflerence, that the facing of the ha-ha is of
Hone. The height of both depends almoft entirely upon
the depth of the ditch 5 both of them in truth conliil
of the kind of ditch already mentioned, of which the
one fide Hopes while the other is perpendicular, and
differ from it chiefly in this refpect, that the perpen¬
dicular fide is faced with turf or Hone. The Hone¬
facing is made either of dry Hone, or of Hone and lime.
In the Agricultural Report of Cromarty, the mode of
making the funk fence is thus deferibed : “ Upon the
line where this fence is intended, begin to fink your
& ditch, taking the earth from as far as eight feet out¬
ward, and throwing it up on the inlide of the lines.
This ditch and bank is not made quite perpendicular,
but inclining inward towards the field as it rifes ; to this
is built a facing of dry Hone, four feet and a half in
height, one foot and three quarters broad at bottom,
and one foot at top, over which a coping of turf is laid :
the ditch or funk part, forms an excellent drain. The
whole of this is performed, when the Hones (tve fliall
fuppofe) can be procured at a quarter of a mile’s di-
Hance, for 6d. per yard.” The principal defect of the
funk fence conliHs in this, that unlefs the bank at the
back of it is confiderably ffeep, or has a railing at the
top, it forms a kind of inare on that fide for cattle, as
they muH always be apt to tumble over it in dark
662 nights.
Palings. Paling or timber fences, are in many places much
ufed, though they can never be confildered with pro¬
priety as forming permanent inclofures. Of whatever
materials they are formed, their decay commences from
the inHant they are erected. Their decay begins with
the part of the paling that is put into the ground,
which is fpeedily rotted by the moiHure, or confumed
by worms or other animals that attack it. To guard
as much as pollible againfl this caufe of decay, various
devices have been adopted. It is a very general prac¬
tice to burn the furface of that part of the Handards of
the paling which is meant to be driven into the earth.
It is alfo cuflomary to cover the fame part of the wood
with a Hrong coat of coarfe oil paint, and Lord Dun-
donald’s coal varnilh has been recommended with this
view. The points of the Handards that are to be fixed
in the earth, ought to be dipped in the varnilli while
it is boiling hot. Common tar or melted pitch have
alio been ufed with tolerable fuccefs to defend the ex¬
tremities of the Handards of paling. In fome cafes
where the ex pence could be afforded, large Hones have
been funk into the earth, with holes cut into them
of a fixe adapted to receive the ends of the polls
of the paling. The durability of the wood in this
cafe is greater, but it bears no proportion to the ad¬
ditional expence incurred. When pods for paling
can be obtained confining of branches of trees, with
the bark Hill upon them, this natural covering enables
them to remain uncorrupted for a longer period than Fences,
can be accomplilhed by any artificial coating. It is no '
objection to this, that a part of the uncovered wood,
or the bottom of the flake or poll mufl be inferted in
the earth 5 for it is not at the bottom that Hakes or
pofls begin to decay, but at the uppermoil place at
which the earth touches them, or between the wet and
the dry as it is called. Of the kinds of paling it is un-
nccefl'ary to fay much.
The fimple nailed paling of rough timber, confifls ot
pofls or Hakes inferted in the earth, and crolfed with
three, four, or more horizontal bars or flabs as they
are called in Scotland. It is the moll common of all,
and is ufed to protect young hedges, or to Hrengthen
ditches when ufed as fences.
The jointed horizontal paling, conliHs of maffy fquare
poles drove into the earth, and having openings cut
into them for the reception of the extremities ot the
horizontal bars. Thefe openings, however, weaken
the poles much, and cauie them loon to decay j but
this kind of paling has a very handlome and fubllantial
appearance.
The upright lath paling, is formed by driving flrong
piles of wood into the earth, and crofling thele at top
and bottom, with horizontal pieces of fimilar Hrength.
Upon thefe lafl are nailed, at every 6 or 12 inches di-
flance, laths or pieces ol fawn wood, of the lhape and
fize of the laths ufed for the roofs of tiled houfes. rIhis
kind of paling prevents cattle from putting their heads
through to crop or injure young hedges or trees.
The horizontal paling of firs, or the weedings of
other young trees, does not differ from the palings al-«.^
ready deferibed, unlefs in this refpedt, that the materials
of which it is formed, confiH not of timber cut down
for the purpofe, but of the thinnings ol woods or belts
of planting. Such palings are ufually more formidable
to cattle than any other, becaufe when the lateral
twigs that grow out ol large branches are loped off in a
coarfe manner, the branch Hill retains a roughnel's.
which keeps cattle at a diflance.
The chain horizontal fence is made by fixing Hrong
piles of wmod in the earth in the direction in wliich
the fence is to run, and fixing three chains at regular
diflances, extending horizontally from pile to pile, in-
Head of crofs bars ot wood. Inftead of pofls ol wood,
pillars of mafon wTork are fometimes ufed, and between
thefe the chains are extended. A chain fence will
confine horfes or cattle, but is unfit to confine flieep or
hogs. From its expenfive nature, it can only be ufed
in public walks, or for flretching acrofs itreams or
pieces of water, where the inclofure can be completed
in no other way.
The net fence is ufed for pleafure grounds, and
inflead of chains, as in the former cafe, it conhlls ot a
Hrong net extended between upright piles. Such a
fence may be a very pretty ornament, but could be of
little ufe againfl the horns ol cattle.
The rope fence is conflrudted like the chain fence,
and differs from it only in the ufe ol cords inflead ol
metal chains, and has the fame defect ol being ulelefs
againfl fwine and Iheep.
The moveable wooden fence or flake, 01 huidle
fence, confifls of a kind of moveable paling, ufed for
confining Iheep or cattle to a certain fpot when feeding
upon a turnip field, and in this view it is extremely
1 ufeful j
5i8
Fences.
A G R I C U
ufeful •, for if the cattle were allowed to range at large
over the field, a great quantity of the turnips would be
deftroyed by having pieces eaten from them, which
would immediately fpoil and rot before the remainder
could be confumed *, whereas, by the ufe of tliefe move-
able palings, the iheep or cattle having only a certain
quantity of food allotted to them at a time, are compel¬
led to eat it clean up without any lots.
The ofier or willow fence, or wattled fence, is made
Fences.
663
General
redtions
planting
hedges.
bound together with fmall twigs of the willows or pop¬
lars twilled and interwoven into them. If the upright
flakes have been recently cut down, and if the fence
is made about the end of autumn, they will take root
and grow in the fpring. If their new lateral branches
are afterwards properly interwoven and twilled together,
they will become in two or three years a permanent and
almofl impenetrable fence.
The paling of growing trees, or rails nailed to grow¬
ing pofls, is formed by planting beech, larch, or pther
trees, at the diflairce of a yard from each other, in the
direction in which the fence is wanted. W hen 10 or
12 feet high, they mull be cut down to fix feet. The
cutting of the tops will make them pufli out a great
number of lateral branches, which may be interwoven
Avith the upright part of the tree, as in the cafe ol the
AvilloAV fence already mentioned.
The horizontal and upright fhingle fence is formed
in this manner ; flout piles are driven into the earth,
and deals, of from half an inch to an inch thick, are
nailed horizontally upon them in Inch a Avay, that the
under edge of the uppermoll deal projects over the up¬
per edge of the one immediately beloAv it, like bates or
tiles upon houfes. In like manner, the fhingles or boards
may be placed perpendicularly and bound together, by
being nailed to horizontal bars of Avood.
The warped paling confiils of pieces of Avood driven
into the earth, Avhich are tAvifled and interAvoven Avith
each other, fo as to form a very open net-work ; the
tops of the pieces of Avood being bound together by wil-
Ioavs or tAvigs.
The light open fence with thorns, or branches of
trees Avove into it, is nothing more than a common
paling, Avhofe interflices are filled up Avith thorns or
branches of trees. It is a very effedual fence Avhile it
lafls.
Dead hedges are made of the primings of trees, or
the tops of live hedges that liaAe been cut doAvn. They
are fometimes made upon the top of the mound of
earth taken out of a ditch, by inferting the thick ends
of the tivigs in the earth, and making them reft in an
oblique manner. Sometimes the ftronger pieces or flakes
are fixed in the earth, and the fmaller tAvigs are ufed to
faften them together at top, by a kind of net-Avork.
What is called the flake and rice fence in Scotland, con-
fifts of a dead hedge or fence, formed of upright polls,
the intervals betAveen Avhich are filled up Avith tAvigs
Avoven horizontally. All thefe, however, can only be
regarded as fences of a very temporary nature, which
are conftantlyin Avant of repairs, and therefore requiring
di-continual expence.*
for Before planting live hedges, it is proper to confider
the nature of the land, and Avhat forts of plants Avill
3
664
L T U R E. Pradice.
thrive bell in it 5 and alfo, what is the foil from whence
the plants are to be taken. As for the fize, the lets1
ought to be about the thicknefs of one’s little finger,
and cut-Avithin about four or five inches of the ground j
they ought to be frefh taken up, ftraight, fmooth, and
Avell-rootcd. Thofe plants that are raifed in the nurfery
are to be preferred.
In planting outfide hedges, the turf is to be laid,
Avith the grafs-fide doAvmvards, on that fide of the ditch
on Avhich the bank is defigned to be made •, and fome of
the beft mould fhould be laid upon it to bed the quick,
Avhich is to be let upon it a foot afunder. W hen the
firft row of quick is let, it muft be covered Avith mould j
and Avhen the bank is a foot high, you may lay another
row of lets again ft the fpaces of the former, and cover
them as you did the others: the bank is then to be
topped Avith the bottom of the ditch, and a dry or dead
hedge laid, to fliade and defend the under plantation.
Stakes Ihould then be driven into the loofe earth, fo
Ioav as to reach the firm ground : thefe are to be
placed at about two feet and a half diftance: and in
order to render the hedge yet ftronger, you may edder
it, that is, bind the top of the flakes with fmall long
poles 5 and when the eddering is finiihed, drive the
flakes aneiv.
The quick muft be kept conftantly A\reeded, and fe-Ofmana-
cured from being cropped by cattle j and in February
it Avill be proper to cut it Avithin an inch of the ground,
which Avill caufe it ftrike root afrefh, and help it much
in the growth. 665
The crab is frequently planted for hedges j and if Of the
the plants are raifed from the kernels of the fmall AVildcrab-
crabs, they are much to be preferred to thofe raifed
from the kernels of all forts of apples Avithout diflinc-
tion *, becaufe the plants of the true fmall crab never
fiioot fo ftrong as thofe of the apples, and may there¬
fore be better kept Avithin the proper compafs of a
hedge. _ _ 666
The black thorn, or floe, is frequently planted for Black
hedges 5 and the beft method of doing it, is to raife the1!10™-
plants from the Hones of the fruit, which Ihould be fown
about thp middle of January, if the weather will permit,
in the place Avhere the hedge is intended 5 but when
they are kept longer out of the ground, it will be pro¬
per to mix them Avith fand, and keep them in a cool
place. The fame fence Avill do for it Avhen foivn, as
when it is planted. 667
The holly is fometimes planted for hedges ; but Holly.
Avhere it is expofed, there will be great difficulty in
preventing its being deftroyed : othenvife, it is by far
the moll beautiful plant •, and, being an evergreen, Avill
afford much better flielter for cattle in Avinter than any ,
other fort of hedge. The beft method of raifing thefe
hedges, is to foAV the Hones in the place Avhere the
hedge is intended } and, Avhere this can be convenient¬
ly done, the plants Avill make a much better progrefs
than thofe that are tranfplanted : but thefe berries
fhould be buried in the ground feveral months before
they are fown. The Avay to do this, is to gather the
berries about Chriftmas, when they are ufually ripe,
and put them into large floAver-pots, mixing fome fand
with them $ then dig holes in the ground, into which
the pots muft be funk, covering them o\Ter Avith earth,
about ten inches thick. In this place they muft re¬
main till the following October, when they fhould be
taken
Fences,
668
Of garden
hedges.
Part III. A G R I C U
taken up, anti fown in the place where the hedge is
intended to he made. The ground fliould be well
trenched and cleared from the roots of all bad weeds,
bullies, trees, &c. Then two drills fhould be made,
at about a foot dillance from each other, and about
two inches deep, into which the feed fhould be fcat-
tered pretty clofe, left fome Ihould fail. When the
plants grow up, they muft he carefully weeded : and
if thev are defigned to be kept very neat, they fhould
he cut twice a-year, that is in May and in Auguft;
hut if they are only defigned for fences, they need only
he iheered in July. The fences for thefe hedges, Avhile -
young, fhould admit as much free air as polhble } the
heft fort are thofe made with polls and rails, or with
ropes drawn through holes made in the polls; and if
the ropes are painted over with a compoiition of melted
pitch, brown Spanilh colour and oil, well mixed, they
will lall 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 fhoots are fo
luxuriant that it is difficult to keep it in any tolerable
lhape j and as the leaves are large, to prevent the dif-
agreeable appearance given them by their being cut
through with the fheers, it will be the heft way to prune
them with a knife, cutting the fhoots juft down to a
leaf. The lauruftinus is a very fine plant for this pur-
pofe 5 but the fame objection may be made to this as
to the laurel: this, therefore, ought only to be pruned
with a knife in April when the,flowers are going oft’*,
hut the new fhoots of the fame fpring muft by no means
be fliortened. The fmall-leaved and rough-leaved
lauruftinus are the heft plants for this purpofe. The
true phillyrea is the next heft plant for hedges, which
may be led up to the height of xo or 12 feet ; and if
they are kept narrow at the top. that there may not
be too much width for the fhow 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 lei’s trouble than moll other
plants. The beech, which has the fame good quali¬
ties with the hornbeam •, but the gradual falling of its
leaves in winter caufes a continual litter. The fmall-
leaved Engliffi elm is a proper tree for tall hedges,
but thefe fhould not be planted clofer than eight or
ten feet. The lime-tree has alfo been recommended
for the fame purpofe •, but after they have flood fome
years, they grow very thin at bottom, and their leaves
frequently turn of a black difagreeable colour.
Many of the flowering flirubs have alfo been planted
in hedges, fuch as rofes, honey-fuckles, fweet briar, &c.
but thefe are difficult to train *, and if they were cut to
bring them within compafs, their flowers, which are
their greateft beauty, will be entirely deftroyed. A
correfpondent of the fociety for improving agriculture
in Scotland, however, informs us, that he tried with
fuccefs the eglantine, fweet briar, or dog rofe, when
all the methods of making hedges praclifed in Efl’ex
669
Of flower¬
ing flirubs.
670
L T U R E.
and Hampfhire had been tried in vain. His 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 which they were fowed in a piece of ground
prepared for garden peafe. Next year they came up;
and the year after they were planted in the following
manner. After marking out the ditch, the plants were
laid about 18 inches afunder upon the fide grafs, and
their roots covered with the firft turfs that were taken
oft from the furface of the intended ditch. The earth
fide of thefe turfs was 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 any
kind could pals. Even in two or three years none of
the larger cattle will attempt a fence of this kind.
Sheep indeed will fometimes do fo, but they are always-
entangled to inch a degree, that they would remain
there till they died unlefs relieved. Old briars dug up
and planted loon make an excellent fence } and, where
thin, it may be ealily thickened by laying down bran¬
ches, which in one year will make fhoots of fix or feven
feet. They bear clipping very well.
Dr Anderfon, who hath treated the fubjeft of hedg-Dr Ander-
ing very particularly, is of opinion, that fome other ryn’s direc-
plants belides thofe above mentioned might be ufefully t’ons‘
employed in the conftruclion of hedges. Among thefe
he reckons the common willow. This, he fays, by no ^‘Jfays on
means requires the wetnefs of foil which is commonly
fuppofed. “ It is generally imagined (fays he), that 1-
the Avillow can be made to thrive noAvhere except in
Avet or boggy ground : but this is one of thofe vulgar
errors, founded upon inaccurate obfervation, too often to
be met with in fubjedts relating to rural affairs ; for ex¬
perience has fufficiently convinced me, that this plant
Avill not only grow, but thrive, in any rich Avell culti¬
vated foil (unlefs in particular circumftances that need
not here be mentioned), even although it be of a very
dry nature. It could not, hoAvever, in general be made
to thrive, if planted in the fame manner as thorns ; nor
would it, in any refpedt, be proper to train it up for a
fence in the fame way as that plant. The Avillow, as a qj- ^
fence, could feldom be fuccefsfully employed, but for low.
dividing into feparate inclofures any extenfive field of
rich ground: and, as it is aftvays neceflary to put the
foil into as good order as poffible before a hedge of this
kind is planted in it, the ealieft method of putting it in¬
to the necefl'ary high tilth, will be to mark oft’ the
boundaries of your feveral fields in the Avinter, or earl',
in the fpring, Avitb a defign to give a complete fallow to
a narroAv ridge, fix or eight feet broad, in the middle of
Avhich the hedge is intended to be planted the enfuing
Avinter. This ridge ought to be frequently ploughed
during the fummer feafon, and in the autumn to be Avell
manured Avith dung or lime, or both (for it cannot be
made too rich), and be neatly formed int® a ridge be¬
fore winter.
“ Having prepared the ground in this manner, it
Avill be in readinefs to receive the hedge, which ought
to be planted as early in Avinter as can be got con\re-
niently done as the willoAV is much hurt by being
planted late in the fpring. But before you begin to
make a fence of this kind, it Avill be neceflary to pro¬
vide a fufficient number of plants : Avbich Avill be bell
„ done
520 A G ft I'C U
Fences, done by previoufly rearing them in a nurfery of your
own, as near the field to he inclofed as you can conve¬
niently have it; for as they are very bulky, the car-
riage of them Would he troublefome if they were,
brought from any conliderable diftance. The heft
kinds of willow for this ufe, are fuch as. make the
longeft and ftrongeft Ihoots, and are not of a brittle
nature. All the large kinds of hoop-willows may be
employed for this ufe ; but there is another kind with
ftronger and more taper fhoots, covered with a dark
green bark when young, which, upon the older {hoots,
becomes of an alh gray, of a firm texture, and a little
rough to the touch. The leaves are not fo long, and
a great deal broader than thofe of the common hoop-
willow, pretty thick, and of a dark-green colour.
What name this fpccies is ufually known by, I cannot
. tell; but as it becomes very quickly of a large fixe at
the root, and is ftrong and firm, it ought to he made
choice of for this purpofe in preference to all other
kinds that I have feen. The {boots ought to be of
two or three years growth before they can be proper¬
ly ufed, and ihould 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
ftretched a line along the middle of the ridge which
was prepared for their reception, begins at one end
thereof, thrufting a row of thefe plants firmly into the
ground, clofe by the fide of the line, at the dillance of
18 or 20 inches from one another 5 making -them all
flant a little to one fide in a direftion parallel to the
line. This being finiflied, 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' j making
thefe incline as much as the others, but in a direction
exactly contrary •, and then, plaiting thefe balket-ways,
work them into lozenges like a net, faftening the tops
by plaiting the fmall twigs with one another, which
with very little trouble may be made to bind together
very firmly. The whole, when finiflied, affumCs a
very beautiful net-like appearance, and is even at firfi;
a tolerable good defence; and, as thefe plants im¬
mediately take root, and quickly increafe in fize, it
becomes, after a few years, a very ftrong fence which
nothing can penetrate. This kind of hedge I myfelf
have employed ; and find that a man may plant and
twift properly about a hundred yards in a day, if the
plants be laid down to his hand : and in a fituation
t fuch as I have deferibed, 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 fpring up and be fupported by them;
and, by its numerous prickles, would effectually pre-
ferve the defencelefs willow from being browfed upon
by cattle.
“ As it will be neceflary to keep the narrow ridge,
upon which the hedge is planted, in culture for one
year at leaft, 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
render mould produced by this means, it will be proper
to ftir the earth once or twice by a gentle horfe-hoe in
Fences.
672
L T U ft E. Pradice.
the beginning of fummer 5 and, in the month of June,
it may be fowed with turnips, or planted with cole-
w'orts, which will abundantly repay the expence of the
fallow.”
The fame author alfo gives the following ufeful di- ^ Panting
rections for planting hedges in fituations very much ex-
pofed to the weather, and recovering them when on luatjons
the point of decaying. “ Thofe who live in an open and reco-
Uncultivated country, have many difficulties to encoun- vering
ter, which others who inhabit more warm and {belter-
ed regions never experience •, and, among the difficul- y0i jj
ties, may be reckoned that of hardly getting hedges top. 16, &c.
grow' wTith facility. For, where a young hedge is much
expofed to violent and continued gulls of wind, no art
will ever make it rife with fo much freedom, or grow
with fuch luxuriance, as it would do in a more flielter-
ed fituation and favourable expofure.
“ But although it is impoflible to rear hedges in this
fituation to fo much perfection as in the others, yet they
may be reared even there, with a little attention and
pains, fo as to become Very fine fences.
“It is advifeable, in all cafes, to plant the hedges up¬
on the face of a bank ; but it becomes abfolutely ne¬
ceflary in fuch an expofed fituation as that I have now
deferibed: for the bank, by breaking the force of the
wind, fereens the young hedge from the violence of
the blaft, and allows it to advance, for fondle time at
firll, with much greater luxuriance than it otherwife
could have done.
“ But as it may be expected foon to grow as high as
the bank, it behoves the provident huflbandman to pre¬
pare for that event, and guard, with a wife forecafl,
againll the inconvenience that may be expected to arife
from that circurtillance.
“ With this view, it will be proper for him, inflead
of making a Angle ditch, and planting one hedge, to
raife a pretty high bank, with a ditch on each fide of
it, and a hedge on each face of the bank ; in which fi¬
tuation, the bank will equally fhelter each of the twTo
hedges W'hile they are lower than it •, and, when they
at length become as high as the bank, the one hedge
will in a manner afford fhelter to the other, fo as to
enable them to advance W'ith much greater luxuriance
than either of them Would have done fingly.
“ To effectuate this frill mox-e 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 two fervices. This plant
will advance, in fome degree, even in this expoled fitu¬
ation •, and by its numerous fhoots, covered with large
leaves, will effedually fereen the hedge on each fide of
it, which, in its turn, will receive fome fupport and
fhelter from them } fo that they will be enabled to ad¬
vance all together, and form, in time, a clofe, ftrong,
and beautiful fence.
“ The Jervice is a tree but little known in Scotland ;
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 flielter to other plants than almoft
any other tree known: for it fends out a great many
ftrong branches from the under part of the ftem,
which, in time, aflume an upright direftion, and con¬
tinue to advance with vigour, and carry many leaves to
the
/
Part m- ' AGRICULTURE. 521
F<‘"c,s- . t|,e.v.e/f as the tree cxifts: fo of the ground ; by which means they will fhoot out Fenccs.
lj no_t pninct ,it 1 ifes a large el ole bufli, till it many branches. This tree maybe trained into very 1 ■ v"——•
attams the height of a forelb tree thick and clofe hedges, to the height of 20 feet and
it is ot the lame genus with the rawn-tree, and has •upwards. It will thrive exceedingly on the lides of
a great ic emi auce to it both in bower and fruit j its brooks j for it grows bell when part of its roots are
branches are more waving and pliant j its leaves undi- in water 5 and may, if planted there, as is uiual for
vided, broad, and round, iomewbat refembling the elm, willows, be cut for poles every fifth or fixth year,
but white and mealy-on the under fide. It deferves to Its wood makes excellent pipes and Haves ; for it will
Jeu,C^'r k"°'!n tl:i'1 11 1S at / lalb a long time under ground or in water: and it is
nt 1, , om t ic poorneis of the foil in which likewife in great eflimation among plough-wrights,
your hedge is planted, or from any other caufe, it turners, &c. as well as for making feveral of the uten-
, ou io happen, tnat^ alter a few years, the hedge fils neceffary for agriculture. Its bark alfo dyes a good
becomes iickly, and the plants turn poor and Hunted black.
in appearance, the ealieH and only effectual remedy for The birch is another tree recommended by Mr Mil- Of the4
t at dneale, is to cut the Hems of the plants clean over, ler as proper for hedges j and in places where thelarch-
at the height of an inch or two above the ground 5 af- young plants can be eafily procured, he fays that the
ter which they will fend forth much Hronger llioots plantation of an acre will not colt 40 fliillings, the af-
than they ever would have done without this operation, ter expence will not exceed-20 {hillings: fo that the
And if the hedge be kept free of weeds, and trained whole will not come above three pounds, Afh trees
afterwards in the manner above defcribed, it will, in ought never to be permitted in hedges, both becaufe
almoft every cafe, be recovered, and rendered frefh and they injure the com and grafs by their wide extended
• roots, and likewife on account of the property their
1 Ins-amputation ought to be performed in autumn, leaves have of giving a rank tafle to butter made from
or the beginning of winter ; and in the fpring, when the milk of fuch cattle as feed upon the leaves. No
the young buds begin to fliow themfelves, the Humps afh trees are permitted to grow in the good dairy-
ought to be examined with care, and all the buds be counties. 6
robbed off, excepting one or two ol the HrongeH and Where there are plenty of rough flat Hones, the Of hedges
leit placed, which lliould be left for a Hem. For if fences which bound an eflate or farm are frequently raFed on
the numerous buds that fpring forth round the Hem are made with them. In Devonlliire and Cornwall it is tlle t"p of
allowed to iprmg up undiHurbed, they will become in common to build as it were two walls with thefe Hones ftoUcfenCeS‘
a few years as weak and Hunted as before j and the laid upon one another ; firH two and then one be-
hedge will never afterwards he able to attain any confi- tween : as the walls rife they fill the intermediate fpace
derable height, Hrength, or healthfulneIs—I have feen with earth, beat the Hones in flat to the fides, which
many hedges, that have been repeatedly cut over, to- makes them lie very firm, and fo proceed till the
tally rained by this circumHance not having been at- whole is raifed to the intended height. Quick hedges,
tended to in proper time. and even large timber trees, are planted upon thefe
r l 1 8j°un“ k,r flxteen or twenty feet on each walls, and thrive exceeding well. Such inclofures are
fide ol the hedge be fallowed at the time that this ope- reckoned the beH defence that can be had for the
ration is performed, and get a thorough dr effing with ground and cattle ; though it can fcarcely be fuppofed
rich manures, and be kept in high order for fome years but they muH be difagreeable to the eye, and Hand in
afterwards by good culture and meliorating crops, the need of frequent repairs, by the Hones being forced out
11 (ge will pi ol per much better than if this had been of the way by cattle. The beH way to prevent this is
omitted, efpecially if it had been planted on the level to build fuch wall in the bottom of a ditch made wide
673 or on the bank of a fliallow ditch.” enough on purpofe, and doped down on each fide.
. J . -Mmer greatly recommends the black alder as Thus the deformity will be hid 5 and as the cattle can-
iipei i°r to any other that can be employed in moiH not Hand to face the wall lo as to attempt to leap over
foils, ft may either he propagated by layers or trim- it, the Hones of which it is compofed will be lefs liable,
cheons about three feet long. The beH time for plant- to be beaten down. The earth taken out of the ditch
mg thele laH is in February or the month of March. may be fpread on the adjacent ground, and its fides
hey ought to be fliarpened at their largeH end, and planted with fuch trees or underwood as will beH fuit
the ground well loofened before they are thrufl into the foil. By leaving a fpace of feveral feet on the in-
it, lelt the hark fhould be torn oft, which might occa- fide for timber, a fupplv of that valuable commodity
fion their mifearriage. J hey fhould be fet at leall two may he had without doing any injury to the more va-
feet deep, to prevent their being blown out of the luable paHure.
ground by violent winds after they have made Hrong The following is an excellent method of making a f
moots ; and they fhould be kept clear of tall weeds durable and beautiful fence in graffy places. Dig conftruA-
until they have got good heads, after yvhich they will pieces of turf four or five inches thick, the breadth of ing an ex-
require no farther care. When raifed by laying down the fpade, and about a foot in length. Lay thefe turfs cel}en|;
the branches, it ought to he done in the month of Oc- even by a line on one fide, with the grafs outward, atfeu^ in,
toher j and by that time twelvemonth they will have the diHance of ten or twelve inches within the mark y ** 1
roots. 1 efficient for tranfplantation, which muH be done at which the ditch afterwards to be dug in the folid
by digging a hole and loofening the earth in the ground is to begin. Then lay, in the fame manner,
place where the plant is to Hand. The young fets but with their grafs fides turned out the contrary way,
muH be planted at leafl a foot and a half deep 5 and another row of turfs, at fuch a diHanee as to make a
their tops fhould be cut off to within about nine inches breadth of foundation proportioned to the intended
Vol. I. Part II. 3 17 height
522
A G R I C U L T U R E.
Practice.
Fences, height of the bank. Thus, even though the ground
-—y—fliould prove defective, the bank Avould be prevented
from giving way. A ditch may then be dug oi what ^
depth and breadth you pleafe 5 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 lowed with hay-feeds, and will bear grais
on both fides. Part of the earth taken out of the
ditches or Hopes 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 defircd height; only obferving to give^ each fide
of it a gentle Hope for greater ftrength. The top of
this bank fhould 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
fliould then be planted along this top, and they will
(bon 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 tvill become entirely folid }
and it will be yet much llronger when the roots of the
quick fliall have {hot out among it. The only pre¬
cautions neceffary to be obferved in making this bank
are, 1. Not to make it when the ground is too dry •,
becaufe, if a great deal of wet ftiould fuddenly fol¬
low, it will fwell the earth fo much as, perhaps, to
endanger the falling of fome of the outfide ', which,
however, is eafily remedied if it fhould happen. 2. If
the dope be fuch as flieep 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 fides.
If any of the quicks ftiould die, which they will hard¬
ly be more apt to do in this than in any other litua-
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 ; elpe-
cially if we place pofts 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 likewife one of the beft fences
for fecuring cattle } and if the quicks on the banks be
kept clipped, it will form a kind of green wall plea-
fing to the eye.
In the firft volume of the Bath Papers we find elms
recommended for fences.^ and the following method of
raifing them for this purpofe is faid to be the beft.
When elm timber is felled in the fpring, low the chips
made in trimming or hewing them green, on a piece
of ground newly 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 fhoot
the cuttings of potatoes y and the plants thus
raifed having no tap-roots, but {hooting their fibres
horizontally in the richeft part of the foil, will be more
vigorous, and may be more fafely and eafily tranfplant-
ed, that when raifed 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 fame-
times more, ftems will arife from the fame chip j and
fuch plants, if cut down within three inches of the
Fences.
677
Elms re¬
commend¬
ed.
ground, will multiply their fide Ihoots in proportion,
and make a hedge thicker, without running to naked ' v '
wood, than by any other method yet pradtiled. It
kept clipped for three or four years, they will be al-
moft impenetrable. < 678
In the fecond volume of the fame work, vre meet Obicrva-
with feveral obfervations on quick hedges by a gentle-
man near Bridgewater. He prefers the white au^ hedges,
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 haws in a nurfery j
others he drew up in the woods, or wherever they
could be found. His banks were made fiat, and three
feet wide at the top, with a doping fide next the ditches,
wdiich laft were dug only two feet below the lurface,
and one foot wide at bottom. The turfs were regu¬
larly laid, with the grafs downwards, on that fide ol
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 poffible after taking up. They were
planted at a foot diftance 5 and about every 40 feet
young fruit-trees, or thofe of other kinds, Inch as alh,
oak, elm, beech, as the foil fuited them. A fecond
row of quickfets was then laid on another bed of frelh
earth at the fame time, and covered with good mould;
after which the bank was finiftied and fecured properly
from injuries by a dead hedge well wrought together,
and faftened by ftakes 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 irefh ones from the nur-
fery, as well as fuch of the young trees as had been
planted on the top of the bank j and cleared the whole
from weeds. Thofe moft deftructive to young hedges
are 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 grows to 30 feet long, and with a kind, of ten-
drils takes hold of the root of the young quick, and
chokes it. This root muft be dug very deep m order
to deftroy it. The third is ftill more deftru&ive to
young quicks than the other two, overfliadowing the
hedge like an arbour. Its root is fmaller than that of
the two former, but muft be dug out very clean, as the
leaft piece left will fend up frefli {hoots. It is very
deftrudtive to hedges to allow cattle to browze upon
them, which they are very apt to do j but where cattle
of fome kind muft be allowed accefs to them, hories
will do by far the leaft mifehief. .6^.
With regard to the advantages anfing from hedges,Cydwtre:
our author obferves, that if they were of no farther commend-
ufe than as mere fences, it would be the farmer, s inte-e(j jn
reft to keep them up carefully ", for the better they are, hedges,
the more fecure are his cattle and crops. But if a ju¬
dicious mixture of cyder fruit-trees were planted in
hedges, the profit arifmg from them only would abun¬
dantly repay the coft of the whole without any lols of
ground. It may polfibly be objected by fome, that
the hedges would often be hurt by the boys climb¬
ing up to get the fruit} but thole who make it
fhould 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
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
523
Fences.
680
Method of
railing
hornbeam
hedges in
Germany.
6S1
Dr Ander-
fon’s me¬
thod of
mending
decayed
hedges.
hogs will hardly touch them. But the greateft bene¬
fit, where no fruit-trees are planted, arifes from the
thorns and wood which quick hedges yield for the fire
and other purpofes.” „
The author of the Effays on Hulhandry recommends
the hornbeam plant as one of the bell yet known for
making fences, according to the method praftifed in
Germany, where fuch fences are common. “ When
the German hulhandman (fays he) erects a fence of
this nature, he throws up a parapet of earth, with a
ditch on each fide, and plants his hornbeam lets in fuch
a manner, that every two plants may be brought to in-
terfect 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 with llraw
thwartwife. Here the two plants confolidate in a kind
of indiffoluble knot, and pulli from thence horizontal
llanting fhoots, which form a fort of living palilado or
chevaux de frife ; fo that fuch a protection may be call¬
ed a rural fortification. The hedges being pruned an¬
nually, and with difcretion, will in a few years render
the fence impenetrable in every part.
“ It fometimes happens (fays Dr Anderfon) that a
hedge may have been long negleCted, and be in general
in a healthy Hate, but full of gaps and openings, or fo
thin and ilraggling, as to form but a very imperfeCt
fort of fence. On thefe occafions, it is in vain to hope
to fill up the gaps by planting young quicks ; 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 gups would llill conti¬
nue 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 plcjl the
hedge ; wdiich laft operation is always the moll eli¬
gible where the gaps are not too large to admit of be¬
ing cured by this means.
“ The operation I here call plajhing, may be de¬
fined, “ a wattling made of living wood.” To form
this, fome Hems are firll ieleCted, to be left as flakes at
proper diftances, the tops of which are all cut over at
the height of four feet from the root. The {haggling
fide-branches of the other part of the hedge arc alio
lopped away. Several of the remaining plants are then
cut over, clofe by the ground, at convenient diilances •,
and the remaining plants are cut perhaps hall through,
fo as to permit them to be bent on one fide. They
are then bent down almoft to a horizontal pofition,
and interwoven with the upright Hakes, fo as to retain
them in that pofition. Care ought to be taken that
thefe be laid veryr low at thofe places where there were
formerly gaps ; which ought to be farther llrengthened
by fome dead Hakes or truncheons of willows, which
will frequently take root in this cafe, and continue to
live. And fometimes a plant of eglantine will be able
to overcome the difficulties it there meets with, flrike
root, and grow up fo as to Hrengthen the hedge in a
mofl effectual manner.
“ The operator begins at one end of the field, and
proceeds regularly forward, bending all the Hems in
one direction, fo that the points rile above the roots of
the others, till the whole wattling is completed to the
fame height as the uprights.
“ An expert operator will perform this work with
much greater expedition than one who has not leen it
done could eafily imagine. And as all the diagonal Fences,
wattlings continue to live and fend out {hoots from1 '
many parts of thefe Hems, and as the upright fhoots that
rife from the Humps of thofe plants that have been cut
over quickly rulli up through the whole hedge, thefe
ferve to unite the whole into one entire mafs, that forms
a Hrong, durable, and beautiful fence.
“ This is the befl method of recovering an old
negledted hedge that hath as yet come to my know¬
ledge.
“ In fome cafes it happens that the young flioots of
a hedge are killed every winter; in which cafe it loon
becomes dead and unfightlv, and can never rife to any
confiderable height. A remedy for this difeale may
therefore be wifhed for.
“ Young hedges are obferved to be chiefly affedted
with this diforder; and it is almoH always occaftoned
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 lo
fmall and weakly as to be unable to reliH the ievere
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
firH winter after planting ; in confequence of which,
many fmall fhoots fpring out from each of the Hems
that has been cut over:—Each of which, being after-
Avards cut over in the fame manner, fends forth a Hill
greater number of fhoots, w hich are fmaller and fmaller
in proportion to their number.
“ If the foil in Avhich the hedge has been planted is
poor, in confequence of this management, the branches,
after a feiv years, become fo numerous, that the hedge
is unable to fend out any fhoots at all, and the utmoH
exertion of the vegetative poAvers enables it only to
put forth leaves. Thofe leaves are reneived in a fickly
Hate for fome years, and at laH ceafe to grow at all—
the branches become coA^ered Avith fog, and the hedge
perifhes entirely.
“ But if the foil be very rich, notwithflanding this
great multiplication of the Hems, the roots will Hill
have fufficient A’igour to force out a great many fmall
fhoots, 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 frofls come on before the tops ot
thefe dangling flioots have attained any degree of
Avoody firmnefs, fo that they are killed almoH entirely
by it the Avhole hedge becomes covered with thefe
long dead flioots, which are ahvays difagreeable to
look at, and ufually indicate the approaching end of
the hedge.
“ The caufes of the diforder being thus explained, it
Avill readily occur, that the only radical cure is amputa¬
tion : Avhich, by giving an opportunity to begin Avith
training the hedge anew, gi\res alfo an opportunity of
avoiding the errors that occafioned it. In this cafe,
care ought to be taken to cut the plants as clofe to the
ground as poffible, as there the Hems will be lefs nume¬
rous than at any greater height. And particular atten¬
tion ought to be had to alloAV very feAV flioots to ariie
from the Hems that have been cut over, and to guard
carefully againfl fliortening them.
“ But as the roots, in the cafe here fuppofed, will
3 U 2 be
/
6Sz
Xord
Karnes’s
obferva-
tions.
6S3
Fence for
deer-park.
A G R I C U
be very ftrong, the fhoots that are allowed to fpring
from the ftems will be very vigorous, and there will be
Jome danger ol their continuing to grow later in the
ieafon than they ought in fafety to do 5 in which cafe,
lome part of the top of the flioot may perhaps be killed
the lirit winter, which ought if pollible to be prevent¬
ed. I his can only be effectually done by giving a
check to the vegetation in autumn, io as to allow the
young ihoots 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 ftate 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 fuffains. 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 oft'
all the lupernumerary branches from the young hedge,
and for clipping oft the fide-branehes that have fprung
out from it y which will, in general, be fufficient to
give it iuch a check in its growth at that feafon, as
will prevent any of the fhoots from advancing after¬
wards. If the hedge is extremely vigorous, a few buds
may be allowed to grow upon the large flumps in the
fpring, with a view to be cut oft’ at this feafon, which
will tend to flop the vegetation of the hedge flill more
effectually.
“• By this mode of management, the hedge may be
preferved entire through the firfl winter. And as the
fhoots become lefs vigorous every fucceffive feafon,
there will be lefs difficulty in preferving them at any
future period. It will always be proper, however, to
trim the fides of a very vigorous 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 is 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 directions for the railing and
mending of hedges confiderably different from thole
above related. For a deer-park he recommends a wall
aof flone 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 the 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
no beafl will feed upon it except a hare, and that only
when young and the bulb tender. Therefore, no ex¬
traordinary care is neceflary 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 beall will touch. The wall he re¬
commends to he built in the following manner, as be¬
ing both cheaper and more durable than one conflruCl-
ed entirely of Hone. Raife it of Hone 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 length equal to the
thicknefs of the wall. Next cover this fod with loofe
earth rounded like a ridge. Third, prepare thin fod,
call with the paring fpade, fo long as to extend, be-
yond the thicknefs of the wall, two inches on each fide.
LI U R E. Pra£tice«
With thefe cover the loofe earth, keeping the graffy Fences,
fide above j place them fo much on the edge, that
each fod fliall cover part of another, leaving only about
two inches without cover 5 when 20 or 30 yards are
thus finifiied, let the fod be beat with mallets by two
men, one on each fide of the wall, 11 riking both at the
fame time. By this operation the fod becomes a com¬
pact body that keeps in the moillure, and encourages,
the grafs to grow. Lallly, cut oft' the ragged ends of
the fod on each fide of the wall, to make the covering
neat and regular. The month of October is the pro¬
per feafon for this operation, becaufe the fun and
wind, during fummer, dry the fod, and hinder the
grafs from vegetating. Moill foil affords the bell fod.
Wet foil is commonly too fat for binding; and, at
any rate, the watery plants it produces will not thrive
in a dry fituation. l)ry foil, on the other hand, be¬
ing commonly ill bound with roots, fhakes to pieces in
handling. The ordinary way of coping with fod,
which is to lay them flat and fingle, looks as if intended
to dry the fod and kill the grafs ; not to mention that
the foil is liable to be blown oft’ the wall by every high
wind. > 6S4:
The advantages of a thorn hedge, according to ourAdvan-
author, are, that it is a very quick grower, whentaSesoi
planted in a proper foil } Ihooting up fix or feven feetj1
in a feafon. Though -tender, and apt to be hurt by 0
weeds when young, it turns llrong, and may be cut
into any fhape. Even when old, it is more difpofed
than other trees to lateral fhoots and lallly, its prickles
make it the moll 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 utmoll importance that
they be properly trained in the nurfery. The bell
foil for a nurfery, his lordlhip obferves, is between
rich and poor. In the latter the plants are dwarfilli:
in the former, being luxuriant and tender, they are
apt to be hurt during the feverity of the weather ; and
thefe imperfections are incapable of any remedy. An 6S5
effential requifite in a nurfery is free ventilation. “ How Of a pm-
common (fays his lordlhip) is it to find nurferies inj?^1 nil^erf
hollow Iheltered places, furrounded with walls and tjlc p]aJA
high plantations, more fit for pine-apples than barren
trees ! The plants thrull out long ihoots, but feeble
and tender: when expofed in a cold fituation they de¬
cay, and fometimes die. But there is a reafon for every
thing : the nurferyman’s view is to make profit by fav-
ing* 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. 686
“ As thorns will grow pleafantly from roots, I Of railing
have long practifed a frugal and expeditious method
raifing them from the wounded roots that mull be cut 0f 0jt}
oft when thorns are to be fet in a hedge. Thefe roots, hedges,
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 fuceeffion of plants may be obtained without any
more leed. It ought to he a rule, never to admit into
a hedge plants under five years old *, they deferve all
the additional lum that can be demanded for them.
A oung and feeble plants in a hedge are of fiow growth •,
and, befules the lol’s of time, the paling neceflary to
fecure
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
525
Fences, fecure them from cattle muft be renewed more than
v — ' > once before they become a fence. A thorn hedge may
he planted in every month of winter and fpring, unlefs
it be froft. Bnt I have always obferved, that thorns
planted in October are more healthy, pufh more vigor-
oully, and fewer decay, than at any other time. In
preparing the thorns for planting, the roots ought to be
left as entire as poffible, and nothing cut away but the
parts.
a thorn hedge fuffers greatly by weeds, 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 two or three inches deep, its gralfy 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 alio a border for the thorns, broad
or narrow according to their fize j 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 laid fur¬
face. Cover the fcarfement and border with the under
earth, three inches thick at leall ; 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 points with a
knife, and lopping off their heads to make them grow
builiy, they are laid fronting the ditch, with their roots
on the border, the head a little higher than the root.
Care muff 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, becaufe the mouldery
earth is the fineft of all. Coyer the Hems 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 nourifhment from it.
Go on to finiiii the ditch, prefling 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 railed 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 ffiould be fummer
fallowed, manured, and cleared of all grafs roots \ 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 fuch ground there is a neceffity for a Hone
fence.
“ The only reafon that can be given for laying
thorns as above defcribed, is to give the roots fpace to
pufh in all dire£ticns ; even Upwards into the mound of
earth. There may be fome advantages in this y but,
in niy apprehenfion, the difadvantage is much greater
°s7 ragged
Proper me- << ^
of heaping fo much earth upon the roots as to exclude Fences,
not only the fun, but the rain which runs down the v
Hoping bank, and has no accefs to the roots. Inilead
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 bell 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, ffiould a thorn be put in¬
to the ground Hoping ? This is not the pra&ice with
regard to any other tree ; and I have heard of no ex¬
periment to perfuade me that a thorn thrives better
Hoping than eredt. There occurs, indeed, one objec¬
tion againft planting thorns eredt, 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 pufli on¬
wards } but, changing their diredtion, 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 froft. One thing is evident without ex¬
periment, that thorns planted eredt 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 mav be planted eredt 5 and a hedge of
fuch thorns, well cultivated in the nurfery, will in
three vears arrive to greater perfedtion than a hedge
managed in the ordinary way will do in twice that
time.” 68S
After the hedge is finifhed, it is abfolutely neceffa- Oftecu™&'
rv to fecure it for fome time from the depredations of aJie(*?e.
cattle j and this is by no means an eaiy matter. I h8 planted,
ordinary method of a paling (fays his lordiliip) is no
fufficient defence againft cattle : the moft gentle make
it a rubbing poft, and the vicious wantonly break it
down with their horns. The only effedtual remedy is
expenfive 5 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 ivith : Drive into the ground-
ftrong flakes three feet and a half long, with intervals
from eight to twelve inches, according to the fize of
the cattle that are to be incloied ; and all precifely of
the fame height. Prepare plates of wood lawed out
of logs, every plate three inches broad and half an
inch thick. Pix them on the heads of the Hakes with
a nail driven down into each. The flakes will be
united fo firmly, that one cannot be moved without
the whole 5 and will be pi'oof 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 (beep, 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.”
His lordffiip difeomrnends the ordinary method oftraining
training hedges, by cutting off the top and fhorteningud lctkcs“
the lateral branches, in order to make it thick, and
bufhy. This, as well as the method of cutting off the
Hems two or three inches above the ground, indeed,
produces. ,
526 • A G R I C U
Fences, produce a great number of [hoots, and makes a very
i——'v-.. thick fence, but which becomes fo weak when bare of
leaves, that cattle break through it in every part, i o
determine the heft method of proceeding in this cafe,
his lordfnip made an experiment on three hedges,
which were twelve years old at the time he wrote.
The fir ft was annually pruned at the top and lides j 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 j but weak in
the flems, and unable to refill any horned heafl: the
fecond was flrong in its Hems, and clofe from top to
bottom : the third was alfo llrong in its flems, but
hare of branches for two feet from the ground ; the
lower ones having been deprived of air and rain by the
thick fhade of, thofe above them. Hence he direfts
that hedges fliould be allowed to gi’ow till the Hems
be five or fix inches in circumference, which will be
in ten Or twelve years 5 at which time the hedge will
be fifteen feet or more in height. The lateral branches
next the ground mull be pruned within two feet of the
ftem 5 thofe above mull be made fhorter and fhorter in
proportion to their diflance from the ground } and at
five feet high they mull be cut clofe to the llem, leav¬
ing all above full freedom of growth. By this dref-
iing the hedge takes on the appearance of a very fleep
roof 5 and it ought to be kept in that form by pruning.
This form gives free accefs to rain, fun, and air: every
twig has its fliare, and the whole is preferred in vi¬
gour. When the flems have arrived at their proper
bulk, cut them over at five feet from the ground, where
the lateral branches end. This anlwers two excellent
purpofes : the firfl is to flrengthen the hedge, the lap
that formerly afeended to the top being now diflri-
buted to the hranches •, the next is, that a tall hedge
ilagnates the air, and poifons both corn and grafs near
it. A hedge trained in this manner is impenetrable
690 even by a bull.
Plafliing of With regard to the practice of plq/king an old hedge
commend” recommended by Dr Anderfon, his lordfhip obferves
c(i. that “ it makes a good interim fence, but at the long
run is deflru6tive to the plants : and accordingly there
is fcarcely to be met with a complete good hedge
where plafhing has been long pradifed. A thorn is a
tree of long life. If, inflead of being maflacred by
plafhing, it were raifed and dreffed in the way here
deferibed, it would continue a firm hedge perhaps 500
691 years.
Hedges “ iV hedge ought never to be planted on the top of
ought to be t]ie moun(i of earth thrown up from the ditch. It has
thefide °f t^ie afivantag6 an awful fituation ; but being
the baalf planted in bad foil, and dellitute of moiflure, it can-
and no not thrive : it is at befl dwarfifh, and frequently de¬
trees allow-cayS and dies. To plant trees in the line of the hedge,
ed m them. or w;thin a few feet of it, ought to be abfolutely pro¬
hibited as a pernicious practice. It is amazing that
people fliould fall into this error, when they ought to
know that there never was a good thorn hedge with
trees it it. And how fhould it be otherwife ? An oak,
a beech, an elm, grows fafler than a thorn. When
fuffered to grow in the midfl of a thorn hedge, it
fpreads its roots everywhere, and robs the thorns of
their nourifhment. Nor is this all: the tree, overflia-
dowing the thorns, keeps the fun and air from them.
L T U R E. Pra&ice.
At the fame time, no tree takes worfe with being over- Fences,
fhadowed than a thorn. v
“ It is fcarcely neceffary to mention gaps in a ^e^ge» of
becaufe they will feldom happen where a hedge is train-^ ga]ps&
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 trefpafling of cattle.
The ordinary method of filling up gaps, is to plant fvveet
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 he compofed of plants
which grow unequally. Thofe that grow fall, overtop
and hurt the flow growers *, and with refped, in parti¬
cular, to a crab and fweet briar, neither of them thrive
under the fhade. It is a better method to remove all
the withered earth in the gap, and to fubflitute frefli
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 fhould be a nurfery of thorns
of all fixes, even to five feet high, ready to fill up gaps.
The befl feafon for this operation is in the month of Oc¬
tober. A gap filled with fweet briar, or a crab lower
than the hedge, invites the cattle to break through and
trample the young plants under foot; to prevent which,
a paling raifed on both fides is not fufficient, unlels it
he raifed as high as the hedge. _ 693
“ Where a field is too poor to admit of a, thorn In what
hedge, if there be no quantity of Hones eafily procu- ^fes wjims
rabie, whins are the only refource. H hefe are com-^^
monly placed on the top of a dry earth dyke, in which
fituation 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
{pace 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 w'ltk 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 dowm, then the other as foon as it becomes
a fence, and fo on alternately. W'hile the whins are
young, they will not be diHurbed by cattle, if paflages
be left to go out and in. Thefe paflages may be
clofed up when the hedge is fufficiently Hrong to be a
fence. A whin hedge thus managed, will laH many
years, even in Hrong froH, unlefs very fevere. There
are many whin hedges in the fhire of Kincardine not fo
fkilfully managed, and yet the pofleffors appear not to
be afraid of froH. Such fences ought to be extremely
welcome in the fandy grounds of the fliire of Moray,
where there is fcarcely a Hone to be found. Ihe few
earth fences that are there raifed, compofed moflly of
fand, very foon crumble down.”
In the fourth volume of Mr Young’s Northern Tour,
the author recommends the tranfplanting of old hedges, tvre^ v0|
which his correfpondent Mr Beverly fays he has tried Yj p. 357.
with prodigious fuccefs. _ _ ll) P- 494-
Mr Bake well, we are told, is very curious in his^M^
fences, and plants his quicks in a different manner from wejps fett.
what is common in various parts of the kingdom. l ie ces
plants one row at a foot from let to fet, and making his
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. Eeafons are not wanting to induce a preference of
* this
Part III.
A G R I C U
Fences.
69$
Of hedges
in ftony
this method. The plants grow only in the furface
earth uncovered from the atmofphere, which mult ne-
ceffarily be a great advantage ; whereas, in the ufual
\vay of planting, that earth, which is always the heft,
is loaded by a thick covering obliquely ot the earth
out of the ditch. If the roots flioot in the bell foil,
they will be out of the reach of the influences of the
air 5 the confequence of which is, that they cannot
have fo large a fpace of that earth as if let on the flat.
The way to have a tree or a quick thrive in the bell
manner poflible, is to fet it on the furface without
any ditch or trench, that cuts oft" half its pallure. But
if a ditch is neceflary, the next bell 'way mull of courfe
be Hill to keep it on the flat furface *, and the worll
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 conclufive argu¬
ment, unlefs both were tried on the fame foil and expo-
lure.
In the 7th volume of the fame work, a correfpon-
dent, who figns himfelf M. M. obferves, that notwith-
a“^J£ave!' Handing all "the improvements that have been made
in the conllrudtion 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 ufe, and are therefore fubjedt to all the in-
conveniencies of dead hedges and gaps. Of this kind
are all the fandy and gravelly inclofures, which con-
ilitute fo large a part of many diftridls in the ifland.
For thefe our author recommends a triple row ol furze 3
though, notwithllanding its advantages, he fays it is
liable to be dellroyed by fevere winters, contrary to
the aftertion of Lord Karnes above related. “ It is
liable (fays he) to be fo completely cut off" by a fevere
winter, that I have feen trads of many hundred acres
laid open in the fpace of a few weeks, and reduced to
as defencelefs a Hate as the furrounding walles. On
fuch foils therefore he recommends the holly 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 flowly, will ad¬
vance to a fufficient degree of perfedion. 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¬
llroyed, all the fandy walles of this kingdom would
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. he) pick out a bit of barren land, and after plough¬
ing it three or four times to bury and dellroy the
heath, I find it anfwer extremely well for a nurfery.
Into this fpot I tranfplant quicks, hollies, and every
tree which I ufe for fences or plantations. By efla-
blilhing fuch a nurfery, a gentleman will always be
able to command a fufficiency of llrong and hardy
plants which will not deceive his expedations. I look
upon thorns of five or fix years old, which have been
twice tranfplanted from the feed-bed, to be the bell
of all •, but as it may be neceflary to fill up cafual gaps
in hedges that have been planted feveral years, a pro-
vifion fliould be made of plants of every age, to twelve
or fourteen years old. All plants which are intended
to be moved, lliould be tranfplanted every tw7o, or at
moll three years 3 without this attention, they attach
696
L T U R E. 527
themfelves fo firmly to the foil as rentiers a fublequent Fences,
operation dangerous. All who tranfplant quicks or v—-v—-J
hollies ought to begin their labours as early as conve¬
nient in the autumn ; for I have found, by repeated ex¬
perience, that neither of thefe plants fucceed fo well in
the fpring.” 697
When the fences of a trad of ground are in a very Of repair-
ruinous condition, it is abfolutely neceffary to fcour ing rd110!13
the ditches, throw up the banks, and fecure the whole ^e^Ses'
immediately by the firmeil dead fences we can procure.
If there is a total want of living plants, the cultivator
can do nothing but plant new hedges 3 but if, as is
generally the cafe, the banks are furnilhed with a mul¬
titude of old Hems, though totally unconneded as a
fence, the time and labour requifite lor the intended
improvement will be confiderably abridged. All the
llraggling branches which add no iolidity to the fence
are to be cut oft 3 after which the reft ol the Hems mull
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 principle of
ftrength and connedion 3 it is equally expoled in every
part to depredations of cattle and iportfmen : and even
fliould it efckpe thefe, the firft fall of fnow will nearly
demolifli it. On the contrary, wherever thefe vege¬
table palifades can be left, they are impenetrable either
for man or horfe, and form lo many points of union
which fupport the reft.”
Another method of ftrengthening defedive fences is,
to bend down fome of the lateral ilioots in a horizon¬
tal diredion, and to fpread them along the line ol the
fence, like efpalier trees in a garden. A Angle Hem,
when it riles perpendicularly, will not fecure a Ipace
of more than two or three feet, but when bent longi¬
tudinally, it will form a barrier at leall lufficient to
repel all cattle but hogs for twelve or fourteen on one
fide. By bending down, our author does not mean 6c>S
the common plcjhing method, which is very injurious Plaflring of
to the plants 3 but the fpreading two or three of the
moft convenient branches along the hedge, and fallen-e(j
ing them down either by peg& or tying, without in¬
jury to the Hem, until they habitually take the pro-
pofed diredion. Thofe who make the experiment for
the firft time will be aftoniflied how final! a number
of plants may be made to fill a bank, with only trifling
intervals. The birch is particularly ufeful for this pur-
pofe 3 being of fo flexible a nature, that fhoots ol ten
or twelve feet in length may be eafily forced into a
horizontal diredion 3 and if the other llioots are pru¬
ned away, all the juices of the plant will be applied to
nourifli the feleded few : by which means they will
in a few years acquire all the advantages of polls and
rails, with this material difference, that inftead of de¬
caying, they become annually better. It is befides
the property of all inclined branches to fend up a mul¬
titude of perpendicular fhoots 3 to that by this hori¬
zontal inclination, if judicioufly made, you may ac¬
quire almoft all the advantages ol the thickeft fence 3
but when the Hems are too old and brittle to bear this
operation, it will be advilable to cut off all the ulclefs-
ones clofe to the ground, and next Ipring they will be
fucceeded by a number of young and vigorous ones.
Seled the bell of thefe to be trained in the manner
already direded, and extirpate all the reft, to increale
their
<28
AGRICULTURE.
Pra&icc.
Fences.
699
Of thicken¬
ing hedges
by laying
down the
young
/hoots.
•joo
In what
cafe the
cutting
down of
hedges is
proper.
their vigour. The flioots of fuch old ftems as have
been juit now deferibed, 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 pract!fed
with the greateil fuccefs is the following. The ten¬
der fhoots of moft trees, if bended downwards and co¬
vered with earth, will put forth roots., and being divid¬
ed from the parent Item at a proper time, become
frefh plants 5 an operation well known to gardeners,
under the name of laying. This may be as advanta¬
geous to the farmer, if he will take the very moderate
trouble of laying down the young and flexible branches
in his fences. Moft fpecies of trees, probably all,
will be propagated by this method, but particularly
the withy; the birch, the holly, the white thorn, and
the crab, will alfo take root in this method, though
more flowly 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 down branches in
this manner over the planting of young ones is, that
when you endeavour to fill up a gap by the latter me¬
thod, they advance very flowly, and are in danger of
being ftifled by the fliade of the large trees ; whereas,
if you fortify a gap by fpreading the branches along it
in the manner juft mentioned, and at the fame time in¬
fect fome of the moft thriving ilioots in the ground,
they will advance with all the vigour of the parent
plant, and you may allow them to grow until they
are lo fully rooted as to be free from danger of fufl’oea-
tion.
It frequently happens, that the fences of an efta'te
have been neglefted for many years, and exhibit no¬
thing hut 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 llioots,
which may be laid down in every direction, and train¬
ed for the improvement of the fence. When this ope¬
ration is performed, however, it ought always to he
done with an axe, and not with a faw ; it being found
that the latter inftrument generally prevents the vege¬
tation of the plant. All the Ilioots laid down in this
manner ftiould be allowed to remain for feveral years,
that they may be firmly rooted. 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 fufpedt that
the moft perfect form of a hedge, at leaft in all but
thofe compofed of thorns and prickly plants, is to
train up as many ftems as 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 refills 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 lliould be infpeSed once a-year 5 when not
only the ditch ought to be thrown out, and the bank
fupported, but the ftraggling Ihoots 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
diey deprive the nfeful ftems of part of their nourilh-
ment. Where a hedge is corripofed of plaftts of in- Fences.
ferior value, it will be proper to train thofe in the^ v-"»«>
manner juft now recommended, and to plant the hank
with quick or holly. When thefe laft have attained
a fumcient lize, the others may be extirpated; which
is heft done by cutting down all the Ilioots repeated¬
ly in the fummer, and leaving the roots to rot in the
hedge- T . 701
In the 13th volume of the Annals, W. Erfkine, Efq. Mr Er-
gives an account of a method of fencing very much tkine’s me-
refetnbling that recommended by Lord ivames, andthodofcra¬
wl lich has been already deferibed. That gentleman
of opinion, that in fome cates dead,/lone-walls, as they
are called, are more advantageous than hedges. “ That
hedges (fays he) are more ornamental, cannot be de¬
nied 3 and they are generally allowed to afford more
flielter : but the length of time, the ccnftant attention,
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 5 for though the firft coft is
confiderable, yet as the farmer reaps the immediate be¬
nefit of the fence (which is undoubtedly the moft fecure
one), they are thought on the whole to be the leaft ex-
penfive *, befides, the cattle in expefed fituations, and
efpecially in thefe northern parts, are fo impatient of
confinement at the commencement of the long, cold,
wet nights, that no hedges I have ever yet feen,
in any part of this ifland, are fufficient 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 poll and rail or paling on the
top of the bank, he erected a wTall two feet and a
half high ; and being well fituated for procuring lime,
he ufed it in the conftrtiction of thefe walls, which Mr
Erikine greatly recommends ; “ as the fatisfadtiou 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 ce¬
ment, and anfwer the purpofe very well it the work is
properly executed.”
In making a netv fence, of this kind, the furface ot
the ground fhould he pared oft the breadth ot the
ditch, and likewife for two feet more, in order to pre¬
vent as much as poflible the thorns from being injured
by the growth of grafs and weeds. The ditch thould
he five feet broad, two and a half in depth, and one
foot broad at the bottom. Leave one toot for an
edging or fcarfement, then dig the earth one ipit 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 diredlly over the lower one, but about
nine inches or a foot to one fide of it 5 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, hut muft not
exceed
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
Fences, exceed one foot from the thorn. The wall ought to
' 1 ' be about two feet thick at the bottom and one foot at
the top: the cope to be a lingle itone laid flat 5 then
covered with two fods of turf, the gra'fs of the under¬
moll to be next the wall, and the other fod mull have
the grafs fide uppermoll. The fods fhould be of fome
thicknefs, in order to retain moifturej fothat they may
adhere together, and not, be eafily difplaced by the
wind. The height of the wall to be two feet and a
half, exTlufive of the fods y 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 ealily be counted, on account of the
differences of the prices of labour in different parts. Mr
Erlkine had them done with lime, every thing included,
from lo-jd. to 13d. per el (which is equal to 37 inches
2 parts), according to the cafe or difficulty of working
the quarry, and the diftance of it from the place where
the fence is eredled. The lime is about 6d. per boll
nf about 4.0872667 bufhels $ and from 15 to 16 bolls
of lime are ufe'd to the rood of 35 fquare ells Scots
meafure •, and there are upwards of 43 Scots ells, or
44 Englilh yards. When the common round or flint
Hones are made ufe of, as they require more lime, it is
neceflary to ufe 30 or 3 5 bolls of lime to the rood.
The thorns are fold from live to ten Ihillings per thou-
fand, according to their age, reckoning fix fcore to the
hundred. Making the ditch, laying the thorns, and
preparing the top of the wall, generally coll from 7d.
to 8d. every fix ells. About 50 carts of Hones, each
cart carrying from feven to nine cwt. will build a
rood 5 the carriage at 2d. per cart for half a mile’s di-
flance.
Warmth is undoubtedly extremely beneficial to
hedges 5 and the walls give an effectual fhelter, which
in expofed fituations is abfolutely neceffary for rearing
' young hedges*, and they likewife preferve a proper de¬
gree of moiflure 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 tbe
ground with a {harp tool, either in October or Novem¬
ber, or early in the fpring; and erect the wall 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 almoll impoffible to imagine tbe rapi¬
dity with which hedges- grow in favourable fituations.
Mr Erlkine had one cut over in the fpring, and by the
end of the year it -was almoll as high as tbe wall. In
three vears he fuppofed, that not even the Highland
Ihecp, who eafily overleap a wall of four feet and a
half in height, would have been able to break through
o 7 o
, it.
iteafons for
•pi ant in
oak trees
i* hedges.
Notwithllanding the reafons that have been given
already againfl the planting of timber trees in hedges,
we find the practice recommended by fome authors as
one of the bell fituations for raffing Ihip-timber. The
rcafons are, that the roots have free range in the ad¬
joining inclofures, and the top is expofed to the ex-
ercife of the winds *, by which means the ti’ees are at
once enabled to throw out llrong arms, and have a
large fpreading head at the fame time ; fo that we
thus at once obtain quicknefs of growth with llrength
and crookednefs of timber. Well trained timber trees
it is alleged are not prejudicial to hedges, though pol¬
lards and low fpreading trees are deltructive to the
Vol. I. Part II.
703
hedge-wood which grows under them j neither are
high trees prejudicial to corn-fields like high hedges
and pollards, which prevent a proper circulation of
air } and in Norfolk, where the cultivation of grain
is carried on in great perfection, fuch lands are faid to
be wood-hound. Hut when a hedge is trimmed down
to four or five feet high, with oaks in ted per fed, a cir¬
culation ol air is rather promoted than retarded by it :
and a trimmed hedge will thrive quite well under tall
Hemmed trees, particularly oaks. Eor arable inclo-
iures, therefore, hedges are recommended of four or
five feet high, with oak-timbers from 15 to 25 feet
Item. Higher hedges are more eligible for grafs-lands:
the graffes affect warmth, by which their growth is
promoted, and confequently their quantity is incrcafed,
though perhaps the quality may fuffer fome injury.
A tall i cnee likewife affords flicker to cattle, provided
it bd thick and clofe at the bottom j but otherwife, by
admitting the air in currents, it does rather harm than
good. Tbe lliade of trees is equally friendly to cattle
in lumnver 5 for which reafon it is recommended in
grafs inclofures to allow tbe hedge to make its natural
Ihoots, 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 diHant from
each other 5 the middle row being permitted to reach,
and always to remain at, its natural height: whilff the
fide rows are cut down alternately to give perpetual
lecurity to the bottom, and afford a conHant fupply of
materials for dead hedges and other purpofes of under¬
wood.
Much has been faid of the excellency of the holly Beft me-
as a material for hedges; and indeed the beauty oftkodof
tbe plant, with its extreme elofenefs, and Continuing
green throughout the winter, evidently give it the pre- hollyfor”^
ference to all others ; and could it be railed with equal hedges,
cafe, there is no doubt that it would come into uni-
verfal practice. Betides the above properties, the
holly will thrive almoff upon any foil ; but thin-foiled
llony 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 5 and being of flow growth, it does not fuck the
land, as tbe farmers exprefs it, or deprive tbe crop of ‘
its nourifhment, as other hedges do. The difficulty
of raffing 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 fliel-
ter. It may even be raifed alone without any great
difficulty ; only in this cafe the dead fence, to fecure it,
mull be kept up at leaff ten or twelve years, inflead
of fix or feven, as in the other cafe ; and indeed, con-
fidering tbe 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 tbe crab or
hawthorn in two ways, viz. by lowing the berries
when the quick is planted, or by inferting tbe plants
themfelves the enfuing midfummer. The former is by
much tbe more fimple, and perhaps upon the whole
the better method. The feeds may either be icat-
tered among the roots of the deciduous plants, or
be fown in a drill in front: and if plants of holly
3 X be
530
Fences.
7°4
Hedges of
whins or
furze.
A G K I C U
be put in, they may either be planted between thofe
of the crab, or otherwife in front in the quincunx
manner.
“ Whins (furze) have been often employed lays
Dr Anderfon, as a fence, when fown upon the top of
a bank. They are attended with the convenience ol
coming very quickly to their perfection, 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 llrong nor a lafting
fence. The lirft of thefe defeats may, in fome mea-
fure, be removed, by making the bank upon which
they are fowed (for they never fhould be fcranl-
planted) of a confiderable breadth ; in order that the
largenefs of the aggregate body, conlidered as one^
mafs, may, in fome meafure, make up for the want ot
ftrength 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 5 raifmg
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 will form a
barrier that few animals will attempt to break through,
and will continue in that Hate of perfection for fome
years. But the greatell objection to this plant as a
fence is, that, as it advances in lize, the old prickles
always die awray} 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 j and
thefe thus gradually falling away, leave the Hems na¬
ked below as they advance in height; fo that it very
foon becomes an exceeding poor and unfightly fence •,
the Hems being entirely bare, and fo flender withal as
not to be able to make a iufficicnt reliHance to ahnofl
any animal whatever. To remedy this great defeCf,
either of the two following methods may be adopted.
The firfl is to take care to keep the bank always Hor-
ed with young plants j 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. Tor if one
fide of the hedge be cut quite clofe to the bank, when
it is only tw7o or three years old, the other half will
remain as a fence till that fide become flrong again ;
and then the oppofite fide may be cut down in its turn j
and fo on alternately as long as you may incline : by
which means the bank will always have a Hrong hedge
upon it without ever becoming naked at the root. And
as this plant, when bruifed, is one of the moH 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 -, which will
abundantly compenfate for the trouble of cutting, and
the waHe of ground that is occafioned by tlie breadth of
the bank.
“ The other method of preferving a hedge of whins
from turning open below, can only be praCtifed where
flieep are kept 5 but may be there employed with great
propriety. In this cafe it will be proper to low the
feeds upon a conical bank of earth, fhoved up from the
furface of the ground on each fide without any ditches.
If this is preferved from the flieep for two or three
years at firft, they may then be allowed free accefs to
3
L T U R E.
Practice.
Fences.
it -, and, as they can get up clofe to the foot of the
bank upon each fide, if they haver been accuHomed to '
this kind of food, they will eat up all the young fhoots
that are within their reach, which will occafion them
to fend out a great many lateral ilioots : and thefe be¬
ing continually browfed upon, foon become as clofe as
could he defired, and are then in no fort ot danger of
becoming naked at the root, although the middle part
fhould advance to a confiderable height.
Where furze or whins are to be ufed either as a fence
by themfelves, or in affiHance to another, it is perhaps
more proper to ufe the French feed than that produced
in Great Britain, as the former feldom ripens in this
country, and confequently cannot like the latter over¬
run the adjacent inclofure. It may be had at the feed
limps in London for about ijd. per pound, and one
pound will fow 40 flatute roods. When ufed as an
affiHant to a hedge, it is more proper to fow it on the
back of the bank than on the top of it; as in this cafe
it is more apt to overhang the young plants in the face
of the bank j whilH in the other it is better fituated
for guarding the bank, and preventing it from being
torn down by cattle. The method of lowing is as
follows: Chop a drill with a fliarp fpade about two-
thirds of the w ay up the back of the bank, making the
cleft gape as wide as may be without breaking oft the
lip 5 and having the feed in a quart bottle, Hopped with
a eork and goole quill, or with a perforated wooden Hop¬
per, trickle it along the drill, covering it by means of
a broom drawn gently above and over the mouth of the
drill. Clofmg the drill with the back of the Ipade,
Hints up the feeds too much from the air, and thus
keeps them too long from rifing. 7^5
We do not know that any perfon has yet attempted ^oofebeny.
to make ufe of the goofeberry for the purpofe of ma- e
king hedges, though few plants feem better adapted
for that purpofe. It grows readily. Some varieties
of it rife to a conliderable height, and by the Hrength
and number of its prickles, it would effectually prevent
any animal from breaking through.—It is laid that
fome fpecies of the mulberry not only grow and thrive
in England, but are capable ol being reared to per¬
fection in Scotland, as has been experienced at Dal¬
keith. As the leaves of this plant are the food ol the
lilk-worm, which produces the moH 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 bafts of a valuable manu¬
facture.
jc6
Dry Hone walls are fometimes ereCted of thole round Fences of
and apparently water-worn Hones which the plough ftone walls,
throws out, and which may be gathered in every
field. They are ufually coped with fod. Ibis, how¬
ever, is a very indifferent fence. In moff inffances it
is ereCted by common labourers, and is therefore ill
conflruCted, fo as not even to be of an uniform thick-
nefs from top to bottom. The round figure of the
Hones alio prevents the building from being wrell
bound together. Even the cattle rubbing themlelyes
againff it are apt to make confiderable gaps, which
render conflant attention neceffary to keep it in re¬
pair. It is cheaply executed, however, and affords the
means of at once fencing the land and clearing it
of Hones. When dry Hone walls are Ikilfully built
by
Part III.
Fences, by mafons, and made with quarried Hones finiflied with
v—a good coping, they look well and laft for many
years 5 but the coping ought to be of ilone and not of
turf or mud.
To render Hone and lime walls valuable as fences,
they Ihould have a bread bafe, and have a foundation
iufuciently deep to prevent their being injured by the
loofening of the foil which is produced by froft. rIhis
fence is very durable, but it is alio very expenfive. To
be in perfection, 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 negleCted, the
moiHure foon finds its way into the heart of the wall,
and it is alfo liable to various accidents from idle per-
707 ions climbing over it.
The Gallo- The Galloway dike owes its name to the county in
waj dike, which it was firH ufed. It coniifis 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 thele Hones large rugged round
Hones are laid, and fmaller Hones above thefe, io as to
admit a free pailage to the winds which whiHle through
them. The Galloway dike is never railed very high,
but its tottering appearance fo terrifies the cattle and
fheep, that they dare not touch it } io that it is a very
effectual fence, though it neither affords fhelter nor or¬
nament to the country. It has the advantage, how¬
ever, of being ereCted at a very trifling expence ; it
is not unfuitable to thofe lower parts of the country in
which the fhelter 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 inflead of lime for binding
Hone walls y but it is a very defective cement: for if
frofl fuddenly fucceed to wet weather, it is apt to fwell
and to tumble down at the next thaw. 1 o guard
againfl the efteCts of moiHure, thefe Hone and clay
walls are fometimes rough-cafl or coated over with
lime. If the coating is very thick and the Avail pro-
perly coped, it may lafl in this Avay as long as a Avail
of Hone and lime.
For the fake of the appearance, dry-Hone Avails have
fometimes tAVO or three inches at the top of them on
each fide lipped or Avaflied with lime, which adds no¬
thing to their Hrength, but gives them the appearance
of being built entirely with Hone and lime. With
the fame vicav, and Avith the fame efleCt, they aie
fometimes alio broad-cafl or coated with lime over their
whole furface. Dry-Hone walls after they are finiflied
are fometimes pinned andharled, orrough-caH, that is,
the mafon fills up all the interflices of the building
Ayith final 1 Hones, and afterwards coats it over Avith
lime, which adds confiderably to its durability.
Loav dry-Hone walls have fometimes a light paling
at the top, which gives them a handfome appearance.
Brick*walls are fometimes ufed Avhere Hones are ex¬
tremely fcarce, but they are chiefly employed for
R facing garden walls.
Frame Frame walls are conflruCted in the folloAVing man-
walls. ner. A frame of boards of the Avidth and height in¬
tended for the future Avail is placed upon the line that
has been duff for a foundation. The frame is filled to
531
the top with Hones gathered from the adjoining fields, Fences,
and a quantity of liquid mortar is poured in amongfl *—v——’
them fufficient to fill up every interflice. The Avhole
is allotved to remain for a day or two, or longer, till
the building is dried fo far as to have acquired fome
Hability. The frame is then removed, and placed a
little farther on in the fame line, but in contaCl with
the lafl-made piece of Avail, and the operation is re-
neAved. This is fuppofed to have been a very ancient
mode of building.
Turf Avails are found very ufeful in upland diflricts
for temporary purpofes, fuch as for folds, or for pro¬
tecting young plantations or young hedges. Their
Hrength is fometimes increafed, without augmenting
the expence of the eonflruCtion, by intermingling them
Avith Hones, that is, by forming the wall of alternate
layers of turf and Hone.
Mud walls, Avith a mixture of flraAV, 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-
flru&ing the walls of farm houfes and offices, in the
poorer parts of the country. They are formed in
the folloAving manner. StraAv and clay are incor¬
porated with each other, like hair with plaifler lime,
and formed into large pieces. A Hratum of thefe is
land at the bottom of the intended wall. The different
pieces are then firmly kneaded Avith the hand, and
preffed at each fide with a flat board, which not only
confolidates, but gives fmoothnefs and uniformity to
the Avork. Succeffive flrata are added till the Avail is
reared to its intended height. If walls thus conflruCted
are properly coated with lime, to proteCt them againfl
naoiflure, they become very durable 5 and their appear¬
ance is not inferior to that of a Hone and lime building.
Of compound fences, the mofl ordinary is the Angle £on^pOU,1(1
hedge and ditch, Avith or without paling. The mode fences,
of planting thefe hedges has been already Hated on the
authority of Lord Karnes and others j and avc fliall only
add, that if a hedge is wiflied to rife Avith rapidity, the
fpot in which it is planted ought to be enriched Avith
lime, compofl, or other manures, as hedge plants cannot,
any more than other plants, fpring rapidly Avithout culti ¬
vation. When 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 flope, that it may
not be undermined by any accident, which would ha\'e
the efleCt to lay bare the roots of the hedge, or entii’e-
ly to bring it doAvn. Where it is wiflied to render lands
inclofed Avith hedge and ditch fencible at once, a kind
of GalloAvay dike, confifling of fome rows of large
coarfe loofe Hones, may be placed upon the top of the
bank, Avhich Avill have the effeCl of protecting the hedge
againfl cattle.
The double ditch, with a hedge in the front of each,
is noAV praCtifed, particularly on cold lands, in many
parts of Great Britain. It may be remarked, that
where thefe double ditches are Avanted for drains, it is
undoubtedly a proper praCtice ; but in other fituations it
is exceptionable, as laying out unprofltably a large por¬
tion of the foil.
When a hedge and ditch is ufed, Avhether Angle or
double, the hedge is fometimes placed not at the bot¬
tom of the bank, which is the ufual way, but in the
middle of it, at fome height above the ordinary furface
of the field. lu fuch a mode of planting, the hedge is
3 X 2r expofed
AGRICULTURE,
7TI
Hedge and
712
"Devon fhire
fences.
A G K I C U
expoled to great injury from the bank mouldering down,
and from want of proper nourilliment 5 but tlie practice
is fometimes necelfary upon wet lands, where hedges
would not thrive, if placed upon the common lurface.
Sometimes the face of a natural declivity is cut down,
in a Hoping direction, 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 iide facing
the bank } but it is expofed to more accidents, from a
failure of its foil in confequence of frolts, than if plant¬
ed at the bottom of the banks.
 0  Sometimes what is called a hedge and bank, or hedge
bankfences. a jjank, is made ufe of. It conlifts 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, in confequence of the artifi¬
cial mound, on which they Hand, being unable to re¬
tain fufficient moifture for their fupport, or being walk¬
ed away from about their roots.
The Devonfhire fence refcmbles the one now defcrib-
ed. It confifts of an earthen mound feven feet wide at
bottom, and four at the top, and five 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
Hakes, of about an inch in diameter each, and from 18
inches to two feet in length, is ftuck in, Hoping 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 protection
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 alfu employed for the fame pur-
pofe. The dead hedge is preferable to the paling, as
it fhelters the young plants from the inclemency of
the weather. The dead hedge, however, ought al¬
ways to he 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
erefted, whether Galloway dikes or of Hone and lime,
for the protection of young hedges; but there is a
mode of making a hedge in the middle or in the face
of a wall which deferves attention. It is executed in
the following manner: The face of the bank is fjrft
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 two feet high, according to circumftances, the
fpace between the wall and the bank is filled up with
good earth, well broke and mixed with lime or com-
poft. The thorns are laid upon the earth in fuch a
manner, as that at leaft four inches of the root and ftem
(hall reft upon the earth, and the extremity of the. top
fhall 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 finifhed
with a cope of fod or of ftone and lime. hen the
plants begin to vegetate, the young ihoots appear in
the face of the wall, rifing in a perpendicular dire&ion,
3 1
L T U R E.
Practice.
7T3,
Hedges m
the face of
a, wall.
It is laid, that Sir James Hall of Dunglafs has adopted Fences,
this mode of incloling to a confiderable extent in Eaft v—
Lothian; that the hedges have made great progrefs ;
and that they exhibit, upon the whole, an extremely
handfome appearance. 714
W hatever may be thought of the propriety of plant-Belts.of
ing trees in hedge-rows, there can be no doubt, that in l,lallt‘n£-
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 unnecefl’ary, 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 of 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, whofe feverity checks all vegetation. Many
tracts throughout the ifland are nearly in the fame fi-
tuation •, and in all of them nothing more is wanted to
improve the country than to interfedl it in a judicious
manner with hedges and belts of' planting. W here
belts of planting are meant to remain as an efficient
fence, they ought to be of 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 flicker they mutually afford, may pro¬
tect each others growth againft the feverity of the cli¬
mate. With the fame view, in cold and expofed fitua¬
tions the young trees fliould be planted very thick y
perhaps four or five times the number that can grow
to a full fize flionld 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
fometimes committed of mingling firs, larches, and pines,
with oaks, allies, &e. with the intention that the ever¬
greens fliould protect for a certain time the other trees,
and thereafter be removed. The effect of which too
frequently is, that when the evergreens are taken away,
their growth is not only checked for feveral years j
but being unable, after experiencing fo much flicker,,
to refill the feverity of the climate, they die altoge¬
ther. This is the more likely to happen in confe-
quenee 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 ol
hot-houfe plants, unfit to encounter the blalls of a
northern climate : hence belts of planting fliould cither
be made altogether of evergreens, or altogether of de¬
ciduous plants, fuch as oak, afli, &c. If the ever¬
greens are at all introduced among thefe lall,. it
ought to be fparingly, and at the outfide of the belt,
with the view to afiord only a moderate degree of
flicker.
Where fields are me^nt to remain conftantly in pa-
fturage, the belts may be made in a ferpentine, and
fometimes in a circular form, both for the fake ol or¬
nament, and to afford more coriiplete flicker ; but this
cannot be done where the plough is meant to be in¬
troduced. Upon a north expofure, the behs fliould
crofs each other at proper dillances, to afford more
complete flicker. Upon a fouth expofure, they ought
to run from fouth to north, to afford a defence againft
the eaft and weft winds, -which aye the ftrongeft in this
country-
Index.
AGRICULTUR E.
Fences, country. Belts of planting require themfelves to be
y fenced. A fence, which is merely intended to protect
their growth, may confiit of a mud wall *, but if a per¬
manent fecurity is wanted, a hedge and ditch will be
neceflary.
In fome fituations, inftead of the belt of planting, it
is cufbomary to plant only the corners of the fields;
and this plan is advifable where the country requires
but a moderate degree of fhelter, added to that which
it may derive from thriving hedges.
If 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 aci'e
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 fiiepherds are not
imfrequently loll in attempting to drive them to a place
of fafety. On fuch occalions, the inclofures we have
now mentioned, would be of the utmoil value. When
a ilorm threatened, the fheep 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 collected,
if the florm fliould remain for any length of time.
The reed fence has hitherto been only ufed in gar¬
dens. It conlills 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 ihelter to cattle, but as the materials
of it cannot be everywhere found, its ufe mull be very
limited.. • ,
533
715
The reed
fence.
I he entry to every inclofure ought to be fecured by Fences,
gate-polls; which, if circumllances will permit, ought 1—-v—~
always to be of ftone, and if polfible, of hewn llone^as . 716
thefe, when properly conilrufted, will never fail. Trees Gate-Pofts
aie iometimes planted for this purpoie, and when they
have acquired a certain lize, they are cut over about ten
feet above the furface of the ground. Thefe form the
moll durable ol all gate-polls. They fometimes, how¬
ever, mifgive ; in which cafe it is difficult to repair the
defect. \\ hen gate-polls are made ol dead timber, they
lliould be llrong, and the wood well prepared by a coat
of oil paint, as already , mentioned.
Of gates for inclofures there are different kinds. Gate J
What is called the /wing-gate, that croffes the whole
bieadth of a carriage road, and is of one piece, is by no
means an advifable form. The length of its bars ren¬
ders it expenlive, and its great weight with which it
pulls againft the gate-poll, overftrains its own hinges,
and is apt to bring down the fide of the gate, unlefs it
is erected in a very collly and folid manner. For this
realon, a gate with two folding doors is preferable: it
hangs upon the gate-poll only with half its weight, in
confequence ot its being divided into two parts. Its
hinges are not lo liable to be hurt bv ilraining, nor are
its joints fo liable to be broke. What is called the J/ip-
lar gate, confilling of three feparate bars which are ta¬
ken out, and put into the gate-polls every time the en¬
try to the fields is opened and lliut, is the bell kind of
gate, lo far as cheapnels 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
lliutting of it are alfo attended with a confiderable de- -
gcee of trouble..
ACHILLEA millefolium, N° 62
Agriculture defined, 1
wherein it difl’ers from gar¬
dening, 2
is a feparate art or employ¬
ment, 3
includes the rearing of cat¬
tle, _ 4
general importance of, 5
advantage of, to the farmer, 6
hillory of, 7
board of,. 8
theory defective, 11
practice of, divifion of the
fubjeft, 116
Agricultural improvement, obllaclesto, 115
Agrojlis cornucopia;, 406
capillaris, 400
Air a flexuofa, 401.;
j caryophillea, 402
Ahpecurus bulbofus, 394
Anderfori's, Dr, opinion of the nature
of mofs, 193
Angora breed of rabbits, 593
Anthoxanthum odoratum, 397
INDEX.
Arfehic ufed to prevent the mildew, N° 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
of, 268
culture in Norfolk, 269
vale of Glouceller, 270
Cotfwold, '271
midland dillridt, 272
culture difficult, 273
in Yorkfhire, 274
importance of, to the revenue, 275
its chief value, from being ea-
fily converted into a faccha-
rine fubllance, 21
Beans, culture of, by broadcall, 282
in drills, 283
Beet, 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, 156
its ufes, 137
Broom, how deflroyed, 93
Bulbous foxtail-grafs, 394
Burnet, 44
recommended, 43
difapproved of, 46
culture of, 393
Butter, hillory of, 612
qualities of, 613
rules for making, 614
cream for making, not to be
new, 613
churn, 616
not to be put in water, 617
compofitions for preferring, 618
how prepared for warm cli¬
mates, 619.
Butter-
N° 620
621
622
623
624
625
626
ib.
112
42
276
277
3 6
37
38
37°
375
372
373
374
375
376
5J9
585
5.34
Butter preferred by honey,
Effex or Epping,
Weft of England,
Cambridgeflui’e,
Yorkfttire and Suffolk,
frauds in the fale of,
how kept untainted by cabba
ges,_
trade in, extenfive,
Butterfly, corn,
Buck-wheat,
culture of,
advantages of cropping,
€
Cabbages, their properties,
render air noxious,
turnip-rooted,
culture of,
quantity produced on an
acre,
* /» 7 •
of watering them,
cultivated in the midland
diftrict,
diftance at which they ought
to be planted,
how t ran (’plan ted or earth¬
ed,
how protected from cater¬
pillars,
Canary-feed,
Calves reared without milk,
by Mr Young, 586
mode of 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 ft all-fed, 592
ftall-feeding in Germany, 593
ft all-fed in two ways, 594
fliould 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 afcertaining the va¬
lue of, 34^
experiments with,recommend-
ed, 347
feeding lambs with, 348
compared with cabbages, 349
preferred to potatoes, 350
fuperior to turnips and oats, 351
AGRICULTURE.
Carrots, how ufed to give colour to but¬
ter, N° 352
fown in young plantations,
Carfe of Gowrie, mode of draining in,
Cheefe defcribed,
making,
defeats of,
runnet for, how prepared,
Mr Hazard’s receipt for runnet, 632
particulars to be obferved in ma-
king,
different kinds of,
double Gloucefter, '
Chedder,
Chefliire,
Stilton,
Parmefan,
Chicory,
Clover, red,
of fowing with grain,
white and yellow,
Cynofurus criflatus.
Cole feed, fee Rape-feed.
Coriander feed, experiments on,
Corn butterfly,
Coulter of the plough,
Cultivator defcribed,
Curl in potatoes,
modes of prevention,
Cyder, excellence of,
art of making, imperfect,
.errors in making,
means of improving,
mill and houfe defcribed,
different kinds of,
Cyderkin,
Cyder-wine, Dr Rufli’s receipt for,
D
Dairy, importance of,
principles on which it ought to
be managed,
defcribed,
wooden veffels to be ufed in
the,
Difeafes of vegetables ill underftood,
of wheat,
of faffron, ’
Ditches,
Drainage of quarries and mines,
Draining, importance of,
principles of, as to fprings,
difcoverer of the new mode, 183
practical rules in the cafe of
fprings, 184
the fide of a hill, 185
a bog, by letting the water
afcend freely,
Dr Anderfon’s rules,
Mr Wedge’s mode,
of landlocked bogs,
landlocked bogs in Germa-
ny,
in Roxburghftiire,
Drains are open or hollow,
353
J73'
628
629
630
631
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
4° 7
386
387
388
398
518
112
130
I55
113
114
641
642
643
644
645
641
645
646
608
609
610
611
96
I05
648
192
168
182
186
ib.
188
189
190
191
170
Index*
Di 'ains, hollow, when inapplicable, N°i7i
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
fpringp, 180
Drill-hujbandry, advantages of, 489
mode of fowing in, 490
different hoeings in, 491
inftruments ol the, 492
fummary of operations,493
of the profits of, 494
arguments for the, 495
objections to, and an-
fwers, 496
where improper, 497
Sir J. Anftruther on, 499
compared with broad-
caft, ^ 499
is not a modern in¬
vention, 508
Durno, Mr, his report on flax and
hemp, ft-
E
Erjkine of Marr’s mode of preventing
imut in wheat, 104
F
Fallow-cleanflng machine, 164
Farmers ignorance formerly, 148
Fences, kinds of, enumerated, 658
in grafly places. 676
for deer-parks, 683
of ftone-Avalls, 7°^
Gallow-ay dikes, 7°7
of frame walls, 7°8
of mud walls, 7°9
compound, 710
of a hedge and bank, 711
Devonftiire, 712
of a hedge in the face of a wall, Fi
belt of planting, 7*4
Fertility of certain foils, 84
of the earth limited, 88
Furze, how deftroyed, 93
Fefcue, flieep’s, 49
defcribe 52
purple, 5°
its appearance cultivated, 51
flieep’s, appearance cultivated, 53
foil proper for, 54
Feftuca fluitans, 4°3
Flax, . . 501
feed-cake, and oil for fattening
cattle, , 502
culture of, in Yorkfliire, 5°3
Mr Marfhall on, 5°4
Mr Bartley’s experiments on, 5°5
a Dorfetfhire gentleman on, 5°6
may be cultivated by the poor, 5°7
^ VJa.v.
Index.
Flax, vail quantities imported, N° 56S
culture of, in Pruflia, &c. 509
culture of, in Ireland, 510
weeded by flieep, 511
Flooding land, fee Watering.
Fly, turnip, 109
bow prevented, 110,111
Fontana's opinion about the caufe of
mildew, IOO
Forfyth, Mr, his procefs for convert¬
ing roots into flour, 33
his fleam apparatus, 34
Four-coultered plough, 153
Frojl, effect of, on ploughed land, 251
Foxtail-grafs, bulbous, 394
Fruits not trailed to as human food, 16
ripen (lowly, and are liable to
be deflroyed in wars, 17
Fruit-trees, how recovered, 534
culture of, 535
in Herefordfliire, &c. 536
indolence of cultivators of, 537
excefs of wood on, 538
mifletoe on, how deflroyed, 539
mofs on, 540
fpring-frofls hurtful to, 541
blights on, 542
to deflroy wafps on, 543
excefs of fruit on, 544
duration of, how length¬
ened, 545
Marfhall on the culture of, 546
Fruit-liquors, 640
management of fruit for, 646
fermentation of, 639
correcting of, 642
calking, 643
bottling, 644
Fruit, mode of gathering, 647
maturing, 648
grindings 649
preffing, 650
Fruits, where cultivated chiefly, 526
varieties of, artificial, 527
not permanent, 528
how procured, 529
nurfery-ground for, 530
how to choofe plants for, 531
degeneracy of, 532, 533
G
Galloway dikes,
Garden mould, the nature of,
Gardening, wherein different from a-
griculture,
Gates,
Gate-pojls,
Geefe, management of, in Lincolnfliire, 607
Gowrie, Carfe of, drains,
Grain, commonly ufed as human food,
its ufe objeCted to, 19
different kinds not effentially
different, 22
why in certain cafes poflponed
to rearing of cattle, 72
carrying from the field, 463
7°7
75
2
717
716
*73
18
AGRICULTURE.
Grafs, laying down fields in, N° 378
different kinds of, 379
to improve upland paflure, 380
how to fow upland paflures
with, 381
advantage of rolling, 382
culmiferous, 383
negligence about right kinds of, 384
kinds of, commonly fown, 385
bulbous foxtail, 394
great meadow, 395
creeping meadow, 396
vernal, 397
crefled dog’s-tail, 398
cock’s-tail or feather, 399
fine bent, 400
mountain-hair, 401
filver-hair, 402
flote-fefcue, 403
meadow-foxtail, 404
annual meadow, 405
tall oat, 408
yellow oat, 409
rough oat, 410
upright broom, 411
blue dog’s-tail, 412
rough cock’s-foot, 413
tall fefeue, 414
hard fefeue, 415
meadow cat’s-tail, 416
how to make experiments with, 417
Grazing compared with the plough, 65
66, 67, 70
Grenet's mode of granulating potatoes, 32
Grubs, ia8
H
Ha-ha, or funk fence, 661
Harrow, imperfection of the common, 158
properties of new, 160
cleanfing, 208
Haymaking, 466
of red clover, 467
different mode, 468
its advantages, 469
cautions requi-
iite in, 470
Hay flacks, 471
Headrick, Mr, his opinion of the na¬
ture of mofs, 193
Hedges, directions for planting, 663
of hawthorn, ^ 664
black thorn, 666
holly, 667
garden, 668
flowering fhrubs for, 669
Dr Anderfon’s directions for
railing, 670
willow, 671
how planted in expofed fitua-
tions, 672
black alder, 673
birch, 674
on the top of flone fences, 675
elms, 677
quick, 678
535
Hedges of fruit-trees, N° 679
hornbeam in Germany, 680
Dr Anderfon on mending de¬
cayed, 681
Kames on, 682
thorn, 684
nurfery for, 685, 696
raifed from old roots, 686
mode of planting thorn, 687
fecuring, 688
training, 689
plafhing, difapproved of, 690, 698
on the fide of the bank, 691
filling gaps of, 692
whins for, when neceffary, 693
Bakewell’s, 694
/ in flony foils, 695
repairing, 697
thickening of, 699
cutting down, when improper, 700
Mr Erlkine’s, 701
oak trees in, 702
raifmg holly for, 703
of whins or furze, 704
of goofeberries, 705
in the face of a wall, 713
Hemp, 507, 508
culture of, in Pruffia, &c. 509
Hijlory of agriculture, 7
Hogs, experiments on fattening, 598
Hog fly deferibed, 399
Holcus lanatus, yy
Hops, once forbidden in malt liquors, 521
expence of cultivating, 522
in Effex, (J23
profit of, precarious, 324
in Norfolk, 325
Horfes and oxen compared, 338
fuppofed lofs by keeping, 362
gradually gaining a preference
over oxen, ;69
calculation in favour of, ,70
black cart, 371
Bakewell’s, 372
prices of llallions, 373
Mari!!all on the breed of, 374
Norfolk breed of, 373
Suffolk breed of, 376
Yorklhire, 377
Eanarkfhire, 378
Norfolk management of, 79
followed in Scotland, 380
expence of keeping, 381
roots ufed for feeding, 382
whins ufed, 43
Hujbandmen, why led fometimes to
prefer cattle to corn, 72
Hufbandry, horfe-hoeing, 483
I
Infects deflroy vegetables, 106
deflroyed by lime-water, 107
K
Kincardine, mofs of, improved, 196
L
Levelling oi ridges, 202, 203, 204, 205
Lime
535
Lime deftroys one kind of poor foil, N° 79
enriches another, 80
Anderfon’s opinion concerning, 82
what a proper foil for, 83
x Lord Karnes’s theory of, incon-
iiilent, 85
water ddfroys infects, 107
Lucerne, 63
culture of, 392
51
Manure, M. Parmentier upon, 472
practical rule for forming, 473
Lord Meadowbank’s mode of
converting mofs into, 474
more common kinds of, 475
ufed in Norfolk, 476
Midland diftrift, 477
Mr Marfliall’s rules for raifmg, 478
, lime as a, 479
operation of lime, 4^°
time of ufing lime, 481
quantity of lime, 482
lime on paflure fields, 483
limeftone reduced to powder, 484
fhell-marl, 4^5
clay and ftone marls, 486
gypfum, 487
fea-fand, 4^8
Meadows watering, fee Watering.
Mildew, a difeafe of wheat, • 96
red and black, or fmitt, . 98
opinions concerning its caufes, 99
Milk-vetch, 5^
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
Mojfcs, produced by cutting down fo-
refts, 195
Mouldboard of the plough, 131
how to be formed, 132
N
Mature, procefs by which flie fertilizes
the earth, 7^
O
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-
cefler, | 256
culture of, in the midland diftridt, 257
Yorkfhire, 258
mode of threflnng, 259
black, experiment on, 260
Objiacles to agricultural improvement, 115
Opinions about the caufe of mildew, 99
. Oxen and horfes compared, 55^
preferred to horfes, 559
difficulty of fhoeing, 5^°
AGRICULTURE.
Oxen, calculations in favour of, N° 561
lofs by not keeping, 562
not ufed in Norfolk, 5^3
objection to, in the vale of Glou-
celler, 564
ufed in Cotfwold, 565
moveable harnefs-houfe of, 5^^
why the ufe of, declines in York-
^ fhire, 5^7
fuperiority of, to horfes, 568
gradually going into difufe, 569
calculations againll, 570
P
Palings, 662
Paring and burning, how far ufeful, 200
Parfnips, the culture of, too much ne-
gledled, 354
Mr Hazard’s mode of cul¬
ture, x _ 355
cul ture of, with beans in Jeriey,3 5 6
Pajlurage and agriculture, 65, 66, 67, 70
Pea, everlafting, 61
1 Peafe, culture of, 278
fetting in drills, 279
crops of, mutt not be repeated, 280
. Marfliall’s obfervations on, 281
drying of,
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 underflood, 95
Plough, J18
its value, 119
may he improved, 120
the talk it performs, 121
its general form, 122
advantages of this form, 123
its feveral parts, 125
its locks, 126
breadth of the foie of, 127
foie fliould 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
polition of the fod turned by
the plough, 134
mode of its action, 136
point of its draught, 138
in trim, 139
of Argylefhire, 140
objections to, 141
Scots, 142
defcribed, 143
its properties, 144
where improper, 145
chain, 146
Index.
N° 149
*5°
151
152
153
4°5
395
396
Plough, chain, advantages of,
fmall fingle-horfe,
Rotheram,
paring,
four-co uttered,
Poa annua,
pratenjis,
comprcJJ'a,
Population, greateft where vegetable
food is ufed, 71
Potato Aarch, 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 fmall Ipots, 289
fmall farms, 290
mode for which a premium
was granted, 291
mode of taking up, 292
preferving, 293
cluttered, 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
how to obtain an early crop of, 302
planted by fcooping out the
eyes, _ _ 3°3
Procefs by which nature fei'tilizes the
earth,
R
76
Rabbits, value of, 601
enemies of, how deftroyed, 602
Angora breed of, 603
Rape-feed, advantages of cultivating, 512
cutting and threlhing of, 5I3
lowing of, 5i4
tranfpl anting, 5I5
llieep fed on, in fpring, 516
culture of, in Brabant, 51?
Reapers, 459
Reaping, manner of, , _ 4^°
Ridges, high, for draining clay foils, 172
how formed, 201
inconvenient modes of levelling, 202
when not to be levelled, 203, 204
proper direction of,
narrow, advantageous,
Ripenefs,
Roller,
Rolling, feafon for,
efteCts of,
Root of fcarcity, culture of,
Roota baga, fee Swedijh turnip.
Roots ufed as human food, 23
more profitable than grain, when
ufed as food, 24
Roots,
206
207
458
161
162
163
377
\
Index.
Roots, their defers as food, N° 25
the tranfportation of them ex-
penfive, 16
are unlit 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, fliould he
hoiled,
595
cheap mode of boiling by fteam, 596
452
453
Rotation of crops,
different kinds of plants,
nature of the foil to he confi-
dered, 454
exceptionable, 455
from pallure advifable, 456
examples of, 457
Rotheram plough, 151
Runnet forcheefe, 620, 621
S
Rajf ion, difeafes of, 105
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, 145
Sheaves, fize of, 462
tSy^ay),experiments on feeding with roots, 600
Sheep'1 s fefeue grafs, 49
Shrubs, deftroyed by flooding the land, 94
Single-hot•/(’ plough, 130
Smith, Mr, his mode of improving mofs, 197
Smut, account of, 98
Sock of the plough, 126, 147
Soil, clay, 209
chalky, 2iO
light poor, 2i 1
light rich, 212
coarfe rough, 213
Soils, four kinds of, 74
conjecture about the caufe of their
being exhaulled, 77
procefs, by which they are fertilized, 76
when poor, how reftored, 81
luppofed perpetually fertile, 84
but never are fo, 86
clay and fandy, 87
fertility of, limited, 88
pulverized by certain vegetables, 89
feemingly enriched by feme, 90
Sole ot the plough, 127
Somerville, Robert, Efq. account of
blight and fmut, 96
Sowing machine, univerfal, 165
Springs, the nature of, 181
464
465
466, 467
166
167
Stacks, covering,
hay,
Stones, importance of removing,
mode of removing,
^ ol. I. Part II.
AGRICULTURE.
Swampy lands, how cultivated, N° 199
Swedijh turnip, 367
culture of, in Nottinghamfhire, 368
T
Tare, blue, 39
Theory of agriculture, firff, defective, 10
difficulty of forming it, 11
what it ought to contain, 12
Timber trees, ^47
which moft profitable, 548
advantage of planting, s49
ameliorate the foil, 550
culture of, recommended, 551
increafe of oak, ^52, 553
underwood among, 554
mode of fowing, 333
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
experiment with, 362
difadvantages attending, 363
why to be cultivated, 364
number of ffieep on an acre of, 365
experiments with, at Cullen
houfe, 366
Turnip, Swediffi, fee Swedijh turnip.
cabbage, culture of, 369
Turnip-rooted cabbage, ^8
Turnip-Jly, 109
remedies againft, no, m
Turnips, 39
method of preferring, 341
culture of, 304
time and mode of fowing, 303
difl’erent forts of, 306
feed, remarks on, 307
culture in Norfolk, 308
by drill and broad-call,
compared, 309
value of, as cattle’s food, 310
mode of preferving, 311
culture of, iuppofed unprofi¬
table, 312
compared with other vegeta-
bles>. . . 3l3
the fly injurious to, 314
feed, fteeps for, if ufeful, 313
fumigation of, 1 316
to be rolled, 317
early fowing of, x-ecommended, 318
much feed ought to be fown,319,3 21
when to be manured, 3 20
feed, the quality of, 322
Town with grain, 3 23
wheat, 3 24
beans, 323, 329
objected to, 3 26
reply, 327
opinion on, 328
537
Turnips,In llrumentfortranfplanting,N03 3 o
Norfolk, culture of, '331
marl with, in Norfolk, 332
diflerent manures with, in
Norfolk, 333
eai’ly, 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
V[getables, their value is abfolute or
relative, 13
are ufeful, directly or in¬
directly, ib.
produce fruit or roots, 15
profit of, limited by cir-
cumllances, 69
nature of their growth, 73
are the food of each other, 78
fome pulvex-ize the foil, 89
fome'feem to enrich the foil, 90
difeafes of, are ill-under-
ffiood, _ 95
deftroyed by infedts, 106
cultivation of, divided
into four heads, 115
Vetch, buffi, 60
Vetchling, yellow, 58
W
Tt atcring meadows, when fii’ft 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, 42?
principles of, 426
Mr Wright’s mode of, 427
objections anfwered, 428
ufed water, not good for, 429
repairing works, ufed in, 430
with muddy water, when
preferred, 431
good effedts of, 432
Mr Wimpey’s opinion of, 433
Mr Forfyth’s opinion of, 434
Mr Bofwell’s ditto, 435
with land floods, 436
makes pafture pi’eferable
to ploughed land, 437
Mr Wright’s diredtions for, 438
how grafs confumed after, 439
how it may caufe the rot in
ffieep, 449
Mr Bofwell’s rule for, 441
fpringy meadow improved by, 442
hill lides improved by, 443
coarfe lands, 444
3 Y Watering)
538
Watering, management of meadows af¬
ter, _ N° 445
hflw 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
Weeds, annual and perennial, 91
perennial, bow deftroyed, 92
ground, how cleanfed of, 204
Wetnefs is caufed by rain or fprings, 168
Wheat, the beft kind of bread, 18
its ufe objected to, 19
difeafes to which it is liable, 96
fallowing for, 216
drolling, 217
on fandy foil, 215
time for dreffing, 219
AGRICULTURE.
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
objected to, 226
practicability, 227, 229
Bath Society’s obfervations on
fetting of, 226, 228, 230
culture of, in Norfolk, 231
fuccellion of crops in Norfolk, 232
rice-balking of, 233
manuring for, in Norfolk, 234
time of lowing, in Norfolk, 235
, Norfolk mode of prepai'iog the
\ feed, 236
fowirsg, 237
Index.
Wheat, Norfolk mode of ploughing un¬
der furrow, N° 238
inftruments for dibbling, 239
dibbling, objeCted to, 240
midland diftriCt, culture of, 241
in vale of Glouceftex-, culture of, 242
fmall Iheaves, 243
in Cotfwold hills, 244
hoeing, good effeCts 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
Woad, culture of, C20
Y
Young, Arthur, Efq. his experiments
to prevent the fmut in wheat, 103
A G R
A gi'i folium
11
Agngen-
tum.
AGRIFOLIUM, or Aq,uifolium. See Ilex,
Botany Index.
AGRIGAN, or illand of St Francis Xavier, in Geo¬
graphy, one of the Ladrone or Marianne illands. It
is 50 miles in circumference, is vei*y 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, Dedal us, the moll fa¬
mous mechanician of fabulous antiquity, fled to this
fpot for prote&ion againfl 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 Chrifl j and from the
name of a neighbouring ftream called the new city A-
cragas,whence the Romans formed the word Agrigen-
tum. Thefe Greeks converted the ancient abode of the
Siculi into a citadel to guard the magnificent city which
they eredted on the hillocks below.
An advantageous fituation, a free government with
all its happy effedts, and an adlive 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 Agrigentum
appears to have been but of fliort duration, and tyranny
loon deftroyed its liberties.
Phalaris was the firft who reduced it to flavery. Plis
name is familiar to molt 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, juflice, and valour of this
prince preferved him from oppofition while living, and
have refcued his memory from the obloquy of pofleri-
ty. He joined his fon-in-law Gelo, king of Syracufe,
in a war againft the Carthaginians j in the cyurfe of
3
A G R
which vidlory attended all his Reps, and Sicily faw Agrigen-
herfelf for a time delivered from her African oppref- turn,
fors. Soon after his deceafe, his fon Thrafydeus was —
deprived of the diadem, and Agrigentum reflored to
her old democratical government. Ducetius next di-
fturbed the general tranquillity. He was a chief of
the mountaineers, defcendants of the Siculiand was
an overmatch for the Agrigentines while they were un-
fupported by alliances, but fank 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 worfled, 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 upon Syracufe.
Their new friends foon made them feel that the fa-
crifice of liberty and fortune would be the price of
their proteftion $ and this confideration brought them
fpeedily back to their old connexions. But as if it
had been decreed that all friendfliip fhould be fatal to
their repofe, the reconciliation and its effects drew up¬
on them the anger of the Carthaginians. By this ene¬
my their armies were routed, their city taken, their
race almoll extirpated, and fcarce a vellige of magnifi¬
cence wras left. Agrigentum lay 50 years buried un¬
der its own ruins, when Timoleon, after triumphing
over the Carthaginians, and reftoring liberty to Sici¬
ly, colleXed the defcendants of the Agrigentines, and
fent them to re-eftablifh the dwellings of their forefa¬
thers. Their exertions were rewarded with allonifliing
fuccefs} 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-
racul’e to the loweft ebb, and arrogating to itfelf lupre-
macy over all the Sicilian republics. Xenodicus was
appointed the leader of this arduous enterprife ; and
had his latter operations been as fortunate as his firlt
campaign, Agrigentum would have acquired fuch a
preponderance of reputation and power, that the rival
Rates would not have even dared to attack it. But a
few
Agriculture.
J'/^ a 7 7<; vi.
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AGRICUL TFUE
Plate Vllt
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AGRICULTURE.
PLjITE IX.
..
W-A?-c/iibale/, t/r .
AGRIC ULTURE
PLATE XI.
AGRICULrT IK E
PLATKXn.
m^Forfyth's steam apparatus.
K
CULTIVATOR.
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I m0i
A;V
DRAINING
]>aw
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^7 Sprw&s
/)?\\ I** *?'(>ux Sc/1 O X O
SS ^'r ,",},Wrate* ; . HV/w die Water brcatt.r out when the Springs are ti/H.
fi t of fa ^pcngs.
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(travel SaJa/onporous. 13
0gck cfnhmting Springs '; 5^-.
 ' SerW ^
-^Jt^reyrX^
Alining /he711
PLATE XIII.
A G R [ 539 ] A G R
A n I ren- ^ew brilliant exploits were fucceeded by a fevere over¬
turn. throw; the Agrigentines loft courage, difagreed in
■“““V " r' 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 herfelf into the arms of Carthage.
During the firft Punic war, Agrigentum was the head
quarters of the Carthaginians, and was beiieged by the
Roman confuls, who after eight months blockade took
it by ftorm. It neverthelefs changed mafters feveral
times during the contefts between thefe rival ftates,
and in every inftance fuffered moft cruel ravages.
After this period very little mention of it occurs in
hiftory, nor do we know the precife time of the de-
ftruction 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 a lituation for a large city. The in¬
habitants were here provided with every requifite for
defence, pleafure, and comfort of life ; a natural wall,
formed by abrupt rocks, prefented a ftrong barrier
againft aifailants ; pleafant hills flickered 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
profpedt of that awful element; the port or empo¬
rium lay in view at the mouth of the river, and pro¬
bably 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; by means of which, the common¬
wealth was able to refill many ffiocks of adverfity, and
always to rife again with firefh 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-
felves up for fafety among the bleak and inacceffible
rocks of the prefent city.
At the north-eall angle of the ancient limits, upon
fome foundations of large regular Hones, a church has
been eredted; a road appears hewn in the folid rock
for the convenience of the votaxaes who vilited this
temple in ancient days. It was then dedicated to Ce¬
res and her daughter Proferpine, the peculiar patron-
efles of Sicily.
At the fouth-eaft corner, where the ground, rifing
gradually, ends in a bold eminence, which is crowned
with majeftic columns, are the ruins of a temple laid
to have been confecrated to Juno* To the weft of this
Hands the building commonly called the temple of
Concord ; the Hone of which, and the other buildings,
is the fame as that of the neighbouring mountains and
cliffs, a conglutination of fea land and fliells, 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 wanting. 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 Agtigen-
of Girgenti. turn.
Proceeding in the fame diredtion, you walk between v *
rows of fepulchres cut in the rock wherever it admitted
of being excavated by the hand of men, or was fo al¬
ready 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 down the declivity, where it now remains
fupine with the cavities turned upwards. Only a fingle
column marks the confufed heap of mofs-grown ruins-'
belonging to the temple of Hercules. It Hood on a
projecting i-ock above a chafm in the ridge, which was
cut through for a paffage to the emporium.
In the fame track, over fome hills, is fituated the
building uftially called the tomb of Thero. It is fur-
rounded by aged olive-trees, which call a wild irregu¬
lar ffiade over the ruin. The edifice inclines to the
pyramidal lhape, and confills at pi-efent of a triple
plinth, and a bafe fupporting a fquare pedeftal; upon
this plain folid foundation is railed a fecond order, ha¬
ving a window in each front, and at each angle two Io¬
nic pilafters crowned with an entablature of the Doric
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
Efculapius ; part of two columns and two pilafters,
with an intei’mediate wall, lupport the end of a farm-
houfe, and were probably the fi’ont of the cella. Pui’-
fuing the track of the walls towards the weft, you ar
live at a fpot which is covered with the gigantic x-e-
mains of the temple of the Olympian Jupiter, minute¬
ly deferibed by Diodorus Siculus. It may litei'ally be
faid that it has not one Hone left upon another; and
it is bax-ely poffible, with the help of much conjecture,
to difeover the traces of its plan and dimenfions. Dio¬
dorus calls it the largeft temple in the whole ifland:
but adds, that the calamities of war caufed the work 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 finifli this fuperb monument of the
talle and opulence of their ancellors. 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 were wonderful; its ipacious porticoes and ex~
quifite fculptui-e were fuited to the grandeur of the
whole. It was not built in the ufual ftyle of Sicilian
temples, with a cella of maffive walls and a periftyle,
but was defigned in a mixt tafte with half columns let
into the walls on the outfide, the infide exhibiting a
plain furface.
The next ruin belongs to the temple of Callor and
Pollux : vegetation has covered the lower parts of the
building, and only a few fragments of columns appear
between the vines. This was the point of the hill
where the wall llopt on the blink of a large fiflx-pond
fpoken of by Diodorus : it was cut in the folid rock
A G R [ 540 1 A G R
Agrigcn 3° feet deep, the watei* was conveyed to it from the
turn hills. In it was bred a great quantity of fifli for the
Jl ufe of public entertainments 5 fwaus and various other
^ kimls of wild fowl fwam along its furface, for the a-
mufement of the citizens •, and the great depth of ivater
prevented an enemy from furprifing the tow n on that
tide. If is now7 dry and ufrd as a garden. On the
oppofite bank, are two tapering columns without their
capitals, moll happily placed in a tuft of carob trees.
Monte Toro, where Hano encamped with the Car¬
thaginian army, before the Homan confuls drew him
into an engagement that ruined his defenfive plan, is a
noble back ground to this pifturefque group of obje&s.
—The whole fpace comprehended within the walls of
the ancient city abounds with traces of antiquity, foun¬
dations, brick-arches, and little channels for the con¬
veyance of water j 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 lliows and
dramatic performances, and the Homans never dwelt
, in any place long without introducing their lavage
games. Theatres and amphitheatres feem better calcu¬
lated than moll buildings to refill the outrages of time }
and it is furprifing that not even the veiliges of their
form Ihould remain on the ground.
AGHIMONIA, Agrimony. See Botany i/mV.r.
Hemp Agrimony. See Eupatorium, Botany Ju¬
dex.
Water Hemp Agrimony. See Bidens, Botany
Index.
AGRIONXA, in Grecian antiquity, feftivals annual¬
ly’ celebrated by the .Boeotians in honour of Bacchus.
At thefe feilivals the women pretended to feareh after
Bacchus as a fugitive ; and, after fome time, gave over
the inquiry, faying that he had tied to the M ules, and
was concealed among them.
AGHIOPHAGI, in antiquity, a name given to
thofe who fed on wild bealls. The word is Greek,
compounded of “ wild,” “ favage,” and <p^y<y,
“ I eat.” The name is given, by ancient writers, to
certain people, real or fabulous, laid to have fed alto-
4,, gether on lions or panthers. Pliny and Solinus fpeak
of Agriophagi in Ethiopia, and Ptolemy of others in
India on this lide the Ganges.
AGRIPPA, Cornelius, born at Cologne in i486,
a man of conliderable learning, and by common report
a great magician ; for the monks at that time fnfpedted
every thing of herefy or foreerv which they did not un-
derlland. He compofed his Treatife of the Excellence
of Women to infmuate himfelf into the favour of Mar¬
garet of Aullria, governefs of the Low-Countries. He
accepted of the charge of hifloriographer 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 Pbi-
lofophy, which he printed foon after at Antwerp. He
was imprifoned in France for fomething he had written
againll Francis I.’s mother ; but was enlarged, and went
to Grenoble, W'here be died in 1534. His works are
printed in two volumes octavo.
Agrippa, Herod, the fon of Arillobuliis and Ma-
riamne, and grandfon to Elerod the Great, was born
in the year of the world 3997, three years before the
birth of our Saviour, and i'even years before the vulgar
era. After the death of Arillohulus his father, Jo- A^rippa;
fephus informs us, that Herod his grandfather took y——
care of his education, and lent him to Home to make
his court to Tiberius. The emperor conceived a great
affection for Agrippa, and placed him near his fon
Drufus. Agrippa very foon won the graces of Drufus,
and of the emprels Antonia. But Drufus dying Hid¬
den iy, all thofe who had been much about him were
commanded by Tiberius to withdraw from Berne,
lell the fight and prefence of them Ihould renew his
affliction. Agrippa, who had indulged his inclina¬
tion to liberality, was obliged to leave Home over¬
whelmed with debts, and in a very poor condition. He
did not think it lit to go to Jerufalem, becaufe he was
not able to make a figure there fuitable to his birth.
Tie retired therefore to the callle of Maffada, where
lie lived rather like a private perfon than a prince.
Herod the tetrarch, his uncle, who had married He*-
rodias his filler, allilled him for fome time with great
generofity. tie made him principal magillrate of Ti¬
berias, and prefented him with a large i’um of money:
but all this was not fufficient to anfwer the exceffive ex-
pences and profufion of Agrippa ; lo that Herod grow¬
ing weary of aliilling him, and reproaching him witli
his bad economy, Agrippa took a relolution to quit
Judea, and return to Home. Upon his arrival, he
was received into the good graces of Tiberius, and
commanded to attend Tiberius Nero the ion ol Dru-
fus. Agrippa, however, having more inclination lor
'Caius the ion of Germanicus, and grandlon ot Anto¬
nia, chofe rather to attach himfelf to him ; as if he had
fome prophetic views of the future elevation ot Caius,
who at that time was beloved by all the world. The
great aiiuluity and agreeable behaviour of Agrippa fo
far engaged this prince, that he kept him continually
about him.
Agrippa being one day overheard by Eutycbes, a
Have whom he had made free, to exprefs bis willies for
Tiberius’s death and the advancement ot Caius, the
Have betrayed him to the emperor : whereupon A-
grippa was loaded with fetters, and committed to the
cuflody of an officer. Tiberius loon after dying, and
Caius Caligula fucceeding him, the new emperor
heaped many favours and much wealth upon Agrippa ;
changed his iron fetters into a chain ot gold 5 let a
royal diadem upon his head 5 and gave him the tetrar-
chy which Philip, the fon of Herod the Great, had
been pofleffed of, that is, Batanaa and Trachonitis.
To this he added that of Lyfanias 5 and Agrippa re¬
turned very foon into Judea to take poffeffion of his new7
kingdom.
Cains being foon after killed, Agrippa, who was
then at Rome, contributed much by his advice to
maintain Claudius in poffeffion of the imperial dignity,
to which he had been advanced by the army. But in
this affair Agrippa adted a part wherein he Hi owed
more cunning and addrefs than fincerity and honefly 5
for while he made a ffiow of being in the interefl of’
the fenate, he fecretly advifed Claudius to he 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 greatefl princes of the
call} and tvas poffefl’ed of as much, if not more ter¬
ritories
A G R [ 541 ] A G U
Agrippa, ri to lies than had been held by Herod the Great his
Agrippina, grandfather. He returned to Judea, and governed it
to the great fatisf'adtion of the Jews. Kut the defire
of plealing them, and a millaken zeal for their religion,
induced him to commit an unjuft a&ion, the memory of
which is preferved in Scripture, Aids xii. 1, 2, &c. *, for
about the feaft of the paffover, in the year of Jefus thrift
44, St James major, the fon of Zebedee and brother of
St John the Evangelift, was feized by his order and
put to death. He proceeded alfo to lay hands on St
Peter, and imprifoncd him, waiting till the feftival 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
frullrated. Alter the patlover, this prince went from
Jerufalem to Caelarea, and there had games performed
in honour of Claudius. Here the inhabitants of Tyre
and Sidon Availed 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
moft admirable manner. The riling fun darted on it
Avith its rays, and gave it fuch a luftre as the eyes of
the fpeclators could not endure. When therefore the
king Ipoke to the Tyrians and Sidonians, the parafites
around him began to fay, that it Avas the voice of a
god, and not that ol a man. Inftead of rejecting thefe
impious flatteries, Agrippa received them Avith an air
of complacency j but at the fame time obferved an oavI
above him on a cord. He had feen the fame bird be¬
fore Avhen he Avas in bonds by order of Tiberius : and
it AYras then told him, that he fliould be foon let at li¬
berty ; but that Avhenever he faw the fame thing a fe-
cond time, he fliould net Ha’c above five days afterAvards.
He Avas therefore extremely terrified ; and he died at
the end ol five days, racked Avith tormenting pains in
his boAvels, and devoured Avith Avorms. Such was the
death ol Herod Agrippa, after a reign of feven years,
in the year of Chrift 44.
Agrippa IJ. fon oi the preceding Herod, Avas made-
king of Chalcis } but three or four years after, he was
deprived of that kingdom by Claudius, avIio gave him
in the place of it other provinces. In the Avar Vef-
pafian carried on againft the Jews, Herod lent him a
fuccour of 2000 men 5 by which it appears that though
a Jew by religion, he was yet entirely devoted to the
Romans, whofe afliftance indeed he Avanted to fecure the
peace of his oavh kingdom. He lived to the third year
of Trajan, and died at Rome A. C. 100. He Avas the
ieventh and laft king of the family of Herod the Great.
It Avas before him and Berenice his filler that St Paul
pleaded his caufe at Ctefarea.
Agrippa, Marcus Vifpanius, fon-in-laAV to Au-
guftus, of mean birth, but one of the moft confiderable
generals among the Romans. Auguftus’s victory over
Pompey and Mark Antony, Avas oAving to his counfel.
He adorned the city with the Pantheon, baths, aque-
du£ts, &x.
AGRIPPINA, dkugliter of Germanicus, filler of
Caligula, and mother of Nero; a Avoman of Avit, but
exceffively lewd. She was thrice married, the laft time
to Claudius her oAvn uncle, Avhom flie poifoned to make
way for Nero her fon. Nero afterAvards caufed her to
be murdered in her chamber, when Ihe bid the execu¬
tioner ftab her firft in the belly that had brought forth Agrippina
fuch a monfter. ' j|
Agrippina colonia ubiorum, in Ancient Geo- Aguilla-
graphy, noiy Cologne : lb called from Agrippina, the , neuf' ,
daughter of Germanicus, and mother of Nero, who
had a colony fent thither at her requell by the empe¬
ror Claudius, to honour the place of her birth.- See
Cologne.
AGRIPPINIANS, in Church HJlory, the folloAvers
of Agrippinus bilhop of Carthage, in the third century,
who firft introduced and defended the praftice of re-bap-
tization.
A GROM, a difeafe frequent in Bengal and other
parts of the Indies, in which the tongue is parthed, chaps,
and is fometimes covered with aa bite fpots. The Indi¬
ans are very fearful of this difeafe, Avhich they attribute
to extreme heat ol the llomach. Their remedy is, to
drink lome chalybeate liquor, or the juice of mint.
AGROSTEMMA, Wild Lychnis, or Campion,
in Botany. See Botany Index.
AGROSTIS, Bent-grass, ixiBotany. See Botany
Index.
AGROSTOGRAPHIA, fignifies the hiftory or de-
feriptionr of gralfes.
AGROUND, the fituation of a fliip whofe bottom,
or any part of it, hangs, or refts upon the ground, fo as
to render her immoveable, till a greater quantity of Ava-
ter floats her oft', or till flie is drawn out into theftream
liy the application of mechanical poAvers.
AG It YPN lA, among Phyjicians, implies an unapti¬
tude to fleepj a troublefome fymptom of feverilh and
other diforders;
Agrypnia, in the Greek Church, implies the vigil of*
any of the greater feilivals.
AGUE, a general name for all periodical fevers,
Avhich, according to the different times of the returns of
the feverilh paroxyfm, are denominated tertian, quartan,
and quotidians See Medicine Index.
Ague-Cake, the popular name for a hard tumour on
the left fide of the belly, loiver than the falfe ribs, faid
to be the effe6t of intermittent fevers.
Aoue-Tree, a name given to the faffafras, on account*
of its febrifuge qualities.
AGUEPERSE, a town of France, fituated in the
Lyonnois, in the department of Puy-de-Dome, about 15
miles north of Clermont.
AGUILLANEUF, or Augtllaneuf, a form of
rejoicing ufed among the ancient Franks on the firft
day of the year. The Avord is compounded of the
French A “ to,” gui, “ mifleto,” and Pan neuf “ the
iicav year.” Its origin is traced from a druid ceremo¬
ny : the priefts ufed to go yearly in December, Avhich
Avith them was reputed afacred month, to gather mifleto
of the oak in great folemnity. The prophets marched
in the front, linging hymns in honour of their deities $
after them came a herald Avith a caducous in his hand j
thefe Avere folloAved by three druids abreaft, bearing
the things necelfary for facrifice laft of all came the
chief or arch druid, accompanied Avith the train off
people. The chief druid climbing the oak, cut off the
mifleto Avith a golden fickle, and the other druids re¬
ceived it in a Avhite cloth; on the firft day of the year
it Avas diftributed among the people, after having blef-
fed and confecrated it by crying A gui Pan neuf, to <
proclaim? a
A Q U [ 542 j AHA
Asuilla- proclaim the new year. This cry is ftill continued in
neuf Picardy, with the addition ol Plante'Z^ Planter, to
II wilh a plentiful year. In Burgundy and fome other
Agurium. < partSj t}ie children ufe the fame word to beg a new-
' v_" year’s gift. In latter times the name Aguillanevf was
alfo given to a fort of begging, praftifed in iome dio-
cel'es, for church tapers, on new year’s day, by a troop
of voung people of both lexes, having a chief, &c. It
was attended with various ridiculous ceremonies, as dan¬
cing in the church, &c. which occafioned the lynods to
fupprefs it.
AGUILAR, a town of Spain, in the province of ISa-
varre, about 24 miles weft from Lftella.
Aguilar del Campo, a town of Old Caftile, with the
title of marquifate, about 15 leagues north of the city of
Burgos. .
AGUILLON, or Aguillctnius, Francis, a Jefuit,
born at Bruffels : he was reftor of the Jefuits college at
Antwerp, and eminent for bis fkill in mathematics.
He was the firft who introduced that fcience among the
Jefuits in the Low Countries: he wrote a book of Op¬
tics, and was employed in finifliing his Catoptrics and
Dioptrics, when he died in 1617. ,
AGUIRRA, Joseph Salnz de, a Benedidine, 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 inquifttion in Spam, and in¬
terpreter of the Scriptures in the univerfity of Sala¬
manca. He printed three volumes in folio upon Philo-
fophy, a commentary upon Ariftotle’s ten books of E-
thics, 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 Ion of
Jakeh which, according to the fignification of the
original terms, maybe tranflated, as the \ ulgate has
it, Verba congregantis, fthi vomentis; which tranfla-
tion Le Clerc condemns, fuppofmg thefe to be pro¬
per names which ought not to be tranflated. Ihele
words are rendered by Louis de Dieu, u the words
of him who has recolleded himfelf, the fon of obe¬
dience.” The generality of the fathers and commen¬
tators will have it, that Solomon defenhes himfelf un¬
der' the name Agur the fon of Jakeh others con-
]edure that Agur, as well as Lemuel (in chap. xxxi.
1.) 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 probability7, this book being nothing like
a. dialogue. This laft expofitor thinks it probable,
that Agur was an infpired anther different from Solo¬
mon, whofe fentences it was thought fit to join with
thofe of this prince, becaufe of the conformity of their
matter.
AGURAH, in Jewilh 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 were called Populus Agyrinenfis
by Cicero j 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?Argyrone,
which modern name feems to confirm that Argynuni is
the true reading.
AGUSADURA, in ancient cuftoms, a fee due from Agufadura
vaffals to their lord for the lharpening their ploughing j|
tackle. Anciently the tenants in fome manors were not, Ahab- ,
allowed to have their rural implements fharpened by any v
but whom the lord appointed 5 for which an acknow¬
ledgment was to be paid, called agu fadura, in fome
places agujage: which fome take to be the fame with
what was otherwife called reillage, from the ancient
French reille, a ploughfhare.
AGUSTINA, a new earth ; 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 expe¬
riments have not been repeated, the exiftence of this
earth refts folely on his authority.
AGUTI, in 7.oology, the trivial name of a fpecies
of the moufe, belonging to the mammalia glires of
Linnaeus. N '
AGYEI, in antiquity, a kind of obelifks, facred to
Apollo, erected in the veftibules of houfes, by way of
fecurity.
AGYNEIA, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AGYNIANI, in church hiftory, a feet who con¬
demned all uie of flefli, and marriage, as not inftituted
by God, but introduced at the inftigation ot the devil.
The word is compounded of the privative «, and yto«,
woman. They are fometimes alio called Agynenjes, 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 thole ot
the Abelians, Gnoftics, Cerdonians, and other preach¬
ers of chaftity and abftinence.
AGYRTJE, in antiquity, a kind of ftrolling im-
poftors, running about the country to pick up money,
by telling fortunes at rich men’s doors j pretending to
cure, difeafes by charms, facrifices, and other religious
myfteries j alio to expiate the crimes ol their deccaled
anceftors, by virtue of certain odours and fumigations 5
to torment their enemies, by the ufe ol magical verfes,
and the like. The word is Greek, Ayvflxi, formed ol
the verb ayvga, “ I congregate j” alluding to the prac¬
tice of charlatans or quacks, who gather a crowd about
them.
Agyrtee, 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 predeceffors
in impiety and wickednefs. He married Jezebel the
daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, who in¬
troduced the idols of Baal and Aft arte among the 1 f-
raelites, and engaged Ahab in the worlhip of thefe
falfe deities. God, being provoked by the fins ol
Ahab, fent the prophet Elijah to him (1 Kings xvil.
i.feq.}, 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 with 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 fliould
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
AHA t 543 ] AHA
Aha!,, to affure him of viftory, but to iuilrucf him hkewife
—~v—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, conlifting of 232 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 hoft of the
Syrians, and that at noon-day, while Ben-hadad and
the 32 kings that accompanied him were drinking and
making merry. Ben-hadad having notice that they
were marching out of the city, ordered them to be
brought before him alive, whatever their defigns were 5
but the young men, followed 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-
fiderable booty. After this the prophet came to Ahab,
to animate him with frefli courage, and to caution him
to keep upon his guard ; alluring him, that Ben-hadad
would return againft him the year following. Ac¬
cording to this prediction, 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 fucceffively, 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 j but as they were preffing 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 defiring to make a kitchen garden near
his palace (chap, xxi.), 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,
afked the reafon of his great concern •, of which being
informed, Hie procured the death of Naboth, and Ahab
took pofieifion of his vineyard. As he returned from
Jezreel to Samaria, the prophet Elijah met him, and
faid, “ Haft thou killed and alfo taken poffeffion ? 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 fackloth upon his flelh, and gave other indications
of his forrow and repentance. But his repentance was
neither fincere nor perfevering. Two years after thefe
things, Jeholhaphat king of Judah came to Samaria
to vifit Ahab (chap, xxii.) at a time when lie was
preparing to attack Ramoth-gilead, which Ben-hadad
king of Syria unjuftly withheld from him. The king
of Ifrael invited Jeholhaphat to accompany him in
this expedition j which that prince agreed to do, but
defired that fome 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
Micaiah being alfo confulted, at Jeholhaphat’s fuggef-
tion, prophefied the ruin of Ahab. Upon this, Ahab
gave orders to his people to feize Micaiah, and to car- Ahab
ry him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joalh 11
the king’s fon •, telling him in his name, “ Put this a Ahaz.
lellow in prifon, and feed him with the bread of af-
flidtion, and with the water of affliction, until I come
in peace.” But Micaiah faid, “ If thou return at all
in peace, the Lord hath not fpoken by me.” Ahab, v
therefore, and Jeholhapbat, marched up to Ramoth-
gilead 5 and the king of Ifrael faid unto Jeholhaphat,
“ 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 Jehofliaphat was drefled in royal xubes, took
him lor the king of Ifrael, and fell upon him with
great impetuofity 5 but this prince feeing himfelf pref¬
led fo clofely, cried out j and the miftake being dif-
coverefl, the captains of the king of Syria gave over
purfuing him. But one 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 j and towards the
evening he died : whereupon proclamation was made,
by the found of trumpet, that every man fhould return
to his own city and country. The king of Ifrael be¬
ing dead, was carried to Samaria and buried : but his
chariot and the reins of his horfes were waffled in the
fiffl-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 wnrld 3107.
AH./ETULA, the trivial name of a fpecies of the
coluber. See Coluber.
AHASUERUS, or ArtaxerXes, the huftand of
Either 5 and, according to Arehbifhop Uffler and F.
Calmet, the Scripture name for Darius the fon of Hy-
ftafpcs, king of Perfia 5 though Scaliger fuppofed
Xerxes to have been the huffland of Either, 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 Jotliam ; remark¬
able for bis vices and impieties. One of his fons he
confecrated, by making him pafs through and periffl
by the lire, 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 Judah in the beginning
of the reign of Ahaz ; and having defeated his army
and pillaged the country, they laid fiege to Jerufalem.
When 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 the fpoil to Damafcus j 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 diftinc-
tion, to the number of 200,000. But as they were
carrying thofe captives to Samaria, the prophet Oded,
with the principal inhabitants of the city, came out to
meet
✓
A H I t 544 ] A H I
Aliaz meet them •, and by their remonftrances prevailed with
|| them to fet their prisoners at liberty. At the lame
Abijah, Phililtines and Edomites invaded other parts
of his land, killed multitudes of the people, and carried
oft much booty. In this diftrefted condition, Ahaz
finding no other remedy for his affairs, fent ambaffadors
to Tiglath-pilefer king of the Aflyrians 5 and to engage
him to his intereft, he ftripped the temple and city of
all the gold which he could meet with, and lent it as a
prefent. Accordingly Tiglath-pilefer marched to the
alliffance of Ahaz, attacked ilezin and killed him, took
liis capital Damafcus, dellroyed it, and removed the in¬
habitants thereof to Cyrene.
The misfortunes of this prince had no influence to
make him better : on the contrary, in the. times of
his greatell afliidion, 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, ihut up the
gates of the temple, and eroded altars in all parts of
Jerufalem. He let up altars likewife in all the cities
of Judah, with a delign 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 predecei-
i’ors: which honour he was deprived of on account ol
his iniquitous courfe of life. Hezekiah his Ion fuc-
ceeded him in the year of the world 328.7, before
Jefus Chrift 726.
AHAZIAH, the fon and fucceffor 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./d/.), and paid
his adoration to Baal and Allarte, the worihip 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 lince 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.) ; for about the fame 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 Ihould recover of the indifpofition occa-
(ioned by this accident. But the prophet Elijah went
to Ahaziah, and declared that he Ihould not recover
from his illnefs: and accordingly he died in the year
of the,world 3108, and Jehoram his brother fucceeded
to the crown.
Ahaziah, king of Judah, the fon of Jehoram and
Athaliah, fucceeded his father in the kingdom of
Judah, 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 llain by Jehu
the fon of Nimlhi.
AHEAD, a fea term, fignifying further onward
than the Ihip, or at any diftance before her, lying im¬
mediately on that point of the coinpafs to which her
fiem is dire&ed. It is ufed in oppofition to ajlern,
which exprefles the fituation of any object behind the
ihip.
AHIJAH, the prophet of Shilo. He is thought
to be the perfon who fpoke twice to Solomon from
God, once tvhile he w'as building the temple (1 Kings Alimh.
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 expreffed his in¬
dignation with great threatenings and reproaches. A-
hijah was one of thole who wTote 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 that two heifers Ihould
alienate him from the Lord, meaning the golden calves
ere&ed by Jeroboam, one at Dan, the other at Bethel.
About the end of Jeroboam’s reign, tov/ards the year
of the world 3046, Abijah the fon of that prince fell
lick; upon which Jeroboam fent his w ife to this pro¬
phet to inquire what would become of the child. The
queen therefore went to Ahijah’s houie in Shilo, dif-
guifed: But the prophet, upon hearing the found
of her feet, laid, “ Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, why
feignelt thou thyfelf to be another ? for I am lent to
thee with heavy tidings.” Then he commanded her
to go and tell Jeroboam all the evil that the Lord had
declared he would bring upon his houfe for his impie¬
ties ; that lo loon as Ihe Ihould enter into the city her
fon Abijah Ihould die, and ihould be the only one of
Jeroboam’s houfe that ihould come to the grave or re¬
ceive the honours of a burial. Abijah in all probabi¬
lity did not long furvive the time of this lall prpphecy ;
hut wdth the time and manner ol his death we are not
acquainted.
AHTiOPHEL, a native of Gillo, wras for feme
time the couniellor ol King David, whom he at length
deferted, by joining in the rebellion of Abfalom. This
prince, upon his being preferred to the crow n by the
greatell part of the Ifraelites, fent for Ahitophel from
Gillo (2 Sam. xv. 12.) to alliil him with his advice in
the prelent Hate of his affairs: for at that time Ahi-
tophel’s counfels were received as the oracles of God
himfelf (chap. xvi. i/ltd). Nothing gave David more
uneafmels 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
Ihow of offering his fervices to Abfalom, and endea¬
vour to fruftrate the prudent meafures which Ihould
be propofed by Ahitophel. When Abfalom was come
to Jerufalem, he deiired Ahitophel to deliberate with
his other counfellors upon the meafures which were
proper for him to take. Ahitophel advifed him in the
lirll place to abide his father’s concubines 5 ib that
when his party fhould 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 interell more refolutely. A tent,
therefore, being prepared for this purpofe upon the ter¬
race ol 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 choole out 12,000 men, and I will arife
and purfue after David this night, and I will come
upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and I
will make him afraid, and all the people that are writh
him flee, and I will finite the king only; and I will
bring back all the people unto thee } the man whom
thou feekeft is as if all returned: fo all the people
lliall be in peace.” This advice wras very agreeable
to Abfalom and all the elders of Ifrael. However,
Abfalom
A I [ 545 ] A J A
iliitopliel Abfalom defired Hulliai to be called to have his opi-
II mon. Hufliai being come, and hearing what advice
, Al' Ahitophel had given, laid, “ The couniel which Ahi-
tophel has given is not good at this time •, what, for
the prefent, in my opinion, may do better, is this :
Let all Ifrael be gathered unto thee, from Dan even
to Beerfheba, as the fand that is by the fea for multi¬
tude, and put thyfelf in the mi dll; of them, and where-
ever David is, we may fall upon him, and overwhelm
him with our numbers, as the dew falleth upon the
ground.” The laft advice being more agreeable to
Abfalom and all the elders of Ifrael, was preferred j
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,
4ill that would happen in confequence of Hufliai’s ad¬
vice, and was determined to prevent the death which
he had deferved, and which David would probably have
inflicted on him, as foon as he ihould be- refettled on -
his throne.
AHMELLA, in Botany. See Bidexs, Botany
Index.
AHOLIBAH and Aholah, are two feigned names
made ufe of by Ezekiel (xxiii. 4.) to denote the two
kingdoms of Judah and Samaria. Aholah and Aho-
libah are reprefented as two fillers of Egyptian extrac¬
tion. Aholah Hands for Samaria, and Aholibah for
Jerufalem. The firll fignifies a tent; and the fecond,
my tent is in her. They both prollituted themfelves
to the Egyptians and Aflyrians, in imitating their abo¬
minations and idolatries j for which reafon they were
abandoned to thofe very people for whom they had
fliown fo pallionate and fo impure an alfedtion; they
were carried into captivity, and reduced Jo the feverelt
fervitude.
AHULL, in the fea-language, the fituation of a fliip
when all her fails are furled on account of the violence
of the florm, and when having lallied her helm on the
lee-fide, fhe lies nearly with her fide to the wind and
fea, her head being fomewhat inclined to the direction
of the wind.
AHUN, a town of France, in the Upper Marche
and generality of Monlins, in the department of Creufe.
It is feated on the river Creufe, eight miles fouth-eaft
of Gueret, 30 north-eaft of Lomages, and 55 fouth-eaft
of Moulins. E. Long. 1. 52. N. Lat. 49. 5.
AHUYS, a town of Gothland in Sweden. It is
final], but very ftrong 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.
J6- 20._
AI, in Ancient Geography, a town in Judea, to the
north of Jericho, called Anee by Jofephus, and the in¬
habitants Ainatce. Jolhua having fent a detachment of
3000 men againft Ai, God permitted them to be re-
pulfed on account of Achan’s fin, who had violated the
anathema pronounced againft 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 againft Ai, and treat this city and the
kingdom thereof as he had treated Jericho, with this
difference, that he gave the plunder of the town to the
people. Jofhua fent by night 30,000 men to lie in
ambulh behind Ai; having firft well inftructed thole
Vol. I. Part II.
who had the command of them in what they were to Ai
do j and the next day, early in the morning, he marched ||
againft thq city with the remainder of his army. The , A)an'
king of Ai, perceiving them, fallied haftily out of the 'r~
town with all his people, and fell upon the forces of the
Ifraelites, who, upon the firft onfet, fled, as if they had
been under fome great terror.
As foon as Jolhua faiv the enemy all out of the
gates, lie railed his lliield upon the top of a pike, which
was the fignal given to the ambufeade j whereupon
they immediately entered the place, which they found
without defence, and let fire to it. The people of Ai
perceiving the fmoke afeending, were willing to re
turn, but difeovered thofe who had fet fire to the city
in their rear, while Jolliua and thofe who were with
him turning about, fell upon them, and cut them in
pieces. The king was taken alive, and afterwards put
to death.
The chevalier Folard obferves, that Jolhua’s enter-
prife on Ai, excepting in lome particulars of military
art, is very like that of Gibeah, which is fcarcely 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 Jolliua, he fays, “ Go
up againft Ai ; lay an ambufeade behind the town j I
have delivered the king and the people of it into thine
hands:” yet,notwithftandingthis, God might leave the
whole glory of the invention and execution of it to
him, as to a great general. “ Jolhua arofe, (fays the
facred author), and all the people of war, to go up
againft Ai (verfe 3.) ; and Jolliua chofe out 30,000
mighty men of valour, and fent them away by night.”
Folard remarks, that there is a manifeft contradiction
between this verfe and the 12th, wherein it is laid
that Jolhua choofe out 5000 men, whom he fent to lie in
ambulh, between Bethel and Ai. How is this to be
reconciled ? Calmet fays, that Mafius allows but 5000
men for the ambufeade, and 25,000 for the attack of
the city, being perfuaded that an army of 60,000 men
could only create confufion on this occafion, without
any neceffity for, or advantage in, fuch numbers \ but
the generality of interpreters, continues Calmet, ac¬
knowledge two bodies to be placed in ambufeade, both
between Bethel and Ai ; one of 25,000 and the other
of 5000 men.
With regard to the fignal Jolhua made to that part of
his army which lay in ambufeade, the learned Folard
embraces the opinion of the Babbins, who believe what
is called the Ihield to be too fmall to ferve for a fignal :
hence they make it to be the ftaff of one of their colours;
from this, our author concludes, that the whole colours
were ufed on this occafion ; for in the Afiatic ftyle,
which is very near the poetic, a part is oftentimes to
be taken for the whole.
AJALON, in Ancient Geography, a town of the tribe,
of Dan, one of the Levitical. Another in the tribe of
Benjamin, in wliofe valley Jolhua commanded the moon
to Hand Hill, being then in her decreafe, and confequent •
ly to be feen at the fame time with the fun.
AJAN, a coaft and country of Africa, has the ri¬
ver Quilmanci on the fouth j the mountains from wliidi
the river fprings, on the weft j Abyffinia, or Ethio¬
pia, and the llrait of Babelmandel, on the north ;
and the Eaftern or Indian ocean, on the call. The
3 Z coaft
Arc ' [ 546 ] A I G
Ajan coaft. abounds with all neceflaries of life, and has plenty
II of very good horfes. The kings of Ajan are often at
Aicliftat. war the emperor of the A by {Tins *, and all the pri-
foners they take they fell to the merchants of Cambaya,
thofe of Aden, and other Arabs, who come to trade in
their harbours, and give them in exchange, coloured
cloths, glafs-beads, raifins, and dates; for which they
alfo take back, befides flaves, gold and ivory. The
whole fea coafl, from Zanguebar to the ftrait of I3abel-
mandel, is called the coalt of Ajan ; and a conliderable
part of it is flyled the Defert coafl.
AJAX, the fon of Oileus, was one of the princi¬
pal generals who went to the liege of Troy. He ravifli-
ed Caffandra the daughter of Priam, even in the temple
of Minerva, where fhe thought to have found fanftuary.
It is faid, 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 Angular veneration for his
memory.
A.tax, the fon of Telamon, was 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 actions, of which we have an ac¬
count in the Iliad, in Di&i/s Crctcnfis, and in the 23d
hook of Ovid’s Metamorphofes. He wTas fo enraged,
that the arms of Achilles wTere adjudged to Ulyffes, that
lie immediately became mad. The Greeks paid great
honour to him after his death, and eredted a magnifi¬
cent monument to his memory upon the promontory of
Khetium.
Ajax, in antiquity, a furious kind of dance, in ufe
among the Grecians 5 intended to reprefent the mad-
nefs of that hero after his defeat by Ulvffes, to whom
the Greeks had given the preference in his contefl for
Achilles’s arms. Lucian, in his treatife of Dancing,
fipeaks of dancing the Ajax.—There was alfo an annual
feaft called Ajcmtia, Aidflux, confecrated to that prince,
and obferved with great folemnity in the ifland of Sa¬
lamis, as w7ell as in Attica ; where, in memory of the
c. valour of Ajax, a bier wras expofed, fet out with a com¬
plete fet of armour.
AJAZZO, a fea-port of the ifland of Corfica, in the
Mediterranean, with a bifhop’s fee. It is fituated in a
fertile territory, wdiich produces excellent wines. It
lias a finall citadel} the flreets are fpacious, the houfes
wmll built, and the walks agreeable. Jhe number of
inhabitants is computed about 4000 } many of them
are Greeks. The trade of Ajazzo confifls of timber,
and black, red, and white coral-, in the fifhery of which
the inhabitants are employed. E. Long. 8. 50. N. Lat.
41- 5°*
Ajazzo, a fea port town of Natolia, in the province
of Caramania, anciently Cilicia, feated on the coafl 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 bifliopric of the fame name. It is re¬
markable for a curious piece of workrnanfliip, called
the Sun of the Holy Sacrament, which is in the church.
It is of mafly 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 Nienburg, and 37 fouth of Nuremberg. E. Long. A id. feat
11. 10. N. Lat. 49. o. The bifliopric is 45 miles in J1
length and 17 in breadth and the bifliop is chancellor, AlSle-
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.
AiB-de-Camp, in military affairs, an officer employed
to receive and carry the orders of a general.
Aid, Auxilinm, in ancient cuftoms, a lubfidypaid by
vaflals to their lords on certain occafions. Such were
the aid of relief, paid upon the death of the lord mefne
to his heir ; the aid cheval, or capital aid, due to the
chief lord on feveral occafions, as, to make his elder fon
a knight, to make up a portion for marrying his daugh¬
ter, &c.
AIDS, in the French cuftoms, were certain duties,
paid on all goods exported or imported into that king¬
dom.
Court of Aids, in France, a fovereign court former ¬
ly eftabliflied in feveral cities, which had cognizance
of all caufes relating to the taxes, gabelles, and aids,
impofed on feveral forts of commodities, efpecially
w’ine.
Aids, in the manege, are the fame wTith what fame
writers call c fieri filings, and ufed to avoid the neceflity
of corrections.—^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.
AIDAN, a famous Scottifli bifhop of Lindisfarne,
or Holy Ifland, in the 7th century, was employed by
Ofwald king of Northumberland in the converfion of
the Englifh, in which he was very fuccefsful. He was
a monk in the monaftery of Jona, one of the Hebrides.
He died in 651.
AIGHENDALE, the name of a liquid meafure ufed
in Lancafhire, containing feven quarts.
AIGLE, a bailiwick in the territory of Eomand
in Switzerland, confifts of mountains and valleys, the
principal of which are the Aigle and Bex. 1 hrough
thefe is the great road from Valais into Italy. When
you pals by Villeneuve, which is at the head of the
lake of Geneva, you enter into a deep valley three miles
wide, bordered on one fide with the Alps of Switzer¬
land, on the other fide with thole of Savoy, and eroded
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 mea¬
dows. The governor’s caftle is on an eminence that
overlooks the town, and has a lofty marble tower.
This government has nine large pariflies ; and is di¬
vided into four parts, Aigle, Bex, Olon, and Ormont.
This fall is among the mountains, and joins to Rouge-
mont. It is a double valley, abounding in pallure-
lands. Ivorna, in the diftriCt of Aigle, wras in part bu¬
ried by the fall of a mountain, occafioned by an earth¬
quake, in 1584.
Aigle, a fmall town of 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
pariflies. It trades in corn, toys, and more particularly
in needles and pins. E. Long. 1. 5. N. Lat. 48. 35.
~ AIGUILLON,
AIL ' t S47 ] AIL
uiiiott AIGUILLON, a fmall town of France, in the pro-
11 vince of Guienne, and department of Garonne and Lot,
:Uia- , which has a confiderable trade in wines, brandy, and
v hemp. E. Long. o. 22. N. Lat. 44. 45.
A1GU1SCE, in Heraldry, denotes a crofs with its
four ends fharpened, 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 end.
AI KM AN, William, a painter of confide.rable
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-
fellion, which was that of an advocate at the Scotch
bar. But the genius of the fon led him to other {In¬
dies. He dpvoted himfelf to the fine arts, efpecially
that of painting, and having for fome time proiecuted
his {Indies in Britain, in the year 1707 he went to
Italy, refided in Rome for three years, afterwards tra¬
velled to Conflantinople and Smyrna, and in 1712 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 firll rank in England and .Scotland •, and
a large picture of the royal family for the earl of Bur¬
lington, now in the pofl’effion of the duke ot Devon-
ihire, which was unfiniflied 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 loft a ion at the
age of 17. The remains of both ivere removed to
Edinburgh, and were 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 Air Aikman’s intimate
acquaintance} and the mufe of each, in elegiac num¬
bers, offered a warm tribute to the memory of their
departed friend. The following ypitaph from the pen
of Air Alallet, was engraved on his tomb :
Dear to the good and wife, difprais’d by none,
Here deep in peace the father and the fon 5
By virtue as by nature clofe ally’d,
The painter’s genius, but without the pride :
Worth unambitious, wit afraid to fhine,
Honour’s clear light, and friendfhip’s warmth divine :
The fon fair rifing knew too fliort a date ;
But, oh ! how more fevere the father’s fate !
He faw him torn untimely from his fide,
Felt all a father’s anguifh—wept and died.
Mr Aikman’s ftile of painting was an imitation of
the pleading fimplicity of nature. It is diftinguifhed
by foftnefs of light, mellownefs of fliade, and mildnefs
and harmony of colouring. His compofitions have
more placid tranquillity of eafe, than boldnefs of touch
and brilliancy of effedt. His portraits are fuppofed to
have fome refemblance to thofe of Kneller, and not on¬
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 Petraa, fituated near the Sinus Ela-
nites of the Red fea. It was alfo called Eliath, and Ailaua
Eloth (Stephanus, Strabo, Alofes). The fame with 1!
Elana. , Ailfa- ,
AILANTHUS, in Botany. See Botany Index. v
AILE, in Law, a writ which lies where a perfon’s
grandfather, or great-grandfather, being feifed of lands,
&c. in fee-fimple, the day that he died, and a ftranger
abates and enters the fame day, and difpoffeffes the heir
of his inheritance.
AILESBURY, Aylesbury, or Alesbury, a bo¬
rough town in Buckinghamihire, confifting of about
400 houfes. The ftreets lie round the market-place,
in the middle of which is a convenient hall, where the
fellions are held, and fometimes the affixes for the
county. It fends two members to parliament. It is
fixty miles fouth-eaft of Buckingham, and forty-four
north-weft of London. W. Long. o. 40. N. Lat. 51. 40.
AILAIER, or yEthelmare, earl of Cornwall and
Devonfhire, 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 Cernel, in Dorfet-
fliire ; and had lb great a veneration for Eadwald, the
brother of St Edmund the Alartyr, who had lived a
hermit in that country, near the Silver Well, as they
called it, that with the alilftance of Archbifliop Dun-
ftan, he tranflated his relics to the old church of
Cernel. In 1016, when Canute, the fon of Sueno, in¬
vaded England, and found himfelf ftoutly oppofed by
that valiant Saxon prince Edmund Ironfide, the fon
of AEthelred, this Earl Ailmer, with that arch traitor
Eadric Streone, earl of Alercia, and Earl Algar, join¬
ed the Dane againft their natural prince, which was
one great caufe of the Saxons ruin. He did not long
furvive this ; and we find mentioned in hiftory only one
fon of his, whpfe name was /Ethelward, earl of Corn¬
wall, who followed his father’s maxims, and was pro¬
perly rewarded for it. For in 1018, Canute reaping
the benefit of their treafons, and perceiving that the
traitors were no longer ufeful, he caufed the infamous
Eadric Streone, and this Earl iEthelward, to be both
put to death.
ALLRED, or Ealred, abbot of Revefby in Lin-
colnlhire, in the reigns of Stephen and Henry II. He
was born in 1109, of a noble family, and educated in
Scotland with Henry the fon of King David. On his
return to England, he became a monk of the Ciftertian
order, in the monaftery of Revelby, of which he after¬
wards was made abbot. He died on the 12 th of Ja¬
nuary 1166, aged 57, and was buried in his mona¬
ftery. “ He was (fays Leland) in great efteem du¬
ring his life j celebrated for the miracles wrought after
his death 5 and admitted into the catalogue of faints.”
He was author of feveral works *, moft of which were
publifhed by Gilbo the Jefuit at Douay, 1631 ; part
of them may be alfo found in the Bibliotheca Ciftertien-
Jis, and Bibliotheca Patrum. His principal work is the
Speculum Charitatis. Leland, Bale, and Pits, mention
feveral manuferipts which never were publiflied.
AILSA, an infulated rock on the Aveftern coaft of
Scotland, between the fhores of Ayrfhire and Cantire.
It is two miles in circumference at the bafe, is accel-
lible only at one place, and rifes to a great height in a
pyramidical form. A few goats and rabbits pick up
a fubfiftence among the fliort grabs and furze ; but the
3 Z 2 importance
AIR [ 5+8 ] AIR
importance of the rock confifts in the great variety and
immenfe numbers of birds which frequent it, particular¬
ly the gannets or folan geefe, fome of which are taken
for the table, and others for the feathers. The rock is
rented from the earl of Callilis at 25k per annum. The
depth of water around the bafe is from 7 to 48 fathoms.
It is furrounded writh excellent banks, well Hocked with
cod and other white fifh. On one part of the rock are
the remains of an old callle, 'which is faid to have been
erected by Philip II. of Spain, about the time that the
Spanifh armada invaded Britain.
AINSWORTH, Hr Henry, an eminent noncon-
formift divine, who, about the year 1590, dillinguilh-
ed himfelf among the Brownifts ; which drew upon
him fuch troubles that he was obliged to retire to Hol¬
land, and became minifter of a church at Amfterdanj.
His ikill in the Hebrew language, and his excellent
Annotations on the Holy Scriptures, which are ftill
highly elleemed, gained him great x-eputation. He alfo
wi'ote feveral pieces in defence of the Brownifts, and
feveral other works.
Ainsworth, Robert, born at W oodyale in Lanca-
fhire in 1660, wras mafter of a boarding fchool at Beth-
xxal gi’een, from whence he removed to Hackney, and
to other places in the neighbourhood of London. Af¬
ter acquiring a moderate fortune, he x’etii'ed, and lived
pi'ivately to the time of his death, which happened in
1743. We are indebted to his induftry for a Latin
and Englifh Hidtionary, which has been much ufed in
fchools : he publilhed it in quarto 1736 ; and in 1752,
the fourth edition, under the care of Hr Ward of
Greiliam College, and the Rev. William Younge, was
enlarged to two vols. folio.
AIR, in Physics, a thin, fluid, elaftic, tranfparent,
ponderous, compreflible, and dilatable body, furround¬
ing the terraqueous globe to a confiderable height. See
Atmosphere, Meteorology, and Pneumatics.
Air, in Mythology, was adored by the Heathens
under the names of Jupiter and Juno ; the former i-epre-
fenting the fuperior and finer part of the atmofphere,
and the latter the infex-ior and groffer part. The au¬
gurs alfo drew prefages from the clouds, thunder, light¬
ning, &c.
Air, in Painting, &c. denotes the manner and very
life of action j or it is that which exprefles the difpofi-
tion of the agent.—It is fometimes alio ufed in a fyno-
nymous fenfe with gefture or attitude.
Air, in Mujic, is taken in different fenfes. It is
fometimes contrafted with harmony 5 and in this fenfe,
it is fynonymous with melody in general.—Its proper
meaning is, A tune, which is fet to words, or to fliort
pieces of poetry that are called Jongs.
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 5 and, in 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 itfelf, or whether it can be
detached from any whale of which it forms a part, and
be executed alone.
If the fubjeft admits of harmony, and is fet in parts,
the air is, according to their number, denominated a
duett, a trio, a quartetto, &c. We need not follow
Rouffeau, and the other philologifts, in their endeavours
to inveftigate the etymon of the word air. Its deriva¬
tion, though found and afeertained, would contribute Air.
little to illuftrate its meaning in that remote fenfe, to —y-
which, through a long continuance of time, and the
various viciflitudes of language, it has no\v palled. The
curious may confult the fame article in the Diflionuirc
de Mnjique by M. Rouffeau.
In modern mufic, there are feveral different kinds of
airs, each of which agrees to a certain kind of dancing;
and from thefe dances the airs themfelves take their
fpecilic names. '
The airs of our operas are, if we may be permitted
the expreffion, the canvas or fubftratum upon which
are painted all the pictures of imitative mufic ; melody
is the defign, and harmony the colouring ; every pidtu-
refque object felefted from the moll beautiful parts of
nature, every reflected 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, thefe
are the objedts of his imitation. An air which delights
the ear, and di ('covers the learning of the compofer ;
an air invented by genius, and compofed with talle;
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 of a well conduc¬
ted fymphony fliine; it is by this, that the pallions, ex¬
cited and inflamed by nice gradations, reach and agi¬
tate the foul through the avenues of external fenfe.
After hearing a beautiful air, the mind is acquiefcent
and ferene : the ear is fatisfied, not difgufted: it re¬
mains impreffed on the fancy, it becomes a part of our
effence, we carry it with us, we are able to repeat it
at pleafure : without the ability acquired by habit to
breathe a iirigle note of it, we execute it in our imagi¬
nation in the fame manner as we heard it upon the
theatre : one fees the feene, the actor, the theatre ;
one hears the accompaniments and the applaufes. The
real enthufiaft in mulic never forgets the beautiful airs
which he has heard ; when he choofes, he caufes the
opera to recommence.
The words to which airs are adapted are not always
rehearfed in regular fucceflion, nor fpoken in the fame
manner with thofe of the recitative; and though, in
general, they are very Ihort, yet they are interrupted,,
repeated, tranfpofed, at the pleafure of the artift.. They,
do not conftitute a narrative, which once told is over;
they either delineate a picture, which it is neceffary to
contemplate in different points of view; or infpire a fen¬
timent in which the heart acquiefces with pleafure, and
from which it is neither able nor willing to be difen-
gaged; and the different phrafes of the air, are nothing
elfe but different manners of beholding the fame image.
This is the reafon why the fubject of an air Ihould be
one. It is by thefe repetitions properly placed, it is
by thefe redoubled efforts, that an impreffion, which at
firft was not able to move you, at length ftiakes your
foul, agitates you, tranfports you out of yourfelf: and
it is likewife upon the fame principle, that the runnings,
as they are called, or thofe long, mazy, and inarticu-
lated inflections of the voice, in pathetic airs, fre¬
quently feem, though they are not always fo, impx-o-
perly placed: for whilit the heart is a tie died with a fen¬
timent exquifitely moving, it often expreffes its emo¬
tions by inarticulate founds, more ftrongly and fenlibly
than it could do by words themfelves.
2
The
AIK [ 549 ] AIK
Air Tlie form of airs is of two kinds. The fraall airs
}| are often compofed of two ftrains, which ought each of
Air-Pipes. tliern to be fung twice ; but the important airs in ope-
'L' l_ * ras are frequently in the form of rondeaus.
Air, in Geography. See Ayr.
Air Bladder, in iifhes. See Comparative Ana¬
tomy and Ichthyology Index.
Am-Gun, a pneumatic machine for exploding bul¬
lets, &c. with great violence. See Pneumatics.
Air-Jacket, a fort of jacket made of leather, in
which arc 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
ftop-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 otherwife it will immediate¬
ly efcape through the pores of the leather. By the
help of thefe bladders, which are placed near the breaft,
the perfon is fupported in the water, without making
the efforts ufed in fwimming.
Air- Pipes, an invention for drawing foul air out of
fhips, or any other clofe places, by means of fire.
Thefe pipes were fir 11 found out by one Air Sutton, a
brewrer in London ; 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 lupport
of fire 5 and, if it has not accefs from the places moll
adjacent, will not fail to come from thofe that are more
remote. Thus, in a common furnace, the air enters
through the alh-hole ; but if this is clofed up, and a
hole made in the fide of the furnace, the air will rufh
in with great violence through that hole. If a tube ol
any length whatever be inferted in this hole, the air
will mill through the tube into the fire, and of confe-
quence there will be a continual circulation of air in
that place where the extremity of the tube is laid. Air
Sutton’s contrivance, then, as communicated to the
Boyal Society by Doctor Alead, amounts to no more
than this : “ As, in every fliip of any bulk, there is
already provided a copper or boiling place proportion.-
able to the fiz.e of the vefl’el ; it is propofed to clear
the bad air, by means of the fire already ufed under the
faid coppers or boiling places for the neceffary ufes of
the fliip.
“ It is wrell known, that under every fuel) copper or
boiler, there are placed two holes, feparated by a grate}
the fir It of which is for the fire, and the other for the
allies falling from the fame } and that there is alfo a
Hue from the fire placed upward, by which the fmoke
of the fire is difeharged at fome convenient place of the
fhip.
“ It is alfo well known, that the fire once lighted in
thefe fire-places, is only preferved by the conllant
draught of air through the fore-mentioned twm holes
and flue ; and that if the faid two holes are cloleiy
Hopped up, the fire, though burning ever fo brilkly be¬
fore, is immediately put out.
“ But if, after iliutting up the above mentioned holes,
another hole be opened, communicating with any
other room or airy place, and with the fire; it is clear
the faid fire mull again be railed and burn as before,
there being a light draught of air through the fame as
there W'as before the Hopping up of the lirit holes j
this cafe differing only from the former in this, that Air-Pipes,
the air feeding the fire will now be fupplied from ano- ~v~'"" 1
liver place.
“ It is therefore propofed, that, in order to clear the
holds of fhips of the bad air therein contained, the two
holes above mentioned, the fire-place and aih-place, be
both clofipd up with fubllantial and tight iron doors }
and that a copper or leaden pipe, of fufficient fize, be
laid from the hold into the afh-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 conllant difeharge of
the air therein contained j and confequently, that that
air, fo difeharged, mull be as conllantly fupplied by frefli
air down the hatches or fuch other communications as
are opened into the hold ; whereby the fame mull be
continually frefhened, and its air rendered more whole-
fome and fit for refpiration.
“ And if into this principal pipe fo laid into the
hold, other pipes are let in, communicating refpeftively
either with the well or lower decks ; it mull follow,
that part of the air confumed in feeding the fire, mull
be refpectively drawn out of all luch places to which
the communication lhall 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 conllant
circulation of freffi air would be occaiioned through
thofe places where it would otherwife be moll apt to
llagnate and putrefy. Several other contrivances have
been ufed for the fame purpofe y and Dr Haleses ven¬
tilators, by fome unaccountable prejudice, have been
reckoned fuperior in efficacy and even fimplicity to Air
Sutton’s machine, which at its firll invention met with
great oppofition, and even when introduced by Dr
Alead, who ufed all his interell for that purpofe, was
lhamefully neglected.
A machine capable of anfwering the fame purpofe
was invented by Air Defaguliers, which he called the '
flap's lungs. It confifted of a cylindrical box fet up
on its edge, and fixed to a wooden pedellal. From
the upper edge of the box ilfued a fquare trunk, open
at the end, and communicating with the cavity of the
box. Within this box was placed a cylindrical wheel
turning on an axis. It was divided into 12 parts by
means of partitions placed like the radii oi a circle.
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 poffible without interfering ivith the cafe, fo
that the Avheel might always be allowed to turn freely.
Things being thus circumftaneed, it is plain, that if
the Avheel Avas turned towards that fide ol the box on
Avbich the trunk Avas, every divifion Avould pufh the
air before it, and drive it out through the trunk, at the
fame time that freffi air would come in through the open
fpace at the centre, to fupply that Avhich Avas throAvn
out through the trunk. By turning the Avheel fAviftly,
a llrong blall of air would be continually forced out
through the fquare trunk, on the lame principles on
Avhich a common fanner winnows corn. If the Avheel
is turned the oppofite Avay, a draught of air may be
produced from the trunk to the centre. II this ma¬
chine, then, is placed in a room Avhere a circulation of
air is tvanted, and the trunk made to pafs through one
/
AIR [ 550 ] A
Air-Pump 01 the walls j by turning the wheel fvviftly round, the breadth, and of the fame
|] air will be forced with great velocity out of that room,
Air-Shafts, at the fame time that frefh air will enter through any
chinks by which it can have accefs to fupply that which
has been forced out.
It is evident, that the circulation which is promoted
by this machine is entirely pf the fame kind with that
produced by Mr Sutton’s ; the turning of the wheel in
Mr Defaguiiers’s machine being equivalent to the rare-
fadtion of the air by lire in Mr Sutton’s : but that the
latter is vallly fuperior, as acting of itielf, 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 purpoie can boall 5
namely, that it not only draw's out putrid air, but de-
ftroys it by caufing it pafs through tire ; and experience
has abundantly fliown, that though putrid air is thrown
into a great quantity of frefli air, it is lo 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 j though w hether it
is equally innocent with the fmoke of a lire fed in the
common wray, avc cannot pretend to determine.
Bolides this machine by Mr Defaguliers, the venti¬
lators of Dr Hales, already mentioned, and thole called
wind-fails, are likewife ufed for the fame purpoie.
The former of which is an improvement of the Hellian
bellows : the other is a contrivance for throwing frelli
air into thofe places where putrid air is apt to lodge}
but this has the lall mentioned inconvenience in a
much greater degree than any of the others, as the
blaft of frelli air throws out that which was rendered
putrid by llagnation, in fuch a manner as to contami¬
nate all around it.
Ant-Pump, a machine by which the air contained in
a proper veflel may be exhaufted or drawn out. See
Pneumatics.
Air-Sacs, in Birds. See Comparative Anato¬
my.
AlR-Shafts, among Miners, denotes holes or fhafts let
down from the open air to meet the adits and furnifli
frelli air. The damps, deficiency, and impurity of air
which occur, when adits are wrought 30 or 40 fathoms
long, make it necelfary to let down air-fhafts, in order
to give the air liberty to play through the whole work,
and thus difcharge bad vapours, and furnilh good air
for refpiration : the expcnce of which llialts, in regard
of their vail depths, hardnefs of the rock, drawing of
water, &c. fometimes equals, nay exceeds, the ordinary
•charge of the whole audit.
Sir Robert Murray defcribes a method, ufed in the
coal-mines at Liege, of wrorking mines without air fliafts.
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 j and for the fupply of air have boxes of
elm exaftly clofed, of about lix Inches in the clear, by
which they carry it down about twenty fathoms. They
cut a trench at a little dillanqe from the top of the
groove, covering it with turf and rods difpofed to re¬
ceive the pipe, which they contrive to come in Tideways
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 live fa¬
thoms dillant, according to the convenience of the
3
I K
falliion with the groove, to
draw ore as well as air.
Air-Tbreads, in Natural Hijlory, a name given to
the long filaments, fo frequently feen in autumn floating,
about in the air.
Thefe threads are the work of fpiders, efpecially of
that fpecies called the long-legged held fpider } which
having mounted to the fummit ol a hulli 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 riles to a very
confiderable height. See Aranea.
Am-Truiik, 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 arc crowd¬
ed together in a imall fpace. it conlills only ol a long
fquare trunk open at both ends } one oi which is inferted
into the ceiling of the room, the air oi which is re¬
quired to be kept pure } and the other extends a good
way beyond the roof. Through this trunk a conti¬
nued circulation is carried on : and the reafon is, that
the putrid effluvia which do io much mifchietwhen col-
ledled, being much lighter than the pure atmolphere,
arife to the top of the room } and, il they there find a
vent, will continually go out through it. Iliefe effluvia
arife in very conliderable quantity, being calculated by
the late Dr Keil at no lefs than 39 ounces from one man
in 24 hours.
Thefe trunks were firft made trial of by Mr A eoman,
nvpr the Ploule of Commons, where they were nine
Air-
Threads
Airani.
inches wide within ; and.overthe Court ol King’s Bench
in Wellmintler-hall, where they were fix inches wide.
They are fometimes made wider, and lometimes nar¬
rower 5 but the wider they are, the longer they ought
to be, more elieciually to promote the alcent of the va¬
pour. The realon why vapours of this kind afcend
more fwift through a long trunk than a lliort one, is,
that the preflure of fluids is always according to their
diflerent depth, without regard to the diameter ol their
bafis, or of the veflel which contains them 5 and, upon
this principle, a gallon of water may be made to iplit
a flrong 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 prefles on the
lower end, is much greater than if the column ol pu¬
trid effluvia was lliort and wide} and conlequently the
afcent is much fwifter.—One pan of a Angle pair oi
fcales, which was tivo inches in diameter, being held
Avithin 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 reflore the equilibrium, and this
when there was no perfon in the houfe but Avhen it
Avas full, no lefs than 12 grains Avere requifite to re-
llore the equilibrium Avhich clearly Hioavs that thele
trunks mull be of real and very great efficacy.
Am-VeJJels, are fpiral du6ts in the leaves, &c. ol
plants fuppofed to be analogous to the lungs of ani¬
mals, in fupplying the different parts ol a plant with air.
See Botany Indew.
AIRA, in Botany, Hair-grass. See Botany
AIRANI, in Church Hijlory, an oblcure fedt ol A-
rians in the fourth century, avIio denied the confubllan-
tiality of the Holy Gholl Avith the Father and the Son.
They are otherwifc called Airanijls; and are faid to
have
A 1 T [ 5:
have taken their name from one Air os, who diRinguiih-
ed himfelf at the head of this party, in the reigns of
Valentinian and Gratian.
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 moun¬
tain, 1 $5 leagues from Paris. E. Long. 5. 26. N. Lat.
43* 47* ,
Aire, a throng town in the Netherlands, in the
county of Artois, now the department of Pas de Calais,
with a caftle. It was taken by the French in 1710,
and rvas confirmed to them by the treaty @f 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.
38.
AIRING, a term peculiarly ufed for the exerciling
horfes in the open air. It purifies the blood ; purges the
body from grofs humours *, and, as the jockies exprefs
it, teaches the horfe how to make the wind rake equally,
and keep time Avith the other motions 'of his body. It
alfo fnarpens the ilomach, and keeps the creature hun¬
gry •, w hich is a thing of great confequence, as hunters
and racers are very apt to have their Ilomach fall off,
either from Avant of exercife, or from the too violent
exercife Avhich they are often expofed to. If the horfe
be over fat, it is bell to air him before funrife and
after funfetting j and in general, it is alloAved by all,
that nothing is more beneficial to thofe creatures than
early and late airings. Some of our modern manegers,
hoAvever, difpute this; they fay, that the cold of thefe
times is too great for the creature ; and that if, in par¬
ticular, he is'fubjedito catarrhs, rheums, or the like
complaints, the deAvs and cold fogs, in thele early and
late airings, will be apt to increafe all thofe diforders.
Nature, we fee, alfo points out the funbeams as of
great ufe to thefe animals 5 thofe which arc kept hardy,
and lie out all night, ah\rays running to thofe places
Avhere the funfliine comes, as foon as it appears in a
morning. This Ihould feem to recommend thofe airings
that are to be made before funfet, 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 unneceffary by many:
for they fay, that the fame effect may be produced by
airings at Avarmer times, provided only that they are
made longer } and that, in general, it is from long air¬
ings that avc are to expect to bring a horfe to a perfect
Avind 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 nell of a haA\rk or eagle.
AniY Triplicity, among Ajlrologers, denotes the three
figns, Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.
AISNE, a river ofFrance, Avhicli rifes in Champagne,
and runs Aveft by Soiffons in the Lie of France, falling
into the river Oife, a little above Compiegne.
It gives name to one of the five departments which
comprehend the ancient Ifle of France, and contains
five communal diftri&s.
AITOCZU, a confiderable river of Leffer Afia,
which rifes in Mount Taurus, and falls into the fouth
part of the Euxine fea.
AITON, William, an eminent botanifl and gar-
i ] A I U
dener, Avas born at a village near Hamilton in Scot¬
land, in 1731. Having been regularly trained to the
profeffion of a gardener, he came into England in the
year 1754, and foon obtained the notice of the cele¬
brated Philip Miller, then fuperintendant of the phy-
fic-garden at Chelfea, Avho engaged him as an afiiftant.
His induftry and abilities recommended him to the
princefs-doAvager of Wales as a fit perfon to manage
the botanical garden at Kew. In 1759, he Avas ap¬
pointed to this office, in which he continued during
life, and which was the fource of his fame and fortune.
The garden at Kcav, under the aufpices of his prefent
Majelly, Avas deftined to be the grand repofitory of all
the vegetable riches Avhich could be accumulated, by
regal munificence, from refearches through every quar¬
ter of the globe. Thefe treafures Avere fortunately
committed to the hands of Air Aiton, AA'hofe care and
{kill in their cultivation, and intelligence in their ar¬
rangement, acquired him high reputation among the
lovers of the fcience, and the particular efteem of his
royal patrons. Under his fuperintendence, many im¬
provements took place in the plan and edifices of Ivew-
gardens, which rendered them the principal feene of
botanical culture in the kingdom. In 1783, his merit
was properly reAvarded Avith the lucrative office of ma¬
naging the pleafure and kitchen-gardens of Kew, wdiich
lie Avas alloAved to retain Avith the botanical depart¬
ment. In 1789, he publifhed his Hortus Kewenjis;
or a Catalogue of the Plants cultivated in the Royal
Botanic Garden at Kcav, in three vols. 8vo. Avith 13
plates; a Avork Avhich had been the labour of many
years. The number of fpecies contained in this Avork
amounted to between five and fix thoufand, many of
Avhich had not before been deferibed. A ucav and cu¬
rious article in it relates to tbe firfl in trod u ft ion of par¬
ticular exotics into the Englifii gardens. The fyflem.
of arrangement adopted is the Linnaean, Avith improve¬
ments, Avhich the advanced flate of botanical fcience
required. Mr Aiton Avith candour and modefly ac-
knowledges the alfiflance he received in this Avork
from the tAvo eminent SAvedifh naturalifls, Dr Solander
and Mr Jonas Dryander. Indeed his charafter was
fuch as fecured him the friendfhip and good offices of
the mofl dillinguifhed 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
Sceietv. The Hortus Ketvenjis Avas received Avilh avi¬
dity by the botanic Avorld, and a large impreffion Avas
foon difpofed of.
Notwithflanding the fingular aftivity and temperance
of Mr Aiton, he fell into that incurable malady, a
fchirx-ous liver, of Avhich he died in 1793, in his 62d
year. His eldefl fon, devoted to the fame purfuits,
Avas, by the king’s oavh nomination, appointed to all his
father’s employments. Air Alton’s private charafter
Avas highly eflimable for mildnefs, benevolence, piety,
and every domeflic and focial virtue. He Avas interred
in the churchyard of Kew, amidft a moft refpeftable
concourfe of friends. (Ge«. Biogi)
AITONIA, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AJUGA, Bugle, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AIUS locutius, the name of a deity to Avhom the
Romans erefted an altar. The words are Latin, and
fignify “ a fpeaking voice.” The following accident
gave oceafion to the Romans erefting an altar to
Aius.
A I X [ S.
Aius Locutius. One M. Setlitius, a plebeian, ac¬
quainted tbe tribunes, that, in walking the llreets by
night, he had heard a voice over the temple of \ efta,
giving the Romans notice that the Gauls were coming
againft them. The intimation was, however, ne¬
glected ; but after the truth was confirmed by the
event, Camillas acknowledged this voice to be a new
deity, and erected an altar to it under the name of
Ait/s Locu tins.
AJUTAGE, or Adjutage, a kind of tube fitted
to the mouth of the vefl’el through which the water of
a fountain is to be played. To the difterent form and
ilrufture of adjutages is owing the great variety of
fountains.
ATX, a fmall but ancient town in the duchy of
Savoy, 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 almoft
entirely ruined. The mineral waters bring a great
number of flrangers to this place. The place was
originally called Aquce Gratiance, 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 of
tbe'department of the Bouches du Rhone, formerly
Provence, in France. This city has an air of filence
and gloom commonly char after iftic of places deftitute
of commerce or induftry. It is, however, well built ;
and moll like Paris of any place in the kingdom, as
well for the largenefs of the buildings as in relpect of
the politenefs of the inhabitants. It is embellifhed
with abundance of fine fountains, and leveral beautiful
fquares. The Preachers fquare is on the fide of a hill j
it is about 160 yards in length, and is furrounded with
trees, and houfes built with ftone three Rories high.
The town-hall is at one end of the city, and is dillri-
■buted into feveral fine apartments : the two loweft are
taken tip 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. The
hotel of the city is a handfome building, but hid by
the houfes of the narrow ftreet in which it is placed.
The cathedral church is a Gothic ftruffure, with tombs
of feveral earls of Provence, and feme good pictures by
French mailers. The Corfe, or Orhitelle, is a magni¬
ficent walk, above 300 yards long, formed by a triple
avenue of elms, and two rows of regular and {lately
lioufes. The church of the fathers of the oratory is a
handfome building 5 and not far from thence is the
chapel of the blue penitents, which is full of paintings.
The convent of preachers is very line 5 in their church
is a filver llatue of the Virgin Mary almoll 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 difeovered not long fince,
have good buildings, railed at a vail expence, for the
accommodation of thole who drink the waters. Al¬
though Aix was the firll Roman fettlement in Gaul, it
is not remarkable for ancient remains. The warm
fprings, from which it is sow known and frequented, in¬
duced Sextus Calvinus to found a colony here, to which
he gave the name of Aquce S'e.vtice. They were fup-
pofed to pofl’efs particular virtues in cales of debility ;
2 1 AIX
and feveral altars have been dug up facred to Priapus, Ai
the inferiptions on which indicate their gratitude to Aix_
that deity for his fuppofed fuccour and alliilance. E., ^
Long. 5. 32. N. Lat. 43. 32.
Aix, a iinall town on the coall of France, between
the ille of Oleron and the continent. It is 12 miles
north-well of Rochfort, and 11 fouth-fouth-well of Ro¬
chelle. W. Long. 1. 4. N. Lat. 46. 5.
Aix-ea-chapelle, a fine city of Germany, in the
circle of Weflphalia and duchy of Juliers, and capital
of the department of Roer.
All authors are agreed about its antiquity, it being
mentioned in Caefar’s Commentaries and the Annals
of Tacitus. The Romans had colonies and fortrefies
there, when they were at war with the Germans ; but
the mineral waters and the hot bath lo increafed its
fame, that, in procefs of time, it was advanced to the
privileges of a city, by the name of Aqutegranii, that
is, the waters of Granins 5 that which it has now, of
Aix-la- Chape lie, was given it by the French, to diltin-
guilh it from the other Aix. It is lo called, on ac¬
count of a chapel built in honour of the Holy Virgin
by Charlemagne 3 who having repaired, beautified, and
enlarged the city, which was dellroyed by the Huns
in the reign of Attila in 451, made it the ufual place
of his relidence. The town is leated in a valley fur-
rounded with mountains and woods, and yet the air is
very wholelome. It may be divided into the inward
and outward city. The inward is encompaffed with a
Avail about three quarters of a league in circumference,
having ten gates ; and the outward wall, in which
there are eleven gates, is about a league and a half in
circumference. There are rivulets which run through
the toAvn and keep it very clean, turning feveral
mills 3 befides 20 public fountains, and many private
ones. They have Hone quarries in the neighbour¬
hood, which furnifh the inhabitants with proper ma¬
terials for their magnificent buildings, of which the
ftadt-houfe and the cathedral are the chief. There
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 lladt-houfe, is
a fountain of blue Hones, which throAvs out Avater,
from fix pipes, into a marble bafon placed beneath, 30
feet in circumference. On the top of this fountain is
placed the llatue of Charlemagne, of gilt brats, hold¬
ing a feeptre in his right hand, and a globe in his left.
The lladt-houfe is adorned with the llatues of all the
emperors fince Charlemagne. This fabric has three
llories, the upper of Avhich is one entire room of 160
feet in length and 60 in breadth. In this the new-
elecled emperor formerly entertained all the eleriors of
the empire.
Aix-la-Chapelle is a free imperial city, and changes
its magillracy every year on the eve of St John Bap-
tift. The mayor is in the nomination of the elector
palatine, in the quality of the duke of Juliers, as pro¬
testor of the city. This place is famous for feveral coun¬
cils and treaties of peace concluded here 3 particularly
thofe betAveen France and Spain in 1668, and betAveen
Great Britain and France in 1748.
The hot fulphureous Avaters for which this place has
fo long been celebrated, arife from feveral lources,
Avhich fupply eight baths conllrufted in different parts
of the toAvn, Thefe Avaters near the fources are clear
and
A I X [ 5S3 ] A K E
Ait-k- and pellucid : and have a llrong fulphureous fmell, re-
Chapclle. fembling the walhings of a foul gun; hut they lofe
"v " ’ this fmell by expofure to air. Their talte is faline,
bitter, and urinous. They do not contain iron. They
are alfo neutral near the fountain, but afterwards are
manifeftly and pretty llrongly alkaline, infomuch that
clothes are walked with them without foap. On the
vaults above the fprings and aqueducts 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 hottell 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
feveral temperatures, as repeatedly obferved by himfelf
with a thermometer conftru£ted by Nairne.
The fpring which fupplies the Emperor’s Bath
(Bain de I'Empereur), the New Bath (Bain
Ncuf), and the Queen of Hungary’s Bath
(Bain de la Beine de Hongrie), 1270
St Quirin’s Bath (Bain de St Quirin), 1120
The Rofe Bath (Bain de la B.ofe'), and the Poor’s
Bath {Bain des Pauvres), both of which are
fupplied by the fame fpring, 112°
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 1060
Dr Lucas evaporated the water of the hottell fpring
(ol the Emperor’s Bath), and obtained 268 grains of
iblid matter from a gallon, compofed of 15 grains of
calcareous earth, 10 grains of felenites, and 243 grains
of a faline matter made of natron and fea-falt. They
are at firll naufeous and harlk, but by habit become fa¬
miliar and agreeable. At firll drinking alfo they ge¬
nerally aft'edt the head. Their general operation is by
llool and urine, without griping or diminution of
llrength ; and they alfo promote perfpiration.
The quantity to be drank as an alterative is to be
varied according to the conllitution and other circum-
ilances of the patient. In general, it is bell to begin
with a quarter or half a pint in the morning, and in-
creafe the dole afterwards to a pint, as may be found
convenient. The water is bell drank at the fountain.
When it is required to purge, it Ihould be drank in
large and often repeated draughts.
In regard to bathing, this alfo mull be determined
by the age, lex, llrength, &c. of the patient, and by
the feafon. The degree of heat of'the hath Ihould like-
wife be confidered. The tepid ones are in general the
hell, though there are fome cafes in which the hotter
ones are moll proper. But, even in thefe, it is bell to
begin with the temperate baths, and increafe the heat
gradually.
Thefe waters are efficacious in difeafes proceeding
irom indigellion and from foulnefs of the llomach and
bowels ; in rheumatifms ; in the feurvy, fcrophula, and
difeafes of the Ikin ; in hylleric and hypochondriacal
diforders ; in nervous complaints and melancholy; in the
Hone and gravel; in paralytic complaints ; in thofe evils
which follow an injudicious ufe of mercury ; and in
Vol. I. Part II.
many other cafes. They ought not, however, to be
given in hectic cafes where there is heat and fever, in
putrid diforders, or where the blood is difiblved or the
conllitution much broken down.
The time of drinking, in the firll feafon, is from the
beginning of May to the middle of June ; and, in the
latter feafon, from the middle of Augull 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 Waters. The Poor’s Bath
is free for every body, and is frequented by crowds of
poor people.
It is fcarcely neceflary to add, that there are all
kinds of amufements common to other places of public
refort; but the lharpers appear more fplendid here than
elfewhere, affuming titles, with an equipage fuitable to
them. This city wras taken by the French in 1792.
They loll it in the year following, but retook it in 1794.
Aix-la-Chapellc 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 phylician, who publilhed
in Latin “ A Treatife upon the Dyfentery,” in 1764,
and a few pieces in the firll volume of the “ Medical
Tranfactions” of the college of phyficians, printed in
1768; but far better known, and to be dillinguilhed
chiefly hereafter, as a poet. He was born at Newcallle-
upon-Tyne, November 9. 1721 ; and after being edu¬
cated at the grammar-fehool in Newcallle, was lent to
the univerfities of Edinburgh and Leyden ; at which
lall he took his degree of doctor in phyfic. He was af¬
terwards admitted by mandamus to the fame degree at
Cambridge ; elected a fellow' of the college of phyfi
cians, and one of the phyficians at St Thomas’s Ho-
fpital; and, upon the ellablilhment of the queen’s houfe -
hold, appointed one of the phyficians to her majelly.
That Dr Akenlide wras 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 conduct, related by Sir John Hawkins.—Mr Dyfon
and he wrere fellow-lludents, the one of law and the
other of phyfic, at Leyden ; where, being of conge¬
nial tempers, a friendlhip commenced between them
that lulled through their lives. They left the univer-
fity at the fame time, and both fettled at London : Mr
Dyfon took to the bar, and being pofl’efled of a haud-
fome fortune, fupported his friend while he was endea¬
vouring to make himfelf known as a phyfician; but in
a fhort time, having purchafed of Mr Hardinge his
place of clerk of the houfe of commons, he quitted
Wellminller-hall; and for the purpofe of introducing
Akenfide to acquaintance in an opulent neighbourhood
near the town, bought a houfe at North-End, Hamp-
llead; where they dwelt together during the fummer
feafon, frequenting the long-room, and all clubs and af-
femblies of the inhabitants.
At thefe meetings, which, as they W'ere not feleift,
mull be fuppofed to have confiiled of luch perfons as
ufually meet for the purpofe of goffiping, men of
wealth, but of ordinary endowments, and able to talk
of little elfe than news and the occurrences of the day,
Akenfide was for difplaying thofe talents which had
acquired him the reputation he enjoyed iq other com-
4 A panics*
Aix-la
Chapellc
Akeufide.
A K E
[ 554 ]
ALA
Akeullde. panics : but here they were of little life to him} on the
i-"1 v” ■ * contrary, they tended to engage him in difputes that
betrayed him into a contempt of thofe that diftered in
opinion from him. It was found out that he was a man
of low birth, and a dependant on Mr Dylon } circum-
ftances that furnilhed tliofe 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 Dylon parted with
his villa at North-End, and fettled his friend in a fmall
houle in Bloomfbury-fquareailigning for his fupport
fuch a part of his income as enabled him to keep a
chariot.—In this new fituation Akenlide uied evtiy
endeavour to become popular, but defeated them all
bv the high opinion he everywhere manifelled of him-
ielf, and the little condefcenfion he Ihowed to men of
inferior endowments 5 by his love of political contro-
verfy, his authoritative cenfure of the public councils,
and his peculiar notions refpefting government. In the
winter-evenings he frequented Tom’s coffee-houle in
Devereux-court, then the relort of iome of the rnoft
eminent men for learning and ingenuity of the time }
with fome of whom he was involved in dilputes and al¬
tercations, chiefly on fubjefts of literature and politics,
which fixed on his character the llamp of haughtinefs
and felf-conceit. Hence many, who admired him for
his genius and parts, were fliy 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 the reflec¬
tion on thofe many amiable qualities againll 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 moft de¬
lightful kind; learned, inftrudtive, and, without any
affectation of wit, cheerful and entertaining.
Dr Akenfide died of a putrid fever, June 23* I77° i
and is buried in the parifh-church of St James’s W eft-
ininfter.
His poems, publifhed foon after his death in qto and
8vo, confift of “ The Pleafures of Imagination,’ two
hooks of “ Odes,” a “ Hymn to the Naiads,” and
fome “ Infcriptions.” “ The Pleafures of Imagina¬
tion,” his capital work, was firft publifhed in 1744;
and a very extraordinary production it was from a man
who had not reached his 23d year. He was afterwards
fenfible, however, that it wanted revifion and correc¬
tion ; and he went on revifing and correcting it for
feveral years ; but finding this talk to grow upon his
hands, and defpairing ot ever executing it to his own
fatisfaCtion, he abandoned the purpofe of correcting,
and refolved to write the poem over anew upon a fome-
what different and enlarged plan. He finifhed two
hooks of his new poem, a few copies, of which were
printed for the ufe of the author and certain fi lends ;
of the firft book in 1757, of the fecond in 1765. He
finifhed alfo a good part of a third book, and an in¬
troduction to a fourth; but his moft munificent and ex¬
cellent friend, conceiving all that is executed of the
new work too inconfiderable to fupply the place, and
fuperfede 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 Ins
poems.
AK1BA, a famous rabbin, flourifhed a little after
the deftruCtion of Jerufalem by Titus. He kept the
flocks of a rich citizen of Jerufalem till the 40th year
of his age, and then devoted himfelf to ftudy in the
Akiba
11
A lie.
academies for 24 years ; and was afterwards one of the
greateft mailers in Ifrael. According to the Jewifh
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 toolc
upon himfelf the office of his mailer of the horfe. The
troops which the emperor Hadrian fent againft the
Jews, who under the conduCt of this falfe Meffiah had
committed horrid maffacres, exterminated this faCtion.
Akiba was taken, and put to death with great cruelty.
He 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 fup-
pofititious work under the name of the patriarch A-
Sraham.
AKISSAT, the ancient Thyatira, a city of Natolia,
in Afia, fituated in a plain i'S miles broad, which pro¬
duces plenty of cotton and grain. The inhabitants,
who are reckoned to be about 5000, are faid to be aft
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. Lat. 38. 50.
AKOND, an officer of juftice in Perfia, who takes
cognizance of the caufes of orphans and widows ; of
contrails, and other civil concerns. He is the head of
the fchool of law, and gives lectures to all the fubaltern
officers : he has his deputies in all the courts of the
kingdom, who, with the fecond fudra, make aft con-
traits.
AL, an Arabic particle prefixed to words, and fig-
nifying much the fame with the Engliih particle the
Thus they fay, alkermes, alkoran, &c. i. 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 ;
from a refemblance to which feveral other things are
called by the fame name : Thus,
Ala, is a term ufed by botanills for the hollow of 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 iffues. Sometimes
it is ufed for thofe parts of leaves otherwife called lobes,
or wings.
AL/E (the plural number) is ufed to fignify thofe
petals or leaves of papilionaceous flowers, placed be¬
tween thofe others which are called the vexillum and
earina, and which make the top and bottom of the
flowers. Inftances of flowers of this ftructure are teen
in thofe of peafe and beans, in which the top leaf or
petal is the vexillum, the bottom the carina, and the
fide ones the alge.
Ala: is alfo ufed for thofe extremely flender and
membranaceous
Aloe
ALA [ 555 ] , A
racm’oranaceoits parts of fome feeds, which appear as turned immediately to the
L A
wings placed on them; it likewife fignilies thofe mem-
Alabafter. branaceous expanfions running along the Hems of fome
plants, which are therefore called alatedJlalks.
AljE, in Anatomy, a term applied to the lobes of
the liver, the cartilages of the noilrils, &c.
Ala:, in the Roman Art of War, were the two wings
or extreme parts of the army drawn up in order of bat¬
tle.
ALABA, one of the three fmalleft diftricts of Bifcay
in Spain, but pretty fex-tile in x-ye, barley, and fruits.
There are in it very good mines of ii’on, and it had for¬
merly the title of a kingdom.
ALABANDA, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Caria, near the Meander, fituated beneath eminences re-
fembling affes with pack-faddles, which gave idle to the
jeft 'y and between Amyzo to the well and Stratonice to
the call. Under the Romans they enjoyed affixes, or a
convention of jurifdiction, by Pliny reckoned the fourth
in order j hence the proverb in Stephanus, expreffing
their happinefs. It was built by Alabandus, jvhom
therefore they deemed a god. The people were called
Alabandi, Alabandenfes, (Cicei'o ;) and Alabandeis,
after the Gi'eek manner, in coins of Augullus and
Claudius ; they were alfo called Alabandeni (Livy)-
ALABARCHA, in Antiquity, a kind of magillrate
among the Jews of Alexandria, whom the emperors al¬
lowed them to eledt, for the fuperintendency of their
policy, axxd to decide differences and difputes which
arofe among them.
ALABASTER, William, an Engliffi divine, was
born at Hadley in the county of Suffolk. He was one
of the doctors of Trinity college in Cambridge j and
„ he attended the eai’l of Effex as his chaplain in the ex¬
pedition to Cadiz in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It
is laid, that his firft refolutions of changing his x’eligion
were occafioned by his feeing the pomp of the churches
of the Roman communion, and the refpect with which
the priefts feemed to be treated amongft them 5 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-
pillx 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 Romifli communion, but was difappointed in
his expedtations. He was foon difpleafed at this j and
he could not reconcile himfelf to the difcipline of that
church, which made no confxderation of the degi’ees
which he had taken before. It is pi'obable too that
he coxdd not approve of the worlhip of ci’eatures, which
Protellants 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-
di*al of St Paul, and after that the redtory of Thei’field
in Hertfordfliire. He was well {killed in the Hebrew
tongue *, but he gave a wrong turn to his genius by
ftudying the Cabala, with which he was lli’angely in¬
fatuated. He gave a px*oof of this in a fermon which
he preached upon taking his degree of dodtor of
divinity at Cambridge. He took for his text the be¬
ginning of the firil book of Chronicles, “ Adam, Seth,
Enos j” and having touched upon the litei’al fenfe, he
myftical, afferting, that Alabafter
Adam fignified misfortune and mifery, and fo of the reft.
His verfes were greatly efteemed. He wrote a Latin Aladulia.
tragedy intitled Roxana ; which, when it was adted in " -
a college at Cambridge, was attended with a very re¬
markable accident. Thexe was a lady who was fo ter¬
rified at the laft word of the tragedy, Sequar, Sequar,
which was pronounced with a very ffiocking tone, that
file loft her fenfes all her lifetime after. He died in
the year 1640. His Apparatus in Revelationem Jeft
Chrijii was printed at Antwerp in 1607. His Spira-
culuni tubarum, feu Jons Spiritualium Expof tionum
ex cequivocis Pentaglottifgnifcationibus, and his Ecce
Sponfus venit, feu tuba pulchritudinis, hoc ef demon-
f ratio quod non ft illicitum nec impofibile computare
durationem mundi et tempus fecundi adventus Chrifi,
were printed at London. From thefe titles we may
judge what wex*e the tafte and genius of the authoi*.
Alabaster, in Natural ELifory, a mineral fubftance
whofe bafe is calcareous earth. It differs from marble
in being combined, not with the carbonic, but with the
fulphuric acid. See Chemistry, and Mineralogy
Index.
Alabaster, in Antiquity, a term ufed lor 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 Hone, which
Pliny and other ancients i*eprefent as peculiarly pro¬
per for this purpofe. Sevex*al 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 tbe pieces feem miraculoufly to have
been united, fince we arc told the entire box was 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 wox*d from the pri¬
vative *, and A«/3j), 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 with the figures of
flxrubs, trees, &c. found in great abundance in the pro¬
vince of Hohenftein.
ALADINISTS, a fed among the Mahometans, an-
fwering to freethinkers among us.
ALADULIA, a confiderable province of Turkey
in Afia, in that part called Natolia, between the moun¬
tains of Antitaurus, which feparate it from Amalia
on the north, and fx*om Carimania on the weft. It has
the Mediterranean fea on the fouth } and the Euphrates,
or Frat, on the eaft, which divides it from Diarbeker.
It comprehends the Leffer Ax*menia of the ancients,
and the eaft part of Cilicia. Formerly it had kings ol
its own \ 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 beglerheglic, which bears the name of
Maraflx, the capital town *, and the fouth, feated be¬
tween Mount Taurus and the Mediterranean, is united
to the beglerbeglic of Aleppo. The country is rough,
4 A 2 ragged,
ALA [ 556 ] ALA
vikdulia rugged, and mountainous j yet there are good paltures,
|| and plenty of horles and camels. The people are har-
and thievifh. The capital is Malatigah.
. ALAIN, Chartier, i'ecretary to Charles VII. king
of France, born in the year 1386. He was the author
of feveral works in profe and verfe ”, but his moll famous
performance Avas his Chronicle of King Charles VII.
Bernard de Girard, in his preface to the hillory of
France, llyles him “ an excellent hiftorian, Avho has
given an account of all the affairs, particulars, ceremo¬
nies, fpeeches, anfwers, and circumllances, at which he
Avas prefent himfelf, or had information of.” Giles
Coroxet tells us, that Margaret, daughter to the king
of Scotland, and Avife to the dauphin, palling once
through a hall where Alain lay alleep, Hie Hopped and
killed him before all the company aaIio attended : fome
of them telling her, that it Avas llrange ihe ihould kifs
a man who had fo few charms in his perfon, Ihe replied,
“ I did not kifs the man, hut the mouth from whence
proceed fo many excellent fayings, fo many wife dif-
courfes, and fo many elegant exprellions.” Mr Fon-
tenelle, among his Dialogues of the Dead, has one upon
this incident, between the princefs Margaret and Plato.
M. 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, fituated on the river Card, at the foot of the
Cevennes. The Jefuits had a college in this place j
and a fort Avas built here in 1689. It is 34 miles north
of Montpelier, and 340 from Paris. E. Long. 4. 20.
N. fiat. 44. 8.
ALAMAGAN, in Geography, one of the Ladrone
or Marianne illands, in the Indian ocean, is lituated
in N. Lat. 18. 5. and E. Long. 146. 47. It is of an
irregular form, and about 12 miles in circumference.
The land in fome places of this illand is pretty high,
lo that it may be feen at the diftance of 12 or 14
leagues. Near the north end of the illand there is a
volcano which emitted an immenle body of fmoke in
the year 1799, when it was vilited by Captain Bafs.
The volcano is in a mountain clofe to the fea, rifmg
above its level 1200 or 1500 feet. The high parts of
the illand are rugged and llerile. In the loAver parts
there is a profufion and luxuriance of vegetation. They
abound with cocoa-nut trees, feveral kinds of Hone-
fruit, and the mellora or bread-tree of the Nicobar
illands. Some fmall fugar canes, fome banana trees,
and one bread-fruit tree, were difeovered. Lizards,
land-crabs, large partridges, quails, pigeons, owls,
thrullies, and bullfinches, are numerous, but no frefii
water, which was the object of Captain Bafs’s vifit,
could be found.
ALAMANDUS, Lewis, in French Aleman, arch-
bifliop of Arles, and Cardinal of St Cecilia, was one of
the greateH men of the 15th 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 vEneas Sylvius, as a man extreme¬
ly Avell formed for prefiding in fuch affemblies, firm and
vigorous, illuflrious 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 againft the fuperiority of the pope over the
£
council, he diHinguilhed himfelf in fuch an eminent Alaman-
manner, that feveral perfons went to kifs him, while dus
others preffed even to kifs his robe. They extolled to II
the ikies his abilities and genius, which had railed him, Alamos,
though a Frenchman, to a fuperiority over the Italians, 'r~‘
notwithllanding all their natural fubtiety and fineffe.
There is no need of aiking, whether Pope Eugenius
thundered againlt the prelident of a council Avhich de¬
pofed him. He deprived him of all his dignities, and
treated him as a fon of iniquity. HoAvever, notwith-
Handing this, LeAvis Alamandus died in the odour of
fanftity, and performed fo many miracles after his death,
that at the requell of the canons and Celelline monks
of Avignon, and the folicitation of the cardinal of
Clermont, legate a latere of Clement VII. he Avas bea¬
tified by the pope in the year 1527.
ALAMANNI, Lewis, was born at Florence, of
a noble family, on the 28th of Odlober 1495. He
was obliged to fly his country for a confpiracy againff
Julius de Medici, who was foon 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 his 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 Avas admitted a
member of the Inflammati, an academy neAvly ere fled
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, lliowed no lefs fa¬
vour to Alamanni; and in the year 1551, lent him as
his ambafl’ador to Genoa : this Avas his lall journey to
Italy ; and being returned to France, he died at Am-
boife on the 18th of April 1556, being in the 61H
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 Avere 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 adieus,
to the prevailing talle of the country or times in which
he lives.
Alamodality of writing, is defined the accommo¬
dation of mental produdions, both as to the choice of
fubjedl and the manner of treating it, to the genius or
talle of the times, in order to render them more accep¬
table to the readers.
ALAMODE, a phrafe originally French, importing
a thing to be in the falhion or mode. The phrafe has
been adopted not only into feveral of the In ing lan¬
guages, as the Englilh and High Dutch, hut fome haAre
even taken it into the Latin. Plence we meet with
Alamodicus and Alamodulitas.
Alamode, in Commerce, a thin glofiy black filk,
chiefly ufed for women’s floods and men’s mourning
fcarfs.
ALAMOS, Balthasar, a Spanifli ivriter, born at
Medina del Campo in Caffile. After having Hudied
the law at Salamanca, he entered into the fervice of
Anthony Perez, fecretary of Hate under Philip II. He
was in high efleem and confidence Avith his mailer, up¬
on Ayhich account he was imprifoned after the difgrace
of
ALA t 557 ] ALA
Alamos of this minifter. He was kept in confinement 11 years,
|| when Philip III. coming to the throne, let him at li-
Aland. |)erty, 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. call¬
ed 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 aphoriims which
he added in the margin, gained him great reputation.
This work was publithed at Madrid in 1614 *, 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 during
his imprifonment.
ALAN, Cardinal William, was born at Roffal
in Lancalliire, in the year 1532. He went to Oxford
at the age of 15, and in 1550 was eledted 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 proctors of the univerlity. In 1558 he was made
canon of York; but, upon Queen Elizabeth’s accef-
fion to the throne, he left England, and fettled at Lou-
, vain in an Englifli college, of which he became the
chief fupport. In 1565 he vifited his native country ;
but on account of his extreme activity in the propa¬
gation of the Roman Catholic religion, he was obli¬
ged to fly the kingdom in 1568. He went firil to
Mechlin, and then to Douay, where he was made doc¬
tor of divinity. Soon aftei', he was appointed canon of
Cambray, and then canon of Rheims. He was crea-
, ted cardinal on the 28th of July 1587, by the title of
St Marlin in Montibus ; and obtained from the king of
Spain a rich abbey in the kingdom of Naples, and af¬
terwards the bifhopric of Mechlin. It is fuppofed to
have been by the advice and inftigation of this prieft,
that Philip H. attempted to invade England. He died
on the 20th of October 1594, aged 63 j and was bu¬
ried in the Englifh college at Rome. He was a man
of confiderable learning, and an elegant winter. He
wrote many books in defence of the Romiflx religion.
The molt remarkable are, 1. A defence of the 12 Mar¬
tyrs in one Year. Tho. Alfield was hanged for blung¬
ing, and publifhing, this and other of Alan’s works, in¬
to England, in the year 1584. 2. A Declaration of the
fentence of Sextus V. &c. A work intended to explain
the pope’s bull for the excommunication of Queen Eli¬
zabeth, and to exhort the people of England to take up
ax-ms in favour of the Spaniards. Many thoufand co¬
pies of this book, printed at Antwerp, were put on
board the Armada; but the enterprife failing, they wex-e
afterwards deftroyed. 3. Of the Worjhip due to Saints
and their Relicks, 1583. This treatife was anfwered
hy Lord Burleigh, and is efteemed the moft elegant of
the cardinal’s writings.
ALAND, in Geography, with its dependant iflands,
to the number of eighty, is fituated between the gulfs
of Bothnia and Finland. Thefe iflands lie between
N. Lat. 59. 47. and46o. 30. and between E. Long.
19. 17. and 22. 7. Aland conftitutes the fmalleft of
the pofleffions belonging to the crown of Sweden. It
contains about feventy-feven fquare Englifli miles, and
is in length about twenty Englifli miles, and fixteen
in breadth.
Aland has been fuppofed anciently to have been
governed by its own monarchs ; it is certain, however, Aland,
that lince the fourteenth century it has made part of1—
the bilhoprick and government of Abo, with the ex¬
ception that in the year 1743 Aland and the other iflands
fubmitted to Ruflia, and 1’wore allegiance to the czarina,
but were loon after reftored to Sweden by the treaty of
Abo. Thefe iflands in former times frequently fullered
from the inyalions 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
reftoration of peace, by which the enjoyment of tran¬
quillity was fecured to them.
Aland and the ieveral ifles contain eight pariflies,
each of which has a church ; and befldes thefe places
of worfliip, there are feven chapels.
The Laplanders and Fins were undoubtedly the ear-
lieft inhabitants ol thele iflands, and their refidence here
is plainly to be traced in the names of places which Hill
remain. •
Several lakes are met with in thefe iflands, and but
one rivulet, which, however, is fuflicient to work two'
mills, one of which is a faw-mill. The mountains are
numerous ; the higheft of them is called Ulfdubs 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-dol-
lars. Two hundred and ninety-eight failors are regi-
ftered in thefe iflands, which cofl: 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 growth of wheat is about twenty-
two thoufand five hundred barrels. There is one parilli
which has no arable land, and in this refpeft refembles
Lapland. The inhabitants of this parifli employ them-
felves in fifliing, and purchale all the corn they have oc-
cafion for of their neighbours. They catch vail num¬
bers of pilchards, of which they make great profit, it be¬
ing the chief traffic of thefe iflands.
It has been in agitation to build a city in the ifle of
Aland, but the proje6t has not hitherto been carried
into execution, owing, it is faid, to the difficulty of chu-
ling a proper fpot for it.
The ufual route from .Sweden to Finland is from the
poll-office of Griflehamn in Upland, which is eleven
and a half Swedifli miles, to Eckero in Aland ; and
from that place acrofs the illand to Abo, which is five
miles more. A Swedifli mile makes between fix and
feven Englifli miles.
In the year 1792 the number of inhabitants upon
the ifland of Aland amounted to eleven thoufand two
hundred and fixty, which is upwards of a thoufand to
every fquare Swediffi mile ; a very great number when
it is conlidered 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 5 and perhaps the number had been found greater,
had it been thought worth while 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
oldy
ALA . . £ 55
Aland old *, a circumftance which affords a convincing proof
Alaraf. of the healthinefs of the place.
—"v 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 frolls 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 palture for cattle: confider-
ing its high latitude, Aland enjoys a very favourable
climate.
In their manners and cuftoms 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 nourilhing food } their
bread is generally made of rye, even when the crops of
that kind of corn have proved unfavourable. Frefli
filh, and fifh dried or falted, together with milk, but¬
ter, cheefe, and flefli-meat, are their ufual fare. They
make ufe of the flefh of feals •, and prepare a dilh called
fkalkrnppe, 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 pro-
vifions, and at thofe times are not fparing of meat and
butter.
The drefs of the Alanders is becoming. The men
wear, in general, fliort jackets, which on holidays are
commonly of blue cloth. The young peafants com¬
monly wear cotton flockings, and many of them have
even watches. The women, when full dreffed, wear a
petticoat and apron of camlet, cotton, or printed linen,
and fometimes of filk. Their drefs in mourning is ge¬
nerally of black filk, with a camlet petticoat.
The dwellings of the peafants are very neat and con¬
venient, kept in good repair, and well lighted. They
are ufually built of wood, fir, or deal, and covered with
the bark of the birch tree, or fhingles. Their out-
* houfes are moflly thatched. As they have no run¬
ning flreams and water-mills, fcarcely any peafant is
without a wind-mill.
The Alanders are an ingenious, lively, and courteous
people ; and on the fea difplay a great degree of fkill
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 nume¬
rous, 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 coall
are found feals, &c. Above a hundred fpecies of birds
are found in the iflands. Filh are in great abundance.
The number of infefts amounts to eight hundred fpecies,
fome of which are extremely deftrudtive to trees and
newly built houfes. The mountains are chiefly formed
of I’ed granite. {AcerbPs Travels}.
ALARAF, in the Mahometan theology, the parti¬
tion 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 araf a, to diftinguilli. Alaraf gives the denomi-
3
S ] 'ALA
nation to the feVenth chapter of the Alcoran, wherein Alaraf
mention is made of this wrall. Mahomet feems to have ||
copied his Alaraf, either from the great gulf of fepara- Alafeo.
tion mentioned in the New Teftament, or from the
Jewilh writers, who alfo fpeak of a thin wall dividing 1
heaven from hell. Mahometan writers difler 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 whofe good and evil
works fo exactly balance each other, that they deferve
neither reward nor punilhment. Others imagine this
intermediate fpace to be poffeffed by thofe who, going
to war without their parents leave, and fuffering mar¬
tyrdom there, are excluded paradife for their difobedi-
ence, yet efcape hell becaufe they are martyrs.
ALARBES, a name given to thofe Arabians who
live in tents, and diftinguilh 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
tvafte all the country through which he paffed. He
marched next to Macedonia and Theffaly : The rIhef-
falians met him near the mouth of the river Peneus,
and killed about 3000 of his army ; neverthelefs he ad¬
vanced into Greece, and after having ravaged the whole
country, returned to Epirus, loaded with immenfe
fpoils. After Haying 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. I). 400. Af¬
ter various battles and treaties, he at laft took Rome
by treachery, and permitted his foldiers to plunder it 5
this happened A. H. 400. 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 militai-y 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-
pefted from them in cafe of real danger.
ALARM-Bell, that rung upon any ludden emergen¬
cy, as a fire, mutiny, or the like.
Alarm-PoJI, or Alarm place, the ground for draw¬
ing up each regiment in eafe of an alarm. This is
otherwife called the rendezvous.
Alarm, in fencing, is the fame with what is other-
wife called an appeal, or challenge.
ALASCANI, in church hiftory, a feet of Anti-
Lutherans, whofe diftinguifliing tenet, befides their de¬
nying 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 whole ac¬
tion, or celebration of the fupper. They are faid to
have taken the name from one Joannes Alafco, a Po-
lilh baron, fuperintendant of the church of that coun¬
try, in England. See the next article.
ALASCO, John, a Polifh nobleman of the 16th
century,
A ,L A
Alafco century, who, imbibing the reformed opinions, was ex-
11 pclled his country, and became preacher to a Proteflant
, congregation at Embden } but forefeeing pcrlecution
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 1’uch places as afforded them toleration, 380 were
naturalized here, and obtained a charter of incorpora¬
tion, by which they wex-e erected into an ecclelialtieal
eftablilhment, independent on the church of England.
The Augulline friars church was gx-anted them, with
the revenues, for the maintenance of Alafco as fuper-
intendant, with four ailiitant minifters, who were to be
approved by the king: and this congx-egation lived
undifturbed until the accellion of Queen Mary, when
they were all fent away. They were kindly received
And permitted to fettle at Embden; and Alafco at lalt,
after an abfence of 20 yeai's, by the favour of Sigif-
jnund, returned to his own country, where he died in
1560. Alafco was much elteemed by Erafmus, and
the hiflorians of his time fpeak greatly in his praife :
we have of his writing, De Cotna Domini liber; Epijlola
continem Summam controverjice de Cotna Domini, &fc.
He had fome particular tenets j and his followers are
called Alafcani in church-hillory.
ALATAMAHA, a large river of North America,
which, rifing in the Apalachian mountains, runs fouth-
call 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 diftridd of Spain, about 20 miles in
length, and 17 in breadth, containing very good iron
mines. Victoria is the capital town.
ALAUDA, or Lark. See Ornithology Index.
ALAUTA, a confxderable river of Turkey in Eu¬
rope, which, after watering the north-eall part ofTran-
fylvania and part of Walachia, falls into the Danube
almoll oppofite to Nicopolis.
ALAY, fignifying in the Turkilh language “ The
Triumph,” a ceremony which accompanies the aflem-
bling together the forces of that vail empire upon the
breaking out of a war. It confills of the moll inlipid
buffoonery, and is attended with adts of the moll Ihock-
ing barbarity. That which took place upon occaiion
of the late war between the Porte and Ruffia is defen¬
ded by Baron Tott in his Memoirs as follows.
“ It conlills in a kind of mafquerade, in which each
trade fucceffively px-efents to the fpeclators the mecha¬
nical exercife of its refpeftive art. The labourer draws
his plough, the weaver handles his fhuttle, the joiner
his plane ; and thefe diffex-ent characters, feated in
cars richly ornamented, commence the proceffion, and
precede the llandard of Mahomet, when it is brought
out of the feraglio to be carried to the army, in order
to infure. the victory to the Ottoman troops.
“ This banner of the Tui'ks, which they name
Sandjak-Cheriff, or The Standard of the Prophet, is
fo revered among them, that, notwithfbandtng its re¬
putation Ixas been fo often tarnillied, it Hill retains
their implicit confidence, and is the facred lignal to
which they rally. Every thing proclaims its fanClity.
None but the emirs are allowed to touch it 5 they are
its guards, and it is carried by tlxeir chief. The Muf-
A L B
fulmans alone are permitted to look upon it. If touched Aky
by other hands, it would be defiled 5 if feen by other ||
eyes, profaned. In fhort, it is encompaffed by the moll Alba‘
barbarous fanaticifm. 1 v"—
“ A long peace had unfortunately caufed the ridicu-
loufnefs, and efpecially the danger, of this ceremony
to be forgotten. The Chri Ilians imprudently crowd¬
ed to fee it *, and the Turks, 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 llandard of the prophet j and let every Mufful-
man who perceives an unbeliever make it known under
pain of repi*obation.’
“ From that moment no afylum was to be found ;
even tliofe became informers, who, by letting out their
houfes, had rehdered themfelves accomplices in the
crime. A religious fury feized on every mind, and
put arms in evei'y hand: the more ati’ocious the cruelty,
the more was it meritorious.. No regard was paid to
fex or age ; pregnant women, di*agged by the hair, and
trodden under foot by the multitudej pei'iflxed in thr
moll deplorable manner. Nothing was refpeCted by
thefe monllers; and under fuch aufpices the Turks com¬
menced the war.”
ALB, or Albe, in the Bomijh Church, a vellment
of white linen hanging down to the feet, and anfwering
to the furplice of the Englifh clergy. In the ancient
church, it was ufual, with.thofe newly baptized, to wear
an alb, or white vellment and hence the Sunday after
EaRer was called dominica in albis, on account of the
albs worn by the baptized on Ealler-day.
Alb, is alfo a name of a Turkilli coin, otherwife
called afper. See Asper.
ALBA, in Ancient Geography, a town of the Marfi
in Italy, fituated on the north fide of the Lacus Fuci-
nus, Hill retaining its name. It Hands upon an emi¬
nence, and is noted in Roman hilloi'y for being the
Hate px’ifon where captive pi'inces were Ihut up after
being barbaroufly dragged through the ftreets 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 lall hope of an il-
lullrious line of kings. Syphax the Numidian, and
Bituinus king of the Averni, wei’e alfo condemned to
this gaol by the particular clemency of the fenate,
which fometimes indulged its favage difpofition by put¬
ting its captives to death.
Alba being fituated in the centx-e of Italy, amidll
difficult mountainous paffes, and far from all means of
efcape, was elleemed a moll proper place for the pur-
pofe of guarding prifoners of importance. Artificial
ilrength was added to its natural fecui'ity by fortifica¬
tions, which remain to this day in a Hate that proves
their ancient folidity. For the entertainment ol the
garrifon which was required in a place ol fuch confe-
quence, an amphitheatre was eredted, of which the
ruins are Hill valuable, as well as the foundations of a
temple, and other buildings of Roman times.
Lucius Vitellius, brother to the emperor of that name,
had a villa near this place, famous for the variety and
excellence of its fnxit trees, which he had brought from
Syi’ia. His gardens were the nurferies where feveral
of the moll delicious ftone fruits, that are now fo com-
mon.
1 559 1
ALB
[ 56° ]
ALB
mon in Europe, were frrft cultivated and multiplied.
It muft have been necefiary at Alba to ilielter trees
tranfplanted from Afia, and to treat them with great
tendernefs and care, in order to rear them to perfec¬
tion : for the climate of this high region is extremely
rigorous in winter ; the cold leafon lafts long, and is
accompanied with violent llorms of wind and falls of
fnow. The lake has been often frozen entirely over.
Alba Firma, or Album, in our old cuftoms, denoted
rent paid in filver, and not in corn, which was called
black mail.
Alba Terra, one of the numerous names for the phi-
lofopher’s Hone.
Alba Regalis. See Stuhl Weissenburg.
Alba Helviorum, or Albaugufla, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, afterwards called Vivarium, now timers, in the
fouth-eaft of Languedoc, on the Rhone. In the lower
age the inhabitants were called Albenfes, and their city
Civitas Albenfium, in the Notitia Gallia;. E. Long.
-4. 45. Lat. 44. 50. _ -
Alba Julia, in Ancient Geography, now JFeiffenburg,
a town of Tranfylvania, on the river Marifius, or Me-
rifeh, to the weft of Hermanftat, fuppofed to be called
Alba Julia, after Julia Domna the mother of Carncalla.
There are, however, feveral inferiptions found at or
near Weifl’enburg, which bear Coe. Apul. that is,
■Colonia Apulenfis, without the ieaft mention of Alba
Julia, though inferibed 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 alfo caAcA Apitlum Augujhi m. L.Long.
25. o. Lat. 46. 46.
Alba Longa, in Ancient Geography, a colony from
Lavinum, in Lafium, eftablifhed by Afcanius the Ion
of iEneas, at the foot of the Mons Albanus : call¬
ed Alba, from a white fow found by /Eneas, which
farrowed 30 white pigs on that fpot", which circum-
llance was interpreted to portend the building of a city
there in 30 years after (Propertius). The epithet
Longa was added on account ot its length. It Was the
royal refidence till the building of Rome, as was fore¬
told by Anchifes (Virgil) j was deftroyed by Tullus
Hoftilius, all but the fane or temple ; and the inhabi¬
tants were tranlplanted to Rome (Strabo).
Alba Pompeia, in Ancient Geography, on the river
Ceba, now Ceva, in Liguria, the birth-place of the
emperor Pertinax 5 a colony either eftablifhed at firft
by Pompey, or re-eftabliihed by him after having been
before fettled by Scipio. The inhabitants were called
Albenfes Pompeiani. At this day the town is limply
called Alba, without any epithet.
ALBAHURIM, figura [exilecim laterum, a figure
of great importance according to attrological phyfi-
cians, who built their prognoftics on it.
ALBAN, St, is faid to have been the firft perfon
who fuffered martyrdom for Chriftianity in Britain }
he is therefore ufually ftyled the protomartyr of this
illand. 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-
5us a monk of jCaerleon, and ferved feven years as a
foldier under the emperor Dioclefian. At his return
home, he fettled in Verulam 5 and, through the exam¬
ple and inftrudtions 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 fullered martyrdom during
the great perfecution under the reign of Dioclefian}
but authors difler as to the year when it happened:
Bede and others fix it in 286; fome refer it to the year
296 } but Ulher 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 houfe. The Roman
governor being informed thereof, lent a party of fol-
diers to apprehend Amphibalus ; but Alban, putting
on the habit of his gueft, prefented hinlfelf in his ftead,
and was carried before that magiftrate. The governor
having alked him of what fitmily he was ? Alban re¬
plied, “ To what purpofe do you inquire of my fa¬
mily ? if you would know my religion, I am a Chri¬
ftian.” Then being alked his name, he anfwered,
“ My name is Alban ; 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 offer are made to devils ;
neither can they help the needy, or grant the petitions
of their votaries.” His behaviour id enraged the go¬
vernor, that he ordered him immediately to be behead¬
ed. In his way to execution, he was flopped by a ri¬
ver, over which was a bridge fo thronged with ipecta-
tors that it was impoffible to crofs it } the faint, as
we are told, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and the ftream
was miraculoully divided, and aftorded a pallage for
himfelf and a thoufand more perlons. Bede does not
indeed give us the name of this river \ but, notwith-
ftanding this omiffion, the miracle, we fuppoie, will
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. Jins fud-
den converfion of the headfman occafioning a delay
in the execution till another perfon could be got to per¬
form the office, St Alban walked up to a neighbouring
hill, where he prayed for water to quench his thirft, and
a fountain of water fprung up under his feet: here he
was beheaded on the 23d ot June. The executioner is
faid to have been a fignal example of divine vengeance j
for as foon as he gave the fatal ftroke, his eyes dropt
out of his head. We may fee the opinion of Mr Mil-
ton in regard to this narrative, in his Hiftory of Eng¬
land. His words arc thefe, fpeaking of St Alban:
“ The ftory of whofe martyrdom, foiled and worfe mar¬
tyred 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 af¬
ter St Alban’s death, Offa, king of the Mercians, built
a very large and ftately monaftery to his memory j and
the town of St Albans in Hertfordfliire takes its name
from our protomartyr.
ALBANA, 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. Mer de Baku. E.
Long. 49. o. N. Lat. 40. o.
ALBANENSES, in Church Hijlory, the fame with
Albigenfes. See Albigenses.
0 ALBANI,
ALB [ 561
AL BANI, in Roman antiquity, a college of the Sa-
lii, or prietts of Mars j 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 biang up his fon to that
bufmefs •, but Albani having a Itrong inclination to
painting, when his father died, devoted himfelf entirely
to that art, though then but twelve years of age. He
hrft iludied under Denys Calvert •, Guido Rheni being
at the fame time under this mailer, with whom Albani
contracted a very great friendfhip. Calvert drew but
one profile for Albani, and afterwards left him entirely
to the care of Guido j under whom he made great im¬
provement, his felloAV-difciple inftructing him with the
utmoil humanity and good humour. He followed
Guido to the fchool of the Caracci: but a little af¬
ter their friendfliip for each other began to cool ,
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 made fuch rapid pro-
grefs. They certainly endeavoured to eclipfe one ano¬
ther ; for when Guido had fet up a beautiful altar piece,
Albani would oppoie to it fome fine picture of his :
thus did they behave for fome time, and yet fpoke of
each other with the higheft elleem. Albani, after ha¬
ving greatly improved himfelf under the Caracci, went
to Rome, where he continued many years, and married
in that city ; but his wife dying in childbed, at the
earneft requeft of his relations he returned to Bologna,
where he entered again into the Rate of matrimony:
His fecond wife (Doralice) was well defeended, but
had very little fortune ) which he perfectly difregarded,
fo flrongly was he captivated with her beauty and
good fenfe. Albani, befides the fatisfa&ion of poffef-
fing an accomplifhed wife, reaped likewife the advan¬
tage of having a molt 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.
H is wife anfwered this purpofe admirably well; for
befides her bloom of youth, and the beauty of her per-
lon, he difeovered in her lo much modefty, fo many
graces and perfections, fo well adapted to painting,
that it was impoffible for him to meet with a more fi-
nilhed woman. She afterwards brought him feveral
boys, all extremely beautiful and finely proportioned ;
fo that Hie and her children were the originals of his
molt agreeable and graceful compofitions. Doralice
was fo conformable to his intentions, that flie took a
pleaiure in letting the children in different attitudes,'
holding them naked, and fometimes fufpended bv
firings, when Albani would draw them in a thoufand
difterent ways. It was from them, too, that the fa¬
mous fculptors Flamand and Argaldi modelled their
little cupids.
Albani was 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 moll agreeable gardens to Paphos and Cy-
theria : thofe delightful feenes brought him over the
lofty Parnaffus to the delicious abodes of Apollo and
the Mules; whence what Du Frefnoy fays of the fa¬
mous Giulio Romano may be iullly applied to Albani;
Vol. I. Part II.
] ALB
Taught from a child in the bright Mufes grots,
He opened all the treafures of Parnaffus,
And in the lively poetry of painting
The myll’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 iome verfes of Francifco de Lemene,
intended for his monument j the fenfe whereof is,
“ That the mortal remains of the illullrious Albani,
lie who gave life to fhade, lie interred in this tomb:
the earth never produced fo wonderful an artill, or a
hand equal to his immortal one} which gave colours
to the foul, and a foul to colours. Prometheus ani¬
mated clay, and gave life by means of the fun ; but Al¬
bani animated merely bv the allillance of lliade.” He
was very famous in his lifetime, and had been vifited by
the greatell painters. Several princes honoured him
with letters ) and amongft the rell King Charles I. who
invited him to England by a letter iigned 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 call, and on the
north by Bofnia and Dalmatia^ The people are ftrong,
large, courageous, and good horfemen } but are faid
to be of a thievilh difpofition. The grand feignior pro¬
cures excellent foldiers from hence, particularly caval¬
ry, known by the name of Arnauts. There are feveral
large towns in this province : and the inhabitants are
almoll all Chriftians of the Greek church, and defeend¬
ed from the ancient Scythians. Formerly it wras part
of the kingdom of Macedonia. Their chief manufac¬
ture is carpets. The principal places are Durav.zo, Ve-
lona, Antivari, Scutari, Croya, Aleffo, Dibra, Dolcig-
no, and Albanapoli. Long, from 180 to 210 E.j Lat.
from 390 to 430 N.
Albania, a country of Afia, bounded on the well
by Iberia 5 on the call by the Cafpian fea } on the north
by Mount Caucafus ; on the fouth by Armenia, and the
river Cyrus, now Kur; which, fpringing from the
Mofchian mountains that feparate Colchis li'om Arme¬
nia, and watering the country of Mokan, receives the
Aragus and Araxes, and falls into the Cafpian fea
within a fmail dillance from the fouthern borders oi
this country.—The whole country formerly called A-
banict, now goes under the names oi Sc hi naan and /: a//-
Georgia, and is extremely fruitful and plealant. I he
ancient hillorians take notice of the Albanian men
being tall, llrong-bodied, and, generally fpeaking, of
a very graceful appearance ; far exceeding all other na¬
tions in comelinefs as well as llature. 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 whom the king of Alba¬
nia is faid 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 when
their power was at the greateil height; though when
they ventured to engage in war with that powerful em¬
pire, they were ahvays defeated, as might naturally be
expefted.
ALBANO, a town of Italy, on a lake of the fame
4 B name,
ALB [ 562 ] ALB
Albano, name, in the Campagna of Romes It was called by
Alban’s, the ancients Albanum Pompeii, and built out of the
~ v ' ruins of the ancient Alba Longa, which was dell roved
by Tullus Hoftilius. It ftands within twelve miles
ibuth-eaft of Rome, and for the pleafantnefs ot its fi-
tuation is the fummer retirement of a great many Ro¬
man princes. It is likewife the fee ot a billiop, who
is one of the fix fenior cardinals. The town is tamous
for its excellent wine, and the ruins ot a maufoleum,
which, according to the tradition of the inhabitants,
was made for Afcanius. The profpeft from the garden
of the Capuchins is extremely pleafant, taking in the
Campania of Rome, and terminating in a full view ot
the Tufcan tea. 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 filh, and over againft the hermitage it
is faid to be unfathomable. The mountain ot Albano
is called Monte Cavo ; on the top of which was a cele¬
brated temple dedicated to Jupiter and Juno. Near
the Capuchins there is another convent of Francifcansj
and not far from thence the palace ot Cardinal Barbe-.
rini, remarkable for very pleatant 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 territory,
and for the nobility of the inhabitants.
ALBAN’S, Saint, a market town of Hertfordlhire,
is a very great thoroughfare, accommodated with good
inns, on the north-well road from London, at the di-
ftance of 21 miles. This town fends two members to
parliament, gives the title of duke to the noble family
of Beauclerc, and has one of the bell markets tor
wheat in England. St Alban’s is feated near the ruins
of the ancient Roman city, by Tacitus called Verulam;
and by the Saxons Watlingcejler, becaule it is feated
on the road called Watling-Jlreei. Nothing now re¬
mains of Verulam but the ruins of old walls; in the
fields adjacent to which they continue to find Roman
coins, as they formerly found tefielated pavements. In
memory of St Alban, Offa, king ot the Mercians,
anno 795, erebted an abbey, calling it St Alban's;
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
Hone on the outfide 5 but if you break a bit off, the
rednefs of the brick immediately appears. When the
monafteries were diffolved, the townfmen paid 400I.
to prevent its being levelled with the ground, and have
fince converted it into a parifh-church, which, for its
largenefs, beauty, and antiquity, claims a particular re¬
gard. It had a verv noble font of folid brais, in which
the children of the kings of Scotland were 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 wrars, it was taken aw ay. Not
many years fince, a tomb w^as difeovered in this church,
faid to be that of Humphry duke of Gloueefter: when
the leaden coffin was opened, the body was pretty en¬
tire, being preferved in a fort of pickle. T here was
a ilately crofs in the middle of the town, as there was
in many other places, where Queen Eleanor’s body
refled when it was brought out of the north for inter-
3
mcnt at Weftminfler; but it is now demolifhed. W.
Long. o. 12. N. Lat. 51. 44.
ALB ANUS MOXS, in Ancient Geography, now cal¬
led Mont Albano, 26 miles from Rome, near where
Alba Longa flood.
Albanus mons, in Ancient Geography, to the north
of Illria ; called Albius by Strabo; the extremity of
the Alps, which, together with the mountains to the
call, joining it, called Montes Bcebii, feparate the far¬
ther Liburnia and Dalmatia from Pannonia.
ALBANY, a fortrefs belonging to the Britifh, feat¬
ed on the fouth-wefl 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, coufidering the country. Here the fachems or
the kings of the five nations of Iroquois, met the go¬
vernors of the Britifh plantations, when they entered
into any treaty with them. W. Long. 44. 29- N. Lat.
Alban’s
II
Albategni.
42. 30.
ALBARAZIN, a flrong town, and one of the
mofl ancient of the kingdom of Arragon in Spain. It
is feated on an eminence, near the river Guadalquivir,
a little below its fource, and on the frontiers of Valen¬
cia and New Caflile. It is the feat of a bilhop, and
produces the befl wool in all Arragon. It is about
100 miles eafl of Madrid. E. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat.
40. 32.
ALBARII, in antiquity, properly denoted thofe who
gave the whitening to earthen veffels, &c. In which
fenfe they flood contradiflinguifhed from Dcalbatores,
who whitened walls.
ALBARIUM OPUS, in the ancient building, the in-
cruflation or covering of the roofs of houfes with white
plafler, made of mere lime. This is otherwife called
opus album. It differed from TeBorium, which is a
common name ^iven to all roofing or ceiling, including
even that formed of lime and land, or lime and marble 5
whereas Albarium was reflrained to that made of lime
alone.
ALBATEGNI, an Arabic prince of Batan in Me-
fopotamia, and a celebrated aflronomer, who lived about
the year of Chrifl 880, as appears by his obfervations.
He is alfo called Muhammed ben Geber Albutani, Ma¬
homet the fon of Geber, and Muhamedes Ara&enjis.
He made aflronomical obfervations at Antioch, and at
Racah or Aracta, a town of Chaldea. He is highly
fpoken of by Dr Halley, as a man of admirable genius,
and an excellent obferver.
Inflead of the tables of Ptolemy, which were imper¬
fect, he computed new ones : thefe were adapted to the
meridian of Aracta or Racah, and were long ufed as
the befl among the Arabs. Albategni compofed in
Arabic a work under the title of The Science of the
Stars, comprifing all parts of aflronomy, according to
his own obfervations and thofe of Ptolemy. This work
was tranflated into Latin by Plato of Tibur, and pub-
liflied at Nuremberg in 1537, with fome additions and
demonllrations of Regiomontanus. It was reprinted at
Bologna in 164 5, with this author’s notes. Dr Hal¬
ley dete£ted many faults in thefe editions: Phdrf.
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 motion of the liars, which he
makes
ALB [ 563 ] ALB
makes one degree in 70 years. He made the longi¬
tude of the firft liar of Aries to be 180 2' •, and the ob¬
liquity of the ecliptic 230 35'. Upor Albategni’s ob-
fervations were founded the Alphonfme tables of the
moon’s motion. {Hutton's Math. DiB.').
ALB ATI EQUI, an appellation given to fuch horfes,
in the games of the ancient circus, as wore white fur¬
niture.
ALBATROSS, in Ornittiology, a fpecies of the di-
omedea. See Diomedea, Ornithology Index.
ALBAZIN, a town ‘ of Greater Tartary, with a
ftrong 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 Germa¬
ny, worth only a French fol and feven deniers.
ALBEMARLE, or Aumakle, 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 eiteem.
It is feated on the declivity of a hill, on the confines of
Picardy, 35 miles north-eaft of Rouen, and 70 north-
weft of Paris. E. Long. 2. 21. N. Lat. 49. 50.
Albemarle, 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 bifiiop, and is a very ancient
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 outlide of the
town is furrounded with olive trees. It is a feaport,
about 30 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 1664 5 who, by
his great abilities and good fortune, role from this low
origin to the employment of firft minifter of ftate 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 paft j awakened the attention, and
raifed the aftomfliment of all Europe, by his projects 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 baniihed to Rome. He died in I752»
at the great age of 89. His 'I'ejlament Politique, col¬
lected from his memoirs and letters, was publiflied at
Laufanne in „
ALBERT, Margrave of Brandenburg, and the laft
grand mafter 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 eaft part of Pruffia (formerly
called for that reafon Ducal PruJJial), but to be held as
a fief of Poland, and to defcend to his male heirs. See
Prussia.
ALBERTI, Leone Battista, was defcended
from a noble family of Florence •, and was perfectly
acquainted with painting, fculpture, and architecture.
He wrote of all three in Latin *, but his ftudies did not
permit him to leave any thing conliderable behind him
in painting. He was employed by Pope Nicholas U.
.in his buildings, which he executed in a beautiful man¬
ner ) and his work on architecture, which confifts of
10 books, is greatly cfteemed. He alfo wrote fome
treatifes of morality, and a piece of arithmetic. / He
died in 1485.
ALBERTLSTS, a fet of fcholaftics, fo named from
their leader Albertus Magnus.
ALBERTUS Magnus, a Dominican friar, and.
afterwards bifliop of Ratifbon, was one of the moft
learned men and moft famous doCtors of the 13 th cen¬
tury. He is faid to have aCted as a man-midwife ; and
fome have been highly ofiended that one of his pro-
feffion fhould follow luch an employment. A book
entitled De Natura Rerum, of which he was reputed
the author, gave rife to this report. In this treatife
there are feveral inftruCtions for midwives, and fo much
tkill fhown in their art, that one would think the au¬
thor could not have arrived at it without having him-
felf praCtifed : but the advocates lor Albert fay he
was not the writer thereof, nor of that other piece De
Secretis Mulierum ; in which there are many phrafes
and expreffions unavoidable on fuch a fubjeCt,' which
gave great offence, and raifed a clamour againft the
fuppofed author. It muft be acknowledged, however,
that there are, in his Comment upon the Mafter of Sen¬
tences, fome queftions concerning the praCtice of con¬
jugal duty, in which he has ufed fome words rather
too grofs for chafte and delicate ears ; but they allege,
what he himfelf ufed to fay in his own vindication,
that he came to the knowledge of fo many monftrous
things at confeflion, that it was impoflible to avoid
touching upon fuch queftions. Albert was certainly
a man of a moft curious and inquifitive turn of mind,
which gave rife to other accufations brought againft
him. It is faid, that he laboured to find out the phi-
lofopher’s ftone ; that he was a magician 5 and that he
made a machine in the fliape of a man, which was an
oracle to him, and explained all the difficulties he pro-
pofed. He had great knowledge in the mathematics,
and by his {kill in that fcience might probably have
formed a head with fpx'ings capable of articulating
founds ; like to the machines of Boetius, of which Caf-
fiodorus has faid, “ Metals lowe j the birds of Dio-
medes trumpet in brais } the brazen ferpent hiffes j
counterfeited {wallows chatter, and fuch as have no
proper note, from brafs fend forth harmonious mufic.”
John Matthaeus de Luna, in his treatife De Rerum In-
ventoribus, has attributed the invention of fire-arms to
Albert; but in this he is confuted by Naude, in his
Apologie des Grandes Hommes. Albert died at Co-
logne in 1280. His works were printed at Lyons, in
1651, in 21 volumes folio.
ALBERTUS, a gold coin, worth about fourteen
French livres : it was coined during the adminiftration
of Albertus archduke of Auftria.
ALBESIA, in antiquity, a kind of fhields, other-
wife called Decumana. Sec Decumana.
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
very valuable filver fhrine, of exquifite workmanfliip, of
the mofaic kind : it contains the reliques of St Clair,
the firft bifliop of this city. The chapel of this pre¬
tended faint is magnificent, and adorned with paint¬
ings. The Lice is a fine large walk without the city :
what diftinguifties this from all others, is a terrace
4 B 2 above
ALB [ 564 1 ALB
bi, above a deep mail, which ferves inftead of a fofle 5 it
('nl~cs; is bordered with two rows of very line trees, wliich
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 archbiihop's palace is very
beautiful. The river waflies 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 louth of Paris. E. Long. 2. 9. N. Lat.
43- 56*
Ihe Albigeois is a fmall territory, about twenty-
feven miles in length, and twenty in breadth, abounding
in corn, wmod, grapes, fafi’ron, plums, and iheep ; and
the inhabitants have a great trade in dried prunes,
grapes, a coarfe fort of cloth, and wine of Gaillac.
Thefe wines' are the only fort hereabouts that are fit
lor exportation ; they are earned down to Bourdeaux,
and generally fold to the Britilh. They have likewife
feveral coal mines.
ALBIGENSES, in church hifiory, a fe6t or party
of reformers, about Touloufe and Albigeois in Lan¬
guedoc, who i'prung up in the 12th century, and dillin-
guillied themfelves by their oppofition to the difeipline
and ceremonies of the Bomifh church.
This fe£t had their name, it is fuppofed, either by
realon 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 effedt, it does not appear that
they were known by this name before the holding of
that council. The Albigenfes were alfo called Albiani,
Albigcfei, Albiiy and Albanenfcs, though feme diftinguifli
thele laft from them. Other names given to them
are JLcnricians, Abelardjls, Bulgarians, &c.: feme on
account of the qualities they affumed } 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
Breife, Abelard, Henry, &e. Berengarius, if not Wick-
liff himfelf, is by fome ranked in the number. The
Albigenfes are frequently confounded with the Walden-
fes ; from whom, however, they differ in many refpects,
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 herelies, particularly Manicheifm, from
whence the Waldenfes are exempt. But feveral Prote-
liant writers have vindicated them from that imputa¬
tion. Dr Affix Ihows that a great number of Mani-
chees did fpx-ead over the weftern countries from Bulga¬
ria j and fettled in Italy, Languedoc, and other places,
where there were alio Albigenfes ; by which means, be¬
ing both under the imputation of herefj, they came,
either by ignorance or malice, to be confounded, and
called by the fame common name, though in reality en-
iSrely different.
Other errors irrqmted to them by their opponents,
the monks of thofe days, were, That they admitted
twro Chrills; one evil, who appeared on earth 5 the
other good, who has not yet appeared : That they de¬
nied the refurredtion of the body ; 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 rejected baptifm
as ufelefs 3 held the eucharift in abhorrence 5 exclu-
sied the ufe of confeffions and penance 3 maintained
a
marriage unlawful 3 laughed at purgatory, prayers for AlbWnies.
the dead, images, crucifixes, &c. There were likewife
laid to be two ejaffes of them 3 the Perfect and the Be¬
lievers. The perfedt boafted of their living in conti¬
nence, of eating neither fleffi, eggs, nor cheefe. The be¬
lievers lived like other men, and were even loofe in
their morals 3 but they were perfuaded they Ihould be
laved by the faith of the perfedt, and that none were
damned who received impolition of hands from them.
But from thele charges alio they are generally acquitted
by Proteftants, who conlider them as the pious inven¬
tions of the Romiih church, whole members deem it
meritorious by any means to blacken heretics.
However this be, the Albigenfes grew lb formidable,
that the Catholics agreed upon a holy league or cru-
lade againff them. They were at lirlt fupported by'
Raimond, count of Touloufe. Pope Innocent III. de-
iirous to put a Hop to their progrefs, lent a legate into
their country 3 which failing, he llirred up Philip Au-
gultus, 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 lided with
them, made his fubmiffion to the pope, and went over
to the Catholics : but foon after, finding himfelf plun¬
dered by the crufaders, he declared war againll them,
and was joined by the king of Arragon. His army
was defeated at the fiege of Muret, where he himfelf
was killed, and the defeat followed by the furrender of
the city of Touloufe, and the conquelt of the greatell
part of Languedoc and Provence. His fon Raymond
fucceeded him 3 who agreed with the king and the pope
to let up the inquifition in his ellates, and to extirpate
the Albigenfes. In an alfembly held at Milan, the
arcljbifhop of Touloufe drew up articles 3 agreeable tu
whieff the count made a moll ample declaration againll
them, which he publifhed at Touloufe in 1253. From
this time the Albigenies dwindled by little and little,
tiff the time of the Reformation 3 when Inch of them
as were left fell in with the \ audois, and became con¬
formable to the doctrine of Zuinglius and the difeipline
of Geneva.
Albigenses is alio a name fometimes given to the
followers of Peter Vaud, or Waldo 3 and hence fyno-
nymous with what we more properly caff Waldenfes, 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 refpects laid to be dif¬
ferent enough. The bilhop of Meaux labours hard to
fupport a diitindion between the two feds, alleging
that the Albigenfes were heretics andM anichees 3 where¬
as the Waldenfes were only fchifmatics, not heretics 3.
being lound as to qrticles of laith, and only feparating
Rom the church bl Rome on account of forms and
diicipline. Dr Affix endeavours to fet afide the di-
ftindion 1 and fliows, that both of them held the fame
opinions, and were equally condemned and held for
heretics 3 and this not for points of faith, but for de¬
claiming againll the papal tyranny and idolatry, and
holding the pope to be the Antiehriil 3 which lall, ac¬
cording to M. de Meaux, conllitutes nothing lei’s than
Manicheifm. In this fenfe the Lollards and Wicklif-
fites in England were not only Albigenfes but Ma-
nichees,
ALBINTEMELIUM*
Albinteme-
liuni
II
Albinos.
ALB [
ALBINTEMELIUM, Albintihiilium (Taci¬
tus) or, at full length, Albium Intemelium (Pli¬
ny, Strabo) j now Vintimiglia, fituated in the fouth-
j 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 half-way be¬
tween Monaco and St Remo. E. Long. 'y. 40. N. Lat.
43- I7*
ALBIOECE, or Alebece (Pliny, Strabo) j other-
wife called lieu Apollinctres, from their luperftitious
worfliip of Apollo *, alfo Civitas Reienfiam ; now /izi -z,
in Provence, about 18 leagues to the north-eall of Tou¬
lon, on the north fide of the rivulet Verdon ; was ori¬
ginally a Roman colony (Infcription). It isfometimes
written Regium. The people were called Albici, (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 difler-
ent profeilion from the dealbatores or whiteners.
ALBINOS, the name by which the Portuguefe call
the white Moors, who are looked upon by the negroes
as monllers. They at a diflance might be taken for
Europeans ; but, when you come near them, their
white colour appears like that of perfons a Heeled with a
leprofy.
In Sau(lure’s Voyages dans les Alpcs, is the follow¬
ing account of the two boys, at Chamouni, who have
been called Albinos. “ The elder, who was at the end
of the year 1785 about twenty or one-and-twenty years
of age, had a dull look, with lips fomewhat thick, but
nothing elle in his features to dillinguifh him from
other jjeople. The other, who is two years younger, is
rather a more agreeable figure ", he is gay and fpright-
ly, and feems not to want wit. But their eyes are not
blue ; the iris is of a very diftindl rofe colour; the pu¬
pil too, when viewed in the light, feems decidedly red;
which teems to demonflrate, that the interior mem¬
branes are deprived of the uvea, and of that black mu¬
cous matter that fliould line them. Their hair, their
eye-brows, and eyc-lafhes, the down upon their fkin,
were all, in their infancy, of the moll perfect milk-
white colour, and very fine; but their hair is now of
a reddifli call, and has grown pretty flrong. Their
fight, too, is fomewhat flrengthened; though they ex¬
aggerate to flrangers their averfion for the light, and
half fhut the eyelids, 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 affedlation profitable to them, can
attdl 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 euriofity of flrangers, that they
hid themfelves to avoid fuch ; and it was neceffarv to
do a fort of violence to them before they could be pre¬
vailed on to allow themfelves to be infpe£led. 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 5 and that one of their
uncles maintained them out of charity, at a time of life
when others were capable of gaining a fubfiflence by
their labour.
“ I am therefore of opinion, that we may confuler
thefe two lads as two albinos ; for if they have not the
thick lips and flat nofes of the white negroes, it is be-
565 ] alb
caufe they are albinos of Europe, not of Africa. This
infirmity affects the eyes, the complexion, and the co¬
lour of the hair; it even diminilbes the flrength, but
does not alter the conformation of the features. Be-
fides, there are certainly in this malady various de¬
grees ; fome may have lefs flrength, and be lefs able
to endure the light: but thefe circumflances in thofe
of Chamouni are marked with characters fufficiently
flrong to entitle them to the unhappy advantage of be¬
ing claffed with that variety of the human fpecies deno¬
minated albinos.
“ YV hen nature prefents the fame appearance often,
and with circumflances varied, we may at lafl difeover
fome general law, or fome relation which that appear¬
ance has with known caufes : but when a fact is fo An¬
gular and fo rare, as that of thofe albinos, it gives but
little fcope to a conjefture : and it is very difficult, to
verify thofe by which we attempt to explain it.
“ I at firfl imagined that this difeafe might be refer¬
red to a particular fort of organic debility , that a re¬
laxation of the lymphatic vcffels within the eye might
fuller the globules of the blood to enter too abundantly
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 phyfiologifl, Mr Blumenbaeh, pro-
feflbr 111 the umverhty at Gottingen, who has made
many profound obfervations on the organs of fight,
and has confidered with great attention the albinos
of Chamouni, attributes their infirmity to a different .
caufe.
“ The fludy of comparative anatomy has furnifhed
him with frequent opportunities of obferving this phe¬
nomenon he has found it in brutes, in white dogs,
and in owls '7 he fays, it is generally to be feen in the
warm-blooded animals j 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 blackifli mucus, which, about the fifth
week after conception, covers all the interior parts of
the eye in its found Hate. He obferves, that Simon
Pontius, in his treatife de Coloribus Oculorum, long
ago remarked, that in blue eyes the interior mem¬
branes were lefs abundantly provided with this black
mucus, and were therefore more fenfible to the a£tion
of light. This fenfibility of blue eyes agrees very
well, fays M. Blumenbaeh, with northern people, du¬
ring their long twilight; while, 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 phyfiologill fays, that it is owing to a fi-
milarity of ilrikture, confenfus ex Jimilitudine fabricce.
He afferts, that this black mucus is formed only in the
delicate cellular fubllance, which has numerous blood-
velfels contiguous to it, but contains no fat; like the
infide of the eye, the Ikin of negroes, the fpotted pa¬
late of feveral domeHic animals, &c. And, lallly, he
fays-;
Albinos.
ALB [ 566 ] ^ ALB
fays that the colour of the hair generally correfponds
with that of the ins. Gazette Litt. cle Gotinguej Oct.
1784. ' ,
“ At the very time that M. Blumenbach was read¬
ing this memoir to the Royal Society ot Gottingen,
]YI. Buzzi, furgeon to the holpital at Milan, an eleve
of the celebrated anatomifl Mofcati, publillied in the
Opvfcoli Scclti de Milan, 1784, tom. ii. p. n. a very
interefting memoir, in which he demonllrates by ditlec-
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 fkin, ot the hair, ot the
beard, and of all the other covered parts of the body.
M. Buzzi, who had long detired an opportunity oi dil-
feCting 1’uch a tabject, immediately teized upon this.
He found the iris of the eyes perfectly white, and the
pupil of a role colour. The eyes were differed with
the greateft potlible care, and were found entirely del-
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 ot
a pale red colour, by vetlels covered with dilcoloured
blood. What was more extraordinary, the tkin, when
detached from diflerent parts of the body, teemed al-
molt entirely divefted ot the vete mucojiim : maceration
did not difeover the leaft vellige of this, not even in,
the wrinkles of the abdomen, where it is moil abundant
and moil vifible.
“ M. Buzzi likewife accounts for the whitenefs of
the tkin and of the hair, from the abfence of the rete
mucofum, 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 fadt, that if the fkin of the blackeil horfe
be accidentally detlroyed in any part of the body, the
hairs that afterwards grow on that part are always
white, becaufe the rete mucofum which tinges thole
hairs is never regenerated with the tkin.
“ The proximate caufe of the whitenefs of albinos,
and the colour of their eyes, teems therefore pretty evi-
dently to depend on the abfence ot the rete mucofum :
But what is the remote caufe ?
“ In the tirft place, it feems probable that men af-
fefted with this infirmity form no ditlimSt ipecies, for
they are produced from parents that have dark fkins
and black eyes. What is it then that detlroys the
rete mucofum in fuch perfons ? M. Buzzi relates a fm-
gular fact, which feems to throw fome light on this fub-
je&.
“ A woman of Milan, called Calcagni, had feven
tons. The two eldetl had brown hair, and black eyes 5
the three next had white tkins, white hair, and red
eyes \ the two latl refembled the two eldetl. It was
laid that this woman, during the three pregnancies
that produced the alhinos, had a continual and immo¬
derate appetite for milk, which the took in great quan¬
tities : but that when the was with child ot the other
four children, the had no fuch defire. It is not how¬
ever afeertained, that this preternatural appetite was not
itfelf'tbe efieft of a certain heat, or internal difeafe,
which detlroyed the rete mucofum in the children before
they were born.
“ The albinos of Chamouni are alfo the offspring of Albinos
parents with dark tkins and black eyes. They have ||
three fillers by the fame father and mother, who are Albinus.
alfo brunettes. One of them that I law had the eyes v
of a dark brown, and the hair almoll black. They
are faid, however, to be all afflicted with a weaknefs
of fight. When the lads are married, it will be cu¬
rious to obferve how the eyes of their children will be
formed. The experiment would be particularly deci-
tive if they were married to women like themieives.
But this faulty confirmation feems to be more rare
among women than among men ; tor the four of Mi¬
lan, the two of Chamouni, the one detcribed by Mau-
pertuis, the one by Helvetius, and almotl all the ia-
itances of theie tingular productions, have been of our
fex. It is known, however, that there are races of
men and women affeCtcjd with this difeale, and that
thefe races perpetuate themieives in Guinea, in Java, at
Panama, &c.
“ Upon the whole, this degeneration does not feem
to be owing to the air of the mountains •, for though 1
have travelled the greatelt part ot the Alps, and the
other mountains of Europe, theie are the only indivi¬
duals of the kind that 1 ever met.with.”
ALBINOVANUS, a Latin poet, whom Ovid fur-
named the Divine. There is now nothing of his extant,
except an elegy on Drufus, and another on the death ot
Mecaenas.
ALBINUS, Bernhard Siegfred, a celebrated
pbyfician and anatomiit, was born of an illuftrious ia-
mily at Francfort on the Oder in 1697. His father
was then profeffor of the practice 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. Liere his ion had
an opportunity of Undying under the motl eminent
mailers in Europe, who, from the lingular abilities
which he then difplayed, had no difficulty in prognof-
ticating his future eminence. But while he was di-
ilinguilhed in every branch of literature, his attention
was particularly turned to anatomy and furgery. His
peculiar attachment to thefe branches of knowledge
gained him the intimate friendthip of Ruyfch and Rau,
who at that time flourilhed in Leyden ; and the latter,
fo jutlly celebrated as a lithotomift, is faid to have fel-
dom performed a capital operation without inviting
him to be prefent. Having finiflied his ftudies at Ley¬
den, he went to Paris, where he attended the leCtures
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 leCturer of anatomy and furgery at that place.
Though contrary to his own inclination, he complied
with their requell, and upon that occalion was created
doCtor of phyfic without any examination. Soon atter,
upon the death of his father, he was appointed to fuc-
ceed him as a profeffor of anatomyand upon being
admitted into that office on the 9th of November 1721,
he delivered an oration, De vera via adfabncce humani
corporis cognitionem ducente; which was heard with
univerfal approbation. In the capacity of a profeffor,
he not only bellowed the greatetl attention upon the
inftruCtion of the youth intrufted to his care, but in the
improvement of the medical art. W ith this view he
publiffied many important difeoveries of his own j and
ALB [ 567 ] ALB
Aibinus by elegant editions, turned the attention of phyficians
11 to works of merit, which might otherwife have been
AlbOT<1'' , negle&ed. By tliefe means his fame was loon extended
over Europe ; and the focieties of London, Peterfburgh,
and Haerlem, cheerfully received him as an afibciate. In
1745, he was appointed profeflbr of the practice of me¬
dicine at Leyden, and was fucceeded in the anatomical
chair by his brother Frid. Bern. Aibinus. He was
/ twice re cl: or of the univerfity, and as often he refilled
that high honour when it was voluntarily offered him.
At length, worn out by long fervice and intenfe ftudy,
he died on the pth of September 1770, in the 74th
year of his age.
ALBION, the ancient name of Britain.
New A lb 1 ox, a name given by Sir Francis Drake to
California, on the north-weft coaft of America, which
he difcovcred and took poffeffion 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 Van¬
couver, 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 43'th degrees of N. Latitude.
ALBIREO, in Afironomy, a ftar of the third or
fourth magnitude, in the conliellation 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 was 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, crofling the river with a few, merited
the ornaments of a triumph 5 fo glorious was it reckon¬
ed at Rome to have opened this paffage. In the fol¬
lowing age, however, the river that before occupied
the middle of ancient Germany, became its boundary
to the north, from the irruptions of the Sarmahe, who
poffeffed themfelves of the Tranfalbin Germany. The
Elbe riles in the borders of Silefia 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 palling by Hamburg and Gluckftadt, to
both which places the river is navigable by large veffels,
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 Englilli. E. Long. 8. 20.
N. Lat. 44. 13.
ALBOGALERUS, in Roman antiquity, a white
cap worn by the flarnen Jh'alis, 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, was fe-
cured for ifin paradife at the interceffion of Mahomet 5
which, however, was in fome meafure extorted from
the prophet, by Alborak’s refuling to let him mount
when the angel Gabriel was come to conduct him to Alborak
heaven. ||
ALBORO, in Zoology, a name by which the ery- Albumen,
thrinus, a fmall red filh caught in the Mediterranean, is v
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
bifhop’s lee. It has this name, which fignilies 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 VViburg, and 50 north of Arhuys. It has an ex¬
change for merchants, and a fafe and deep harbour.
They have a coniiderable trade in herrings and corn ;
and a manufactory of guns, piftols, faddles, and gloves.
E. Long. 29. 16. N. Lat. 56. 35.
ALBRICIUS, bom at London, was a great phi-
lofopher, a learned and able phyfician, and well ver-
fed in all the branches of polite literature. He lived
in the nth century, and wrote feveral works in
Latin 5 particularly, 1. Of the Origin of the Gods.
2. The Virtues of the Ancients. 3. The Nature of
Poifon, &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 A?iat07ny, 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 re-
gifter, wherein the names of certain magiftrates, public
tranfadlions, &c. were entered. Of thefe there were
various forts ; as the album decuriomnn, album Jenato-
runi, album judicum, album praetor is, &cc.
Album Decurionum, was the regifter wherein the
names of the decuriones were entered. This is otherwife
called matriculatio decurionum.
Album Senatorum, the lift of fenators names, which
was firft introduced by Auguftus, and reneived yearly.
Album Judicum, that wherein the names of the per-
fons of thofe decuriee who judged at certain times were
entered.
Album Free tor is, that wherein the formulae of all
aCtions, and the names of fuch judges as the praetor had
chofen to decide caufes, were written.
The high prieft entered the chief tranlaCtions 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 letters
with whom a perfon has converfed, inferibed their names
with fome fentence or motto.
Album Grcecum, the white dung of dogs, formerly
preferibed for inflammations of the throat, &c. but
now difufed, and chiefly employed by leather-dreflers
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, a fubftance found both in animal and
vegetable
Alcceus.
A L C [568
Albomen vegetable matters, and in great abundance in the white
of eggs. See Chemistry Index.
ALBUQUERQUE, a town of Spain, in the pro¬
vince of Ellremadura, is feated on an eminence, nine
miles from the frontiers of Portugal. It is commanded
by an almolt impregnable fortrefs, built on a high
mountain, and ferving to defend the town. It carries
on a great trade in avooI and woollen manufactures. It
Avas taken by the allies of Charles king of Spain in
J705. W. Long. 7. o. N. Lat. 38. 52,
ALBURN, the Englifh name of a compound co¬
lour, being a mixture of white and red, or reddiih
brown. Skinner derives the Avord, in this fenfe, from
the Latin a/bus, and the Italian bur no, from bruno,
brown.”
ALBURNUM, the foft white fubftance which in
trees is found between the liber or inner bark and the
Avood, and in procefs of time acquiring folidity, be¬
comes itfelf the Avood. From its colour and compara¬
tive foftnefs, it has been ftyled by fome writers the fat
of trees, adeps arborum.
The alburnum is found in largeft quantities in trees
that are vigorous j though in fuch as languifh, or are
fickly, there is a great number of beds. In an oak
fix inches in diameter, this fubftance is nearly equal in
bulk to the Avood. In a trunk of one foot diameter,
it is as one to three and a half j of tAvo and a half feet
diameter, as one to four and a half, &c. but thele pro¬
portions Arary according to the health and conftitution
of the trees.—The alburnum is frequently gnaAved in
pieces by infedts, which lodge in the fubftance, and are
nourifhed from it.
ALBURNUS, 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 ifland of Lelbos. Horace feems to
think him the inventor of this kind of poefyj
, Noav the Roman mufe infpire.
And Avarm the long Avith Grecian fire. Francis.
He flourifhed in the 44th Olympiad, at the fame time
Avith Sappho, who avus likeAvife of Mitylene. Alcteus
was a great enemy to tyrants, but not a very brave fol-
dier. He Avas prefent at an engagement, Avherein the
Athenians gained a vidtory over the Lelbians ; and
here, as he himfelf is faid to have confeffed in one of
his pieces, he threw doAvn his arms, and faved himfelf
by flight. Horace, Avho, of all the Latin poets, moft
refembled Alcaeus, has made the like confcflion :
With thee I faw Philippi’s plain,
Its fatal rout, a fearful fcene !
And dropp’d, alas ! th’ inglorious fliield,
Where valour’s felf was forc’d to yield j
Where foil’d in duft the vanquifli’d lay,
And breath’d th’ indignant foul away. Francis.
The poetical abilities of Alcaeus are indifputable •, and
though his Avritings Avere chiefly in the lyric ftrain, yet
his mufe was capable of treating the fublimeft fubjedls
with a fuitable dignity. Hence Horace fays,
Alcaeus ftrikes the golden firings,
And leas, and Avar, and exile, fings.
Thus Avhile they ftrike the various lyre,
The ghofts the facred founds admire :
] A L C
But when Alcaeus lifts the ftrain
To deeds of Avar and tyrants llain,
In thicker crowds the ihadoAvy throng ^
Drink deeper down the martial long. FrancLS.
Alcaeus, an Athenian tragic poet, and, as fome
think, the firft compofer of tragedies. He renounced
his native country Mitylene, and palled for an Athe¬
nian. He left 10 pieces, one of Avhich Avas Paliphae,
that which he produced when he difputed Avith Ariilo-
phanes, in the 4th year of the 97th Olympiad.
There is another Alcaeus mentioned in Plutarch,
perhaps the fame Avhom Porphyrins mentions as a com¬
pofer of fatirical iambics and epigrams, and Avho Avrote
a poem concerning the plagiarifm of Euphorus the hi-
ftorian. He lived in the 145th Olympiad.
We are told likewife of one Alcalus, a Meffenian,
who lived in the reign of Vefpalian and Titus. We
knoAV not which of thofe it was Avho fuffered for his
leAvdnefs a very fingular kind of death, which gave oc-
cafion to the following epitaph :
A/\x-ciix Ttfsfe? vraj, &C.
This is Alcaeus’s tomb ; Avho died by a radifh,
The daughter of the earth, and punilher of adulterers.
This punifhment inflicted on adulterers, Avas thrufting
one of the largeft radiflies up the anus of the adulterer;
for Avant of radilhes, they made ufe of a fiih Avith a
Alcasus
II.
Alcaic.
very large head, which Juvenal alludes to:
Qpuofdam mcechos et mugilis intrat. Sat. x.
The mullet enters fome behind.
Hence we may underftand the menace oi Catullus,
Ah! turn te mj'crum, maliquej'ati,
Quem attraBus pedibus, patente porta,
Pcrcarrent raphanique, mugilcfque. Epig. xv.
Ah i wretched thou, and born to lucklefs fate,
W ho art difeover’d by the unlhut gate!
If once, alas ! the jealous hulhand come,
The radilh or the fea-fiih is thy doom.
ALCAICS, in Ancient Poetry, a denomination given
to feveral kinds of verfe, from Alcaeus, their inventor.
The firft kind eonfifts of five feet, viz. a fpondee, or
iambic *, an iambic j a long fyllable 5 a dactyle 5 ano¬
ther dactyle : fuch is the following verfe of Horace :
Omnes\ eo\dem cogimur, | omnium
Verfa\tur ur\na \Jerius | oayu.s\
Sors exitura.
The fecond kind confifts of tAvo dadtyles and tivo tro¬
chees : as,
Exili\um impqfi\tura | cyrnbec.
Befides theie tAvo, which are called daily he Alcaics,
there is another fimply ftyled Alcaic ; confifting ot an
epitrite •, a choriambus 5 another choriambus j and a
bacchius : the folloAving is of this fpecies,
Cur timet fia\mm Tiberim tan\gere, cur | olimm r
Alcaic Ode, a kind of manly ode, compofed ot ie-
veral ftrophes, each confifting of tour Arerfes the tAvo
firft of which are always alcaics ot the firft kind ; the
third verfe is a dimeter hypercatalectic, or confifting
of four feet and a long fyllable j and the fourth verfe
is an alcaic of the fecond kind. The tolloAving ftrophe
Alcaic
. I!
Alcanna.
A L C [569
is of this fpecies, which Horace calls minacis Alccei
tame nee.
]
A L €
Non pojjidentem multa vocaveris
lie Be beatum : reBius occvpat
Nomen beati, qui deormn
Mujiei'ibus jopienter nti, &c.
ALCAID, Alcayde, or Alcalde, in the polity
of the Moors, Spaniards, and Portuguefe, a magiftrate,
or officer of juilice, anfwermg nearly to the French
provoft and the Britifh jultice of peace.—The alcaid
among the Moors is veiled with fupreme juriidiction,
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 aquedudt. W. Long. 6. 16. N. Lat.
37- I5-
Alcala de Hcnares, a beautiful and large city of
Spain, in New Caftile, feated upon the river Henares,
which wafhes its walls. It is built in a very agreeable
plain, and is of an oval figure. The llreets are hand-
fome and pretty ftraight: one of them is very long,
running from one end of the city to the other. The
houfes are well built 5 and there are feveral fquares,
the largell of which is an ornament to the city : it is
furrounded on all fides with piazzas, where tradefmen
have their Ihops, to expofe feveral forts of commodi¬
ties to fale, of which there is as great plenty and va¬
riety as in moll towns of Spain. The univerfity was
founded by Cardinal Ximenes, archbilhop 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 dillance is dry
and fterile : it yields grain in plenty, very good muf-
eat wine, and melons of a delicious kind. Without
the walls is a fpring, the water of which is fo pure and
io well tailed, that it is inclofed and Ihut up for the
king of Spain’s own ufe, from whence it is carried to
Madrid.—This city is 10 miles fouth-well of Guada-
laxara, and 13 miles call 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 \ 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 Chemis¬
try Index.
ALCANIS, a town of Arragon in Spain, feated on
the river Guadaloupe, 12 miles from Cafpe. It was
formerly the capital of the kingdom of the Moors } but
being taken from them, it was made a commandery
of the order of Calatrava. Here is a very remarkable
fountain, which throws 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 pow¬
der prepared from the leaves of the Egyptian privet,
in which the people of Cairo drive a conliderable trade.
It is much uled by the Turkilh women to give a gol¬
den colour to their nails and hair. In dyeing, it gives
a yellow colour when lleeped with common water, and
Vol. I. Part II.
a red one when infufed in vinegar. There is alfo an Alcantara
oil extruded from the berries of alcanna, which is H
fometimes ufied in medicine. , Alcatkir.
ALCANTARA, a fmall, but very flrong city of
Ellremadura, 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 was built in the time of the emperor Tra¬
jan, as appears by an infeription over one of the arches,
by the people of Lufitania, who were affeffed to fup-
ply the expence. It is raifed 200 feet above the level
of the water; and though it confiils but of fix arches,
is 670 feet in length, and 28 in breadth. At the en¬
trance of the bridge, there is a fmall antique chapel
hewn in a rock by the ancient Pagans, who dedicated
it to Trajan, as the Chriilians did to St Julian. This
city was built by the Moors, on account of the conve¬
nience of this bridge; which is at a place where the
Tajo is very deep, running between two high fleep
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 was 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 Alcantara, a military order of Spain,
which took its name from the above-mentioned city.
They make a very confiderable figure in the hillory of
the expeditions againll the Moors. The knights of
Alcantara make the fame vows as thofe of Calatrava,
and are only diftinguifhed from them by this, that the
crofs fleur de lys, which they bear over a large white
cloak, is of a green colour. They poffefs 37 com-
manderies. By the terms of the furrender of Alcan¬
tara to this order, it was flipulated, that there fhould
be a confraternity between the two orders, with the
fame practices and obfervances in both; and that the
order of Alcantara fhould be fubjedl to be vifited by
the grand-mafter of Calatrava. But the former foon
releafed themfelves from this engagement, on pretence
that their grand-mailer had not been called to the elec¬
tion of that of Calatrava, as had been likewife llipula-
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 crown of Callile by Ferdinand and Ifabella.—In
1540, the knights of Alcantara fued for leave to marry,
which was granted them.
ALCAREZ, a fmall city of La Mancha in Spain,
defended by a pretty llrong callle, and remarkable for
an ancient aquedudt. It Hands near the river Guarda-
mena, and the foil about it is very fruitfu}. They
have a breed of little running horfes, which are very
fleet and llrong. It is 25 miles north of the confines
of Andalufia', 108 fouth of Cuenza, and 138 fouth by
call of Madrid. W. Long. 1. 50. N. Lat. 38. 28.
ALCASSAR DO-SAL, a town of Portugal, in Ellre¬
madura, which has a callle faid to be impregnable. It
is indeed very llrong, both by art and nature, being
built on the top of a rock which is exceedingly lleep
on all fides. Here is a falt-work, which produces very
white fait, from whence the town takes its name. The
4 C ' fields
Afcaffar
il
Alcazar.
A L C [ 5?o ] A L C
Helds produce large quantities of a fort of rallies, of
which they make mats, which are tranfported out ol
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 laid
bis father firll invaded Spain with 300,000 men, moft
of whom he was obliged to bring back to Africa to
quell a rebellion that had broke out in Morocco. This
done, he returned to Spain again with an army, as is
faid, of 200,000 horfe 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. The realon,
probably, is the bad fituation of the town; for it Hands
fo low, that it is exceffively hot in fummer, and almoft
overflowed with water in the winter. This they affirm
to be mving to the curfe of one of their faints. Here
are a great number of ftorks, who live vfery familiarly
with the people, walking about the town, pofi'effing
the tops of the houfes and mofques without moleftation;
for they eileem them facred birds, and account it finful
to difturb them. At prefent, the baffiaw of Tetuan ap¬
points a governor to this town, which is the lall 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
fubjeftion 5 and whenever it was attempted, they re¬
venged themfelves by infefting the roads, and robbing
and deftroying 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 Elmahafl’en, famous for the battle fought between
Don Seballian king of Portugal and the Moors; in
ivhich the Portuguefe were defeated, and their king
flain. W. Long. 12. 35. N. Lat. 35. 15.
ALCAVALA, in the Spanilli finances, was at firft
a tax of ten 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
Ihop to another. It fubjedts not only the dealers in
fome fort of goods, but thole in all forts, every farmer,
every manufacturer, every merchant and ffiopkeeper,
to the continual vilits and examination of the tax-ga¬
therers. Through the greater part of a country in
which a tax of this kind is eftabliflied, nothing can
be produced for diflant fale. The produce of every
part of the country muft be proportioned to the con-
fumption of the neighbourhood. It is to the Alcavala,
accordingly, that Uflaritz imputes the ruin of the ma~
nufadlures of Spain. He might have imputed to it
likewife the declenfion of agriculture, it being impofed
not only upon manufadtures, but upon the rude produce
of the land.
ALCAZAB leguer, a town of Africa, in the
kingdom of Fez, and in the province of Rabat. It
was taken by Alphonfo, king of Portugal, in 1468 •, but Alcazar
foon after that it was abandoned to the Moors. It is 11
feated on the coaft of the ilraits of Gibraltar. W.Long. , ^!Ciat-
3. 50. N. Lat. 38. o.
ALCAZER, a town of Spain, in New Caflile, feat¬
ed on the river Guardamena, which has a fortrefs on
a high hill for its defence, and lies in a very fruitful
country. It is 100 miles north-weft of Carthagena.
W. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat. 38. 15.
ALCE, Alces, or Elk, in Zoology, 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.
ALCHEMILLA, or Ladies-mantle. See Bo¬
tany Index.
ALCHEMIST, a practitioner in alchemy.
ALCHEMY, that branch of chemittry which had
for its principal objects the tranfmutation of metals
into gold } the panacea, or univerfal remedy; an alka-
heft, or univerfal menftruum 5 an univerfal ferment j
and many other things equally ridiculous.
Kircher, inftrucled in all the fecrets of chemiftry,
has fully expofed the artifices and impoftures of alche-
mifts. An alchemift puts into a crucible the matter
which is to be converted into gold : this he fets on the
fire, blows it, ftirs it with rods ; and, after divers ope¬
rations, gold is found at the bottom of the crucible,
inftead of the matter firft put in. This there are a
thoufand w’ays of effe&ing, without any tranfmuta¬
tion. Sometimes it is done by dexteroufly dropping in
a piece of gold concealed between the fingers, fome-
times by calling in a little of the dull of gold or filver
difguifed under the appearance of fome elixir, or other
indifferent matter fometimes a crucible is ufed which
has a double bottom, and gold put between the two j
fometimes the rod ufed to ftir the matter is hollow,
and filled with the dull of the metal defined ; at other
times there is metal mixed with the charcoal, the allies
of the furnace, or the like. Mr Harris very properly
diftinguiffies alchemy from chemiftry ; and defines the
former to be ars fine arte, cnjus principiinn cf men-
tiri, medium laborare, et finis mendicare ; and the Ita¬
lians have a proverb, non tifidiare alalchemifia poverty
0 medico amalato. The ruin which has attended this
delulion has occafioned feveral Hates to make levere
laws againft pretences to alchemy, ft he Romans for¬
merly baniffied all fuch as profeffed it *, and the iacred
canons likewife directed the thunder of their cen-
fure againft them. Dioclefian and Csefar directed all
hooks which treated of this fubject to be burnt. Ry-
mer farnifhes us with a licenfe for practiiing alchemy,
with all kinds of metals and minerals, granted to one
Richard Carter in 1476 } Rym. Feed. tom. xii. Ne-
verthelefs, we have had fevere laws againft alchemy,
and multiplying of metals, as much fo as againft coin¬
ing itfelf.
ALCHORNEA. See Botany Index.
ALCIAT or Alciate, Andrew, a great lawyer,
who flouriffied in the tenth 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 ledlures
and writings of lawyers j for which Thuanus highly
A L C [ 57i ] A L C
Ak'iat pvaifes him. He publiflied a great many law-books,
I! and fome notes upon Tacitus. His emblems have been
Alcmaer. ^ mucj1 admired, and tranflated into French, Italian, and
Spanilli 5 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 feene of confufion. The Greeks, grown info-
lent from their conquefts in Perfia, turned their arms
again if each other, and bandied together under the
conduct of the two moll opulent Hates, Athens and La¬
cedaemon. Alcibiades, in the midll of an expedition
he had planned againil the enemies of his country, was
recalled home to anfwer fome charge of a private na¬
ture ; but fearing the violence of his enemy, inllead of
going to Athens, he oftered his fervices at Sparta,
where they were readily accepted. By his advice the
Lacedaemonians made a league with Perfia, which gave
a very favourable turn to their allairs. But his ci'edit
in the republic railing jealoufies againil him, he pri¬
vately reconciled himfelf to his country, and took again
the command of the 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 lire for peace. He enjoyed his triumphs, how¬
ever, only a lliort time at Athens. One nnfuccefsful
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 iEgos entirely fubdued the
Athenian power. Alcibiades, though an exile, endea¬
voured to reftore the power of his country j of which
the Spartans having intelligence, procured him to be
affaffinated. He was a man of admirable accomplilli-
ments, but indifferently principled j of great pai’ts;
and of an amazing verfatility of genius.
ALCINOUS, king of the Phaeacians, in the illand
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 florm had
call him on his coall. The people here loved pleafure
and good cheer, yet were Ikilful feamen } and Alcinous
was a good prince.
ALCMAER, a city of the United Provinces, feat-
ed in North Holland, about four miles from the fea,
15 from Haerlem, and 18 from Amllerdam. It is a
handfome city, and one of the cleanell in Holland.
The llreets 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 demolilhed in 1670, and one church was built in
their Head, dedicated to the fame faints. The Spaniards,
under the command of Frederick of Toledo, fon of the
duke of Alva, came to beiiege it, after they had taken
Haerlem in 1573 } but were forced to raife the fxege
after lying three months before it, as well on account
of the infection of the air as the Hout refillance of the
inhabitants and foldiers •, even the women lignalizing
-themlelves bravely in its defence. It is recorded in
£he regifler of this city, that, in the year 1637, 120
tulips, with the offsets, fold for 90,000 florins. The Alcmaer
town has a very great trade in butter and cheefe, of il
which a vail quantity is fold every year, and is elleem- , Akohd-
ed the bell in Holland. E. Long. 4. 26. N. Lat. v~~
52. 28.
ALCMAN, a lyric poet, who flourillied in the 27th
Olympiad, about 670 years before Chrill. He was
born at Sparta 5 and compofed feveral poems, of which
only fome fragments are remaining, quoted by Athe-
naeus and fome other ancient writers. He was very
amorous 5 accounted the father of gallant poefy 5 and
is faid to have been the firll that introduced the cullom
of linging love fongs in company. He is reported to
have been one of the greatell orators 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
fince, not able to procure the poet bread. He died of
a llrange difeafe ; for he was eaten up with lice.
ALCMANIAN, in ancient lyric poetry, a kind
of verfe, confilling of two dactyles and two trochees :
as,—
Virgini\bus pue\rifque\canto.
The word is formed from Aleman, the name of an an¬
cient Greek poet, in great elleem for his erotics or
amorous compolitions.
ALCMENA, the daughter of Ele&ryo king of
Mycenae, and wife of Amphitryon. Jupiter putting
on the lliape of her hulband while he was abroad in
the wars, begot Hercules upon her : he made that
night as long as three ordinary ones.
ALCOCK, John, dodor of laws, and bifliop of Ely,
in the reign of King Henry VII. was born at Beverly
in Yorklhire, and educated at Cambridge. He was
firll made dean of Wellminller, and afterwards ap¬
pointed mailer of the rolls. In I47I> he 'vas c°nIt¬
erated bilhop of Rocheller : in 1476, he was tranflated
to the fee of Worcefter 5 and in i486, to that ol 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 elleemed by King Henry,
that he appointed him lord prefident of Wales, and
afterwards lord chancellor of England. Alcock found¬
ed a fchool at Kingllon upon Hull, and built the fpa-
cious hall belonging to the epifcopal palace at Ely.
He was alfo the founder ol Jelus-college in Cambridge,
for a mailer, 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 almoll to
nothing, the nuns had all forfaken it, except two j
whereupon Billiop Alcock procured a grant Irom 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 Henry ^ IL
and Pope Julius II. confented to its diffolution : Bale
accordingly calls this nunnery Jpiritualium meretricum
ceenobium, “ a community of fpiritual harlots.” Bifhop
Alcock wrote feveral pieces j among which are the
following: 1. Mans Perfettionis. 2. In Pjiilmos Pc-
nitentiales. 3. Hnmilice Vulgares. 4. Meditationes Pice.
He died (Mober 1. 1560 5 and was buried in the cha¬
pel he had built at Kingllon upon Hull.
ALCOHOL, or Alkool, in ChemiJlnj, fpirit of
wine highly redtified. It is alfo ufed for any highly
4 C 2 re&ified
A L C [ 5?2 ] A L C
Alcohol rectified fpirit.—Alcohol is extremely light ami inflam-
11 mable : it is a ftrong antifeptic, and therefore employ-
Alcoran. e(j preferVe animal fubllances. See CHEMISTRY In¬
dex.
Alcohol is alfo ufed for any fine impalpable pow¬
der.
ALCOHOLIZATION, the procefs of rectifying
any 1’pirit. 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 canjl fee Al¬
oof, 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 fignifies, the reading; or rather, that which
ought to he reed. By this name the Mahometans de¬
note not only the entire book or volume of the Koran,
but alfo any particular chapter or fedtion of it; juft as
the Jews cal! either the whole Scripture, or any part of
it, by the name of Karah, or Mikra, words of the fame
origin and import.
Befides this peculiar name, the Koran is alfo honour¬
ed with feveral appellations common to other books of
Scripture : as, al Farkan, from the verb foraka, to di¬
vide or dijlinguijh ; not, as the Mahometan doctors fay,
becaufe thofe books are divided into chapters or lec¬
tions, or diftinguilh between good and evil ; but in the
lame notion that the Jews ufe the word Perek, or Pirka,
from the fame root, to denote a fedtion or portion of
Scripture. It is alfo called al Mojhaf the volume, and
al Kitah, the book, by way of eminence, which anlwers
to the Biblia of the Greeks 5 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 Jura, a word rarely ufed
on any other occafion, and properly fignifying 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 Tora, of the
Jews, who alfo call the fifty-three fedlions of the Pen¬
tateuch Sedarim, a word of the fame fignification.
Thefe chapters are not, in the manufeript copies, di-
ftinguiflied by their numerical order, but by particular
titles, which are taken fometimes from a particular
matter treated of, or perfon mentioned therein } but
ufually from the firft 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 *, which feems ridiculous. But the
occafion of this appears to have been, that the verfe or
paffage wherein fuch word occurs, was, in the point of
time, revealed and committed to writing before the
other verfes of the fame chapter, which precede it in
order •, 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 was taken did
not always happen to begin the chapter. Some chap¬
ters have two or more titles, occafioned by the difference Alcoran
of the copies. u--y—
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 laid to have been revealed part¬
ly at Mecca and partly at Medina; 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 we cuftomarily call
verfes ; but the Arabic word is ay at, the fame with the
Hebrew ototh, and fignifies figns or wonders : fuch as
are the fecrets of God, his attributes, works, judge¬
ments, and ordinances, delivered in thofe verfes ; many
of which have their particular titles alfo, impofed in the
fame manner as thole of the chapters.
Befides thefe unequal divifions of chapter and verfe,
the Mahometans have alfo divided their Koran into fix-
teen equal portions, which they call Ah%ab, in the An¬
gular Hixb, each divided into four equal parts ; which
is alfo an imitation of the Jews, who have an ancient
divifion of their Milhna into fixty portions called Maf-
fiBoth. But the Koran is more ufually divided into
thirty feclions only named Ajcza, from the Angular
Jo%, each of twice the length of the former, and in the
like 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 feftion every day 3 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 folemn
form, by the Mahometans called the Bifmallah, IV
THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD 3 which
form they conftantly place at the beginning of all their
books and writings in general, as a peculiar mark or
diftinguilhing charafteriftic 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 God 3 and
the eaftern Chriftians that of, In the name of the Fa¬
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghof. 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, Ben am Yezdan bakfhaifh-
gher dadar : that is, In the name of the mojl merciful
jujl 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 Angle 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 moft intelligent confefs, has not been com¬
municated to any mortal, their prophet only excepted.
Notwithftanding which, fome will take the liberty of
gueffing at their meaning by that fpecies of Cabala
called by the Jews Notar ikon, and fuppofe the letters-
to ftand for as many words, exprefling the names and
attributes of God, his Avorks, ordinances, and decrees 3
and therefore thefe myfterious letters, as well as the-
verfei?
A L C
Alcoran, verfes themfelves, feem in the Koran to he called Jigns.
—-V1—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 Jewifli Cabala call¬
ed Gematria; the uncertainty of which conjeftures fuf-
iiciently appears from their difagreement. Thus, for
example, five chapters, one of which is the fecond, be¬
gin with thefe letters, A. L. M. which fome imagine
to Hand for Allah latiff mag id, “ God is gracious and
to be glorified ; or, Ana li niinni, i. e. to me and from
me, viz. belongs all perfection, and proceeds all good ;
or elfe for Ana Allah alam, “ I am the mojl wife God,”
taking the firft letter to mark the beginning of the
firll word, the fecond the middle of the fecond word,
and the third the lall 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 be¬
longs to the lower part of the throat, the firft of the or¬
gans of fpeech L to the palate, the middle organ ;
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, middle,
and end, of all our words and aCtions : or, as the total
value of thofe three letters, in numbers, is feventy-one,
they fignify, that, in the fpace of lb many years, the
religion preached in the Koran fliould be fully eftablilh-
ed. The conjefture of a learned Chriftian is at leaft as
certain as any of the former, who fuppofes thofe letters
were let there by the amanuenfis, for Amur li Moham¬
med, i. e. at the command of Mohammed, as the five let¬
ters prefixed to the nineteenth chapter feem to be there
written by a Jewifli icribe, for Coh yaas, Tims he com¬
manded..
The Koran is univerlally allowed to be written with
the utmoft elegance and purity of language, in the dia¬
led of the tribe of Koreilh, the moft noble and polite
of all the Arabians, but with fome mixture, though
very rarely, of other dialeCts. It is confeffedly the
ftandard of the Arabic tongue, and, as the more ortho¬
dox believe, and are taught by the book itfelf, inimi¬
table by any human pen (though fome fedtaries have
been of another opinion), and therefore infilled on as
a permanent miracle, greater than that of railing the
dead, and alone fufficient to convince the world of its
divine original.
And to this miracle did Mahomet himfelf chiefly
appeal for the confirmation of his million, publicly chal¬
lenging the moft eloquent men in Arabia, which was
at that time Hocked with thoufands whofe foie ftudy
and ambition it was to excel in elegance of ftyle and
compofition, 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 effed of the Alcoran j which they
confider as a fort of mufic, equally fitted with other fpe¬
cies of that art to ravilh 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 effed of witchcraft and enchantment, as he him- Alcoran,
fell’ complains.—Others have attributed the effed ofy-—•
the Alcoran to the frequent mention of rewards and
punilhments } heaven and hell occurring almoft in eve-
ry page. Some fuppofe, that the fenfual pleafures of
paradife, fo frequently let before the imaginations of
the readers of the Alcoran, were what chiefly bewitch¬
ed them. Though, with regard to thefe, there is a
great difpute whether they are to be underftood literal¬
ly or fpiritually. Several have even allegorized the
whole book.
The general delign of the Koran was to unite the
profeffors of the three different religions, then followed
in the populous country of Arabia (who for the moft
part lived promifcuoully, 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 worfliip of one God,
under the fandion of certain laws, and the outward
figns of ceremonies partly of ancient and partly of no¬
vel inftitution, enforced by the conlideration of re¬
wards and punilhments both temporal and eternal $
and to bring them all to the obedience ol Mahomet,
as the prophet and ambaffador ol God, who, after the
repeated admonitions, promifes, and threats, of former
ages, was at laft to ellablifli and propagate God’s re¬
ligion on earth, and to be acknowledged chief pontiff
in ipiritual matters, as well as fupreme prince in tem¬
poral.
The great dodrine then of the Koran, is the unity
of God j to reftore which point Mahomet pretended
was the chief end of his million •, 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 lubjed to alteration, according to the
divine diredions } yet the fubftance ol it being eternal
truth, is not liable to change, but continues immutably
the fame. And he taught, that, whenever this reli¬
gion became negleded, or corrupted in effentials, God
had the goodnels to re-inform and re-admonifli man¬
kind thereof, by feveral prophets, of whom Moles and
Jefus were the moft diftinguilhed, till the appearance
of Mahomet, who is their feal, and no other to be ex-
peded after him. The more effedually to engage
people to hearken to him, great part of the Koran is
employed in relating examples of dreadful punifliments
formerly in flitted by God on thole who receded and
abufed his meffengers} feveral ol 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 Jews and Chri¬
ftians of thofe ages, fet up in the Koran as truths xnop-
pofition 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 were invented by Mahomet, as is generally
fuppofed, it being eafy to trace the greatell part of
them,
[ 573 1
(a) As the compofition and arrangement of words, however, admit of infinite varieties, it can never he abfo
lutely faid that anV one is the heft poffible. In fad, Hamzah Benahmed wrote a book againll the Alcoran with
at leaft equal elegance j and Mofelema another, which even furpalled it, and occafioned a defedion ol a great,.
jiajt of the Muffulmans. Journ. de Sfav. tom. xiii. p. 280. Oeuvr. de Sfav. i ov. 170 . p. 404.
A L C [ 574 ] A L C
Afcoraa.
them much higher, as the reft might he, were more of
thole books extant, and was it worth while to make the
inquiry.
The reft of the Alcoran is taken up in prefcribing
neceftary laws and directions, frequent admonitions to
moral and divine virtues, the worlhip and reverence of
the Supreme Being, and refignation to his will. One
ol their moft learned commentators diftinguiflies the
contents ol the Alcoran into allegorical and literal; un¬
der the former are comprehended all the obfcure, para¬
bolical, and enigmatical paffages, with fuch as are re¬
pealed, or abrogated 5 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 difpute not with the
ignorant j” or, 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 5 for God will have you plant in your fouls the
roots of his chief perfections.” It is eafy to fee that
this commentary is copied from the gofpel. In reali¬
ty, the neceflity of forgiving enemies, though fre¬
quently inculcated in the Alcoran, is of a later date
among the Mahometans than among the Chriftians 5
among thofe latter, than among the heathens 5 and to
he traced originally among the Jews. (See Exodus
xxxiii. 4. 5.) But it matters not fo much avIio had it
firft, as who obferves it beft. The caliph Kaftan, fon
of Kali, being at table, a Have unfortunately let fall a
difli of meat reeking hot, which fcalded him feverely.
rl he 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 ca¬
liph—“ And for thofe who forgive oft’ences againft
them,” continues the Have. I forgive thee thine, replies
the caliph—“ But above all, for thofe who return good
tor evil,” adds the flave. I fet thee at liberty, rejoined
the caliph ; and I give thee ten dinars.
There are alfo a great number of occafional 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 with any thing, he
had a certain reiource 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 ; fince, had the whole been publiflied at
once, innumerable objections would have been made,
which it would have been impoflible for him to folvej
but as he received it by parcels, as God faw fit they
ftiould be publiflied for the converfion and inftruCtion of
the people, he had a fure way to anfwer all emergencies,
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
tranfcript has been from everlafting by God’s throne,
written on a table of vaft bignefs, called the prefervcd
3
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
Kamadan, 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 fliowr him the
whole (which they tell us wras bound in filk, and adorn¬
ed with gold and precious ftones of paradife) once a-
year j but in the laft year of his life he had the favour
to fee it twice. They fay, that few chapters were de¬
livered entire, the moft part being revealed piece¬
meal, and written down from time to time by the pro¬
phet’s amanuenfis in fuch a part of fuch and fuch a
chapter till they were completed, according to the
direftions of the angel. The firft parcel that was re¬
vealed is generally agreed to have been the firft five
verfes of the 46th chapter.
After the new-revealed paffages had been from the
prophet’s mouth taken down in writing by bis ferine,
they were publiflied to his followers } feveral of whom
took copies for their private ufe, but the far greater
number got them by heart. The 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, fuch
as it is, in which we now find them. This was the
work of his fucceffor Abu Beer 5 who, confidering
that a great number of paflages wrere committed to
the memory of Mahomet’s followers, many of Avhom
wrere flain in their wars, ordered the Avhole to be
collefted, not only from the palm leaves and fkins 6n
which they had been written, and Avhich were kept
betAveen tAvo boards or covers, but alfo from the mouths
of fuch as had gotten them by heart. And this tran¬
fcript, when completed, he committed to the cuftody
of Haifa the daughter of Omar, one of the prophet’s
widows.
From this relation it is generally imagined that Abu
Beer Avas really the compiler of the Koran 5 though,
for aught appears to the contrary, Mahomet left the
chapters complete as avc norv have them, excepting fuch
paffages as his fucceffor might add or correct from thofe
Avho had gotten them by heart $ Avhat Abu Beer did
elfe, being perhaps no more than to range the chap¬
ters in their prefent order, which he feems to have done
Avithout any regard to time, having generally placed
the longeft firft.
HoAvever, 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 feveral pro¬
vinces of the empire ; thofe of Irak, for example, fol-
loAving the reading of Abu Mufa al Afliari, 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 Hai¬
fa’s care, under the infpeftion of Zeid Ebn Thabet,
Abd’allah Ebn Zobair, Said Ebn al As, and Abd’al-
rahman Ebn al Hareth the Makhzumite \ whom he
directed, that, wherever they difagreed about any
word, they ftiould write it in the dialed of the Ko-
reift?>
Alcoran.-
metauifm,
P- 257
A L C
Alcoran, rcifli, in which it was at firft delivered. Tliefe copies,
V—when made, were difperfed in the 1’everal provinces of
the empire, and the old ones burnt and luppreffed.
Though many things in Hafla’s copy were corrected
by the above-mentioned revifers, yet 1’ome few various
readings Itill occur.
In fine, the book of the Alcoran is held in the higheft
eileem and reverence among the Muffulmans. They
dare not fo much as touch the Alcoran without being
firlt walked, or legally purified 5 to prevent which, an
inlcription is put on the cover or label, Let none touch
but they who are clean. It is read with great care and
refpect ; 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 ; write fentences of it
in their banners*, adorn it with gold and precious Hones;
and knowingly fuffer it not to be in the poffellion of
any of a different religion. Some fay that it is punifii-
able even with death, in a Chriflian, to touch it }
others, that the veneration of the Muffulmans leads
them to condemn the tranllating it into any other
language as a profanation : but thefe feem to be ag¬
gravations. The Mahometans have taken care to have
their Scripture tranllated into the Perfian, the Javanefe,
the Malayan, and other languages: though, out of
refpedt to the original, thefe verfions are generally, if
not always, interlineated.
View of By the advocates of Mahometanifm, the Koran, as -
Chrifiianity already obferved, has always been held forth as the
and Maho- greateft of miracles, and equally ftupendous with the
adt of railing the dead. The miracles of Mofes and
Jefus, they fay, were tranfient and temporary; but that
of the Koran is permanent and perpetual j and there¬
fore far furpaffes all the miraculous events of preceding
ages. We will not detract from the real merit of the
Koran : we 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-
pollor. It requires not the eye of a philofopher to
difeover in every foil and country a principle of national
pride : and if we look back for many ages on the hi-
ilory of the Arabians, we fhall eafily perceive that pride
among them invariably to have confiiled in the know¬
ledge and improvement of their native language. The
Arabic, which has been julllv efteemed the moll copi¬
ous of the Eaftern tongues ; which had exifted from
the remoteft antiquity ; which had been embellifhed by
numberlefs poets, and refined by the conftant exercife
of the natives *, was the moil fuccefsful inltrument 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 expreffion,
and to purfue the imagination in its unbounded flight;
it became in the hands of Mahomet an irreliftible
charm to blind the judgment, and to captivate the fan¬
cy of his followers.
“ Of that defeription of men, who firft compofed the
adherents of Mahomet, and to whom the Koran was
addreffed, few, probably, were able to pafs a very ac-
[' 575 j
a y, (j
curate judgment on the propriety of the Tenements, or
on the beauties of the di&ion : but all could judge of
the military abilities of their leader j and in the midft
of their admiration it is not difficult to conceive, that
they would aferibe to his compofitions every imaginary
beauty of infpired language.
Ihe ftiepherd and the foldier, though awake to the
charms of thole wild but beautiful compofitions, in
which were 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 abftrad reafonings on the
attributes and the difpenfations of the Dfcitv, to the
comparative excellencies of rival religions, to the con-
fiftency of any one religious fyftem in all its parts, and
to the lorce oi its various proofs, they were quite inat¬
tentive. In Inch a lituation, the appearance of a work
which pofleffed lomething like wifdom and confiftence $
which preferibed the rules, and illuftrated the duties
of life; and which contained the principles of a new
and comparatively fublime theology, independently of
its real and permanent merit, was likely to excite their
aftonilhment, and to become the ftandard of future com-
pofition.
“ In the firft periods of the literature of every coun¬
try, fomething of this kind has happened. The father
of Grecian poetry very obvioufly influenced the tafte
and imitation of his countrymen. The modern nations
ol Europe all poffefs fome original author, who, rifing
from the darknefs of former ages, has begun the career
of compofition, and timftured with the character of his
own imagination the ftream which has flowed through
his pofterity.
“ But the prophet of Arabia had in this refpedt ad¬
vantages peculiar to himfelf. His compofitions were
not to his followers the works of man, but the genuine
language of Heaven, which had lent him. They were
not confined therefore to that admiration which is fo
liberally bellowed on the earlielt produftions of genius,
or to that fond attachment with which men every¬
where regard the original compofitions 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 refpect to fhare in the temper of heaven ; and
he who was moft affected with admiration in the peru-
fal of its beauties, feemed 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 tafte. TV ith a language thus hallowed in
their imaginations, they wTere too well fatisfied, either
to difpute its elegance or improve its ftructure. In
fucceeding ages, the additional fanction 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 tell and the duty of the faithful, can
neither be altered nor diminifhed.
“ When therefore we confider the peculiar advan¬
tages of the Koran, we have no reafon to be furprifed
at the admiration in which it is held. But if, defeend-
ing to a more minute inveftigation of it, we confider
its perpetual inconfiftence and abfurdity, we Ihall in¬
deed have caufe for aftonifhment at that weaknefs of
humanity which could ever have received fuch compo¬
fitions as the work of the Deity.
Alceran.
“ The
Alcoran.
A L C ' [ 576 ] A L G
“ The fifcft praife of all the productions of genius, is
invention } that quality of the mind, which, by the ex¬
tent and quicknefs of its views, is capable of the lar-
geif conceptions, and of forming new combinations of
objects the molt diftant and unufual. But the Koran
bears little impreliion of this tranfcendent charader.
Its materials are wholly borrowed from the Jewifh and
Chriftian Scriptures, from the Talmudical legends and
apocryphal gofpels then current in the Eail, and from
the traditions and fables which abounded in Arabia.
The materials collected from thefe feveral fources are
here heaped together with perpetual and needlefs re¬
petitions, without any fettled principle or vilible con-
nedion.
“ When a great part of the life of Mahomet had been
fpent in preparatory meditation on the fyftem he was
about to eftablifh, its chapters were dealt out flowly
and feparately during the long period of 23 years. et
thus defedive in its llrudure, and not lei’s exception¬
able in its dodrines, 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 impreffes 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 defcribe, they would net have been
furrounded, as they now are on every fide, with error
and abfurdity. But it might eafily be proved, that
whatever it juftly defines of the divine attributes, was
borrowed from our Holy Scripture ; which even from
its firft promulgation, but efpecially from the comple¬
tion of the New Teftament, has extended the views
and enlightened the underllandings of mankind ; and
thus furnilhed them with arms, which have too often,
. though ineffectually, been turned againll 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 defcriptions. 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 perfections. Accor¬
dingly, when they would reprelent to us the happinefs
of Heaven, they defcribe it, not by any thing minute
and particular, but by fomething general and great:
fomething that, without defcending to any determinate
objeCt, 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 exprelled rather by
allufion than fimilitude, rather by indefinite and figura¬
tive terms, than by any thing fixed and determinate.
“ Eye hath not feen, nor car heard, neither have en¬
tered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.” I Cor. ii. 9.
What a reverence and allonifliment 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 obfcure,
is the imagery !
“ Different was the conduCt of Mahomet in his de¬
fcriptions of heaven and of paradife. Unaffilted by the
neceffary influence of virtuous intentions and Divine Alcoran,
infpiration, he was neither defirous, nor indeed able, to1-——v--—
exalt the minds of men to fublime conceptions, or to ra¬
tional expectations. By attempting to explain what is
inconceivable, to defcribe what is ineffable, and to ma¬
terialize what in itfelf is fpiritual} he abfurdly and im-
pioiifly aimed to fenfualize the purity of the Divin«
offence. 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} but therefore more likely to accord with the
appetites and conceptions of a corrupt and fenlual age.
“ That we may not appear to exalt our Scriptures
thus far above the Koran by an unreafonable preference,
we fliall produce a part of the fecond chapter of the
latter, which is defervedly admired by the M ahometans,
who wear it engraved on their ornaments, and recite it
in their prayers. ‘ God ! there is no God but he}
the living, the felf-fubfifting : neither Humber nor fleep
feizeth him : to him belongeth whatfoever is in hea¬
ven, and on earth. M ho is he that can intercede with
him but through his good pleafure ? He knoweth that
which is pall, 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. 4to edit.
“ To this defcription who can refute the praife of
magnificence ? Part of that magnificence, however, is to
be referred to that of the Pfalmill, whence it was
borrowed, 4 He that keepeth Ifrael, lliall neither Hum¬
ber nor fleep.’ Pfal- cxxi. 4.
“But if we compare it with that other paffage of
the fame infpired Pfalmift, all its boafted grandeur is at
once obfcured, and loft in the blaze ol a greater
light.
“ O my God, take me not away in the midft of my
days ’, thy years are throughout all generations. Of
•old haft thou laid the foundations of the earth 5 and
the heavens are the work of thy hands. Ihey Ihall
perifti, but thou flialt endure : yea all of them Ihall wax
old, as doth a garment j as a vefture flialt thou change
them, and they Ihall be changed 5 but thou art the
fame, and thy years fliall not fail.’
“ The Koran, therefore, upon a retrofpective view
of thefe feveral circumftances, far from fupporting its
arrogant claim to a fupernatural work, finks below the
level of many compofitions confefledly of human origi¬
nal ; and ftill lower 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 was externally performed for the fupport, or is
internally involved in the compofition, of the Mahome¬
tan revelation.”
Alcoran, is alfo figuratively applied to certain
other books full of impieties and impoftures. In this
fenfe we meet with the Alcoran of the Cordeliers,
Avhich has made a great noife j wherein St I rancis is
extravagantly magnified, and put on a level with Jefus
Chrift. The Alcoran of the Cordeliers is properly an
extract of a very fcarce book, entitled, The Conformity
of the Life of the feraphic father St Francis with the
Life of Chrift, publifhed in 1510, 4to j fince, at Bo¬
logna, in folio. Erafmus Albertus, being by the elec¬
tor of Brandenburg appointed to vifit a monaftery ot
Francifcans,
A L C [ 577 ] A L C
Alcoran FrancifcanS, found this book j and being ftrnck with the
|| extreme folly and abfurdity of it, collected a number of
Alcuinus. curiofities out of it, and publiflicd them under the title
* of the Alcoran of the Francifcans, with a preface by
Martin Luther.
ALCORANISTS, among Mahometans, thofe who
adhere ftrictly to tlie letter or text of the Alcoran, from
an opinion of its ultimate fufficiency and perfedtion.
The Perfians are generally Alcoran jls, as admitting the
Alcoran alone for their rule of faith. The Turks, Tar¬
tars, Arabs, &c. belides the Alcoran, admit a multitude
of traditions. The Alcoranifts, among Mahometans,
amount to much the fame with the Textuaries among
the Jews. The Alcoranills can find nothing excellent
out of the Alcoran ; are enemies of philofophers, me-
taphyficians, and fcholaftic writers. With them the
Alcoran is every thing.
ALCOV E, in ArchitcElure, a recefs, or part of a
chamber feparated by an eftrade, or partition of co¬
lumns, and other correfponding ornaments, in which
is placed a bed of Rate, and fometimes feats to enter¬
tain company. Thefe alcoves are frequent in Spain j
and the bed is raifed two or three afcents, with a rail
at the foot.
ALCUINUS, Flaccus, an ecclefiallic of the
eighth century. He was born, it is fuppofed, in York-
Ihire. He was educated, however, at York, under
the diredtion of Archbifiiop Egbert, as we learn from
his own letters, in which he frequently calls that great
prelate his beloved mailer, and the clergy of York the
companions of his youthful Rudies. As he furvived
Venerable Bede about 70 years, it is hardly poflible
that he could have received any part of his education
Under him, as fome wTiters of literary hiRory have af¬
firmed y and it is worthy of obfervation, that he never
calls that great man his mafier, though he fpeaks of
him with the higheR veneration. It is not well known
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 embafly by Offa
king of Mercia to the emperor Charlemagne \ who
contradled fo great an eReem and friendlhip for him,
that he earneRly folicited, and at length prevailed up¬
on him, to fettle in his court, and become his precep¬
tor in the fciences. Alcuinus accordingly iriflrudted
that great prince in rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and
xlivinity; which rendered him one of his greateR fa¬
vourites. “ He was treated with fo much kindnefs
and familiarity (fays a contemporary 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
againR the heretical opinions of Felix bifliop of Ur-
gel, in Catalonia, and to defend the orthodox faith
againR that herefiarch, in the council of Francfort,
A. D. 894 'y which he performed to the entire fatil-
faddion of the emperor and council, and even to the
conviction of Felix and his followers, who abandon¬
ed their errors. The emperor confulted chiefly with
Alcuinus on all things relating to religion and learn¬
ing j and, by his advice, did many great things for
the advancement of both. An academy was eRa-
blilhed in the imperial palace, over which Alcuinus
prefided, and in which the princes and prime nobi-
Yol. I. Part II.
lity were educated ; and other academies were elia- Alcuinus
blilhed in the chief towns of Italy and France, at his ||
inRigation, and under his infpeCtion. “ France (fays Alcyomus
one of our beR writers of literary hiRory) is indebted v
to Alcuinus for all the polite learning it boafled of in
that and the following ages. The univerfities of Paris,
Tours, Fulden, Soifl'ons, and many others, owe to him
their origin and increafe 5 thole of whom he was not
the fuperior and founder, being at leaR enlightened by
his dodlrine and example, and enriched by the benefits
he procured for them from Charlemagne.” After Al¬
cuinus had fpent many years in the mofi intimate fami¬
liarity with the greateR prince of his age, he at length,
with great difficulty, obtained leave to retire from
court to bis abbey of St Martin’s at Tours. Here he
kept up a conllant correfpondence by letters with.
Charlemagne , from which it appears, that both the -
emperor and his learned friend were animated with the
rhoR ardent love to learning and religion, and con
Rantly employed in contriving and executing the nohleffi
defigns for their advancement. He compofed many
treatifes on a great variety of fubje&s, in a Ryle much
fuperior in purity and elegance to that of the genera¬
lity of writers in the age in which he flourilhed. Char¬
lemagne often folicited him, with all the warmth of a .
moR afl’ectionate friend, to return to court, and favour
him with his company and advice} but he Rill excufed
himfelf; and nothing could draw him from his retii’e-
ment in his abbey of St Martin in Tours, where he died
A. I). 804. His works Were colle&ed and publifhed
by Andrew du Chefne in one volume folio, Paris, 1617.
They confiR of, 1. Trails upon Scripture. 2. Trads
upon dodrine, difeipline, and morality. 3. HiRorical
treatifes, letters, and poems. Sintte that edition, there
has been publiffied an incredible number of trads,
poems, &c. aferibed to this author, moR 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 aRroites,
frequently found foffil in England.
AlcyoniUM Stagnum, in Ancient Geography, a lake
in the territory of Corinth, whofe depth was unfathom¬
able, and in vain attempted to be difeovered by Nero.
Through this lake Bacchus is laid to have defeended to
hell, to bring back Semele j (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 corredor of the prefs a confiderable time for Al¬
dus Manutius, and is entitled to a Ihare in the praifes
given to the editions of that learned printer. He pu-
bliflied a treatife concerning banifhment, which con¬
tained fo many fine paflages intermixed with other*
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 deteded in this theft, he burnt
the manufeript of Cicero, the only one extant. Pau-
lus Manutius, in his commentary upon thefe Words of
Cicero, Libram tibi celeriter miitam de gloria, ,u \
will fpcedily fend you my treatife on Glory,” has the
following pafl’age relating to this affair : “ He means
4 I) (fays
A L D [5
Alcyonius (i'ays lie) his two books on Glory, winch were handed
|] doAvn to the age of our fathers } tor 13ernard Juftinian,
Alderman. Ja the index of his hooks, mentions Cicero di Gloria.
This treatife, however, when Bernard had left his whole
library to a nunnery, could not he found, though iought
after with great care : nobody doubted but Peter Al¬
cyonius, Who, being a phyfician to the nunnery, was en-
trufted with the library, had bafely llolen it. And tru¬
ly, in his treatiie of Banilhment, tome things are found
interfperfed here and there, which teem not to tavour
of Alcyonius, but of tome higher author.” I he two
orations he made after the taking of Rome, wherein he
reprefented verv ftrongly the injuftice ot Charles V. and
the barbarity ot Ins foldiers, were excellent pieces.
There is alfo an oration afcribed to him, on the knights
who died at the fiege ot Rhodes.
ALT)BOROUGH, a lea-port town of England,
in Suffolk. It is pleafantly fituated in a dale be¬
tween a high hill to the weft ward, on which its large
old-built church ftands ; the tea to the eaft, and its ri¬
ver running louth-weft. It is a large, long, ordinary
town, made up of two or three ftreets of low houtes,
running parallel to each other. A quarter of a mile
to the fouth lies Slaughden, where they have a com¬
modious key, with warehoutes for fifti : more ioutherly
ftill, they have conveniences for drying their north-
tea fifti. Their employment in the fiftiery is their chief
bufinefs, which is contiderable in the feafons tor catch¬
ing herrings and fprats j and it is the only place in
England for curing red fprats. It is a town corporate,
and fends two members to parliament. I owards the
lea, it has fome pieces of cannon planted tor its defence.
It is 88 miles north-eaft from London. E. Long, I. 32-
N. Lat. 52. 50.
Aldborough, a market-town in the weft riding
of Yorkthire, feated on the river Oufe, 15 miles north-
weft of York, and 200 miles north of London. It
fends two members to parliament. V» • Long. o. 20.
N. Lat. 54. 15. It was anciently a Roman city, call¬
ed Ifuriiim Brigantum; and feveral coins and monu¬
ments of the Saxons and Romans have been ditcovered
there.
ALDEBARAN, in AJlronomy, a ftar of the firft
magnitude, called in Englifli the bulPs eye, as making
the eye of the conftellation Taurus. Its longitude is
6 deg. 32 mm. () fee. of Gemini, and its latitude 5 deg.
29 min. 40 fee. fouth.
ALDER TREE. See Betula, Botany Index.
ALDERHOLM, an ifland of Sweden, formed by
the three arms of a river running through Gentle,- a
town of Nordland, in Sweden, 80 miles north iiom
Stockholm. Here is a wharf, a repofitory for planks
and deals, two packing-houfes, a large cuftomhoufe for
taking toll of the fliips, an arfenal for cannon, and a
granary.
ALDERMAN, in the Britifh 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 ; each having one
of the wards of the city committed to his care. This
office is for life j fo that when one of them dies, 01^ re-
figns, a ivardmote is called, avIio return tAvo pci ions,
one of Avhom the lord-mayor and aldermen cbooie to
fapply the Aracancy. All the aldermen are juftices of ihe
78] ALB
peace, by a charter of 15 Geo. IT. The aldermen of Alderman
London, &c. are exempted from ferving interior offi- li
ces ) nor fhall they be put upon aOizes, or ferve on ju- lAld,1J lni-,
ries, fo long as they continue to be aldermen.
Alderman, among our Saxon anceftors, Avas a de¬
gree of nobility anfwering to earl or count at prelent.
Alderman Avas alfo ufed, in the time of King Ed¬
gar, for a judge or juft ice. Thus avc meet Avith the
titles of aldermannus totius Anglia:, aldermannus regis,
comitatis, civitatis, burgi, cajlclh, hundredijive wapen-
tachii, et novemdecimorum. According to Spelman,
the aldermannus totius Angliee feems to have been the
fame officer Avho Avas afterAvards ftyled cctpituhs jufhcia-
rius Anglia:, or chief-juftice ot England the aldet -
inannus regis feems to have been an occalional magi¬
ftrate, anfwering to our juftice of affize ”, and the alder¬
mannus comitatus, a magiftrate who held a middle rank
betAveen Avhat Avas aftenvard called the earl and the
JlieriW; he fat at the trial of caufes Avith the biffiop :
the latter proceeding according to ecclefiaftical laAi',
and the former declaring and expounding the' common
laAV of the land.
ALDERNEY, an illand in the Britiffi channel,
fubjedt to the croAvn of Great Britain. It is about
eight miles in compafs, and is ieparated from Cape la.
Hogue, in Normandy, by a narroAV ftrait, called the
Race'of Alderney, Avhich is a very dangerous paitage
in ttormy weather Avhen the tAAro currents meet , othei -
wife it is fafe, and has depth of water for the largeft
flips. Through this ftrait the French fleet made
their efcape after their defeat at La Hogue, in 1692.
It is a healthy ifland, has but one church, is fruitful
both in corn and pafture, and is remarkable for a fine
breed of coavs. The inhabitants, for their greater fafety,
live together in a toAvn of the lame name. Ihe num¬
ber of houfes is laid to be 200, and the inhabitants
1000. It has but one harbour, called Crabby, Avhicli
is'at a good diftance from the toAvn j and is only fit for
fmall veflels. To the weft lie the range of rocks call¬
ed the Cafkets, fo dangerous to mariners. W. Long.
2. 17, N. Lat. 49. 50.
ALDHELM, or Adeem, St, biffiop of Shireburn
in the time of the Saxon Heptarchy. He is faid to^
have been the fon of Kenred, brother to Ina, king ot^
the Weft Saxons 5 but, in the opinion of William of
Malmffiury, his father Avas no more than a diftant re¬
lation to the king. Having received the firft part of
his education m the fchool Avhich one Macdulf, a learn¬
ed Scot, had fet up in the place Avhere Malmffiury now
ftands, he travelled into France and Italy for his im~
proA-cment. At his return home, he ftudied iome time
under Adrian abbot of St Auguitine’s in Ganteibuiy,
the moft learned profeffor ot the fciences Avho had ever
been in England. In thefe different feminaries he ac¬
quired a very uncommon ftock of knowledge j and be¬
came famous for his learning, not only in England* but
in foreign countries ; Avhence feveral learned men tent
him their writings for his perufal and corre&ion •, par¬
ticularly Prince Arcivil, a fon of the king of Scotland,
Avho Avrote many pieces, which he fent to Aldhelm,
“ entreating him to give them the latt polifli, by
bing off their Scots ruft.” He Avas the firft Engli -
man Avho wrote in the Latin language both 111 prole
and verfe, and compofed a book for the inftruction ot
his countrymen in the profody of that language. ^
A L D [ 579 ] A L D
yjjjcim fules this, he wrote feveral otlier treatlfeS on various
|| fubje&s j fome of which are loft, and others publifhed
Aldred. ],y Martin Delrio and Canifius. Venerable Bede, who
_ flourilhed in the end of this and the beginning of the
next century, gives the following character of Aldhelm :
“ He was a man of univerfal erudition, having an ele¬
gant ftyle, and being wonderfully well acquainted with
iooks, both on philofophical and religious fubje&s.1’
In fact, confidering the cloud of ignorance by which
he wras furrounded, and the great difficulty of acquir¬
ing knowledge without proper in ft ruction, Aldhelm was
a very extraordinary man. From one of his letters to
Hedda bilhop of Winchefter, concerning the nature of
his ftudies whilft at Canterbury, he appears to have
been indefatigably determined to acquire every ipecies
of learning in his power. For a copy ol this curious
epiftle, fee Henry’s Hiftory, vol. ii. p. 3 20. King Al¬
fred the Great declared, that Aldhelm was the beft of
all the Saxoii poets j and that a favourite long, which
was univerfally fung in his time, near 200 years after
its author’s death, was of his compofition. When he
was abbot of Malmfbury, having a line voice, and great
hull in mufic as well as poetry, and obferving the
backwardnefs of his barbarous countrymen to liften to
grave inftructions, he compofed a number ol little
poems, which he fung to them after mafs in the Iweet-
uft manner ; by which they were gradually inllrudted
and civilized. After this excellent perfon had govern¬
ed the monaftery of Malmlbury, ol which he was the
founder, about 30 years, he was made bilhop of Shire-
burn, where he died A. D. 709.—He wrote, 1. De
ocio vitiis principalibus. This treatife is extant in £h-
blintheca Pairum of Canifms. 2. JEnigmatian verfus
millc. This, with feveral other of his poems, was
publilhed by Martin Delrio at Mentz, 8vo, 1601.
3. A book addrelfed to a certain king of Northumber¬
land, named Alfrid, on various fubjecls. 4. I)e vita
monachorum. 5. JDe laude fanSlorum. 6. Tie anthme-
tica. 7. Tie ajlrolopia. 8. A book againftthe miftake
of the Britons concerning the celebration of Falter j
printed by Sonius, 1576. 9. De laude virginitatis;
manufeript, in Bennet-college, Cambridge 5 publilhed
among Bede’s Opujcula. Belides many fonnets, epii-
tles, 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 Confelfor,
and had fo much power over his mind, that he obliged
him to be reconciled with the worft of his dnemies,
particularly with Sweyn Ion ol the Earl Goodwin, who
had revolted againll him, and came with an army to
invade the kingdom. Aldred alfo rettored the union
and friendlhip between King Edward and Griffith king
of Wales. He took afterwards a journey to Rome,
and being returned into England, in the year 1054,
he was lent ambaflador to the emperor Henry II. He
ftaid a whole year in Germany, and was very honour¬
ably entertained by Herman archbilhop ol Cologne,
from whom he learned many things relating to ecclefi-
aftical difeipline, which on his return he ellablilhed in
his own diocefe. In the year 1058 he went to Jeru-
falem, which no archbilhop or bifliop of England had
ever done before him. TvVo years after he returned to
England j and Kinfius archbifliop of York dying the Aldred.
2 2d of December 1060, Aldred was elected in his ftead e——y—«
on Chrillmas day following, and was permitted to re¬
tain the fee of Worcefter with the archbilhopric of
York, as fome of his predeceffors had done. Aldred
went foon after to Rome, in order to receive the
pall fx-om the pepe: He was attended by Tofton
earl of Northumberland, Gifo bifhop of W ells, and
W alter bilhop of Hereford. The pope received Tof¬
ton very honourably, and made him fit by him in the
fynod which he held againft the fimonifts. He grant¬
ed to Gifo and W alter their requeft, becaufe they were
tolerably well learned, and not accufed of fimony. But
Aldred being by his anfwers found ignorant, and guil¬
ty of limony, the pope deprived him very feverely of
all his honours and dignities; fo that he was obliged
to return without the pail. On the way home he and
his three fellow-travellers were attacked by feme 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 compaf-
lion, or by the threatenings of the earl of Northum¬
berland, gave Aldred the pallium 3 but he Avas obli¬
ged to relign his bifhopric of WYrcefter. HoAvever, as
the archbilhopric of York had been almoft entirely
ruined by the many invafions of foreigners, King Ed-
Avard gave the new archbifliop leave to keep 12 vil¬
lages or manors Avhich belonged to the bilhopric of
W orcefter. Eduard the Confeffor dying in ic66, \
Aldred croAvned Harold his fucceffor. He alfo croAvn-
ed W illiam the Conqueror, after he had made him
take the folloAving oath, viz. that he Avould protect the
holy churches of God and their leaders 3 that he would
eftablilh and obferve righteous Iravs 3 that he would en¬
tirely prohibit and fupprefs all rapines and unjuft judg¬
ments. He Avas fo much in favour Avith the Conquer¬
or, that this prince looked upon him as a father 3 and,
though imperious in regard to every body elfe, he yet
fubmitted to obey this archbilhop: John Brompton
gives us an inftance of the king’s fubmiffion, Avhich at
the fame time fliows the prelate’s haughtinefs. It hap¬
pened one day, as the archbilhop was at Y ork, that
the deputy-governor or lord-lieutenant going out of the
city with a great number of people, met the arch-
bilhop’s fervants, avIio came to tOAvn Avith feveral carts
and horfes loaded with provilions. The governor alli¬
ed them to whom they belonged 3 and they having an-
fwered they were Aldred’s fervants, the governor or¬
dered that all thefe provifions Ihould be carried to the
king’s ftorehoufe. The archbifliop lent immediately
fome of his clergy to the governor, commanding him
to deliver the provifions, and to make fatisfa&ion to St
Peter, and to him the faint’s vicar, for the injury he
had done them 3 adding, that if he refufed to comply,
the archbifliop Avould 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 archbifliop
had fent him very ill, and returned an anfwer as haugh¬
ty as the meffage Avas. Aldred thereupon went to
London to make his complaint to the king 3 but in
this very complaint he added with his Avonted infolence 3
for meeting the king in the church of St Peter at
Wellminfter, he fpoke to him in thefe Avords : “ Hear¬
ken, O William: when thou Avail but a foreigner, and
4 D 5 God,
A L D [ 580 ] A L D
Aid red, God, to punifli the fins of this nation, permitted thee
Aldrich, to become matter of it, after having ttied a great deal
"■—> ",|J of blood, I confecrated thee, and put the crown upon
thv head with bleflings ; .but nov;, hecaufe thou haft
deferved it, I pronounce a curfe over thee, inftead of
a bletting, fince thou art become the perfecutor of
God’s church, and of his minifters, and haft broken the
proraifes 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 deferved fio
fevere a fentence. The noblemen, who wei’e prefent
were enraged againft the archbifhop, and loudly cried
out he deferved death, or at leaft banifhment, for hav¬
ing ofi’ered fuch an injury to his fovereign ; and they
prelfed 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 5 he muft 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 5 and begged of the
noblemen to intreat the prelate, that he might take oil
the curfe he had pronounced, and to change it into a
blefling. Aldred was at laft prevailed upon to favour
the king thus far *, hut 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-
ling here, whether the archbifhop’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.—The Hanes
having made an invafion in the north of England in
the year 1068, under the condudt of Harold and Ca¬
nute the fons of King Sweyn, Aldred was fo much af¬
flicted 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, bifhop of Carlifle, was born
at Burnham in Buckinghamfliire about the year 1493,
and educated at Eaton fchoolfrom whence, in 1507,
he was ele&ed fcholar of King’s college, Cambridge,
where he took his degree in arts, and was afterwards
prodor of the univerfity. In 1525, he was appointed
mafter of Eaton fchool, then became fellow of that
college, and finally provoft. In 1529, he went to
Oxford, where, being firft incorporated bachelor of
divinity, in the following year he proceeded dodor
in that faculty : in 1531, he was made archdeacon of
Colchefter; in 1534, canon of Windforj and the fame
rear, regiftrarv of the order of the Garter. He wyas
confecrated bifhop of Carlifle in the year 1537, and
died at Horncaftle in Lincolnfliire in 1556. He wrote,
i. Epjiola ad Gul. Hormanum, in Latin verfe •, printed
in Herman’s AntihoJJican, Loud. 1521, of which book
Pitts erroneoufly makes Aldrich the author. 2. Epi-
grammota varia. 3. Latin verfes, and another epijlle
to Herman, prefixed to the Vidgqria puerarum of that
author, Lond. 1519, qto. 4. Anfwers to certain qne-
2
ries concerning the ahujes of the mafs ; alfo about recei¬
ving the facrament.
Aldrich, Dr Henry, an eminent Englifh divine
and philofopher, born at London in 1647, was edu¬
cated at W eftminfter fchool under the famous Dr Buf-
by, and admitted of Chrift-church college, Oxford.
He had a great {hare in the controverfy with the Pa-
pifts in the reign of James II. and Bittiop 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 Maffey the Popifli dean of
Chrift church fled, his deanery was conferred on him.
In this Ration he behaved in an exemplary manner, and
that fabric owes much of its beauty to his ingenuity:
it was Aldrich who defigned the beautiful fquare called
Peckicater Quadrangle, which is efteemed an excellent
piece of architecture. In imitation of his predeceffor
Dr Fell, he publiftied, yearly, a piece of fome ancient
Greek author, as a prefent to the ftudents of his houfe..
He publiilied A Syjlem of Logic, with fome other pieces:
and the reviling Clarendon’s Hiftory of the Rebellion
was intrufted to him and Bifhop Spratt ; but it doth
not appear that they made any additions, or confider-
able alterations in it, as has been afierted by Mr 0:d-
mixon. Befides his preferments above mentioned, Dr
Aldrich was alfo rector of Wem in Shropfhire. He
was chofen prolocutor of the convocation in 1702.
This worthy perfon died at Chritt-church on the 14th
of December 1710. As to his character, he was a
moft univerfal fcholar, and had a tafte for all lorts of
learning, efpecially architecture. Sir John Hawkins
has favoured the public with feveral particulars relative
to Dr Aldrich’s fkill in mulic; and on account of the
Dodtor’s eminence in this relpedt, Sir John hath gi¬
ven his life, with his head prefixed. His abilities as
a mufician rank him, we are told, among the greateft
matters of the fcience. He compofed many fervices
for the church, which are wrell known •, as are alfo his
anthems, nearly to the number of 20. He adapted,
with great fkill and judgment, Engliih words to many
of the notes of Palettrina, Carilfimi, \ idtoria, and other
Italian compofers for the church, fome of which are
frequently fung in our cathedrals as anthems. By the
happy talent which Dr Aldrich potlefled, ot naturali¬
zing the compolitions of the old Italian matters, and
accommodating them to an Englifh ear, he increalcci
the ftores of our own church. Though the Doctor
chiefly applied himfelf to the cultivation of facred mu-
fic, yet being a man of humour, he could divert him¬
felf by producing pieces of a lighter kind. 'I here are
two catches of his 5 the one, “ Hark the bonny Chritt-
church Bells 5” the other entitled, “ A Smoking
Catch,” to be fung bv four men Imoking their pipes,
which is not more difficult to fing than diverting to
hear. His love of fmoking was, it fee ms, lo exceiiive,
as to be an entertaining fund of difeourfe in the uni-
verfitv. Such was Dr Aldrich’s regard for the ad¬
vancement of muiic, and the honour of its profeflors,
that he had formed a deiign of writing 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¬
lege. It appears from thefe materials, that he had
marked
ALB
Aldrich marked down every thing which he hat^met with con-
li corning mufic and muficians , but that he had brought
^dus ^ n° ^art ^iem “lto any °f form.
l ' . Dr Aldrich is of fome note as a Latin poet. In the
Mufce Avglicance, we find two elegant copies of verfes
by him 5 one on the accelfion of King William III. and
the other on the death of the duke of Glouceller. 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 “ Caufte Bibendi,”
is likewife afcribed to Dr Aldrich :
“ Si bene quid mem ini, Caufcefunt quinque bibendi,
“ Hof pit is Adventus ; prafens Sitis, atque futura ;
“ Aid Vini Bonitas ; aid quee libct altera Cai/fai1'1
The epigram has been thus tranflated:
“ If on my theme I rightly think,
“ There are five reafons why men drink :
“ Good wine, a friend, becaufe I’m dry,
“ Or left I fliould be by and bye,
“ Or any other real'on why.”
The tranllation is not equal to the original. It is
evident, from the verfes cited and referred to, that Dr
Aldrich was of a very cheerful 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 thole amiable qualities which rendered
him the objedt of general affedlion, as well as of gene¬
ral efteem and relpect. Having never been married,
he appropriated his income to works of hofpitality and
beneficence, and encouraging learning to the utmoft
of his power, of which he was a moft munificent pa¬
tron, as well as one of the greateft men in England,
if confidered as a Chriftian or a gentleman. Pie had
always the intereft of his college at heart, whereof he
was an excellent governor. His modefty and humili¬
ty prevented him from prefixing his name to the learn¬
ed tradls which he publillied during his life. At his
death he wifhed to be buried in the cathedral without
any memorial 5 which his thrifty nephew complied with,
depoliting him on the fouth fide of Bilhop Pell’s grave,
December 22. eight days after his deceafe} which hap¬
pened in the 63d or 64th year of his age.
ALDROVANDA. See Botany Index.
ALDROVANDUS, Ulysses, profefi’or 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 moft diftant countries on pur-
pofe to inform himfelf of their natural productions.
Minerals, metals, plants, and animals, were the ob-
je£ts of his curious refearches ; but he applied himfelf
chiefly to birds, and was at a 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} 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 neceiiity ; and it is laid that he died
blind in an hofpital at Bologna, at. a great age, in
A I. E
1605. Mr Bayle ohferves, that antiquity does not Aldrovaa.
furnilh us with an inftance ol a delign fo extenfive and dus
lb laborious as that of Aldrovaudus, with regard to II
natural hiftory j that Pliny has treated of more kinds , '^Ie'
ol fubje&s, but only touches lightly on them, faying
but a little upon any thing, whereas Aldrovandus* has
colleded all he could meet with. Plis compilation, or
that compiled upon his plan, confifts of 13 volumes in
lolio, ieveral of which were printed after his death.
He himfelf publiflied his Ornithology, or Hiftory of
Birds, in three folio volumes, in 1599 ; and his feven
books of inlefts, which make another volume of the
fame fize. The volume Of Serpents, three Of Qua¬
drupeds, one Ol Pilhes, that Of exanguious Animals,
the Pliftory of Monfters, with the Supplement to that
of Animals, the treatife of Metals, and the Dendro¬
logy or Hiftory of Trees, were publifhed at feveral
times alter the death of Aldrovandus, by the care of
different perfons; and Aldrovandus is the foie author
only of the firft fix volumes of this wTork, the reft having
been finilhed and compiled by others, upon the plan of
Aldrovandus : a moft extenlive plan, wherein he not
only relates what he has read in naturalifts, but remarks
alio what hiftorians have written, legiflators ordained,
and poets feigned : he explains alfo the different ufes
which may he made of the things he treats of, in com¬
mon life, in medicine, architefture, and other arts j
in Uiort, he fpeaks of morality, proverbs, devices, rid¬
dles, hieroglyphics, and many other things which relate
to his fubjeft.
ALDUABIS, in Ancient Geography, a river of Cel¬
tic Gaul, which riling from Mount Jura, feparating the
Sequani from the Helvetii, and running through the
county ol Burgundy, or the Franche Comte, environs
almoft on every fide the city of Befan^on 5 and run¬
ning by Dole, falls into the Saone near Chalons. By
Che far, it is called Alduafdubis ; in Ptolemy, Dubis:
now 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 luhftitute of wine in Inch 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 further into the weft,
they found, or thought they found, the fame defeft,
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 ordi¬
nary liquor: and it was called by the various names of
Clcelia and Ceria in the firft country, Ccrcvifia in the
fecond, and Curmi in the laft; all literally importing
only the Jlrong water.
“ All the feveral nations (favs Pliny) who inhabit
the Aveft 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 ; but its nature and properties are
everywhere the fame. The people of Spain, in parti¬
cular, breAV the liquor fo Avell, 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 Avater itfelf intoxi¬
cated9’
[ 581 1
ALE' , [
Cate.” The method in which the ancient Britons, and
other Celtic nations, made their ale, is thus defcribed
hy Ifidorus and Orofius. “ The grain is fteeped in
water and made to germinate, by which its fpirits are
excited and fet at liberty ; it is then dried and grind¬
ed ; after which it is infufed in a certain quantity ot
water-, which, being fermented, becomes a pleaiant,
warming, ftrengthening, and intoxicating liquor.” Ihis
ale was moft commonly made of barley, but lometimes
of wheat, oats, and millet.
Anciently the Welch and Scots had alfo two kinds
of ale, called common ale an& fpiced ale ; and their va¬
lue was thus afcertained by law : 1 f a farmer hath
no mead, he fliall pay two cafks of fpiced ale, or four
cafks of common ale, for one cafk of mead. By
this law, a cafk of fpiced ale, nine palms in height
and 18 palms in diameter, was valued at a fum of mo¬
ney equal in efficacy to 7I. 10s. of our prelent money,
and a cafk of common ale, of the fame dimenfions, at
a fum equal to 31. 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 fo much as once mentioned m their
laws -, though Giraldus Cambrenfis, who flourifhed
about a century after the Conqueft, 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 anceftors the an¬
cient Germans. Before their converfion to Chrifliam-
ty, they believed that drinking large and frequent
draughts of ale was one of the chief felicities which
thoftfheroes enjoyed who were admitted into the hall ot
Odin. • ‘
There are various forts of ale known in Britain, par¬
ticularly jon/e and brown 1 the former is brewed fiom
malt llightly dried; and is efleemed more yifeid than
the latter, which is made from malt more highly dried
or roafted. , r r- r •
Pale ale brewed with hard waters, as thole ot iprings
and wells, is judged the moft wholefome, in regard the
mineral particles tend to prevent the cohefion ot thole
drawn from the grain, and enable them to pals the pro¬
per fecretions the better 5 fofter waters, as thole of ri-
, ers, and rain, teem better fuited to draw out the fub-
ftance of high-dried malts, which retain many igneous
particles, heft abforbed in a fmooth vehicle.
In Stafford fliire, they have a fecret of fining ale in
4l very ffiort time. Plot conje&ures it to be done by
adding alum, or vinegar, in the working.
Ale is prepared various ways, and of vanous ingre¬
dients, as of wheat, rye, millet, oats, barley, the ber¬
ries of the quickbean, &c. . , , , r
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
<r0 as far as four in the common way. .
^ Some have a method of preparing ale, to that it will
keep, carried to the Eaft or Weft Indies. _ The fecret
is by mafhing twice with freffi malt -, boiling twice j
and, after ffiipping it, putting to every five gallons two
new-laid eggs whole, to remain therein. It is tau >
ihat in a fortnight’s time the ffiell thall be diuolved,
and the eggs become like wind-eggs; and that after¬
wards the white would difappear and the yolk remain
untouched. # ,
The confumption of ale in thefe kingdoms is incre¬
dible- It was computed twenty years ago at the value
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 were firft impofed
by the 12th of Car. II. and have been continued by
feveral fubfequent acts of parliament to firft Geo. III.
which lays an additional duty of 3d. per barrel. In
the whole, the brewer of ale and beer for tale thall pay
8s. for every barrel of either above 6s. a barrel", and
for every barrel of 6s. or under, the fum of is. Zj.d.
Medicated Ales, thofe wherein medicinal herbs have
been infilled, or added during the fermentation.
Gill Ale, is that in which the dried leaves of gill or
ground-ivy have been infufed. It is eftcemed abfter-
iive and vulnerary, and confequently good in diforders
of the breaft and obftrudtions ot the vilcera.
Ale Conner, an officer in London, who infpecls the
meafures ufed in public houfes. Ihere arc four ah,
conncrs, wrho are all chofen by the liverymen in com¬
mon hall on Midfummer day.
Alehouses muft be licenfed by juftices of the peace,
who take recognizances of the perfons licenfed, and
of their fureties, viz. 10I. each, „that they will not fof¬
fer unlawful gaming, nor other diforderly practices in
their houfes. Every perfon, excepting thofe who fell
ale in fairs, neglecting to procure a licenie, is liable
to a penalty of 40s. for the firft ofience, 4I. for the
fecond, and 61. for the third, with all cofts. Ihe li-
cenfe is granted on the firft of September, 01 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 charafter, unlefs, by living m
a city or town-corporate, this laft circumftance is dif-
penfed with, and continues in force for one year only.
Alehoufe keepers, felling ale in fliort meafure, are
liable to a penalty not. exceeding 40s. and not Ids
than 1 os. and likewife to a fine of 10s. for permitting
tippling, &c. • 1 1 r
By 29th Geo. II. c. 12. perfons keeping alehoules
in Scotland (hall be licenfed as in England, and the
juftices there ffiall meet annually to hcenfe alehoules ^
on each of which licenfes a fee of is. is payable to the
clerk of the peace. Magiftrates of royal boroughs ha 1
meet yearly for the like purpofe ; but where there ihall
not be a fufficient number of magiftrates to act in any
royal borough, juftices may grant licenfes, to be m force
for one year only. Ibid.
Perfons in Scotland convifted of keeping unheeded
alehoufes fliall forfeit for the firft ofience 5s. for the
fecond 10s. for the third 20s. and to be dilqualihed *,
and for every fubfequent ofience 40s. to be levied by
diftrefs and fale, one moiety to the informer, the other
to the poor of the pariffi. Conviction to be intimate
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 ffiall be iffued on payment of is. only to the c*eik
of the peace: making out licenfes before the lame e
llamped, is a penalty of 10I. and making them con-
A L E [ s
Ale trary to tlie intention of tins aft, 5I. and the fame fhall
1! he vacated, unlefs the duty and fine he paid, and the
Ale6to.ro- receipt produced, and a licenfe ftamped. Ibid.
■ Ale-Si/vc?', a tax paid annually to the lord-mayor of
London by all who fell ale within the city.
ALEA, in Homan antiquity, denotes in general all
manner of games of chance ; hut in a more reftrifted
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 dillinguilied him-
felf at the beginning of the reformation, by the oppo-
fition he made to Luther : for being lent into Ger¬
many as the pope’s nuncio in 1519, he afted, as occa-
fion ferved, in the charafter of both ambalfador and
doctor •, and declaimed three hours together againft
Luther’s doftrine before the diet at 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, Jei'ome, nephew 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 Oftavitis Bandini, and dif-
charged this office with great honour for almoR twenty
years. He afterwards, by the perfuafion of Urban A HI.
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 d latere,
and in whole fervice he died in 1631. He was one of
the firll members of the academy of Humorifts, wrote
a learned treatife in Italian on the device of the foci-
ety, 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. 1
ALECTORIA, a ftone laid to be formed in the gall¬
bladder of old cocks, to which the ancients aferibed
many fabulous virtues. This is otherwife called Alcclo-
rius lapis, fometimes AleBorohthos, in Englifh, the
cock-Jlone. The more modern naturalifts hold the alec-
iorius lapis to be originally fwallowed down, not gene¬
rated in, the ftomach and gizzard of cocks and capons.
It is known that many of the fowl kind make a praftice
of fwallowing pebbles, as it is fuppofed to be of fervice
in the bufinefs of trituration and digeftion.
ALECTOROMANTIA, in Antiquity, a fpecies
of divination performed by means of a cock. Ibis is
otherwife called AleBryomancy ; of which there appear
to have been different fpecies. But that moft fpoken
of by authors was in the following manner: A circle
was deferibed on the ground, and divided into twenty-
four equal portions } in each of thefe Ipaces was writ¬
ten one of the letters of the alphabet, and on eacn
of the letters was laid a grain of wheat} after which,
a cock being turned loofe in the circle, particular no¬
tice was taken of the grains picked up by the cock,
becaufe the letters under them being formed into a
word, made the anfwer defined. It was thus, according
to Zonaras, that Libanius and Jamblicus fought who
§3 ] ALE
fhonld fucceed the emperor k alens •, and the cock eat- ^ice
ing the grains anfwering to the fpaces ©EGA. feveral ||
whole names began with thofe letters, as Theodotus, Alembert.
Theodiftes, Theodulus, &c. were put to death ; which v
did not hinder, but promote Theodofius, to the fuccef-
fion. But the ftory, however current, is but ill fup-
ported : It lias been called in queftion byfome, and re¬
futed by others, from the filence of Marcellinus, Socra¬
tes, and other hiftorians of that time.
ALEE, in the fea-language, a term only ufed when
the wind, croffingor flanking the line of a fhip’s courfe,
preffes upon the mafts and fails fo as to make her incline
to one fide, which is called the lee-fide : hence, when
the helm is moved over to this fide, it is faid to be a/ce,
or hard-a-lee.
ALEGAMBE, Philip, a celebrated Jefuit, born
at Bruffels in 1592, diftinguifiled himfelf by publifhing
a Bibliotheque of the writers of his order, and died at
Rome in 1652.
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-
dajoz, near the frontiers of Spanifh Eftremadura. It
is a very' pretty town, and finely fituated 5 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 wandering
and perilling there, after being thrown off Pegafus j
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 collection of peo¬
ple from all parts of Gaul, as the term Alemanni de¬
notes, prompted either by levity or poverty, occupied
the lands, called Decumates by Tacitus, becaufe they
held them on a tithe 5 now fuppofed to be the duchy of
Wirtemburg. Such appear to have been the fmall begin¬
nings of Alemania, which was in after-times greatly en-
lai'ged : but ftill it was confidered as^a diftinft part; for
Caracalla, who conquered the Alemanni, aflumed the
furname both of Alemannicus and Germaniens.
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 was expofed as
a foundling. His father, informed of this circum-
ftance, liftened 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 Janfenifts, where he gave
early marks of capacity and genius. In the firft year
of his philofophieal 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
f
ALE
t 584 ]
ALE
fcloabeit. feme part of their ancient fplendour, anti hoped to find
l——v——' one day In M. d’Alembert a fecond Pafcal. To ren¬
der this refemblance more complete, they engaged their
idling pupil in the ftudy of the mathematics: but they
foon perceived that his growing attachment to this ici-
ence was likely to difappoint the hopes they had formed
with refpect to his future dellination: they therefore en¬
deavoured to divert him from this line j but their en¬
deavours were fruitlefs.
At lus leaving college, he found himfelf alone and
-unconnected with the world : and fought an afylum in
the houfe of his nurfe. He comforted himfelf with the
hope, that his fortune, though not ample, would bet¬
ter the condition and lubfiilencc of that family, which
was the only one that he could confider as his own:
Here, therefore, he took up his refidewce, refolving to
apply himfelf entirely to the ftudy of geometry : And
here he lived, during the Ipace ol forty years, with the
greateil fimplicity, difeovering the augmentation of his
means only by increahng dilplays of his beneficence,
concealing his growing reputation and celebrity from
thofe honeft people, and making their plain and uncouth
manners the fubjeft of good-natured pleafantry* and
philofophical obfervations. His good nurfe perceived
his ardent activity 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 compaflion. “ You will never” laid file to him one
day, “ be any thing but a philojbpher—and what is a
phUofophcr ?—a fool, who toils and plagues himfelf du¬
ring his life, that people may talk of him when HE is NO
MORE.”
As M. d’Alembert’s fortune did not far exceed the
demands of neceffity, his friends advifed him to think
of a profeffion that might enable him to augment it.
He accordingly turned his views to the law, and took
his degrees in that line j but fcon abandoned this
plan, and applied to the ftudy of medicine. Geome¬
try, however, was always drawing him back to his for¬
mer purfuits } and after many ineffectual efforts to re¬
fill its attractions, he renounced all views of a lucrative
profeffion, and gave himfelf over entirely to mathematics
and poverty.
In the year 1741 he was admitted member of the
Academy of Sciences : for which diftinguifhed literary
promotion, at fuch an early age, he had prepared the
way by correcting the errors of a celebrated work *,
which was deemed claffical in I ranee in the line of
geometry. He afterwards fethimlelf to examine, with
deep attention and affiduity, what muff be the motion
of a body which palfes from one fluid into another more
denfe, in a direction not perpendicular to the furface
feparating the two fluids. Every one knows the phe¬
nomenon which happens in this cafe, and which amufes
children under the denomination oiDuck's and Drakes ;
but M. d’Alembert was the firfl who explained 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 confifled in efla-
hlifhing equality, at each inflant, 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 tivo parts the aCtion of the moving powers, and
* The Ana
tyfe demon
tree of F.
ikaiau.
confidering the one as producing alone the motion of Alembert,
the body in the fecond inflant, and the other as cm-'
ployed to deftroy that which it had in the fifft.
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 *, and all the problems before
folved by geometricians became, in fome meafure, its
corollaries. The difeovery of this new principle, was
followed by that of a new calculus, the firfl trials of
which were publifiied 111 a Difcourje on the general
Theory of the Jfinds, to which the prize-medal was ad¬
judged by the academy of Berlin in the year 17465
and which was a new and brilliant addition to the fame
of M. d’Alembert.
He availed himfelf of the favourable circumftance ol
the king ofPruffia having juft terminated a glorious
campaign by an honourable peace, and in allulion to
this, dedicated his work to that prince in the three fol
lowing Latin verfes:
Hcec ego de rent is, dum ventorUm ocyor ahs,
Palantes agit Avf riacos Fredericas, ct orbi,
Inf ignis laaro, ramum preetendit ohvee.
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 calcu¬
lus of “ Partial Differences” to the problem of vibra¬
ting chords, whole folution, as well as, the theory of
the ofcillation 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 furniflied a method of applying
his principles to the motion ol any body of a given fi¬
gure and he folved the problem of the preceffion 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 publifhed a treatife on the
Rcffance of Fluids, to which he gave the modeft title
of an FJjay ; but which contains a multitude of original
ideas and new obfervations. About the fame time he
publilhed, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin,
/?(f arelies concerning the Integral ( ulcuius, 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 were limited to a
fmall fociety of fele6t friends 5 he had never feen any
man in high office except Meflrs d’Argenfon. Satif-
fied with an income which furnifhed him with the ne-
ccflaries of life, he did not afpire after opulence or ho¬
nours, nor had they been hitherto beftowed upon him,
as it is eafier to confer them on thole who lolicit them,
than to look out for men who deierve them. His
cheerful converfation, his fmart and lively fallies, a hap¬
py knack at telling a ftory, a fingular mixture of ma¬
lice of fpeech with goodnefs of heart, and of delicacy
ALE [ 5B5 ] ' A L E
Alembert, of wit with fimplicity of manners rendered him a plea-
*——v fing 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 objedt of royal attention
and beneficence. He received alfo a penfion from go¬
vernment, which he owed to the friendlhip of Count
d’Argenfon.
The tranquillity of M. d’Alembert was abated when
his fame grew more extenfive, and when it was known
beyond the circle of his friends, that a fine and enlight¬
ened talle for literature and pbilofophy accompanied his
mathematical genius. Our author’s eulogill afcribes to
envy, detraction, and to other motives equally ungene¬
rous, all the difapprobation, oppofition, and cenfure that
M. d’Alembert met with on account of the publication
of the famous Encyclopedical Didiionary of Arts and
Sciences, in conjunction with Diderot. None furely
will refufe the well-deferved tribute of applaufe to the
eminent difplays of genius, judgment, and true literary
tafte, with which M. d’Alembert has enriched the great
wTork now mentioned. Among others, the Preliminary
Difcourfe he has affixed to it, concerning the rife, pro-
grefs, connections, and affinities of all the branches of
human knowledge, is perhaps one of the firft produc¬
tions of which the philofophy of the prefent age can
boaft, and will be regarded as a ftriking fpecimen of
juft arrangement and found criticifm, and alfo as a mo-
tlel of accurate thinking and elegant writing.
Some time after this, D’Alembert publifhed his Phi-
Jofophical, Hiftorical, and Philological Mifcellanies.
Thefe were followed by the Memoirs of Chriftina queen
of Sweden j in which M. d’Alembert fliowed that he
was acquainted with the natural rights of mankind, and
was bold enough to afiert them. His “ Elfay on the
Intercourfe of Men of Letters with Perfons high in
Eank and Office,” wounded the former to the quick,
as it expofed to the eyes of the public the ignominy of
thofe fervile chains, which they feared to ffiake off, or
were proud to wear. A lady of the court hearing one
day the author accufed of having exaggerated the def-
potifm of the great, and the fubmiffion they require, an-
fwered flyly, If he had confulted me, 1 would have told
him Jlill more of the matter.
M. d’Alembert gave very elegant fpecimens of his
literary abilities in his tranflations of fome feleCt pieces
of Tacitus. But thefe occupations did not divert him
from his mathematical ftudies : for about the fame time
he enriched the Encyclopedic with a multitude of ex¬
cellent articles in that line, and compofed his “ Re-
fearches on feveral important Points of the Syftem of
the World,” in which he carried to a higher degree of
perfection the folution of the problem of the perturba¬
tions of the planets, that had feveral years before been
prefen ted to the Academy.
In 1759 he publifhed his “ Elements of Philofophy:”
a work extolled as remarkable for its precifion and per-
fpicuity; in which, however, are fome tenets relative
both to metaphyfics and moral feience, that are far
from being admiffible.
The refentment that was kindled (and tlie difputes
that followed it) by the article Geneva, inferted in the
Encyclopedic, are well known. M. d’Alembert did
not leave this field of controverfy with flying colours.
Voltaire was an auxiliary in the conteft: but, as, m
. Vox. I. Part II.
point of candour and decency, he had no reputation Alembert
to lofe ; and as he weakened the blow of his enemies, ||
by throwing both them and the fpectators into fits pf Alemhroth
laughter, the iffue of the war gave him little uneafi- ' ''/ v
nefs. It fell more heavily on D’Alembert; and expo-
fed him, even at home, to much contradiction and op¬
pofition.
It was on this occafion that the late king of Pruffia
offered him an honourable afylum at his court, and the
place of prefident of his academy 5 and was not offend¬
ed at his refufal of thefe diftinctions, but cultivated an
intimate friendftiip with him during the reft of his life.
He had refuted, fome time before this, a. propofal
made by the emprefs of Ivuilia to intruft him with the
education of the grand duke ;—a propofal accompanied
with all the flattering oilers that could tempt a man
ambitious of titles, or defirous of making an ample for¬
tune : but the objects of his ambition were tranquillity
and ftudy.
In the year 1765, he publifhed his “ Differtation on
the Deftrudlion 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.
Befide the works already mentioned, he publiffied
nine volumes of memoirs and treatifes under the title
of Opufcules ; in which he has folved a multitude of
problems relative to aftronomy, mathematics, and na¬
tural philofophy 5 of which our panegyrift gives a par¬
ticular account, more efpecially of thofe which exhibit
new fubjects, or new methods of iuveftigatioii.
He publilhed alfo “ Elements of Mufic and ren¬
dered at length the fyftem of Rameau intelligible ) but
he did not think the mathematical theory of the fono-
rous body fufficient to account for the rules of that art.
He was always fond of mufic ; which, on the one.
hand, is connected with the moft fubtile and learned
refearches of rational mechanics ; while, on the other,
its power over the fenfes and the foul exhibits to philo-
fophers phenomena no lefs lingular, and ftill. more in¬
explicable.
In the year 1772, he was chofen fecretary 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 17725 and in the fpace of
three years he executed this defign, by compofing 70
eulogies.
M. d’Alembert died on the 29th of October 1783.
There were many amiable lines of candour, modefty,
difintereftednefs, and beneficence, in his moral charac¬
ter : which are deferibed, with a diffulive detail, in his
eloge, by M. Condorcet, Hi/l. de PAcad. Royule des
Sciences, 1783.
ALEMBIC, a chemical vefi’el ufually made of glafs
or copper, formerly ufed for diftillation. The bottom
part, which contains the fubjedt for diftillation, is cal¬
led, from its fhape, 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 Jlill, are now more ge¬
nerally employed.
ALEMBROTH, in the writings of the alchemifts,
a word ufed for a fort of fixed alkaline fait, which had
the power of the famous alkaheft, in diffolving bodies,
opening the pores of moft or all known fubftances, and
4 E thencq,
ALE [ 586 ] ALE
thence, as well as by deftroying fulphurs, promoting
the feparatxon of metals from their ores.—It is alfo
ufed for a compound of corrofive mercury and fal am¬
moniac.
ALENIO, Julius, a Jefuit, born at Brefcia in the
i-epublic of Venice. He travelled into the eaftern
countries : 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 It 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 princi¬
pal 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 lieges. It has but one parilli-
church, which has a bold and noble front. Among the
-nunneries, that of St Clair is molt remarkable. It is
feated on the river Sarte, in a vail open plain, which
produces all forts of corn and fruit. Near it there are
quarries of Hone fit for building, wherein are found
a fort like Briftol Hones. The trade of Alenzon is in
linen, lace, Huffs, and leather. It is 20 miles north
of Mons, 63 fouth-by-weff of Rouen, and 88 fouth-
weff 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 vail 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 higheff of which the callle
is erefted, and is fuppofed to be the ancient Bersea.
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 fun-ounds it. The fuburbs
to the north-north-eaH are next in height to this, and
thofe to the weH-fouth-weH 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 {flutters, cup¬
board doors, &c. have at firff entrance a very grand
and agreeable effeft. They are all fo equal in height,
that there are feldom any Heps to afcend or defcend in
going from one houfe to another 5 while feveral large
vaulted Hreets increafe the facility of communication,
by affording a paffage to every part of the city free
from the embarraffment of the open Hreets. They are
carefully paved 5 have gutters and a foot-pavement on
each fide and the middle of the Hreet is laid with
brick, the fmali 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
renders this labour more eafy, the fame heat obliges
them to gx-eater cleanlinefs in order to preferve the fa-
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, confiHing of a capacious fquare, on all fides
of which are a number of rooms, built on a ground-
flooi-, ufed occafionally for chambers, warehoufes, or
Hables. Above Hairs there is a colonnade or gallery on
every fide, in which are the doors of a number of finall
rooms, wherein the merchants, as well flrangers as na¬
tives, tranfaft moll of their bufinels.
. The bazars or market-places are long covered nar¬
row Hreets, on each fide of which are a great number
of fmali Ihops, juH 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 Hreets, 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 wrork in near the river. To the fouth-
ward in the fubui'bs they burn lime j and a little be¬
yond that there is a village wrhere they make ropes and
catgut. On the oppofite fide of the river, to the weH-
ward, there is a glafs-houfe, where they make a coarfe
white glafs, in the winter only j for the greateH part
of this manufadure is brought from a village 35 miles
weRward.
The fituation of Aleppo, befides the advantage of
a rich and fruitful foil, poffeffes alfo that of a Hream
of frelh 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, inHead of the naked rocks
which line them in the upper part of its courfe, are
covered with a fertile earth, and laid out in gardens,
or rather orchards, which, in a hot country, and elpe-
cially in Turkey, cannot but be delightful. The city
is in itfelf one of the moH agreeable in Syria, and is
perhaps the cleaneH and beH built of any in Turkey.
On whatever fide it is approached, its numerous mi¬
narets and domes prefent an agreeable prolpect to the
eye, 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 profpect of the
whole city, and to the north difcover the fnowy tops
of the mountains of Bailan 5 and, on the weH, thofe
which feparate the Orontes from the fea } while to the
fouth and eaH, the eye can difcern as far as the Eu¬
phrates. In the time of Omar, this caHle Hopped the
progrefs of the Arabs for feveral months, and was at
laH taken by treachery, but at prefent would not be
able to refill the feebleH affault. Its flight wall, low,
and without a buttrefs, is in ruins 5 its little old towers
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 Perlians at the fiege of
Baffora. Three hundred and fifty Janizaries, who
Ihould
A L E [ 587
Aleppo. iliDilld form the garrifon, are bufy in their fliops, and
——J 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 luipicious, divides as much
as poffible the different offices. Within the walls of
the caftle is a well, which, 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 Hones, on the
top of which is a turban of flone, which are fo many
tombs. There are many rifing grounds round it,
which, in cafe of a fiege, would greatly facilitate the
approaches of the affailants. Such, among others, is
that on which the houfe of the Derviches Hands, and
which commands the canal and the rivulet : Aleppo,
therefore, cannot be eHeemed a place of importance
in war, though it be the key of Syria to the north ;
but, confidered as a commercial city, it has a dift’erent
appearance. It is the emporium of Armenia and
Diarbekar 5 fends caravans to Bagdad and into Perlia,
and communicates between the Perfian gulf and India
by Baffora, with Egypt and Mecca by Damafcus, 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, cl unify linen fabricated in the villages, filk Huffs
manufactured in the city, copper, bourres (coarfe
cloths) like thofe of Rouen, goats hair brought from
Natolia, the gall nuts of the KourdeHan, the mer-
chandife of India, fuch as fliawls and mullins, 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-
houfes j 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 fliaved his beard to af-
fume the uniform and the fword. Ruffia has alfo lent
one very lately. Aleppo is not exceeded in extent by
any city in Turkey, except Conffantinople and Caix-o,
and perhaps Smyrna. The number of inhabitants has
been computed at 200,000 ; 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 confiH only of one flory, we fliall per¬
haps not think it probable they exceed 100,000. The
people of this city, both Turks and ChriHians, are
with reafon eHeemed the moH civilized in all Turkey 5
and the European merchants fio where enjoy fo much
liberty, or are treated with fo much refpect.
The air of Aleppo is very dry and piercing, but at
the fame time very falubrious for all who are not trou¬
bled with aHhmatic complaints. The city, however,
and the environs are fubjeft to a lingular endemial
diforder, which is called the ringworm or pimple of
Aleppo: it is in fa£t a pimple which is at firH inflam¬
matory, and at length becomes an ulcer of the fize of
the nail. The ufual duration of this ulcer is one year ;
it commonly fixes on the face, and leaves a fear which
disfigures almoff all the inhabitants. It is alleged that
every Hranger who refides there three months is at¬
tacked with it 5 experience has taught that the befl
] ALE
mode ot treatment is to make ufe of no remedy. No
reafon is affigned for this malady : but M. Volney fuf-v
pe&s 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-
flri&s near Damalcus, where the foil and the water
have the fame appearances. Of the Chriflian inhabi¬
tants the greater number are Greeks, next to them
the Armenians, then the Syrians, and laHly the Ma-
ronites j each of whom have a church in the city called
Indicia ; in which quarter, and the parts adjacent, moH
of them refide. The common language is the vulgar
Arabic, but the Turks of condition ufe the Turkifh.
MoH of the Armenians can fpeak the Armenian, fome
few Syrians underHand Syriac, and many of the Jews
Hebrew j but fcarce one of the Greeks underilauds a
word of Greek. The people in genejaJ are of a mid¬
dle Hature, and tolerably well proportioned j but they
feem neither vigorous nor a (dive. Both fexes are hand-
fome when young : but the beard foon disfigures the
men : and the women, as they come early to maturity,
alfo fade very foon •, 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 inffru£ts its votaries to affume over all who hold
a difterent faith. The 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 finer flour,
which are well fermented and baked. Befides thefe,
there are a variety of bifeuits, moH of which are Hrew-
ed on the top with fome kinds 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 almoH conffantly a pipe in their mouth. 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 firH diHindtion are even compelled to
walk on foot in the city, or to any place at a moderate
diHance ; in longer journeys they are carried by mules,
in a kind of couch clofe covered up. There are a
number off public bagnios in this city, which are ufed
by people of all ranks, except thofe of the highefl di-
Hinction, who commonly have baths and every other
convenience in their own houfes. Aleppo is 70 miles
eaH of Scanderoon, on the fea-coafl, and 175 north-by-
eaH of Damafcus. E. Long. 37. 40. N. Lat. 36. 12.
Aleppo, The Pachalic 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 confiHs of two plains, that of
Antioch to the weH, and that of Aleppo to the eaH ;
the north and the fea-coafl are occupied by conlider-
ably high mountains, known to the ancients by the
names of Amanus and of Rhofus. In general, the
foil of this government is fat and loamy. The lofty
and vigorous plants which ffioot up everywhere after
the winter rains prove its fertility, but its a£hial fruit-
fulnefs is but little. The greateH part of the lands lie
4 E 2 wafle 5
Aleppa.
A L R f 5BB ] ALE
Aleppo, ’ivaile j i'carcely can we trace any marks of cultivation
——y—' in the environs of the towns and villages. Its princi¬
pal produce confills 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 fides of the hills towards
the fea-coall are appropriated to tobacco, and the terri¬
tory of Aleppo to piftachios. rl he pafturage is not to
be reckoned, becaufe that is abandoned to the wander¬
ing 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 farmer-gene¬
ral of the country •, but in that of Aleppo he does not
poflefs the latter office. This the Porte has bellowed
on a mehajfel or colledlor, who is immediately account¬
able for what he receives. His leale is only for a year.
The prefent rent of his farm is 800 purfes (above
40,000k) ; but to this mull be added the price of the
babouches (Turkifh flippers), or a prefent of three or
four thoufand pounds, to purchafe the favour of the
vizier, and men in office. For thefe two funis the far¬
mer receives all the duties of the government; which
are, firfl, The produce of import and export duties on
merchandife coming from Europe, India, and Conilan-
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 byna. Ihirdly, The
fifth of the fait-works of Djeboul. And, laflly, The
miri, or land-tax. Thefe united may produce about
6o,oool.
The pacha, deprived of this lucrative branch of the
adminiflration, receives a fixed allowance of about
8300k This revenue has always been inadequate to
the expences 5 for befides the troops he is obliged
to maintain and the reparation of the highways and
fortreffes, the expences of which he is obliged to de¬
fray, he is under the neceffity 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 5 nor do the
pachas come fhort of this calculation. Abdi Pacha,
who governed 13 or 14 years ago, carried oft, at the
end of 15 months, upwards of 160,000k 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 fimilar oppreffions.
The former was rewarded by the divan with the com¬
mand of an army againll the Ruffians j but if the lat¬
ter has not enriched himfelf, he will be firangled as an
extortioner. Such is the ordinary progrefs of aflairs in
Turkey !
In confequence of fuch wretched government, the
greater part of the pachalics in the empire are impo-
venfhed and laid wafle. This is the cale in paiticulai
with that of Aleppo. In the ancient deftars, or re-
gifters of imports, upwards of 3200 villages were rec¬
koned ; but at prefent the colle&or can fcarcely find
400. Such of our merchants as have relided there
20 years, have themfelves feen the greater pait of the
environs of Aleppo become depopulated. I he travel¬
ler meets with nothing but houfes in ruins,^ cifterns
rendered ufelefs, and fields abandoned. dhole who
cultivated them have fled into the towns, where the po-
2
pulation is abforbed, but where at leafl the individual Aleppo
conceals himfelf among the crowd from the rapacious (|
hands of defpotifm. , Alet'
ALERIA, Alalia, or Alaria, in Ancient Geo- v
grap/ty, a town of Corlica, iituated near the middle of
the call fide of the ifland, on ah eminence, near the
mouth of the river Rotanus mentioned by Ptolemy j
built by the Phocmans (Diodorus Siculus). After¬
wards Sylla led a colony thither. It is now in ruins,
and called Aleria Dijlrutta.
ALES, Alexander, a celebrated divine of the con-
feffion of Augfbourg, was born at Edinburgh the 23d of
April 1500. He foon made a confiderable progrefs
in fchool divinity, and entered the lifts very early
againll Luther, this being then the great controverfy
in fafliion, and the grand field wherein all authors,
young and old, ufed to difplay their abilities. Soon
after, he had a fliare in the difpute which Patrick Ha¬
milton maintained againfl 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 efteft, and even began himfelf to
doubt about his own religion, being much afte&ed by
the difeourfe of this gentleman, and Hill more by the
eonftancy he {bowed at the Hake, where David Beaton,
archbifliop of St Andrew’s, caufcd him to be burnt.
Beginning thus to waver, he was himfelf perfecuted
with fo much violence, that he was obliged to retire
into Germany, where he became at length a perfect
convert to the Protellant 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 was highly efteemed by
Cranmer archbiffiop 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 was obliged to return to Germany ; where the elec¬
tor of Brandenburg appointed him profeflor of divi--
nity at Frankfort upon the Oder, in 1540. But lea¬
ving this place upon fome difgull, he returned to Leip-
fic, where he was chofen profeflor of divinity, and died
in March 1565. He wrote a Commentary on St John,
on the Epiftles to Timothy, and on the Pialms, See.
ALESA, AlalSA, or Halesa, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy^ a town of Sicily, on the Tufcan fea, built, accor¬
ding to Diodorus Siculus, by Archonides of Herbita,
in the fecond year of the Olympiad, or 403 years
before Chrift ; fituated on an eminence about a mile
from the fea : now in ruins. It enjoyed immunity from
taxes under the Romans (Diodorus, Cicero), ft he in¬
habitants were called Halejini (Cicero, Pliny) } alfo-
Alefini and Alajlni.
ALESHAM, a fmall neat town in Norfolk. It is
13 miles north of Norwich, and 121 north-eaft by
north of London. E. Long. O. 3°' Uat. 52. 53.
The town confifts of about 400 houfes.
ALESIA, in Ancient Geography, called Alexia by
Livy and others } a town of the Mandubii, a people of
Celtic Gaul j fituated, according to Csefar, on a very
high hill, whofe foot was wafhed on two fides by two
rivers. The town was of fuch antiquity, that Diodo¬
rus Siculus relates it was built by Hercules. It is fup-
pofed to be the city of AliJ'e, in the duchy of Burgun¬
dy, not far from Dijon.
ALET, a town of France, in the department of tha
Aude,
n
ale [ 589 ] A L E
Alet Aude, and diilridb of Limoux, at the foot of the Pyre-
|| nees. It is remarkable for its'’baths, and for the grains
Alexander. Q£ g0]j anc[ fllver found in the llreams which runs from
the Pyrenean mountains, at the foot of which it Hands.
It is feated on the river Aude, 15 miles fouth of Car-
eaffone, and 37 north-well of Narbonne. E. Long.
2. 5. N. Lat. 42. 59.
ALETRIS. See Botany Index.
AJLETUM, or Aleta, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Celtic Gaul, now extinft. From its ruins
arofe St Malo in Brittany, at the dillance of a mile.
Its ruins are called Guich Aleth in the Britilh.
ALEURITES. See Botany Index.
ALEUROMANCY, the fame with what was other-
wife called alphitomantia, and crithomantia, and means
an ancient kind of divination performed by means of
meal or flour.
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 fubjeft
to Ruffia. Part of thefe iflands were difcovered by
Behring in the year 1741, and the reft at different pe¬
riods fmce that time. Captain Cook vifited thefe
iflands in 1778, and dire&ed his refearches and obfer-
vations to a furvey of them and of the adjacent coalls
of Afia and America. On the Aleutian iflands and
- the neighbouring coaft, the Ruffians have formed nu¬
merous eflablifliments for the fupport of the fur-trade,
which is one of the mofl advantageous commercial
concerns to the Ruffian empire. Captain Billings,
who was fent out by the late emprefs Catherine to
make difcoveries 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
floats from the fea; and lie between the 51ft and 56th
degrees N. Lat. and the 164th and the 197th degrees
of E. Long.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, king of Macedonia.
His father 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 was cut off in
the midft of his enterprife. Such, however, was the
influence of Alexander in the affembly of the Grecian
ftates, that he wras created general of their combined
forces in the room of his father. Having made every
needful preparation, at the head of a veteran army he
invaded Afia. The lieutenants of Darius, who was
then king of Perfia, oppofed him at the river Grani-
cus, where Alexander obtained'a complete viitory, af¬
ter which he purfued his march through Afia. At
Iffus, near Scanderoon, he was met by Darius in per-
fon, at the head of a prodigious army. Here he ob¬
tained a fecond victory; and took the camp of Darius,
together with his family, whom he treated with the
utmoft humanity. Contrary to all the maxims of war,
inftead of purfuing Darius, he made an excurfion into
Egypt} 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 Iffus.
Alexander having fini/lied his Egyptian expedition, tra- Alexander.
verfed Afia, and palled the Euphrates. At Arbela, a 1 v-—
town in Affyria, he met Darius. Here a decifive
battle was fought, which put all Perfia into the hands
of Alexander. His ambition not being fatisfied with
the conqueft of that vail country, he projected an ex¬
pedition into India. Here he met with great oppofi-
tion from Porus, a gallant prince, whom in the end he
reduced. Beyond the Ganges lay a country Hill un-
fubdued. He notified it to his army, that he propofed
to pals the river. But thefe veterans, haralfed with
their fatigues, and feeing no end of their labour, muti¬
nied, and refufed to march farther. The difappointed
chief was therefore obliged to return. At Babylon he
propofed to receive ambaffadors, appoint governors, and
fettle his vaft monarchy •, but his excefles put an end
to his life in the midft of his defigns, and in the flower
of his age.
The character of this hero is fo familiar to every
body, 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.
He 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 fuppoling 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 wept 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, lince he had not
yet been able to conquer one. Livy, in a fiiort di-
greffion, has attempted to inquire into the events which
might have happened, if Alexander, after the conqueft
of Alia, had brought liis arms into Italy ? Doubtlefs -
things might have taken a very dift’erent turn with
him} and all the grand projefts, which fucceeded fo
well againft an effeminate Perfian monarch, might eafily
have mifcarried 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 j
lince, as we are told, the utmoft wifii 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 lie encountered in
order to pafs the Hydafpcs, 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 object of admiration to the latell pofterity 5 yet did
not expert this from the conqueft of worlds, but from
books. He was perfectly in the right, fays Bayle;
“ for if Greece had not furnilhed him with good wai¬
ters, he would long ago have been as much forgotten
as the kings who reigned in Macedon before Amphi¬
tryon.”
Alexander has been praifed upon the fcore of con-
tinency, yet his life could not furely be quite regular
in that refpect. Indeed, the fire of his early youth ap¬
peared fo cold towards women, that his mother fuf-
pected;
ALE [ 590 1 ALE
Alexander, pccted him to lie impotent} and, to fatisfy herfelf in
—V—1 this point, did, with the confent of Philip, procure a
very handfome courtezan to lie with him, whofe ca-
refl’es, however, were all to no purpofe. His behaviour
afterwards to the Perfian captives fliows him to have had
a great command over himfelf in this particular. The
wife of Darius was a finiflied beauty j her daughters
likewife were all beauties } yet this young prince, who
had them in his power, not only beftowed on them all
the honours due to their high rank, but managed their
reputation with the utmoll delicacy. They were kept
as in a cloifter concealed from the world, and lecured
from the reach of every difhonourable (not only at¬
tack, but) imputation. He did not give the leall han¬
dle to fcandal, either by his vifits, his looks, or his
words : and for other Perfian dames his prilo.ners,
equally beautiful in face and fhape, he contented him¬
felf with faying gaily, that they gave indeed much pain
to his eyes. The amazon Thaleilris could not obtain
from him a compliance with her gallant requeft till after
a delay of thirteen days. In the mean time, what are
we to conclude from his caufing his favourite millrefs
Pancafte to be drawn naked by Apelles, though it is
true he gave her to the painter, who fell in love with
her ? W hat of that immoderate love of boys, which
Athenaeus relates of him ? What of that prodigious
number of wives and concubines which he kept ?
His excelfes with regard to wine were notorious,
and beyond all imagination 5 and he committed, when
drunk, a thoufand extravagancies. It was owing to
wine, that he killed Clitus who laved his life, and
burnt Perfepolis, one of the molt beautiful cities of the
Halt} he did this lall indeed at the mitigation of the
courtezan Thais j but this circumltance made it only
the more heinous. It is generally believed, that he
died by drinking immoderately : and even Plutarch,
who affefts to contradict it, owns that he did nothing
but drink the whole day he was taken ill.
In Ihort, to fum up the character of this prince, we
cannot be of opinion, that his good qualities did in
anywife compenfate for his bad ones. Heroes make a
noife: their aCtions glare, and llrike the fenfes forci¬
bly j while the infinite deftruCtion and mifery they oc-
cafion lie more in the fhade, and out of fight. One
good legifiator is worth all the heroes that ever did or
will exift. See Maced ON.
Alexander ab Alexandro, a Neapolitan law¬
yer, of great learning, who flourilhed toward the end
of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century. He
followed the profelfion of the law firlt at Naples,
afterwards at Rome: but he devoted all the time he
could fpare to the ftudy of polite literature j and at
length he entirely left the bar, that he might lead a
more eafy and agreeable life with the Mules. The par¬
ticulars of his life are to be gathered from his work en¬
titled “ Dies GenialesWe are there informed,
that he lodged at Rome, in a houfe that was haunted j
and he relates many furprifing particulars about the
ghoft. He fays alfo, that when he was very young, he
went to the leCtures of Philelphus, who explained at
Rome the Tufculan queftions of Cicero j he was there
alfo when Nicholas Perot and Domitius Calderinus read
their leCtures upon Martial. The particular time when
he died is not known 5 but he was buried in the mo-
naftery of the Olivets. Tiraquea wrote a learned com¬
mentary upon his work, which was printed at Lyons in ^k^mder
1587, and reprinted at Leyden, in 1673, with the notes i—y—j
of Dennis Godfrey, Chriliopher Colerus, and Nicholas
Mercerus.
Alexander, Neck ham, an eminent Englilh wri¬
ter in the 12th and 13th centuries, born at St Al¬
ban’s in Hertfordlhire. In 1215 he was made abbot
of Exeter, and died in 1227. He wrote feveral works,
which were never publilhed j but they are to be found
in manufcript 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 finilhing his Rudies 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 diftinguilhed himfelf fo, that he was appointed
to teach philofophy there, which he did for 12 years.
M. Colbert fliowed him many marks of his efteem ‘7
and being determined to omit nothing to perfeCt the
education of hisfon, afterwards archbilhop of Rouen, he
formed an affembly of the moil learned perfons, whofe
conferences upon ecclefiallical hiltory might be of ad¬
vantage to him. Father Alexander was invited to this
affemhly, where he exerted himfelf with fo much ge¬
nius and ability, that he gained the particular friend-
Ihip of young Colbert, who Ihowed him the utmoll re¬
gard as long as he lived. Thefe conferences gave rife,
to Alexander’s defign of writing an ecclefiallical hillo-
ry ; for, being delired to reduce what was material in
thefe conferences to writing, he did it with fo much
accuracy, that the learned men who compofed this af¬
fembly, advifed him to undertake a complete body of
church hillory. This he executed with great affiduity,
collecting and digefling the materials himfelf, and writ¬
ing even the tables with his own hand. He at lall
completed his work in 1686. Towards the latter part of
his life, he was alllieted with the lot’s of his fight j a
moll inexpreilible misfortune to one whofe whole plea-
fure was in lludy, 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 Mammasa, and by her
advice he in a great meafure regulated his condud. He
applied himfelf to the reformation of abufes, the Hate
having been greatly difordered by the vicious condud
of his predeceffor j he was a moll llrid lover of jullice,
an encourager of learning and learned men, and favour¬
able to the Chriilians. He made a fuccefsful expedi¬
tion againll the Perfians *, but endeavouring to reform
his troops, who had grown very licentious under the
late bad government, they murdered him at the inlli-
gation of Maximinus, in the 29th year of his age, to¬
gether with his mother, A. D. 235.
Alexander VI. Pope, had four ballards when he
was cardinal, for one of whom he had fo great alfec-
tion, that he lluck at nothing to raife him. Defigning
to poifon fome cardinals, he was poifoned himfelf, A. D.
1503. See Borgia.
Alexander VII. Pope. See Chigi.
Alexander, bilhop of Lincoln, in the reigns of
Henry I. and Stephen, was a Norman by birth, and ne¬
phew
A L E [ 591 ] ALE
Alexander. P^iew the famous Roger, bifliop of Salifbury, who
v J firfl made him archdeacon of Salifbury, and after¬
wards, by his interefl with the king, raifed him to the
mitre. Alexander was confecrated at Canterbury,
July 22. II23* Having received his education under
his uncle the bifhop of Salifbury, and been accuflomed
to a fplendid way of living, he affedted fliow and ftate
more than was fuitable to his charader, or confiftent
with his fortunes. This failing excepted, he was a
man worthy of honour, and every ivay qualified for
his Ration. The year after his cdhfecration, his ca¬
thedral church at Lincoln having been accidentally
burnt down, he rebuilt it, and fecured it againft the
like accident for the future by a ftone roof. This pre¬
late increafed the number of prebends in his church,
and augmented its revenues with feveral manors and
eflates. In imitation of the barons, and fome of the
bifiiops, particularly his uncle the bilbop of Salifbu¬
ry, lie built three callles j one at Banbury, another
at Sleaford, and a third at Newark. He likewife
founded two monafteries ; 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 firft time he came back in
quality of the pope’s legate, for the calling a fynod, in
which he publiflied feveral wholefome and necefl’ary
canons. In Auguft H47> ^ie took a third journey to
the pope, who was then in France 5 where he fell fick
through the exceflive heat of the weather, and return¬
ed with great difficulty to England, where he died, in
the 24th year of his prelacy.
Alexander, William, earl of Stirling, an eminent
Scots flatefman and poet in the reigns of James YI.
and Charles I. who, after travelling with the duke of
Argyle as his tutor or companion, wrote a poetical
complaint of his unfuccefsful love of fome beauty, un¬
der the title of Aurora. He then removed to the
court of James VI. where he applied to the more folid
parts of poetry, forming himfelf upon the plan of the
Greek and Roman tragedians. In 1607, he publifiied
fome dramatic performances, entitled The Monarchic
Tragedies, dedicated to King James 5 who was fo wrell
pleated with them, as to call him his philofophical
poet. After this, he is faid to have written A Supple¬
ment to complete the third part of Sir Philip Sidney’s
Arcadia j and in 1613, he produced a poem called
TAoomfday, or the Great Day of Judgment. He was
made gentleman uffier to Prince Charles, and mailer
of the requells ; was knighted \ and obtained a grant
of Nova Scotia, where he projedted the fettlement of
a colony, but afterwards fold it to the French. In
1626, he was made fecretary of Hate for Scotland ; was
created firll vifeount, and then earl, of Stirling; and
died in 1640.
Alexander I. St, whom St Irenaeus reckons the
fifth bilhop of Rome, lucceeded St Evarillus in the year
109, and died in the year 119. There is no account
of his life ; and the epillles 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 w'as offered
battle by Alexander, but refufed it. He took the ci¬
ty of Carlifle from Henry HI. which was afterwards
3
exchanged for Berwick. Alexander died in 1249, in Alexander
the 5ill year ol his age, and 35th of his reign; and j)
left for his fucceffor, his fon  Alexan-
Alexander HI. who was crowned king of Scot- dretta- ,
land in 1249. ^ie Cummings, a powerful family,
took arms againll him ; and taking him prifoner, con¬
fined him at Stirling: but he was afterwards re¬
leafed by his fubjefts. He married the daughter of
Henry III. king of England ; and was at length kill¬
ed by a fall from his horle, on the 10th of April 1290,
after having reigned 42, or according to others 37,
years.
ALEXANDERS, in Botany. See Smyrnium.
ALEXANDRE 11 A, by the Turks called iScrwi-
deroon ; a town in Syria, at the extremity of the Me¬
diterranean fea. It is the port of Aleppo, from which
it is diflant 28 or 30 leagues. It is now, properly
fpeaking, nothing elfe but a village, without walls, in
which the tombs are more numerous than the houfes,
and which entirely owes its exiflence to the road which
it commands. This is the only road, in all Syria,
wliere veffels anchor on a folid bottom, without their
cables being liable to chafe : but in other refpedls it
has many inconveniences. It is infefted, during win¬
ter, by a peculiar wind, called by the French failors
le Raguier, which, milling from the fnowy fummits of
the mountains, frequently forces flaps to drag their an¬
chors feveral leagues: And when the fnow begins to
cover the mountains which furround the gulf, tempef-
tuous winds arife which prevent veffels from entering
for three or four months together. The road alfo to
Aleppo by the plain is infefled by Curd robbers, who
conceal themfelves in the neighbouring rocks, and fre¬
quently attack and plunder the flrongefl caravans. But
the worfl circumllance is the extreme unwholefomenefs'
of the air, occalioned here by llagnant waters and me¬
phitic exhalations. It may be affirmed that this every
year carries off one third of the crews of the veffels
which remain here during the fummer ; nay ffiips 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 moll malignant kind, and is accompanied with
obllructions 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 flat,
that the rivulets, finding no declivity, can never reach
the fea. When they are fwelled by the winter rains,
the fea, likewife fwelled by tempefls, 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 waters become 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 well, which in thofe countries is the
moll unhealthy expofure when it correfponds with the
fea. The labour neceffary to remedy this would be
immenfe, and after all infufficient : and, indeed, fuch
an undertaking would be abfolutely impoffible under a
government like that of the Turks. A few years ago,
Mr Volney informs us, the merchants of Aleppo, dif-
gulled with the numerous inconveniences of Alexan¬
dretta, wiflied to abandon that port and carry the trade
to
ALE [ 592 ] ALE
Alcxan- to Latakia. They propofed to the pacha of Tripoli
dretta, to repair the harbour at their own expence, provided
Alexandria. ]ie Would grant them an exemption from all duties for
v ten years. To induce him to comply with their re-
queft, the agent then employed talked much of the ad¬
vantage which would, in time, refult to the whole
country : “ But what fignifies it to me what may hap¬
pen in time, replied the pacha ? I was yefterday at Ma-
rach; to-morrow, perhaps, I fhall be at Djedda: Why
fliould I deprive myfelf of prefent advantages, which
tire 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 Englilli
and Venetians. The only, curiofity which they have
to amufe flrangers with confifts in fix or feven marble
monuments, fcnt from England, on which you read:
Here lies fuch a one, earned off in the flower of his
age, by the fatal effeBs of a contagious air. The fight
of thefe is the more diltreffing, as the languid air, yel¬
low complexion, livid eyes, and dropfical bellies of thole
who lliow 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 water of which furprifingly reftore the fick.
The aga, for fome years pall, has applied the duties
of the cuftomhoufe of Alexandretta to his own ufe, and
rendered himfelf almoll independent of the pacha of
Aleppo. The Turkifh empire is full of rich rebels,
who frequently die in peaceable poflelfionmf their ufur-
pations.
ALEXANDRIA, in Ancient Geography, a moun¬
tain of Myfia, on the fea coaft, forming a part of
Mount Ida, where Paris gave judgment on the three
goddeffes.
Alexandria, now Scanderia, by Athenseus call¬
ed Xgi><n) ; 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 Chrift. It is fituated on the Mediterra¬
nean, twelve miles weft 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
city, (on account of its being conveniently fituated for
a fine port) and fo fudden was his refolution, that af¬
ter he had dire&ed where every public ftructure was
to be placed, fixed the number of temples, and the dei¬
ties to whom they fliould be dedicated, &c. there were
no inftruments at hand proper for marking out the
walls, according to the cuftom of thofe times. Upon
this, a workman adviied the king to collect what meal
was among the foldiers, and to fift it in lines upon the
ground, whereby the circuit of the walls would be
fufficiently marked out. This advice was followed;
and the new method of marking out the walls was, by
Ariftander, the king’s foothfayer, interpreted as a pre-
fage of the city’s abounding with all the neceffaries of
life. Nor was he deceived in his predictions ; for A-
lexandria foon became the ftaple, 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 walls about four leagues. Lake Mareotis bathed
its walls on the fouth, and the Mediterranean on the Alexandria,
north. It was interfered lengthwsfe by ftraight pa-y—j
rallel ftreets. This direction left a free pailage to the
northern wind, which alone conveys coolnels and fa-
lubrity into Egypt. A ftreet of 2000 feet wide began
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 extenlive range,
the eye was never tired with admiring the marble, the
porphyry, and obelifks, which were dellmed at iome fu¬
ture day to embellilli Rome and Conftantinople. This
ftreet, the handfomeft in the univerfe, was interfeCted
by another of the fame breadth, which formed a fquare
at their jundion of half a league in circumference.
From the middle of this great place, the two gates were
to be feen at once, and veffels arriving under full lail
from the north and from the louth.
A mole of a mile in length ftretched from the con¬
tinent to the ifle of Pharos, and divided the great har¬
bour into two. That which is to the northward pre¬
served its name. A dike drawn from the ifland to the
rock whereon was built the Pharos, fecured it from the
wefterly winds. The other was called Eumflos, 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 was raffed on lofty pillars funk into the fea,
and left a free paffage for ihips. 1 he 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 enclofure the mu-
feum, an afylum for learned men, groves, and buildings
worthy of royal majefty, and a temple where the body
of Alexander was depofited in a golden coffin. Ihe
infamous Seleucus Cibyofaddes violated this monument,
•carried oft the golden coffin, and put a glafs one in its^
place. In the great harbour was the little ifland ol
Anti-Rhodes, where 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 was the admirable
temple of Serapis, and that of Neptune near the great
place where the market was held. Alexandria extend¬
ed likewife along the fouthern hanks 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 'was a fpacious circus for the chariot races. Be¬
yond that, the fnburb of Nicopolis ran along the fea-
fhore, 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 deicription left us of Alexandria by the
ancients, and above all by Strabo.
The architect epiployed by Alexander in this under¬
taking 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 captains, 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. T
ALE [ 593 ] ALE
Alefcimliia. ^,e 30t^ year ot" Ptolemy So! er’s reign, he took
-yl—j his ion Ptolemy Philadelphus partner with him in the
empire ; and by this prince the city of Alexandria was
much embelliihed. In the firfl year of his reign, the
famous watch-tower of Pharos was finiihed. It had
been begun feveral years before by Ptolemy Soter 5
and, when finiflied, was looked upon as one of the won¬
ders of the world. The fame year, the iiland of Pharos
itfelf, originally feven furlongs diilant from the conti¬
nent, was joined to it by a caufeway. This was the
work of Dexiphanes, who completed it at the fame time
that his ion put the lait hand to the tower. The tower
was a large fquare ftrudture of white marble j on the
top of which fires were kept conftantly burning, for the
direction of failors. The building coil 800 talents-;
which, if Attic, amounted to 165,000k; if Alexandrian,
to twice that fum.
The architect employed in this famous ilructure
iell upon the following contrivance to ufurp the whole
glory to himielf.—Being ordered to engrave upon it
the following infcription:—“ King Ptolemy to the
' Gods the Saviours for the benefit of Sailors ;” inftead
oi the king’s name he fubftituted his own, and then
filling up the hollow of the marble with mortar, wrote
upon it the above-mentioned infcription. In procefs of
time, the mortar being worn oft, the following infcrip¬
tion 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 let up in one of the fuburbs of the city called
RhacotiSy where a temple was afterwards creeled to his
honour, luitable to the greatnefs of that flately me¬
tropolis, and called, from the god worfhipped there,
Serapeum. This ftrufture, according to Ammianus
Marcellinus, lurpafl’ed in beauty and magnificence all
others in the world, except the capitol at Home.*———
Within the verge of this temple was the famous Alex¬
andrian library. It was founded by Ptolemy Soter, for
the ule of an academy he inftituted in this city; and,
by continual additions by his fucceflbrs, became at lalt
the fineft library in the world, containing no fewer
than 700,000 volumes. The method followed in col¬
lecting books for this library, was, to feize all thole
which were brought into Tgypt by Greeks or other
foreigners. The books were tranferibed in the mufeum
by perfons appointed for that purpofe ; the copies were
then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals
laid up in the library. Ptolemy Euergetes, having bor-
rowed from the Athenians the works of Sophocles, Eu¬
ripides, and iEfchylus, returned them only the copies,
which he cauled to be tranferibed in as beautiful a man¬
ner as pollible; prefenting the Athenians at the fame
time with fifteen talents (upwards of 30,000k llerling)
for the exchange.
As the mufeum was at firll in that quarter of the
city called Bruchion, near the royal palace, the library
was placed there likewife; but when it came to con¬
tain 400,000 volumes, another library, within the
Serapeum, was ereCted 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 depolited; and the two together contained
Vol. I. Part II.
the 700,000 volumes already mentioned. In the war Alexandria.
carried on by Julius Caelar againlt the inhabitants of—-y  
this city, the library in the Bruchion, with the 400,000
volumes it contained, was reduced to allies. The li¬
brary in the Serapeum, however, Hill remained ; and
here Cleopatra depoiited 200,000 volumes of the Perga-
mean library, which Mark Antony prefented her with.
Thefe, and others added from time to time, rendered
the new library at Alexandria more numerous and con-
fiderable than the former ; and though it was often
plundered during the revolutions and troubles of the
Homan empire, yet it was again and again repaired,
and filled with the fame number of books.
For 293 years Alexandria was held in fubjeftion by
the Ptolemies. Here is a lift; ol thefe princes, with the
dates oi their relpective reigns.
Ptolemy the ion of Lagus, furnamed So ter, 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
i*1 37^3- Ptolemy Philopater reigned 17 years, and
died in 3800. Ptolemy Epiphanes reigned 24 years,
and died in 3^24- Ptolemy Philometor reigned 37
years, and died in 3861. Ptolemy Euergetes or Phyi-
con reigned 53 years, part with his brother Philome¬
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 wife of Alex¬
ander I. reigned fix months. Alexander I. the nephew *
of Lathyrus, was eltablilhed 1113924, and died in 3943.
Alexander II. the fon of Alexander I. was difpofi'efi’ed
by the Alexandrians in 3939. Ptolemy Nothus, or
Auletes, the Ion of Lathyrus, reigned 13 years, and
died in 3953. Ptolemy, furnamed Dionyjius or Bac¬
chus, reigned three years eight months, and died in
3957- Cleopatra reigned from 3957, and killed herfelf
in 3974.
This city, as we have already obferved, foon became
extremely populous, and was embellilhed both by its
own princes and the Homans ; but, like moll other
noted cities of antiquity, hath been the feat of terrible
mafiacres. About 141 years before Chrill, it was al-
moll totally depopulated by Ptolemy Phyfcon. That
barbarous moniter, without the leall provocation, gave
free liberty to his guards to plunder his metropolis and
murder the inhabitants at their pleafure. The cruel¬
ties praitifed on this occafion cannot be exprefi’ed; 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
llrangers from the neighbouring countries; by whom
the city was repeopled, and foon recovered its former
fplendour. On this occafion, many learned men hav¬
ing been obliged to fly, proved the means of reviving
learning in Greece, Alia Minor, and the illands of the
Archipelago, and other places, where it was almoll
totally loll.
The new inhabitants were not treated with much
more kindnefs by Phyfcon than the old ones had been;
for, on their complaining of his tyrannical behaviour,
he refolved on a general maffacre 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 let on fire ; fo that they all perifh-
ALE [ 594 ]
ALE
ed, either in the flames, or by the (words of his mer¬
cenaries, whom the tyrant had placed at all the ave¬
nues.
Though Julius Ca*far was obliged to carry on a war
for Come time againll this city, it teems not to have fuf-
fered much damage, except the burning of the library
already mentioned. Before Csefar left Alexandria, in
acknowledgment of the afliftance he had received tiom
the Jews, he conflrmed all their privileges there, and
even engraved his decree on a pillar ol brats. This,
however, did not prevent the maflacre ot 50,000 ot
them in this city about the year of Chritl 67.
The city of Alexandria feems to have fallen into de¬
cay toon after this, and to have forfeited many of its an¬
cient privileges, though for what oflence is not known }
but when Adrian vifited Bgypt, about the year 14
was almoft totally ruined. He repaired both the pub¬
lic and private buildings, not only reftoring the inhabi¬
tants to their ancient privileges, but heaping new la-
vours upon them j tor which they returned him then
folemn thanks, and conferred upon him what honours
they could while he was prefent •, but as foon as he was
gone, they publiflied the moil virulent and bitter lam¬
poons againft him.
The fickle and fatirical humour of the Alexandrians
was highly difliked by Adrian, though he inflided no
punitliment 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 iubject of their foolilh fatires,
ordered a general maflacre, by his numerous troop?,
who were dilperfed all over the city. 1 he inhuman
orders being given, all were murdered, without ditlinc-
tion of age or fex 5 fo that in one night’s time the
whole city floated in blood, and every houfe was filled
with carcafes. The monfter who occafioncd this had
retired during the night to the temple of Serapis, to
implore the protection of that deityT 5 and, not yet ta-
tiated with daughter, commanded the maflacre to be
continued all the next day } to that very tew ot the
inhabitants remained. As if even this had not been
fuflicient, he ftripped the city of all its ancient privile¬
ges '■) fupprefled the academy ordered all tlrangers
who lived there to depart j and that the few who re¬
mained might not have the iatisfaftion of teeing one
another, he cut off all communication of one itreet
with another, by walls built for that purpofe, and
guarded by troops left there.
Notwithftanding this terrible difafter, Alexandria
foon recovered its former fplendour, as Caracalla was
murdered a thort time after. It was long efteemed the
ftrft city in the world, next to Borne y and we may
judge of its magnificence, and the multitude of people
contained in it, from the account ot 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 Ebn al
Acts, Omar’s general, took it by (form, after a liege
of 14 months, and with the lofs ot 23,000 men. He_
radius, then emperor ot Conftantinople, did not fend
a tingle Ihip to its atlitlance. This prince affords an
example very rare in hiftory j he had difplayed tome
vigour in the firtl year of his reign, and then fuffered
himfelf to be lulled into idlenefs and efieminacy.. ^ A-
wakened fuddenly from his lethargy by the nolle of
the conquetfs of Cofroes, that fcourage of the eatl, he
put himfelf at the head of his armies, ditlinguillied
himfelf as a great captain from his very firft campaign,
laid watle Perfia for feven years, and returned to his
capital covered with laurels ; he then became a theo¬
logian on the throne, loti all his energy, and amufed
himfelf the reft of his life with difputing upon Mono-
theifm, whilft the Arabs were robbing him of the fineft
provinces of the 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 aicendant of the indefatigable Amrou. All
their intrepid youth peritlied with their arms in their
hands.
The victor, aftoniflied at his conqueft, wrote to the
caliph, “ I have taken the city of the weft. It is of an
immenfe extent. I cannot deferibe to you how many
wonders it contains. There are 4000 palaces, 4000
baths, 12,000 deal el’s in freth oil, 12,000 gardeners,.
40,00c Jews who pay tribute, 400 theatres or places ot
araufement.”
At this time, according to the Arabian hiftorians,.
Alexandria conlifted of three cities, viz. Menna, or the
port, which included Pharos, and the neighbouring
parts y Alexandria, properly to called, w here the mo¬
dern Scandena nowT Hands y and Nekita, probably the
Necropolis of Jotephus and btrabo.
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 Inch a re-
queft ; but that he would write to the caliph on that
head j fince, without knowing his pleafure, he dared
not to dilpoie of a fingle book. He accordingly wrote
to Omar, who W'as then caliph, acquainting him with
the requeft of his friend: To which the ignorant tyrant
replied, That if thofe books contained the lame doc¬
trine with the Koran, they could be of no ufe, fince the
Koi*an contained all necetlary truths 5 but if they con¬
tained any thing contrary to that book, they ought not
to be fuffered y and theretore, whatever their contents
were, he ordered them to be deftroyed. 1 urfuant to
this order, they were diftributed among the public baths j
where, for the (pace of fix months, they ierved to iup-
plv the fires of thofe places, of which there was an in¬
credible number in Alexandria.
After the city was taken, Amrou thought proper
to purfue the Greeks who had fled farther up the coun¬
try y and therefore marched out of Alexandria, leaving
but a very flender garrifon in the place. I he Greeks,
who had before fled on board their Hups, being apprif-
ed of this, returned on a Bidden, iurprifed the town,
and put all the Arabs they found therein to the fword :
but Amrou, receiving advice ot what had happened,
fuddenly returned, and drove them out of it with great
(laughter y after which the Greeks were to intimidated,
that he had nothing farther to fear from them.— A few
years after, however, Amrou being deprived of his
government bv the caliph Othman, the Egyptians were,
to much difpleafed with his diimiffion that they inclined
to a revolt j and Conftantine the Greek emperor, having
received intelligence of their difaffeftion, began to me¬
ditate the reduction of Alexandria. For this purpofe.
ALE t 595 ] ALE
Alexandria, lie fent one Manuel, an eunuch, and his general, with
1 y~" ' a powerful army, to retake that place } which, by the
aflillance of the Greeks in the city, who kept a fecret
correfpondence with the imperial forces while at fea,
and joined them as foon as they had made a defeent,
he effected, without any confiderable efiufion of Chri-
ftian blood. The caliph, now perceiving his miltake,
immediately reltored Amrou to his former dignity.
This ftep was very agreeable to the natives j who hav¬
ing had experience of the military (kill and bravery of
this renowned general, and apprehending that they
Ihould be called to an account by the Greeks for their
former perfidious conduct, had petitioned Othman to
fend him again into Egypt.—Upon Amrou’s arrival,
therefore, at Alexandria, the Copts or natives, with
the traitor Al-Mokawkas (who had formerly betrayed
to Amrou the fortrefs of Mefr) at their head, not only
joined him, but fupplied him with all kinds of provi-
fions, exciting him to attack the Greeks without delay.
This he did •, and, after a moll obllinate difpute which
lulled feveral days, drove them into the tow n, where,
for fome time, they defended themfelves with great
bravery, and repelled the utmoll efforts of the befiegers.
This fo exafperated Amrou, that he fwore, “ If God
enabled him to conquer the Greeks, he would throw
down the w'alls of the city, and make it as eafy of ac-
cefs as the houfe of a prollitute. Nor did he fail to
execute his threat; for having taken the town bv llorm,
he quite difmantled it, entirely' demolifhing the walls
and fortifications. The lives of the citizens, however,
were fpared, at leall as far as lay in the general’s power j
but many of them were put to the fword by the fol-
diers on their firll entrance. In one quarter particu¬
larly, Amrou found them butchering the Alexandrians
with unrelenting barbarity; to which, however, by
his feafonable interpofition, he put a Hop, and on that
fpot erecled a mofque, which he called the nio/yue
mercy.
From this time Alexandria never recovered its for¬
mer fplendour. It continued under the dominion of the
caliphs till the year 924, when it was taken by the Ma-
"rebians, two years after its great church had been de-
llrbyed by fire. This church was called by the Arabs
Al Kaifuria, or CaJ'area ; and had formerly been a pa¬
gan temple, eredled in honour of Saturn by the famous
Queen Cleopatra.
The city was foon after abandoned by the Magre-
bians; but in 928 they again made themfelves mailers
of it; their fleet being afterwards defeated by that be¬
longing to the caliph, Abul Kafem the Magrebian ge¬
neral retired from Alexandria, leaving there onlyagar-
rifon of 300 men ; of which Thmadl, the caliph’s ad¬
miral, being apprifed, he in a few days appeared before
the town, and canned off the remainder of the inhabi¬
tants to an ifland in the Nile called Abukair. This
was done to prevent Abul Kafem from meeting with
any entertainment at Alexandria, in cafe he Ihould think
proper to return. According to Eutychius, above
200,000 of the miferable inhabitants perilhed this year.
What contributed to raife Alexandria to fuch a pro¬
digious height of fplendour as it enjoyed for a long time,
was its being the centre of commerce between the eall-
ern and wellern parts < f the world. It w’as with the
view of becoming mailer of this lucrative trade, that
Alexander built this city, after having extirpated the
Tyrians who formerly engrofled all the Fall India traf-Alexandria,
lie. Of the immenle riches which that trade afforded, v
we may form an idea, from confidering that the Ho¬
mans accounted it a point of policy to opprefs the Egyp¬
tians, efpecially the Alexandrians ; and after the defeat
of Zenobia, there was a fingle merchant of Alexandria
who undertook to raife and pay an army out of the pro¬
fits of his trade. The Greek emperors drew prodigious
tributes from Egypt, and yet the caliphs found their iub-
jedls in fo good circumllances as to ferew up their re¬
venues to three hundred millions of crowns.
Though the revolutions which happened in the go¬
vernment of Egypt, after it fell into the hands of the
Mahometans, frequently affedted this city to a very
gx-eat degree 5 yet Hill the excellence of its port, and
the innumerable conveniences refulting from the Fall
India trade, to whomfoever were mailers of Egy pt,
preferred Alexandria from total dellruclion, even when
in the hands of the moll barbarous nations. Thus, in
the 13th century, when the barbarifm introduced by
the Goths, &,c. began to wear off from the European
nations, and they acquired a talle for the elegancies
of life, the old mart of Alexandria began to revive ;
and the port, though far from recovering its former
magnificence, grew once more famous by becoming the
centre of commerce : but having fallen under the domi¬
nion of the Turks, and the paffage round the Cape of
Good Hope being difeovered by the Portuguefe in 1499,
a fatal blow' was given to the Alexandrian commerce,
and the city has fince fallen into decay.
At prefent, the city of Alexandria is reckoned to
have about 14,000 or 15,000 inhabitants j a llrange
colluvies of different nations, as well as from various
parts of the Turkilh empire. They are in general given
to thieving and cheating 5 and (like their predecefl’ors)
feditious above all others, were they not kept in awe
by the feverity of their government. The Britilh and
French carry on a confiderable commerce with them,
and have each a conful refiding here. Some \ enetian
fhips alfo fail thither yearly, but with French colours,
and under the protection of France. The fubje<Ss of
thofe kingdoms which keep no conlul here, are fubjeft-
ed to a tax by the Grand Signior: but the Jews have
found out a method of indemnifying themfelves for this
difadvantage; namely', by felling their commodities
cheaper than other foreigners can afford. They are al¬
fo favoured by the farmers of the revenue ; who know,
that if they do not pay fome private regard to them,
the Jews have it in their power to caufe fewer mer-
chandifes come into their port during the two years
that the*ir farm lafts.
The prefent city is a kind of peninfula fituated be¬
tween the two ports. That to the weftward was called
by the ancients the Portus Euno/lus, now the Old Port,
and is by far the bell: Turkifh veffels only are allowed
to anchor there:, the other called, the New Port, is
for the thriftians •, at the extremity of one of the arms
of which Hood the famous Pharos. The New Port,
the onlv harbour for Europeans, is clogged up with
fand, infomuch that in ftormy weather fhips are liable
to bilge ; and the bottom being alfo rocky, the cables
foon chafe and part ; fo that one veffel driving againll
a fecond, and that againll a third, they are perhaps all
loll. Of this there was a fatal inllance fome years ago,
when 42 veffels were dallied to pieces on the mole
ALE r 596 ] ALE
Alexandria, in a gale of wind from the north-well, and numbers
  v—" ' have been fmce loll 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 dellroy
every thing, and repair nothing. The old harbour will
be dellroyed likewife, as the ballall of veffels has been
continually thrown into it for the lall 200 years. The
fpirit of the Turkifh government is to ruin the labours
of pall ages, and dellroy the hopes of future times, be-
caufe the barbarity of ignorant defpotifm never confiders
to-morrow.
In time, of war, A lexandria is of no importance ;
no fortification is to be feen 5 even the Farillon, with
its lofty towers, cannot be defended. It has not lour
cannon fit for lervice, nor a gunner who knows how
to point them. The 500 janizaries, who Ihould 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 conqueit would be of no value. A
foreign pow,er could not maintain itfelf there, as the
country is without water. This mull 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 mull ferve till the next
year. It is evident, therefore, that were a foreign
power to take poffeffion, the canal would be Hint, and
all fupplies of water cut off. It is this canal alone
which connects Alexandria with Egypt } for from its
fituation without the Delta, and the nature of the loil,
it really belongs to the deferts of Africa. Its environs
are fandy, fiat, and llerilc, without trees and without
houfes ; 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 ilrangers, but to
the mercantile and induilrious pail of the people, though
ever fo confiderable and ufeful. The government is
fo remifs in favour of thefe wretches, that Mr Norden
informs us, one of them did not hefitate to kill a far¬
mer of the culloms, for refufing to take lefs of him than
the duty impofed, and went off unpunilhed } it being a
common falvo among them, that what is done cannot
he undone.
The prefent condition of Alexandria is very defpi-
cable, being now fo far ruined, that the rubbiili in many
places oveilops the houfes. The famous tower of Pha¬
ros has long iince been demolifihed, and a callle, called
Farillon, built in its place. The caufeway, which joined
the ifland to the continent is broken down, and its place
fupplied by a llrong bridge of feveral arches.
Some parts of the old walls of the city are yet Hand¬
ing, and prefent us with a mallerpiece of ancient ma-
fonry. They are flanked with large towers, about 200
paces dillant from each other, with fmall ones in the
middle. Below are magnificent cafemates, which may
ferve for galleries to walk in. In the lower part of the
towers is a large fquare hall, whole r'oof is fupported
by thick columns of Thebaic Hone. Above this are
feveral rooms, over which there are platforms more
than 20 paces fquare. The ancient refervoirs, vaulted
with fo much art, which extend under the whole town, Alexandria,
are almoil entire at the end of 2000 years. -—y—
Of Caefar’s palace there remain only a few porphyry
pillars, and the front, which is almoH entire, and looks
very beautiful. The palace of Cleopatra was built
upon the walls facing the port, having a gallery on the
outfide, fupported by feveral fine columns. Not far
from this palace are two obelilks, vulgarly called Cleo¬
patra's Needles. They are of Thebaic Hone, and co¬
vered with hieroglyphics. One is overturned, broken,
and lying under the land; the other is on its pedellal.
Thefe two obelifks, each of them of a fingle Hone, are
about 60 feet high, by feven feet fquare at the bale.
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 Hill exile at no great difiance from the place of
the obelifks. Towards the gate of liofetta, are five
columns of marble on the place formerly occupied by
the porticoes of the gymnafium. The refi of the co¬
lonnade, the defign of which was difcoverahle iooyear»
ago by Maillet, has lince been dellroyed by the barba-
rifm of the Turks.
But what molt 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 Ihaft and the upper member of the
bafe are of one piece 90 feet long, and nine in dia¬
meter. The bafe is a fquare of about 15 feet on each
fide. This block of marble, 60 feet in circumference,
refis on two layers of Hone bound together with lead
which, however, has not prevented the Arabs from
forcing out feveral of them, to fearch lor an imaginary
treafure. The whole column is 114 feet high. It is
perfectly well polifiied, and only a little fhivered on the
eaffern fide. Nothing can equal the majefly of this
monument •, feen from a difiance, it overtops the town,
and ferves as a fignal for veffels. Approaching it
nearer, it produces an hfiomfiiment mixed with awe.
One can neve* be tired with admiring the beauty ot
the capital, the length of the ihaft, nor the extraoi bi¬
nary fimplipitv of the pedeilal. This lafi has oeen
fomewhat damaged by the infiruments of travellers,
who are curious to poffefs a rehek ol this antiquity j
and one of the volutes of the column was immaturely '
brought down about twelve years ago, by a prank ot
fome Englilli captains, which is thus related by Air
Irwin.
Thefe jolly fons of Neptune had been pulhing about
the can on board one ol the Ihips in the harbour, until Toyageand
a Hrange freak entered into one of their brains, i he
eccentricity of the thought occafioned it immediately^ ^
to be adopted •, and its apparent impollibihty was but
a fpur for the putting it into execution. The boat
was ordered ; and with proper implements for the at¬
tempt, thefe enterprifing heroes pufiied afiiore, to drink
a bowl of punch on the top of Pompey’s pillar! At
the fpot they arrived j and many contrivances were
propofed to accomplifli the defired point. But their
labour was vain 5 and they began to deipair ol fuccefs,
when the genius who firuck out the trolic happily fug-
gelled the means of performing it. A man was dil-
patcbec!
ALE [ 597 ] y A L E
Alexandria, patched to the city for a paper kite. The inhabitants
‘——-y-" were by this time apprized of what was going forward,
and flocked in crowds to be witnefles of the addrefs
and boldneis of tlie EngliOi. The governor of Alex¬
andria was told that thefe feamen wei’e about to pull
down Pompey’s pillar. Rut whether he gave them
credit for their relpeht to the Roman warrior, or to
the Turkilh government, he left them to themfelves;
and politely anfwered, that the Englifh were too great
patriots to injui’e the remains of Pompey. He knew
little, however, of the difpofition of the people who
were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkilh
empire rifen in oppofition, it would not perhaps at that
moment have detex-red them. The kite was brought,
and flown fo directly over the pillar, that when it fell
on the other fide, the firing lodged upon the capital.
The chief obllacle 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 afeended to the top;
and in let's than an hour a kind of fhroud was con-
llructed, by which the whole company went up, and
drank their punch amid the ffiouts of the afloniffied
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
afloniffiing that no accident befel thefe madcaps, in a
fituation fo elevated, that would have tui-ned a land¬
man giddy in his fober fenfes. The only detriment
which the pillar received, was the lofs of the volute be¬
fore mentioned ; 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 commiffioned him for
a piece of the pillar. The difeovery which they made
amply compenfated for this mifehief; as without their
, evidence, the world would not have known at this hour
that there tvas ox-iginally a flatue on this pillar, one
foot and ancle of which are flill remaining. The flatue
mull have been of a gigantic fize ; to have appeared of
a man’s proportion at fo great a height.
There are circumllances in this flory which might
give it an air of fidtion, were it not demonflrated be¬
yond all doubt. Befules the teflimonies of many eye-
xvitneffes, the adventurers themfelves havedeft us a token
of the fact, by the initials of their names, which are
very legible in black paint juft beneath the capital.
Learned men and travellei’s have made many fruit-
lefs attempts to difeover in honour of xvhat prince it
Avas eredted. The heft informed have concluded, that
it could not be in honour of Pompey, lince neither
Sti'abo nor Diodorus Siculus ha\7e fpoken of it. The
Arabian Abulfeda,. in his Defcription of Egypt, calls
* Vide ^ tfe Pillar- of Severus. And hiftory informs us*, that
I S this emperor “ vilited the city of Alexandria: That
| Severus, he granted a fenate to its inhabitants, xvho until that
I chap. 17. time, under the fubjedtion of a Angle Roman magi-
flrate, had lived without any national council, as under
the reign of the Ptolemies, when the will of the prince
Avas their only laxv : That he did not confine his be-
nefadtions there 5 he changed feveral laws in their fa¬
vour.” This column, therefore, Mr Savary concludes
to have been eredted by the inhabitants as a mark of
their gi’atitude to Severus. And in a Greek inlerip-
tion, noAY half effaced, but vifible on the xveil fide when
the fun fliines upon it, and which probably was legible Alexandria,
in the time of Abulfeda, he fuppoies the name of Se-J
verus to have been preferved. He further obferves,
that this Avas not the only monument eredled to him by
the gratitude of the Alexandrians; for there is ftill
feen in the midft of the ruins of Antinoe, built by A-
drian, a magnificent pillar, the inicription on Avhich is
ftill remaining, dedicated to Alexander Severus.
Denon, whom we have already quoted, feems to he
of a different opinion. “ We palled (fays he) near Pom¬
pey’s pillar. This monument is in the predicament of
almoil every thing famous, Avhich lofes on a near fern-
tiny. It Avas named Pompey’s pillar in the fifteenth
century, AA'hen learning began to recover itfelf from,
the tox*pid Hate in xvhich it had fo long languiflled. A t
that epoch, men of fcience, but not obfervers, bellow¬
ed names on all the monuments ; and thefe names have
been handed down by ti’adition, and without being dif-
puted, from century to century. A monument had
been raifed to Pompey at Alexandria; it had difap-
p^lired, and was thought to be recovered in this pillar
or column, which has lince been converted into a tro¬
phy erected to the memory of Septimius Severus. It
is, hoAvever, placed on the ruins of the ancient city j
and in the time of Septimius Severus, the city of the
Ptolemies Avas not in a ruinous ftate. To fupport this
column by a folid foundation, an obelifk has been funk
in the earth, on Avhich is placed a very clumfy pedeftal,
having a fine lhaft, and furmounted by a Corinthian
capital of bad workmanlhip.
“ If the lhaft of this column, feparating it from the
pedeftal and the capital, once belonged to an ancient
edifice, it is an evidence of its magnificence, and of the
fkill Avith Avhich it Avas executed. It ought therefore
to be laid, that what is called Pompey’s pillax*, is a fine
column, and not a fine monument. It flxould be find,
that the column of St Maria Maggiore, notwithftand-
ing it is one of the fineft in exiftence, has not the cha-
I'acter of a monument 5 that it is merely a fragment j
and that, if the columns of Trajan and Antoninus are
not in the fame predicament, it is becaufe they appear
as coloffal cylinders, on which the hiftory of the glo- ,
rious expeditions of thefc tAvo emperors is pompoufly
difplayed, and which, if reduced to their fimple foim
and dimenfions, would be nothing more than dull and
heavy monuments.
“ The earth about the foundation of Pompey’s pillar
having been cleared away by time, tAvo fragments of
an obelifk of Avhite marble, the only monument of that
fuuftance Avhich I have feen in Egypt, have been added
to the original bale, to render it more folid.
“ Excavations made round the cix-cumference of this
column, Avould, no doubt, afford fome information re¬
lative to its origin. The (baking of the earth, and the
form it takes on treading on it, feem to atteft that theie
refearches Ayould not be frxxitlefs. They would perhaps
difeover the bale and atrium of the portico to Avhich
this column belonged, which has been the fubje£t ot
difi'ertations made by 1 itcrati who have leen the draw¬
ings only, or Avhofe information has been limited to the
deferiptions of travellei’s. Thefe travellers have ne¬
glected to apprize them, that fragments of columns of
the fame fubilance and diameter are found in the vici¬
nity ; and that the (baking of the eax*th indicates the de-
llruCtion of great edifices buried beneath, the forms of
wbiclii ,
A L E [ 59^ ] A L E!
Alexandria, wliicli may be diftinguiflied on the furface, fach as a
' 1 v fquare of a confiderable fize, 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 inftyle and execu¬
tion •, that the pedeftal and capital are not formed of
the fame granite as the fhaft} 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 conftruftion 5 it may be concluded that
this monument is not antique, and that it may have
been erected either in the time of the Greek emperors,
or of the caliphs ; fince, if the capital and pedeltal are
well enough wrought to belong to the former of thefe
periods, they are not fo perfe£t but that art may have
reached fo far in the latter.” (Dcnon's Travels.)
On the fouth-well fide of the city, at a mile’s di-
flance, are fituated the catacombs, the ancient burial-
place of Alexandria 5 and although they cannot Jie
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 de Tott, in defcribing thefe,
obferves, “ that Nature not having furnilhed 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 only 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 width
and height, hollowed horizontally ; and which form,
by their different branches, fubterranean llreets. 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
were 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, divided into
checkers the two walls of this fubterranean vault. It
is natural to fuppofe, from this difpofition, that each
mummy was introduced with the feet foremoft into the
cell intended for its reception ; and that new flreets
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 valt 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 cillerns 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
;» flag, of the flaps that are coming into the port.
3
From this hill may be feen the fea, the whole extent of Alexandria,
the city, and the parts round it. 1 — v"
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 faloons are hewn out by
the chifel, with benches that run acrofs them. A ca¬
nal made zig-zag, for the purpofe of flopping 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 riles a little above the
waift; 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 fwell enters,
raifes you up, and leaves you; and thus alternately
entering and retiring, brings a continual frefh iupply
of water, and a coolnefs which is truly delicious under
a burning Iky. This place is vulgarly called the Bat/i
of Cleopatra. Some ruins announce that it was former¬
ly ornamented.
In 1798 Alexandria was taken by the French under
the command of Bonaparte. It fell into the hands of
the Britifli army in the year 1801 } but by an article
in the treaty of peace, dictated probably by mutual
jealdufy, it is to be reftored to the Ottoman Porte, and
again fubjectcd to the barbarous policy of the Turk!Hi
government.
Alexandria is about 50 leagues north of Cairo.
E. Long. 31. 15. N. Lat. 31. 12.
Alexandria, a ftrong and confiderable city of Italy,
belonging to the duchy of Milan, with a good caflle,
built in 1178 in honour of Pope Alexander III. This
pope made it a bifiiopric, with feveral privileges and
exemptions. Prince Eugene ot Savoy took this city
in 1706, after three days liege. The French took it
in 1745 '■) but the king of Sardinia, to whom it belongs
by the treaty of Utrecht retook it in I74^‘ The ior-
tifications of the town are trifling, but the citadel is
confiderable. It is 15 miles fouth-eafl of Caffal, 35
north-by-weft of Genoa, and 40 fouth-by-weft of Mi¬
lan. E. Long. 8. 40. N. Lat. 44. 53. The country
about this town is called the Alexandnn.
Alexandria, in Ancient Geography, a city of Ara-
chofia, called alio Alexandropohs, 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) j but, according
to Pliny, built by Alexander on the river Arius.—•
A fourth in Ba6triana (Pliny).—A fifth Alexandria,
an inland town of Carmania (Pliny, Ptolemy, Ammi-
an.)—A fixth Alexandria, or Alexandropohs, 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 Sinus
llficus, 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 1
demoliflied by the barbarians, was rebuilt by Antio-
chus the fon of Seleucus, 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 which was called Tjotale. The city
was feventy ftadia in circuit, according to Pliny ; who
adds, that, after the defeat of Crallus, the captives
were conveyed to this place by Orodes, the king ol
A L E [ 5
Alexandria tkc Parthians.—A tenth, of the Oxiana, built on the
.11 Oxus by Alexander, on the confines of Baftria (Pli-
Akxicacus, ny.)—An eleventh, built by Alexander at the foot of
Mount Paropamifus, Which was called Caucafus (Pli¬
ny, Arrian.)—A twelfth Alexandria in Troas, called
alfo Troas and Antigonia (Pliny).—A thirteenth on
the Taxartes, the boundary of Alexander’s vi&ories to¬
wards Scythia, and the Ml that he built on that fide.
ALEXANDRIAN, in a particular lenfe, is ap¬
plied to all thofe who profeffed or taught the fciences
in the fchool of Alexandria. In this fenfe, Clemens
is denominated Alexandrinus, though born at Athens.
1 he lame may be faid of Apion, who was born at
Oafis; and Aroftarchus, by birth a Samothracian. The
chief Alexandrian philofophers were, Amonius, Plo¬
tinus, Origen, Porphyry, Jamblicus, Sopater, Maxi¬
mus, and Dexippus.
Alexandrian is more particularly underllood of a
college of priells, confecrated to the fervice of Alex¬
ander Severus after his deification. Lampridius re¬
lates, that, notwithllanding Severus was killed by
Maximin, the fenate profecuted his apotheofis ; and,
for regularity of worlliip, founded an order.of priells,
or Jodales, under the denomination of Alexandrini.
Alexandrian Manujcript, a famous copy of the
Scriptures, confilling of four volumes, in a large quar¬
to fize ; which contains the whole Bible in Greek, in¬
cluding the Old and New Tellament, with the Apo¬
crypha, and feme fmaller pieces, but not quite com¬
plete. This manufeript is now preferved in the Britilli
Mufeum. It was fent as a prelent to King Charles I.
from Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Conllantinople, by
Sir Thomas Rowe, ambalfador 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: lhat it was written, as tradition informed
them, by Theda, 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 ; nor
are the moil accurate Biblical writers agreed about its
age. Grabe thinks that it might have been written
before the end of the fourth century ; others are of
opinion, that it was not written till near the end of the
fifth century, or fomewhat later.
Alexandrian, or Alexandrine, in Poetry, a kind
of verfie confilling of twelve, or of twelve and thirteen
fyllables alternately 5 fo called from a poem on the life
of Alexander written in this kind of verfe by fome
I rench poet. Alexandrines are peculiar to modern
poetry, and feem well adapted to epic poems. They
are fometimes ufed by moll nations of Europe ; but
chiefly by the French, whole tragedies are generally
compofed of Alexandrines.
ALEXICACUS, fomething that preferves the body
from harm or mifehief. The word amounts to much
the fame as alexilerial.
Alexicacus, in antiquity, was an attribute of
Neptune, whom the tunny-filhers ufed to invoke under
this appellation, that their nets might be preferved
from the or fword-fifh, which ufed to tear them 5
and that he might prevent the affillance which it was
pretended the dolphins ufed to give the tunnies on this
occafion.
99 1 A L F
ALEXIPHARMICS, in Medicine, are properly
remedies for expelling or preventing the ill effeas of
poilon : but fome ol the moderns having imagined that
the animal fpirits in acute dillempers were aft’eaed by
a malignant poifon, the term has been underllood to
mean medicines adapted to expel this poifon by the
cutaneous pores, in the form of fweat. In this fenfe,
alexipharmics are the lame as fudonfics.
ALEXIS, a Piedmontefe. There is a book of
Secrets,” which for a long time has gone under his
name. It was printed at Balii 1536, in 8vo, and
tianflated from Italian into Latin by YVecher j it has
alio been tranflated into French, and printed feveral
times with additions. There is a preface to the piece,
wherein Alexis informs us, that he was born of a noble
family j that he had from his moll early years applied
himfelf to ftudy j that he had learned the Greek, the
•Latin, the Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Arabian, and
feveral other languages ; that having an extreme cu-
nolity to be acquainted with the fecrets of nature, he
had colle&ed as much as he could during his travels
frr 57 ye^rs j that he piqued himfelf upon not com¬
municating his fecrets to any perfon; but that when
lie was 82 years ol age, having leen a poor man who
had died 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 confcience, that lie lived almoll like a hermit: and
it was in this folitude that he arranged his fecrets in
fuch order as to make them fit to be publilhed. ' The
hawkers generally carry them, with other books, to
the country fairs. Thefe, however, contain only the
frieyl remedies of Seignior Alexis of Piedmont 5 the
entire collection would make too large a volume for
them.
ALEXITERIAL, among phylicians, a term of
much the fame import with alexipharmic ; though fome-
times ufed in a fynonymous lenfe with amulet.
ALE A N, Charles, an Englilh poet in the reign
of Charles I. In 1631, he publilhed two poems, en¬
titled, “ The Battailes of Crelly and Poidtiers, un¬
der the fortunes and valour of King Edward of that
name, and his forme Edward prince of Wales, named the
Blacky 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
vidtory that gained him the crown of England. In
1639, the year before he died, he tranflated the hillorv
of Eurialis and Lucretia, from the Latin epillles of
jEneas Sylvius. *
ALFANDIGA, the name of the cullonlhoufe at
Lifbon.
ALFAQUES, among the Moors, the name gene¬
rally ufed for their clergy, or thofe who teach the Ma¬
hometan religion j in opposition to the Morabites, who
anfwer to monks among Chrillians.
ALFATERNA, in Ancient Geography, the lall
town of Campania, beyond Vefuvius (Diodorus) ; the
fame with Nocera, which fee. The inhabitants Alja-
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 cuiloms, denotes a caldron
fall
Alexipliar
mics
Alfet.
•II
Allred.
A L F
[ 600 ]' A L F
full of boiling water, wherein an accufed perfon, by
way of trial or purgation, plunged his arm up to the
elbow.
ALFORD, a town of Lincolnfliire, lituated on a
finall brook that runs through the town. A ialt fpring
Was difcovered here in 1670, from the pigeons which
flew thither in great numbers to drink the water j thofe
birds being known to be fond of fait. It contains a
ftrong purging fait, together with a portion of fea-ialt.
it is recommended as cooling, cleanling, and attenuat¬
ing, as a good remedy in the feurvy, jaundice, and o-
ther glandular oblfrudions. It alio promotes urine and
iweat, and therefore is good in gravelly and other dif-
orders of the kidneys and bladder. Alford is fix miles
from the fea, and 20 north of Rollon. E.Long. o. 13.
N. Lat. 33. 30.
ALFRED, or Alfred, the Great, king of Eng¬
land, was the fifth and youngeil Ion oi /Ethelwoir
king of the Weft Saxons, and was born at Wantage
in Berkshire in 849. He diftinguiftied himfelf, du¬
ring the reign of his brother Ethelred, in feveral en¬
gagements againft the Danes j and upon his death iuc-
ceeded to the crown, in the year 871, and the 22d of
his age. At his afeending the throne, he found him¬
felf involved in a dangerous war with the Danes, and
-placed in fuch circumftances of diftrefs as called lor
the greateft valour, relolution, and all the other vir¬
tues with which he was adorned. I he 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 againit thofe formidable ene¬
mies. After many battles gained on both fides, he
was at length reduced to the greateft diftrels, and was
entirely abandoned by his 1 ubjecls. In tins fituation,
Alfred, conceiving himfelf no longer a king, laid afide
all marks of royalty, and took flicker in the houfe of
one who kept his cattle. He retired afterwards to the
ifle of /Ethelingev in Somerfetfliire, 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 ol his iubjedts had routed a great
army of the Danes, killed their chief, and taken then
magical ftandord (a), he ill'ued Ins letteis,. gi\mg 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¬
er, went into the enemy’s camp, where, without fufpi- Alfred,
cion, he was every-where admitted, and had the ho- '-“v-
nour to plav before their princes. Having thereby ac¬
quired an exact knowledge 01 their fituation, lie re¬
turned in great fecrecy to his nobility, whom he or¬
dered to their reipedtive homes, there to draw together
each man as great a force as he could 5 and upon a
day appointed there was to be a general rendezvous at
the great wood called Selwood, in Wiitfliire. I his af¬
fair wras tranfadfed id fecretly and expeditionfly, 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 were in, fell upon them, and
totally defeated them at iEthendune, now Eddington.
Thofe who efeaped fled to a neighbouring caftle, where
they were foon bofieged, and obliged to furrender at
diferetion. Alfred granted them better terms than
they could expect. 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 ivas in their power, prevent the landing of
any more foreigners. For the performance thereof he
took hoftages : and when, in purfuance of the treaty,
Guthrum the Danifli captain came, with thirty of his
chief officers, to be baptized, Alfred anfwered for him
at the font, and gave him the name of 2Ethelj}anc; and
certain laws were drawn up between the king and Gu¬
thrum for the regulation and government of the Danes
fettled in England. In 884, a frefli number of Danes
landed in Kent, and laid liege to Rochefter, but the
king coming to the relief of tnat city, tney were ob¬
liged to abandon their defign. Alfred had now great
fuccefs j which was chiefly owing to his fleet, an ad¬
vantage of his own creating. Having fecured the lea-
coafts, he fortified the reft of the kingdom with 'cailles
and walled 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 relpite, Alfred was again called
into the field: for a body of Danes, being worfled in
the weft of France, came with a fleet of 230 fail on the
coaft of Kent-, and having landed, fixed themlelves at
Apple-tree : lliortly after, another fleet of 80 vefiels
coming up the Thames, the men landed, and built a
fort at Middleton. Before Alfred marched againft the
enemy,
fAj “ This (fays Sir John Spelman) was a banner, with the image of a raven magically wrought by the three
fillers of Hinguar and Hubba, 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 finiflied in a noontide, and believed by
the Danes to have carried great fatality with it, for which it was highly efteemed by them. It is pretended,
that being carried in battle, towards good fuccefs it would always feem to clap its wings, and make as it it
would fly : but towards the approach of mifliap, 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 5 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 dole
lleo-e. However, when it came into the king’s hands, it was in a miferable condition, fcarce habitable, and all
its*5fortifications ruined. The king, moved by the importance of the place, and the defire of ftrengthemng his
frontier againft the Danes, reftored it to its ancient fplendour. And oblerving, that through the coniulion oi
the times many, both Saxons and Danes, lived in a loofe.diforderly manner, without owning any government,
he offered them now a comfortable eftablifliment, if they would fubmit and become his fubje&s. Dus propoii-
tion was better received than he expeded ; for multitudes growing weary of a vagabond kind of life, joyfully ac¬
cepted fuch an offer. {Chron. Sax, p. 88.)
Alfred.
3
A L F
A L F , [601
enemy, lie oliliged the Danes, fettled in Northumber¬
land and Eflex, to give him hollages for their good
behaviour. Pie then moved towards the invaders, and
pitched his camp between their armies, to prevent their
junction. A great body, however, moved off to Ef-
iex; and croffing 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 notwithstanding the hoflages given,
equipped two fleets j and, after plundering the northern
and fouthern coafts, failed to Exeter, and befieged it.
I he king, as foon as he received intelligence, marched
again!! them; but, before he reached Exeter, they had
got poffeffion of it. He kept them, however, blocked
up on all fides 5 and reduced them at lall to fuch ex¬
tremities, that they were obliged to eat their horfes,
and were even ready to devour each other. Being at
length rendered defperate, they made a general fally
on ‘he befiegere; but were defeated, though with great There are tome remains of the ar.eient divifton in the
* on the king s tide. Jhe remainder of this body of ridings of Yorkfliire, the laths of Kent, and the three
A. D. 960 • and was buried at Winebefter, in Hyde-
abbey, under a monument of porphyry.
All our hiftorians agree in diftinguilliing him as one
of the mof! valiant, wifefl, and be!! of kings that ever
reigned in England 5 and it is alfo generally allowed,
t.iat he not only digelled feveral particular laws flill in
being, but that he laid the firil foundation of our pre-
icmt happy conflitution. There is great reafon to be¬
lieve that we are indebted to this prince for trials by
juries ; and the Doomlday hook, which is preferved in
the exchequer, is thought to he no more than ano¬
ther edition of Alfred’s hook of Winchefter, which
contained a lurvey of the kingdom. It is faid alfo, that
he was the firl! who divided the kingdom into fhires.
U hat is afcnbed to him is not a hare divifion of the
country, but the fettling a new form of judicature ; for
after having divided his dominions into fhires, he fub*
divided each fliire into three parts, called trylhinw.
1 here are fome remains of the nnrlerw '' li.
Alfred.
Danes fled into Eflex, to the fort they had built there,
and to their fhips. Before Alfred had time to recruit
himfelf, another Damfli leader, whole name wTas 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 5 and after having
plundered and deftroyed every thing, they divided, one
body returning to Northumberland, another into the
teintones of the Eaft Angles ^ from whence they pro¬
ceeded to Effex, and took poffeffion of a fmall ifland
called Merejig. Here they did not long remain ; for,
having feparated, fonie failed up the river Thames, and
ethers up the Lea road 5 where, drawing up their fhips,
they built a fort not far from London, which proved a
great check upon the citizens, who went in a body and
attacked it, but were repulfed with great lofs : at har-
\eft 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 excurflons of the
Danes. As he was one day riding by the fide of the
i ivei Lea, after fome obfervations he began to think
that the Daniili finps might he laid quite dry 5 this he
attempted, and fucceeded 5 fo that the Danes deferted
fch^ir foi t and flnps, and marched away to the hanks of
the Severn, where they built a fort, and wintered at a
place called Quatbrig (c). Such of the Danifh lliips as
could be got ofl, the Londoners carried into their own
road ; the reft they burnt and deftroyed.
Alfred enjoyed a profound peace during the three
Jaft years of his reign, which he chiefly employed in
eftabliiliing and regulating his government, for the fecu-
rity of himfelf and his fucceffors, as well as the eafe and
benefit of his fubjedls in general. After a troublefome
S-eign of 28 years, he died on the 28th of Odober
Vol. I. Part II.
parts of Lincolniliire. Each trything was divided in¬
to hundreds or wapentakes j and tliefe again into ty-
tlungs or dwellings of ten houfeholders : each of tbefe
houleholders 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 was fufpedted of an oftence, if the head-bo¬
roughs or chiefs of the tythings would not be fecurity
for him, he was imprifoned 5 and, ifhe made his efcape,
the tytlnng and hundred were fined to the king. Each
hire was under the government of an earl, under whom
was the reive, his deputy ; lince, from his office, called
Jhire-rcive, or JJierijf. And fo effectual were thefe re¬
gulations, that it is faid he caufed bracelets of gold to
be hung up 111 the highways, as a challenge to robbers j
and they remained untouched.
In private life, Alfred was the mol! amiable man in
ms dominions ; of fo equal a temper, that he never
iuttered either fadnefs or unbecoming gaiety to enter
his mind ; but appeared always of a calm yet cheerful
difpofltion, familiar to his friends, juft even to his ene¬
mies, kind and tender to all. He was a remarkable
eeonomift of his time ; and Afferius has given us an ac¬
count of the method he took for dividing and keepinq-
an account of it: he caufed fix wax-candles to be made,
each ol 12 inches long, and of as many ounces weight ;
on the candles the inches were regularly marked, 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 were wafted
by the impreffion of the air on the flame, to remedy this
inconvenience, he invented lanthorns, there being then
no glals in his dominions.
This prince, we are told, was 12 years of age be¬
fore a mailer could be procured in the weftern kingdom
4 U to
(c) The king s contrivance is thought to have produced the meadow between Hertford and Bow: for at
erttord was the Damfli fort, and from thence they made frequent excurfions on the inhabitants of London.
' lithoys ar® not agreed as to the method the king purfued in laying dry the Danifli {hips: Dugdale fup-
poles that he did it by Heightening the channels ; but Henry of Huntingdon alleges, that he cut feveral
•canals, which exhaufted its water.
A L F [ 6°
to teach him the alphabet: fuch was the ftate of learil-
ing Avhen Alfred began to reign. He had felt the mi-
fery of ignorance *, and determined even to rival bis co-
temporary Charlemagne in. the encouragement ol lite¬
rature. He is fuppofed to have appointed perlons to
read leaures at Oxford, and is thence confidered as the
founder of that univerfity. By other proper eftabhlh-
ments, and by a general encouragement to men of abi¬
lities, he did every thing in his power to dilFufe know¬
ledge throughout his dominions. Nor was this end
promoted more by his countenance and encouragement
than by his own example and his writings, i or not-
withftanding the latenefs of his initiation, he had ac¬
quired extraordinary erudition : and, had he not been
illullrious as a king, he would have been famous as an
author. His works are, i. Breviartum quodda?n collcc-
tum ex Legibits Trojanorum, &c. lib. i. A Breviary col-
leded out of the laws of the Trojans, Greeks, Britons,
Saxons, and Danes, in one book. Leland law this book
in the Saxon tongue, at Chriil-church in Hampfhire.
2. Viji-Saxonuni Leges, lib. i. rlhe laws of the Weft-
Saxons, in one book. Pitts tells us, that it is in Ben-
net College library, at Cambridge. 3. Injlituta qua-
dam, lib. i. Certain Inftitutes, in one book. This is
mentioned by Pitts,, and feems to be the feeond capi¬
tulation with Guthrum. 4. Contra Judices iniqaos,
lib. i. An invedtive againfl Unjuft Judges, in one
book. 5. Acia Magi'Jl rat ultrajuorum, lib. i. < A£ts of
bis Magiftrates, in one book. This is fuppofed to be
the Book of Judgments mentioned by Horne j and was,
in all probability, a kind of Reports, intended for the
ufe of fucceeding ages. 6. Legittn Jortunce varue, lib.i.
The various Fortunes of Kings, in one book. q. Dic-
t-a Sapientum, lib. i. The fayings of Wife Men, in one
book. 8. Parabolce et Sales, lib. i. Parables and plea-
fant Sayings, in one book. 9. Collecliones Chronicorutn,
Collection of Chronicles. IO. Lpifiolce ad fFulfsigium
Epifcopum, lib. i. Epiftles to Bilhop Wulfsig, in one
book. 11. Manuale Meditationum. A Manual of Me¬
ditations.—Befides thofe original works, he tranflated
many authors from the Latin, &e. into the Saxon lan¬
guage, viz. 1. Bede’s Hiftory of England. 2. Paulinus
Orolinus’s Hiftory 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, 1664. His laws are likewife inferted in Spel-
man’s Councils. 4* Loethius de Confolatione, lib. v.
Boetius’s Confolations of Philofophy, in five books.
Dr Plot tells us, King Alfred tranflated it at TV ood-
ftock, as he found in a MS. in the Cotton Library.
5. JEfopi Fabulce, iEfop’s Fables : which he is faid to
have tranflated from the Greek both into Latin and
Saxon. 6. PJulterimnDavidicum, lib. i. David’sPfalter,
In one book. This was the laft work the king attempt¬
ed, death furprifiug him. before he had finifhed it : it
was, however, completed by another hand, and pub-
lifhed at London in 1640, in quarto, by Sir John Spel-
mau. Several others are mentioned by Malmlbury}
and the old hiftory of Ely aiferts, that he tranflated the
Old and New Teftaments.
] A L . G
The life of this great king was firft written by Affe- AlfVecI
rius Menevenlis j and firft publifhed by Archbifhop 1 ax- II'
ker, in the old Saxon charader, at the end of his edition
of Haifingham’s hiftory, printed in 1674, fol.
ALGA, in Botany, the trivial name of the lichen, fu-
cus, and feveral other plants of the cryptogamia clafs.
ALGiE, Flags j one of the feven families or na¬
tural tribes into which the whole vegetable kingdom is
divided by Linnaeus, in lus Philojhphta Botanica. I hey
are defined to be plants, whole root, leaf, and ftem, aie
all one. Under this defeription are comprehended all
the fea-weeds, and iome 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 fe6tion5 JMuvmcv^ciut i luviutilcSy of the i^th
clafs, AJpermce vulgo habitce ; and the 57^ order in
Linnaeus’s Fragments of a Natural Method.. The
difeoveries made in this part of the vegetable kingdom
are uncertain, and imperfect and the attempts, in
particular, to arrange flags by the parts of the fi uni¬
fication, have not been attended with great fuccefs.
Dillenius has arranged this order of plants from their ge¬
neral habit and ttrudure j Michelius from the parts of
frunification. .
ALGAGIOLA, a fmall fea-port town m the ifland
of Corfica, fortified with Avails and baftions. It was
almoft deftroyed by the malcontents in I731* ^ut has
fince been repaired. E. Long. 9. 45. N. Lat. 42. 20.
ALGAROTH, in Chemijlry, is a white oxyde ot
antimony, which is obtained by walhing the butter or
oxymuriate Avith pure water. See Chemistry Index.
ALGAROTTI, Count, a celebrated Italian, Avas
born at Padua ^ but the year is not mentioned. Led
by curiofity, as i\rell as a defire of improvement, he
travelled early into foreign countries 'r and was very
young when he arrived in France in 173^* Here he
compofed his “ Newtonian Philolophy for the Ladies y
as Fontenelle had done his Cartefian Aftronomy in
the ivork entitled “ The Plurality of Worlds.” He
ivas noticed by the king of Prufiia, avIio gave him
marks of the efteem he had for him. He died at Pila
the 23d of May, 1764-, and ordered his own maufo-
leum, with this infeription to be fixed upon it: “ Lhc
jacet Algarottus, fed non omnis:'> He is alloAved to
have been a very great connoiffeur in painting, fculp-
ture, and architecture. He contributed much to t ic
reformation of the Italian opera. His Ayorks, which
are numerous, and upon a variety of fubjefts, abound
with vivacity, elegance, and wit: a colleftion of them
has lately been made, and printed at Leghorn in 17^5>
in 4 vols. 8vo. .
ALGARVA, 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
Avines j and, befides, has a very abundant and lucrative
fifhery. The capital town is Pharo. It contains four
cities, 12 towns, 67 parifties, and, it is faid, above
90,000 inhabitants.
algebra.
[ 6°3 J
A L G E B R A.
INTRODUCTION.
I. A LGEBRA is a general method of reafoning,
concerning the relations which magnitudes of
every kind bear to each other in refpeit of quantity. It
is fometimes called univerfal arithmetic >• its firft prin¬
ciples and operations being fimilar to thofe of common
arithmetic. The fymbols which it employs to denotq
magnitudes are, however, more general and more ex-
tenlive in their application than thofe employed in that
fcience 5 hence, and from the great facility with which
the various relations of magnitudes to one another may
be expreffed, by means ol a few figns or characters,
the application of algebra to the relolution of problems
is much more extenfive than that of common arithme¬
tic.
2. There are various opinions as to the etymology of
the 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, ovoppqfition and com-
parifon, or resolution 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 •, that, however, which we have juft now
given feems to be the moft probable of any hitherto af-
figned.
3. The origin of algebra, as well as that of moft
other branches of mathematical fcience, is involved in
obfcurity j there are indeed traces of it to be found
in the works of fome of the earlieft philofophers and
mathematicians, the fubject of whofe writings muft ne-
ceflarily have led them to the difcovery, and, in fome
meafure, to the application of this fcience.
4. The oldeft treatife of algebra, which has come
down to the prefent times, was written by Diophantus
of Alexandria, who flourifhed 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 imperfed, on multangular numbers. It was not,
however, from this author, but from the Moors or Ara¬
bians, that this, as well as moft other fciences was re¬
ceived in Europe *, and fome writers are of opinion, that
they again received it from the Greeks, while others
iuppofe that they had it from the Perfians; and that
thefe laft derived algebra, as well as the arithmetical
method of computing by ten characters or digits, from
the Indians.
5. The Arabians themfelves fay, that it was in¬
vented by Mahomet ben Mufa or fon of Mofes, who
it feems flourilhed about the 8th or 9th century. It
feems more probable that Mahomet was not the inven¬
tor, but only a perfon well Ikilled in the art} and that
the Arabians received their knowledge of it from
Diophantus, or other Greek writers, as they did that
of geometry and fome other fciences, which they im¬
proved and tranflated into their own language.
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
Hiftory.
countries for the purpofe of acquiring mathematical
knowledge j and, in a fliort time, it began to be culti¬
vated in Italy, where it was called PArte Magiore,
“ the greater art,” to diftinguilh it from common arith¬
metic, which was called PArte Mtnore, “ the leffer art.”
It was alfo known in that country by the name Regola
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 I4^7> Lucas Pa-
ciolus, or Lucas de Burgo, a Cordelier, or Minorite
friar, publiflied feveral treatifes on arithmetic, algebra,
and geometry j and, in 1494, his principal work, en¬
titled Summade Arithmetical3 roportioni etProportiona-
lita was printed. The part of this work which relates
to algebra, and which he calls PArte Magiore ; ditto dal
vulgo la Rcgola de la Cofa over Alghebra e Almucabala,
may be conlidered as exhibiting a pretty accurate ftate
of the fcience, as it was then known in Europe 5 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 uled no marks nor
figns for either quantities or operations, excepting a
few abbreviations of the words or names themfelves j
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 Eu¬
ropeans 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 j for about the year 1305,
Scipio Ferreus, who was then profeffor of mathematics
at Bononia, found out a rule for refolving one cafe of
a compound cubic equation 5 but, as it appears to have
been the cuftom of the times with refpett to fuch mat¬
ters, he kept the rule a profound fecret from his con¬
temporaries. The fame thing was afterwards difeovered
in 1333 by Nicolas Tartalea, who then refided in Ve¬
nice, and who had five years before found the refolution
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 publiflied in 1339 his arithmetical writings, in
nine books, at Milan, where he pradifed phylic, and
read public ledures on mathematics. The lame au¬
thor in 1343 publiflied a tenth book, containing the
whole dodrine of cubic equations, which had been in
part communicated to him under an oath of fecrecy
4 G 2 hy
604.
algebra.
Hiftory. by Tartalea, but which, notwithllanding this circuii.>
ftance, Cardan thought proper to publifh, alleging (not
altogether without reafon) that he had made fo 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 firft inventor, Tartalea.
10. Equations of the fourth order appear to have
been firft relolved by Lewis Ferrari, a difciple of Car¬
dan’s ; and different methods of refolution were after¬
wards given by Defcartes and others. This indeed
is the greateft length that mathematicians have been
able to carry the refolution of equations j 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 impracticable.
11. After this period, writers on algebra became
more numerous 5 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
Germanyj Robert Recorde, an Engliili mathematician;
and many others.
12. Among the mathematicians to whom algebra is
particularly indebted, it is proper to mention Francis
Vieta, a native of France, who wrote about the year
1600. 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 Englifii mathematician,
Harriot, deierves alfo to be particularly mentioned.
His algebra, which was publifhed after his death, in
1631, Ihews that he cultivated that fcience wdth 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 propolition 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
unknow'n quantity in that equation : Hence he Ihewed
the relation which fubfifts between the coefficients of
the terms of an equation and its roots.
13. ’Without mentioning all the writers on algebra
who flouriffied about this time, and who feverally con¬
tributed more or lefs to its improvement, w^e proceed
to obferve, that nothing has contributed more to the
advancement of every branch of mathematical know¬
ledge than the happy application which the celebrated
philofopher Defcartes made of algebra to the fcience
of geometry; for his geometry, firft publifhed in 1637,
may be confidered rather as the application of algebra
to geometry than as either algebra or geometry taken
by itfelf as a fcience. Befides this happy union ef¬
fected between the two fciences, Defcartes contributed
much to the improvement of both; and indeed he
may be confidcred as having paved the way for all the
dilcoveries jvhich have fince been made in mathema¬
tics.
14. After the publication of Defcartes’s Geometry,
the fcience of algebra may be confidered as having at-
2
tained fome degree of perfection. It has, however,
received many improvements from later writers, who,
purfuing the paths ftruck out by Harriot and Defcar¬
tes, having produced many new and beautiful theories,
both in algebra and geometry. The writers upon al¬
gebra from this time become too numerous, and the
refpe&ive improvements made by each too minute, to
be particularly noticed in this introduction. It is,
however, neceffary to mention another mathematician,
to whom algebra lies under contiderable 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 goemetry before the publication of the cele¬
brated work of the latter philofopher. Befides, Fer¬
mat appears to have been deeply verfed in the theorv
of indeterminate problems ; and he republiffied the old-
eft and moft efteemed treatife upon that fuhject which
is known, namely, Diophantus’s Arithmetic, to which
he added many valuable notes of his own.
15. Having 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 perfection it had attained
about the middle of the 16th century, which indeed
was confiderable, we ffiall conclude this introduction,
by obferving, that although its progrefs has fince been
very gradual, it has been upon the whole confiderablv
improved; particularly by the labours of thefe foreign
mathematicians, Schoeten, Hudde, Van-Heuraet, De
Witte, Slufius, Huygens, &e. As to the algebraical
writers of our own country, thefe whofe labours have
been moft confpicuous were Wallis, and more efpeciallv
Sir Ilaac Newton, to whom, among other things, we
owe the invention of the binomial theorem : alfo Pell,
Barrow, Kerfey, Hallev, Raphfon, and many others,
w e now' proceed to explain the fcience itfelf.
Notation and Explanation of the Signs.
16. In arithmetic there are ten characters, 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), isyet 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 fvftem of operations,
which conftitute the fcience of algebra.
17. In algebra quantities of every kind mar be de¬
noted by any characters whatever, but thofe commonly
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 n, b, c, &c.
are ufed to denote known quantities, while thofe to be
found are reprefented by v, x, y, &c. the laft letters of
the alphabet.
18. The fign -f (pins) 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 -j-5
denotes the fum of 3 and 5, or 8.
19. The fign —- (minus') fignifies that the quantity
before
A L G
Notation, before v/liich it is placed is to be fubtra&ed. Thus
'““'■v——^ a—b denotes the excels of a above b ; 6—2 is the ex¬
cels of 6 above 2, or 4.
i 20. Quantities which have the fign -j- prefixed to
them are called pofitive or affirmative; and fuch as have
the fign — are called negative.
When quantities are confidered abftracledly, the terms
pcfftive and negative can only mean that fuch quantities
are to be added or fubtraded ; for as it is impoffible to
conceive a number lefs than o, it follows, that a nega¬
tive quantity by itfelf is unintelligible. But, in confi-
dering the affedions of magnitude, it appears, that in
many cafes, a certain oppofition may exill in the nature
of quantities. Thus, a perfon’s property may be confi¬
dered "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 por¬
tion of the fame line, continued in the oppofite direc¬
tion, may be taken as negative.
When no fign is prefixed to a quantity, -J- is always
underftood, or the quantity is to be confidered as pofi¬
tive.
21. Quantities which have the fame fign, either -j-
or —, are laid to have like figns. Thus, and -\-b
have like figns, but -j-a and —c have unlike figns.
22. A quantity which confifts of one term, is faid to
be Jimp fe; but if it confift of feveral terms, conneded
by the figns -j- or —, it is then laid to be compound.
Thus -}-a and —c are fimple quantities j and
alio a-j-b—V, are compound quantities.
23. To denote the produd arifing from the multi¬
plication of quantities 5 if they be fimple, they are
either joined together, as if intended to form a word,
or elie the quantities are conneded together, with the
fign X interpofed between every two of them. Thus
ab, or axb, denotes the produd of a and b; alfo
abc, or « X ^ 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 feme of the quantities, to be mul¬
tiplied be compound, each of them has a line drawn
over it called a vinculum, and the fign x is interpofed
between as before. Thus aXc-\-dy_ e—f denotes that
a is to be confidered as one quantity, the fum of c and
d as a fecond, and the difference between e and /" as a
third ; and that thefe three quantities are to be multi¬
plied into one another. Inftead of placing a line over
fuch compound quantities as enter a produd, it is now
common among mathematical writers to enclofe each
of them between two parenthefes, fo that the laft pro¬
dud may be otherwife exprefled thus, a{c-\-d}{e -f},
or thus, a X (c+d) X {e—f).
24. A number prefixed to a letter is called a nume¬
ral coefficient, and denotes how often that quantity is to
be taken. Thus, 3a fignifies that a is to be taken
three times. \\ hen no number is prefixed, the coeffi¬
cient is underltood to be unity.
25. The quotient arifing ’from the divifion of one
quantity by another is exprefled by placing the dividend
above a line, and the divifor below it. Thus 12 de-
3
notes the quotient arifing from the divifion of 12 by 3,
b
or 4; - denotes the quotient arifing from the divifion
E B R A.
of * by a. This expreffion of a quotient is alfo called
a fradion.
26. I he equality of two quantities is exprefied by
putting the fign r= between them. Thus a + b—c d
denotes that the fum of a and b is equal to the excefs of
c above d.
27. Simple quantities, or the terms of compound
quantities, are laid to be hke, which confift of the fame
letter or letters. Ihus -fab and —^ab are like quan¬
tities 5 but -^-ab and -\-abb are unlike.
ft here are fome other charaders which will be ex¬
plained when we have occafion to ufe them j and in
wdiat follows we ffiall fuppofe that the operations of
common arithmetic are fufficiently underftood ; for al¬
gebra, being an extenfion of that icience, ought not to
be embarrafled by the demonftration of its elementary
rules. ^ J
Sect. I. Fundamental Operations.
28. 'The primary operations in algebra are the fame
as in common arithmetic, namely, addition, fubtrac-
tion, multiplication, and divifion ; 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^j or, laftly,
they jnay be unlike.
Cafe I. 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, commqn to each term.
Examples.
Add together-
“+ 7°
+
+ «
C+
Add together
Sum, +13# Sum, —20ax
Cafe 2. To add quantities which are like, but have un¬
like figns. ,
Rule. Add the pofitive coefficients into one fum, and
the negative ones into another j then fubtraft 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.
Add together
2ax
— ax
— sax
_-j-
r+
Add together *<
Sab A- 7
— 4«£-f- 9
-j- ab— 5
„+ r3
Sum of the pof. -\-iiax Sum of the pof. -^-i^ab-\-i6
Sum of the neg. — <\ax Sumoftheneg. — ,\ab—18
Sum required, -J- 'jax Sum required, -Yxoab— 2
aa->r
algebra.
cm •!«
—2<70+30#— qxx
6aa—§ax-\-\\xx
~^aab
aab
+ 3aab
-—2ab
—3C%
Multiplica¬
tion.
Sum, $aa o + 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.
Cafe II. To multiply compound quantities.
Ruie. Multiply every term of the multiplicand by all
the terms of the multiplier, one after another, by
the preceding rule, and colleft their products into
one fum, which will he the product required.
2a
3b
—4C
ax-\- 2ay
hb—3^2;
Examples.
Sum, ax2ay"\-bb—^b%
Multiply 4a—2b4rc
By 3«
x—2y
Sum, 20+3^—-4c
Prob. II. To SubtraB Quantities.
Produdt i2aa—6ab’\-^ac
30. General Rule. Change the figns of the quantities
to he fubtra6ted, or fuppofe them changed, and then
add them to the other quantities, agreeably to the aa-ab-^-bb
2xx-j-xy
—4xy—2yy
2xx—3xy—2yy
rules of addition.
Examples.
From sa—l2b From 6x— 85/+3
Subtra6t 2a— $b Subtract 2K+ 9^ 2
Remainder 3a— 76 Remainder 4*—17^+5
$xy—2-f- 8x— y aa—ax—yy
3xyS— Sx—3y bb—by+zz
a~\-b
aaa—aababb
^-aab—abb-\-bbb
^bbb
a—b-\-c
a-\-b—c
aa—ab-\-ac
-^-ab —bb-\-bc
—ac -\-bc—cc
aa * * —bb -f 2be—cc.
2xy+6 -f-16«+2y aa—ax—yy—bb\by—%%
31. The reafon of the rule for fubtradion may be
explained thus. Let it be required to fubtrad 2/?—-37
from m-f-n. If we fubtrad 2p from m+n there will
remain tn 4- n—2p ; but if we are to fubtrad 2/j- 3?»
which is lefs than 2p y it is evident that the remainder
wiH be greater by a quantity equal to 3*7 >" that ^h®
remainder will be > fience ffie P^afon of
the rule is evident.
Prob. III. To Multiply Quantities.
32. General Rule for the Signs. If the quantities to
v be multiplied have like figns, the fign of the produd
is + 5 but if they have unlike figns, the fign of the
produd is —.
33. The examples of multiplication may he refer¬
red to two cafes •, the fir ft 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 produd by the general rule,
and annex to it the produd of the numeral coeffi¬
cients j then fet down all the letters, one after ano¬
ther, as in one word.
Examples.
Multiply -\-a +5^ —3ax
By -K "”4a +7«^
Produd
~—20ab
• 21aabx
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 ; became
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 m
c—d, and the fum will be the produd required. Now
if a—b be taken as often as there are units in c, the
refult will evidently exceed the produd 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—cb,
and for the fame reafon, a—b taken as often as there
are units in d is da—db ; therefore, to obtain the pro¬
dud required, we muft fubtrad da—db from ca cb :
but from what has been {hewn in fubtradion, the re¬
mainder will be ca—cb—da -\-db y therefore the pro¬
dud arifing from the multiplication of a b by c—d is
ca—cb—daJfdb y 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 produd, each of them is called a
faBor of that produd ; thus a, b, and c are fadors ot
the produd abc y alfo a+x, and b—x, are fadors of the
produd (o-f-a:) (6—ff). ' . . .
36. The produds arifing from the continual multi¬
plication of the fame quantity are called powers of that
quantity, which is called the root. Ihus «a, aaa?
aaaa, &c. are powers of the root a. Thefe poweis
are commonly expreffed, by placing above the root,
towards the right hand, a figure, denoting how otten
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 firft power of a, we have aa or a* for its iecond
L nower.
ALGEBRA.
Di-nfion. power, aaa or a3 for its third power, aaaa or for its
v fourth power, and fo on.
37. The fecond and third powers of a quantity are
generally called its Jquare and cube; and the fourth,
fifth, and fixth powers are fometimes refpe6tively called
its biquadrate, furfolidy and cubocube.
38. By 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 <7 x o3 rra4, alfo #J X x*~x7 $ and in general am
X a”~am+”.
Prob. IV. To Divide Quantities.
39. General Rule for the Signs.—If the figns of the
divilor and dividend be like, the fign of the quotient
is -f- 5 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 mull be fuch a quantity as when multiplied
by the divifor lhall produce the dividend, with its pro¬
per fign.
40. The quotient arifing from the- divifion of one
quantity by another may be exprefled by placing the di¬
vidend above a line and the divifor below it, (§ 25.) j
but it may alfo be often expreffed in a more fimple man¬
ner by the following rules :
€afe 1. When the divifor is fimple, and a fadtor of every
term of the dividend.
Rule. Divide the coefficient of each term of the dividend
by the coefficient of the divifor, and expunge out of
each term the letter or letters in the divifor: the re-
fult is the quotient.
Ex. 1. Diyide l2abc by 3«c.
From the method of notation, the quotient may be
12ahc
expreffed thus, — j but the fame quotient, by the
rule juft given, is more fimply expreffed thus, 4^.
Ex. 2. Divide i^a^xy—-{-qa'x3 by /\i?x.
The quotient is 4/17/—72;2 -f-#1.
If the divifor and dividend be powers of the fame
quantity, the divifion will evidently be performed by
fubtradting the exponent of the divifor from that of the
dividend. Thus a5, divided by a3,. has fora quotient
a5—a^—a1.
607
thofe of the divifor according to the powers of the Dmiron.
fame letter. 1—y——>
2. The firft term of the dividend is to be divided by
the firft term of the divifor, obferving the general
rule for the figns j and this quotient being fet down
for a part of the quotient wanted, is to be multiplied
by the whole divifor, and the produdt fubtradted from
the dividend. If nothing remain, the divifion is li-
niffied $ but if there be a remainder, it is to be taken
for a new dividend.
3. The firft term of the new dividend is next to be di¬
vided by the firft term of the dividend, as before, and
the quotient joined to the part already found, with
its proper fign. The whole divifor is alfo to be mul¬
tiplied by this part of the quotient, and the produdt
fubtradted from the new dividend j and thus the ope¬
ration is to be carried on till there be no remain^
der, or till it appear that there will always be a re¬
mainder.
To illuftrate this rule, let it be required to divide
87?14-2o^—i^bx by 2«-f-3&, the operation will ftand
thus:
2a + 3^)8«2 4-206—56
8n1 -j-12ab
—loab—lyb1’
—loab—1561
Here the terms of the divifor and dividend are ar¬
ranged according to the powers of the quantity a. We
now divide 8o2, the firft term of the dividend, by 2«
the firft term of the divifor j and thus get 4a for the
firft term of the quotient. We next multiply the di¬
vifor by 40, and fubtraft the product So1-}-1206 from
the dividend j we thus get -—1006—156* for anew di¬
vidend.
By proceeding in all refpedts as before, we find —56
for the fecond term of the quotient, and no remainder;
the operation is therefore finiihed, and the whole quo¬
tient is 40—56.
The following examples will alfo ferve to illuftrate
the manner of applying the rule.
Ex. 1.
30—6)3o3—i2o*—o2 64-1006—26* (a2—404-26
3a1 —a26
C(fe 2. When the divifor is fimple, but not a fadtor of
the dividend.
Rule. The quotient is expreffed by a fraction, of which
the numerator is the dividend, and the denominator
the divifor.
Thus the quotient of 3062, divided by 2tnbc, is the
3^*
fraction
2mbc
It will fometimes happen, that the quotient found
thus may be reduced to a more fimple form, as lhall be
explained when we come to treat of fradtions.
Cafe 3. When the divifor is compound.
Rule 1. The terms of this dividend are to be arranged
according to the powers of fame one of its letters, and
3
—12a* -\-ioab
—12a2 -j- 406
-\-6ab—26 2
+606—26*
Ex. 2.
c4.6)a*4-63(o*—064-6*
a34-«*^
—0*64-6*
—a*b—ab*
+ 06*4-6*
+06*+6*
Ex. 3.
\
6o8 ' A L G E B R A.
Tradliens. ^x. 3*
aJ—b^^a6—b6(a* -\-b%
a6—a^b*
4-/?5Z<3—b6
-j-o3^3—b6
Ex. 4.
1—x)i (i4-^+**+j
I X
—AT
—X*
+**
-j-a;*—«3
-f';v5 •
41. Sometimes, as in this laft example, the quotient
will never terminate: in fuch a cafe it may either be
eonlidered as an infinite feries, the law according to
which the terms are formed being in general lufficient-
ly obvious; or the quotient may be completed as in
arithmetical divifion, by annexing to it a fraftion, the
numerator of which is the remainder, and denominator
the divifor. Thus the quotient in laft example may
A?3
Hand thus 1 4-a?4-a^-4-“—.
1—x
42. The reafon of the rule for divifion is fufficiently
manifeft. 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 products fucceffively
fubtracted from the dividend, till nothing remain 5 that
'therefore muft evidently be the true quotient.
46. The reciprocal of a fraction is another fraction, Fra&ions.
having its numerator and denominator refpeftively equal
to, the denominator and numerator of the former.
b a
Thus — is the reciprocal of the fraction -.
a b
47. The following propofition is of great importance
in the operations relating to fractions.
If the numerator and denominator of a fradtion be
either both multiplied, or both divided, by the fame
quantity, the value of that fradtion is the fame as be¬
fore.
For let any fraction —rrc; then becaufe c is the quo-
a
tient arifing from the divifion of b by a, it follows that
bzzac; and multiplying both by any quantity //, we
liave nb—nac : let thefe eqqals be both divided by the
fame quantity /z«, and the quotients will be equal, that
is ——c——; hence the truth of the propofition is ma-
na a
nifeft.
48. From this propofition, it is obvious that a frac¬
tion may be very differently expreffed, without chan¬
ging its value, and that any integer may be reduced to
the form of a fradlion, by placing the produdt arifing
from its multiplication by any affumed quantity as the
numerator, and the affumed quantity as the denomina¬
tor of the fradtion. 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 infpec-
tion, but if it be compound, it may be found as in the
following problem.
Sect. II. Of Fractions.
43. In the operation of divifion, the divifor may be
fometimes lefs than the dividend, or may not be contain¬
ed in it an exadt number of times ; in either cafe the
quotient is expreffed by means of a fradtion. There can
be no difficulty, however, in eftimating the magnitude
nf fuch a quotient; if, for example, it were the frac¬
tion 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 divided into
feven equal parts, and one of them taken.
44. In any fradtion 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 frac-
• Cl
i.ion -y, a is the numerator, and b the denominator.
45. If the numerator be lefs than the denominator,
fuch a fradtion is called a proper fradlion ; but if the
numerator be either equal to, or greater than the de¬
nominator, it is called an improper fradtion ; and if a
quantity be made up of an integer and a fradtion, it is
«alled a mixed, quantity. Thus —-j-— is a proper frac¬
tion ;
^,airo^,
are both improper fradtions; and
4* ~ is a mixed quantity.
49. Prob. I. To find the great(fl common Meafure
of two Quantities.
Rule 1. Range the quantities according to the power
of fome one of the letters, as taught in divifion, leav¬
ing out the fimple divifors of each quantity.
2. Divide that quantity which is of moll; dimenfions by
the other one, and if there be a remainder, divide it
by its greatell fimplc divifor; and then divide the
laft compound divifor by the refulting quantity, and
if any thing yet remain, divide it alfo by its greateft
fimple divifor, and the laft compound divifor bv the
refulting quantity ; proceed in this way till nothing
remain, and the laft divifor lliall be the common mea¬
fure required.
Note. It will fometimes be neceffary to multiply the di¬
vidends by fimple quantities in order to make the di-
vifions fucceed.
Ex. 1. Required the greateft common meafure of
the quantities —x* and a3—2«aff4-a#*. The fimple
divifor x being taken out of the former of thefe quan¬
tities, and a out of the latter, they are reduced to
o*—#*, and a*—2ax-\-x*, and as the quantity c rifes to
the fame dimenfions in both, we may take either of
them as the firft divifor; let us take that which con-
fifts of feweft terms, and the operation will ftand thus:
JV actions.
ALGEBRA.
-x'^a1— 2ciX-\- X* (I
a*-—X*
6O9
which divided by.
— lax-^-x1 remainder,
■2% is a—x)^—x'^a-^x
a*—ax
-\-ax—x*
-\-ax—x*
-x is the greateft common
Hence it appears that a-
meai’urc required.
-Ex. 2. Required the greateft common meafure of
Sa'b1—ioab'-]-2bA, and b1-\-2>a1b' yib*.
at is evident, from infpeftion, that $ is a fimple di-
vifor of both quantities 5 it will therefore he a fador
of the common meafure required. Let the fimple di-
vifors be now left out of each quantity, and they are
reduced to 4a*—5^ + ^ and 3a'—yfb+ab'—b' 5
hut as the lecond of thefe is to be divided by the firft,
it mull be multiplied by 4 to make the diviiion fuccecd’
and the operation will Rand thus :
40*—5«£ + £*) I 2« 5 — I 2a*^-j-4flZ>*—4^* (3a
12a3—i^b+zab*
by a.v and bx ; let q be the quotient, and the remainder Fra&ions
\mII evidently be bx—winch is evidently divifi-
ble by x.
3. \\ hatever quantity meafures both the divifor and
remainder, the lame will alfo meafure the dividend.
lor let the divilor be ax, and the remainder rx, then,
q denoting the quotient, the dividend will be aqx-\-rx,
u inch, as well as the divifor and dividend, is divifible
by x.
51. Let^ us apply thefe obfervations to the hill ex¬
ample. From the firft obfervation, the reafon for
leaving out the fimple quantities in the courfe of the
opeiation, 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 ^—^ab -{-£*, and 1203 —12alb
+ —4^3, the fame muft meafure 3a*b-\-ali ^bK
the firft remainder, as alfo —19^4-19^*, the fecond
remainder 5 but the only compound divifor which this
lalt quantity can have is a—b, which is alfo found to
be a diyilor ol 3a1 ^-ab—qb'z, or of 3a~b~\-ab’z—4&3
the firft remainder, therefore, by the third obfervation,
a—b muft alfo be a divifor of 1202—\$ab-\-, or of
4« - —yib -f Z> -, the firft divifor, and therefore alfo it muft
be a diyifor of 12fl3—12a2 -}-4#£2 —4^3 the firft divi¬
dend, fo that a—b is the greateft common meafure, as
was required.
-f- 3axb-\-ab%—4^3.
'I'his remainder is to be divided Iiy b, and the new di¬
vidend multiplied by 3, to make the divifion again fuc¬
ceed, and the work Avill Hand thus :
3ax-\-ab—Atb1)i2(i1—isab-\- 3^(4
12fll + 4ub—i6bl
—19«^4-19^1.
This remainder is to be divided by — 19^ w],ich be¬
ing done, and the laft divifor taken as a dividend as
before, the reft of the operation will be as follows :
3al—3 ab
4-40^—4^*
-\-4ab—4^*
. * *
from Avhich it appears that the compound divifor fought
a b, and remarking that the quantities propofed
have alio a iimple divifor b, the greateft common mea¬
sure which is Required Avill be b(a—b).
30. ilie reaion of tlie rule given in this problem may
ne deduced from the lolloAving confiderations.
1. II two quantities have a compound divifor com¬
mon to both, and they be either multiplied or divided
by any fimple quantities, the refults will each have the
iame compound divifor. Tints the quantities y»(«—x)
and q(a .v) have the common divifor a—x, and the
quantities 7ip(a—x), r q{a—x') have each the very
lame divifor.
2. In the operation of divifion, whatever quantity
meal ures both the divifor and dividend, the fame will
alfo meafure the remainder. For let x he fuch a quan¬
tity, then the divifor and dividend may be reprefented
Vol. I. Part II. * :
52* I)HOB. II. To Reduce a Traci ion to its lowejl
Terms.
Rule.' Divide both numerator and denominator by
then greateft common meaiure, which may be found
by prob. 1.
Ex. 1. Reduce —to its loweft terms.
2i\adc
It appears from infpe&ion, that the greateft com¬
mon meaiure is Sue, and dividing both numerator and
denominator by this quantity, we have
2i[acicl 3dc
Ex. 2. Reduce — a —- to its loweft terms.
IVe have.already found in the firft example of prob.
1. that the greateft common meafure of the numerator
and denominator is a—x; and dividing both bv this
quantity we have
a*x—a3  ax 4- x*
a*—2a'1x-\-axz a*—ax'
In like manner we find —
80*^* IO<7^34-2^4
9«3 4-3«^
SnZ1 t lC common meafure being b^a—b) as
was fliowm in example 2. problem 1.
53. Prob. III. To Reduce a mixed Quantity to an
improper Tra&ion.
Rule. Multiply the integer by the denominator of the
fraction, and to the product add the numerator, and
the denominator being placed under this ium will
give the improper fraction required.
4H
Ex. 1,
6io
ALGEBRA.
Ex. i. Let *+ -L, and *-
, „ «*(o+*)=a,*+«*‘ ,,, l new numerators,
be reducert to ^ai x*^(a—Ar)~a3—^x—ax^-^-x* ^ v
improper fractions.
Firft x -j —  —, the anfvver.
^ a a
a2— x2 x2-—a1 + ** _ ix1—a*
a—;eVaa.»)=:o*—x2 the common denominator.
' ‘ ‘ * -a2x+x*
— 1—r- amt = ,—
-x
ax a2x
Hence =
i—x a2'—x
a*—x1
And x-
x
X2
, Anf.
Ex. 2. Reduce a—*+ —to an improper fradtion.
a-\-x
x*  ( a -j-^) ( a—x^> x* 
0 ^ ' o-J-a; a-j^x’
54. Pros. IV. To Reduce an improper Traci ion to
a whole or mixed number.
Rule. Divide the numerator by the denominator for
the integral part, and place the remainder, if any,
over the denominator, and it will he the mixed
quantity required.
ax-\-a2
Ex. 1. Reduce
to a whole or mixed quantity.
d x
56. Pros. VI. To Add or Subtratt Fra&ions.
Rule. Reduce the fractions to a common denominator,
and add or fubtradl their numerators, and the fum
or difference placed over the common denominator,
is the fum or remainder required.
Ex. 1. Add together^, ^ ant^
a adf
"b~W
c bcf
d~ bdf
e bde
ace adf+bcf+bde
Hence ^ +/_ ^
Ex. 2. From — — - fubtract
the fum required
axJrE.=:a\ fL the anfwer required.
x x
_ , ax4-2x2 x2—y* , . .
Ex. 2. Reduce —-7 , alfo -——, to whole or nnx-
a-{-x
x
a
a + »
a2 + 2ax + x2
a2ax
a
A—y
ed quantities.
_ axTJX2 , x2' . r
Firft  ~ x A the aniwer.
a-\-x tf+tf
And — =A;4-y a whole quantity, which is the
x—y
anfwer.
55. Pros. V. To Reduce TraBions of different De¬
nominators to others of the fame value which Jhall
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.
Ex. 1. Reduce^, 7 and ^ to fradtions of equal value
b d J
which have a common denominator.
aXdy.f=adf‘)
cy.b yf— cbf >■ New' numerators.
eybydz=. ebd J
bydyf—bdf Common denominator.
„ , a adf c cbf e ebd
Hence we find rf_^and^_^, where
the new fractions have a common denominator, as was
required.
Hence
a-\-x a2-\-ax
a-\-x a 2ax-\-x2
a a-\.x a2A-ox
Ex. 3. Add together —^ and —
A?-f-2
x x— 3 8 a? i 6 -j- 6 x -J- 12 x-
44"
-60
^ , aX T
Ex. 2. Reduce and
-x"
3 ■ 4 ' 2 24
If ft be required to add or fubtract mixed
12
quantities, they may either be reduced to the form of
fraftions by prob. 3. and then added or fubtra£ted, or
elfe thefe operations may be performed firft on the inte¬
ger quantities, and afterwards, on the fractions.
57. Prob. VII. To Multiply Fra&ions.
Rule. ' Multiply the numerators of the fractions for the
numerator of the product, and the denominators ftr
the denominator of the product.
b d
Ex. 1. Multiply - by
- X — the product required.
a c ac
Ex. 2. Multiply by —-j->
aJ-b a—b a2—b2
—-— X —7- — 7— 5 the product.
c d cd
If it be required to multiply an integer by a frac¬
tion, the integer may be confidered as having unity
• mi /■ *\ 3^ ® 3</
for a denominator. Thus (<7-f-Af) X —
a—x a-{-x
value and having a common denominator.
to fraaions of equal ^ ^d+^dx
[Mixed
(
A L G E
Fractions. Mixed quantities may Ue multiplied after being re-
-v-—* duced to the form of fractions by prob. 3. Thus
1 bx\ a ob-A-bx a a^b-A-dbx ab-A-bx
b +-J x *= ^r~ x ;= -^r-= -v-
58. The reafon of the rule for multiplication may be
explained thus. If ^ is to be multiplied by c, the
jK^oduft will evidently be . but if it is only to be
multiplied by the former product muft be divided
by d, and it becomes 7^, which is the product required.
ba
Or let - — m. and-=://, then ct—bm and c—dn and
b d
a c oc
ac—bdmn : hence tnn or -r X Tj‘
b a ba
59. Prob. VIII. To Divide FraBions.
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 di¬
vifor, the product will be the quotient required.
a c
Ex. 1. Divide by -.
r\a(ad . . . & d ad ,
the quotient required, or £ X - jrr as be"
fore.
_. a'1-\-ab 3a2
Ex. 2. Divide by  7.
2x a—b
a'2- ^ab* (a''—ah'2-   a2 —b
3fl2 y+°b'(
a—b ) 2X \
the quotient.
n
m
ad'
BRA,
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 product is called a power' of that
quantity, while the quantity itfelf, from which the
powers are formed, is called the root (j 36.) Thus a,
a2, and a1 are the firft, fecond, and third poivers of the
root a ; and in like manner
, and -7, denote the
n *
a a
fame powers of the root -•
62. But before confidering more particularly what
relates to powers and roots, it will be proper to obferve,
that the quantities A, A, _L? &;C. admit of being ex-
preffed under a different form j for, like as the quanti¬
ties a, a1, a1, &c. are expreffed a,spoJitive powers of the
root a, fo the quantities —
If either the divifor or dividend be an integer quan¬
tity, it may be reprefented as a fraftion, by placing unity
for a denominator ; or if it be a mixed quantity, it may
be reduced to a fraction by prob. 3. and the operation
of divifion performed agreeably to the rule.
60. The reafon of the rule for divifion may be ex-
C Cl
plained thus, let it be required to divide - by -. If
~ is to be divided by a, the quotient is —, but if it
is to be divided by then the laft quotient muft be
cb
multiplied by b ; thus we have — for the quotient re¬
quired. Or let ^ — and then azzbm and
bdn
c—dn; alfo adzzbdm and bczzbdn; therefore 7-7-=
bdm
be
, &.c. may be re-
„ a2 a5 1
fpectively expreffed thus, a~1, a-2, 3, &c. and con-
fidered as negative powers of the root a.
63. This method of expreffing the fradtions —, —7,
A, as powers of the root a, but with negative indices,
a*
is a confequence of the rule which has been given for
the divifion of powers j for we may confider — as the
quotient arifing from the divifion of any power of a by
the next higher power, for example from the divifion
I Cl2
of the 2d by the 3d, and fo we have — = —; butfince
powers of the fame quantity are divided by fubtradting
the exponent of the divifor from that of the dividend
A 2
(j 40.), it follows, that~ xza2~i=a'"z ; therefore the
fradtion — may alfo be expreffed thus, a~t. By confi-
a
dering — as equal to it will appear in the fame
manner that A == j and proceeding in this
way, we get A- A=a-J, A — A—&c. and fo
on, as far as we pleafe. It alio appears, that unity or
I may be reprefented by a0, where the exponent is a
a2
cypher, for i=—=zo*“1r:o0.
64. The rules which have been given for the mul¬
tiplication and divifion of powers with pofitive expo¬
nents will apply in every cafe, whether the exponents
be pofitive or negative j and this muft evidently take,
place, for the mode of notation, by which we reprefent
fradlional quantities as the powers of integers, but with
negative exponents, has been derived from thole rules.
Thus Axa3 or «“2 Xdl3:=0-1 + 3=«"“I=-, alfo—rX
a2 a x2
4 H 2 1
A L G E B B A.
■,5 = —r and —r X ^3or x 3 X
x5 a;5
:l.
65. From this method of notation it appears, tliat
any quantity may be taken from the denominator of a
fraction, and placed in the numerator, by changing the
fign ot its exponent 5 and hence it follows, that every
fraction may alfo he reprefentcd as an integer quanti¬
ty. Thus denotes the fame thing as —-— or as
a1!?-1
alfo
maybe otherwife exprefl’ed thus,
(a?—i)3
—i)~J.
Of Involution.
66. Involution is the method of finding any power of
any alfigned quantity, whether it be fimple or com¬
pound 5 hence its rules are eafily derived from the ope¬
ration of multiplication.
Cit/v i. When the quantity is fimple.
ftu/c. Multiply the exponents of the letters by tlie index
of the power required, and raife the coefficient to the
fame power.
\ote. If the fign of the quantity be -J-, all its powers
will be politive : 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.
lix. 1. Required the cube, or third power of 2a*x.
(2.7iat)3 —2X 2X 2a2^^x1 So6#*, the anfvrer.
jEr. 2. Required the fifth power of — ?ta*x3.
(—^a2xi)s—— 243aIOA?IS, the anfwer.
Ex. 3. Required the fourth power of —
/—2ax%\* _
V ?.b2u )
16a4*8
2a x
3%
the anfwer.
3% /
Cafe 2. When the quantity is compound.
Rule. The powers mult be found by a continual multi¬
plication of the quantity by itfe.lfi
Ex. Required the firll four powers of the binomial
quantity a-f-x.
the root, or firlt power
a "I x
a2 -\-ax
-^•ax-^x2
a2 -\-2ax-\-x2 the fquare, or fecond power
a-{-x
«3 -\-2a2x-\-ax‘
-}- a2xJ^- 2ax2 -j-a'3
«3+3«1 x-tf-^ax2-^-x1 the cube, or third power
a -j-iv
•o4-j-3ffl -{-ax*
+ fl3*-f-3a2Ar2-|-3«*3
a4 -{-^aix-{-6a2x2 -{-/[ax3 -{-x^ the fourth power.
If it he required to find the fame powers of a—-x, it Involution,
will be found, that
a—x is the root or firfc power ;
a1—2ax-\-x2 the fquare, or 2d power ;
a*—^a2x^ax2—.v3 the cube, or 3d power j
«4—4a3.v4-6«x.v2—4nA?3-|-A;4 the 4th power.
Hence it appears, that the powers of a-{-x differ from
the powers of a—#, only in this refpect, that in the for¬
mer the iigns of the terms are all pofitive, but in the
latter, they are pofitive and negative alternately.
67. Beiides 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
railed 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 exprefled as follows. Let a-\-x
he a binomial quantity, which is to be raifed to any
power denoted by the number «, then
72(72—1) («—2)
— a
I
-1*2
72(72—1)
+ -T V
72(72—1) (72—2) (72—3)
■ I • 2 • 3 -4
72(72—1 ) (72—2) («—3) («—4) an-Sx
I • 2 * 3 • 4 * 5
+ , &c. This.
feries will always terminate when n is any whole pofitive
number, by reafon of fome one of the faftors n—1,
72—2, &c. becoming — o } but if n be either a nega¬
tive or fractional number, the feries will conlift of an
infinite number of terms 5 as, however, we mean to'
treat in this lection only of the powers of quantities
when their exponents are whole pofitive numbers, we
Ihall make no farther remarks upon any other ; we fliall
afterwards give a demonftration of the theorem, and
fliew its application to fractional and negative powers
in treating of infinite feries. The 27th power of a—x will
not differ from the fame power of a-{-x, but in the
figns of the terms which compofe it, for it will ftand
(wr=«"—
thus :
7/(72—1)(/2
3 #3.
7?(72-
1*2
‘I ) (27——2) (72——3 )^
3
1 * 2 • 3 ' 1 ‘ 2 ’ 3 * 4
—, &c. where the figns are -j- and — alternately.
Ex. 1. Let it be required to raife fl-f-.r to the fifth
powey.
Here 72 the exponent of the power being 5, the firft
term an of the general theorem will be equal to aL
72(72-
the fecond nan
5X4
' A-zrco’x, the third —^   an~'
J ’ 1-2
72 ( 72 1 ) (72 -2)
X* —
a*x2~loa*x2, the fourth
1X2 ' I * 2 ’ 3
x* == a2x*, = ioa2x*. the fifth
„ 1X2X3
72(72-1 )(72—2)(72—3)jn_j^^ 5 X 4 X 3 X 2
I- 2 ■ 3 • 4 “ IX2X3X4
”(—O 2) ("—3)
I • 2 • 3 • d
and the fixth and laft
; $ax4
-4)
? 5X4X 3X2X1 oe r , 1 • • ,
a  a x5zz.x5; the remaining terms
IX2X3X4X5
of
A L G
Evolution, of the general theorem all vanifh, by reafon of the
' factor n—5—0 by which each of them is multiplied,
fo that we get —«s-}-5fl4^.^ ioabr2-}-
Ex. 2. It is required to raife 2cl to the third
5
power.
In this cafe «=3, fo that if we put a—id and x— ^
we have the firft term of the general theorem, or
ef—Rd*, the fecond- «" I.r — 3 X X ~
third
»(«—l) n-i.
, Z* id'7?
' 3 X 2</ X — 
9 3
4^2z, the
, and the
„ , t n n(n—i)(t7—2) , z3 .
xourth and lait term— —, and
1 • 2 • 3 27
lince the figns of the terms of any power of a—x are
and — alternately, we have (^ld ^ 3 — 8r/3 —4^2z
idi
Hh
3 27
68. If the quantity to be involved confills of more
than two terms, as \i' p-\-q—r were to be raifed to the
2d power, put« and y—then (p-\-q—r)2 —
(^a -^by—a* lab b* — p* ip (y—r) -}- (y—r)2, but
2p (y—r)~2/>y—ipr, and by the general theorem
(y—r)2—y2—2yr-|-?'2, therefore, we get (p-\-q—?’)*
~pi-\-ipq—lpr-\-qz—2yr-|-r2; and by a fimilar me¬
thod of procedure a quantity conlifting of four or more
terms may be raifed to any power.
Of Evolution.
69. Evolution is the reverfe of involution, or it is
the method of finding the root of any quantity, whether
iimple or compound, which is confdered as a power of
that root 5 hence it follows that its operations, generally
fpeaking, muft be the reverfe of thofe of involution.
70. To denote that the root of any quantity is to be
taken, tiie fign f (called the radicalJigu') is placed be¬
fore it, and a fmall number placed over the lign to ex-
2  
prefs the denomination of the root. Thus \/a denotes
3 — . 4 -.
the fquare root of a, fa its cube root, f a its fourth
n  
root, and in general, fa its «th root. The number
placed over the radical lign is called the index or expo¬
nent of the root, and is ufually omitted in expreffing
2 __
the fquare root, thus either fa or fa denotes the fquare
root of a.
71. Cafe 1. When roots of fimple quantities are to be
found.
Rule. Divide the exponents of the letters by the index
of the root required, and prefix the root ol the nu¬
meral coefficient; the Tcfult will be the root requi¬
red.
ISote 1. The root of any pofitive quantity may be either
pofitive or negative, if the index of the root be an
E B R A. 613
even number; but if it be an odd number, the root Evolution.
can be pofitive only. y—__j
2. The root of a negative quantity is alfo negative
when the index of the 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. 1. Required the fquare root of ^6a2x4.
Here the index of the root is 2, and the root of the
coefficient 6, therefore \//^6a1x4 — f6ax2 or f $6a2x4'
——6ax*, for neither of thefe quantities, when multi¬
plied by itfelf, produces 36a2a4 ; fo that the root re¬
quired is z+zGax*, where the fign denotes that the
quantity to which it is prefixed may be confidered ei¬
ther as pofitive or negative.
Ex. 2. Required the cube root of 1 i^a6x9.
Here the index of the root is 3, and the root of the
coefficient 5, therefore fusifix9—^x* the root re¬
quired ; and in like manner the cube root of —1 i^a6x9
is found to be ya2#3.
72. If it be required to extract the fquare of —a2, it
will immediately appear that no root can be affigned 5
for it can neither be -f-«, nor —«, feeing that each of
thefe quantities, when fquared, produces -f-«% the root
reqi red is therefore laid to be impojjible, and may be
exprefied thus : V—«2.
The root of a fraction is found by extrafting that
root out of both numerator and denominator. Thus the
, pAa2#4 . ixa*
Iquare root of is —7—.
9b<J6 3%3
Cafe 2. When the quantity of which the root is to be
extracted is compound.
73- I. To extract the fquare root.
Range the terms of the quantity according to the
powers of the letters, as in divifion.
Find the fquare root of the firll term for the firll part
of the root fought, fubtract 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 bum by the fecond part, fubtraCt the product
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.
Ex. 1. Required the fquare root of a2 lax -j-x2.
a2 -|- laxfx1 (a-\-x the root required.
2a-\-x\-\-iax +A*
X#/ + 20# + #*
Ex. 2, ,
614
ALGEBRA.
Evolution., gX' 2' Required the fquare root of x4—zx^-x*—■
^ ^ 1 / . . 1
«4—2X*——x* 4-—t( * —x 4- -
2 2 1 l6\ ' 4
.v i
2~^* 16*
.v4
2X*  2X} -f- ~x*
X -—x—zx3 + x*
- I\ «* ^ , 1
2X%—2X -f -)   + 77
4/2 2 10
X
4 2
X
-2 +
16
74. To underftand the reafon of the rule for finding
the fquare root of a compound quantity, it is only ne-
celfary to involve any quantity, as a+b-{-c to the fe-
cond power, and obferve the compofition of its fquare *,
for we have (a + /5> +«•)*=«* + 2tf£-f -f- zac + zbc -f-c* j
but 2ab-{-bl=: (2a-{-b)b and 2ac-{-zbc+^zz^za^-zb
therefore,
(a-\-b-\-cyzz.az 2ci•^•b^bzbj
and from this expreffion the manner of deriving the rule
is obvious.
As an illuftration of the common rule for extracting
the fquare root of any propofed number, we fhall fup-
pofe that the root of 59049 is required.
Accordingly we have 59049, and from
hence we are to find the values of a, b, and c.
f»1=200X 200:
59049(200=5
40000 40:
25=400
b=z 40
i
Hence 243 is the
root required.
19049
25 + £=440 17600= ( 2rf -f" £)&
’5-4
1^=480
r= 3
25 -4* 2b 41 C—483
I449
1449=(25 42^+r)c
59049(243 the root required.
4
JE volution.
44)19°
• 176
483)1449
I449
and by a comparifon of the ttvo operations, the reafon
of the common rule is obvious.
75. II. To extradt the cube root.
Range the terms of the quantity accoi’ding to the
powers of fome one of the letters.
Find the root of the firft term, for the firft part of
the root fought j fubtracl 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 fecond
part of the root.
Add together, 3 times the fquare of the part of the
root already found, 3 times the prodiuSt 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
fubtrait the product from the firft remainder, and if
nothing remain, the root is obtained j but il 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.
Ex. Required the cube root of 5J 43fl*‘:’?+3fla?*+^J*
53 4 35#* 43^* 4 ^3 (a4# ^ie root required
30*435*4*
‘)3a‘
35!
*435*:
*430*
4*5
4**
The fame example when wrought by the common
rule (fee Arithmetic) will ftand thus :
13312°53( 200=5
=a3= 8000000 30—b
   l—c
76. The reafon of the preceding rule is evident from
the compofition of a cube, for if any quantity as 54
*4c be raifed to the third power, we have 5-j-^4c)3
= a34 (35*435^4^)^4 (3(5+^)*43(54^)c4c2)c,
and by confidering in what manner the terms 5, b, and
c are developed from this expreffion for the cube of
their fum, we alfo fee the reafon for the common rule
for extracting the cube root in numbers. Let it be re¬
quired to find.the cube root of 13312053, where the
I’oot will evidently confift of three figures $ let us fup-
pofe it to be reprefented by 5 4^4C> and the operation
for finding the numerical values of thefe quantities may
ftand as follows.
3a*=:l 20000
18000
900
\ab—
b'-
5312053
237 the root required.
3a143«£4^l:::: I389004I67ooo=(3as435&4£*)£
3(54£)2=i 58700
3(a4^)c= 4830
5*= 49
1145053
3(</4^)*43(a4^)e4c1=:j63579II45053=[3(54^),43(54^)<r4cljc
The
A L G E
Evolution. The operation as performed by the common rule (fee
Arithmetic) will,Hand thus:
13312053(237 the root required,
8
12. .
18 .
9
1587 ..
383
49
I^3579
5312
4^7
1145053
II45°5S
77. III. To extract any other root.
Hale. Range the quantity of which the root is to he
found, according to the powers of its letters, and ex¬
tract the root of the firft term, and that fliall 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 re¬
quired, and multiply the power that arifes by the
number itfelf; divide the fecond term of the given
quantity by the produ6t, and the quotient lliall give
the fecond member of the root required.
Find 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^-6x*—40*5-f-
96^.—64
x6 + —405 x -{- 96#—64(.v* -\~2x—4
(tf2)3^6
3a:4)6«s
(at2 -}-2#)3=:a;6-{-6#5-{-I2a;44-8a;3
3x4-f, &c.)—12#4
{x* -f 2x—s\)9=x6 -f 6x5—40a?3 + 96*—64
*
In this example, the cube root of x6, or #2, 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-
eond power, and alfo multiplied by 3> the index of the
root required 5 thus we get 3a:4 for a divifor, by which
the fecond term 6x5 being divided, we find 2x for the
fecond member of the root. We muft now confider
*2 + 2X as forming one term y accordingly having iub-
tracied its cube from the quantity, of which the root is
fought, we have —12a;4—, &c. for a new dividend *,
and having alfo raifed a;2 -|-zar to the fecond power, and
multiplied the refult by 3, we find 3a?4-j-, &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 expreffed
by &c. Having divided —-12a’4 by 3a;4, we find —4
BRA.
for the third term of the root $ and becaufe it appears
that a?2 -{- 2a:—4, when raifed to the third power, gives
a refult the very fame ivith the propofed poAver, avc con¬
clude a;z-|-2a;—4 to be the root fought.
78. In the preceding examples, the quantities Avhofe
roots Avere to be found have been all fuch as could
have their roots expreffed by a finite number of terms;
but it will frequently happen that the root cannot be
othenvife affigned than by a feries confifting of an in¬
finite number of terms : the preceding rules, however,
Avill ferve to determine any number of terms of the
feries. Thus the fquare root of «2 -f-x2 will be found
*4 r'V'S
to be o-J-
5*a
2a 8ai' i6as 128a7
-f- &c. and the cube
#3 r%9
root of fl3-4-a?3 Avill ftand thus, a 4 ■, . -j ^—r-
1 3d2 9<js 1 8ias
I OX1*
— — 4-, &c.; but as the extradition of roots in the
243«
form of feries can be more eafily performed by other me¬
thods, we ftiall refer the reader to fed. 19. which treats'
of feries, where this fubjed 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 j and
the rule has been illuftrated by fuitable examples, in
all which, hoAvever, the quotient expreffing the expo¬
nent of the refult is a Avhole number; but there may
be cafes in which the quotient is a fradion. Thus if
the cube root of a2 Avere required, it might be expref¬
fed, agreeably to the method of notation already ex-
plained, either thus \Za*, or thus oT.
80. Quantities Avhich have fractional exponents are
called /wrdb, or imperfect poAvers, and are faid to be
irrational, in oppofition to others Avith integral exponents,
Avhich are called rational.
81. Surds may be denoted by means of the radical
fign, but it will be often more convenient to ufe the no¬
tation of fradional exponents ; the folloAving examples
will {hew Iioav they may be exprefled either Avay.
n/a—a*, — 2ba'1, \fu'ib1 —cHE*,
l/XfZb)'-{a—by, ^“frit.
al>
1 1
— 2 '2
a o .
82. The operations concerning furds depend on the
folloAving principle^ If the numerator and denomina¬
tor of a fractional exponent be either both multiplied,
or both divided by the fame quantity, the value ot the
m cm ’2L
poAver is the fame. Thus a ” —uCH. T or let aH ~ b,
then railing both to the poAver », am—bn, and farther
raifing both to the nower c Ave get acmzz.bLn ; let the
root cn be now taken, and avc find a c“z=,bz=." .
83. Pros. I. To Reduce a rational Quantity to the form
of a Surd of any given denomination.
Rule. Reduce the exponent ot the quantity to the form
of a fraction of the fame denomination as the given
furd.
A L G E
Ex. i. Eetlnce a* to the form of the cube root.
Here the exponent 2 mu ft he reduced to the form
of a fraction having 3 for a denominator, which will
6 6  
be the fraction 4 j therefore ai~a^— \Za^.
Ex. 2. Reduce 5 to the form of the cube root, and
3^* to the form of the fquare root.
^ ? 3     3  
Firft 5=5T= ^5x5x5= v/l25-
And 2)abt—2^arP =:(31a*^4) “ —
84. PrOB.II. To Reduce Surds of different denomina¬
tions to others of the fame value, and of the fume de¬
nominations.
Rule. Reduce the fractional exponents to others of the
fame value, and having the fame common denomina¬
tor.
3 — 2
Ex. 1. Reduce \/a and fP, or dr and/*’ to other
equivalent furds of the fame denomination.
The exponents ft, when reduced to a common
denominator, are ft and ft \ therefore, the furds re-
3^ 4 6   6 
quired are a(' and£(’, or fed and fb*
t 1
Ex. 2. Reduce 3^ and 21 to furds of the fame de¬
nomination.
The new exponents are ft and ft, therefore we have
i 1 6  6   r 1 6  6 
f — f — — and 2T=r2f,~y'2i=r-v/4*
j. x
And in the fame wray the furds A"‘, B" are reduced
mn  m  
to thefe two \/A” and
85. Pros. III. To Reduce Surds to their mojl Jimple
terms.
Jdule. Reduce the furd into two factors, fo that one
of them may he a complete power, having its ex¬
ponent divifible by the index of the furd. Extract
the root of that power, and place it before the re¬
maining quantities with the proper radical fign be¬
tween them.
E.x. 1. Reduce f 48 to its moft Ample terms.
The number 48 may be refolved into the two fac¬
tors 16 and 3, of which the firft is a complete fquare $
therefore =4X3':=4\/3-
Firft X W)* = 7«* X (2tf)'2 =70*
^ 2X.
Alfo -y/sqa 3 x -\-t\oa yx^ ~ (2* a1 (^xzz
BRA.
prob. 2. j and then reduce them to their Ampleft
terms by laft problem. Then, if the furd part be the 1
fame in them all, annex it to the fum, or difference
of the rational parts, with the Agn of multiplication,
and it will give the fum, or difference required. But
if the furd part be not the fame in all the quantities,
they can only lie added or fubtradted by placing the
Agns -j- or — between them.
Ex. 1. Required the fum of and ^48.
By prob. 3. we And ^27—3 and V748—4 ff
therefore 2^ fV^ — 2 ^3 ^ ^3—1 ^3-
Ex. 2. Required the fum of 3 -y^ft and 5 f f-.r.
3  3 _ i _ 3 — 3 — " 3 —
3 V't—3 Vi=Tr\/2 aml 5 5 x/~6f = i\/2,
3 _ 3 — 3 _ 3 — 3 _ -
therefore 3 fdf - 5 ^2 +ft V 2z=-1f f 2.
Ex. 2. Required the difi’erence between f 8oa4x and
V $x,
and V'
20a‘x3
3 _ S  2 3 2 + 3 19
~ nT T—n'S-
J a1
Ex. 2. Reduce ffixdx, and \/ 2403 x-j-40a3 a;1, each
to its moft Ample terms.
2af3x+sx\
86. Prob. IV. To Add and Subtradl Surds.
Rule. If the furds are of different denominations, re¬
duce them to others of the fame denomination, by
Stirds.
V 20 a1 X*.
V/8ofl4.vr= (4*«4X Sx)* — 4a
( 2*dix1 X 5^) “ “ 2ax f j x ; therefore V780 a4 x —
f 20axxl rr (4ft2—2^r) Vja?.
86. Prob. V. To Multiply and Divide Surds.
Rule. If they ai-e furds of the fame rational quantity,
add and fubtradt their exponents.
But if they are furds of different rational quantities, let
them be. brought to others ol the lame denomination,
bv prob. 2. Then, by multiplying or dividing thefe
rational quantities, their product, or quotient, may be
let under the common radical Agn.
Note. If the furds have any rational coefficients, their
produdt or quotient muft be preAxed.
3 — 5   
Ex. 1. Required the produdt of \/uz and f a -.
fed X fcd—MxP-d* 3 = a lX= V « , Anf.
  3 -
Ex. 2. Divide V a1—b1 by \/a-\-b.
Thefe furds when reduced to the fame denomina-
3 2 fa*—Id
tion are (p—b1)^ and {a-\-b)^. Hence j—===
V a -{- o
- I, (a+by J (a+by J ^ J
(a+byy = f(a+bXa—by.
/
Ex. 3. Required the produdt ofj Vti and 3_V5.
5 x 3 ^1= 5 X 3 X v'S X 3/5=15 X fd°=15 X
V4X 10=30 V10.
3 — 3-
Ex. 4. Divide 8 y/56 Ay 4 V/-2*
fa
2 r,.
2
I
Ex- S' Required the product of xm and x n 5 alfo the
. 2_ 1
quotient arifing from the divifion of am by fa,
1 * 1 _i_1 ml'n mn 
Firft xm X xn —xm^r n~x,wi — <sjxm'n*)
algebra.
am (an\-L. /an
And — = ( ~mn J
V^”/ * bm'
bt
88. Pros. \ I. To Involve and Evolve Surda.
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 ^ is 3 X 3
^ (3)T = 9V/9' The «th power of a™ is x~*~'
The cube root of| ist(2)^= ^ ami the »th
1
root of xm is xm \
89. It a compound quantity involve one or more
turds, its powers may be found by multiplication. Thus
the tquare ot 3 -j- is found as follows :
3+\A
S+v/J
9-h3s/s
+3\/J+S
quired ^~t~S= I4~{-5 the fquare re*
i 9°^ The fquare root of a binomial, or refidual furd
A-f B, or A—B, may be found thus. Take J^ B*
—I) j ^
then >v/A+B^%/^±jj,| 7^—0
and sjE—ti-J^+-.1) __ /A—D
2 2
Hius the fquare root of 8 + 2^/? is i+y/7 J and the
tquare root of 3—^/8 is ^2—1. With refpeft 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
i<irne ivln^ J}1 lefpect 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
iome part of the other; or, which is the fame thing, we
may confider either what is the difference between the
quantities or what is the quotient arifing from the di-
vfoon of the one quantity by the other; die former of
theie is called their arithmetical ratio, and the latter
,‘ieii 4eometrical ratio. Thefe denominations, however,
have been affumed arbitrarily, and have little or no con¬
nexion with the relations they are intended to exprefs.
I* Of Arithmetical Progrefion.
L ^°Ur 8uantities the difference between
Vql iPartTl ^ eqUal t0 thC dilTerence betWen
the third and fourth, the quantities are called arithme¬
tical proportionals. Such, for example, are the num¬
bers 2, 5, 9, 12; and, in general, the quantities «,
a-\-d, b, b-\-d. [1 the two middle terms are equal, the
quantities conllitute what are called three arithmetical
proportionals.
93* J he moll material property of four arithmetical
proportionals is the following: If four e^uantities be
anthmetically proportional, the fum of the extreme
terms is equal to the fum of the means.. Let the quan¬
tities be a, a-\-d, b, b-^-d, where d is the difference be¬
tween the firll and fecond, and alfo between the third
and fourth, the fum of the extremes is and
that of tne means a d-4- b; lo that the truth of the pro¬
portion 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 propor¬
tionals be given, the fourth may be found from the
Preceding propofition. Let a, b, c, be the firft, fecond,
and fourth terms, and let x, the third term, be requir¬
ed ; becaufe a-\-c~b-\-x ; therefore x—a+c—b. In
like manner any two of three arithmetical proportionals
being fuppofed given, the remaining term may be rea¬
dily found.
95. If a feries of quantities be fuch, that the differ¬
ence between any two adjacent terms is always the fame,
thefe terms form a continued arithmetical proportion.
Thus the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, &c. form a feries in
continued arithmetical proportion, and, in general, fuch
a feries may be reprefented thus: >
a, fl-j-o', aJrrid, rt-^-3^/, a-\-^d, a-\-6d, &c»
where a denotes the firft term and d the common dif¬
ference.
By a little attention to this feries, we readily difeo-
ver that it has the following properties :
1. The laft term of the feries is equal to the firft term,
together with the common difference taken as often as
there are terms after the firft. Thus, when the num¬
ber of terms is 7, the laft term is and fo on.
Hence if 2; denote the laft term, n the number of
terms, and a and d exprefs the firft term and common
difference, we have («—iy.
2. The film of the firft and laft tefm is equal to the
fum of any two terms at the fame diftance from them.
Thus fuppofe the number of terms to be 7, then the
laft term is a-\-6d, and the fum of the firft and laft,
2a -[-67/; but the fame is alfo the fum of the fecond
and laft but one, of the third and laft but two, and fo
on till we come to the middle term, which, becaufe it
is equally diftant from the extremes, muft be added to
itfelf.
96. From this laft mentioned property we derive a
rule for finding the fum of all the terms of the levies.
1 or if the fum ol the firft and laft be taken, as alfo the
fum of the fecond and laft but one, of the third and
laft but two, and io on along the feries till we come to
the fum ot the laft and firft terms, it is evident that we
ftiall have as many fums as there are terms, and each
equal to the fum of the firft and laft terms ; but the
aggregate of thofe fums is equal to all the terms of the
feries taken twice, therefore the fum of the firft and
laft term, taken as often as there are terms, is equal to
twice the fum of all the terms, fo that if s denote that
fum, we have 2szzn(aand
2
4i
617
Arithmeti¬
cal Propor¬
tion.
Hence
lion.
618 A L G E
Geometri- Hence the fum of the odd numbers i, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c.
cal Propor-continued to n terms, is equal to the fquare or the num¬
ber of terms. For in this cafe arzi, r/~2, »=!-}-
(a—1 )*/= 2«—1, therefore -f~- X 2n~n*.
II. Of Geometrical Proportion.
97. When of four quantities, the quotient arifing
from the divilion of the firft by the fecond is equal to
that arifing from the divifion ol 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; and, in
general, na, a, nb, b may exprefs any lour proportion¬
als, for —=«, and alfo
a °
98. To denote that any four quantities a, b, c, <f, are
proportional, it is common to place them thus, a : b ::
c ; d, or thus a : b—C : d, which notation, whenexpref-
i’ed in words, is read thus, a is to as c to d, or the
ratio of a to ^ is equal to the ratio of c Vo d.
The fu ll and third terms of a proportion are called
the antecedents-, and the fecond and fourth the confe-
quents.
99. When the two middle terms of a proportion are
the fame, the remaining terms, and that quantity, con-
Ifcitute three geometrical proportionals 5 Inch are 4, 6,
9, and in general na, a, —. In this cafe the middle
quantity is called a mean proportional between the other
two.
too. The principal properties of four proportionals
are the following:
1. If four quantities be proportionals, the produft
of the extremes is equal to the produft of the means.
Let a, b,c, d, be four quantities, fuch, that a : b c : d;
Cl c
then from the nature of proportionals - = —j let thefe
equal quotients be multiplied by b d, and we have
nbd_cbf^ or ad—be. Henee it follows, that when
b d
three quantities are proportional, the produ£t of the ex¬
tremes is equal to the iquare of the middle term. It
alfo appears, that if any three of four proportionals be
given, the remaining one may be found. ’I hus let a, b, c,
the three firft be given, and let it be required to find
x the fourth term 5 becaufe a : b :: c : x, axzz.be, and
dividing by a, a?=—. This conclulion may be confi-
dered as a demonftration 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 adzzzbc, if thefe equals be divided by bd, we get
0r hence it follows, from the definition
bd bd b d
BRA.
given of proportionals (§ 97.), that a\b\:c:d. From Geometri-
this property of proportionals it appears, that if three cal Propoi?-
quantities be fuch that the fquare of one of them be , u°n' ,
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 lour pro¬
portionals.
ift, By inverfion b : a :: d : c
2d, By alternation a : c :: b : d*
3d, By compofition a-\~b : a :: c-\-d: t
or a-\-b : b :: c-\-d : d
4th, By divifion a—b : a :: c—d : c
or a—b : b :: c—d : d
5th, By mixing a-\-b : a—b :: c-^-d : c—d
6th, By taking any equimultiples of the antecedents^
and alfo any equimultiples of the coufequents
na : pb :: tic : pd.
7th, Or by taking any parts of the antecedents and
abed
eontequeuts —
u n p n p
That the preceding combinations of the quantities
a, b, c, d are proportionals, may be readily proved, by
taking the products of the extremes and means; for
from each of them we derive this sonclufion, that adzz
be, which is known to be true, from the original al-
fumption of the quantities.
102. If four quantities be proportional, and alfo
other four, the product of the correfponding terms will
he proportional.
Let a \ b :: c : d,
and e \f:: g : h.
Then ae .bf v. eg : dh.
Yor adzz.be, and ehzzfg (§ 100.), therefore, multiply¬
ing together thefe equal quantities adeh—befg, or ae X
dhzzbfXcg, therefore by the fecond property (§ 100.),
ae : bf \: eg : ah.
103. Hence it follows, that if there be any number
of proportions whatever, the produ&s of the correfpond¬
ing terms will ftill be proportional.
104. If a feries of quantities be fo 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,
&c. alfo 4, j, 4, tit, and in general a feries of
fuch quantities may be reprefented thus, a, ar, ar',ar3,
at*, ar5, &c. Here a is the firft term, and r the quo¬
tient of any two adjoining terms, which is alfo called
the common ratio.
105. By infpe&ing this feries we find that it has the
following properties :
1. 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. Therefore, if %
denote the laft term, and n the number of terms.
%zzar
* The quantities in this cafe muft be all of the fame kind, that is, if a and b denote furfaces, then c and d
amft alfo denote furfaces, but they cannot reprefent lines, &c,
3
A L G
Redu&ioa 2. The product of the firfl and laft term is equal to
of the produdt of any two terms equally diftant from
Equations, them: thus, fuppoling ar* the laft term, it is evident
v that a Xrtr4—&c.
106. The fum of all the terms may be found thus :
let J1 reprefent that fum, then, fuppofing the number of
terms to be fix, s—a-^-ar-^ar^+ar'-^at^-^arS, and
multiplying thefe equals by r, sr—ar-\-ar%Jrar'i
+ arS-if-ar6. If from the lower line, or sr—ar-^-ar1-^
. . .-\-ar6, we fubtract the upper line, or .f—a-j-ar-j-
. . .-ft ar5, the remainders will evidently be equal;
but on the one fide of the lign “ we have sr—j, and
<m the other at 6—a : therefore, sr—s—ar6—a, and
dividing by r—I, .r=
Let us now, inftead of
6, fubftitute 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 geometri¬
cal proportion, jrz-
or s— .
r—i
Sect. VI. Of the Re duel ion of Equatiotis involving
one unknown quantity*
107. The general object of algebraic inveftigatitm
is to difeover certain unknown quantities, by compar¬
ing them with other quantities which are given, or
fuppofed to be known. The relation between the
known and unknown quantities is either that ot 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-
, x x
tion. Such are the following- + 2* + yj—xy;
2 3 x
the firft of theft equations expreffes the relation
between an unknown quantity x, and certain known
numbers 3 and the fecond exprefles the relation which
the two indefinite quantities x and y have to each
other.
108. When a quantity Hands 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 xz=.
ay-ifb—c, the quantity x Hands alone on one fide, and
ay-\-b—c is its value.
109. The conditions of a problem may be fuch as
to require feveral equations and fymbols of unknown
quantities for their complete expreflion 3 thefe, however,
by rules hereafter to be explained, may be reduced to
one equation, involving only one unknown quantity and
its powers, befides the known quantities 3 and the me¬
thod of exprelling that quantity, by means of the known
quantities, conftitutes the theory of equations, one of
the moft important, as well as moft intricate branches
of algebraic analyfis.
no. 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 3 and the
value of the unknown quantity is called a root of the
equation.
in. Equations containing only one unknown quan¬
tity and its powers, are divided into different orders, ac¬
cording to the higheft power of that quantity contain¬
ed in any one of its terms. Hie equation, however, is
E B R A. 6if)
fuppoftd to be reduced to fuch a form, that the un- ■Reduction
known quantity is found only in the numerators of the of
terms, and that the exponents of its powers are expreffed ^q»atioris;
by pofitive integers.
112. If an equation contains only the firft power of
the unknown quantity, it is called * Jimple equation,
or an equation of the firft order. Such is ax-{-b—c,
where x denotes an unknown, and a, b, c known quan¬
tities.
113. If the equation contains the fecond power of
the unknown quantity, it is faid to be ot the fecond
degree, or is called a quadratic equation 3 fuch is qvf
-ft3X=i2, and in genei’al ax1 -^-bx—C. If it contains
the third power of the unknown quantity, it is of the
third degree, or is a cubic equation. Such are x* —
2*;*-ft4#“ 10, and aa;3-ftZw*-ftca=</, and ft on, with
refpect to equations of the higher orders. A fimple
equation is fometimes faid to be linear, or to be of one
dimenfion. In like manner, quadratic equations are faid
to be equations of two dimenfions, and cubic equations
to be of three dimenfions.
114. When in the courft of an algebraic inveftiga-
tion we arrive at an equation involving only one un¬
known quantity, that quantity will often be fo en¬
tangled in the different terms, as to render feveral pre¬
vious reductions neceffary before the equation can be
expreffed under its characteriftic form, fo as to be refol¬
ved by the rules which belong to that form.
Thefe redudtions depend upon the operations which
have been explained in the former part of this treatift,
and the application of a few felf-evident principles,
namely, that it equal quantities be added to, or tubtract-
ed from equal quantities, the fums or remainders will be
equal 3 if equal quantities be multiplied, or divided by
the fame quantity, the produ&s or quotients will be
equal 3 and, laftly, if equal quantities be railed to the
fame power, cr 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 ot finiple equa¬
tions.
115. Rule 1. Any quantity may be tranfpofed from
one fide of an equation to the other, by changing its
figns.
Thus, if x—3=5
Then «=5-ft3
Or
And if $x—10=2^+5
Then 3#—2#:= 5-ft 10
Or x~ 15
Again, if ax-{-bz=cx—dx-\-e
Then ax—cx -\-dxzze—b
Or {a—c-\-d)xzze—b
The reafon of this rule is evident, for the tranfpoi-
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 —- 3 or fubtradting it, it the fign
was -ft.
From tins rule we may infer,' that it any quantity
be found on each fide of the equation with the lame
fign, it may be left out of both. Alio, that the figns
of all the terms of an equation may be changed into
a I 2 the
620
ALGEBRA.
Redudtiou the contrary without aflecting tlie truth of the equa-
of. tion.
Equations. rr>l • n , 7 ,
t ^ llms, it —c
Then x—b-\-c
Ami if a—x—b—d
Tlien x—a~d—b.
116. Rule 2. If the unknown quantity in an equation
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
Then x-—-- —
Here equal quantities are divided by the fame quan¬
tity, and therefore the quotients are equal.
Tiy. Rule 3. If any term of an equation be a fra£lion,
its denominator may be taken away by multiplying
all the other terms of the equation by that denomi¬
nator.
T i* ^
Ifr7
Then #~35
If-=£—r+J .
a
Then x—ab—ac-\-ad
Tf b
It a —c.
x
ax—bzzcx.
In thefe examples, equal quantities are multiplied
by the fame quantity, and therefore the products are
equal.
118. The denominators may be taken away from fe-
veral terms of an equation by one operation, if we mul¬
tiply all the terms by any number which is a multiple
of each of thefe denominators.
Thus, if-+- +-=26.
2 3 4
Let all the terms be multiplied by 12, which is a
multiple of 2, 3, and 4, and we have
12X 12X 12X
-+T+T=312*
Or 6#-}-4‘:v+3A:’—312?
Hence I2;f=3i2.
Univerfally, if-— ~~U-=d—e.
a b e
To take away the denominators a, b, c, let the whole
equation be multiplied hj a b c, their product, and we
have
bcx—acx -f- abx—abc (d—e')
Or {bc—ac-\-a¥)x—abc{d—e').
119. From the two laft rules it appears that if all
the terms of an equation be either multiplied or divided
by the fame quantity, that quantity may be left out of
*11 the terms. ,
2
If ax—ah'-—ac
Then x—b—c
And if?=*+-
a a a
Then x—b-\-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 remaining
terms on the oppofite fide ; then involve each fide to
a power demoted by the index of the furd, and thus
the unknown quantity fliall be freed from the furd
expreffion.
If x/^-f6 mo
Then by tranfpofition x~\o—6=4
And fquaring both fides sfx x >Jx—4 x 4
Or .v=:i6.
Alfo, if sja1 -j- x1—b—x
By tranf. sja1-\-xi—b-\-x
And fquaring, d1 ^-x1‘—{b-\-x')'x-=zb2~\-2bx-\-xi
Hence dl—bi-ir2bx.
Redudlion
of
Equalions.
And if ^/(dx-
Then a^x-
-Rx—a,
-b2x—a3.
121. Rule. If the fide of the equation, which contains
the unknown quantity, be a perfect power, the equa*
tion may be reduced to another of a lower order, by
extrafting the root of that power out of each fide of
the equation.
Thus if a?3—64^*,
Then, by extrafting the cube root, ArzrSa ;
And if («-j-—os,
Then a-\-xzz b2—a1.
122. The ufe of the preceding rules will be farther
illuftrated by the following examples :
Ex. 1. Let 20—3*—8:=6o—jx
By rule 1. jx—3*—6o-f-8—20
Or 4^—48
Therefore by rule 2. x—12.
Ex. 2. Let ax—b—cx-\-d •
By rule 1. ax—cx—b-^-d
Or (a—c)x=b-{-d ~"]
And by rule 2. —/" + '/
x—~
Ex. 3. Let
X-\-l X-\-2_
16 —
f
* + !-}
2X 4~ 4 
•=32.
By rule 3. <{
^4-3
4
2.r -f- 6
4
6x-\-i8
| 3x+3 + 2x+4=96-
1 -r
L12x -f-12 —8x 4-16 4-384—6x‘^—i 8
Or 20„r4-28=:366—6x
Hence, by rule 1. 26^=338
And by rule 2. arm 3.
In this example, inftead of taking away the deno¬
minators one after another, they might have been all
taken away at once, by multiplying the given equation
. Ly
A L G
Reduction by 12, which is clivifihle by the numbers 2, 3, and 4 ;
°[ thus we fliould have got 6.V-4-64-4#4-8=iq2 ix 0,
Equations.. an(j ]ience^ as before, #—13.
^#.4. Let 6#3—20#1'= 16#1-f-2#J.
Tlien dividing by 2#1,
And tranfpofmg,
(3r
And therefore
3#—io~8-j-#
3#— x =r 8 -j-10
2x~ 18
2#=9^
Ex. 5.
Then
And
Let a —c
■ x
ax—b'~—cx
ax—cx—b1
E B K A.
Anil i—a—a\Ji—+«/1—* ' = (1 -|-ii)
Whence -—v/i—#a
i-j-« ^
r I A Z
And, taking the fquare of both fides, ——- =i—x*
(!+«)*
Therefore, liy tranfpofition, #*=l—
\ \ ’ (!+«)*
► That is, (t—,
(!+«)-* “ (!+«)*
621
Reduction
of
Equations,
Therefore #=r
_ 2s/a
I “j—#
Whence x— .
a—c
Ex. 6. Let x—6=
#+24
Then (#—6)(#-f-24)=#2
That is, a;1 -}-18#—I44r=#2
Therefore 18#—144
And #—8.
Ex. 7. Let ax+b'zz
a+x
Then (a-\-x) (ax^-b1)=ax1-{-ae*
Or a2x-±-ab2 -\-ax* -\-b1x=:nx1 -{-ac*
Hence a*x^-b2xz=:ac2—ab'1
ac1—ab1
And
a1 -j-£l °
Ex. 8. Let -—- —a.
I
Then 1—x—a-\-ax
And —#—ax—a—1
Or changing the figns, x-^ax—v-^a
Ex. 12. Let a-\-x— \/a*+x»/
Then
That is, a1+2ax-\-x2z=.a*-\-x*Jb7'-{-x,‘
Therefore 2ax Jrx1—x\/
And dividing by#, 2a-j-#=^v/Z'l-j-#1
Again taking the fijuares of both lides, 40*_{-#»'
—bl -If x%
Whence qa* Jf/^ax—b*
7 2 . %
And 4f/#——4«2 j fo that x—  
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 firft,
or at moll the fecond power of that quantity, has been
made to Hand alone on one fide of the equation, while
the other confifted only of known quantities j but the
fame methods of reduction ferve to bring equations of
all degrees to a proper form for folution. Thus if
1—
#-f 1
— 1—p—#-J- - '■> by proper redudion, we
have #3 -j-px1 -j-y#—r, a cubic equation, which may be
refolved by rules to be afterwards explained.
Hence, x—
1 -{-a
Ex. 9. Let s/i2-\-x=2+s/x.
Then by rule 4. i2 + *=4+4\A’+-y
And by tranfpofition 8=4 y/x
And by divilion 2— /*/x
And again by rule 4. 4=#.
Ex. 10. Let 2
*/ a2-j-x2
Then, by rule 3. x */a2-f-#Jr=2a2
And by tranfpofition, 'kj . #v'V,-j-r =<2* x*
Therefore, by rule 4. H2xt-l-x4=u4—2«2#*-f#4
Whence 3a1#2—-o4
a2
And x2zz —, therefore, rule c. xzz 
3  : ^
ex. 11. T,rf
I-f^I—#*
Then 1—y/ T—x1+a^/i—x2
Sect. VII. Of the ReduBion of Equations involving
more than one unknown quantity.
124. Having lliown in the lall fedion in what man¬
ner an equation involving one unknown quantity may
be refolved, or at leall fitted for a final folution, we ara
next to explain the methods by which two or more
equations, involving as many unknown quantities, may
at lall 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 conflitute an equa¬
tion, the methods moll proper for their extermination
mull therefore be various. The three following, how¬
ever, are of general application, and the lall of them
may be ufed with advantage, not only when the un¬
known quantity to be exterminated arifes to the fame
power in all the equations, but alfo when the equations
contain dift’erent powers of that quantity.
125. Method 1. Obferve which of the unknown
quantities is the leall involved, and let its value be
found from each equation by the rules of lall fedion.
Let the values thus found be put equal to each
other, and hence new equations will arife, from which
that
622
algebra.
Reduction that quantity is wholly excluded. Let the fame ope-
of ^ration be now repeated with the fame equations, and
Equations. quantities exterminated one by one, till
at laft an equation be found, which contains only one
unknown quantity.
a final equation may be at laft obtained, involving only Redu&Ion
one unknown quantity. ^ of.
Equations.
Ex. Let the fame example be taken, as in the illu- v
ftration of the two former methods, namely,
Ex. Let it be required to determine x and y from
thefe two equations,
Sx—2lJ— 1°
From the firft equation
And
From the fecond equation
And
2x~ 23 yj
x= 23—3y
2
5a?=io4-2y
IO + 2^
And we have
Let thefe values of x be now put equal to each
other,
10 +2y _ 23—3.y
5 2
^ Or 20+4y=i25—i5y
Therefore ipyzzpj
And y=5
And fince x~ 23—?’L or x— I0~hi^, from either
2 5
of thefe values we find 4.
2A;+3^—23
5.V—2y=io
and from thefe two equations we are to determine x
and y. To exterminate x, let the firft equation be
multiplied by 8, and the fecond by 2, thus we have
iotf+i5y=ii5
io#— 4y— 20
Here the term involving x is the fame in both equa¬
tions, and it is obvious that by fubtracting the one from
the other, the refulting equation will contain only y,
and known numbers, for by fuch fubtraction we find
I9y=95, and therefore y= 5.
Having got the value of y, 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 we have
4#-f6y=46
15*—fy=30
By adding thefe equations, we find.
19#= 76
and therefore x— 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 leaft involved. Let this value,
and its powers, be fubftituted for that quantity, and
its refpective powers in the other equations } and with
the new equations thus arifing, let the operation be re¬
peated, till there remain only one equation, and one un¬
known quantity.
128. The following examples will ferve farther to il-
luftrate thefe different methods of exterminating the un¬
known quantities from equations.
Ex. 1. Given
Required x and y.
Ex. Let the given equations, as in laft method, be
2#+3y=23
5#—2ymo
23 
From the firft equation x~   
And this value of x being fubftituted in the fecond
equation, we have 5X    —-2y=:io
2
Or 115—i5y—4y=20
Therefore 95m 9y
And 5=y
23——32/
And hence x~ ——— —4, as before.
By Method 1.
2y
From the firft equation we find x—32 -
yy
And from the fecond x—10+ ~
cy 2y
Therefore ic+ — — 32 -
Or 90-{-5y= 28 8—6y
Hence
And y= 18
The value of y being fubftituted in eithei oi the va¬
lues of *, namely, 32— ^ or 10+ we find #=20.
By Method 2.
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 Avhich involved
the higheft power of the unknown 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, wherein the number of dimenfions of
the unknown quantity in fome cafes, and in others the
number of unknown quantities, will be diminifhed;
and by a repetition of the fame, or fimilar operations,
Having found from the firft given equation #=32—
2y let this value of x be fubftituted in the fecond,
3’
thus we have
Hence 198=1^
And j8= y
. The
Jicdtidtion
of
^Equations.
ALOE
The value of y being now fuMlxtuted 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 lall feftion, we have
'ix-\-2yzzQ6
9X—sy~9°
From three times the firft of thefe equations, or 9#
~4-6y=288, let the fecond be fiibtra&ed, and there re¬
mains
nyzzipS
And hence y— 18
The value of y being now fubftituted in either of
the equations 3#+2y—96, <yx—5^=90, we readily
find .v—20.
129. Having now fhewn in what manner the differ¬
ent methods of exterminating the unknown quantities
rnay be applied, we fliall, in tbe remaining examples of
this feftion, chiefly make ufe of the laft method, becaufe
it is the moft eafy and expeditious in practice.
BRA.
Ex. 2. Giv
Ex. 3. Given
r ax-\-by=zc'\
ldx+fy=.g$
And therefore
x—-
af-—bd
In the fame manner may y be determined, by multi¬
plying the firft of the given equations by rf, and the fe-
eond by a; for we find;
adx -\-bdy~cd
adx-\-afy—ag
and taking the difference as before, we get
And therefore
bdy—afy—cd—ag
cd—ag
623
y
. J”—i+8 1
nen | ^ g_2y—^+27j
It is required to determine x and y.
From the ill equation we have 4#—96= 2y-4-64.
And from the fecond, 12r -|-12y -f- 20X—480 — ^oy
—15# ft-1620.
Thefe two equations, when abridged, become
4^—2y=i6o
47a?—i8y=r2ioo
To exterminate y; from this laft equation let 9 times
the one preceding it be fubtrafted.
Thus we find 1 lac = 660
And xzx6o
And becaufe 2y“4a?-—i6orr8c
Therefore y~/\o.
To determine x and y.
bd—af
This laft example may be confidered as a general fo-
lution of the following problem. Two equations ex-
preffing the relation between the firft powers of two un¬
known quantities being given, to determine thofe quan¬
tities. For whatever be the number of terms in each
equation, it will readily appear, as in example 2d, that
by proper redudtion, 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.
pft.yft.5s =29!
Ex. 4. Given-| V To find x, y, mid
L2 1 3 4 J
We lliall in this example proceed according to die
rules of the firft method for exterminating the unknown
quantities.
From the firft equation x=:29—-y—ss
From the fecond x—62—2y—32;
From the third v— 20— ——
3 , 2
Let thefe values of x be put equal to each other, thus
we get the two following equations,
29—y—2 ~ 6 2— 2y—3
^ ^2y »
3 2
Again, from thefe two equations, by tranfpofition, &e.
we find
^=33—22
32;
y=27-T.
Reduction
of
Equations.
Therefore
7.%
33—23=27—^-.
To exterminate y, let the firft equation be multiplied
by f, and the fecond by b, and we have
afx+bfy—cf
bdx+bfy=bg
Taking now the difference between thefe equations,
we find
afx—bdx—cf-—bg -
Or (af—bd)x=.cf—bg
cf—bg
And hence, by reduftion, zzzl2
Whence alfo y=33—
And x=:2g—y—25=8.
rx y % .
-ft--ft—=62
j 2 ‘ 3 ‘ 4
Ex. 5. Given ■] E~=47 >'r^0 fihd x, y, and gf:
-X.y
l4+7+6-38.
Here the given equations, when cleared from frac¬
tions, become
I2xft- 8yft- 62?=i488
20xft-1 yyft-122;=28 20
3ox+24yft-20!2=:456o
To exterminate » 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 :
12oxft-8oyft-6o2;=:i488o
iooxft-75yft-6oas=:i4ioo
90xft-72y 4-60^=13680
Let
624
ALGEBRA.
Jledudtion Let the feeoncl equation be now fubtradted from the
ot\ firft, and the third from the fecond, and we have
Equations.
20*4.5^=780
IO*+ 33/= 4 20
Next to exterminate y, let the firft of thefe equations
be multiplied by 3, and the fecond by 5, hence
6c*+153/= 23 40
50w-f-i5y=2i°o
Subtradting now the latter equation from the former.
Hence
Therefore
And
10*= 240
*=24
420—10*
y—- =00
.3
1448—12*—8y
= 120
131. From the preceding examples, it is manifeft in
what manner any number of unknown quantities mUy
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 -\-bij ■if-CK—n
dx^-cy-\- fa—p
gx \-hy-\-h%—q,
where o, b, c, &c. reprefent known, and *, y, x, un¬
known quantities j and in every cafe of this kind, the
\ unknown quantities may be diredtly found, for they
will be always expreffed by whole numbers, or rational
fractions, provided that the known quantities, a, b, c,
Sic. are alfo rational.
132. We fhall now add a few examples, in which
the equations that refult from the extermination of an
unknown quantity arife to fome of the higher degrees 5
and therefore their final folution muft be referred to the
fedtions -which treat of thofe degrees.
Ex. 6. Let *—y=2, and*y-{-5*—6y=i20j it is
required to exterminate x.
From the firft equation x=y-j-2 ; which value being
fubftituted in the other equation according to the fe¬
cond general method (§ 126.) it becomes
. (y+2)y+s(y+2)—fy=i2o
that isy*4‘2y + 5 —6y=X20
therefore the equation required is yz-j-y=iio.
Ex. 7. There is given x-J-yzza, and x2-j-y^-^-b; to
exterminate x.
From the firft equation x~a—y, and x2=(a—y)2.
And from the fecond x2 — b—y*.
Therefore (a—y')2~b—y*
That is a2—2ay-\-yl—b—y*.
Hence 2y*—2ay—b—a2 ; an equation involving
only y.
Ex. 8. Given ^ afxyJ^gx^hy—k^T° exterminatey.
From the firft equation wre find y— 
(IX “I"-c
h p'x
And from the fecond y= ■■■ ■ 5 ,
J fx+b
Therefore
—;—— ~r—r-?’ an equation in winch the -r. ’ '
:-\-C fx-\-h Equations.
unknown quantity is not found.
Ex. 9. Given ^■-3^+7=*’ , l
y Ly + 2ax—4^—b2 4
To exter¬
minate y.
As the coefficient of y* is unity in both equations, if
their difference be taken, the higheft power of y will
vaniffi •, but to give a general folution, let the terms of
the equations be brought all to one fide and made equal
to o, thus,
y2—{_Zx—o")y—x2—o
y2—by -j- lax—4*14 b2—Q
Let us in the firft equation put i=A,—(3*—«)
=B, —x2—C ; and in the fecond, i~D, —^=E, 2ax
—4** +^=F, and the two equations become
Ay* -{- By 4- C=io
I)y*-|-Ey-j-F=o
To exterminate y2, let the firft equation be multi¬
plied by I), and the fecond by A, and we have
ADy*4-BDy4-CD=o
ADyi4-AEy-f-AF=o
Tlierefore, taking the difference of thefe equations,
(B D—AE )y+CD—AF= o
. , AF—CD
An< y~ BD—AE
Again, to find another value of y, multiply the firft
equation by F, and the fecond by C, then
AFy*B FyCFn: o
CDy* 4 CEy -j-CF= o
Therefore, fubtracting as before, we get
(AF—CD)y14-(BF—CE)y=d,
And dividing by y (AF—CD)y 4 BF—CE =0,
Therefore, y=
Let this value of y be put equal to the former value.
thus we have
AF—CD _ CE—BF
BD—AE ~ AF—CD’
And therefore (AF—CD)1=(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.
(<b2-\~2ax—3**)2=(a4^—3#) (bx2—a—3*) (2't*—
4**4^*) j this equation when properly reduced will
be of the fourth order, and therefore its final refolu-
tion belongs not to this place.
Sect. VIII. ^uejllons producing Simple Equations.
133. When a problem Is propofed to be refolved
by the algebraic method of analyfis, its true meaning
ought in the firft place to be perfedtly underftood, fo
that, if neceffary, it may be freed from all fuperfluous
and ambiguous expreffions ; 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 relation to one
another expreffed agreeably to the algebraic notation.
Thus
A L G
Simple Thus we fliall obtain a feries of equations, which, if the
filiations, quellion be properly limited, will enable us to deter¬
mine all the unknown quantities required by the rules
already delivered in the two preceding tedious.
134. In reducing the conditions of a problem to
equations, the following rule will be of fervice. Sup-
pole that the quantities to be determined are actually
found, and then ccnfuler 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 fferies of equations., fuch
as is required. I or example} fuppofe that it is re¬
quired to find two numbers, fuch, that their turn is
20, and the quotient arifing from the divifion of their
difference by the lefl'er 3 5 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
fliall have tf-j-y for the fum of the numbers, and x—y
for their difference. Now as the former mull be equal
to 20, and the latter divided bv y equal to 3 j the
fir ft condition of the problem will be expreffed by this
equation tf-fy=r20, and the fecond by
and
from thefe the values of x and y may eafily be found.
13 5- When the conditions of a problem have been
expreffed by equations, or as it were tranflated from
the common language into that of algebra, we muft
next confider, whether the problem be properly limit¬
ed ; for in fome cafes, the conditions may be fuch as
to admit of innumerable folutions 5 and in others, they
may involve an abfurdity ; and thus render the problem
altogether impoflible.
136. Now by confidering the examples of laft fec-
tion, it will readily appear, that to determine any num¬
ber of unknown quantities, there muft be given as many
equations as there are unknown quantities. Thefe equa¬
tions, however, muft be fuch as cannot be derived from
each other; ^.nd they muft not involve any contradic¬
tion ; for, in the one cafe, the problem would admit
of an unlimited number of anfwers 5 and in the other
cafe,, it would be impoflible. For example, if it were
required to determine x and y from thefe two equations,
2#—3y—13, 4*—6yr=26 ; as the latter equation is a
coniequence of the former (for each term of the one is
the half of the correlponding term of the other) it is
evident, that innumerable values of x and y might be
found to fatisfy both equations. Again, if x and y
were to be determined from thefe equations, #-f.2y:z:8,
3»-j-6yr=26, it will quickly appear, that it is impofli¬
ble to find fuch values of x and y, as will fatisfy both
equations : for, from the firft of them, we find 2>x~
24—6y; and from the fecond, 3^=26—6y; and
therefore 24—Sy—26—-6y, or 24=26, which is ab-
furd ; 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 5 and that is, when there are
more equations than unknown quantities j 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.
E B R A. 62S
that a problem is limited, when the conditions afford simple
juft as many independent equations as there are un-Equations.
known quantities to be determined j if there be fewer '"•—"v 
equations the problem is indeterminate; but if there
be more, the problem in general admits of no folution
whatever.
138. In exprefling the conditions of a problem by
equations, it will, in general, be convenient to intro¬
duce as few fymbols of unknown quantities as poflible.
Therefore, if two quantities be fought and their fum
be given, fuppofe it = s, then if the one quantity be
reprelented by x, the other may be denoted by r—-x.
]f again their difference be given =d, the quantities
may be denoted by x, and d-\-x, or by x, and x—</.
If their product lie given =/>, the quantities are x,
and - ; and fo on.
x
139. We fliall now apply the preceding obfervations
to fome examples, which are fo chofen as to admit of
being refolved by Ample 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 will
be —, its third —, and its fourth -.
2 3 4
Therefore ^4-- + — 4- - = co.
2 3 4
Hence we find 24# -f-12.r + 8a + 6a= i 200.
Or 50*= 1200.
Therefore #=24.
Thus it appears, that the number fought is 24, which
upon trial Avill be found to anfwer the conditions of the
queftion.
Ex. 2. A poft is ^ of its length in the mud, \ in the
water, and 10 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 -; therefore, from the nature
4 . 3
of the queftion,
x x
' -4— 10__ AT •
4 3
From which equation we find 7A-J-120=12A, and x=
24.
Ex. 3. Two travellei’S 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 ; in what
time will they meet?
Suppofe that they meet after x days.
Then the one traveller has gone 8a miles, and the
other yx miles ; now the fum of the diftances they tra¬
vel is, by the queftion, equal to the diftance from Lon¬
don to York.
Therefore 8a-{-7a=I50
That is 15^=150, and *=10 days.
Ex. 4. A labourer engaged to ferve for 40 days,
upon thefe conditions; that for every day he worked
he was to receive 2od. but for every day he played,
or was abfent, he was to forfeit 8d.; now' at the end
4 K *f
626 A L G E
Simple °f the time he had to receive ll. us. 8d. It is required
Equations to find how many days he worked, and how many days
v~ v he was idle.
Let x be the number of days he worked.
Then will 40—x be the number of days he was idle.
Alfo 20X 20.mthe fum he earned in pence.
And 8x(40—a:)=i:320—8a:=the fum he forfeited.
Now the difference of thefe two was ll. 11s. 8d. or
38od.
Therefore 20X—(320—8ar)zr38o,
That is 28#=:700.
Hence x—2^~ the number of days he worked,
And 40—x— 15“ the number of days he was idle.
Ex. 5. A market-woman 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, inftead of getting
her own money for them, as flie expedted, file loll 4(1* •
what number of eggs did Hie buy ?
Let x be the number of eggs of each fort.
Then will — be the price of the firfl fort.
2
And —— the price of the fecond fort.
3
Now the Avhole number being 2x, we have
t • 2# :: 2 : — = price of both forts at 5 for 2d.
0 5
Therefore - -f -— —=4, by the queftion.
2 3 5
Hence i>#4-IO;v—24^—!20,
And xzz 120, the number of each fort.
Ex. 6. A bill of 120I. was paid in guineas and moi-
dores : the number of pieces of both forts that were ufed
was 100 •, how many were there off each ?
Let the number of guineas be x.
Then the number of moidores will be 100—x.
' Alfo the value of the guineas, reckoned in fliillings,
will be 2ix ; and that of the moidores 27(100—x) =
270,0 2’JX.
Therefore by the queftion, 21*4-2700—27*=2400.
Hence W'e find 6*=:300, and *=50.
So that the number of pieces of each fort was 50.
Ex. 7. A footman agreed to ferve his mailer for 81.
a-year, and livery ; but wras turned away at the end of
7 months, and received only 2I. 13s. 4d. and his livery ;
what was its value ?
Suppofe x the value of the livery, in pence.
Then his wages for a year were to be *4-1920 pence.
But for 7 months he received *4-640 pence.
Now he was paid in proportion to the time he ferved.
m m
Therefore 12 : 7 :: *4-1920 : *4-640.
And taking the product of the extremes and means,
i2*4-7^8°=:7;vft"I3440-
Hence 5*=576od. and *=xi52d.=4l. 16s.
Ex. 8. A perfon at play loft \ of his money, and then
won 3s. •, after which he loft 4 of what he then had,
and then won 2S. *, laftly, he loft \ of what he then
had \ and, this done, found he had only 123, left: what
had he at firft ?
BRA.
Suppofe he began to play with * fliillings. Simple
v Equations.
He loft 4 of his money, or -, and had left *— -v——1
4 4
_ 3*.
4
3* 3*4-12
He won 3s. and had then 4" 3=: '—^ *
He loft ^ of or 5±1, and had left
T 4 4 4
*+4 _ 2* 4-8
4 “ 4 ‘
He w’on 2s. and had then
2*4-8
4- 2:
2*4-16
He loft
„ 2*4- 16
ol or
and had left —^
28 ’ 4
2*4-16  12*4-96
28 — 28 _
And becaufe he had now 12s. left, tve have this equa-
12*4-96
tion c.—■ =12.
28
Hence 12*= 240, and *3=20.
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
working together.
Suppofe that they can do it in * hours, and let the „
whole work be denoted by 1.
h h x
Then 1 c : * :: 1 : — == the part of the work done
by A.
h h x
And 10 : * :: 1 : — =3 the part done by B.
10
Now, by the queftion, they are to perform the whole
work between them }
xx
therefore, — —I.
15 10
Hence 25*3=150, and * = 6 hours.
Ex. xo. The fum of any two quantities being given
33J-, and their difference =</, it is required to find each
of the quantities.
Let * denote the greater of the two quantities, and y
the leffer.
Then *-}-y=J', and *—y=3</.
Taking the lum ol the equations we get 2*==J’-}-</,
And fubtracting the fecond from the firft, 2ijz=.s—d;
v r—d
Therefore *==  , and y— ———•
2 2
Ex. 11. A gentleman diftributing money among fome
poor people, found he wanted xos. to be able to give
each 5s.; therefore he gave only 4s. to each, and had
5s. left, llequired the number of Ihillings and poor
people.
Let the number of fhillings be *, and that ol the
poor people y ; then, from the nature of the queftion,
we have thefe two equations,
53/=* 4-10 45/==*—5.
From the firft equation, *=53/—1
And from the fecond, *=4y-}“5 ?
Therefore $y—io=4y4_5*
Hencey=i5, and *==4^4-5=65.
Ex. 12.
ALGEBRA.
Simple Ex. 12. A farmer kept a fervant for every 40 acres
Equations, of ground he rented, and on taking a leafe of 104 more
v'——' acres, he engaged 5 additional fervants, after which he
had a fervant for every 36 acres. Required the num¬
ber of fervants and acres.
Suppofe that he had at fir ft x fervants, and y acres.
From the firft condition of thq queftion x~
— 1L
And from the fecond
By comparing the values of x, as found from thefe
,.y+I04
36
40
equations, we
have
y+104
■s=^.
40
Hence 403/-{-4160—7200=136^, fo that 4y=:3040.
Therefore y:
:76o, and x zz 10.
40
And in like manner 2 (x-t*2)=:the fourth quantity. Simple
Now by the queltion, the fum of all the four—90, Equation*
x -4- 2
Therefore x-j-x-f-q-f   {-2(x-f-2)=:90 5
Hence 9x^=1162, and x=x8.
Therefore the numbers required are 18, 22, 10, and 4c.
Ex. 16. A and B together can perform a piece oi
work in 12 hours, A and C in 20, and B and C in 15
hours ; in tvhat time will each be able to perform it
when working feparately ?
That we may have a general folution, let us fuppofe
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 24
denote the times in which A, B, and C, could perform
it refpectively, if each wrought alone 5 and let the whole
work be reprefented by 1.
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 lhall 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 refpedtively*
Their ages feven years ago were x—7 and y—J, and
feven years hence they will be x-h7 and y+7*
Therefore by the queftion
x—7 = 3(y—7) and x-f7=2(y + 7).
From the firft equation, x—yj—14,
And from the fecond x~ 274-7.
Therefore 37—i4=2y-J-7 j hence y—21.
And becaufe x=r2y-f-7, therefore x=49.
H H
Then x : a : : 1 : -=rthe part done by A 1
y : « : : 1 : —=the part done by B J
Alfo x : £ : : 1 : - — the part done by A
% \ b : : 1 : -—the part done by C
/■inn hours
And y : c : : 1 : -=the part done by B
y ^ in c hours.
52 : c : : I : -rrthe part done by C,
}'
:}■
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 let¬
ters ; therefore let x denote the number of leaps of the
greyhound, and y thofe of the hare 5 then, by confider-
ing the proportion between the number of leaps each
takes in the fame time, we have
3 : 4 : : x : y, hence 3y—qx.
Again, by confidering the proportion between the num¬
ber of leaps each muft take to run the fame diftance,
we find x : 50+y : : 2 : 3, hence 100-f-2y=:3X.
From the firft equation we find 6y=:8x.
And from the fecond 6y—<yx—300.
Hence 9X—300=8x, and x—300.
Ex. 15. To divide the number 90 into 4 fuch parts,
that if the firft be increafed by 2, the fecond diminilhed
by 2, the third multiplied by 2, and the fourth divided
by 2 ; the fum, difference, product, and quotient, ftiall
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-
prellion for each of the remaining ones, as follows :
Becaufe x-j-2=fecond quantity—2,
Therefore x-f-qzrthe fecond quantity.
And becaufe x-f-2—third X 2,
Therefore
2
— the third quantity.
Now by the queftion wc have the three following-
equations.
n a b b c c
— 4——i) —(——i) —4“——i*
x y x % y
Let the firft equation be divided by a, the fecond by
£, and the third by r, thus we have
I . I_i £4.1=1 l4-i=£
x' y a x 'z b' y ss c
If thefe be added together, and their fum divided by
2, we find
1 1 1 ill
— 4— 4~— — 4-—1 “I—*
x 1 y 1 :z 2a ' 2b ' 2C
From this equation let each of the three laft be fub-
tra&ed in its turn ; thus we get
x ill Jf-ab-^-ac—be
20'^' 2b’^m 2c
%
£ = 1 — 4--£
y 2a 2b 2c
£ = — 4- 1
x 2a
Hence %—
2b 2C
2abc
2abc
abc—acJ^bc
2abc
—ab-\-ac-\-bc
2abc
7200 ,
— —  — 60
+ + ac—be 120
2abc 7200
y— =  = 20
J -\-ab—uc-\-bc
2abc
36°
X—
—ab-\-acJrbc
4 K 2
7200
240
Sect.
628
ALGEBRA.
Quadratic
liquations.^ Sect. IX. Of Quadratic Equations,
140. We are next to explain the manner of refolv-
ing equations of the fecond degree, or quadratic equa¬
tions. Thefe involve the fecond power of the unknown
quantity, as has been already obferved (§ 113.), and
may be divided into two kinds, pure and adfeEled.
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, x*zz6/\, and axl-{-b=zc7
are examples of pure quadratics.
142. II. AdfeBed quadratic equations, contain the
fquare of the unknown quantity in one term, and its
lirft or Ample power in another, and the remaining
terms confift entirely of known quantities. Such are
the following, 2V1—33—yv, ax1 -j- bx—
c~d.
143. The manner of refolving a pure quadratic equa¬
tion is fufficiently evident; if the unknown quantity be
made to Hand alone on one fide, with unity as a coeffi¬
cient, while the other fide confifls entirely of known
quantities, and if the fquare root of each fide be taken,
we fhall immediately obtain the value of the Ample
power of the unknown quantity as already directed by
JRule 5th of Sedt. VI.
144. In extracting the fquare root of any quantity,
liowever, it is necefl’ary to obferve, that the Agn of the
root may be either -f- or —. This is an evident con-
fequence of the rule for the Agns in multiplication 5 for
Ance by that rule any quantity, whether pofitive or ne¬
gative, if multiplied by itfelf, will produce a poAtive
quantity, and therefore the fquare of -f-«, as well as
that of — o, is -f- «*; fo, on the contrary, the fquare
root of -j- a* is to be confidered either as -j- a or as
— a, and may accordingly be exprefled thus c±za.
145. Having remarked that the fquare of any quan¬
tity, whatever be its Agn, is always poAtive 5 it evi¬
dently follows, that no real quantity whatever, when
multiplied by itfelf, can produce a negative quantity ;
and therefore if the fquare root of a negative quantity
he required, no fuch root can be affigned. Hence it
alfo follows, that if a problem requires for its folution
the extraction of the fquare root of a negative quanti¬
ty, fome contradiftion mull neceffarily be involved,
either in the condition of the problem, or in the pro-
cefs of reafoning by which that folution has been ob¬
tained.
146. When an adfedted quadratic equation is to be
refolved, it may always, by proper reduction, be brought
to one or other of the three following forms.
1. X*-\-px~q
2. X1—px—q
3. V1—px~—q
But as the manner of refolving each of the three
forms is the very fame, it will be fufficient if we conA-
der any one of them.
147. Reluming thex-efore the Aril equation, or v* +
pxzzq ; let us compai'e the Ade of it which involves
the unknown quantity x with the fquare of a binomial
x-\-a ; that is, let us compare with x1 + 2ax +
« —(x-\-a) ; and it will prefently appear, that ii wre
fuppofe p=2a, or ~ the quantities xi-\-px and v*-j- Kquatioa*
2ux will be equal; and as v*-}-2<?v is rendered a com-' '
plete fquare, by adding to it a*, fo alfo may x*-\-px be
ft*
completed into a fquare, by adding to it , which is
4
A*
equal to a* j therefox-e, let — be added to both Ades
4
of the equation x1 -\-px=zq, and we have
p1 p* f P\% P*
x — ——--f-y, or
and extrafting the fquare root of each Ade, x-\- -
P __
P / p1
^ +q; hence x= —~ =t: V
148. From thefe obfervations wTe dei'ive the follow¬
ing general rule for refolving adfective quadratic equa¬
tions.
1. Tranfpofe all the terms involving the unknown
quantity to one Ade, and the known quantities to the
other Ade, and fo that the term involving the fquare
of the unknown quantity may be poAtive.
2. If the fquare of the unknown quantity be multi¬
plied by a coefficient, let the other terms be divided
by it, fo that the coefficient of the fquare of the un¬
known! quantity may be 1.
3. Add to both Ades the fquare of half the coeffi¬
cient of the unknown quantity itfelf, and the Ade of
the equation involving the unknown quantity will now
be a complete fquare.
4. Extract the fquare root of both Aides of the equa¬
tion, by which it becomes Ample with refpedt to the
unknown quantity j and by tranfpolition, that quanti¬
ty may be made to Hand alone on one Ade of the equa¬
tion, while the other Ade confills of known quantities j
and therefore the equation is refolved.
JVote. The fquare x’oot of the Aril fide of the equation
is always equal to the fum, or diflerence of the un¬
known quantity, and half the coefficient of the fe¬
cond term. If the fine of that term be +, it is
equal to the fum, but if it be —, then it is equal to
the difference.
Ex. 1. Given y*-}-2y—35, to determine x.
Here the coefficient of the fecond term is 2, there¬
fore adding the fquare of its half to each Ade, we have
^-j-2*+1=35 + 1=36 _
And extradting the fquare x-oot
Hence y= =!=6—I, that is »=:-{-5, or x—7, and
either of thefe numbers will be found to fatisfy the
equation, for 5X5 + 2X5=35* ali’° — yX—7 + 2X
—7=35-
Ex. 2.
Given — 12~x, to And x.
This equation, when reduced, becomes xz—6x~’]2.
And by completing the fquare, x1—AY-j-t)—72-4-9
= 81.
Hence by extracting the fquare root, x—3= ^±9.
And y—=£19-1-3, therefore Y=z-j-i2, or x=z—6,
and upon trial we And that each of thefe values fatif-
Aes
A L G
(!e9 tlle origin*1 equation, for
  —- —x 2— —6.
12X12
6
-X2~l2, alfo
Fx. 3. Given + 28=iia', to find x.
Then a?*—11^=: —28.
And, completing the fquare, «*—lltf-t-
4 4
-28=9.
4
IX 5
Therefore, by extradling the root, x— — -—
Hence xz= — —that is, x= -f- 7, or x— -{-4.
In the firft two examples, we found onepofitive value
for x in each, and alfo one negative value 5 but in this
example both the values of x are politive, and, upon
trial, each of them is found to fatisfy the equation 5 for
JX7 + 28=iiX7, alfo 4 X 4 + 28=11 X 4»
149. As at firll fight it appears remarkable, that in
every quadratic equation the unknown quantity admits
always of two diftindl values, or roots, it will be proper
to confider a little farther the circumftances upon which
this peculiarity depends. This is the more neceflarv, as
the property of the unknown quantity admitting of feve-
ral values is not peculiar to quadratics, but takes place
alfo in equations of the higher degrees, where tliecaufe
of the ambiguity requires an explanation fomewhat dif¬
ferent from that which we have already given in the
prefent cafe.
150. Let us again confider the equation xa + 2x—
35, which forms the firft of the three preceding exam¬
ples ; by tranfpoling all the terms to one fide, the fame
equation may be alfo expreffed thus, x* + 2x—35=05
£0 that we fliall have determined x, when we have
found fuch a number, as when fubflituted for it in the
quantity x* + 2x—35, will render the refult equal to o.
But x2-J-2x—35 is the product of thefe two factors
x—5> ant^ x+_7'> as may be proved by actual multipli¬
cation 5 therefore, to find #, we have (a?—5) (at4-7)
=0 5 and as a product can only become =0, when
one of its fadtors is reduced to o, it follows, that either
of the two fadtors x—5 and #-|-7 may be affumed
=05 if x—5=0, then *=5; but if a?4-7=0, then
x——7, fo that the two values of at, or two roots of
the equation xi-\-2x=7)^ are 4“5 and —7, as we have
already found in.a different manner.
151* What has been juft now fhewn in a particular
cafe is true of any quadratic equation whatever, that
is, if x* srpx=q, or by bringing all the terms to one
fide, x*+px—y=o, it is always poffible to find two
fadtors x-j-w, and x—b, fuch, that x*-\-px—q=(x-\-a')
(x—b), where a and b are known quantities, which
depend only upon p and q the given numbers in the
equation, and fmee that to have (x—a) (x-f£)=o, we
may , either affume x—a=o, or x 4-^=0, it evidently
follows, that the conditions of the equation x* +px—q
=0, or x% + px=q are alike fatisfied, by taking a?=4-«
or x=—b.
Irom thefe confiderations, it follows, that x can
have only two values in a quadratic equation 5 for if
it could be fuppoled to have three or more values,
2
E B It, A. 529
then it would be pollible to refolve x^ into as Quadratic
many fadtors, *—c, x—(J, &e. 5 but the product of Equations,
more than two fadtors muft neceffarily contain the thirdv—-v——J
or higher powers of x; and as x1-\-px—q contains no
higher power than the fecond j therefore no fuch refo-
lution can take place.
152. Since it appears that x*+px—q may be confi-
dered as the produdt of two fadtors at—a, and x-\-b,
let us examine the nature of thefe fadtors 5 according¬
ly, taking their produdt by adtual multiplication, we
find it a;“4"(^—a)x—ab; and fince this quantity muft
be equal to x'+px—7, it follows, that b—a=p and
ab=q? or, changing the figns of the terms of both
equations, a—b=—-77, —ab=—q. Now if we confi¬
der that 4-0, and —are the roots of the equation
x1 +px=q ; it is evident that a—b is the fum of the
roots, and —ab their produdt. So that from the equa¬
tions a—b=—77, and —ab=q, we derive the follow-
ing propofition relating to the roots of any quadratic
equation. 4 he fum of the roots of any quadratic
equation a?1 4-^=7 isr equal to —77, that is, to the co¬
efficient of the fecond term, having its fign changed 5
and their produdt 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
important queftions concerning the roots of a quadra¬
tic equation, without adtually refolving that equation.
Thus we learn from it, that if 7, 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 5 but if that
term be negative, the roots are either both pofitive or
both negative. It alfo follows, that in the former cafe
the root which is denoted by the leaft number will have
the fame fign with the fecond term, and in the latter-
cafe, the common fign of the r-oots will be the contrary
to that of the fecond term.
154. From this property of the roots we may alfo de¬
rive a general folution to any quadratic equation x1+px
=7; for vve have only to determine two quantities
whofe fum is —p, and produdt —7, and whole quanti¬
ties fliall be the two values of x, or the two roots of the
equation.
Without confidering the figns of the roots, let us call
them v and 2;, then
v + %=—77, and v%=—7. ,
From the fquare of each fide of the firft equation let
four times the fecond be fubtradted, and we have
V1 2VZ + Zt=p2-^-^q, or (v—2;)* =77* 4-47,
therefore by extradting the fquare root, v—25=rt:
/Jp'+Atq i from this equation, and from the equation
v-\-‘Z=p, we readily obtain v=—
-p=t= ‘Jp2+i\q
%=■
-, that is, if v=-
-P+ ^ Pz +
4?
then 2;:
2
then ^=±-^+47
a„d if v=-=+l+Wt
But the value of upon the one fuppefition, is the
fame as the value of 2; upon the other fuppofition, and
vice verfa; therefore, in reality, the only two diflindl
values
630 » A L G
Quadratic • —P^TWP1 1
.Equations, values of tlie roots v and & are ^ ~ and.
—which agrees with the conclufion we
have already found, (§ 148).
1;j. It appears from what has been already fliewn,
that the roots of a quadratic equation ^-^-px—q al-
wavs involve the quantity s/PX~\~/\c/> iience it follows,
that pl+4'7 mull be a pofitive quantity j for if it were
negative, as the fquare root of Inch a quantity could
not be found, the value of x could not poffibly be
obtained. If for example the value of x were required
from this equation #*-}-13 zr 4.V, or —/^x——13,
we fhould find .r=r2z±r^/—9 j and as this expreffion
for the roots requires us to extract the fquare root ot
—9, the equation from which it is derived muft necef-
farily have involved fome contradidtion. It is not dil-
iicult to fee wherein the abfurdity eonfifts, for fince in
this cafe p~—4, and q~—13, the roots of the equa¬
tion ought to be both politive (§ 154), and fuch that
their fum = 4, while their produdt — 13, (§ 153)*
which is impollible.
156. Although imaginary quantities ferve no other
purpofe in the refolution of quadratic equations, than
to fhew that a particular problem cannot be refolved,
byr reafon of fome want of confiilency in its data ; yet
they are not upon that account to be altogether reject¬
ed. 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 refpedt 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, name¬
ly, fuch as are of this form x'+px^zq, will alfo apply
to all equations of this form,
x'ln -\-pxn~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 ; for let us affume xnzzy, then
ofn—if, and therefore the "equation
■\-x1’n-\-pxn—q becomes
y\-Ypy-q, . , , J
a quadratic equation, from which x may be round, and
thence x, by confulering that x—nf 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 refpect to the negative root 5 as, for example, when
the unknown quantity denotes a number of men, a
number of days, &c. And hence, in reckoning the
cafes of quadratic equations, it is common to negledt
this one #*-{-/>#=:—q, where the roots are both nega¬
tive j for an equation of this form can only be deri ved
from a queftion which has fome fault in its enunciation,
and which, by a proper change in its form, will produce
another equation having both its roots politive.
159. The remainder of this fedtion fliall be employ¬
ed in folving fome queftions which produce quadratic
equations.
E B R A. ,
Ex. I. It is required to divide the number 10 Quadratic
1 into two fuch parts, that the fum of their fquares may Equations,
be 58. U
Let x be the one number.
Then, fince their fum is 10, we have 10—x for the
other.
And by the queftion —a)*=58
That is ** + IOO 20 V -|-A* ~ 5 8
Or 2X1—20^=58—I oozz;—42 .
Hence x*—10#=:—21
And completing the fquare a*—rov-f 25=25—21=4
Hence, by extradting the root, x—5—z±z^/4 —r±z2.
And *=5—2=7
That is *=7 or *=3.
If we take the greateft value of x, viz. 7, then the
other number 10—x will be 3 •, and if we take the
leaft value of x, viz. 3, then the other number is 7.
Thus it appears, that the greateft value of the one num¬
ber correfponds to the leaft value of the other j and in¬
deed this muft necetlarily be the cafe, feeing that both
numbers are alike concerned in the queftion. Hence,
upon the whole, the only numbers that will anfwer the
conditions of the queftion are 7 and 3.
Ex. 2. What two numbers a,re thofe whofe produdt
is 28 j and fuch, that twice the greater, together with
thrice the leffer, is equal to 26.
Let x be the greateft and y the leaft number, then,
from the nature of the queftion, we have thele two
equations,
xy—2%, 2.r +3^=26.
From the firft equation we have if—
x
26—2X
And from the fecond y—  —.
26 2X 28
Hence, — = —•
3 x
And, reducing, 26x—2v*=84
Or 2X*—26x=—84
Hence **—13*=—42
And comp, thefq.v*— i3Ar-f-.iA? = JLA£ 42^
Hence, by extracting the root x— 2J = s/i:—— w
Therefore #=lJ:±z4
That is «=7, or v=6.
28 . 14
And fince y=—, we have y—4» or y——•
Thus we have obtained two fets of numbers, which
fulfil the conditions required, viz.
v=7, y=4 : Or v=6, y=AL
And befides thefe, there can be no other numbers.
Ex. 3. A company dining together at an inn, find
their bill amount to 175 {hillings •, two ot them were
not allowed to pay, and the reft found that their fliares
amounted to 10 fhillings 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
been
I75
But,
3
Qnad ratio
Equations.
But, becaufe only x
ILL.
X 2
I??
Therefore, by the queftion, ——
A L G E
2 paid, the fhare of each was
BRA,
631
'7!
— 10.
X 2 X
And by proper reduction 175#—i'75*-|-35omOA:*
— 20.
That is ioa*—20*=3 50
Or a?’—2X’=35
And comp, the fq. x*—2A1-f-1 3 (J-j-lrr36
Hence, by extracting the root, i = ^±o6.
Therefore, a=: + 5, or x~—7. But from the na¬
ture of the queftion, the negative root can be of no
ufe *, 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; what
was the price of the cloth ?
Suppofe that it coft x pounds,
Then the gain was 24—x,
And by the queftion 100 : # : 24—x.
Therefore, taking the product of the extremes and
means, 2400—iooa?=.v%
Or #*-f-i00A;=2400,
And comp, the fq. at*-j-iocw-j-2500=4900,
Hence, taking the root, A?-J-50=rt:70,
And xz= -f- 20 or — 120.
Here, as in the laft queftion, the negative root cannot
apply therefore „r= 20 pounds, the price required.
Ex. A grazier bought as many flieep as coft him
60k out of which he referred 15, and fold the remain¬
der for ifql. and gained 2s. each upon them. How
many fheep did he buy, and what did each coft him ?
Suppofe that he bought x ilieep,
Then each would coft him —-— fhillings.
Therefore, after referring 15, he fold each of the
remaining x—15 for -—-—2 fhillings.
Hence he would receive for them (a—15X
fhillings
1200
2)
From the firft equation we have
And from the fecond t/~x-\-2 $
IOA?
Therefore x 4- 2= ,
3X—1
And 3**-{-5#—2=10*.
10*
3*.
Quadratic
Equations.
Hence x*—\xz
-T>
And comp. fq.*a——T5 i
Therefore, taking the root x—^=r±^^,
So that *=2, or x~—
Here it is evident that the negative root is ufelefs j
hence we have #=*-{-2=4, and 24 for the number
required.
Ex. 7. It is required to find two numbers whole
produdt is iooj and the difference of their fquare
roots 3.
Let x be the one number ; then —- muft denote the
x
other.
Now hy the queftion—p.—,/x=3 i
V *
I
Hence we have 10—*=3^/.v=3*'%
_I
Or *-{-3*2 = io,
And comp, the fq. x-\-^
2. 3
and taking the root *" -f-- =
+T=io-f|=V,
7.
2J
And, becaufe 54!.= 1080 fhillings, we have
by the queftion (*——}-2)—JoSo.
Which bv proper reduftion becomes **-1-4 5*= 9000.
2021; 38021;
Or, completing the fquare, *t-f-45*-{—-—=—
Therefore, extra£ting the root, &c. *==±c—^
Cl 2/
And taking the pofitive root, *=75, ^ie nurn^er
Jheep ; and confequently ——=x6 fliillings, the price
of each.
Ex. 6. What number is that, which, when divided
by the product of its two digits, the quotient is 3 ; and
if 18 be added to it, the digits are inverted. Let x
and // denote the digits ; then the number itfelf will be
expreffed by lO*-f-y ; and that number, in which the
digits are inverted, by ioy-\-x. Thus the conditions
of the problem will be expx-effed by thefe two equations,
—p=3> 10x 4-3/ +18 = 103/4-*.
So that **=r 4'5 or x" ——2,
and therefore *=25 or *=4.
If *=4, the other number is —4-= 25, and if *=
25, then the other number is 4 ; 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 fliall be 6, and the fum of their cubes 35.
Let v be the one number, then — will be the other.
x
216
Therefore, by the queftion, *3 4 ^—35 i
. x
Hence a6 4- 216=3 5*3,
Or x6—35*'=—216.
This equation, by putting x3=y, becomes
y'—3sy=—2l(S 5
Hence we find ^=27, or y=8.
And fince x'—y ; therefore *=3, or *=2.
If *=3, then the other number is 2, and if *=2,
the other number is 3 ; fo that 2 and 3 are the num¬
bers required.
In general, if it be required to find two numbers,
which are exa6tly alike concerned in a queftion that
produces a quadratic equation •, the two numbers fought
will be the roots of that equation. A fimilar 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 will be proper
to .?
ALGEBRA.
632
Equations to explain forae general properties, which belong to
in general, equations of every degree j and alfo certain operations,
v— 1 which muft frequently be performed upon equations,
before they be fitted for a final folution.
161. In treating of equations in general, we fhall
fuppofe 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 4 -\-px3 rx jzz o,
where x denotes an unknown quantity, and p, q, 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, Se£t. VI.
162. The terms of an equation being thus arranged,
if fiich a quantity be found, as when fubftituted for x,
will render both lides r= c, and therefore fatisfy the
equation, that quantity, whether it be pofitive or nega¬
tive or even imaginary, is to be conlidered as a root
of the equation. But wre have feen that every qua¬
dratic equation has always two roots, real or imagina¬
ry, wre may therefore fuppofe that a fimilar diverfity of
roots will take place in all equations of a higher de¬
gree ; and this fuppofition we ffiall 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 xA -^px'* -\-qx-\-r—o,\)e
reprefented by c, the firll fide of that equation is divi-
iible by x—a.
For fince xA J[-px'i -{-qx1 -\-rx-{-s—o.
And alfo a* -\-pa3 -\-qa-\-ra-\-s—.o j
Therefore, by fubtraflion, ar4—tf4-}-^#3—
(a2—«*) -^-r^x—a)-=zo.
1O3. But any quantity of this form xn—a", where n
denotes a whole pofitive number, is equal to
its conditions fulfilled, not only when X—flrro, hut Equations
alfo when a3 -\-q'x01 general.
Let us now fuppofe that £ is a root of this equation,
then by reafoning exactly as in laft article, and putting
q"z=.bx-\-p'b-\-q', we ffiall have
x3 -J-/>V -j-y'-t-j-r'— (.r—b) (x1 -\-p"x -f- q")=0,
and therefore
x4-j-y*2 H-rX + ‘f— (»—«) (x—b) (V -{-
165. By proceeding in the fame manner with the
quadratic equation x1 -j-p,rx -\-q"zz:0, we ffiall find that
if c denote one of its roots, then
x1 -{- p"x -f- qfl— (x —c) (.r-f-c -j-p").
So that if we put S——(c-{- /?")» we at laft find
a: 4 -f- pr3 + qx* -j- rx -{- s—(.r—a ) [x—b) {x—c) (a;—d) j
and fince each of the factors x—a, x—b, x—c, x—d
may be affumed =zO, it follows, that there are four
different values cf x, which will render the equation
xApx^-\-qxx~\-rx-\-s~o, namely, a:~a, xzzb, x=ct
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 w hatever ; we may therefore
conclude, that every equation may be conlidercd as the
product of as many fimple factors, as the number de¬
noting its order contains unity 5 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 form¬
ed from the product of factors x—a, x—b, x—c, &c.
we difeover a number of curious relations, which fubfift
between the roots of any equation whatever, and its co¬
efficients. Thus, if we limit the number of factors to
four, and fuppofe that «, b, c, d, are the roots of this
equation of the fourth degree
xA -^-px' -[-qx1 -\-rx-J[-s—o,
we fhall alfo have (#—«) (#—b~)^x—c) (x—^)“0 5
and therefore, by actual multiplication,
(A—a) (xn~1 -{- axn~ 2 -f- cfx*- 3 -f- ... ■\-an~1x-\-an 1),
as may he eafily proved by multiplication 5 therefore,
putting a?—4, 3 and 2 fucceffively, we liave
a;4—a4—(a?—a)(xi-]-ax1-\-atx-\-a'i')
x*—a}— (a?—a) (x* -j-aA:
x*—o*~(a;—«)( AJ-j-a)
X —a =(a;—a)
and by fhbftitution, and colleifting into one term the
coefficients of the like powers of a?, the equation
a;4—a4-j-p(x3 —a3) -}-q(x*—a1) -}-r(A:—a)=O becomes
(x—a)[a;3 -f (a+/>)x24-(«1+/,‘3 + f)Ar+«3 +pa*-{-qa
-|-r]rro, fo that putting p'rra-j-p, ^'zral-f-po-f-y, r'
— a3 -fipa+^+^j we have
x4-f-px3 -^qx1 -\-rx-\-s—(x—a) (x3
Hence, if the propofed equation x4-f;w3 -\-qxi-\-rx—s
be divided by a;—a, the quotient will be a?3-J-pV-fi-
q'x r', an integer quantity j and fince the fame mode
of reafoning will apply to any equation whatever, the
truth of the propofition is evident.
164 We have found that (at—a) (a?3-f-p'Ap-f-^'A?
-}-r')r=:o, and as a product becomes =0, when any
.one- of its faftors ~c, therefore, the equation will have
al
-J-aP
-j-aa
1 -- —abc~l
x‘ -I'd \x+M=°-
—d_\ Jrbd\ —bedj
•\-cd]
168. If we compare together the coefficients of the
lame powers of a, we find the following feries of equa¬
tions :
a "I" b -F c —[— d— " p
ab A-ac A" ad'\mbc -\-bd -\-cd~ q
abc-\-abd acd -f bcd=—r
abc— -f-r ;
and as a fimilar feries of equations will he obtained for
every equation whatever, wre hence derive the follow-
ing propofitions, which are of the greateft importance
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 products of the roots multiplied together two
and two.
3. The coefficient of the fourth term, taken with a
contrary
A L G
Equations contrary fign, is equal to the fum of the roots multi-
in general, plied together three and three, and fo on in the remain-
^ ing coefficients, till we come to the laft term of the e-
quation, which is equal to the produtf: of all the roots,
having their figns changed.
169. Inftead of fuppoling an equation to be produ¬
ced by multiplying together fimple equations, we may
confider it as formed by the product of equations of
an/ 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 limple and cubic equation, or from two quadra--
tic equations.
170. II n denote the degree of an equation, Ave ha\’e
fhoAvn, that by conlidering it as the product of fimple
factors, that equation Avill have « divifors of the firft
degree j but if we fuppofe the fimple fadtors to be com¬
bined Iavo and tAvo, they Avill form quantities of the fe-
cond degree, which are alfo factors of the equation •,
and fince, there may be formed
«(«—O
. 2
n{n-
fuch combina-
•0
divifors of
tions, any equation Avill admit of
the fecond degree.
171. For example, the equation x* ^-px1 -^-qx1 -\-rx
which Ave have conlidered as equal to
(*—o)(a:—£)(#—c)(^—
may be formed of the product of tAvo factors of the fe-
eond degree, in thefe fix different Avays.
Fy the produdt of (x—a)(x—b) and (.r—c)(a;—d)
Thus
[x—a^x—c)
(x—«)(#—d)
(x—b)(x—c)
(«—b)(x—d)
(a;—c)(x—d)
of the fourth
equation
4-X3
 -—6 quadratic divifors.
1X2
172. By combining the fimple
(a;—b)(x—d)
(v—b)(x—c)
(a;——d)
(x—a)(x—c)
(.v—a) (a?—b)
degree may have
factors
t   three and
three, avc fliall haA’e divifors of the third degree, of
'which the number for an equation of the nth order Avill
«(«—1)(/7—2) . -
be : and fo on.
1 ‘ 2 \ 3
173 *’ ^ ^ien tne roots of an equation are all pofitive,
its fimple fadtors Avill have this form x—«, x—b, x—c,
hx.c. \ and if for the fake of brevity Ave take only thefe
three, the cubic equation Avhich refults from their pro-
dudl will have this form,
at3—px1 -f- qx—r—0,
where 73=r«-j-/5>-{-c, qzzab-\-(ic-\-bc, rzzabc,
and here it appears that the figns of the terms are -f-
and — alternately.
Hence we infer, that when 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 fadtors x-\-a, x-j-b, x-j-c, then
p, q, and r being as before, the refilling equation will
Hand thus :
x3 -\-pxl-\-qxJrrz=.0.
And hence we conclude, that Avhen the roots are all
negative, there is no change Avhatever in the figns.
Vol. I. Partll.
E B rt A. I 633
I75* I11 general, if the roots of an equation be all Equations
real, that equation aviII have as many pofitive roots as in general,
there are changes of the figns from -f- to —, or from
— to -j- j and the remaining roots are negative. This
rule, however, does not apply Alien the equation has
imaginary roots, unlefs fuch roots be confidered as ei ¬
ther pofitive or negative.
176. That the rule is true V'hert applied to quadratic
equations Avill be evident from Sedt. IX. With refpedt
to cubic equations, the rule alio applies when the roots
are either all pofitive, or all negative, as avc have juft
noAv fliewn.
When a cubic equation has one pofitive root, and the
other Iavo negatives, its factors will be a;—a, x-l-b, Ar4-r,
and the equation itfelf
—a —ab
V x*—ac
-f- r j -\-bc
^ x—abci
Here there mull al ways he one change of the figns,
fince the firft term is pofitive, and the laft negative }
and there can be no more than one 5 for if the fecond
term is negative, or b+c lefs than a, then (i’-f-c)1 Avill
be lefs than (Z'-f-rjo; hut (^-j-r)* is always greater
than be, therefore be Avill be much lefs than (£-j-c)a
or ab-^-ac, fo that the third term muft alfo he negati\re,
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 he the iign
of the third term, there can Hill be no more than one
change of the figns.
When the equation has two pofitive roots and one
negative, its fadtors are x—a, x—b, x—c, and the
equation
A?5 * * * *—al -j-
—b > a*—,
-\-e j —
-\-abl
■ac ^ x —j— fibe o.
bc$
Here there muft always be two changes of the figns ;
for if a-\-b he greater than c, the fecond term is nega¬
tive, and the laft. term being always pofitive, there
mult he twm changes, whether the iign of the third
term be pofitive or negative. If again o-\-b be leis
than c, and therefore the fecond term pofitive 5 it may
be fliewn as before, that ab is much lefs than ac-{-bc ;
and hence the third term will he negative ; fo that in
either cafe there muft be two changes of the figns.
We may conclude therefore, upon the Avhole, that in
cubic equations there are always as many pofitive roots,
as changes of the figns from -j- to —, or from — to -j- 5
and by the fame method of reafoning, the rule Avill be
found to extend to all equations whatever.
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 folloiv,
on the contrary, that Avhen the coefficients are real, the
roots are alfo real j for avc have already found, that in
a quadratic equation, x* +px-\-qz=.C>, Avhere 71 and y 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+\/—«—
Avhich quantities may alfo he expreffed thus,
4L a+b
634 A L O E
Equations a—b V/—i,fotliat wehavethefe two factors
in general. ^^^ ^—i, and taking their produft,
x*— 2tix-\-a1—ff=o.
Thus we fee tliat two imaginary factors may be of
fnch a form as to admit of their product being exprelfed
by a real quantity ; and hence the origin ot imaginary
roots in quadratic equations.
179. It appears by induction, that no real equation
can be formed from imaginary factors, unlels thole
fadtors be taken in pairs, and each pair have the form
xz±zn—b x/~i ,xz±za+b V'^i 5 for the produdt of
three, or any odd number of imaginary ladtors, what¬
ever be their form, is Hill an imaginary quantity. Ihus,
if we take the produdt of any three ot thele four ima-
ginary expreflions, x-^-a-\-b \/—x, xa—b \/—x,
X-\.c-\-dV—1, ar-f-c—d\/—1, 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 entered
into its compofition, the product will be found to be ra-
' tional, and the fame for all the four.
180. Hence we may deduce the three following in¬
ferences refpedting the roots of equations :
1. If an equation have imaginary roots, it muft have
two, or four, or fome even number of inch roots.
2. If the degree of an equation be denoted by an
odd number, that equation muft have at leaft one real
root.
3. If the degree of an equation be denoted by an
even number, and that equation have one real root, it
will alfo have another real root.
181. We fliall now explain fome transformations which
are frequently neceflary to prepare the higher orders of
equations for a folution.
Any equation may have its pofitive roots changed
into negative i-oots of the fame value, and its negative
roots into fuch as are pofitive, by changing the figns of
the terms alternately, beginning with the fecond. Ihe
truth of this remark will be evident, if we take two
equations,
(x—a) (x—b) 0 -j-c)=0,
(^x -f- 0^ (^x —f- b^ — c} mz 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 refpeclive factors, for thele equa¬
tions will Hand thus :
-t-abj
—ac >x-\-abc=0
—be)
x3—a ~l
—b > x*
-f-c J
-f-/; > x*—ac > x—abc"
—c 3 —be 3
*/3+3«l
-f pS
1
=0.
where it appears that the figns of the firft 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 alf equations, to whatever order they be-
long. 1
182. It will fometimes be ufeful to transform an
equation into another, that lhall have each of its roots
greater or lefs than the correfponding roots of the other
equation, by fome given, quantity.
BRA.
Let (x1——Zf)(A--f-c)=C beany propofed equa- Equations
tion which is to be transformed into another, having its in general,
roots greater or lefs than thofe of the propofed equa-v—
tion by the given quantity n ; then, becaufe the roots
of the transformed equation are to be -\-az±^n, ^-bz±z.n
and —cz±zn, the equation itfelf will be
{y^+ZH—a){y^zn—b){y^zn-]-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, fubftitute y—n and its powers j 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 lhall 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 ufed in pre¬
paring cubic and biquadratic equations for a folution, '
by transforming them into others of the fame degrees,,
but which want their fecond term.
Let x5be any cubic equation ; if
we fubftitute y-\~n for x, the equation is changed into,
the following:
+ 3n*l +«3
+ 2pn Vy+pn*
+ ? 3
+
Now, that this equation may want its fecond term, it
is evident, that we have only to fuppofe 3«-f-^=o, or
)i— A for this affumption being made, and the value
of n fubftituted in the remaining terms, the equation be¬
comes
7+’'=0'
or, putting — +9=/, and -j- the
fame equation may alfo Hand thus,
y3+?,y+r—°;
184. In general, any equation whatever may be trani-
formed into another, which fliall want its fecond teim
by the following rule.
Divide the coefficient of the fecond term of the pro¬
pofed equation by the exponent of the firft teim, and
add the quotient, xvith its fign changed, to a new un¬
known quantity ', the lum 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 adfedted 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. I hus
if the quadratic equations*—5x-|-6=:0 be propofed 5
by fubftituting y-\-^ for .v, we find
j/1 +5.V+V 1
—sy + ^ or/—^=0.
-(- 6 31 ^
Hence y— =±r4, and'fince A=y-j-4> therefore X— =Nf
-f* 3 or j- 2.
186. It has been fliewn (§ 169.) that in any equa¬
tion, the coefficient of the fecond term, having its fign
changed, is equal to the lum of all the roots, or ab-
5 ’ 1 ft rading
Cubic
Equations.
A L G
ftracting from their figns, it is equal to the difference be-
f tween the fum of the pofitive, and the fum of the nega¬
tive roots. Therefore, if the fecond term be wanting,
the fum of the pofitive roots in the equation mull necef-
farily 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 vanifli, by an
affumption fimilar to that which has been employed to
take away the fecond term. Thus if in § 183. we af-
fume ^ri1 -\-2pn-j-7—o, byrefolving this quadratic equa¬
tion, a value of n will be found, which, when fubftitut-
ed in the equation, will caufe the third term to vanifli j
and by the refolution of a cubic equation 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 equation,
having the coefficients of fome of its terms expreffed by
fractional quantities, j changed into another, the coef¬
ficients of which are ail integers.
E B R A.
Let x1 -4- ^
a b
— O denote an equation to
be fo transformed j and let us aifume y~abcx; and
therefore x~.
becomes
y'
a be
-, then, by fubftitution, our equation
a'b'c* ~r alb*ci'
and multiplying the whole equation by rr3£3c3, ive have
y3 -^-bepy*-\-a1bc*qy-\-a'ib*c2r—o*
Thus we have an equation free from fractions,- while
at the fame time the coefficient of the higheft 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
produCt of all the denominators ; then, by proper re¬
duction, the equation will be found to have the form
required.
190. If, however, the equation have this form,
»3-J_ — a?* -J- ? a:-f- - =0,
a a a
it will be fufficient to affume y—ax, and therefore x—
- ; for then we have
a> ■ ^ 9
And y3 «V=ro,
which laft equation has the form required.
Sect. XI. OJ Cubic Equations.
x V .
-y+ “
J a
:0,
the equation j thus from the firft of the three preceding Cubic
examples we find from the fecond .v~—3^ anil Equations.
from the third x Vr.
193. It would feem at firft fight, that the only value
which x can have in the cubic equation a3—r, or put¬
ting r=r3, a3—c3=o, is this one, x=zc; but fince
a3—c3 may be refolved into thefe two faCtors a c
and a2 ~^~cx -J-c*, it follows, that belides the value of a
already found, which refults from making the faCtor
X—c=o, it has yet other two values, which may be
found by making the other faCtor a* -\-cx -{- •
and accordingly by refolving the quadratic equation
A* -j-CArr—£■*, we find thefe values to be
and
—c— A/—
2 c
—, or
+ ^:
-cand
— e_f_ V—3c2
2
— I—V' —3
Thus it appears, that any cubic equation of this form,
xi=c:
or a3—r3=o, has thefe three roots,
—1 -f V'-
x~c, xzz ‘ 
2
—I— \/-
C,
the firft of which is real, but the two laft are imagi¬
nary. If, however, each of the imaginary values of .v
be railed to the third power, the fame refults will be
obtained as from the real value of a ; the original equa¬
tion A3—c3 — O may alfo be reproduced, by multiply¬
ing together the three faCtors a—c, x 1 ^
and a-
—1— V -
194. Let us now confider fuch cubic equations as
have all their terms, and which are therefore of this
form,
A3 -f-AA*-{-BA-f-<?~0,
where A, B, and C denote known quantities, either po¬
fitive or negative.
It has been fliewn (§ 184.) how an equation having
all its terms may be transformed into another, which
wants the fecond term ; let us therefore affume a—2/-—
—, as directed in that article 5 then, by proper fubfti¬
tution, the above equation will be changed into another
of this form,
where q and r denote known quantities, whether poli-
tive or negative •, now the roots of this equation being
once found, it is evident that thofe of the former may
alfo be readily obtained by means of the affumed equa-
A
tion x~u .
3
191. Cubic equations, as vrell as equations of every
higher degree, are, like quadratics, divided into two
claffes ; they are faid to be pure, when they contain on¬
ly one power of the unknown quantity ', and adfeBed,
when they contain two or more powers of that quantity.
192. Pure cubic equations are therefore of this form,
a3 —125, or A3=r — 27, or, in general, x'—r; and
hence it ap])ears, that the value of the fimple power of
tbe^ unknown quantity may always be found, without
difficulty, by extracting the cube root of each fide of
195. Refuming, therefore, the equation y3
rrro, let us fuppofe y—v-\-!z, and it becomes
t»3 -j-3‘y*is-j-3<yz*-{-!z31
J^qV + qX > =0.
+r J
Thus we have got a new equation, which, as it in¬
volves two unknown quantities, v and 2, may be re¬
folved into any two other equations, which will fimplify
the determination of thofe quantities.
Nowr it appears, that the only way in which we can
4 Ij 2 divide
\
636 A L G E
Cubic divide that equation into two others, fo as to fimplify
Equations, the queftion, is tlie following
BRA.
Hence the three values of ij are alfo thefe,
3^*2; -f- -\-qv+<72=o
l>3-f-23? +r—Q
The firft of thefe equations may alfo be exprelfed
v thus,
(3^+?) (^+«)=o
Hence we muft either fuppofe that ,y-j-2;=:o, or that
j but the former fuppofition cannot be ad¬
mitted without fuppofing alfo that y~0, which does
not agree with the hypothefis of the equation y'-^qy
r~o 5 therefore we muft adopt the latter. So that
to determine v and z we have thefe two equations,
^VZ-^q—O, V* -\-Zi -\-r—0.
0 (j^
From the firft, we find vzzz.— andw3^^—
and from the fecond ^3-{-^3z=—r, fo that to deter¬
mine the quantities i»3 and s3, we have given their fum,
and product: now this is a problem which we have
already refolved when treating of quadratic equations,
<1 155 } and by proceeding in the fame manner, in the
prefent cafe we ihall find
v1 — —Ir + s/2,Ty3+irl s3 — —
v=s/—lr -f- V-s\qs+ l^z—sj—*r—\/TV?3+ira
3   ,  ——
and y—v-^-Z—sJ—v A?3 4"i7'1
Thus 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.
166. But this is only one of three values which y
may have ; let us, for the fake of brevity, put
A——-ftB= 2r >/^^q3~t"fr >
and denote the imaginary exprelfions
—1 +x/—3 —n/11?
2 ’ 2
by « and /3. Then, from what has been fhewn
(§ 193), it is evident that and ss have each thefe
three values,
3 - 3 /_ 3
V= \/A, V=ei\/A, V~/3 y7A,
3 _ 3 _ 3
z=\/b, z=x\/b, zz^flx/B.
>
To determine the correfponding values of v and z,
we muft confider that ^2:=:— -= \/AB j now if we ob-
ferve that xpzzi, it will immediately appear that v-\-z
has thefe three values,
3 _ 3
v-{-z= \/a -j- \/b
' 3 _ 3 -
1) -{”52—\/ A -{- /3 \/ B
3 _ 3
3 _ 3
y= \/a+ v b
3 _ 3 _
y~oi\/A-{- \/B.
3 _ 3
y—$ \/ A-f-®4 b
The firft of thefe formulae is commonly known by
the name of Cardan’s rule j 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 lame time, and in¬
dependently of each other (fee the Introduction).
197. The formulae given in laft article for the roots
of a cubic equation may be put under a diSVerent form,
and perhaps better adapted to the purpofes of arith-
q
metical calculation as follows. Becauie vz~—-»
therefore z~—- X - X lience v+z—^.A.
3 n 3 Va
— .T-—; thus it appears that the three values of ?/•
3<\/ A
may alfo be expreffed thus,
y V 3a/A 1
y=«VA ^
Cubic
Equations,
y
=i8\/A-
3 v/a
^qct
^ A
198. To fhow the manner of applying thefe formulae,
let it be required to determine x from the cubic equa¬
tion
tf3 -{-3A;*-f-9X I3 = a
And as this equation has all its terms, the firft ftep to¬
wards its refolution is to transform it into another which'
fhall Avant the lecond term, by iubftituting y—1 for is*
as directed (§ 184). The operation aviII Hand thus,
.v3=y3—3^ + 3^— 1
+3^= Jr?>y%—6y+ 3
+ 9* = +9y— 9
—!3 = —^
The transformed equation is y3 -|-6y—20 = 0
which being compared with the general equation
y3+?y+r=0
gives ^=6, —20 j hence
h^J—Ir+V^q' ^^v/io-l-V108
Therefore, the firft formula of laft article gives y—
V io-j-‘V/,io8—  7=: butasthisexpreffion
3x/io-{-v io8?
involves a radical quantity, let the fquare root of 108
be taken and added to 10, and the cube root of the ium
found; thus avc have *s/io-{-VI08ZT2.732, nearly,
7 amt
A L G
Cubic
Equations.
and therefore
V^io-J-v^ioS 2>732
=.7325 hence we
at laft find one of the values of y to be 2.732—.732^=2.
In finding the cube root of the radical quantity
3  
*/io+ 108 we have taken only its approximate va¬
lue, fo as to have the expreffion 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 a-f-'where is a pofitive number. But it will
fometimes happen that the cube root of fuch a furd can
be expreffed exactly by another furd of the fame form 5
and accordingly, in the prefent cafe, it appears that the
cube root of 10 -J-^/108 is 1 + \/3, as may be proved
by actually raifing 1 +\/3 to the third power. Hence
, , 2 2 2(1—V 3)
we find 7-7= j=—  7=- 7-r—
vio-J-V^oS 1 + V3 (1—v/3)(i+v/3)
=—(t—v/I) > fo that we have y— 1 -\-*J~3 +1—\/~3
~2, as before.
The other two values of ij will be had by fubftitut-
I
ing t + \/ 3 and 1—^3 for ^/A and 7^^ in the fc-
cond. and third formulae of laft article, alfo I'eftoring the
values of a. and /3. We thus have
y
= —-X(i + 'v/3)+ 1 3x(x—-^3)
E B K A. 637
tive, and fuch that is greater than-Jr*, in this cafe Cubic
the expreffion + 4r* will be negative, and there- Equations.
fore its fquare root an imaginary quantity. Let us
take as an example this equation y3—6y -f- 4 = 0 s
here —6, r=+4, ir= 2, -2TTy?" —8, JrI=-}-4,
\/?\q5 +i^=\/—4=2^/—I, lienee by recurring
to the formulae (§ 196.), we have Azz2-\~ 2*^/—
B = 2—s/—1, and therefore the three roots of the.
equation expreffed thus,
3 3 
y= 2-\-2 V—\-\-sJ2—2 V—1
3    3  
y—ccs/ 2’\-2*S —I+/3V^ 2 2 —I
3    ^ 
y—(ZsJ 2-f-2V/—2—2 \/—I.
Here all the roots appear under an imaginary form $
but we are certain from the theory of equations, as
explained in Sedt. X. that every cubic equation muft
have at leaft one real root. The truth is, as we ffiall
fliew immediately, that in this cafe, fo far from any of
the roots being imaginary (as in the former example),
they, are all real ; for it appears by adtual involution,
that the imaginary expreffion 2-^-2V/,—1 is the cube
of this other imaginary expreffion —1-f- v7—1, and
in like manner, that 2—2 V"—1 is the cube of —I
— V—1, fo that we have
= 1 b V—9
—1 — v/.
-X (1 + ^3)4- *(i—^3)
y~-
=—1—V—9-
So that the three values of y are
-f*2> —1 *b \Z~~9y 1 \/9»
and fmee a—y-J-1, the correfppnding values of x are
“b1* —2Hb s/—9> 2 9*
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 a—1
(§ i630* Accordingly the divifion being actually per¬
formed, and the quotient put =0, we have this quadra¬
tic equation,
a?* + 4* + 13=°V
which, when refolved by the rule for quadratics, gives
x-±z—2=±r^/9, the fame imaginary value as before.
199. In the application of the preceding formulae
(§ 196 and 197) to the refolution of the equation y^-b
qy-\-r—o, it is neceffary to find the fquare root of
•stt1?3 + -Jr2; now when that quantity is pofitive, as in
the equation y3-b6y—20~o, which was relolved in
laft article, no difficulty occurs, for its root may be
found, 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-
3-
3      /— - 
y— ^ 2+ 2 V7—I+v V2—2V/—izz
I— V7—\ — 2'
■1+^—3
[ -4. \/—1 —
y-
(—l—V—izzi-b^S-
—1— ^—3
I) d   ~ X
y-
x (—1 + V—O-b
- +
X
(—i— —1) — t— ^ 3-
200. We now proceed to prove in general, that as
often as the roots of the equation x* ~\-qx -\-r—Q are
real, q is negative, and ^q3 greater than Jr2 j and, on
the contrary, that if ,/7y3 be greater than ^r2 the roots,
are all real.
Let us fuppofe a to be a real root of the propofed
equation,
Then *3+7*+r=°
And . a? -\-qa-\-r—o.
And therefore by fubtradion x3—a*-\-q(x—a)=0 >
hence, dividing x5—a3, alto y(jc—a) by fl, we have
AT2-b 0'.V-b«2+7—°*
This quadratic equation is formed from the two re¬
maining roots of the propofed equation, and by refolv-.
ing it we find
x~—
And as, by hypothefis, all the roots are real, it is
evident that q muft neceffarily be negative, and great-
er than ■Jo* 5 for otherwife the expretiion s^J 4 & q
would be" imaginary. Let us change the fign of <7, and
put v
638 A L G E
Cubic put thus the roots of the equation a;3 -\-qx
Equations. _|-r=:o will he
o, —d) —§■ ft— \/d,
anti here </ is a pofitive quantity.
To find an expreffion for r in terms of ei and </, let
be fubllituted for q in the equation a3—qa-{-r
=0; we thence find r——3-]-«</,• fo that to com¬
pare together the quantities q and r we have thefe equa¬
tions,
q—\al -f- d
r— —3 -\-ad.
In order to make this comparifon, let the cube of ^q
be taken, alfo the fquare of ir, the refults are
sVZ1 —dn0,6 rea Ad-\- Y^fdd* -I- 3
lr*=-i^-\aU+±a'd* j
and therefore by fubtraction,
■?rV?5 —-krl—i^aAd—j^du1 -\-~d-1-d1’
— 3^( ii6 fl 4 d-\- i\d2)
=idw—yy.
Nowr the fquare of any real quantity being'always pofi¬
tive, it follows, that ^d^a*—^d)1 will be pofitive when
d is pofitive ; hence it is evident that in this cafe ■^■>rq3
muft be greater than ^r* and that the contrary can¬
not be true unlefs d be negative, that is, unlefs that
—^a-^-t^/d, —ifl—\/d, the two other roots of the
equation, are imaginary. If we fuppofe d—o, then
qi—^r* j and the roots of the equations, which in this
cafe are alfo real, are a, ——\d.
Upon the whole, therefore, we infer, that fiuce a cu¬
bic equation has always one real root, its roots will be
all real as often as q is negative, and ^q1 greater than
and confequently, that in this cafe the formulae for
the roots muft exprels real quantities notwithftanding
their imaginary form.
201. Let 7/3—qy-\-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 o=r—
b'—d-tq*—one of the roots, as exprefled by the firft
formula, § 196. will be,
5   , 1  
y=. a^/u-\-b'd—1 -f-^/a—b —1.
This expreffion, although under an imaginary form,
muft (as we have ffiewn in laft article) reprefent areal
quantity. It will fometimes happen, as in laft example,
§ 199. that the two furds which compofe the root are
perfedt cubes of the form —1)3 and (A—B
—-l)3, and then the value of y becomes
A ft- B^/ —1 -f-A—Bi^/ —1 — 2A.
But the rules for determining when this is the cafe de¬
pend upon trials, and are, befides, troublefome in the
application ; and if we attempt by a dire cl 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 expreffion for a real quantity
has greatly perplexed mathematicians j 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.
3
BRA,
203. It is remarkable that the expreffion
s/a -\-b\/ —I, -|-\/a—b V—I,
and in general,
Cubic
Equations.
a -^-b V^—1, a—‘b —1,
where n is any power of 2, admits of being reduced to
another form in which no impoffible quantity is found.
Thus ^ab V —1 ^a—b —1= ^2a-{-2V^a2-}-£*
sj a-ifbs/—i+x/ «—b*J—1 =
277+2 V/>+^ + 2n/>+^))
as is eafily proved by firft fquaring the imaginary formu¬
la;, and then taking the fquare root of each. But when
77 is 3, it does not feem that Inch redudtion can poliibly
take place.
204. If each of the furds be expanded into an infinite
feries and their fum be taken, the imaginary quantity
sj—1 will vanifli } and thus the root may be found by
a direct procefs. There are, however, other methods
which feem preferable j and the following, which is de¬
rived from the application of algebra to geometry, feems
to be the heft.
205. It will be demonftrated in Se6l. 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 - —X cof. -=X cof. a.
3 3
d y
Let us afl’ume cof. - = , then, by fubftitution, the
3 n
equation is transformed into the following:
^4-^=1 cof. a.
Or
4«
— y=77 3 Xi cof. 77,
4
and in this cubic equation one of the roots is evidently
y—n X cof. -. Now from the arithmetic of fines itap-
3
pears that col. or, cof. (360°—«), and cof. (36o°+77),
are all exprelfed by the fame quantity j therefore the
equation muft have for a root not only n X cof. —, but
lf. 360°—a . r 360°+a
alfo n X cof. —, and n X col. •
But
360°
=— fin.
from the arithmetic of fines, cof.
 -, and cof. —g =—fin. — Therefore
« 3 3
the roots of the equation are
r a go°—a go°-\-a
77 X cof- —77 X fin.   , —n X fin. z  
3 3 3
Let us next fuppofe that y* —qyzzris a cubic equa¬
tion
' Cubic
Equations.
A L G E
tioa vvbofe roots are required, and let us compare it
B 11
3n
■y—n5 x col'. \ a ;
with the former equation y ■
then it is evident that if we aflame the quantities n and
cof. cr, fuch, that
X cof. \a=r,
the two equations will become identical, and thus their
roots will be exprelfed by the very fame quantities. But
from thefe two aflumed equations we find
cof.0=ir=yaZ=r3’-<
2qV q
■v's
4^3 2</Vl, i
Uq 2s/<)
n-sl
3 V 3
and fince the cofine of an arch cannot exceed unity,
muft be a proper fraction, that is, t\qJ
therefore,
27
4 7
mull exceed or ^q* mull exceed^* J if we now
recolledt that <7 is a negative quantity, it will immedi¬
ately appear that the propofed equation muft neceffarily
belong to the irreducible cafe.
206. The rule, therefore, which we derive from the
preceding analyfis for refolving that cafe is as follows.
Let y5—(iy—r the propofed equation.
Find in the trigonometrical tables an arch o, whofe na-
3 r
tural cofine 1= p.
2y v q
The roots of the equation are
y
=J]
X cof. —
3 3
90°
/=—2 v^Xfin.
3 3
=_2yixfin.92!±f
1/
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*—7y=—r5 the following will be more convenient :
Find in the tables an arch a, whofe line —
Then the roots of the equation are
y=2*/|xfi>p
y=2«/^Xcof.25l±£
2q\^q
V
X cof.
per
3 3
The laft formulae are derived from the equation
3« 3 r a
bin. fin. —lin. a
3 4 3
in the fame manner as the former were found from the
iirft equation of laft article.
Ex. 1. It is required to find the roots of the equation
.v3—3^=1.
3-^3.
Zq^/lq 6X ^3
Here
3 X ^ A 6o°=:cof. a.
[ x—
A.
2 cof.
6o°
639
= 2C0f.20->=I.8793852^»t
x——2fin. ■
1 j tq0
Hence <j x——2fin. — —2fin.50°=—1.5320888
30° „'
" = — 2 fin. 10°= .3472964.
Ex. 2. It is required to find the roots of the equation,
X 3 3Y i #
3 r
Her
x zz 2 fin.
3 _3v/3_s r r
—p~4-orlin. 30 =lin. a.
v 2
2qV q 6
3°°
3
120^
= 2 fin. io° =
x zz 2 cof. ~ 2 cof. 40°
X——2Cof.
3
6o°
— 2 cof. 20° — ■
.3472964
1.5320888
1.8793852.
Sect. XII. Of Biquadratic Equations.
207. When a biquadratic equation contains all its
terms, it hath this form,
.v4 -f- Ax3 4- Rtf*+Cw D=o,
where A, B, C, D, denote any known quantities what¬
ever.
208. WTe ftiall firft confider pure biquadratics, or
fuch as contain only the firft and laft terms, and there¬
fore are of this form, xA—b*. In this cafe it is evi¬
dent that x may be readily had by two extradtions of
the Iquare root; by the firft we find x*zz:b*, and by
the' fecond x~b. This, however, is only one of the
values which x may have 5 for fince xA=b4, there¬
fore x4—bAzzo ; but x4—b4 may be refolved into two
factors x%—b* and x' + b4, each of which admit of a
fimilar refolution j for x* — bzzz(x—£) (x-^-b) and
K*4~^i——b+J—1) —I)- Hence it ap¬
pears that the equation x4—b4~o may alfo be expreffed
thus :
(a?—b~) (.v—by/—1) (x-\-byJ—l)~o,
fo that x may have thefe four values,
4-^, —"Irby/—1, —by/ 1,
two of which are real and the others imaginary.
209. Next to pure biquadratic equations, in refpedt
of eafinefs of refolution, are fuch as want the fecond and
fourth terms, and therefore have this form,
.■v4 4--f-f ~o.
Thefe may be refolved in the manner of quadratic equa¬
tions ; for if we put y4zzxi ive have
y'-\-qy+s=°i
from which we find y~
and therefore
--*/ Q1 
4J'.
210. W7hen a biquadratic equation has all its terms,
the manner of refolving it is not lo obvious as in the two
former cafes, but its refolution may be always reduced
to that of a cubic equation. There are various methods
bv which fuch a reduction may be effedted j the follow¬
ing, which we feledl as one of the moll ingenious, Avas
firft given by Euler in the Peterlburgh Commentaries,
and.
640
ALGEBRA.
Biquadratic and afterwards explained more fully in his Elements oi
.Equations. Algebra.
v We have already explained, § 184, in what manner
an equation which is complete in its terms may be
transformed into another equation of the lame degree,
hut which wants the fecond term •, therefore, any pro-
pofed biquadratic equation may be reduced to this form,
3'4+/J3'2+'7y+?—°>
where the fecond term is wanting, and where />, <7, r,
denote any known quantities whatever.
21 x. That we may form any equation fimilar to the
above, let us ^a^bc, and let us
alfo fuppofe that the letters a, b, c, denote the roots of
the cubic equation
—R=ro ; .
then from the theory of equations we have
a-\-b-\-c~—ab-\-ac-\-bc—QabczzJ{.
Let us now fquare the aflamed formula
y— \/ab-\- V7, and we obtain
^-=<7-f^+c+ 2(\/ab be)
or fubftituting — P for a b c, and tranfpofing,
?^2_J_P—2( ab-\-\^ac-\- be.
Let this equation be alfo fquared, and we have
y4-_|_2P^2 4-P2—4(a£-|~flC-f_^c)-f-8(v/a2bc Vab^c
abc1), and fince ab-\-ac-\~bc=Q
and V7a abc-\- v7ub'c-^ V7abc1— V7abc{ v7^ -{- Vc)
— x/ITt/ ; the fame equation may be expreffed thus :
X/4-}"2^2 +I,2:::i4Q4’8y7 Ry.
Thus we have obtained the biquadratic equation
^4 + aPy1—8 —4Q—°,
one of the roots of which Vo-hv7b-\-*/c, and in
which a, b, c, are the roots of the cubic equation
a3 -f-P 552 -|-Q2;—R=0.
212. That we may apply'this refolution to the pro-
pofed equation y4+py2 +^y+;'=0, we mull exprefs
the aflumed coefficients P, Q, R by means of/), y, r the
coefficients of that equation. For this purpofe let us
compare together the equations
y*+py1+^+r=° ^
y*+2Vif—S-v/RdZ+P1—•4Q=0,
and it immediately appears that 2Prr/6, —ft^/R—q,
P2—4Q=r; and from thefe three equations we find
P "’"’'E, p = 2_. Hence it folloxvs, that
64
p=?4q
2
16
V7^, \Zby v7C, nu!^ l;e equal to \/r or to Equation^
therefore when q is pofitive, their produd mufl be a v
negative quantity ; and this can only be effeded by
making either one or three of them negative ; again,
when q is negative, their produd mull be a politive
quantity, fo that in this cafe they mull either be all po¬
fitive, or two of them mull be negative. Thefe con-
-fiderations enable us to determine, that four of the
eight expreffions 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 lhall nowr give the refult of the preceding
invelligation, in the form of a pradical rule, lor re-
folving biquadratic equations \ and as the coefficients
of the cubic equation which has been found, § 212,
involve fradions, avc ffiall transform it into another,
in which the coefficients are integers, by fuppofing
^ • P X
x— —. Thus the equation 523-| 2 -f"
4 2
p"—4r
r6
O becomes, after redudion, v' -\-2pv —4r)v
64
—^*=0 ; it alfo follows, that fince the roots of the
former equation are a, b, c, the roots ol the latter ai’e
— — — fo that our rule mav iioav be exprefied thus :
4 4’ 4 ' ,. , .
Let y4 -\-fiy1 py -\-rz= o be any biquadratic e-
q nation wanting its fecond term. Form this cubic equa¬
tion
^?-J-2joni+ (p2—4r)v—q2=0,
and find its roots, irhich let us denote by «, bf e.
Then the roots of the propofed biquadratic equation
Avhen q is negative
yrri)'V/a4-V'Z)-{- ^c)
a— V7 b— 'V7c)_
iy—^{—V7 « + V7Z)—
y—-j;(^ ^ ft \/b -}- V7
when q is pofitive
y=l (— Va— V7 b— VV)
y—\ y?)
y—\{\'a—^4- Vc
\'b—V7 c).
the roots of the propofed equation are generally ex-
■prelfed by the formula y—^/a-y b4- \U ; where «,
b, c, denote the roots of this cubic equation
, p „ . p2—4r q1
4- -z “ 4-   ~52 =0.
1 2 16 64
213. But to find each particular root, we mull con-
lider, that as the fquare root of a number may be
either pofitive or negative, to each of the quantities,
V7 a, v7b, Vc, may have either the fign 4- 01'—pre¬
fixed to it j and hence our formula Avill give eight dif¬
ferent expreffions for the root. It is, however, to be
obferved, that as the produd of the three quantities
215. This refolution of biquadratic equations fug-
gells the following general remarks upon the nature ol
their roots.
1. It is evident from the form of the roots, that ii
the cubic equation
■y3 4-2^4-0*—4r)v—q2—o
ha\re all its roots real, and pofitive, thofe of the biqua¬
dratic equation lhall be all real.
2. Since the lail term of the cubic equation is nega¬
tive, Avhen its three roots are real, they mull either be
all pofitive, or two of them mull be negative and no4*
pofitive ; for the lail term is equal to the produd oi
all the roots taken xvith contrary figns, § 1695 fo that
in this lail cafe two of the three quantities «, mull
be negative, and therefore all the four roots ol the bi¬
quadratic equation imaginary. If, hoAvever, the txvo
negative roots be equal, they will dellroy each other
in two of the roots of the biquadratic equation, which
will then become real and equal. Let us fuppofe lor
example that b and c are negative, and equal} the two
firil values of y in each column become then imagi¬
nary.
ALGEBRA.
Biquadratic nary, and the remaining values of y are in the firft fet
- JLyi of roots y=-—\\Ja, y ~—a, and in the fecond
y~ +4 ^ai y~vs/
3. When the cubic equation has only one real and
two imaginary roots, its real roots muft neceffarily be
poiitive. For the imaginary roots can only come from
a quadratic equation, having its laft term pofitive,
Sedt. IX. and therefore of this form, An-J-B—o,
hence, the limple 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 n1-!-A ■zi-J-Brro, we find
here, the roots being fuppofed imaginary, —- —B
4
muft be a negative quantity. That we may fimplify
the form of the roots, let us put — ——and —  
A 2 7 2
B——/3*, then
*’=—«— s/ —/3‘=—*=£=/3 V—
and vzz—cc-\-(& —i? v~—x—/3 yj—1.
Hence we have
az=x-\-/i y/—15 bz=x—lZy/—I, czzy •
io that in two of the four values of y, we have a Quan¬
tity of this form,
-ft PyJ —I -ft ec—(Sy/ — I J
but this quantity, although it appears to be imaginarv,
is indeed real 5 tor if we firft fquare it, and then take
its fquare root, it becomes
'L't + ZyJof—p,
which is a real quantity. The two other roots involve
this other expreffion,
By comparing this equation with the general formula,
we have p~ 25, y=-ft6o, r=—36 ; hence
rP——5°j Pl—4>~769, y*=:36oo,
and the cubic equation to be refolvcd is
—yo-z/1-ft76911—3600=0 j
the roots of which are found, by the rules for cubics,
to be 9, 16, and 25, fo that we have
*Jc—S' Now in this cafe q is pofitive, therefore
X=K—3—4—j)=—6
X=K—3+4+5)=-ft3
■:v='K-ft3—^4+5)= + 2
^K+3+4—5)=-fti.
217. We have now explained the particular rules
by which the roots of equations belonging to each of
the firft four orders may be determined ; and this is
the greateft length mathematicians have been able to
go m the direct refolution of equations 5 for as to thofe
ot the fifth, and all higher degrees, no general method
has hitherto been found, either for refolving them di-
redtly, or for reducing them to others of an inferior de¬
gree.
It even appears that the formula which exprefs the
roots of cubic equations are by no means of univerfal
application j for in one cafe, that is, when the roots
are all real, 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 when
the formulae involve no imaginary quantities, and there¬
fore can be always applied, it is more convenient in
practice to employ fome other methods which we are
hereafter to explain.
641
Reciprocal
Equations.
Va-ft/Sx/—I—\/*_/3v/^l ;
which, being treated in the fame manner as the fonner,
becomes
*/ 2x—2x/«I-ft/3%
an imaginary quantity, and therefore the roots Into
which it enters are imaginary.
4. W e may difcover from the coefficients of the pro-
pofed 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 fhall want the
lecond term, by affuming v=u— y 5 thus it becomes
2p3 8 rp
and in this equation the three roots will be real when
A^~-ft4^3 is greater than — ~
216. As an example of the method of refolving a bi¬
quadratic equation, let it be required to determine the
roots of the following,
x‘,—25**4-60#—36=0.
^ ol. I. Part II.
Sect. XIII. Of Reciprocal Equations.
t
218. Although no general refolution has hitherto
been given of equations belonging to the fifth, or any
higher degree ; yet there are particular equations of all
orders, which, by reafon of certain peculiarities in the
natuic 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.
219- W hen 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,
tf4-ft/j*3 4-4-^*-ft 1=o,
that equation may always be transformed into another
of a degree denoted by half the exponent of the highefl
power of the unknown quantity, if that exponent be an
even number, or by half the exponent diminifhed by
unity, if it be an odd number.
The lame obfervation will alfo apply to any equation
of this form,
*4-ft/?fl*3 4-^*#*-ft^a3^ _j_ 4 «. 0?
where the given quantity a and the unknown quantity
4 x irt
v.
642
ALGEBRA.
Reciprocal x are precisely alike concerned j for by fubftituting ay
Equations. f0r x, it becomes
a*y* pa'y* -{-qaty* pa*tj -\-a*zzO
and dividing by o4,
and putting alfo .v-j- - =25} fo that x~—l—O, we
have a;2 4- -L —2
x
Equations
with equal
Roots.
y* +py*+w' +py+1=°>
an equation of the fame kind as the former.
220. That we may effe6t the propofed transforma¬
tion upon the equation
x* -\-px3 -f- qx* -\-px-\- l—O,
let every two terms which are equally diflant from the
extremes be colle6led into one, and the whole be di¬
vided by A?*, thus we have
** + pr+X" +^)+?=0*
Let us alftime A?-f-
Then 2 -j-
and x2 -{-
z*—2
I T.
Thus the equation x* -j~ — + ?—0
becomes 2514/>2j4-5'—2—0.
. And fmee z 4—=z, therefore ‘2SA?4-t=o.
x
221. Hence, upon the whole, to determine the roots
of the biquadratic equation
x* J^-px3 -f-qx2 -\-px-\- rzzo,
we have the following rule.
Form this quadratic equation,
22* -\-p^ +</ 2 — 0,
and find its roots, which let us fuppofe denoted by s'
and s". Then the four roots of the propofed equation
will be found by refolving two quadratic equations
X* •2,A?+I = 0, X* 
222. It may be obferved refpecting 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, b'
thole of the other, we have from the theory of equa-
Hence, by fubftitution, the propofed equation is
transformed into the following cubic equation
&pz2(q—3)2;-J-r—2p~o.
Therefore, putting z, z”, z'f', to denote its roots, the
fix roots of the propofed equation will be had by re¬
folving thefe three quadratics
x2—swv+iizio, x2—ad'ar-l-izro, x*—z"'x-^lz=o,
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-
poled equation are the reciprocals of the other half.
224. The 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-
Itances from the firft and laft have the fame coefficients,
and which are called reciprocal equations, beeaufe any
fuch equation has the fame form when you fubftitute
for x its reciprocal —,
* x
225. If the greateft exponent of the unknown quan¬
tity in a reciprocal equation is an odd number, as in
this example
Xs -\-px*-\-qx3-\-qx2-\-px
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 Ar-f~l.
Accordingly, if the divifion be actually performed, we
ffiall have in the prefent cafe
x*-\-(p—l)#3—{p—q—l)«2-j-(/J—1 = 0,
another reciprocal equation, in which the greateft ex¬
ponent of x is an even number, and therefore refolvable
in the manner we have already explained.
Sect. XIV. O f Equations which have Equal Roots*
tions aa'—l, and therefore a'= —, alfo b b' — i, and b'
a
now a, a\ b, b' are alfo the roots of the equation
at4 -{-/?x3 4-<p* -\-px -f-1=0.
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 5 and to that circumftance
we are indebted for the fimplicity of its refolution.
223. The following equation
xfi -\-qx* -\-rx3 -\-qx2 -\-px 1=0,
which is of the fixth order, admits of a refolution in all
refpedts fimilar to the former ; for by putting it under
this form
*3+^-+/>(*2+pr) +?(*+j) +,'=0>
226. When an equation has two or more of its roots
equal to one another, thole roots may always be difeo-
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 ; and which we now pro¬
ceed to explain.
227. Although the method of refolution we are to
employ will apply alike to equations having equal roots,
of every degree, yet, for the fake of brevity, we ftiall
take a biquadratic equation
a;4+/;a;3+<7£2-f-r#-f-/=o,
the roots of which may be generally denoted by a, b,
c, and </. Thus we have, from the theory of equations,
( #—a) (a;—£) —c) (a:—d ) = a;4 px3-\-qx2 -ft rx-\-s.
Let us put
A = (a?—a)(a;—b)ryX—c) A" = (a;—a)(x—c) (a:-—</)
A'= (x—a)(a;—b){x—cl) Aw= —c)(a?—d)
Then j
A L G
Equations
with equal A _ vj__„
Roots.
Then, hy adlual multiplication, tve have
+ahl
-j-ac > x—afo
+ bc}
A-'—x*
A"—a'3—a
-c¥
-a-j
—b t X1
-o
3}'
 C >- X*
+abl
-{-ad var-
-\-bdj
-abd
-{-ac 1
-{-ad t x—acd
-{-bdj
A"'=:x3—b") -{-bc~l
-\-bd> x—bed
+cd\
and taking the fum of thefe four equations
A -f-A' + A" -f Aw=:4x3—-\-iab
-f- 2ac
“1— 'T.ad
-{-2bc
-\-2bd
-\-2ed ^
But fince «, c, d are the roots of the equation
xA+px3 -^qx* -\-rx + ^”0,
we have —^a-\-b-{-c^{.d)-=2lp
2{abacadbc-{-bd-\-cd)—2q
—{abc-\-abd-{-acd-\- bcd}—r
Lueie jour e
*—3al
—3*(
-30
—a be
—abd
x—acd
—bed
Therefore, by fubllitution,
A + A'+A" - j- A'"—4 a?3 4- 3 px1 -\-2qx-\-r.
228. Let us now fuppofe that the propofed biqua¬
dratic equation has two equal roots, or a~b, then x—
a~x—b, and fince one or other of thefe equal factors
enters each of the four products A, A', A", A"1, it is
evident that A-j-A'-f A" -fA'", or 4X3 -f ^px1 -j- 2qx
~{-r muft be divifible by x—a, or x—b. Thus it ap¬
pears that if the propofed equation
x* -{-px3 4- qx2 4-fvr+J^ o
has two equal roots, each of them muft alfo be a root of
this equation
4X3-{-3pxi-{-2qx-{-r=o ;
for when the firft of thefe equations is divifible by
(fir—a)*, the latter is neceflarily divifible by x—a.
229. Let us next fuppofe that the propofed equation
has three equal roots or a—b—c, then two at leaft of
the three equal factors x—0, x—b, fir—f, muft enter
each of the four products A°, A', A", A'"} fo that in
this cafe A -f A' 4-A" 4. A'", or 4*3 4-3** 4. 2qx-{-r
muft be twice divifible by x—a. Hence it follows,
that as often as the propofed equation has three equal
roots,^ two of them muft alfo be equal roots of the
equation
4 fir3 -f3pr* 4-2^4. r— o.
23°. Proceeding in the fame manner, it may be
lliewn that whatever number of equal roots are in the
propofed equation
fir44q9fir34 gfi?* 4-rfir-f-jrzo
they will all remain except one, in this equation
4fir3 4- spx* 4- 2 jfir 4. r= o,
E 'B .R A. 643
which is evidently derived from the former, by multi- Equations
plying each of its terms by the exponent of fir in that with equal
term, and then diminilhlng the exponent by unity. Roots.
231. If we luppofe that the propofed equation has v
two equal roots or a—bf and alfo two other equal roots,
or cz=d, 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 </; fo that when
the former is divifible both by (fi;—a)* and {x—c)x, the
latter will be divifible by (.v—a) (fi;—r).
232. Ihe fame mode of reafoning may be extended
to all equations whatever ; fo that if we fuppofe
xm 4~Pfi;ffl~1 4- Qxm~ x +Sx*4-Ttf+U=o,
an equation of the mth degree, to have a divifor of this
form,
(*—*)" (x—dy (x—f) . .. &c.
The equatio 1
w*m“,4- (m- 1) Pfi?"*~a 4 (w—2) Qx”1-3 f-2S.fi?
4T=o,
which is of the next lower degree, will have for a di¬
vifor
(x—ay-1 (x—dy-1 (x—fy-1... &c.
and as this laft produft muft be a divifor of both equa¬
tions, it may always be difeovered by the rule which has
been given (§ 49.) for finding the greateft common di¬
vifor of two algebraic quantities.
233- Again, as this laft equation muft, in the cafe
of equal roots, have the fame properties as the original
equation j therefore, if we multiply each of its terms by
the exponent of x, and diminifh that exponent by unity,
as before, we have
x-m2 4 (m—i) (/«—2) Pxm~3 4 (ra—2)
O—3) Qxm~4 428=0,
a new equation, which have for a divifor
(*—a)n-2 (fi?—d)?-1 (x—fy~2,
where the exponent of the fadlors are one lefs than
thofe of the equation from which it was derived ; and
as this laft 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 greateft common mea-
fure 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
fi?s—i^x4-{-6yx3—i7ifi?*42i6fi?—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 muft therefore feek the greateft com¬
mon meafure of the propofed equation and this other
equation, which is formed agreeably to what has been
fliewn § 228,
yx4—52fi?3420ifi?*—342x4216=0,
and the operation being performed, we find that they
have a common divifor x3—8x*42ix—18, which is of
the third degree, and confequently may have feveral
factors. Let us therefore try whether the laft equation
and the following,
2ox3—156fi?,4402*—342=0>
which is derived from it, as directed in § 228. have
any common divifor 5 and, by proceeding as before, we
4 M 2 find
644 ALGEBRA.
Equations find that they admit of this divifor x—3, which is alfo
with ratio, a fa&or of the laft; divifor ^r3—8x*-{-2i..r—18, and
nal Root,, therefore the product of remaining factors is immedi¬
ately found by divifion to be x*—5*4-6, which is evi¬
dently refolvable into x—2 and *—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)*; and that
the common divifor of the lecond and third equations
is x—3. Hence it follows that the propofed equation
has (a?—2)1 for one fa6tor, and (*—3)3 for another
faftor j fo that the equation itfelf may be exprefled
thus, (a:—2)*(x—3)3z=o, and the truth of this con-
clufion may be eafily verified by multiplication.
Sect. XV. Refolution of Equations ivhofe Roots are
rational.
235. It has been fliewn in § 169 that the laft term
of any equation is always the product of its roots taken
with contrary figns : Hence it follows that when the
roots are rational they may be difcovered by the follow¬
ing rule.
Bring all the terms of the equation to one fide } find
all the divifors of the laft term, and fubftitute them fuc-
ceflively for the unknown quantity in the equation.
Then each divifor, which produces a refult equal to o,
is a root of the propofed equation.
Ex. 1. Let at3—4A:*—7A?4-iozro be the propofed,
equation.
Then, the divifors of 10 the laft term are 1, 2, 5, 10,
each of which may be taken either pofitively, or nega¬
tively, and thefe being fubftituted fucceffively for a?, we
obtain the following refults.
By putting 4-1 for a:, i— 4— 74-10= o
— 1 —1— 44- 74-10= 12
4-2 8— 16—144-10=—12
—2 —8— 164-144-10= o
+5 125—100—354-10= o
Here the divifors which produce refidts equal to o
are 4-1,—2 , and 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-
form the propofed equation into another, in which the
laft 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. Let#4—-qy3—8#4-32=0 be propofed.
Here the divifors to be tried are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,. 32,;
each taken either pofitively or negatively \ but to pre¬
vent the trouble of lb many fubftitutions, let us^ tranf-
form the equation, by putting *4*1 for y.
Then y4 = a44-4*34- 6xi-j- 4*4- 1
—4y3= —4V3—12xz—12x— 4
—8y = — 8a?— 8
4-32 = 4~32
Therefore x* — 6V1—16x4-21=0
is the transformed equation, and the divifors of the laft Equations
term are -j-i, —1, 4-3, —3, 4-7, —7. Thefe being with ratio-
put fucceffively for x, we get 4-1 and 4~3 f°r two nal Roots,
roots of the equation j and as to the two remaining ' v
roots, it is eafy to fee that they muft be imaginary.
They may, however, be readily exhibited by conlider-
ing that the equation a?4—6#*—16x4-21=0 is divilible
by the product of the two fadtors x—1 and x—3, and
therefore may be reduced to a quadratic. According¬
ly, by performing the divifion, and putting the quotient
equal o, we have this equation,
x* 4-4X 4* 7 “}■—
the roots of which are the imaginary quantities
—2-f-x/—3 and —2——3 ? f° fince #=*4-1»
the roots of the equation y4—qy3—8y4-32=o are thefe,
y=4-2, y=4-4, y=—14-\/—3> y=—I—\/--3-
If this literal equation were propofed
X3 (3a 4"^)** ft-(20* 4* —2fl*£=0,
by proceeding as before, we fhould find x=za, X=z2at
at = A for the roots.
237. To avoid the. trouble of trying all the divifors
of the laft term, a rule may be inveftigated for re—
ftricting the number to very narrow limits as fol¬
low's : •
Suppofe that the cubic equation a;3 4-/,**ft-yx4-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 afluming
y—x—1, and the laft term of the transformed equa¬
tion will be 1 -f y ft-yft-r. Again, by affirming y=x -f 1
another equation will be formed whole roots exceed
thofe of the propofed equation hy unity, and the laft
term of this other transformed equation will bfe
 i-\-p—q+r. And here it is to- be obferved, that
thefe two quantities 1 4'’/>ft''7ft'r ani^  \~P—
are formed from .the propofed equation x3 -^-px1 -\-qx~{-r
hy fubftituting in it fucceffively 4*. 1 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 =0 and the values of the y’s are fome
of the divifors of i4-/>4-y4-r and—14-71—y-J-r re-
fpedtively *, and thefe values are in arithmetical pro-
greffion, increafing by the common difference unity ?
becaufe x—1, x, xft- 1 are in that progreffion ; 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., o, —1,
&c. and find all the divifors ofthefums that refult 5 then
take out all the arithmetical progrellions that can be
found among thefe divifors, whole common difference is
l, and the values of a? will be among thefe terms of the,
pragreffions, which are the divitors of the refult ariling
from the fubftitution of x=o. When the feries increa-
fes, the roots will be pofitive 3 and, when it decreafes,
they will be negative.
Ex. 1. Let it be required to find a root of the equa¬
tion x3—v*— 10x4-6=0.
The
r
ALGEBRA.
Equations
with ratio¬
nal Roots.
The operation.
Subjiit.
KeJ'ult.
*=+n r-
x— o >#3—x2—io»-f-6=< -f-
x=—l} i+l
4
6
+ T4
Divifors. Ar. Pro
i. 2. 4.
1. 2. 3. 6.
I. 2. 7. 14.
645
Equations
with ratio¬
nal Roots^
111 this example there is only one progreffion, 4, 3, 2,
the term of which oppofite to the fuppofition of x~o
being 3, and the feries decreafing, wre try if—3 fubfti-
tuted 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 x3—x1—10^ + 6 be divided by
antl the quotient x*—^x-{~2 put =0, they will
appear to be 2 + ^2, and 2—>s/2.
Ex. 2. Let the propofed equation be
x4-\-x3—2gx1—9#+180=0,.
To find its roots.
Here there are four progreffions, two increafing and two
decreafing j hence by taking their terms, which are
oppofite to the fuppofition of x=o, we have thefe four
numbers to be tried as roots of the equation +3, -{-4,
—3> —5* °f which are found to fucceed.
238. It any of the coefficients ^)f the propofed equa¬
tion be a fra6Hon, the equation may be transformed in¬
to another, having the coefficient of the higheft power
unity, and thole of the remaining terms integers by
§189. and the roots of the transformed equation being
found, thole of the propofed equation may be eafily de¬
rived from them.
For example, if the propofed equation be x3—^x*
}Ax—6—o. Let us affiime xzz-, thus the equa-
• • „ 4
tion is transformed to
y* ly' , 3sy
65“ 65 + 76 _6-0’
°r y3—7y2 +14031—384=0,
one root of which is y=3 ; hence x~^-~^.
The propofed equation being now divided by x—| is,
reduced to this quadratic x*—x-\-8=o, the roots of
which are both impoffilde.
239* ^ hen 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 mav be certain that, whe-
ther the equation be pure or adfefted, its roots cannot
be exactly exprelfed either by whole numbers or ratio¬
2
nal fractions. This may be demonftrated by means of
the following propofition. If a prime number P be a
divifor of the prodiuft of two numbers A and B, it will
alfo be a divifor of at leaft one of the numbers.
240. Let us fuppofe that it does not divide B, and
that B is greater that P j then, putting q for the
greateft number of times that P can be had in B, and
B 1 TV
B' for the remainder, we have ^=9 + ^, and there-
P P
fore
AB
=?A-J-
AB'
P '
Hence it appears, that if P be a divifor of AB, it is
alfo a divifor of AB'. Now B' is lefs than P, for it is
the remainder which is found in dividing B by P j
therefore, feeing we cannot divide B' by P, let P be
divided by B', and q' put for the quotient, alfo B" for
the remainder 5 again, let P be divided by B", and q'!
put for the quotient, and B'" for the remainder, and
to on 5 and as P is fuppofed to be a prime number, it
is evident that this feries of operations may be conti¬
nued till the remainder be found equal to unity, which
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 performing
thefe operations we obtain the following feries of equa¬
tions,
Prr/B' +B"
Y=q" B"-j-B"/,
&.C.
1> and therefore
P—B"
y'
P—B'"
tt , . t>, AP—AB" ,
Hence we have AB'rr , and
9
g'AW AP—AB" , AB"
— = p—=A p-.
Now if AB be divifible by P, we have fhewn that
AB', andfconfequently q'AW is divifible by P, there¬
fore, from the laft equation, it appears that AB" mull.
alio be divifible by P.
Again, from the preceding feries of equations, we
AP AB'"
have AB"—   , and therefore
9
?"AB"_AP—AB'" 4 AB'"
P “ P ~A P~5
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 we ftiall *
atlaft come to a product of this form Ax 1, which
muft
646
ALGEBRA.
Equations raoft be divifible by P, and hence the truth of the pro-
with ratio- pofition is manifeil.
rial Roots.^ 241. It follows from this propofition, that if the
prime number P, which we have fuppofed not to be a
divifor of B, is at the fame time not a divifor of A, it
cannot be a divifor of AB the produdl of A and B.
242. Let — be a fraftion in its loweft terms, then
a
the numbers a and b have no common divifor ; but
from what has been juft now (hewn, it appears, that if
a prime number be not a divifor of a it cannot be a
divifor of ay, a or a', and in like manner, that if a
prime number is not a divifor of b, it cannot be a di¬
vifor of byb, ov b1; therefore, it is evident that n*
and b1 have no common divifor, and thus the fradtion
b*
-r is alfo in its loweft terms.
a
Hence it follows that the fquare of any fradtional
quantity is ftill a fradion, and cannot pofixbly be a
whole number ; and, on the contrary, that the fquare
root of a whole number cannot poffibly be a fradion j
fo that all inch whole numbers as are not perfed
fquares can neither have their roots exprefl’ed by inte¬
gers nor by fradions.
243. Since that if a prime number is not a divifor
of 0, it is alio not a divifor of a*, therefore if it is not a
divifor of 0, it cannot be a divifor oi ay a1 or a3, § 241,
and by reafoning in this way, it is obvious that if a
prime number is not a divifor of 0, it cannot be a di¬
vifor of an ; alfo, that if it is not a divifor of Z>, it can¬
not be a divifor of bn, therefore if — is a fradion in its
a
loweft terms, —- is alfo a fradion in its loweft terms ;
fo that any power whatever of a fradion 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 expreflible by an in¬
teger, fuch root cannot be exprefled by a fradion, but
is therefore irrational or incommenfurable.
244. Let us next fuppofe that
+  f-T*+U=°
is any equation W'hatever, in which P, Q, &c. denote
integer numbers •, then if its roots are not integers they
cannot poftibly be rational fradions. For, if poffible,
let us fuppofe x— -, a fradion reduced to its loweft
' a
terms, then, by fubftitution,
0” 0’“"* ^ 0,,—1 0
T»+ • • * +l£+U=o,
and, reducing all the terms to a common denominator,
0"+P0n-l£ -FQ0"-*£ f T0^‘-1+U^=o,
which equation may alio be expi-effed thus,
0n-f-^(P0"-1 +Q0n“*£ |-T«£"_2+U bn~r)=0,
■where the equation confifts of two parts, one of which
is divilible by b. But by hypothefis a and b have no
common meafure, therefore 0” is not divifible by
§ 243 *, hence it is evident that the two parts of the
equation cannot deftroy each other as they ought to do}
therefore x cannot poffibly be a fradion.
3
o vttt _, /• 7 . , Approxi-
oect. XVI. Refolution of Equations by Approxitna- mation.
tion. —v-—
245. When the roots of an equation cannot be ac¬
curately exprefled by rational numbers, it is necelfary
to have recourfe 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 wre
pleafe.
246. The application of the methods of approxima¬
tion is rendered eafy by means of the following princi¬
ples :
If two numbers, either whole or fradional, be found,
which, when fubftituted for the unknown! quantity in
any equation, produce refults with contrary figns } we
may conclude that at leaf! one root of the propofed
equation is between thofe numbers, and is confequentlv
real.
Let the propofed equation be
a?3—yx1 -|-1 ox—15=0,
which, by colleding the pofitive terms into one fum,
and the negative into another, may alfo be expreffed
thus,
at3-|-io.v—(5#*-}-i5)=o}
then to determine a root of the equation, we muft find
fuch a number as when fubftituted for x will render
a;3-|- ioat:=5#*+ 15.
Let us fuppofe x to have every degree of magnitude
from o upwards in the fcale of number, then &3-{-io#
and 5#*-ft 15 wrill both continually increafe, but with
different degrees of quicknefs, as appears from the fol¬
lowing table.
Succeffive values of x. o, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c.
—— ■ of AT3-flOW. 0,11, 28, 57, IO4, I75, 276, See.
 of 5**-f IJ. 15,20, 35, 60, 95,140, 195, &c.
By infpefting this table, it appears that while x in-
creafes from o to a certain numerical value, which ex¬
ceeds 3, the pofitive part of the equation, or a:3-ftlow,
is always lefs than the negative part, or $x* -ft 15 } fo
that the expreffion
w3-ft iow—(5#*+15), or w3—5«*-ftiow—15
muft neceffarily be negative.
It alfo appears that when w has increafed beyond that
numerical value, and which is evidently lefs than 4,
the pofitive part of the equation, inftead of being lefs
than the negative part, is now greater, and therefore
the expreffion
w3—jw* + low—15
is changed from a negative to a pofitive quantity.
247. Hence we may conclude that there is fome
real and determinate value of w, which is greater than
3, but lefs than 4, and which wdll render the pofitive
and negative parts of the equation equal to one another}
therefore that value of w muft be a root of the propofed
equation } and as what has been juft now Ihewn in a
particular cafe will readily apply to any equation what¬
ever, the truth of what has been afferted at § 246 is
obvious.
248. Two
ALGEBRA.
Approxi- 248. Two limits, between which all the roots of any
mation^ equation are contained, may be determined by the fol-
v ^ lowing propofition.
Let N be the greateft negative coefficient in any
equation. Change the figns of the terms taken alter¬
nately, beginning with the fccond, 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 N+ 1, and the negative roots be¬
tween o and —N'—1.
Suppofe the equation to be
x*—px3-\-ijxt—rx—j-—o,
which may be alfo exprelfed thus :
Then, whatever be the values of the coefficients p, q, r,
&c. it is evident that x may be taken fo great as to
render each of the quantities- — as fmall as we
X X* X3 X4
pleafe, and therefore their fum, or — - -L —  -  
x x* x3 x4
lefs than 1 j but in that cafe the quantity
or x4—■px3-^-qx1—rx-\-s
will be pofitive, andfuch, that the firft term »4is great¬
er than the fum of all the remaining terms ; therefore
alfo x4-^-qx1 the fum of the pofitive terms will be much
greater than px3-\-rx-l-s the fum of the negative terms
alone.
Hence it follows, that if a number be found, which
when fubftituted for x, renders the expreffion x4 px3
—rx—r 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
equation, or ivA-f-y#*, is greater than ^ w-f-r,
provided that x4 is greater than N *3 -f N ** -f N #
+N, or N 03+w*-f *4-1) ; but *34*+a?4-1 =
.'V4 1
I > therefore a pofitive refult will be obtained, if
for a: there be fubftituted a number fuch that
Nfw4—1
*, or x*—x^Nx4—N. Now this laft
condition will evidently be fulfilled if we take xs—x4=
Nx4, and from this equation we find 1 j but
it farther appears that the fame condition will alfo be
fulfilled as often as Xs—*4^Na;4, or v—i^N, that
is, x ^ N4-1, therefore N4-1 muft be a limit to the
greateft pofitive root of the propofed equation, as was
to be fhewn.
249. If —y be fubftituted for -f-w, the equation
^—■Px3+qxa—rx—rrro will be transformed into
f +'Zj/1 "i" —s—q 5 which equation differs from
the former only in the figns of the fecund, fourth, &c.
terms; and as the pofitive roots of this laft equation
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 two 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—4A;3*—3# 4-27=0*
Here the greateft negative coefficient being 4, it fol¬
lows, § 248, that the greateft pofitive root is lefs than
5* If —*/ be iubftituted for x, the equation is tranf-
formed to
3,44-4y3* 4_3y4_27=°,
an equation having all its terms pofitive 5 therefore, it
can have no pofitive roots, and confequently the propo¬
fed equation can have no negative roots j its real roots
muft therefore be contained between o and 4- 5.
251. To determine the limits of each root in particu¬
lar, let o, 1, 2, 3, 4, be fubftituted fucceffively for x ;
thus we obtain the following correfponding refults.
Subftitutions for a; o, I, 2, 3, 4
Kefults 4-27,4-21,4-5,—9,4-15.
Hence it appears that the equation has two real roots,
one between 2 and 3, and another between 3 and 4.
252. That we may approximate to the firft root, let
us luppofe x~2-}-y, where y is a fraction lefs than
unity, and therefore its fecond and higher powers but
fmall in comparifon to its firft power j hence, in find¬
ing an approximate value of y, they may be rejeded.
Thus we have
x4= 4-16 4- 3 2y, &c.
—4A?3rr—32—48^, &c.
—3A?=— 6— 3y,
4-27 =4-27
Hence o =: 5—ipy nearlj-,
and y—~z=..2() 5 therefore, for a firft approximation,
we have x—2.26.
Let us next fuppofe «r=2.26 4-y,> then, rejeding as
before the fecond and higher powers of y' on account of
their fmallnefs, we have
at4=:4-26.0874-46.172y', &c.
—4.v3=—46.172—61.2913/, &c.
—3* =— 6.780— 33/
4-27 =4-27
o =
Hence y'z
•I35 _
.135 — 18.1193/ nearly.
18.119—0°75, and ^=2-26+y=:2*2675*
This value of a; is true to the laft figure, but a more
accurate value may be obtained by fuppofing x—2.675
-j-3/', and finding the value oil/" in the fame manner
as we have already found thofe of y' and y; and thus
the
647
Approxi¬
mation.
* r^^ie %n denotes that the quantities between which it is placed are unequal. Thus crp^b, iignifies that
is greater than and that a is lefs than c.
64S
Approxi¬
mation.
A L G E
tlie approximation may lie continued till any required
degree of accuracy be obtained.
The lecond 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 firft, and wall appear
to be 3.6797, the approximation being carried on to
the fourth figure of the decimal, in determining each
root.
253. In the preceding example we have fliewn how
to approximate to the roots of an adfefted equation, but
the lame method will alfo apply to pure equations.
For example, let it be required to determine x from
this equation x3—2.
Becaufe x is greater than 1, and lefs than 2, but near¬
er to the former number than to the latter, let us affume
.r=i-f-y, then, rejefting the powers of 5/ which exceed
the firft, we have x3—i-j-3y, and therefore 2:= i-|-359
and nearly j hence .v=:i.3 nearly.
Let us next a'A'iime then, proceeding as
. I Q*1
before, we find 2=2.197-1-5.07^', hence 5/= 
=r—.039, and'#=1.3—.039=1.26 nearly.
To find a ftill nearer approximation, let us fuppofe
.'V=I.26-f-y,, then from this affumption we find y=
—.000079, and'therefore A?= 12.59921, which value
is true to the laft figure.
254. By a (fuming an equation of any order with li¬
teral coefficients, a general formula may be inveftigated,
for approximating to the roots of equations belonging to
that particular order.
Let us take for an example the cubic equation,
a;3-f-/>.v*-]-y#-7-r= o,
and fuppofe that x=:a-\-y, where a is nearly equal to
x, and 5/ is a fmall fraction. Then, by fubftituting
a-\-y for x in the propofed equation, and rejecting the
powers of y which exceed the firft, on account of their
fmallnefs, we have
«3 +p(i'1 -H* -fr *f(3a*+3^"+fiy—°*
Hence y=-
and xzza-
a3 -\-pfy2 ^.yaJf-r
3as + 2/>«-f?
«3-|-p«2 + ytf-|-r 2a3-}-/>«1—r
3«*+2p«+y
SQ* -\J 2pa -\-q
2^5. Let it be required to approximate to a root of
the cubic equation A;3-f-2A‘*-f-3.'r—50=0. Here />=2,
<y=3, and r=—50 *, and by trials it appears that x is
between 2 and 3, but neareft the latter number-, there-
ibre, for the firft approximation, a may be fuppofed =3,
hence we find
2«3 -f-po*—r
'$(? -\-2pa-\-q
118 5 *
Z’Z  TT*
B B A.
advantage of (hewing the progrefs made in the approxi- Approxi¬
mation by each operation. This improved form we now mation.
proceed to explain. —y—«
Let a denote the whole number, next lefs to the
root fought, and — a fradion, which, when added to a,
y
completes the root, then x—a-\--. If this value of x
be fiibftituted in the propofed equation, a new equation
involving y will be had, which, when cleared of frac¬
tions, will necelfarily 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 x~
But b being only an approximate value of y,
in the fame manner as a is an approximate value of a:,
we may fuppofe y—b-\ -, then, by fubftituting ^ +
for y, we ffiall have a new equation, involving only y',
which muft be greater than unity } putting therefore L’
to denote the next whole number lefs than the root of
, 1 hb' 1
the equation involving y', we have ^—,
and fubftituting this value in that of x, the refult is
b<
*=“+ wqx
for a fecond approximate value of x.
To find a third value we may take y'zzzb'^—then
y
if b" denote the next whole number lefs than y", we
. 1 b'b"-{-i ,
have «'=£'+-77,=: —jjt- , whence
y-h+
b"~~ b"
ib" bb'b"Jrb"Jrb
brb"+i
b'b"+i
b'b" + l
, and
*-u-r-bb'b"+b"+V
and fo on to obtain more accurate approximations.
257. We ffiall apply this method to the following
example,
x3—7A;-{-7=0.
Here the pofitive roots muft be betxveen O and 8, let us
therefore fubftitute fucceffively, o, 1, 2, ... to 8, and
we obtain refults as follow :
o.
Subftitutions.
3> 4» 5> 6»
Hefults.
8,
By fubftituting for a in the formula, and proceed¬
ing as before, a value of x would be found more exaft
than the former, and fo on we may go as far as we
pleafe.
256. The method we have hitherto employed for ap¬
proximating to the roots of equations, is known by the
name of the method of fuccejjivefubjlitutioiis, and was
firft propofed by Newton. It has been fince improved
by Lagrange, who has given it a form which has the
+7>+1>-M, + i3> + 43> +97> +i8l+30I> +463>
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 5 but that whatever fucceffive magnitudes x has
greater than 2, the refults increafe } we may therefore
reafonably conclude that if the equation have any pofi¬
tive roots they muft be between I and 2. According¬
ly, by fubftituting 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 fucceffively for
xy we find thefe refults 4'-328,—-05^? —•ICl4» +-:232*
and
ALGEBRA.
Approxima- and as there are here two changes of the figns, it fol-
tion. lows that the equation has' two pofitive roots, one be-
V ""v tween 1.2 and 1.4, and another between 1.6 and 1.8.
Hence it appears, that to find either value of x, we
—4, and to find a nearer value we may put xzz—3 —
— ; hence we have y3—20y2—py—irzo, andy^'20,
y-^.21 ; and therefore, for the firft approximation,
649
may afi’ume A'’—1-j-—j thus, by fubftitution, we have
f—4f + 3!/+1=c>-
The limit of the pofitive root of this lall equation is 5,
and by fubllituting o, 1, 2, 3, 4, fucceflively for y, it
w'ill lie found to have two, one of which is between
1 and 2, and the other between 2 and 3. Therefore,
for a firil approximation, we have
x. 1 4— 1 ‘, v x —j—that is, 2, v — '1 ■
To approach nearer to the firil value of y, let us take
y“ I -4- —, and therefore
y
/3—2y'2—y'+xrro.
This laft equation will be found to have only one real
root between 2 and 3, from which it appears, that yz=
X —j-'rr——'3', and .iv~t -fix yr
Let us next fuppofe y'z=2-f-“77j hence we find
y/3_3y/2_45,"—j ^
and from this equation y" is found to be between 4 and
5. Taking the leaft limit, we have
y—2+!=!) y~xV? a?=i+-/t—iy*
It is eafy to continue this procefs by affuming y"=
4 + y77» and fo on, as far as may be judged neceflary.
We return to the fecond value of #, which was
found —by the firfi, approximation, and which cor-
refponds to y—2. Putting y=r 2 and fubftituting
this value in the equation y3—4y!!4-3y +1 = O, which
■was formerly found, we get
/3+y2—2/—1=0,
this equation, as wrell as the correfponding equation
employed in determining the other value of #, has only
one root greater than unity, which root being between
1 and 2, let us take y'—1, we thence find
y—3> and #=l4-y—y«
Put y = i4—y, and we thence find by fubftitution
y
y'n—3y'n—4y"—1=°,
an equation which gives y" between 4 and 5 j hence,
as before,
7/   ^ 7/-—■ 1 4 «T 9
That wre may proceed in the approximation, we have
only to fuppofe and fo on. The equation
x3—7^4-7 has alfo a negative root between —3 and
Vol. I. Part II.
r
—3—-£-To =—By putting y= 204=-, &c. ive may
y
obtain fucceflive values of a, each of which will be more
exact than that which preceded it.
258. The fucceffive equations which involve y, y',
y" 1 &c. have never more than one root greater than
unity, urtlefs that two or more roots of tlie propofed
equation are contained between the limits 1/, and <7 4-r?
but when that circumftance has place, as in the preced¬
ing example, feme one ol the equations involving ?/, ?/.
&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 particular roots of
the propofed equation contained between the limits a
and 4-1.
Sect. XVII. Of Infinite Series.
259. The refolving of any propofed quantity into a
feries, is a problem of confiderable importance in the
application ot algebra to the higher branches of the ma¬
thematics 5 and there are various methods by which it
may be performed, fuited to the particular forms of the
quantities which may become the fubjetft of coniidera-
tion.
260. Any rational fraction may be refolved into a
feries, by the common operation of algebraic divifion,
as in the following examples :
OX
Ex. I. To change  into an infinite feries.
a—xfix
ax—a2
Operation.
fy, J 'V'4-
iA/ iA» lA. q
ix ■T~r+~2 +77’ ^cc>
4-a3
4-**
X3
a
+T
X 3
X*
+-
A4
Thus it appears, that
vV i/V tX ~
zx-\——4-—4-—-4-, &c.
Here the law of the feries being evident, the terms
may be continued at pleafure.
Ex. 2. It is required to convert
finite feries.
(fir4-.y);
4N
into an in-
«2 +
Infinite
Series.
650 - A L G E
J^+2,v + *>= (-V + ?-4|+'&C-
o*4-2flA: + .v*
-—lax—x
—-lax—4*21—
2A3
B R A.
into feries, and which is alio of very extenilve u£e in the
higher parts of the mathematics, coniifts in atfuming 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 fra&ion
is to be converted into a
lx*
+ 3**+ m
6a:3 , 5a4
+3**+—
‘ J a a
a'-^ax+x'1
feries proceeding by the powers of x ; we are therefore
to affume
~j=rA-fBA;+CA;,4-Ih?3 + EAr4+> &o»
a
3 a:4
a*
Therefore
2a: 3A:2 4 a: 3 JA?'
Tw—1 -+^~~
a*A+azB\ +a2C') +«2Dl +“ 1
S + aA \ X -i-aVU'+a c[x*+aY>[ x*+, &c. J- =0.
J I + B3 + Cj 3
    -, &.C.
(c + a:)2 a 1 a2 a3 o4
the law of continuation being evident.
261. A fecond method by which algebraic quanti¬
ties, whether rational or irrational, may be converted
-f-rt2D
• x2 -j-fl C
+ E
Now the quantities A, B, C, D, &c. being fuppofed
to be entirely independent ot any particular value ol x,
it follows that the whole expreffion can only be =0,
upon the fuppofition that the terms which multiply the
fame powers of x are feparately —o for if that were
not the cafe, it would follow that x had a certain de¬
terminate relation to the quantities A, B, C, &c. which
is contrary to what we have all along fuppofed. I 0
determine the quantities A, B, C, &c. therefore, we
have this feries of equations,
a2A—a2 =0 Hence Am
A 1
a2B-|-«A. =ro
a2C-f-aB -{-Azro
c2D+aC + B = o
B=—
a a
c--———=0
a1 -\-ax -^-x2
where A denotes thefe terms of the feries into which
x dots not at all enter j Ba? the terms which contain
only the firft power of x; Cx1 the terms which con¬
tain only the fecond power, and fo on. Let both lides
of the equation be multiplied by a* -\-ax-\-x2, fo as to
take away the denominator of the fraction, and let the
numerator a2 be tranfpofed to the other fide^ fo that the
whole expreffion may be —O, then
-f-/i2E
x3 -f-fl H J-a;4-J-, &c.
+ E
minate coefficients, let it be required to exprefs the
fquare root a2—x2 by means of a feries. For this pur-
pofe we might affume
—x2—A -j- BA? -f- Ca:*+DxJ -j-Ex4 -|-, &c. •,
but as ive would find the coeffieients of the odd powers
of x, each =0, let us rather affume
a2—x*~A-f-BxI+Cx44-Dx6-f-?
then fquaring both fides, and tranfpofing, we have
f A2 + 2AB-) +2AC-) +2AD-)
0=4 -4- 1 > x2 >A?4 1 x^+Scc.
(_—a2 j + B*3 +2BC3
=0 and A~a
1 1
D=—
Hence A*—a2
2AB4-I
sAC-fB1
a
&c.
fl2E+oI) -j- C=o
&c.
Here the laiv 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 immedi¬
ately follow each other,
fl2R-|-«Q+B=o 5
and from this equation, by means of the coefficients al-
AD+BC
&.C.
=0
B=-rA=-
BJ
la
1
^ 2A 8<j3
X)— ?^= —
A 16a?
&e.
and fubflituting for A, B, C, &c. their values
/ ^ x2 x4 x6
la
H= —
.7’
ready determined, we find I—o, G— —,
K—o, S’C c. ^ . —-. in ^ in —  
Therefore, refuming the affumed equation, and fub- 3x/°3 + *J
ftituting for A, B, C, &c. their refpeaive values, we
have
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 expreffions
s/ a2—A
a" xx>
  —-—1 >j< + 1
ar-\-ax-\-x2 a a3
v\
•=* +
. —* +, &C.
nl
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 we ex¬
plain this method, it will be proper to fliew how the
theorem itfelf may be inveifigated.
Let a-\-x be any binomial quantity, which is to be
railed
laiinite
Series.
railed to a power denoted by —, where m and n de¬
note any numbers either politive or negative. Or be-
\ x —
i +“ “ we put-=y, then (a + A;) '*
ALGEBRA. '651
Becaufe un— i +y and by fubtracting Infinite
the latter equation from the former, un—vn~y—2?, Series,
hence, and from the laft feries, we have ' ^ '
—an x(i+y)'‘ j therefore inftead of a-\-x we may
confider I +y, which is fomewhat more fimple in its
form.
264. By confulcring feme of the firft powers of 1 -f-tf,
viz.
(l-j-.v) =I-{- .V
(I I -f- 2.V -j- x1 \
(l-j-a?)3r=i-f-3.v-}-3^2+ a;5
(i-|-a;)4—1-I-4A'-}- 6x* 4- 4-'v3 -j-.v4
&c.
it appears that the powers of 1 -J-.v have this form
1-|-A:v-!“B.¥I-|_Cv3-j-T).Y4-I-} &c.
where the coefficients A, B, C, 1), &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
q
had this form —, then the fuppofition of x=o would
render that term indefinitely great, whereas the whole
feries ought in that cafe to be reduced to unity.
265. Let us therefore affume
(i-fy)n =i+Ay-fBy1 + CyS+Dy4 + ,&c.
Then wre have alfo
m
(1+20" =i-j-A«4-B!s*-j-C2;34-Dz4-f-, &c.
X X
Let us put (i4-y)n=«, and therefore
(t+y)” =um, (1-j-z)n r=,ym, then, taking the differ¬
ence between the two feries, we have
tfn—vm— A(y—2;) 4-B(y*—2;*) -j- C(y5—«5) 4* D
(y4—^4)4->
urn—vm A ( y—z)
un—vft y
D(y4—2;4)
B(y*—52*) C(y?—2!3)
y-%
y—%
+
y—%
f, &c.
266. But every expreflion of the form um—vm is
divifible by u—v, when m is a whole number, thus we
have
um—vm—(ii—y)
un—vnz={u—4-&""
fo that if wre fubflitute for
uin—v1
un—vr
. 4-wiy"-2 )
its value as found
from thefe equations, and divide each term of the feries
by the denominator y~«, we have
um~* 
a"-1 -\-un~2v ... 4*a‘y"—1 4-^n-z
A4-B(y4-!z) 4-C(y*4-y2;4-21) 4-D(y34-y*2; 4-yx;*
4-2S3)4-E(y44-y32;4-y,2;:‘4-y2;34-2s4)4-, &c.
Now as this laft equation muft be true, whatever be
the values ofy and %, we mav fuppofe yrriZ, but in that
cafe 1 -fyrr 1 4- ^ or un=zvnj and therefore n=zv. Thus
the equation is reduced to
A 4- 2By 4- 3Cy2 4- 4Dy3 4- 5Ey4 4“» &c-
or to the following :
ffl
— aw=««(A4-2By4-3€y14-4Dy34-5Ey44-, &c.),
m
fo that, putting for um and un their values (14*y)~ and
i+y, we have
7/L —
- —(i4-y)»= (i+y)(A4-2By4.3Cy*4-4Dy34-5Ey44-,&c.
_5'A4-2By4-3Cy,4-4Dy34-5Ey44-, &c.
1 + Ay + 2By24-3Cy54-4Dy44-, &c.
But from the equation originally affumed we have
t+ta^+vbJ*+tcJ3+>+-
therefore
_ 4. - Ay 4- ^By24-^Cy34-^Dy44-, &c.
-_yA+ 2 %4-3Cy* 4-4Dy* 4- iEy44-, &c.
1 + A y4~ 2By* 4-3Cy3 4- 4Dy44-, &c.
And as the coefficients of the terms have no connexion
with any particular value of y, it follows, that the co¬
efficient of any power of y on the one fide of the equa¬
tion muft be equal to the coefficient of the fame power
of y on the other fide. Therefore, to determine
A, B, C, &c. we have the following feries of equa¬
tions :
4 N 2
A-
6 s 2
Hence A“
» 7// *
2 B -f- Arr —A
3C4- 2B=—B
4B+3C=--iC
5E+4r)=-D
Sec.
B=
A L G E
(f-1) A(»-»)
Infinite
BRA.
— is pofitive, but the lame conclufion will be obtain- Series.
« f*
T?2 , . •
ed when — is negative. For, changing -\-Tn into
C=
(v-)
B
<?-!)
D=
2n
B (w—in)
~ 3«
_ C (m — ^n)
-m, and obferving that
have
um—um
Vm
U m yjm
4/1
U~m—V~m __ I fvm—U™\ _ I (um—
nil umvm \ Un Vn ) urnvm\un 1)n )'
Y-
Y>fm—A s Now we have already found, that Avhen u-=zv, the
\n *) D (m—4/?) ' J
cafe
5
&c.
Sn
ljWl—'Urn T71U"* x
fraction becomes  ; therefore, in the fame
ur-—vn nun-i ?
Or, fubftituting for A, B, C, &c. their values as
determined from the preceding equations :
— 1 mu
w2m ^ ««""
A——
B=:
i{m—n)
1. 2 n*
m( m—n) (m—in)
Y— —
I. 2 .3
^ m(m—n) {m—in) (m—3 «)
1.2 • 3 *4
 /»(«—n) (m—in) (/»—3«) (m—^n)
— 1. 2 . 3 .4 .5 «S
&C.
267. Refuming now the affumed equation
(i+3')Tr=I+Ay+%l+%3+» &c-
a; ™ :
and obferving that —~y and (o-[-a) “ " (1 -f-^)
■ ■ y ■ ' f. •, .
we have
A(w—«)a*
2«
(a4-r) " = ( i-| -f.
\na
xi C(m—3«)a4 \
*   ^3-A-4+,&C.
4« a4 /
B (wj— 2«)
3*
—-yw nu nw
and from this laft expreffion we derive the fame value
—m
for u~m or (1 -\-y) ’* as before, regard being had to the
change of the fign of the exponent.
269. If we fuppofe m to be a pofitive integer, and
n— 1, the feries given in laft article for the powers of
a-\-x will always terminate, as appears alfo from the
m
operation of involution 5 but if m be negative, or —
a fra£tion, the feries will confift 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 fhew how it is to be applied to the expanfion of al¬
gebraic quantities into feries upon either of the two laft
hypothefes.
f ^
270. Ex. 1 * It is required to exprefs 3by means-
of a feries.
c3
where A, B, C, &c. denote the coefficients of the pre¬
ceding terms, or
m(m—n) -
Becaufe
Therefor
r 1
r-J-sz 2; ’
— — m  
> q. X)n nn ct n —J— —a n x
v « ’ I. in*
m'
1 . 2
* +
(m—n) (m—in) 12
i —4—  --a « a;5
. 3 «5
z(w—«) («—in) {m—3«)2r±’,
c ’ = 1 =GigV
C'+^- (I+2y 1. “>
i-ft—J be compared with (rt-j-.v)” and
have
1 . 2
&c.
c—1, x—~, —-3, n—\.
and either of thefe formulae may be confidered as a ge¬
neral theorem for railing a binomial quantity a-f-x to
any power whatever.
268. In determining the value of the expreffion
.,m „.m
when u—v, it has been taken for granted that
Hence, by fubftituting thefe values of a, x, m, n in the
firft general formula of § 267, we have
un—vn
(r-j-2;)3
r.
L
+ML-_3AiHl+j&c.
l.2r* i.2.3r’
3« 62;*
“ +~JY
10Z ■
I cz4
-J-, &c.
Ex. 2.
Reverfion
of Series.
ALGEBRA.
Ex. 2. It is required to exprefs by the form of a feries.
Bccaufe
Therefore Va + bzz Va* -f ^=oT(i+-J "
(b\J ” b
i + - )T with (a + A?)« we have a=zI, x=~, mz=i, «=3,
G / tt
and fubftitute as in laft example
*  \ ^30 3.6aJ 3.6.q«3 3.6.9.12a4 /
'/7+31 _ \t Jb il . i°44 , i. \
- a \I-^3a 903 243a4 )
r
('•5+*3)t
(,+4t)
(r*+iS^)4
j 22:J 2.CZ6 2. c.8z9 , 2. C.8.11!312
<! —T —-— ^      &(•
2^;
l
52,0
402!y
.9.
1102-1
3r:
8l/9
243'
&c.
653
Reverfion
of Series.
T
Ex. 3. It is required to refolve ■ ■■—into a feries.
(r3 -f-2; It
r* .
Becaufe — —r=rJ X (^3 +23) , if we raife r3 -f 2! 3 to the —f power, and multiply the refulting fe-
ries by r2, we fliall have the feries required. Or the given quantity may be reduced to a more fimple form thus 5
becaufe r?-{-2>3 rz r3 X ^
Therefore (r3 4-;x3)Tzz:r*( 14—j-J , and
W=(i+^)’T- Hence
V'a2_i_jC2
Ex. 4. It is required to find a feries equal to — 
V «2—arz
Firft by the binomial theorem we have
==r(a4_*3) 3=i+
2fl 8a3 '16us
3*4 , 5-r<5
O r 2rt3 ~8«5 * 1607
, &c.
y/ a2 .1
Therefore, by taking the product of the two feries,
and proceeding in the operation only to fuch terms as
involve the 6th power of a, we find
sj a2-{-?
\jr<
, A2 W4 X6 n
:I 1 a H x? ^c’
« 2«4 ^ 2a6
Sect. XVIII. Of the Reverfion of Series.
271. 1 HE method of indeterminate coefficients,
tyiiich vye have already employed when treating of infi¬
nite feries, may alfo be applied to what is called the re¬
verting of feries 5 that is, having any quantity expref-
fed by an infinite feries compofed of the powers of an¬
other quantity, to exprefs, on the contrary, the latter
quantity by means of an infinite feries compofed of the
powers of the former.
272. Evt y=ti-\-ax-\-bx1-\-cx*-\-dxA'&c.
Then to revert the feries we mull find the value of
x in terms of y. For this purpofe we lhall tranfpofe w,
and put zzry—//, then
2;zzfl.r-|-/y»2-}-eAr3-f-(/T4-}-, &c.
Now when x~o, it is evident that z~o, therefore we
may affume for x a feries of this form,
A»4-B2;2-f-Cz3-j-D2;4-f-, &c.
where the coefficients A, B, C, D, &c. denote quanti¬
ties 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,
A2;4-B2S*4-C2;3 4-Da44~, &c.
be
654
A L G
X, X*
Ot'Loga- be found by multiplication, and fubftituted for
rithms, &c. x3, &c. refpedively, in the equation
o = —•zJi-ax-\-bxt-\-cx31 &c*
thus we have
-j-aa; —flAia-f-nB k*-|- aCz3 «D:x4-j-£k-c-l
•Jf-bx'2'— -4-^A*;z2-4-2^AB2s3 4-2^AC«4-i-&c. |
^ \~o
-j-fiz3r= + cA5!33+3cAiB«4+&.c. |
■^-d^zz “f~ </A4jZ4 -J-&c. J
&c.
and, putting the coefficients of £, ss*, z3> &c. each =0,
oA—i = o, aB-|-^A*=:o, oC-{-2^AB 4-cA3=0
«D -f-2Z»AC -f-^B1 -}-3cA2B4-r/A4=o, &c.
thefe equations give
A=i
a
B=— —
a3
„ 2b1—ac
E B R A.
powers of 2, for inflance, may become equal, either ex- Of Loga-
a6tly, or nearer than by any affignable dilference, to all ntlims, Sic.
numbers whatever, from o upwards. If the exponents v '
be integers, we fliall have only the numbers which form
the geometrical progreffion, I, 2, 4, 8, 16, See. j but
the intermediate numbers may be expreffed, at leatl
nearly, by means of fractional exponents. Thus the
numbers from o to 10 may be exprelfed by the powers
of 2 as follows :
2
2
2i.S8S—
= 2
=3
2* =4
22^=5
2l-f8S —
2i-8°7=
23' =
23-i7°=
23.322_
In like manner may fractions be exprefled by the powers
of 2. Thus
 ,-3-322
•2:
■—2-2-3,z,
•3
= ——-2-1-’37, &(
D__ sbi—jabc+^d
a7
&c.
Therefore xzz—%— —-
a a3
^—^abc-^-a'd
2b~—ac
* + ~5 ^
' + , &C
273. As an example of the application of this formu¬
la, let it be required to determine x from the equation
yzzx
In this cafe we have
5S=y, <3=1, b——\.
&c.
&(
- * ,1— 
-T> a— 
Therefore, fubftituting thefe values, we have
V~ V
■■y+-+L6
3 jA
+k+'
&C.
where it is obfervable that the exponents are now nega¬
tive.
In the fame manner may all numbers be exprelfed by
the powers of 10. Thus,
icr
io-
10.*77 —
&c
= 2
= 3
10“ = 'I
10--C99 — .2
IO-.S23 —
&C.
= *3
274. In the equation
ai/-\-bif-\-cy3-\-, &c. zza'x-^b'x'Xc'x3-}-, &c.
in which both tides are exprelfed by feries, and it is
required to find y in terms of x, we mutl afl’ume, as
before,
y=A#-j-Btf2-j-Cx3-f-DA;4-j-, &ci
and fubftitute this feries and its powers for y and its
powers in the propofed equation j afterwards, by bring¬
ing all the terms to one fide, and making the coefficients
of each power of y, —O, a feries of equations will he
had by which the quantities A, B, C, D, &c. may be
determined.
Sect. XIX. Of Logarithms and Exponential ®hian-
tities.
,275. All pofitive numbers may be confidered as
powers of any one given affirmative number. The
276. Even a fraction might be taken in place of 2,
or 10, in the preceding examples j and fuch exponents
might be found as would give its powers equal to all
numbers, from o upwards. There are therefore no li¬
mitations with refpeCt to the magnitude of the number,
by the powers of which all other numbers are to be ex-
prelfed, except that it muft neither be equal to unity,
nor negative. If it 3vere =1, then all its powers
would alfo be =1, 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 whatever,
and r a given number, a number x may be found,
fuch, that rxzzy, and a?, that is, the exponent of r
which gives a number equal to y, is called the logarithm
ofy-
278. The given number r, by the powers of which
all other numbers are exprefied, 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 follows:
1. The fum of two logarithms is equal to the lo¬
garithm of their produCt. Let y and y' be two num¬
bers, and x and x* their logarithms, fo that rx—y, and
rx'—y', then rx x rX'—y,ji or rx+x'z=.yy'; hence, from
the definition, x-\-x' is the logarithm of yy\ that is,
the fum of the logarithms of y and f is the logarithm
of yif.
2. The difference of the logarithms of two num
bers is equal to the logarithm of their quotient $ for
if
1 ;
E
ALGEBRA. 655
OfL°ga- .f } T . 1 nx(r‘x r) ,, , »*(«*—I) ("^—2) , OfLo^a.
mhms^&c. r—y ana -y > inm r*, ~ y> °ri ~ y’ tliere 1 -tnxa+ -7-T —a + ------ rithms, See.
fore, by the definition, *—x' is the logarithm of A - nx(nx——2)(nx s')
y H   ^ —**+, &c.
that is, the difference of the logarithms of y and y' is o H-
V
the logarithm of -^7.
V
3. Let n he any number whatever, then, log. N',:rr«
X log. N. For N" is N multiplied into itfelf w times,
therefore the logarithm of N" is equal the logarithm of
N added to itfelf n times, or to « X log. N.
280. From thefe properties of logarithms it follows,
that it we poffefs tables by which we can alfign the lo¬
garithm eorrelponding to any given number, and alfo
the number correfponding to any given logarithm, the
operations of multiplication and divifion of numbers may
be reduced to the addition and fubtraftion of their lo¬
garithms, and the operations of involution and evolution
to the more fimple operations of multiplication and di¬
vifion. Thus, if two numbers x and y are to be multi¬
plied together, by taking the fum of their logarithms,
we obtain the logarithm of their produ6t, and, by in-
ipedfing the table, the product itfelf. A fimilar obfer-
vation 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 con-
ftrudtion. Thus if the radical number be 10, we fliall
have the common fyftem of logarithms, but if it were
2*7182818 we fhould have the logarithms firll con-
ftru&ed by Lord Napier, which are called hyperbolic
logarithms*
282. We have already obferved (§ 277), that the
relation between any number and its logarithm is ex-
preffed by the equation rx—y, where 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 exponent would in¬
volve no difficulty ; if, however, the exponent x were
confidered as the unknown quantity while r and y were
fuppofed given, the equation to be refolved would be
oi a different form than any that we have hitherto con-
luleied. Lquations of this form are called exponential
equations. Torefolve Inch an equation is evidently the
lame thing as to determine the logarithm of a given
number, and this problem we lliall now proceed to in-
veftigate.
283. We therefore refume the equation rT—?/, where
15 y, und y denote, as before, we are to find a value of
x in terms of r and y. Let us fuppofe and
yzz 1 -f 'U, then our equation will Hand thus .
O+'O^i+y.
— T I I  O 2 . nin 1)(" 2) ,
— 1 -l-nv-1—  -V* -1—    lV3
1*2 1*2*3
' I * 2 * 3 * 4
Therefore fubtraefing unity from both fides, and divid¬
ing by n, we have
x(sx—iXnX-z)
1*2 ' I •' 2 * 3
x(nx—i)(nx—2)(nx—3) 4
“F a -{-, occ.
X * 2 * 3 * 4
1*2 ' I * 2 * 2
0--i)0—2)0—3)
2 * 3 * 4
2 * 3
-a4-}-, &C.
and by fuppofing the faftors which conftitute the terms
of each ieries to be aftually multiplied, and theprodiufts
arranged according to the power of n, the laft equation
will have this form,
+Rn3— - Vi4-}-, &c.
4/
=v + 0-4)^ + O'* +0 + \)v3 + (/>"« 4. y',P
—i)u4 + , &c.
Here the coefficients of-the power «, viz. P P' P"'
&c. Q, Q', &c. II, &c. alfo p, p', p", &c. y’y'Z&c’
r, &c. are expreffions which denote certain combina¬
tions of the powers of in the firft feries, and certain
numbers in the fecund ; but as they are all to vanifh in
the courfe of the inveftigation, it is not neceffary that
they fhould be expreffed in any other way than by a
lingle letter.
284. Now each fide of this laft equation may evi¬
dently be refolved into two parts, one of,which is en¬
tirely free from the quantity », and the other involves
that quantity, hence the fame equation may alfo ftand
thus,
A?«—-a4-F, &c. 1
2 3 4 L
-j-P»«I + ( P'«-|-Q^)a34('p//„ + QV4.Rw3)fl4>^_&Ct j
_y >+, &c.
t +pnv% + (p'n + 9n*)v +(p"nt+y'nt+rn*)v*+Szc-.
80 that, by railing both fides to the powrer n, where
n denotes an indefinite number, which is to difappear
in the courfe of the inveftigation, we have (i-j-zj)”*
— (A-f-A » aI|d refolving both Tides of the equation into
feries by means of the binomial theorem;
This equation muft hold true, whatever be the value
of n, which is a quantity entirely arbitrary, and there¬
fore ought to vanifh from the equation expreffine- the
relation between 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
6$6
Of L'oga-
ritlims, &c
A L G E
main only the part of each fide, which does not involve
77, that is, • • x *
A
4., &C. Z=V
xa xa6
xa h 
2 3
xcr
' 4
v v*
^+T
4
B B A.
I -z;* , o > OfLoga.
Becaufe log. (i + ^) —  T i xithms, &c.
Bv fubftituting —v for 4-^, we have
N I / vz V4 g ^
log. &c. J
I -f" ^
f/1 r/4 , 0 .
or (77 ——+ —+7&c.) x-v— 2 + 3
ti4 ,
  , &e.
4 5
Let us now put A to denote the conftant multiplier
> «5 «4 , r_TV Cr—
—+ ,^C._(7 l) 2
3 4
Now, log. (1+^) ’°g- C1   *0 — loi
therefore fubtracting the latter feries from the former,
we have log. =:: ~i ( 2Z''^~
T, 14- 77 , y—
Put —A——y, then v:
+T +
+, &<
and the laft feries be¬
comes
thus we at laft find
(y—JY . (y—O'3
3 . 4 .
and fubftitute for 77,'its value y ,
Arriog. y—-^{y—1—)
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 flowly to be of ufe, and if it exceed 2, the
feries will diverge, and therefore cannot be directly ap¬
plied to the finding of its logarithm. But a feries which
fix all converge fafter, and be applicable to every cafe,
may be in\eftigated as follows :
+ ^“lNS
log
22;
22G
774-«   1 (   __
'* “IT- - A \277 4-2;'r 3 (2«4-J5)*_r5 (2774-z)S
]3ut 102;, l+f — log, (774-2;)—log. 77, therefore
log. (w-f55) — lo"' " + X (
y+l
1 (i)—r 2/7/—xV
l08-3'= A4t^T+3^+T>' ' Aji-H
This feries will always converge whatever be the value
of y, and by means of it the logarithms of imall num¬
bers 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 5 but if it be a prime number,
its logarithm may be derived from that of fome con¬
venient compofite number, either greater or. lets, and
an infinite feries. Bet 11 be a number of which the lo-
# ^ ^ “b ^ i*
garithm is already found *, then iubftituting - -or
y in the laft formula, we have
I 2xS
4-, &-C.
22
I
22:
2/7 4-a 1 3 (2/7-}-2;)3
4-
2zs
This feries gives the logarithm of 774-^ by means of
the logarithm of 77, and converges very fall when 77 is
eonfiderable.
287. It appears from the feries which have been
found for log. y in § 284 and 285, that the logarithm
of a number is always the produd of two quantities j
one of thefe is variable, and depends upon the numbei
itfelf, but the other, viz. A- is conftant, and depends en¬
tirely on the radical number of the fyftem. I his quan¬
tity has been called by writers on logarithms the modu-
lus of the fyftem.
288. The moll fimple fyftem of logarithms, in re-
fpedt to facility of computation, is that in which = 1
or A—1. The logarithms of this fyftem are the fame
as thofe firft invented by Napier, and are alii) called
hyperbolic logarithms. ,
‘ The hyperbolic logarithm of any numbers y, is there¬
fore (§ 284),
(y—I)1 , (y—03_ &c
y 1 2 " 3
.and that of r, the radical number of any fyftem, is
(277-fz)5
(r-iy
&.C.
, (^—O5
-, &c.
2 3
hut this laft feries is the fame as we have denoted by
A ; lienee it follows, that the modulus of any fyftem is
the reciprocal of the hyperbolic logarithm of the radi¬
cal number of .that fyftem. Ihus it appears, that the
logarithms of numbers, according to any propoled fyf¬
tem, may be readily found from the hyperbolic loga¬
rithm of the fame numbers, and the hyperbolic logarithm
of the radical number of that fyftem.
289. Let L denote the hyp. log. of any number,
and /, /' the logarithms of the fame number according
to two other fyftems whofe moduli are m and m'; then
l—nih, ;
/ l'
therefore — rr —, and m : 777 ;: / : /'.
777 m
That is, the logarithms of the fame number, according
to different fyftems, are directly proportional to the mo¬
duli of tbefe fyftems, and therefore have a given ratio to
one another. , 1
290. We (hall now apply the feries here mveihgateil
to the calculation of the hyperbolic logarithm of 10,
the reciprocal of which is the modulus ol the common
lyitem
A L G
Of Loga- fvftcm of logarithms ; and alfo to the calculation of
rithms, &cc. the common logarithm of 2. The hyp. log. of 10
   may be obtained by fubftituting 10 for y in the for¬
mula
hyp. ,og.y=^+f(^)!
but the refulting feries
2‘9 2,9a
3*nJ 5
2'9S , c
con¬
verges too flowly to be of any practical 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-i--j--i--f-!--f, &c.)
'3 3'3i 5‘3S T37 /
This feries converges very faft, fo that by reducing its
terms to decimal fra&ions, and taking the fum of the
firft feven terms, we find the hyp. W. of 2 to be
•6931472.
The hyp. log. of 5 may be found in the fame man¬
ner, but more eafily from the formula given in § 286.
For the log. of 2 being given, that of 4=2* is alfo
given, § 279. Therefore, lubftituting log. 4=2 log. 2
for log. n, and 1 for 2;, in the feries
hyp. log.^ + a1)=hyp.log.»+2(IA- + ._£_
+ *(2n+xy+’ &C’)
we have
E B
that x~
R A.
log. b
657
The life of this formula will appear
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 cor-
reiponding number. Or having given the equation
r*=y, where r, x, and y denote, as in § 282, to find a
feries which fliall exprefs y in terms of r and x.
293. For this purpofe, let us fuppofe r— 1 -f-«, then
our equation becomes y=(i which may alfo be
exprefl’ed thus :
y=[(i+ «)”]",
where n is an indefinite quantity, which is to difappear
in the courfeof the inveftigation.
By the binomial theorem we have
(I+a)«= 1 -f a3+&c.
1*2 I * 2 * 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 n, may alfo be
exprefled thus :
(i+f7)«=i-f Aw+B^-fC/j3-]-, &c.
where it will readily appear that
hyp. log. 5= 2 hyp. log. 2 + 2(-+ -L+&c.)
V9 3’93 5-9^ 1 ’ J
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. io=hyp. log. 2-j-hyp. log. 5=2.3025851.
Hence the modulus of the common fyftem of loga-
rithms, or , is found =-4342945. The
fame number, becaufe of its great utility in the con-
ftru&ion of tables of logarithms, has been calculated
to a much greater number of decimals. A celebrated
calculator of the laft century, Mr A. Sharp, found it
to be
°-43429448190325182765112891891660508229
43970058°3666 566114454.
Having found the hyp. log. of 2 to be *6931472, the
common logarithm of 2 is had immediately, by multi¬
plying the hyp. log. of 2 by the modulus of the fyftem ;
thus we find
com. log. 2=4-342945X-693i472=-3oiO30o.
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 a; in an equation
oi this form, ax=b, where the unknown quantity is an
exponent. But in order to refolve fuch an equation,
it is not necellary to have recourfe to feries $ for a
table of logarithms being once fuppofed conftructed,
the value oi * may be determined .thus. It appears,
irom § 279 that xxlog. «=log. b. Hence it follows,
Vol. I. Part II.
A—a—
a4
4
-P, &c.
as to the values of B, C, &c. it is of no importance to
know them, for they will all difappear in the courfe
ot the inveftigation. Hence, by fubftituting for
its value, as exprelfed by this laft feries, we
have
y=(i-j-An + Bn* + C«3 + , See.)"
and expanding the latter part of this equation by means
oi the binomial theorem, it becomes
y=i
-f ^(A«+B«*+&c.) •
x(x—«)(x—2n)
I • 2 • 3«3
I . 2 «*
(A«-f-B«*-f-, &c.)3-f, &c.
But An -}- Bn* -}-, &c.= « (A -f B» -f, &C.) alfo
(A» -f B”* +, &c.)*=«* (A+ Bn -f, &c)*, and
(An -j- Bn* -p, &c.)3=n3 (A -p Bn -p, &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 Hand thus :
y=i-f-x(A+Bn-p,&c.) + ^—^(A-j-Bn-f-, &c.)*
—n)(x— 2n)
I • 2 • ~3
(A-j-Bn-J-, &c.)3-J-, &c.
Now n is here an arbitrary quantity, and ought, from
the nature of the original equation, to difappear from
the value of 3/; the terms of the equation which are
4 Q multiplied
658 ALOE
Intereft and multiplied by n ought therefore to dellroy eacli other \
Annui’ies and this being the cale, the equation is reduced to
-J-, &c.
*A *aA* a;3 A3
r*—y= 1 — + -j-7^ + Yr2rl
and fince we have found
A 4 A4
I•2-3*4
A a— — —t-— — —&c.
2 3 4
= (r—1>
. (r—, (r~l)3__(r—l)4
2 3 4 ’
It is evident from § 288, that A is the hyperbolic loga¬
rithm of the radical number of the fyllem.
294. If, in the equation r*—]], we fuppofe x~ I, the
value of y becomes
A A2
r—i-j-  
r I I’2
A3
I’2'3‘
-j-, &c.
BRA,
are two hypothefes according to either of which money Compound
put out at intereft may be fuppofed to be improved. Intcreft. ^
We may fuppofe that the intereft, which is always pro- v ^
portional to the fum lent, or principal, is alfo propor¬
tional to the time during which the principal is em¬
ployed *, and on this hypothecs the money is faid to be
improved at Jimple intereft. Or we may iuppoie that
the intereft which ought to be paid to the lender at fuc-
cefiive ftated periods, is added to the principal inftead
of being actually paid, and thus their amount converted
into a new principal. When money is laid out accord¬
ing to this fecond hypothefis, it is laid 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 inter(Jl, or fum paid for the ufe ol 100I. 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.
Here the radical number is expreffed by means of its
hyperbolic logarithm. Again, if we fuppofe X— A,
then
-}-, &e. •
x 1,1,1
rA~ i-L — -{ 1 
1 1*2 1*2*3
i-2*3
-A.
Thus it appears that the quantity rA is equal to a con-
ftant number, which, by taking the fum of a fuf-
ficient number of terms of the feries, will be found =
2.718281828459045 ... Let us denote this number
by e, then r^—e, and hence rrzcA 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.
x I
Again, fince rA = e, therefore — X log. r = log. e
and A.—
log. r
log. £
, here log. r and log. e denote loga¬
rithms taken according to any fyftem whatever.
295. If we now refume the equation
xK a?* A* a?3A3 „
r*—!/— 14 1 j ft" 5 occ.
j 1 t 1 1 • 2 i‘2'3
log. r
and fubftitute for A its value r-A-, we fliall have the
log. e
following general expreffion for any exponential quanti¬
ty whatever,
' i\log. e/ * 1*2Vlog. ej T i*2,3\log.<?/
which, by fuppofing r=:e, becomes
x2 t x3
I ’ 1*2 I*2*3
X
-f, &c.
Sect. XX. Of Jnterejl and Annuities.
296. The theory of logarithms finds its application
in fome meafure to calculations relating to intereft and
annuities ; thefe we now proceed to explain. There
2
Let p denote the principal, il. being the unit.
r the intereft of il. for one year, at the gi¬
ven rate.
t the time, one year being the unit.
a the amount.
We fliall now examine the relations which fubfift be¬
tween thefe quantities, according to each ot the two
hypothefes of Ample and compound intereft.
I. Simple Interejl.
298. Becaufe the intereft of il. for one year is r,
the intereft of il. for t years muft be rt, and the intereft
of p pounds for the fame time prt, hence we have this
formula,
p^yrt-a,
from which we find
_ a a~~P t— a~P
V~~ ~~ pt pr
As the manner of applying thefe formulae to queftions-
relating to Ample intereft is fufficiently obvious, we pro¬
ceed to confider compound intereft.
II. Compound Intcrejl.
299. In addition to the fymbols already affumed, let
R=ri -f-rzr amount of il. in one year ; then, from the
nature of compound intereft, II is alfo the principal at
the beginning, of the lecond year. Now, intereft be¬
ing always proportional to the principal, we have
1 : r :: R : rR= the intereft of R for a year,
and R-f rR=r(i +r)R=R2= amount of R in a year,
therefore R2 is the amount of il. in two years, which
fum being affumed as a new principal, we find, as be¬
fore, its intereft for a year to be rR2, and its amount
R1 -j- rR2~( 14-r)R2~R3 ; fo that R3 is the amount
of il. in three years. Proceeding in this manner, we
find, in general, that the amount ot il. in / years is R^,
and of p pounds 7?IP j hence we have this formula
\
which
A L G
Annuities, ''vlilcli from the nattire of logarithms may alfo he ex-
 1 prefl’ed thus :
log. ^4./x log. R=log. a.
Hence we find
^=m
t)r, by logarithms,
log. p ±: ]og. a—t X log* ll* log. R =
log. a—log. p
log. K.
300. As an example of the ufe of thefe formulae, let
it be required to determine what fum improved at 5 per
cent, compound intereft will amount to 500I. in 42 years.
In this cafe we have given 01=500, nr:.05, 11=1.05,
7=42, to find p.
From log.orrlog. 500= 2.6989700
fubtradd / X log. Iv=42 X log. 1.05= O.8899506
remains log. p. 1.8090104
therefore jo=64.42l.=64l. 8s. 5d. the fum required.
Ex. 2. In what time will a fum laid out at 4 per cent,
compound intereft be doubled.
Let any ftim be exprefled by unity, then we have gi¬
ven p— I, r=.04, Rm.04, u~ 2, to find t.
From the formula ,= „e
log. li log. 1.04
v - ’3010300
(md t— —  — =17.7 years nearly.
'OI7°333
301. In treating of compound intereft, we have fup-
pofed the intereft to be joined to the principal at the
end of the year. But we might have fuppofed it to
be added at the end of every half year or every quarter,
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 ill actual bufmefs, we fhall not at prefent
fay any thing more of them.
III. Annuities.
E 6 B. A.
quires pumftual payment of intereft ; and thetefore the Coiumued
intereft in fuch calculations is ufually made low. Fractions.
303. Let A denote the annuity ;
P the prefent worth, or purchafe money :
t the time of its continuance \
let r and R denote as before.
The feller, by improving the price P at compound
intereft during the time /, has PRf.
The purchafer is fuppofed to receive the firft annuity
A at the end of one year, which being improved for
t—1 years, amounts to AR?~I. He receives the fecond
year’s annuity at the end of the fecond year, which, be¬
ing improved for t—2 years, amounts to AR*-2. In
like manner the third year’s annuity becomes AR^-5,
and fo on to the laft year’s annuity, which is fimply A.
Therefore, the whole amount of the improved annuities
is the geometrical feries
A 4. AR + AR* ft-AR3 •• • 4- AR*-1,
Rt 1 Rif 1
the fum of which, by 5 106, is A -=r =A $
and fince this fum muft be equal to the amount of the
purchafe money, or PR?, we have
R£ 1
riP=A- 
and from this equation we find
1 
r\ RV
. A:
rPR^ ^ log. A—log. (A—rP)
’R
log. R
As to r, it can only be found by tbe refolution of an
equation of the t order.
304. To find the prefent value of an annuity in rc-
verjion, 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 5 and
fubtract the latter from the former, we thus obtain the
following formula :
p= Ay i l).
rR" \ RY
305. If the annuity is to commence immediately,
and to continue for ever, then, becaufe in this cafe Ri is
302. An annuity is a payment made annually for
a term of years 5 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
Juppofed that the buyer improves his annuity from the
time he receives it, and the fellet 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 fuppofi¬
tions as to the way in which the annuity and its par-
chafe money may be improved ; but the only one com¬
monly applied to pra£tice is the higheft improvement
poffible of both, viz. by compound intereft. As the
taking compound intereft is, however, prohibited by
law, the realizing of this fuppofed improvement re-
infinitely great, and therefore ^ =0, the formula
P= —^14- becomes fimply P = —.
And if the annuity is to commence after « years, and
continue for ever, the formula P= -A^j—})e_
T> A
comes 1= —
rRn
Sect. XXL Of Continued TraBions.
306. Every quantity which admits of being ex-
preffed by a common fraction may alfo be exprelfed in
4 0 2 the
66o
ALGEBRA.
Continued the form of what is called a continued fraBion. The
Fractions, nature of fuch fractions will he eafily underftood hy the
following example.
Let the common fra£tion be--—-—, or, which is
IOOOOO
the fame, 141 ■59-. Since 100000=7 X 14159+887»
1 100000
thereforei4i59.= ^i9
100000 7Xi4I59+887 887
-, and
it will evidently be reduced to a common fraction by Continued
adding the reciprocal of d to 7, and the reciprocal Fraction*
of that fum to £, and again the reciprocal of this V~’“J
lafl fum to a; notv the reciprocal of d, or added
to c is c -f- L = j again, the reciprocal of this
r ^ ii j ^ 7 • l 1 d bcd+b-^d
fuI”’ m7d+l’ added ‘° b’18 b+ S+T= ~cd+i~'
cd-\- x
3I4I59
# • "in • • t-1* —§ ■ x
1415^ and the reciprocal of tins lall quantity,
I00000
=3-
7-f
887
I4I59
Now5?7_ = 887
I4I59 15X887+854'
15 +
854'
887
, and fubfti.-
tutinor this for ——in the value of -—-—, already
° 15159 100000
, ^141II
found, we have 4 .=3 + - + -
tooooo J ' 7 1
15 +
'854’
887
A . 854_85.4
Again, Qg- = *-
887 854+33'
i+M_
+ 854
, which being fubfti-
„ . 314159 , I
tuted as before, gives _3 +  
7 + “
15 +
i +
33
854
33
By operations fimilar to the preceding, we find
— ^—, — zz —^— j therefore, by fub^
29
297 33
33
1 +
_4 29
29
when added to a, gives
abcd-\-ab-\-ud-\-cd-{-l
bed 4“ b —
308. This manner of expreffing a fra&ion enables us
to find a feries of other fractions, that approach in value
to any given one, and each of them exprefled in the
fmalleft numbers pollible. Thus, in the example
3_I4159 }ias been refolved into a continued frac-
I00000
tion, § 306, and which is known to exprefs nearly the
proportion of the diameter of a circle to its circumfe¬
rence, if we take only the firft two terms of the con¬
tinued fraftion, and put ic for 8 4 59^ we {ball have
7F—3+4=z; T? nearly j and this is the proportion which
was found by Archimedes.
Again by taking the three firft terms, we have
*•=3 +
—^ io6~ 106’
7+7s
which is nearer the truth than the former.
And, by taking the firft four terms, we have
25 +
ftitution,
3I4I59_2 i 1 *
IQOQOO c*‘r7+— I 1
-> "I" I +— I
254— , I
I+7+i ■
By an operation, in all refpedts the fame as has
been juft now performed, may any fraction whatever be
reduced to the form
«+ t . 1
b+c+- 0
^ i/+, 8tCi.
and it is then called a continued fraBion.
307. It is eafy to fee in what manner the inverfe of
the preceding operation is to be performed, or a conti¬
nued fraftion reduced to a common fradion.
Thus if the continued fradion be
•+M+;
^=3+ - . 1
7 +— 1
7^i5+7
 355
" »3’
which is the proportion afligned by Metius, and is more
exad than either of the preceding. The refults are
alternately greater and lefs than the truth.
309. Among continued fradions, thofe have been
particularly diftinguilhed in which the denominators,
after a certain number of changes, are continually re¬
peated in the fame order. Such, for example, is the
fradion
1
I"^2+- 1
3 ^"2+-+, &C.
3
The amount of this fradion, though continued ad infi¬
nitum, may be eafily found j for leaving out the firlb
term, which is an integer, let us fuppofe
1
*““2 + - 1
2+ ", + >
Then, fmee after the fecond, all the terms return ia
the
R A.
ALGEBRA.
Continued ^ie ^ame or^er»lt follows that their amount is alfo zzx, v—<74- - 
Fractions, thus we have ‘ _j_
661
b> +
X— ~ . I
2 -I—  
3 +x
Hence x:
3 + v 
6 -j- 2x 1
2
and x* -f-g.v—- and xzz
——3+^
Therefore .v-4-i, or the fum of the ferxes, r=—1 T^~■■
2
In. general if . I
«+^,I
<7 -f-> &LC#
We find
Z> /&* ^
 z±=*J —+ “•
Though the denomi¬
nators did not return in the fame order till after a
greater interval, the value of the fraction would ftill
he exprelfed by the root of a quadratic equation. And
converfely, the roots of all quadratic equations may be
expreffed by periodical continued fradtions, and may
often by that means be very readily approximated in
numbers, without the trouble of extracting the fquare
root.
310. The reduction of a decimal into the form of a con¬
tinued fraction fometimes renders the law of its continua¬
tion evident. Thus we know that 2= I.4I2I356--*
but from the bare infpeCtion of this decimal we difeover
no rule for its further continuation. If, however, it be
reduced into a continued fraction, it becomes
“1
2 2 + , &C.
and hence we fee in 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 fraction.
For if x be the root fought, we have .rrza-f-—,
+ 7/=^+ y7> y-£"+ &c. where o, 6', b",
b"\ &c. denote the whole numbers, which are next
lefs than the true values of #, y, y\ y", &c. If there¬
fore in the value of x we fubilitute b-\- for y, it be¬
comes
. 1
x~a -j 
b+
t'
Again, if in this fecond value of x we fubflitute
V+ ~ for y it becomes
*=«+*+ 1
b'+L-
-t-y/
The next value of # is in like manner found to be
3
b"+i
f
Indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
  and fo on continually.
Sect. XXII. Of Indeterminate Problems.
312. When the conditions of a queftion are fuch
that the number of equations exceeds the number of un¬
known quantities, that queftion will admit of innumer¬
able folutions, and is therefore faid to be indeterminate.
Thus, if it be required to find two numbers fubjeCt to
no other limitation than that their fum be 10, we have
two unknown quantities ^ and y, and only one equation,
viz. »-}-y—10, which may evidently be fatisfied by in-
numei'able different values of x and y, if fractional fo¬
lutions be admitted. It is, however, ufual in fuch quef-
tions as this, to reftriCt values of the numbers fought
to pofitive integers, and therefore, in this cafe, we can
have only thefe nine folutions ;
x —- 1, 2, 3? 4* Si 7* 9*
y = 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
which indeed may be reduced to five, for the firft four
become the fame as the lall four, by fimply changing
x into y, and the contrary.
313. Indeterminate problems are of different orders
according to the dimenfions of the equation which is
obtained after all the unknown quantities, but two, have
been exterminated by means of the given equations.
Thofe of the firft order lead always to equations of this
foxm,
ax+by=c,
where a, b, c denote given whole numbers, and a:, y
two numbers to be found, fo that both may be integers..
That this condition may be fulfilled, it is neceffary that
the coefficients o, b have no common divifor which is
not alfo a divifor of c, for if a—md and b—mey
c
then ax-f-by—mdx-\-mey—c, and dx-\-eyzz— j but
</, <?, at, y are fuppofed to be whole numbers, there-
c
fore — is a wliole number, hence m muft be a divifor
m
of c.
314. We proceed to illuftrate the manner of refolv-
ing indeterminate equations of the firft order by fome
numerical examples.
Ex. 1. Given 2a;-}-3y= 25, to determine x and y in
whole pofitive numbers.
From the given equation we have a;zs—^—^ = 12
—y+
t—y
now fince a muft be a whole number, it
follows that
'—y
muft be a whole number. Let us
affume
then I—y—2% and y= 1—2z, and
j—y
fince x~\2—y-\   =12—y+z, therefore
12—1 -\-2z-\-z *, hence we have
*=11-1-321,
y=i—23
where
662
ALGEBRA.
blems.
Indetermi- wliere % might be any whole number whatever, if there
nate Pro- were no limitation as to the figns of x and y; but
fince thele 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 #, that, abflrafiting
from the fign, it mnft be lefs than 4 ; hence % may
Jiave thefe three values o, —1, —2, —3.
If 25=r O, —I, —2, %=—3
Then £ x=:11i x= 8» *= »= 2
ii/= 1* y= 3> 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
II.
Let 7 at be the firft part, and 11 y the fecond, then
by the queftion 7.r-f-i iy=ioo, and
100—uy
■M—y 4
2—4?
hence it appears, that -—^ mull be a whole num-
7
ber. Let us affume 2 -y——g, then ^=14—y+2; and
4y= 2—7^, ory=-
■725.
——«, therefore^——
mull be a whole number. Affume -—— = t, then yzz
4 ^
, 2 At 2 1 .
t—2;, and 3%—2—4/, or  —  —there-
3 3
fore
mull be a whole number.
Affume now
2—t
=v, then Z—V—t and t=z 2—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—$v
v— t— qv— 2
y= /— z= 4 — yv
x=z 14—
Now from the value of y it appears, that v mull ei¬
ther be = o, or negative 5 but from the value of x we
find that v cannot be a negative whole number, there¬
fore v can only be — 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 poffible 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 2ix, and that of the moidores 2Jyi
therefore, from the nature of the quellion, 2i#-j-27y
rri200, or, dividing the equation by 3, 7^4.9^=400,
hence +iZ^, f0 that
7 7 7
mull be a whole number.
Affume —~^=«, then *=57—y4'25> an<^ 2y=i
1—72 1—*
-1* gr y=-T-=~
be a whole number.
-32:, therefore -—— mull
0 7 2 nate Pro¬
blems.
Affume
-—v, then y=zv—32;, and 2:^=1—2V ;
therefore v may be taken any whole number at plea¬
fure, and and y may be determined by the following
equations :
2!=T — 2V
y~v 32—7^ 3
x=jy—y-j-z—61—9^.
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 r.
Hence if v=z 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
we have *=52, 43, 34, 25, 16, 7,
y= 4, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39.
315. In 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 eale as often
as the propofed equation is of this form, Ax-f~/>yz=:c. If,
however, b be negative, that is, if the equation be of
this form ax—by—cr or ax—by-\-c, we lhall have que-
llions of a different kind, admitting each of an infinite
number of folutions 3 thefe, 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 crowns for each ox,
and he finds that the oxen coll him feven crowns more
than the horfes. How many did he buy of each ?
Let x be the number of horfes, and y that of the
oxen 3 then, by the quellion,
3iz/-i_7 nyJ_7
20.v=3iy4-7, andx— ~-2=ry-J ^ .
Therefore mull be a whole number.
20
T IIV4-7 , . , 20v—7
Let —-——'^zv. then x=:?/4-v, and y= —~
20 ii
O V 1 O
4-   E 3 hence     mull be a whole number.
* T T 7 T T
II
Let
2/4-7
9V—7
11
—then y—v-\-t and
0= TI/+7
/-{-
therefore -2—— is a whole number.
^ 2/4-7 , , QJ—7
Let then ©r=/4-i and tzz— 
9 2
j* *7 S *1
   3 therefore 7 is a whole number.
'-4s +
S *7
Put then /=4J,-f-r and s—2r-\-y.
2/
Having now no longer any fraftions, we return to
the values of x and y by the following feries of equa¬
tions, ,
s
A
L
G
Indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
s~2r-\-'j
pr-faS-
v= /-f J=nr-f35
y— v-\-t—20r-\-6^— number of oxen,
y+v—^irnumber of horfes.
The leaft pofitive values of x and y will evidently be
obtained by making r——3, and innumerable other
values will be had by putting rzr—2, r——1, r=o,
&c. Thus we have
x=$, 36, 67, 98, 129, 160, 191, 222, &c.
7J=3> 23, 43, 63, 83, 103, 123, 143, &c.
each feries forming an arithmetical progreffion, the
common difference in the firft being 31, and in the fe-
cond 20.
316. If we confider 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 fucceffive quotients which arife in the arith¬
metical operation for finding the greateft common mea-
iure of 20 and 31, the coefficients of the given equation
20^=31^4-7. The operation performed at length will
ftand thus :
20)31(1
20
11)20(1
11
E B R A. 663
the greateft multiple of c contained in b, and r/ the re- Indetermi-
mainder; and C the greateft multiple of d contained in nate Pro-
c, and e the remainder; and fo on, till one of the re- , kkms- ^
mainders be found equal to o. The numbers A, B, C v
afford a feries of equations from which another ieries
may be derived, as in the foil owing, table:
a—A.b-\-c, hence we derive x=Ai/-\-v
b—J$c-\-d y—Y$v-\-t
c~C/d-\-e n= t.' -|-J’
dzzX)e-\-f /=Dj,4-r
r—¥qr±=.n
and in the laft equation of the fecond feries any number
whatever may be put for q: it is alfo to be obl’erved,
that the given number n is to have the fign -f- prefixed
to it, if the number of equations be odd, but —• if that
number be even. Having formed the fecond feries of
equations, the values of x and y may be thence found
as in the foregoing examples. We proceed tofhew the
application of the rule.
Ex. 5. Required a number which being divided by
11 leaves the remainder 3, but being divided by 19
leaves the remainder 5.
Let N be the number, and jc, y the quotients which
arife from the refpective divifions, then we have N=:
iix-f.3, alfo N=i9y-j~5; hence 1 ia;4-3=ri9y4-5, and
11 »= 19^4-2, an equation which furniflies the follow¬
ing table :
p)11^
9
2)9(4
8
\
1)2(2
19=1 X 114-8
ii —1 x 84-3
8=2x 34-2
3=i X 24-1
2=2X l4-°
Here r may be affumed
Hence we have
*= y+v
y— v+t
V— 2t 4-1
t— r-j-r
j-=2r4-2
any value whatever,.
o
Hence we may form a feries of numeral equations
which, when compared with the feries of literal equa¬
tions expreffing the relations between x, y, v, &c. as
put down in the following table, will render the me¬
thod of determining the latter from the former fuffi-
ciently obvious.
31 = 1 X 204-11
20=ixn-f- 9
n=iX 9-j- 2
9=4 X 2-f. I
2=2 X 2-f- O
And as every queftion of this kind may be analyzed in
the fame manner, we may hence form the following ge¬
neral rule for refolving indeterminate problems of the
firft order.
317. Let bx—ay-\-n be the propofed equation, in
which a, b, n, are given integers, and .r, y numbers to be
found. Let a be the greateft of the two numbers a, b,
and let A denote the greateft multiple of b which is
contained in a, and c the remainder} alfo let B denote.
*=1 xy+v
y=iXv+t
V=I xt 4-x
/=4 X r-fr
'r= 2 X r4~7
J'=2r-f- 2
/= J--fr= 3r4- 2
v—2t-\-s— 8r4- 6
y— i>4-/=nr4- 8
x— y4',y::=I9r4-i4
and the number required N=209tt4-I57» where it isr
evident that the leaft number which can exprefs N is
157-
Ex. 6. $ 3*4- 5y4- 72=560 1 To determine a?, y, 2;
Given 4 9x4" 25^ 4-492;—2920 j in whole numbers.
From 7 times the firft equation fubtraft the fecond ;
thus we have 12x-f-1 oy= 1000, or 6^4- 5.7—5°° > and
from this laft equation, by proceeding as in the forego¬
ing example, we find
*=500—51/, y=z6v—500.
Let thefe-values of x and y be fubftituted in either of
the original equations j in the firft, for example, as
being the moft fimple, and we find 724* I5‘y=:1560.-
This laft equation being refolved in the fame manner,
we find
664
Indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
ALGEBRA.
—7/
io~ I  3120
y=886o—42/
y=35l ~73°°
and hence it appears that the only values which t can
have fo as to give whole pofitive numbers for a, y, z
are 209 and 210 : thus we have
A?=I5
or *=50
y—82
y=4°
*=15
x=3°-
'2QO—2X
—=—1
391
318. If an equation was propofed involving three
unknown quantities, as ax-±-by-{-cz=d, by tranipo-
fition we Imve ax-\-/y=d—cz, and, putting*/—czzzd,
ax-\-by=:c'. From this laft equation we may find
values of x and 1/ of this form
x—mr-^-nc', yzzm'r-^-n'c1
or xrzmr-{-n(d—cz), y—rrlr-i^n’^d—cz')
where z and r may be taken at pleafure, except in fo
far as the values of#, y, may be required to be all po¬
fitive, for from fuch rellridtion the values of 2; and r
may be confined within certain limits to be determined
from the given equation.
319. We proceed to indeterminate problems ol the
fecond degree. Thefe produce equations of the three
following forms,
I. y=rA_, II. m +
y b-\-cx * c-\-dx ^
In all thefe equations «, b, c denote given numbers 5
in the two firft x is to be determined fo that y may be
an integer, and in the third x is to be determined fo
that y may be a rational quantity.
320. In the equation y=r^-j-— it is evident
muft. be a divifor of a ; let d be one of its divifors, then
b-\-cx—d, and x—— : hence, to find x we muft
* c
fearch among the divifors of a for one fuch that if b be
fubtradted from it the remainder may be divifible by cy
and the quotient will be fuch a value of x as is requir¬
ed.
221. When y— ^ , if */be a divifor of b, x will
J J c-\-dx' ’
be taken out of the numerator, if we divide it by c-j-dk,
and this form is then reduced to the preceding. But
if d is not a divifor of b, multiply both fides by d, then
dy=^~~— or dy—b-\- ——y and fo x is found by
^ c+dx J 1 c + dx J
making c-\-dx equal to a divifor of ad—be.
Exa?nple. Given x -f-y + 2#y—195, to determine # and
y in whole numbers.
From the given equation y~--y^ , therefore
322. It remains to confider the formula y= ludeterrai-
a 4 bx-j-cx1, where x is to be found fo that y may be
a rational quantity j but as the condition of having x. ^ ' f
and y alfo integers would add greatly to the difficulty
of the problem, and produce refeai'ches of a very intri¬
cate nature, we muft be fatisfied for the moft part with
fractional values. The pollibility of rendering the pro-
pofed formula a fquare depends altogether upon the
coefficients a, b, c; and there are four caies of the pro¬
blem, the folution of each of which is connefted with
fome peculiarity in their nature.
« / . *|
323. Cafe 1. Let *z be a fquare number, then, put¬
ting y* for a, we have y—sjf -\-L>x—Suppofe
\/f -\-bx -\-cx*—g -j- mx ; then g2 ~\-bx -\-cx1~g1 -j- 2gmx
-J-//Z*#*, or+ that is, b-\-cx-=z2gm
4-r«2#, hence s
c—nd J ^ c—t?i
nr
Here m may be any rational quantity either whole
or fractional.
\
324. Cafe 2. Let c be a fquare number then
putting ^/*7-j-Z’#-|-if2#2—»7-t- D#, we find a -\-bx -{-g1*2
■xzm2d^.2mgx-\-g'zxi ; or a-\-bx—mi-\-2mgx, hence we
find
l-\-2X
— - . . - Now 391 = 17 x 23
1-1-2# I-|-2# 1 3
hence we muft affume 1 -j-2#~ 17, or 1 -f-2#= 23 : the
firft fuppolition gives us #=:8, y=:ii 5 and the fecond
x—11, y~8, the fame refult in efleet as the former.
b—2mg ’ ^ ’v 1 1 0 b—2fflg
Here m, as before, may be taken at pleafure.
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 factors, as f-\-gx and h^-kx, the irra¬
tionality may be taken away as follows.
Affume a + bx+cx'zx <s/ (/+£a0 — m
then (f+gxfh + kx^rrd^f+gxy, or h + kx
— trd^f+gx), hence we find
fm2—h i—y r rl , , , {fk—gK)m
*=i=^' y= dv+g*) w*)
and in thefe formulae m may be taken at pleafure.
326. Cafe 4. The expreffion a-\-bxex2 may be
transformed into a fquare as often as it can be refolved
into two parts, one of which is a complete fquare, and
the other a product of two fimple factors j for then it
has this form, y*-f-yr, where p, y, and r are quantities
which contain no power of x higher than the firft. Let
us affume \/p2 -j- yr~p -}-mq ; thus we have p* + qr
•x=.p2^r2mpq-\-mxq1 and r-=.2mp-\-m2q, and as this equa¬
tion involves only the firft power of #, we may by pro¬
per reduction obtain from it rational values of x and
y, as in the three foregoing cafes.
327. If we can by trials difeover any one value of
x which renders the expreffion sja-j-bx + ex2 rational,
we may immediately reduce the quantity under the ra¬
dical fign to the above-mentioned form, and thence
find a general expreffion from which as many more va¬
lues of x may be determined as we pleafe. Thus let
us fuppofe that 7? is a value of x which fatisfies the con¬
dition
A L G
Irtdetermi- ^ition required, and that q is the correfponding value of
hate Pro- y, then
, ^ y^—a-^-bx^-cx1
q^rza-^-bq-^-cp1.
Therefore, by fubtra&ioh,
y*—qt—b(<x—■/>) c^x 2 —/>*)={p'\mCP-SrcX) (*—’P)
and y—'J q"1 -\-{b •\-cp-\-cx') (at—p}. The quantity un¬
der the radical fign being now reduced to the preferib-
ed form, it may be rendered rational by the fubllitution
pointed out in the lall article.
328. The application of the preceding general me¬
thods of refolution to any particular cafe is very eafy ;
We fliall therefore conclude with a very few’ examples.
Ex. 1. It is required to find two fquare numbers
whofe fum is a given 1'quare number.
Let a' be the given fquare number, and x2, y2, the
numbers required. Then by the queition a;2
and y— a2—a2. This equation is evidently of fuch
a form as to be refolvable by the method employed in
cafe 1. Accordingly, by comparing —x1 with
the general expreffion V^-2-|-Av_j_ra’2, we have
b—o, c——I, and fubftituting thefe values in the for¬
mulae of j 323* alfo —n for-f-w, wre find
«(«2—1) . . .
y/■— « “■ « hence the imnihers
«-{-i
inn
7/a_ ^-0^
J C«s+I);
'/a+I
required are
2_ 4«4«2
* ~
h where n is any number whatever, the
fquare numbers xx and y* will both be integers, viz.
.v2 = 4«* and if—{nx—1)\ Let us fuppofe n—i, then
o ~ -(- 1 — 5, and «2zr 25, hence a2 — 4 «2 — 16,
y~{nx—i)2—p. 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 bx.
I his queflion may be refolved in the fame manner
as the lall. Or, without referring to any former in-
veftigation, let (a-{-«)1 and a2 be the numbers fought,
tl?en (a + tz)2—v2^*, that is, mx ^-nx=:b'\ hence
bx—nx bx-\-nx n
x—  — and a -j- n— -. So that the numbers
in
in
fought are
(bx—nxy
4«* 4/1* ’
where n may be any number whatever. If, for exam¬
ple, b1— 25 and n~I, then A=i2 and A-f«s;i3 5 f0
that the numbers requmed are 144 and 169.
Ex. 3. It is required to determine a, fo that--
1
may be a rational fquare.
Let y be the fide of the fquare required, then —X-
1
■==Ly'1 and 4A*4-4A3=8y2. Let thefirft part of this equa¬
tion be completed into a Iquare by adding 1 to each
fide, then 4A2-f 4A-f im-f 8?/, and taking the root
2a -f-1 — V1 8y*, lo that We have to make i-4-8y2 a
fquare. Affume
Vol, L Part IL
!E B R A. 665
.07 f ■ 1 Ip fP - . 0 Ip Kefolution
1 =( 1 )2=I+ -{-y +3- V i then % = -4 of Geomc-
V ^ V V trical Pro-
o2 . ipq blems.
—^-y. Hence by proper reduction y— ^ 2 and —v—
.  8/7* J-7J2 Ti3,
fince 2A4-I3T v 1 -f-Sy1— ^ .therefore a=, —-
‘ 1 3 %q—p °f—P
and
A2-f A
quired.
(8y2—;/)
—, a rational fquare as was rc-
SliCT. XXIII. Of the Refolution of Geometrical
Preble ms.
329. When a geometrical problem is to be refolved
by algebra, the figure which is to be the fubjedt of in-
veftigation mull be drawn, fo as to exhibit as well the
known quantities, connedted with the problem, as the
unknowm quantities, which are to be found. The con¬
ditions ol the problem are next to be attentively con-
iidered, 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
ulual manner, and alio fuch unknown quantities as can
moll ealily be determined ; which may be either thofe
diredtly required, or others from which they can be
readily found. We mull next proceed to deduce from
the known geometrical properties of the figure a feries
of equations, exprelfing the relations betw’een the known
and unknown quantities \ thele equations mull be in¬
dependent ol each other, and as many in number as
there are unknown quantities. Having obtained a fuit-
able number ol equations, the unknown quantities arc
to be determined in the lame manner as in the refolu¬
tion of numerical problems.
330. No general rule can be given for drawing the
lines, and felecting the quantities moll proper to be re-
prefented by fymbols, lo as to bring out the fimplell
conclufion j becaufe different problems require different
methods ol folution. The bell way to gain experience
in this matter is to try the folution of the fame problem
in different ways, and then apply that which fueceeds
bell to other cales ol the fame kind, when they after¬
wards occur. The following particular diredions how¬
ever 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, fo as to form fitnilar triangles. And if an
angle be given, it will be proper to let the perpendicu¬
lar be oppofite to that angle, and to fall from one end
of a given line, if pollible.
2. In feleding the quantities for which fymbols are
to be lubllituted, thofe are to be chofen, whether re¬
quired or not, which lie nearell the known or given
parts of the figure, and by means of which the next ad¬
jacent parts may be exprefled by addition and fubtrac-
tion only, without the intervention of furds.
3. When two lines, or quantities, are alike related
to other parts of the figui*e, or problem, the bell way
is to lubllitute for neither of them feparately, but to
lubllitute for their fum, or difference, or redangle, or
the lum of their alternate quotients, or fome line or
lines in the figure, to Which they have both the fame
relation.
4?
4. When
666
ALGEBRA.
blems.
Rcfolutlon 4- When the area or the perimeter of a figure is
of Geome- given, or inch like parts of it as have only a remote re-
trical Pro- ]atl0n to the parts required, it is fometimes of ufe to
afl'unie another figure limilar 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 fides or
parts, and lo an equation will be obtained.
331. We fhall now give the algebraical folutions ol
lome geometrical problems.
Pros. i. In a right-angled triangle, having given
the bale, and the fum of the hvpothenufe and perpendi¬
cular, 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 b, and AC-f-BC, the fum of the
hypothenufe and perpendicular, by j1 ; then if x be put
for BC the perpendicular, the hypothenufe AC will be
— s—x. But from the nature ol a right-angled triangle
ACJzzAB"-j-BC2, that is,
(j—a)2z=P—2iX-\-x2.
j.2, l?
Hence L'—s*—2sx, and x — zrBC. Alfa
2 s
2_/a
2J
2S
AC. Thus the perpendi¬
cular and hypothenufe are exprefled by means of the
known quantities b and x, as required.
If a folution in numbers be required, we may fuppofe
AB = £ = 3, and AC + CBrrM^rp, then
_ P—Z,2 , P-fZ*1
BC— =4, and AC—-
2S
2S
pROB. 2. In a right-angled triangle, having given
the hypothenufe, alfo the fum of the bafe and perpendi¬
cular, it is required to determine both thefe two fides.
Let ABC (fig. 1.) reprefent the propofed triangle,
right-angled at B. Put o—AC the given hypothe¬
nufe, and x=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*= AB*-{-BC* ; therefore ft:* + (J-—A’)s=«2, or#2-}-
p—2sx-\*x'2-=za1 hence we have this quadratic equa-
j.*
lion x2—sx—- , which being refolved, by complet¬
ing the fquare, we find A =
: 2«2
ting EF the fide of the fquare in K j then, becaufe the Refolutiort
ti’iangle is given, the perpendicular AD may be confi- of Geome-
dered as given. Let BC—Z>, AD=r/;, and, confider- trical Pro-
ing AK as the unknown quantity, (becaufe from it the A blems.
fquare may be readily determined), let AK-—X; then
KD—EFzrp—v.
The triangles ABC, AEF, are fimilar j therefore
AB : BC :: AK : EF, that is, />: b :: x : p—x. Hence,
by taking the product of the extremes and means, p*
—pxzzbx, and x— 7 = AK.
rAB, and
If the fide of the
x—s^—~a ^-rrBC. Thus it appears, that ei-
2
.. x-fv/2«*—J* S—2o2—s1
ther of the two quantities  —-— ,      
2. 2
may be taken for AB ; but whichever of the two be
taken, the remaining one is neceffarily equal to BC.
Pros. 3. It is required to inferibe a fquare in a
given triangle.
Let ABC (fig. 2.) be the given triangle, and EFGH
the inferibed fquare. Draw the perpendicular AD cut*
3
fquare be required, it may be immediately found by
fubtracling AK from AD the perpendicular. Thus
pb -r-
we have p   = KDrzrEF. Hence it ap-
p+b p+b
pears that we may either take AK, a third proportion¬
al to AD-j-BC and AD, or take DK, a fourth propor¬
tional to AD-J-BC, AD and BC, and the point K be¬
ing found, the manner of conllrudting the fquare is fuf-
ficiently obvious.
Pros. 4. Having given the area of a rectangle in-
feribed in a given triangle, it is required to determine
the fides of the rediangle.
Let ABC (fig. 3.) be the given triangle, andEDGF
the rectangle whole fides are required. Draw the per¬
pendicular Cl cutting DG in H. Put AB=Z», CY—py
I)Gr= KF—.r, DE—HI—y, then CHzry—y. Let a*
denote the given area.
The triangles CDG, CAB are fimilar j hence
CH : DG :: Cl : AB, or p—y . xv.p\b.
So that to determine x and y, we have thefe two equa¬
tions,
xyzza*, bp—by—px.
From the firlt equation we find y— —and from the
fecond y= bp-—px tjiere£ore P*__ f_ . iience p,—
Jb b x
a'b
bx— , and, from this quadratic equation, by com-
P
pleting the fquare, &c. we find
b [ Jb* a'b ^ _ a*  p   Z90*
.v_- v — —■>an y— x — 2”*“ 2 b ‘
Hence it appears, that if — be lefs than —, that is,
i> 4
fih
if c* be lefs than —, there are two different redtangles,
4 . ...
having the fame area, which may be inferibed in the
given triangle. It alfo appears that, to render the pro¬
blem poflible, the given fpace a* mull not be greater
than—, that is, than half the area of the given tri-
4
angle. , \
Pros. 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,
ALOE
Hcfolution ABC, and the fum of the Tides AB, BC. Put ACzrr?,
of Geomc- A B-f-BC=^, cofine of ^.ABCrrf, and let AB, BC,
"likIns r°" ^ie i'C(iuii'ed, be denoted by x and y.
1 ' Let CD be drawn from either of the angles at the bafe
perpendicular to the oppolite fide AB •, then rad. : cof.
B :: CB : BD; therefore BDrrcof. BxCB —ry.
Now, from the principles of geometry, AC’^rAB*
-j-BC1—2AB X BD. Hence, and from the queftion,
tve have thefe two equations,
.v*—2cxy-^-7/*=za*.
From the fquare of the firft of thefe equations, viz.
xt-)-2xi/-\-yi~bi, let the fecond be fubtracted, thus we
b* 
have 2(1 c^jxy^zb1—a1, and 2xy~ . Again,
I
from the fquare of the firft equation let the double of
this lad equation, viz. -pry— — ^ ^—-, be fubtraded,
and the refult is x1—2xij-\-y*—2— AltfA, f0 that
by taking the iquare root of this lad equation we ob¬
tain
f 2t>x—(\+c)U'
x—y—   
i-fc
Thus we have found the difference between the fides,
now their fum is given =l>, hence, by adding £ the dif¬
ference to i the fum, we find
la*—(1
2 ' * ' l-fe
and fubtrading -§• the difference from
the fum,
y
 b * 2ai—(I-i-c)^2
I+~
If the angle at B be a right angle, this problem be¬
comes the fame as prob. 2.
332. By a method of invedigation, in all refpeds
fnnilar 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 conditutes the unknown quantity in the
equation. But the roots of algebraic equations may
alfo be expreffed by geometrical magnitudes, and hence
a geometrical condrudion of a problem may be derived
from its algebraic dilution. For example, quadratic
equations, which all belong to one or other of thefe
three forms,
BRA. 667
fore, if CD be called „r, then CErrrtf-f-tf* but if CE Loci of
—then CDrrA:—a. Now, by the elements of geo- Equations,
metry, EC X CD=:AC X CB, that is,
or xlz±zax-=zbc, which equation comprehends the fird
and fecond cafes.
If the negative roots be required, that of the fird
cafe will be CE and that of the fecond CD.
W hen b and c are equal the condrudion will be ra*
ther more limple, for then AB vanidling, AC will coin¬
cide with the tangent CF. Therefore if a right-angled
triangle HFC be condruded, whofe legs HF and FC
are equal refpedively to and b, then will CD, the
value of x in the fird cafe, be equal to CH—HF, and
CE, the value of x in the latter, rrrCH-j-HF.
334. Conjlru&ion of the third form.—Let a circle
EADB (fig. 6.) be defcribed with a radius =r ■ as
before, in which apply a chord ABzr/>-j-i?, and tpke
AC—£. Through C draw the diameter DCE, then
either DC or EC will be politive roots of the equation.
For fmce ED=«, if either EC or CDrz.v, the remain¬
ing part of the diameter lhall be a—x; now by the
nature of the circle EC X CD=AC X CB, that is, x
(«—x^—bc, or x1—ax=—be, hence it is evident that
the roots are rightly determined.
If b and c ax-e equal, the condrudion will be the
fame, only it will then not lie neceffary to deferibe
the whole circle ; for fince AC will be perpendicular
to the diameter, if a right-angled triangle HCA be
condruded, having its hypothenufe HA—and bafe
AC—1^, the roots of the equation will be expreffed by
AH + HC and All—HC.
335. If b and c be fo unequal, that b—c in the fird
two cafes, or b-\-c in the third, is greater than a, then,
indead 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 c, and the condrudion performed as direded in
each cafe when b and c are equal.
336. It appears from § 333 and 334, that every
geometrical problem which produces a quadratic equa¬
tion may be condruded by means of a draight line
and a circle, or is a plane problem ; hence, on the con¬
trary,, if a problem can be condruded by draight lines
and circles, its algebraic refolution will not produce
an equation higher than a quadratic. Cubic and bi¬
quadratic equations may be condruded geometrically
by means of any two conic fedions ; hence it follows
that every geometrical problem which requires for its
condrudion two conic fedions, will, when refolved by
algebra, produce a cubic or biquadratic equation.
x1 -\-ax~bc, x1—ax—be, xx—ax——be,
or, x{x-\-a)—bc, x{x—a)—be, x(a—x)—bc,
may be condruded as follow.
333* Con/lruSlion of the firjl and fecond forms. Let
a circle EABD (fig. 5.) be defcribed with a radius
—\n, in which, from any point A in the circumference
apply a chord AB^/>—c {b being fuppofed greater
than c), and produce AB fo that BC=c; then AQ=.b.
Let H be the centre of the circle, join CH cutting
the circumference in D and E, then, in the fird cafe, the
pofitive value of * fliall be reprefented by CD, and in
the fecond by CE. For by condrudion DErro, there-
Sect. XXIV. Of the Loci of Equations.
337* When an equation contains two indeterminate
quantities x and y, then for each particular value of x
there may be as 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 drawn to reprefent y,
there will be as many points M, M', &c. the extre¬
mities of thefe perpendiculars, as there are dimenfions
of 7 in the propofed equation. And the values of PM,
PM', &c. will be the roots of the equation which are
found by fubdituting for x its value in any particular
4 P 2 cafe.
ALGEBRA.
668
I.oci of cafe. Hence it appears that in any particular equation
Equations, yve mav determine as many points M, as we pleale,
■ ' and a line which pafies 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 ubjcifs ; and PM
which expreffes the correfponding value of y is called
an ordinate. Any two correfponding values of x and
y are alfo called co-ordinates.
338. When the equation that arifes by fubftituting
for x anv particular value AP has all its roots pofitive,
the points M, M', &c. will lie all on one fide of AE,
but if any of them he negative, thefe mull be fet oil on
the other fide of AE towards m.
If x be fuppofed to become negative, then the line
Ap which reprefents it is to be taken in a diredion
the oppofite to that which reprefents the pofitive va¬
lues of x; the points M, w, are to be taken as before,
and the locus is only complete when it palfes through
all the points M, /«, fo as to exhibit a value of y cor-
rcfponding to every polfible value ol x.
If in any cafe one of the values of y vanilh, then
the point M coincides with P, and the locus meets AE
in that point. If one of the values of y becomes infi¬
nite, then it fhews that the curve has an infinite arc,
and in that cafe the line PM becomes an ajymptote to
the curve, or touches it at an infinite diftance, if AP
itfelf is finite.
If when x is fuppofed infinitely great, a value of y
vanilh, then the curve approaches to AE as an alymp-
tote.
If any values of y become impofiible, then fo many
points M vanilh.
339. From thefe obfervations and the theory of equa¬
tions, it appears that when an equation is propofed in¬
volving two indeterminate quantities x and y, there
may be as many interfedions of the curve that is the
locus of the equation and of the line PM, as there are
dimenfions of y in the equation j and as many interfee-
tions of the curve and the line AE as there are dimen-
lions of x in the equation.
340. A curve line is called geometrical or algebraic,
when the equation which exprelfes the relation between
x and y, any abfcifs and its correfponding ordinate, con-
fiftsof a finite number of terms, and contains befides thefe
quantities only known quantities. Algebraic curves are
divided into orders according to the dimenfions ot the
equations which expreis the relations between their ab-
fcilfes and ordinates, or according to the number of
points in which they can interfed a ftraight line.
341. Straight lines themfelves conllitute the firft or¬
der of lines, and when the equation exprefling the re¬
lation between x and y is only ol one dimenfion, the
points M mull be all found in a ftraight line which
contains with AE a given angle. Suppofe for example
that the given equation is ay—bx—cd=:o, and that its
locus is required.
Since y— it follows that APM (fig. 8.)
a
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 AH parallel to the ordinates PM, and equal
to —, if HE be drawn parallel to AN, then will DF
be the locus required ; where it is to be obferved that x,oc; 0f
AD and PN are to be taken on the fame fide of AE Equations,
if bx and cd have the fame fign, but on oppofite fules ~
of AE if they have contrary figns.
342. Thefe curves whole equations are of two di¬
menfions eonftitute the fecond order of lines, and the
jirjl kind of curves. Their interfedions with a ftraight
line can never exceed two (§ 339O
The curves whole equations are of three dimenfions
form the third order of lines, and the Jecond kind of
curves 5 and their interfedions with a ftraight line can
never exceed three, and after the fame manner curves
of the higher orders are denominated.
Some curves, if they w'ere completely defer!bed,
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
abfeifles cannot be expreffed by a finite equation, in¬
volving only ordinates and abfcilfes with determinate
quantities. Curves of this kind are called mechanical
or tranjcendental.
343. As the roots of an equation become impoffible
always in pairs, fo the interfedions of a curve and its
ordinate PM mull vanilli in pairs if any of them vanilh.
Let PM (fig. 9.) cut the curve in the points M and
m, and by moving parallel to itfelf come to touch it in
the point N, then the two points of interfedion M
and rn go to form one point of contad N. If PM
ftill move on parallel to itfelf, the points of interfedion
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
whole dimenfions are odd numbers, have always one-
real root at leaft, and confequently for every value oif
a; the equation by which y is determined mull have at
leaft one real root; fo that as x, or AP, may be increafed
in infinitum on both fides, it follows that M mull go oft
in infinitum on both fides without limit.
In curves whole dimenfions are even numbers, as the
roots of their equations may become all impoffible, 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 y is
determined become equal, either the ordinate PIN!
touches the curve, two points of interfedion in that
cafe going into a point of contad, or the point M is a
punSium duplex in the curve, two of its arcs interfeding
each other there } or fome oval that belongs to that
kind of curve becoming infinitely little in M, it vaniffies
into what is called a punBum conjugatunu
If in the equation y be fuppofed =0, then the roots
of the equation hy which x 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, therr
either the curve touches the line AE, or AE pafles
through a punBum duplex in the curve. W hen y is
fuppofed =0, if one of the values of x vaniffi, the
curve in that cafe pafles through A. 11 two vaniffi,
then either AE touches the curve kr A, or A is a
punBum duplex.
As a punBum duplex is determined from the equality
of two roots, fo is a punBum triplex from the equality
of three roots..
346. Ta
ALGEBRA.
Loui of 346. To illufti'ate thefe obfervations we fliall take a
Equations, few examples.
66g
then ?/—
Eoci of
^X and if * ^ taken °n that flde Equations,
Ex. 1. It is required to deferibe the line that is the
wcus of this equation y2—or ?/*—ax—ab—o,
where a and b denote given quantities. Since
— =±rv/«x4-rtZ', if AP=a; (fig. 10.) be afiumed of a
known value, and PM, P/« fet off on each fide equal to
i^/ax-\-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 at, is taken, the greater does
sjax-\-ab become, and confequently PM and Pttz the
greater, and if AP be fuppofed infinitely great, PM
and P/tz 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
vanifli, then y—~=£z>)/ab, fo that y does not vanifh in
that cafe, but paffes througli D and dy taking AD and
Ad each —\/ab.
If P be fuppofed to move to the other fide of A,
then a? becomes negative, and^——ax, fo that
y will have two values as before, while x is lefs than b;
hut if AB=Z>, and the point P be fuppofed to come to
B, then ab—ax, and y—=tz*Jab—ax—O) that is, PM
and Vm vanifh, 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—ax being negative, ab—ax becomes imagi¬
nary ; 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 Z>=±r#—BP and
^=rPM, from the equation abz±zax—y*, or «(//r±ix)
=ry2, we have a X BP—PM2, which is the well-known
property of the parabola.
Ex. 2, It is required to deferibe the line-that is the
locus of the equation xy-\-ay-^-cy^z-bc-\-bx,
bc-\-bx
or y— ! .
a + c-\-x
Here it is evident (fig. n.) 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 yzr—;—, fo that the curve does not oafs
a -+-c r
through A. If x be fuppofed to increafe, then y will
increafe, but will never become equal to b, fince y=b
C A?
X and a-\-c-\-x is always greater than c-{-x.
If x be fuppofed infinite, then the terms a and c vanifli
compared with x, and confequently y=by, -—b; from
■which it appears, that taking AD—Zq and drawing
GD parallel to AE, it will be an ajymptote, and touch
the curve at an infinite diftance. If # be now fuppofed
negative, and AP be taken on the other fide of A,
c—c
~c, then y=:bx =0, fo that the curve muft pafs
u
through B if ABrrr. 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 then y—b —-y that
is, becaufe the denominator is o, x becomes infinite, fo
that if AK be takenrra -j-c, the ordinate K4 will be an
afymptote to the curve.
If* be taken greater than or AP greater than
AK, then both c—x and u-\-c—x become negative,
and confequently y~b x   becomes a pofitive
quantity 5 and fince x—c is always greater than*—a—c,
it follows that y will be always greater than b or KG,
and confequently the reft of the curve lies in the angle
FGH. And as * increafes, fince the ratio of*—c to
*—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 afymptote GII on
that fide alfo.
The curve is the common hyperbola, for fince bfi
4-*)z=y(<7-f-c-j-*), by adding ab to both fides, b(a
-j-c-4-*) = y(</-f-c-j-v)-f-(7Z',and(^—y)(a-\-c-\-x)—abr.
that is NM X GN—GC x BC, which is the property o£-
the common hyperbola.
Ex. 3. It is required to deferibe the locus of the equa¬
tion ay1—xy1—xz-\-bx1.
rr 2 *3-(-^*2 , , r /*3+^*2
rlere y ~ , and therefore y—z±ZfJ  .
hence PM and PM (fig. 12.) are to be taken on eachv
J-1
fide, and equal tov   j this expreflion, by fup-
pofing x~a, becomes infinite becaufe its denominator is
then —O, therefore if AB be taken zz:u, and BK be
drawn perpendicular to AB, the line BK fliall be an
afymptote to the curve. If* be fuppofed greater than
a, or AP greater than AB, then a—* being negative,
X^ | bx*
the fradlion —- will become negative, and its fquare
root impoflible 5 fo that no part of the locus can lie
beyond B. If * be fuppofed negative, or P taken on.
the other fide of A, then y—zAz+J———^ hence
c~\-x
the values of y will be real and equal as long as * is
lefs than b, but if x—b, then w— —x^-j-fix^
a—*
f—b^-l-b^ _
= V —~—^——O, and confequently if AD be taken
the curve will pafs through D, and there touch
the
670 A L G E
Loci of tlie ordinate. ’If x be taken greater than by tlien
Equations. j   
/ -^3 -QX*
ifj becomes imaginaxry, fo that no part of
c-^-x 0
the curve is found beyond D. The portion between A
and D is called a tiodi/s. If 1/ be fuppofed “O, then will
a;3-|-/w*=:0 be an equation whole roots are —o, o,
from which it appears that the curve pafl’es twice through
A, and has in A a punSium duplex. This locus is a
line of the 3d order.
If b is fuppofed to vanifh in the propofed equation,
fo that ay1—xy'zzx3, then will A and D coincide
(fig. 13.) and the nodus vanilh, and the curve will have
in the point A a cvjpis, the two arcs AM and Km, in
this cafe, touching one another in that point. This is
the fame curve which the ancients called the Cijfoid of
Diodes.
If inllead of fuppofing b pofitive, or equal to o, we
fuppofe.it negative, the equation will be ay1—xy1—xi
—bx*, the curve will in this cafe pafs through D as
before (fig. 14.), and taking AB—a, BK will be its
afymptote. It will have a punBum conjugatum in A,
becaufe when y vanilhes two values of x vanilh, and
the third becomes —b or AD. The whole curve, be-
fides this point, lies between DQ and BK. Thefe re¬
marks are demonllrated after the fame manner as in the
firft cafe.
BRA.
which may be refolved into thefe two, x—y~0, y—X Arithmetic
is found to be two ftraight lines cutting the of Sines,
abfeifs AE (fig. 19.) in angles of 450 in the points A,v—
B, whofe diltance AB—A In like manner fome cubic
equations can be refolved into three limple equations,
and then the locus is three ftraight lines, or may be re¬
folved into a quadratic and fimple equation, and then
the locus is a llraight line and a conic feftion. In ge¬
neral, curves of the fuperior orders include all the curves
of the inferior orders, and what is demonftrated general¬
ly of any one order is alfo true of the inferior orders.
Thus, for example, any general property of the conic
feftions holds true of twro llraight lines as well as a co¬
nic feftion, particularly that the reilangles of the feg-
ments of parallels bounded by them will always be to
one another in a given ratio.
350. From the analogy which fubfiHs between alge¬
braic equations and geometrical curves, it is ealy to lee
that the properties of the former mull luggell ccrrc-
fponding properties of the latter. Hence the principles
of algebra admit of the moll extenlive application to
the theory of curve lines. It may be demonllrated, for
example, that the locus of every equation of the fecond
order is a conic fedlxon ; and, on the contrary, the va¬
rious properties of the diameters, ordinates, tangents,
&c. of the conic fedtions may be readily deduced Irom
the theory of equations.
347. If an equation have this form,
y—ax"-j-bxn~*-f-cxn~* -}-, &c.
and n is an even number, then will the loctts of the
equation have two infinite arcs lying on the fame fide
of AE, (fig. 13.) ; for if x become infinite, whether
pofitive or negative, xn will be pofitive and axn have
the fame fign in either cafe, and as axn becomes infinite¬
ly greater than the other terms bxn~', &c. it follows
that the infinite values of y will have the fame fign in
thefe cafes, and confequently the two infinite arcs of the
curve will lie 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 dire&ly op-
pofite.
348. If an equation have this form yx ~o"+1, and
. a"*1
ti be an odd number, then when x is pofitive y——^~,
an"
but when x is negative yr= —, fo that this curve
mull all lie in the vertically oppofite angles KAE, FAe,
(fig. 17.) as the common hyperbola, FK, Ee being
afymptotes.
But if n be an even number, theny is always pofitive
whether x be pofitive or negative, becaufe xn in this
cafe is always pofitive, and therefore the curve mull all
lie in the two adjacent angles KAE and KAc (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¬
fecting y or x with any radical fign, then the locus
lhall conlill of the two loci of thofe inferior equations.
Thus the locus of the equation^*——bx~o,
Sect. XXV. Of the Arithmetic of Sines.
351. The relations which fubfill between the fines
and cofines of any arches of a circle, and thofe of their
fums, or differences, &c. conllitute what is called the
arithmetic of fines. This branch of calculation has its
origin in the application of algebra to geometry, and is
of great importance in the more difficult parts ol the
mathematics, as well as in their application to phyfics.
352. In treating this fubjeCt, it is necefiary to attend
to the following obfervations.
1. If the fines of all arches between 0° and 1800 be
fuppofed pofitive, the fines ot arches between 1800 and
360° mull be confidered as negative j again, the fines
of arches between 360° and 540° will be pofitive, and
thofe of arches between 540° and 720° negative, and
fo on.
2. If the cofines of arches between o° and 90° be
fuppofed pofitive, the cofines of arches between 90°
and 270° mull be confidered as negative, and the co¬
fines of arches between 270° afid 45°° pofitive, and fo
on.
3. When an arch changes from -f- to —, or from
— to -j-, its fine undergoes a like change, but its colme
is the fame as before.
The truth of thefe obfervations mull be evident from
this confideration, that when a line, taken in a certain
direction, decreafes till it becomes =0, and afterwards
increafes, but in a contrary direction ; then, if in the
former Hate it xvas confidcred as pofitive, it mull be ne¬
gative in the latter, and contrariwife.
333. 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 =1.
fin. (o + £) = fin. a x cof. b -J- cof. « X fin. .
ALGEBRA.
Arithmetic Let C be the centre of the circle (fig. 20.), and
of Sines AB, B3) the arches denoted by a and b; then AD
v'~ —e-f-6 : draw the radii CA, CB, CD, and the lines
BE, BF, DG j then BE, BF, DG, are the fines of tf,
b, and a -f- refpectively ; and CE, CF, CG their
cofines. Join EF, and draw FH parallel to DG.
Becaufe 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 ; now CFB, EHF are both
right angles, therefore the triangles CFB, EHF are
limilar, hence CF . CB (—CD) :: FH : FE j but
CF: CD :: FH : DC; therefore FH : FE :: FH : DG,
hence FE—DG=fm. (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 =r fin. a, CF zr cof. b, BF — fin. b, CE zz
cof. a, BCzpi, and EFz=DG=:fin. (o-f-t'}, therefore
fin. («-f-£)zzfin. a X cof. Z»-}-cof. a X fin. by as was to be
proved.
3 54. If in the preceding theorem we fuppofe the arch
b to become negative, then fin. b will alfo become ne¬
gative. Thus we obtain a fecond theorem, viz.
Sin. (o—b) zrfin. a X cof. b—cof. a X fin. b.
Becaufe cof. (rt-F^)zzfm. ((90°—a)—A), and by the
fecond theorem fin. ((90°—o)—£)zzfin. (90°—a) X
cof. b—«of. (90°—o) x fm. /’rzcof. a X cof. b — fin.
a X fin. by therefore
Theor. IX. 2 Cof. oXfin. »oz=
Theor. X. 2 Sin. a X cof. na—
Theor. XI. 2 Cof. a x cof. nn—
Theor. XII. 2 Sin. a X fin. na~-
cof. (a-f Z»)=:cof. oXcof. b—fin. a xfi»*
which is the third theorem.
It we now fuppofe b to become negative, then fin. b
becomes alfo negative thus we have
Theor. ^ . Cof. («—£)zzcof. a X cof. £-}-fm. a X fin. b.
355’ We have found that fin. (a-j-b) r= fin. a X
col. cof. a X fin. b; alfo, that fin. (a—rr fin.
« X cof. b—cof. i/Xfin. by therefore, taking the fum of
thefe two equations, we find
Theor. V. Sin. («-{-£)-}-fin. (a—b)—2 fin. ^Xcof. b.
In like manner, by taking the difference between the
equations, we have
1 heor. VI. Sin. —fin. (<7—£)—2 cof. axfinv^.
And, by taking the fum and difference of the equations,
which conftitute the third and fourth theorems, we alfo
have
Theor. VH. Cof.(a—-£) -Fcof.(a-{-^)= 2cof. a X cof.£,
Theor. VIII. Cof.(a—cof.(o-F^)=2fin.a Xfm. b.
If in the four lall theorems we fubftitute na for ar
and a for by we derive from them thefe other four:
I
fin. (»-f 1) a-j-fin. («—1) a
fin. (/7-j-i) a—fin. («—1) a
cof. (;/-{-i) o-j-cof. (»—1) a
■cof. («-t-i) a-f-cof. (»—1) a.
67I
Arithmetic
of Sines.
356. By means of the four laft theorems, the powers and products of the fines and cofines of arches may be ex
prelfed in terms ol the turns and differences of certain multiples of thofe arches.
Thus, if in Theor. XII. we fuppofe «zzi, it becomes
2 Sin.2 «=z—cof. 2a-j-i.
To find the third power of fin. a, let both tides of this equation be multiplied by 2 fin. n, then 4 fin 3 0—2 fin a
(—cof. 2« + i), but 2 fin. ox cof. 2o=fin. 3 o—fin. o, Theor. X. Therefore
4 Sin.3 ozr—fin. 30-1-3 fin, a.
Again, for the fourth power, let both fides of the laft equation be multiplied by 2 fin. o, then 8 fin * ozz2 fin a
in 3im* ’ ubUV 2unn‘ “ X fm- 3 «=—cof- 4 « + cof. 2 o, and 2 fin. o X fin. ozr—cof. 2 o +’rv
Iheor. XII. ; therefore by fubftitution * *
8 Sin.4 orzeof. 4 o—4 cof. 20 + 3.
Pioceeding in this way, the fucceffive powers of lin. a may be calculated as in the following table :
Sin. ozz fin. o
2 Sin.* ozr—cof. 20-f-l
4 Sin.3 0=—fin. 30-{-3 lin. a
8 Sin.4 0= cof. 40—4 cof. 2a-\- 3
16 Sin.s ozr fin. 50—5 fin. 30-f-io fin. a
32 Sin.6 ozz—cof. 60-J-6 cof.40—15 cof. 2<» + I0
64 Sin.7 0=—.fin. 70+7 fin. 50—21 fin. 30+35 fin, o,
See.
672 A L G E B R A.
Arithmetic The fuccefllve powers of the cofmes may be found in the fame manner. Thus,
of Sines.
1 v Cof. tfzzcof. a
2 Cof.*« = cof. 20 ■4'1
4 Gof.sor=,cof. 30+3 cof. a
8 Cof.4«=:cof. 40-f-4 coi. 2o-|- 3
16 Cof.so~cof. 50 + 5 cof. 30+10 cof. a
3^2 CofAirrcof. 60 + 6 cof. 4rt + I5 coV 2o + 10
64 Cof.7ozrcof. 70 + 7 cof. 50 +21 c0^ 3a + 35 c°f- a>
&c.
Arithmetic
of Sines.
^ r7. As an example of the prodnas of the fines and cofines of an arch, la it be propofed to exprefs fin. %
X cef.*o by the fines or cofines of multiplies of a. We have already found 4 fin.3o=—3 fin. 30+3 fm.
therefore
r = 2 cof. a X 2cof. o(—3 fin. 30 + 3 fin. a)
x6 fin.3oXcof.*o < —2 cof. o(— fin. 40+2 fin. 20)
—fin. 5a + fin. 30 + 2 fin. a.
Thus it appears that all pofitive integer powers of
'the fine and cofine of an arch, or any produa of thole
powers, may be exprefled 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 exprefied 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. (» + i)o=r2 cof. «xfm.no— fin.(n—1)0,
Cof. (n+ 1 )o= 2 cof. a X cof.no—cof. («—1)0,
therefore, by taking n=o, 1, 2, 3, &c. fuccefiively,
we have
Sin. orr fin. a
Sin. 2o=:2 cof. oXfm. a
Sin. 3«=2cof. oXfm* 20—fin. a
Sin. 40=2 cof. oxfm. 30—fin. 2fl
?>in. 50=2 cof. oxfm. 40—fin. 30,
&c.
Cof. a— cof. a
Cof. 2a—2 cof. oXcof. a—1
Cof. 3«=2 cof. oXcof. 2o—cof. o
Cof. 40=2 cofi aXcof. 30—cof. 20
Cof. 50=2 cof. oXcof. 40—cof. 30,
&c.
So that, putting r for the fine, and c for the cofine of
the arch o, and remarking that 1—s*.
Sin. a—s
Sin. 2a— 2c s
Sin. 30= qc's——4J-3+3J'
Sin. 40= ?c3J’— 4c J,~o(—8r3+4J')
Sin. 50= i6c4j-—12c*s +j’~ i6j®—20J-3+ 5J‘,
&c.
Cof. 0= c
Cof. 2a— 2C*— I
Cof. 30= 4c3— 30
Cof. 40= 8c4— 8c* +1
Cof. ^a—i6cs—20c3+5f?
&c.
356. If it be required to find the fine or cofine of
an arch, from having given the fine or cofine of fome
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 ot
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 col. 20= 2c*—1 becomes
C=z2x*—1, which equation being refolved, gives
If the fine be required, from that
of twice the arch being given, it may be found from
the equation fin. 2a—2cs, which, by putting S for the
given fine, and 7/ for the fine required, becomes Srr
2»x/i—y2, or, by fquaring both fides, and reducing,
S> ? . . irtx/T-Si
   , and
r—r
—; whence 7/*rz:
4 ^
The two values of x indicate that there are two
arches, the one as much lefs than 90°5 as °lher
exceeds 90°, fuch, that the cofine of the double ot
each is exprefled by the fame number. And the four
values of y ffiew that there are four arches, viz. two
pofitive and two negative, fuch, that the fine of the
double of each is exprefi’ed by the fame number.
Suppofe now that the cofine ol 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
—3V—C, or x*—\x — rr°.
By comparing this cubic equation with the general
equation x3 + ^+r=:o, it appears that q is negative
and fuch that for C is always lefs than
unity ; hence it follows that the equation belongs to
the irreducible cafe, or that which cannot be relolved
by Cardan’s rule. The equation 4 fin.3—3 fin. a—
—fin. 30 is alfo of the fame form •, in order, therefore,
to find either the fine or cofine of one-third of a given
arch recourfe muft be had to the methods of approxi¬
mation explained in Se6t. XVI.
360. The fum of any powers of the fines or co-
fines of arches which conftitute the arithmetical pro-
greffion 4, a-\-d, o+2</, fl+3^> to °+s^ ma!f
ALGEBRA.
673
Arithmetic
of Sines.
be found as follows. We have already found,
Theor. V. that
Sin. (p + d}—! cof. tfxfin. —fin. (/?—d) ;
therefore, by fubftituting a, a-\-d, a-\-ld, &c. fuccef- Arithmetic
fively for p, we obtain the following feries of equa- of Sines.
tions
Sin. a rzlin. a
Sin. (a-J- </)=2 cof. fin. a —fin. («•—</)
Sin. (a-\-2d)=z2 cof. e^xfin. («+ d)—fin. a
Sin. («-j-3t/)=2 cof. </xfm. —fip. (fl + c?),
&c.
Sin. =r2 cof. </xfm. (rt-hC”—IV)—fin. (o+C*—2)^)
Sin. (tf + («-l- i)^)=z2 cof. </xfin. (a-{-nd) —fin. —I)^) ;
Therefore, if we fubilitute
Srrfin. o-|-fin. (o+^)+fin* (a+2d'), &c. -f-fin.
by taking the fum of all the equations, it is evident that
S-ffin. (/*-f.(«-f.i)i/)s:fin. 0+2 cof. dx$—fin* (<*—d)—(S—fin. (a-f-jn/)),
which equation, by proper redudion, becomes
g  fin. a—fin. ('a-4-(«4*i)^)+fin. (a-\-nd)—fin. (a—</)
2(1—cof. d)
By proceeding in the fame manner with Theor. VII. viz.
cof. (p-f-c0=2 cof. </xcof.p—cof. (p—</),
and fubftituting a, a-j-^, a-{-2</, &c. fuccefiively for p ; alfo putting
C=:cof. a+cof. (a-j-i/)+cof. C«+2<^) + » &c* +cof.
■we obtain this other theorem
£ cof. a—;cof. —cof* {a—
2^1—cof. d).
361. It is worthy of remark, that if the arch d is
contained «+l times, either in the whole circumfe¬
rence, or any number of circumferences, that is, if
4-1 ^d—q X 360°, where q is any whole number j then
nd~q X 36°°—d. Thus we have fin. (a-f-
=lin. (a-|-y X36o°)=fin. a, alfo fin. (a-\-nd)—hn.
(a—</4-yX36o°)=fin. (a—rf) j 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 fradions, which are equal to S and C, deftroy one
another, and thus S and C are both =0 j that is, the
pofitive fines, and cofines, are equal to the negative
fines, and cofines, refpedively. 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 BArro, and
the arch AA'z=d, the arches BAA', BAA'A'', &c.
will be equal to a-f-^* a-\-2d, &c. refpedively j and,
fuppofing the extremity of the diameter to fall between
A and Aiv, the arch BA, &c. AiT 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 cir¬
cle be divided into any number of equal parts at the
points A, A', A", &x. *, and from the points of divi-
lion let the fines AD, A'D', A"D", &c. be drawn up¬
on any diameter BCE ; then, the fum of AD, A'D',
&c. the fines on otte fide of the diameter, fhall be equal
to the fum of A"D", A'"!)'", &c. the fines on the other
fide of the diameter. Alfo the fum of CD, CiT D**,
the cofines on the fide of the centre, fhall be equal to
the fum of C'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 c, 0-{-</, a-\-2d, &c. For
this purpofe we may form a feries of equations from
the theorem
2 fin.* 0=1—cof. 20.
Thus we have
2 fin.* 0 =1—cof. 20
2 fin.* (o-j-rf) =1—cof. 2(0+//)
2 fin.* (04-21/) =1—cof 2(04-2^),
&c.
2 fin.* (a+nd) zzi—cof. 2{a-\‘tid)
4 Q
Let
674
Arithmetic
of Sines.
ALGEBRA-
Let S'=fm. («+-/) +fm.* (« + 2r/)+, &c. +fin.* (a+W),
Then by addition, and obferving that cof. 2o-f-cof. 2(04-^)-K ^c' +c0^ 2(«+w^) is> 1»y § 3^ --
cof. 2«—cof. 2(0 + 04-iy)+cof-2 Cn+^)—cof.
— 2(1 cof. 2*/)
Arithmetic
of Sines.
we have
cof. 20—cof.2(o-}-(«-i-i)^)4‘C0^ cof. 2(0 </)
” ” 2(1—cof. 2d)
2S/=«
In the fame manner, by forming a feries of equations from this theorem, 2 cof «= I+cof. 2», and, putting
cof.* o + cof.* (_« + </)+ cof.* (o+2£/)+, &C. +cof. (a + «fiO,
cof. 20—cof. 2(o-K«-H)^)H-cof- 2(o+y) —cof. 2(0—f/)
wc find
_2C'=o4-
2(1—cof. 2d)
363. If we now fuppofe d to be fucb an arch that
(d A. 1 )d z= the whole circumference = 360°, then
cof. 2(0 + («-f 1V)=cof. ( 20 + 2 X 36oo)=c0f. 2«, alio
cof.2(o+y)=cof.(2(o-«?) + 2X36o ) = coi.2(o_f/).
Thus it appears, that in this particular cale the nume¬
rators of the fractional parts of the values oi 2^ and
2C are each =0 j and hence 2S' and 2C' are each «.
We mull except, however, the cafe ol «_i, tor then
J=i8o°, and cof. 2d=i, fo that the denominator ot
each fradion vanifliing, as well as the numerator, it
would be wrong to conclude that the fractions them-
lelvcs Vciniili* . . •
Now if the circumference of a circle be divided into
«4- r equal parts at the points A, A7, A", (fig. 21.),
and any diameter BE, as alfo the fines AD, A D ,
A" I)", &c. be drawn, then, if the arch BA = (/, and
the arch AA'rri/, we have, as in § 361, AD—fin. o,
A' D' = fin. ^ D"—fi'1* («+2f/), &.c. and,
fuppofing the point B to fall between A and Av,
AiT Div=:fin.(«4-«^). Hence we 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 n is any greater number than 2),
at the points A, A' A", &c. •, and from the points of
divifion let the fines Al), A'D', A"D", &c be drawn
perpendicular to-any diameter whatever. Tmce the
fum of the fquares of the fines AD, AD, A D , &cc.
is equal to n times the fquare ol the radius of the circle.
Alfo twice the fum of the fquares of the cofines CD,
CD', CD", &-C. is equal to n times the Iquare ol the
radius of the circle. f .1
364. We might now proceed to find the lum ot the
cubes of the fines of the arches a, a-\-d, a + 'ld, &c.
from the equation.
ch. (n-f-i)o=ch. fup.
ch. fup. (n-|-i)«=ch.
267 Let chord of o, and y=chord of its fupple-
ment, then putting o, x, 2, 3, &<=• fucceffively lor »,
ami obferving that ch. o a=o, we obtain from the hrlt
0f thefe theorems the following fenes ol equations :
ch. (i—X
ch. 2a=.xy
ch. ^a=x(y*—i)
ch. <\a=x{i/—2y)
ch. 5a=x(y*—y*+J)
ch. 6a=x(ys—y3-\~3V^
ch. ia=x(y6—Sy4 + 6y*—O’
&c.
4 fin. 3 a—3 fin. a—fin. 3a,
and the fums of the cubes of the cofines from the equa
tion
4 cof. 3 0=3 cof. 30,
and thence deduce properties of the circle fimilar to
thofe which we have found in § 361, and § 363.; but
as the manner of proceeding, in the cafe of the cubes
and higher powers, differs not at all from that which
we have employed in finding the fum of their fquares,
we lhall, for the fake of brevity, leave the powers which
exceed the fquare to exercife the ingenuity of the
reader.
365. The chords of arches poflefs properties in all re-
fpe&s analogous to thofe of their fines. For, from the
nature of the chord of an arch,
4 chord a=fin. i-a, and ^ chord fupp. a=cof. ^a.
Therefore, if in the various theorems which we have
invelfigated, relating to the fines and colines ol arches,,
we fubftitute half the chord of the arch for the fine ol
half the arch, and half the chord of its fupplement for
its cofine, we lhall have a new clafs of theorems relat¬
ing to the chords of arches and the chords of their
fupplements.
366. For example, the 9th and 1 ith theorems, which
may alfo be expreffed thus,
2 fin. (« + x) 4-fl=2 cof.-y X 2 fin. nia—2fin; («—1)
2 cof. (tf +1) 2 cof. 4" X 2cof. —2col. («—1) 4“
by making the propoled fubftitutions, are transformed
to thefe other two theorems,
a X ch. na—ch. («—1 )a ^
fup. a X ch. fup. na—eh. fup. («—i)a
Alfo, obferving that ch. fup. o fl=diam.= 2, we find
from the fecond theorem that
ch. fup. a=y
ch. fup. 2a=y~—2
ch. fup. 3a=y3—3y
ch. fup. 4a=y4—4y*-f-2
ch. fup. 5«=j/s—5'/3 + 5y
ch. fup. 6a=y6—6^4-|-9y*—2,
&.C.
If 4—**, and the powers of that quantity be fublti •
tuted for rf, and its powers, in the chords of 30, 5+
ALGEBRA.
pl. rr/: xiv.
Fi#. /
. <3.
'
ALGEBRA.
675
Arithmetic 7<x, &c. alfo in the chords of the fupplements of 2a, 4a,
of Sines. 6a, &c. we fliall 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 fupple-
ments, if they be even numbers.
ch. a — -\-x
ch. fup. 2a=—at *+ 2
ch. $a——x-3 -J-3#
ch. fup. ^a^L+x*—4^*-f2
ch. tarr-j-.r*—4-5#
ch. fup. 6a~—x6-\-6x*—9A?*-f-2
ch. 7a——a74-7*s—14a;3 4-7^
&c.
Thefe equations are the foundation of the theory of
angular fedtions, 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 infcribed in a circle, and in this
cafe the multiple arch, being equal to the whole cir¬
cumference, will have its chord zz: O.
368. The relation between the tangents of any two
arches, and that of their fum, may be readily found by
means of the ifl and 3d theorems of this fedtion. For
fince fin. (a4-^) = fin. oX cof. 64-cof. a X fin. b, and
cof. (a4-^) = cof. aXcof. b—fin. axfm. b; therefore,
dividing the former equation by the latter,
fin. (a fin. a X cof. X fin. 6
cof. (a 4- cof. a x cof. b—fin. a X fin. b’
this equation, by dividing each term in the numerator Arithmetic
and denominator of the latter part of it by cof. a X cof. b, of Sines,
may alfo be expreffed thus : v
fin. a fin. b
fin. (a  cof. a cof. b
col. (a-j-6) ^ fin. ax fin. b
cof. a X cof. b
But the fine of any arch divided by its cofine is eqyal
to the tangent of that arch, hence the laft equation be¬
comes
Theor. XIII. tan. (a-{-£):
tan. a-f-tan.
1—tan. a X tan. b'
and by fuppofing the arch b negative, we alfo find
tan. a—tan. b
Theor. XIV. tan. (a—b')—
1 -j-tan. aXtan. b'
369. From the firft of thefe two theorems a feries of
equations may be derived exprellingthe relations which
take place between the tangent of an arch and the tan¬
gent of any multiple of that arch. Thus, by afluming
b—a, 2a, &c. and putting t for tan. a,
tan. 2a:
2t
i—t'
tan. 30=
&c.
V—t'
1—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 ALGEDO, a fuppreffed gonorrhoea, a name which
II occurs in old authors. See Gonorrhoea, Medicine
Algiabarii. Xnde.v.
v ALGENEB, a fixed liar of the fecond magnitude,
in Perfeus’s right fide. Its longitude is 270 46' 12"
of Taurus, and its latitude 30° 50' 28" north, accord¬
ing to Mr Flamftead’s catalogue.
ALGEZIRA, a town of Andalufia in Spain, with
a port on the coall of the ftraits of Gibraltar. By this
city the Moors entered Spain in 713; and it was taken
from them in 1344, after a very long fiege, remarkable
for being the firll 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. O.
ALGHIER, or Algeri, a town in Sardinia, with
a bilhop’s fee, upon the weftern coall of the illand, 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 fe£t of predellina-
rians, who attribute all the actions of men, good or evil,
to the agency or influence of God. The Algiabarii
Hand oppofed to the Alkadarii. They hold abfolute
A L G
decrees and phyfical promotion. For the julliceof God Algiabarii
in punilhing the evil he has caufed, they refolve it I]
wholly into his abfolute dominion over the creatures. , Algiers.
ALGIDUM, a town of Latium, in Italy, between *
Prenefte and Alba, near the mountains. On the top of
one of thefe mountains was eroded a temple of Diana,
to which Horace refers, lib. i. ode 21. “ Qucecirjiqae
autgelido promt net Algido” and lib. iii. ode 23. “ Qucc
ntvalipcycitur Algido” &c.
ALGIERS, a kingdom of Africa, now one of the
Hates of Barbary.—According to the lateft and bell
computations, it extends 460 miles in length from call
to well j but is very unequal in breadth, fome places
being fcarcely 40 miles broad, and others upward of
100. It lies between Long. o. 16. and 9. 16. W. and
extends from Lat. 36. 55. to 44. 50. N.—It is bounded
on the north by the Mediterranean, on the call hv
the river Zaine, the ancient Tufcaj which divides it
from Tunis ; on the weft by the Mulvya, and the
mountains of Trava, which feparate it from Morocco 5
and on the fouth by the Sahara, Zaara, or Numidian
defert.
The kingdom of Algiers is at prefent divided into Divifion <>f
three provinces or diftri&s, viz. the eaftern, weftern, the kiug-
4 Q 2 amidom<
A L G [ 676 ] A L G
Algiers, and foutliern. The eaftern or Levantine government,
» y ■ •' which is by far the moil confiderable of the three, and
is alfo called Bcylick, contains the towns of Bona,
Conftantina, Gigeri, Bujeyah, Stefl’a, Tebef, Zamoura,
Bifcara, and Necanz, in all which the Turks have
their garrifons} befides 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 inaccellible ; lo that they ftill live under
their own chevks cliofen by each of their adowars or
hordes. To thefe we may add a French faftory at
Callo, under the direction of the company of the French
Baftion.—The weftern government hath the towns of
Oran, Tremecen, Moftagan, Tenez, and Secrelly with
its caflle and garrifon.—The fouthern government hath
neither town, village, nor even a houfe, all the inhabi¬
tants living in tents, which obliges the dey and his forces
to be always encamped.
T , .. The inhabitants along the fea coafts are a mixture
8 of diflTerent nations ; but chiefly Moors and Morefcos
driven out of Catalonia, Arragon, and other parts of
Spain. Here are alfo great numbers of Turks, who
come from the Levant to feek their fortune ; as well
as multitudes of Jews and Chriftians taken at fea, who
are brought hither to be fold for Haves. 'I he Bere-
bers are forne of the moft ancient inhabitants of the
country ; and are fuppofed to be defcended 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
Palefline by Jofhua. Thefe are difperfed all over Bar¬
bary, and divided into a multitude of tribes under their
refpeiStive chiefs : moft of them inhabit the mountainous
parts ; fome range from place to place, and live in tents,
or portable huts*, others in fcattered villages : they have,
neverthelefs, kept themfelves for the moft part from in¬
termixing with other nations. The Berebcrs are rec¬
koned the richeft of all, go better clothed, and carry
on a much larger traffic of cattle', hides, wax, honey,
iron, and other commodities. They have alio fome.ar¬
tificers in iron, and fome manufadfurers in the weaving
branch.—The name of Bereber is fuppofed to have been
originally given them on account of their being firft
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
Tiinhagians, Mufamedins, Zeneti, Hoares, and Gomeres;
and thefe having produced 600 families, fubdivided
themfelves into a great number of petty tribes.— lo
thefe we may add the Zwowak&y by European au¬
thors called Ann agues, or AJJcigues, who are likewife
difperfed over moft parts of Barbary and Numidia.
Great numbers of thefe inhabit the mountainous parts
of Cuco, Labez, &c. leading a wandering paftoral
life. But the moft numerous inhabitants are the Moors
and Arabians. The former are very flout and warlike,
and fkilful horfemen ; 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 difpoffeffed 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 reprifal. The inhabitants in general have a pretty
fair complexion j they are robuft and well proportioned. Algiers,
People of diftin&ion wear their beard j they have rich y
clothes made of filk, 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 punifhed, and rarely in
private. The loweft foldier domineers over the moft
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,
diflinguifh them in fpite of this excefs of defpotifm.
They never game for money, not even for trifles 5 and
they never profane the name of the Deity, ft hey loon
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 refpedt 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
that there is a conllant verdure \ the leaves of theand f°l!-
trees being neither parched up by heat in fummer, nor
nipped by the winter’s cold. They begin to bud in
February; in April the fruit appears in its full bignefs,
and is commonly ripe in May. The foil, however, is
exceffively various} fome places being very hot, dry,
and barren, on which account they are generally fuller¬
ed 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 diftance from
the fea, harbour vaft numbers of wild animals, as lions,
tigers, buffaloes, wild boars, flags, porcupines, monkeys,
oftriches, &c. On account of their barrennefs, they
have but few towns, and thole thinly peopled } though
fome of them are fo advantageoufly lituated for trading
with Bildulgerid and Negroland, as to drive a confider¬
able traffic with them.
The moft confiderable rivers of Algiers are, (1.) thcIBvers.
Ziz, which runs acrofs the province of Ti*emecen
and the delert of Anguid, falling into the Mediterra¬
nean near the town of Tabecrita, where it has the name
of Sirut. (2.) The Haregol, fuppoied the Sign of Pto¬
lemy, comes down from the great Atlas, erodes the
defert of Anguid, and falls into the fea about five
leagues from Oran. (3.) The Mina, fuppofed the C/iy-
lematis of Ptolemy, a large river, which runs through
the plains of Bathala, and falls into the fea near the
town of Arzewr. This river hath lately received the
name of Cena, 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 deierts, the lake Iitteri, the fron¬
tiers of Tremecen, and Tenezr falling into the lea 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 weft of Algiers, after a
fhort courfe of 18 or 20 leagues. (6.) The Hued-al-
quivir, fuppofed to be the Na/abata or Nrjaba of the
ancients, and called by the Europeans Zinganir, runs
down with a fwift courfe through feme high moun¬
tains of Cuco, and falls into the fea near Bujeyah.
Whilft the city of Bujeyah was in the hands of the Hari>o>jr
Chriftians, the mouth of this river w7as fo choked up cj^ec| bj
with fand, that no veffel could' come up into it: but in accjdcnt.
*555*
A L G [ 677 ] A L G
Algiers. I555> vei7 f°on aftcr it was taken by the Moors, the
—-v— 1 great rains fwelled it to fuch a degree, that all the fand
and mud was carried oft j fo that galleys and other
veffels have ever lince entered it with eafe, where they
lie fafe from ilorms, and all winds hut that which blows
from the north. (7.) Suf-Gemar, or Suf-Gimmar al
Kumniel, fuppofed to he the Ampjaga 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 Conilantina, where its ftream is greatly
inereafed by fome other rivers it receives 5 from thence
running northward, along the ridges of fome high
mountains, it fells into the fea a little eaft of Gigeri.
(8.) The Ladag or Ludeg, runs down from Mount
Atlas through a part of Conitantioa, and falls into the
fea a little eailward of Bona. (9.) Guadi, or Guadel
Barbar, fprings from the head of Orbus, or Urbs, iu
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 Csefar, and from him alfo called Mauritania
Ctrjarienjis.—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 Jullinian’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 mailers of the country, di¬
viding into a great number of petty kingdoms or Hates,
under chiefs of their own choofing, till the year 1051.
Abu-Texe- This year, one Abu-beker-ben-Omar, or, as the Spa-
iien fubdues nifh authors call him, Abu Texcjien, an Arab of the
t e Arab Zinhagian tribe, being provoked at the tyranny of
thofe defpots, gathered, by the help of his marabouts
or faints, a moll powerful army of malecontents, in the
fouthern provinces of Numidia and Libya. His fol
lowers were nicknamed Marabites or Morabites; by the
Spaniards Ahnoravides} probably from their being
aflfembled 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 moll bloody wars *, fo that Texefien having nothing
to fear from them, had all the fuecefs he could wifli
againll the Arabian cheyks or petty tyrants, whom he
defeated in many battles, and at lall drove them not
only out of Numidia and Libya, but out of all the
weilern parts, reducing the whole province of Tingi¬
tana 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 ambaffadors to Tremecen (now a province of
Algiers), at that time inhabited by a powerful and
infolent fedt of Mahometans called Zeneti. The de-
fign of this embalfy was to bring them back to what he
called the true faith ; but the Zeneti, defpiling his of¬
fers, affembled at Amaf, or Amfa, their capital, mur¬
dered the ambafiadors, and invaded Jofeph’s dominions
^eneti with an army of 50,000 men.
kftroyed. The king hearing of their infamous proceedings,
fpeedily mullered his army, and led it by long marches Algiers
into their country, dellroying all with fire and fword}
while the Zeneti, inllead of oppofing his progrefs, re¬
tired as fall as pollible towards Fez, in hopes of recei¬
ving affillance from thence. In this they were miferably
deceived : the Fezzans marched cut againll them in a
hollile manner, and coming up with the unhappy Ze¬
neti, encumbered with their families and baggage, and
ready to expire with hunger and wearinefs, they cut
them all to pieces, except a fmall number who were
mollly drowned 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 prote&ion of the
reigning kings. In this war it is computed that near a
million of the Zeneti, men, women, and children, loll
their lives.
The relllefs and ambitious temper of Jofeph did not
let him remain long at peace. He quickly declared
war againll the Fezzans, reduced them to become his
tributaries, and extended his conquells all along the
Mediterranean. He next attacked fome Arabian cheyks
who had not yet fubmitted to his juriidiition ; and pur-
lued them with fuch fury, that neither the Libyan de-
ferts, nor ridges of the moll craggy rocks, could Ihel-
ter them from his arms. He attacked them in fuch of
their retreats, callles, and fortrelfes, as were till then
deemed impregnable •, and at lall fubdued them, to the
great grief of the other African nations, who were
greatly annoyed by' the ravages committed by his nume¬
rous forces.
Thus was founded the empire of the Morabites :
which, however, was of no long duration •, that race
being in the 12th century driven out by Mohavedin,
a marabout. This race of prieils was expelled by Ah- Sharifs of
dulac governor of Fezy and he, in the 13th century, H^ce14’
ilripped of his new conqueils by the lliarifs of Hafcen,
the defeendants of thofe Arabian princes whom Abu-
Texefien had formerly expelled.
The better to fecure their new dominions, the fha-
rifs divided them into lever al little kingdoms or pro¬
vinces y and among- the rell the prefent kingdom of
Algiers was divided into four, namely, Tremccen, Te-
tiez, Algiers Propery and Bujeyah. The four firll mo-
narchs laid fo good a foundation for a lulling balance
of power between their little kingdoms, that they conti¬
nued for fome centuries in mutual peace and amity ;
but at length the king of Tremeeen having ventured
to violate fome of their articles, Abul-Farez, king of
Tenezi, declared war againll him, and obliged him to -
become his tributary. This king dying foon after, and
having divided his kingdom among his three Ions,
new difeords arofe j which Spain taking advantage of,
a powerful fleet and army was fent againll Barbary,
under the count of Navarre, in 1505. This com-Algerines,
mander foon made himfelf mailer of the important ci-in danger
ties of Oran, Bujeyah, and fome others; which f0 from the-
alarmed the Algerines, that they put themfelves under S^an^ar^s‘
the protection of Selim Eutemi, a noble and warlike
Arabian prince. He came to their affillance with a
great number of his bravell fubjedts, bringing with him
his wife Zaphira, and a fon then about 12 years old „
This, however, was not fufficient to prevent the Spa¬
niards
Algiers.
Invite JBar-
baroffa.
His treacli-
«ry and
cruelty.
A L G [ 678 ]
inards from landing a number of forces near Algiers lied to Oran
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
oppoiite to the city, which terrified their coriairs from
failing either in or out of the harbour.
To this galling yoke the Algerines were obliged to
fubmit till the year 1516 *, when, hearing of the death
of Ferdinand king of Spain, they fent an embafiy to
Aruch Barbarojfu, who was at this time no lefs dread¬
ed for his valour than his furpriling fuccefs, and was
then fent on a cruife with a fquadron ol galleys and
harks. The purport of the embalfy was, that he Ihould
come and free them from the Spamfh yoke ^ lor which
they agreed to pay him a gratuity aniwerable to lo
oreat a fervice. Upon this Barbaroffa immediately
difpatched 18 galleys and 30 harks to the alfiftance of
the Algerines : w'lnle he himlelf advanced towards the
city with 800 Turks, 3000 Jigelites, and 2000 Moor- -
illi volunteers. Inftead of taking the nearelf load to
Algiers, he direeled his courfe towards Sharjhel^ where
Hqfan, another famed corfair, had fettled himfelf.
Him he furprifed, and obliged to furrender} not with¬
out a previous promile of friendfhip-. but no fooner had
Barbarofla got him in his power, than he cut oft Ins
head ; and obliged all Haffan’s Turks to follow him in
his new expedition.
On Barharoffa’s approach to Algiers, he was met
by Prince Eutemi, attended by all the people cf that
metropolis, great and fmall who looked loi delivei-
ance from this abandoned villain, whom they account¬
ed invincible. He was conducted into the city amidft
the acclamations of the people, and lodged in one of
the nobletl apartments ol Prince Eutemi’s palace,
where he was treated with the greateft marks of di-
ftin&ion. Elated beyond meafure with this kind re¬
ception, Barharoffa formed a defign of becoming king
of Algiers $ and fearing lome oppofition Irom the in¬
habitants, on account of the exceftes he fuffered his fol-
diers to commit, murdered Prince Eutemi, and cauled
himfelf to be proclaimed king; his Turks and Moors
crying out as he rode along the ftreets, “ Long live
King Aruch Barbaroffa, the invincible king ol Algiers,
the chofen of God to deliver the people from the opprei-
fion of the Chrillians; and dellrublion to all that lliall
oppofe, or refufe to own him for their _ lawful fo-
vereign.” Thefe laft threatening words fo intimida¬
ted the inhabitants, already apprehenfive of a gene¬
ral maftacre, that he was immediately acknowledged
kin<>-. The unhappy princefs Zaphira, it is laid, poi-
foned herfelf, to avoid the brutality of this new king,
whom fhe unfuccefsfully endeavoured to ftab with a
dagger.
Barbaroffa was no fooner feated on the throne, than
he treated his fubjecls with fueh cruelty, that they
ufed to llmt up their houfes and hide themfelves when
he appeared in public. In confequence of this, a plot
was foon formed againft him ; but being difeovered,
he caufed twenty of the principal conlpirators to be
beheaded, their bodies to be buried in a dunghill, and
laid a heavy fine on thofe who furvived. This lo ter¬
rified the Algerines, that they never afterwards durlt
attempt any thing againft either Barbaroffa or his iuc-
ceftbrs. • 1 •
Xu the mean time, the Ion of 1 nnce xLulemi having
A L G
and put himfelf under the proteAion of Algiers.
the marquis of Gomarez., laid before that nobleman a v-— 
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 j who having approved ol it, lent a fleet with
10,000 land forces, under the command oi Don Fran-
eifeo, 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 diiperted by a ftorm, and the greateft part
of the Ihips dallied againft the rocks. Moll of the
Spaniards were drowned \ and the few who elcaped to
Ihore were either killed by the 1 urks or made Haves.
Though Barbarofla 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 lo.
The Arabians were fo much alarmed at his luccefs,
that they implored the alliftance of Hamid ci Abdes
king of Tenez, to drive the Turks out ol Algiers.
That prince readily undertook to do wdiat w-as hi his
power for this purpole, provided they agreed to lettlc
the kingdom on himfelf and his defeendants. This
proposal being accepted, he immediately let out at the
head of 10,000 Moors 5 and, upon his entering the
Algerine dominions, was joined by all the Arabians
in the country. Barbaroffa engaged him, with only
1000 Turkilh mufqueteers and 500 Granada Moors i
totally defeated his numerous army j purlued him to
the very gates of his capital, which he eably made
himfelf mailer of} and having given it up to be plun¬
dered by the Turks, obliged the inhabitants to ac¬
knowledge him as their lovereign. ft his victory, how¬
ever, was chiefly owung to the advantage which his
troops had from their fire-arms 3 the enemy having no
other weapons than arrows and javelins.
No fooner was Barbaroffa become mailer of the
kingdom of Tenez, than he received an embaffy from
the inhabitants of Tremecen 3 inviting him to come to
their alfiftance againft their then reigning prince, with
whom they were diflatisfied on account of his having
dethroned his nephew, and forced him to fly to Oran 3
offering him even the lovereignty, in cafe he accepted
of their propofal. The king of ftremecen, not fu-
fpecting the treachery of his lubjecls, 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 3 which he had no fooner entered, than his head
was cut off, and fent to Barbaroffa, with a frelh invi¬
tation to come and take poffellion ol the kingdom.
On his approach he was met with by the inhabitants,
whom he received with complaifance, and many fair
promifes: hut beginning to tyrannize as ulual, his
new fubjedts foon convinced him that they ivere not fo
paflive as the inhabitants ol Algiers. Apprehending,
therefore, that his reign might prove uneafy and pre¬
carious, he entered into an alliance with the king ol
Fez 3 after which, he took care to fecure the reft oi
the cities in his new kingdom, by garrifoning them
with his own troops. Some of thefe, hoAvever, revolt¬
ed foon after 3 upon which he fent one ol his coriairs,
named Efcander, a man no lefs cruel than himfelf, to
reduce them. The Tremecenians noiv began to re¬
pent
A L G L 679 ] A L G
Algiers. Pen^ good earneft of their having invited fuch a ty-
 v'*—J rant to their aftiftance •, and held confultations on the
moll proper means of driving him away, and bringing
back their lawful prince Abuchen Men ; but their ca¬
bals being difcovered, a great number of the confpira-
tors were maffacred in the moll cruel manner. The
prince had the good luck to efcape to Oran, and was
taken under the protedlion of the marquis of Gomarez,
who lent 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 5 who, under the guidance of Abu¬
chen Men, began his march towards Tremecen *, and
in their way they were joined by Prince Selim, with a
great number of Arabs and Moors. The firll thing
they refolved upon was, to attack the important for-
trefs of Calm/, lituated between Tremecen and Algiers,
and commanded by the corfair Efcander at the head of
about 300 Turks. They in veiled it clofely on all
fides, in hopes Barbarofla 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 embarrafled by
his 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 •, and, in a faHy they made at night, cut off
near 300 Spaniards. This encouraged them to ven¬
ture a fecond time; but they were now repulfed with
great lofs, and Efcander himfelf wounded : foon after
which, they furrendered upon honourable terms j but
were all maffacred by the Arabians, except 16, who
clung clofe to the llirrups of the king and of the Spa-
nilh general.
Barbaroffa being now informed that Abuchen Men,
with 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 return and fortify
himfelf in it. This advice wras now too late 5 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 to defend himfelf till he
could find an opportunity of Healing out with his men
and all his treafure. Here he defended himfelf vigo-
roufly ; but his provifions failing him, he took advan¬
tage of a fubterraneous back way, which he had caufed
to be digged up for that purpofe ; and, taking his im-
menfe treafure with him, Hole away as fecretly as he
could. His flight, however, was 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,
jewels, &c. to be fcattered all the way, thinking they
would not fail to Hop their purfuit to gather it up. This
llratagem, however, tailed, through the vigilance of
the Spanith 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
them all off; and then crofting the water, overtook him Algiers,
at a fmall diftance from it. Here a bloody engagementk——"v "" - 1
enfued, in which the Turks fought like as many lions j Bartmrofla
but, being at length overpowered by numbers, they killed
were all cut to pieces, and Barbaroffa among the reft, by the Spa¬
in the 44th year of his age, and four years after he had niards.
railed himfelf to the royal title of Jigel and the adja¬
cent country 5 two years after he had acquired the fo-
vereignty of Algiers, and fcarcely a tw'elvemonth after
the reduftion of Tremecen. His head was carried to
Tremecen on the point of a fpear j 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 oft’ writh all poflible fpeed, to avoid being at¬
tacked by the enemy.
The news of Barbaroffa’s death fpread the utmoft Succeeded
confternation among the Turks at Algiers: however,^ Huyia-
they caufed his brother Hayradin to be immediately
proclaimed king. The Spanifti commander now fent
back the emperor’s forces, without making any at¬
tempt upon Algiers 5 by which he loft the opportunity
of driving the Turks out of that country *, while Hay¬
radin, juftly dreading the confequences of the tyranny
of his officers, fought the protedtion of the Grand Sig-
nior. This was readily granted, and himfelf appointed
bafliaw or viceroy of Algiers ; by which means he re¬
ceived fuch conliderable 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 Arabs
in fubjedtion at home, but of annoying the Chriftians at
fea. His firft ftep was to take the Spanifh fort above He takes
mentioned, which was a great nuilance to his metropo-the Spanifli
lis. The Spaniards held out to the laft extremity j butfort-
being all flain or wounded, Hayradin eafily became
mailer of the place.
Hayradin next fet about building a ftrong mole for
the fafety of his fliips. In this he employed 30,000
Chriftian Haves, whom he obliged to work without in-
termiffion for three years 5 in which time the v7ork was
completed. He then caufed the fort he had taken from
the Spaniards to be repaired, and placed a ftrong garri¬
fon in it, to prevent any foreign veffels from enterin';
the harbour without giving an account of themfelves.
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 frefli fupply of
money, by which he was enabled to build a llronger
fort, and to eredfl batteries on all places that might fa¬
vour the landing of an enemy. All thefe have lince
received greater improvements from time to time, as of¬
ten as there was occafion for them.
In the mean time the fultan, either out of a fenfe of Succeeded
the great fervices Hayradin had done, or perhaps out by tiaiTatt
of jealoufy left he fhould make himfelf independent
raifed Hayradin to the dignity of bafliaw 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 poffeffion of his new government, than he
began to purfue his ravages on the Spanifti ccnft with
greater
/
A L G
[ 680 ]
A L G
Algiers.
Charles V
expedition
againft Al
siers.
Algiers in
great con*
fteruation.
Prevented
l>y a mad
prophet
from fur-
rendering.
greater fury than ever ; extending them to the eecle-
J iiaftical ftate, and other parts of Italy. But Pope
* Paul III. being alarmed at this, exhorted the emperor
Charles V. to fend a powerful fleet to lupprefs thofe
frequent and cruel piracies; and that nothing might
he wanting to render the enterprife luccefslul, a bull
was publilhed by his holinefs, wherein a plenary abfo-
lution of fins, and the crown of martyrdom, wTere pro-
mifed to all thofe who either fell in battle or were
made flaves ; the emperor on his part needed no fpur;
and therefore let tail at the head of a powerful fleet,
•confifting of 120 Ihips and 20 galleys, having on hoard
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 thefie many knights of Malta, fo remarkable for
their valour againft the enemies of Chriftianity. Bven
ladies of birth and character attended Charles in his
expedition, and the wives and daughters of the officers
and foldiers followed them with a delign to fettle in
Barbary after the conqueff was finillied. All thefe meet¬
ing with a favourable wind, loon appeared before Al¬
giers ; every Ihip difplaying the Spanilh colours on the
Hern, and another at the head, with a crucifix to lerve
them for a pilot.
By this prodigious armament, the Algerines were
thrown into thb utmoft conllernation. The city was
furrounded only by a wall with fcarce any outworks.
The whole garrilon confifted of 800 T^urks and 6000
Moors, without fire-arms, and poorly difeiplined and
accoutred; the reft of their forces being difperfed in
the other provinces ol the kingdom, to levy the ufual
tribute on the Arabs and Moors. The Spaniards land¬
ed without oppolition, 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, Haft
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 exhort him to
return to the Chriftian religion. But to this Haflan
only replied, that he muft be a madman who would
pretend to advife an enemy, and that the advifed muft
ftill a£t more madly who would take counfel of fuch an
advifer. He was, however, on the point ot furrender¬
ing the citv, 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, relolving upon a general affault, kept a conftant
firing upon the town; which, from the weak defence
made by the garrifon, he looked upon as already in
his hands. But while the dowan, or Algerine fenate,
were deliberating on the moft proper means of obtain¬
ing an honourable capitulation, a mad prophet, attend¬
ed by a multitude of people, entered the affembly, and
foretold the fpeedy deftruftion of the Spaniards before
the end of the moon, exhorting the inhabitants to hold
out till that time. This predi&ion was foon accom-
plifhed in a very furprifing and unexpected manner: for,
on the 28th of Odtober 1541, a dreadful ftorm ot wind,
rain, and hail, arole from the north, accompanied with
violent fhocks of earthquakes, and a difmal and uni-
verfal darknefs both by lea and land; fo that the iun,
Algim-
moon, and elements, feemed to combine together for the
deftruClion of the Spaniards. In that one night, fome
fay in lets than half an hour, 86 thips and 15 galleys
were deftroyed, with all their crews and military ftores ; ftroyed *by
by which the army on Ihore was deprived of all means a ftorm.
-of fubfifting in thefe parts. Their camp alfo, which
fpread itfelf along the plain under the fort, was laid
quite under w^ater by the torrents which defeended from
-the neighbouring hills. Many of the troops, by trying
to remove into fome better fituation, were cut in pieces
by the Moors and Arabs ; while feveral galleys and other
veflels, endeavouring to gain fome neighbouring creeks
along the coafts, were immediately plundered, and their
'Crews maflacred, by the inhabitants.
The next morning Charles beheld the fea covered Siege of
with the fragments ol fo many Ihips, and the bodies of
men, horfes, and other creatures, fwimming on the
waves; at which he was fo 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 Malabux, in order
to reimbark in thofe few veffels which had outweathered
the ftorm. But Haffan, who had caufed his motions to
be watched, allowed him juft time to get to the fhore,
when he tallied out and attacked the Spaniards in the
midft of their hurry and conlufion to get into their llups,
killing great numbers, and bringing away a ftill great¬
er number of captives; after which he returned in
triumph to Algiers, where he celebrated with great
rejoicings his happy deliverance from fuch diftrefs and
danger.
Soon after this, the prophet IV/f/, who had foretold The mad
the deftrudion of the Spaniards, was not only declared prophet
the deliverer of his country, but had a confiderablerewarde<L
gratuity decreed him, with .the liberty of exercifing his
prophetic function unmolefted. It was not long, how¬
ever, before the marabouts, and fome interpreters of
the law, made a ftrong oppofition againft him; remon-
ftrating to the baftiaw, how ridiculous and fcandalous it
ivas to their nation, to aferibe the deliverance of it to a
poor fortune-teller, which had been obtained by the fer¬
vent prayers of an eminent faint of their own profeflion.
But though the bafliaw and his dowan feemed, out^ of
policy, to give into this laft notion, yet the impreflion
which Yufef’s predictions and their late accomplilhment
had made upon the minds ol the common people, proved
too ftrong to be eradicated ; and the Ipint of divination
and conjuring has fince got into luch credit among
them, that not only their great ftatelmen, but their
priefts, marabouts, and iantoons, have applied themfelves
to that ftudy, and dignified it with the name ol ALaho-
met's Revelatiojis.
The unhappy Spaniards had fcarcely reached their Frefh cala-
fliips, when they were attacked by a frefli ftorm, inmitiesof
Avhich feveral more of them perifhed ; one fliip in Par' niards!
ticular, containing 700 foldiers, befides lailors, funk
in the emperor’s light, without a poflibility of having
a fingle man. At length, with much labour, they
reached the port of JBujeyah, at that time poflefled by
the Spaniards, whither fiaffan king ol lunis loon al¬
ter repaired Avith a fupply of provifions lor the empe¬
ror, avIio received him gracioully, vvith frefii aflurances
of his favour and proteftion. Here he difmiffed the few
remains of the Maltele knights and their forces, who^
embarked in three ihattered galleys, and with much dif¬
ficulty
Algiers.
Haffan re¬
duces Tre-
mecen.
Bujeyah
taken from
tlie .Spa¬
niards.
Haffan Cor
fo chofen
bafliaw by
the janiza¬
ries.
Superfeded
by Tekelli,
"ho puts
him to a
cruel death
Haflan re-
riiilated.
A L G [68
ficulty and danger reached their own country. Charles
1 himfelf ftaid 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 ol 120 fhips and galleys were loft, above
300 colonels and other land and fea officers, 8000 fol-
diers and marines, befides thofe deftroyed by the ene¬
my on the reimbarkation, or drowned in the fall ftorm.
The number of prtfoners was fo great, that the Alge¬
rines fold fame of them, by way of contempt, for an
onion per head.
Haffan, elated with this victory, in which he had
Very little ftiare, undertook an expedition againft the
king of Tremecen, who, being now deprived of the af-
fiftance of the Spaniards, was forced to procure a peace,
by paying a vaft fum of money, and becoming tributary
to him. The baftiawr returned to Algiers, laden with
riches ; and foon after died of a fever, in the 66th year
of his age.
I rom this time the Spaniards were never able to an¬
noy the Algerines in any confiderable degree. In 1555,
they loft the city of Bujeyah, which was taken by Salha
Rais, Kalian’s fticceffor j who next year fet out on a new
expedition, which he kept a fecret, but was fufpected to
be intended againft Oran 5 but he was fcarcely got four
leagues from Algiers, when the plague, which at that
time raged violently in the city, broke out in his groin,
and carried him off in 24 hours.
Immediately after his death the Algerine foldiery
chofe a Corfican renegade, Haffan Corfo, in his room,
till they ffiould receive farther orders from the Porte.
He did not accept of the baffiawffiip without a good deal
of difficulty } but immediately profecuted the intended
expedition againft Oran, defpatching a meffenger to
acquaint the Porte with what had happened. They
had hardly begun their hoftilities againft the place,
■"'hen orders came from the Porte, exprefsly forbidding
Haffan Corfo to begin the ftege, 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 lure of fuccefs, the garrifon
being at that time very weak. Neverthelefs, as they
dared not difobey, the fiege Was immediately railed.
Corfo had hardly enjoyed his dignity four months,
before news came1, that eight galleys were bringing a
new baffiaw to fucceed him *, one Tefcelli, a principal
Turk of the Grand Signior’s court: upon which the
Algerines unanimoufly 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 wall in which a number of iron hooks were fix¬
ed ; one of which catching the ribs of his right fide,
be hung three days in the moft exquifite torture before
he expired.
Tekelli had no fooner entered upon his new govern¬
ment, than he behaved with fuch cruelty and rapaci-
oufnefs, that he was affaffinated even under the dome of
a faint, by Yufef Calabr es, the favourite renegado of
Haffan Corfo ; who for this fervice was unanimoully
chofen bafliaw, but died of the plague fix days after
his election.
Yufef was fucceeded by Haffan the fon of Hayra-
din, wbo had been formerly recalled from his bafhaw-
Ihip, when he was fucceeded by Salha Rais j and now
had the good fortune to get himfelf reinllated in his
Vol. i. Part II.
I ] A L G
employment. Immediately on his arrival, be engaged Algiers.
in a war with the Arabs, by whom lie was defeated ^ ""~"v 1
with great lofs. I he next year, the Spaniards under-‘^Pan^a^s
took an expedition againft Moftagan, under the com-
mand of the count d’Alcandela; but were utterly de-flafagbter.
feated, the commander himfelf killed, and 12,000 men
taken prifoners. This difafter was owing to the incon-
liderate ralhneis, or rather madnefs, of the commander j
which was lo great, that, after finding it impoffible to
rally his icattered forces, he milled fword in hand into
the thiekeft of the enemy’s ranks, at the head of a fmall
number of men, crying out, “ St Jago ! St Jago ! the
victory is ours, the enemy is defeated 4” foon after
which he was thrown from his horfe, and trampled to
death.
Haffan having had the misfortune to diioblige his
fubjedts, by allowing the mountaineers of Cuco to buy
ammunition at Algiers, was lent in irons to Conftan-jjaffan fenj
tinople, while the aga of the janizaries, and general in irons to
of the land forces, fupplied his place. Haffan ealilyConftanti-
found means to clear himfelf j but a new bafliaw was nof^c'
appointed, called Achmet j who had no fooner arrived
than he lent the two deputy bafliaws to Conftantinople,
where their heads were ftruck off.—Achmet ivas a man
of fuch infatiable avarice, that, upon his arrival at Al¬
giers, all ranks of people came in llioals to make him
prefents; which he the more greedily accepted, as he
had bought his dignity with the money he had amaffed
while head gardener to the ftiltan. He enjoyed it,
however, only four months; and after his death, the
ftate wras governed other four months by his lieutenant:
when Haffan ivas a third time fent viceroy to Algiers, Reinftated.
where he was received with the greateft demonftrations
of joy.
The firft enterprife in which Haffan engaged, was Siege of
the fiege of Marfalquiver, fituated near the city Oran, Marfalqoi-
which he defigned to inveft immediately after. Thever*
army employed in this fiege confifted of 26,000 foot
and 10,000 horfe, befides which he had a fleet conlift-
ing of 32 galleys and galliots, together with three
Trench veffels laden with bifeuit, oil, and other provi-
fions. The city was defended by Don Martin de Cor¬
dova, brother of the count de Alcandela, who had been
taken prifoner in the battle where that nobleman was
killed, but had obtained his liberty from the Algerines
with immenfe fums, and now made a moft gallant de¬
fence againft the Turks. The city was attacked with
the utmoft fury by fea and land, fo that feveral breaches
were made in the walls. The Turkifli ftandards were
feveral times planted on the wralls, and as often dif-
lodged ; but the place muft have in the end fubmitted,
had not Haffan been obliged to raife the fiege in hafte,
on the news that the famed Genoefe admiral Doria was
approaching with confiderable fuccours from Italv. The
fleet accordingly arrived foon after ; but miffing the Al¬
gerine galleys, bore away for Pennon de Velez, where
they were fliamefully repulfed by a handful of Turks
who garrifoned that place ; which, however, was taken
the follow'ing year.
In 1567, Haffan was again recalled to Conftanti-IIaaan a'
nople, where he died three years after. He was fuc- called *1'
ceeded by Mahomet, who gained the love of the Al¬
gerines by feveral public-fpirited actions. He incorpo¬
rated the janizaries and Levantine Turks together,
and by that means put an end to their diffenfions, which
4 R laid
A L G
r 68
Algiers, laid the foundation of the Algerine independency on
>. —-y . f the Porte. He likewife added lome conliderahle lorti-
ficatlons to the city and caftle, rvhich he deligned to
John Gaf- render mi pregnable. But while he was thus Undying
ton s hold •nterefl- 0f Algiers, one John Gafcon, a hold Spa-
nilli adventurer, formed a defign of iurpriiing the whole
gerine fleet, piratic navy in the hay, and letting them on fire in the
night-time, when they lay defenceleis, and in their
fir if fleep. For this he had not only the permiffion ol
King Philip II. hut was furniflied by him with proper
veffels, mariners, and fireworks, for tht? execution of
his plot. With thefe he let fail for Algiers in the moll
proper feafon, viz. the beginning of Odober, when
moil, if not all the lliips lay at anchor there, and ea-
iily failed near enough unluipeded, to view their man¬
ner of riding, in order to catch them unawares, at a
time when the greater part of their crews were difperled
in their quarters. He came accordingly, unperceived
by any, to the very mole-gate, and difperfed his men
with their fire-works •, hut to their great furprife, they
Hi* bravado fimml them fo ill mixed, that they could not with all
at the city their art make them take fire. In the mean time, Gaf-
Algiers.
gate
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 dillurbance or oppofition :
but it was not fo with his men ‘7 for no fooner did they
find their endeavours unfuccefsful, than they made fuch
a bullle as quickly alarmed the guard polled on the ad¬
jacent ballion, from which the uproar quickly fpread
itfelf through the whole garrifon. Gafcon now finding
himfelf in the utmoll danger, tailed away with all pol-
(s taken : ^ut was purfued, overtaken, and brought
and put to hack a prifoner to Mahomet: who no fooner got him
death. into his power, than he immediately caufed a gibbet
of confiderable height to be erected on the Ipot where
Gafcon had landed, ordering him to he hoilled 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 mafter, he ordered his commd-
fion to be tied to his toes. He had not, however, hung
long in this Hate, when the captain who took him, ac¬
companied by a number of other corlairs, interceded fo
flrongly in his behalf, that he was taken down, and
put under the care of fome Chriftian furgeons 5 but two
days after, fome Moors reporting that it was 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 5
while, on the other hand, the Algerines look upon his
difappointment to have been miraculous, and owing to
the efficacious protection of the powerful faint Sich Ou-
tededda, whofe prayers had before raifed fuch a terrible
florm againll tbe Spaniffi fleet.
Mahomet, being loon after recalled, was fucceeded
by the famous renegado Ochali, wbo reduced the
kingdom of Tunis; which, however, remained fub-
2 ] A L G
jeCt to the viceroy of Algiers only till the year 1586,
when a baffiaw of Tunis was appointed by the Porte. v —|
The kingdom of Algiers continued to he governed,,
till the beginning of the leventeenth century, by vice¬
roys or baffiaws appointed by tbe Porte *, 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 lall the
Turkilh janizaries and militia becoming powerful
enough to lupprefs the tyrannic iway of thefe bafhaws^
and the people being almofl exhaufled by the heavy
taxes laid upon them, the former refolved to depofe
thefe petty tyrants, and fet up fome officer of their
own at the head of the realm. The better to fucceed
in this attempt, the militia fent a deputation of lome ot
their chief members to the Porte, to complain of the
avarice and oppreilion of thefe baffiaws, wbo funk both
tbe revenue of the flate, and the money remitted to it
from Conflantinople, into their own coders, which
ffiould 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 affifled by any Chriflian
power, would hardly fail of driving all the 1 urks out of
the kingdom. They reprefented to the Grand \ izier
how much more honourable as well as ealier and
cheaper, it would be for the Grand Signioi to peimit
them to choofe their own dey, or governor, from among
themfelves, whofe interefl 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 exigences of the Hate, without any further charge
or trouble to the Porte than that of allowing them its
protection. On their part, they engaged always to
acknowledge the Grand Sigmors as their foyereigns,
and to pay them their ufual allegiance and tribute, to
refpeCl their baffiaws, and even to lodge and maintain
them and their retinue, in a manner luitable to their
dignity, at their own charge. The baffiaws, however,
were,' for the future, to be excluded from aflifling at
any but general douwans, unlefs invited to it } and
from having the liberty of voting in them, unlefs when
their advice was alked, or the interell of the Porte was
likely to fuffer by their filence. All other concerns,
which related to the government of Algiers, were to be
wholly left under the diredion of the dey and his dou-
Thofe propofals having been accepted by the I ortG *
the deputies returned highly fatisfied; and having noti- ^
lied their new privileges, the great douivan immediate-own deySi
ly proceeded to the election of a dey from among
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 fubjeCts to
fwear; and the militia, navy, commerce, &c. were all
fettled pretty nearly on the footing upon which they
now are, and which ffiall be afterwards deferibed;
though the fubiequent altercations that frequently hap¬
pened between the baffiaws and deys, the one endea¬
vouring to recover their former power, and the other to
curtail it, caufed fuch frequent complaints and diicon-
tents at the Ottoman court, as made them frequent y
repent their compliance*.
la
A L G t 683 ] A L G
Algiers. In tlie year 1601, the Spaniards, under the com-
-~\r—; mand 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 off without lofs.
In 1609, the Moors being expelled from Spain, flock¬
ed in great numbers to Algiers; and as many of them
Become were very able failors, they undoubtedly contributed to
FiT ma'Ke ^ie Algerine fleet fo formidable as it became foon
ro ns. after ; though it is probable the frequent attempts made
on their city Would alio induce them to increafe their
fleet. In 1616, their fleet confided of 40 fail of flaps
between 200 and 400 tons, their admiral 500 tons. It
Was divided into two fquadrons, one of 18 fail, before
« the port of Malaga ; and the other at the cape of San¬
ta Maria, between Lifbon and Seville ; both of which
attacked all Chriftian flaps, both Englifh and French,
with whom they pretended to be in friendihip, as well
as Spaniards and Portuguefe, with whom they were at
war.
The Algerines were now become very formidable to
the European power's. The Spaniards, who were mod
in danger, and lead able to cope with them, folicited
the aflidance of England, the pope, and other dates.
The French, however, were the fil’d who dared to lliow
their refentment of the perfidious behaviour of thefe
mifcreants; and in 1617, M. Beaulieu was fent againd
them with a fleet of 50 men of war, who defeated their
fleet, took two of their veffels, while their admiral funk
his own diip and crew, rather than fall into his ene¬
mies hands.
An Englifh In 1620, a fquadron of Englifh men of war was
fquadron fent againd Algiers, under the conduct of Sir Robert
font againft ]\fanfe] • lmt 0f this expedition we have no other ac-
rines. ” count than that it returned without doing any thing }
and the Algerines, becoming more and more infolcnt,
openly defied all the European powers, the Dutch only
excepted 5 to whom, in 1625, they fent a propofal di-
redled to the prince of Orange, that in cafe they would
fit out 20 fail of fhips 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
feized on the citadel, had well nigh made themfelves
maders of the city ; but were attacked by tbe Turks
and renegadoes, who defeated them with terrible daugh¬
ter. Many of them ivere put to death ; and their
heads thrown in heaps upon the city walls, without
the eadern gate. Part of the citadel was blown up 5
and the remaining Coulolies were diffmiffed from the
militia, to which they were not again admitted till
long after.
States of In I^23i the Algerines and other dates of Barbary
Barbary threw off their dependence on the Porte altogether, and
thekd°^ ^ ^01 ^,ern^ves’ What gave occafion to this was
dence y^en‘the 25 years truce which Sultan Amurath IV. was ob-
tlic Porte. %ed to make with the emperor Ferdinand II. to pre¬
vent his being overmatched by carrying on a war a-
gaind him and the fophi of Perfia at the fame time. As
this put a dop to the piratical trade of the Algerines,
they proceeded as above mentioned, and refolved, that
whoever defired to he at peace with them, mud, di-
dincily and feparately, apply to their government.-—
No fooner was this refolution taken, than the Algerines Algiers.
began to make prizes of feveral merchant fhips belong- 1 ^
ing to powers at peace with the Porte. Nay, having
feized a Dutch fliip and polacre at Scanderoon, they
ventured on lliore j and finding the town abandoned
by the Turkifh aga and inhabitants, they plundered
all the magazines and warehoufes, and let 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 demolidied. This,
after fome difficulty, he accomplifhed j and it was call¬
ed the Bajlion of France : but the fituation being af¬
terwards 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 embarraffed with the
Perfian war, that there was no leifure to check the
Algerine piracies. This gave an opportunity to the
vizier and other courtiers to compound matters with
the Algerines, and to get a fliare of their prizes, which
were very coniiderable. However, for form’s fake, a
fevere reprimand, accompanied with threats, was fent
them j to which they replied, “ that thefe depredations
deferred to be indulged to them, feeing they were the
only bulwark againll the Chriftian powers, efpecially
agaihft the Spaniards, the fworn enemies of the Moflem
name j adding, that “ if they fnould pay a punctilious
regard to all that could pnrchafe peace, or liberty to
trade with the Ottoman empire, they would have no¬
thing to do but fet fire to all their flapping, and turn
camel-drivers for a livelihood.”
In the year 1635, four younger brothers of a good Befpcrate
family in France entered into an undertaking- fo def-
perate, that perhaps the annals ot knight-errantry can younger
fcarcely furnifh its equal.-—This was no lefs than to re- brothers,
tort the piracies of the Algerines upon themfelves; and
as they indiferiminately took the flaps of all nations,
fo were thefe heroes indiferiminately to take the flaps
belonging to Algiers 5 and this with a fmall frigate of
ten guns !—In this ridiculous undertaking, 100 volun¬
teers embarked , a Maltefe commiffion was procured,
together with an able mafter, and 36 mariners.-—They
had the good fortune, on their firft fetting out, to take
a flap laden with wine, on the Spanifh coaft: with
which they were fo much elated, that three days after
they madly encountered two large Algerine corfairs, one
of 20 and the other of 24 guns, both well manned, and
commanded by able officers. Thefe two large veffels
having got the fmall frigate between them, plied her
furioufly with great fliot, and foon took off her main-
maft : notwithftanding which, the French made fo def-
perate 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, was boarded and taken. The young knight-
errants were punifhed for their temerity by a dreadful
captivity, from which they redeemed themfelves 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, admjral
till the year 16525 when a French fleet being acciden- the*Turkfll*
tally driven to Algiers, the admiral took it into his head bafhaw.
to demand a releafe of all the captives of his nation,
without exception. This being refufed, the French¬
man without ceremony carried off the Turkifli vice-
4 R 2 roy,
A L G
[ 684 ]
A L G
Algiers.
The Alge¬
rines lit out
a formida¬
ble fleet,
which is
totally de-
ftroyed by
the Vene¬
tians.
roy, and his cadi or judge, who had juit arrived from
the Porte, with all their equipage and retinue. rihe
Algerines, by way of reprifal, furprifed the Bailion ot
France already mentioned, and carried oft the inhabi¬
tants to the number of 600, with all their effects *,
which fo provoked the admiral, that he lent them word
that he would pay them another viiit the next year with
his whole fleet.
The Algerines, undifmayed by the threats of the
French admiral, fitted out a fleet of 16 galleys and gal¬
liots, excellently manned and equipped, under the com¬
mand of Admiral Hali Pinchinin.—The chief delign
of this armament was againft the trealure of Loretto ;
which, however, they were prevented by contrary winds
from obtaining. On this they made a defeent on
Puglia in the kingdom of Naples ; where they ravaged
the whole territory of Necotra, carrying oft a vail num¬
ber of captives, and among them fome nuns. From
thence fleering towards Dalmatia, they fcoured the
Adriatic ; and loading themfelves with immenfe plun¬
der, left thofe coafls in the utmofl conflernation and re-
fentment.
At lafl the Venetians, alarmed at fuch terrible de¬
predations, equipped a fleet ot 28 fail, under the com¬
mand of Admiral Capello, with expvefs orders to burn,
fink, or take, all the Barbary corfairs he met with,
either 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 bafhaw, who
had been fent out with the Turkifh fleet to chafe the
Florentines and Maltefe cruifers out of the Archipe¬
lago, underflanding,that the Algerine fquadron was fo
near, fent exprefs orders to the admiral to come to his
affiflance. Pinchinin readily agreed j but having fir ft
refolved on a defeent upon the ifland of Liffa, or Lifi-
na, belonging to the Venetians, he was overtaken by
Capello, from whom he retired to "V alona, a fea port
belonging to the Grand Signior, whither the Venetian
admiral pui'fued him ; but the Turkifh government re¬
futing to eject 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. Pinchinin was foon weary of rellraint, and
ventured out ; when an engagement immediately en-
fued, in which the Algerines were defeated, and five
of their vefl'els difabled, writh the lofs of 1300 men,
Turks, and Chriflian Haves ; belides 1600 galley Haves
who regained their liberty. Pinchinin, after this de¬
feat, returned to Valona, where he was again watched
by Capello but the latter had not long lain at his old
anchorage befoi’e he received a letter from the fenatc,
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 care left he incurred the lultan’s
difpleafure by fuch infults. The brave Venetian was
forced to comply ; but refolving to take fuch a leave
of the Algerines as he thought they deferved, obferved
how they had reared their tents, and drawn their booty
and equipage along the fliore. He then kept firing
among their tents, while fome well manned galliots
and brigantines were ordered among their fliipping,
who attacked them with fuch bravery, that, without
any great lofs, they rowed out their 16 galleys, with
all their cannon, ftores, &c.—In this laft engagement
a ball from one of the Venetian galleys happening to Algiers,
ftrike a Turkifh mofque, the whole adtion was conlider- -y*—J
ed as an infult upon the Grand Signior. To conceal
this, Capello was ordered to fink all the Algerine fliips
he had taken, except the admiral ; which was to be
conducted to Venice, and laid up as a trophy. Capello
came off with a fevere reprimand ; but the Venetians
were obliged to buy, with 300,000 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 fihould continue in his
fervice till the end of the enfuing fummer ; but Pinchi¬
nin, who knew how little the Algerines chofe to lie
under obligations to him, civilly declined the ofter.
In the mean time, the news of this defeat and lofs Algiers in
filled Algiers with the utmoft grief and confufion. The
whole city was on the point of a genera! infurredtion, at the
when the bafliaw and domvan iffued a proclamation, news,
forbidding not only complaints and outcries, under the
fevereft penalties } but all perfons whatever to take their
thumbs from within their girdles, while they were deli¬
berating upon this important point. In the mean time
they applied to the Porte for an order that the V ene-
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 wTell as build new
fliips in the bell manner they could. It wras not long,
however, before they had the fatisfaftion to fee one of
their corfairs land with a frefih fupply of 600 Haves,
whom he had brought from the coafl of Iceland, whi -
ther he had been directed by a mifereant native taken
on board a Danifli fliip. , ^
Our pirates did not long continue in their weak and
defencelefs Hate 5 being able, at the end of twro years, fleeti
to appear at fea with a fleet of 65 fail. The admiral
Pinchinin equipped four galliots at his own expence :
with which, in conjunction with the chiayah, or fe-
cretary of the bafhaw of Tripoli, he made a fecond ex-
curfion. This fmall fquadron, confifting of five gal¬
leys and two brigantines, fell in with an Englifh ihip
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 Ihip which came in their way. This happen-Vive of
ed to be a Dutch merchantman, of 28 guns, which ''vas'[j\CsU(jffeat-
deeply laden, and unable to ufe her fails by reafon of cj by a
a calm. Pinchinin immediately fummoned her to fur- Dutch mer-
render j but receiving an ironical anfwer, drew up his cliantisiui.
fquadron in form of a half moon, that they might
pour all their fliot 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 fhip 5 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 poffefhon 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 fhot; 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 other galleys } but that ihip lay fo deep in tho
water,,
A L G
[ 685 ]
A L G
Algiers.
Prepara¬
tions a-
gainft Al¬
giers by
Louis XIV.
Algiers
bombarded
and fet on
ire by the
French.
Algerines
commit
Ireadful ra¬
vages in
Prance.
Phe city a-
?ain bom-
jarded.
water, tliat every ihot did terrible execution among the
pirates •, fo that they were obliged to remove farther off.
At laid the Dutch captain, having ordered his guns to
be loaded with cartouches, gave them fuch a parting
volley as killed 200 of them, and lent the rell back to
Algiers in a mold difmal plight.
But though Pinchinin thus returned in difgrace, the
reld of the fleet quickly came back with vaft numbers
of Haves, and an immenfe quantity of rich fpoils ; info-
much that the Englilh, French, and Dutch, were obli¬
ged to cringe to the mighty Algerines, who fometimes
vouchfafed to he at peace with them, but fwore eternal
war againft Spain, Portugal, and Italy, whom they
looked upon as the greateft enemies to the Mahometan
name. At laid Louis XIV. provoked by the grievous
outrages committed by the Algerines on the coaft of
Provence and Languedoc, ordered, in 1681, a conlx-
derable fleet to be fitted out againft them, under the
marquis du Quefne, vice-admiral of France. His Arid
expedition was againft a number of Tripolitan corfairs ;
who had the good fortune to outrow him, and flicker
themfelves in the ifland of Scio belonging to the Turks.
This did not, however, prevent him from purfuingthem
thither, and making fuch terrible fire upon them as
quickly" deldroyed 14 of their vefl'els, befides battering
the walls of the caftle.
This feverity feemed only to he defigned as a check
to the piracies of the Algerines 5 hut, 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 mold of the houfes laid in ruins, infomuch
that the inhabitants were on the point of abandoning
the place ) when on a fudden the wind turned about,
and obliged Du Quefne to return to Toulon. The Alge¬
rines immediately made reprifals, by fending a number
of galleys and galliots to the coaft of Provence, where
they committed the mold dreadful ravages, and brought
away a vaid number of captives : upon which a new ar¬
mament was ordered to be got ready at Toulon and
Marfeilles againft the next year 5 and the Algerines,
having received timely notice, put themfelves into as
good a ftate of defence as the time would allow.
In May 1683, Quefne with his fquadron caft
anchor before Algiers y 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 firld
day, which did terrible execution ; while the befjeged
made fonie hundred difchargos 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 difmounted, and feveral veffels funk in the
port. The dey and Turkifh bafliaw, as well as the
whole foldiery, alarmed at this dreadful havock, im¬
mediately fued for peace. As a preliminary, the im¬
mediate furrender was in lifted 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 he got from the dif¬
ferent parts of the country. Accordingly Du Quefne
lent his commiflary-general and one of his engineers Algiers,
into the town ; but with exprefs orders to infill upon 1 1 v"“ 1
the delivery of all the French captives without excep¬
tion, together with the effects they had taken from
the French : and that Mez,omorto their then admiral,
and Hali liais one of their captains, fhould be given as
hoftages.
This laft demand having embarraffed the dey, he af~
fembled the douwan,: and acquainted them with it j
upon which Mezomorto fell into a violent paftion, and
told the affembly that the cowardice of thole 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
paffed ; which fo exafperated them, that they murdered
the dey that very night, and on the morrow chofe Me¬
zomorto 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
part of the city was reduced to allies 5 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 fiain, whofe blood ran in rivulets along the
ftreet; or rather, growing furious ^nd defperate, fought
only how to wreak his vengeance on the enemy } and, not
content with cauling all the French in the city to he
cruelly murdered, ordered their conful to be tied hand
and foot, and faftened alive to the mouth of a mortar,
from whence he wras fnot away againft their navy.—By
this piece of inhumanity Du Quefne was fo exafpera¬
ted, that he did not leave Algiers till he had utterly
deftroyed all their fortifications, {hipping, almoft all the
lower part, and above tw o-thirds of the upper part of
the city, by which means it became little elfe than a
heap of ruins.
The haughty Algerines wrere now thoroughly con-Algerines
vinced that they were not invincible j and therefore ^ue for
immediately fent an embaffy into France, begging in l'eace’
the moft abject terms for peace ; which Louis imme¬
diately granted, to their inexprellible joy. They now
began to pay fome regard to other nations, and to be
a little cautious bow 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 j686.
It is not to he 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 Englifli fhips when they
could conveniently come at them. Upon fome in-Seven of
fringement of this kind, Captain Beach drove afhore their Ihips
and burnt feven of their frigates in 1695; which pro-liUrnt ,by
duced a renewal of the treaty five years after; but it 15^.}"'
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 Englifli than to
any other European power,
Ths„-
.1
/
A L G [ 686 ] A L G
Algiers. The prefent century furniflies no very remarkable
'' ■, v ■■ 1 events with regard to Algiers, except the taking of the
ofth'^Turk ^ame^ city of Oran from the Spaniards in 1708 (which
ifli balhaw"however they regained in 1737), and the expullion of
theTurkifli balhaw, and uniting his office to that of dey
in 1710. This introduced the form of government
which ftill continues in Algiers.
Revenues, The dey is now abfolute monarch} and pays no
&c. ofthe othgj. 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. Hr Shaw
computes the taxes of the whole kingdom to bring into
the treafury no more than 300,000 dollars } but iup-
pofes that the eighth part ol the prizes, the effedts of
thofe perfons who die without children, joined to the
yearly contributions railed by the government, prelents
from foreigners, fines and oppreffions, 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 pradtifing upon one another, and eipe-
cially upon ftrangers, feeing they themfelves are impove-
riffied by heavy taxes and the injultice of thofe who are
in authority.
We have already hinted, that the firft deys were
eledted by the militia, who were then called the doitwaii
or common council. This eledtive body was at firll
compofed of 800 militia officers, without whofe con-
fent the dey could do nothing ; and upon fome urgent
occafions all the officers refiding in Algiers, amount¬
ing to above 1500, were fummoned to affiil. But
fince the deys, who may be compared to the Hutch
lladtholders, have become more powerful, the dou-
wan is principally compofed of 30 chiah balhaws or
colonels, with now' and then the mufti and cadi upon
/ fome emergencies j and, on the eledtion 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 alfembly, before they pals 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 af-
fient to what the dey and his chief favourites have con-
Strangc certed beforehand. The method of gathering the votes
method of |n aUgUff aflembly is perfedtly agreeable to the cha-
the^votef ofra^er °f thofe who compofe it. The aga, or general
the dou- °f the janizaries, or the prefident pro tempore, firll pro-
wan. pofes the queltion } wdiich is immediately repeated with
a loud voice by the chiah balhaws, and from them
echoed again by officers called bajhaldalas; from thefe
the queftion is repeated from one member of the dou¬
wan to another, with llrange contortions, and the moll
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 dilpleafed with the quellion, and
from Inch a prepollerous method, it is not furprifing
that thefe alfemblies ffiould feldom end without fome
tumult or diforder. As the whole body of the militia
is concerned in the eledtion of a new dey, it is feldom
carried on without blows and bloodlhed: but when
once the choice is made, the perfon eledted is faluted
3
with the wrords Alla Barick, “ God blefs you, and Algiers,
profper you and the new dey ufually eaufes all the v—-y——J
officers of the domvan who had oppofed his eledtion to
be llrangled, filling up their places with thofe who had
been moll zealous in promoting it. From this account
of the eledtion of the deys, it cannot be expedted that
their government Ihould be at all fecure j and as they
arrive at the throne by tumult, diforder, and bloodlhed,
they are generally deprived of it by the lame means,
fcarcely one in ten of them having the good foi’tune
to die a natural death.
In this country it is not to be expedted that jullice Punifli-
will be adminillered with any degree of impartiality. ments> ^
The Mahometan foldiery, in pai'tieular, are lo much
favoured, that they are 'feldom put to death for any
crime except rebellion : in which cafe they are either
llrangled with a bow firing or hanged to an iron hook.
In Idler offences, they are fined, or their pay Hopped j
and if officers, they are reduced to the llation of com¬
mon foldiers, from whence they may gradually raife
themfelves to their former dignity. Women guilty of
adultery, have a halter tied about their necks, with the
other end fattened to a pole, by which they are held
under water till they are fuffocated. The ballinado 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 ttrokes. Thefe fometimes 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 punifhment for want of powerful enough
advocates. But the moll terrible puniffiments are thofe
infli&ed upon the Jews or Chriftians who fpeak againft
Mahomet or his religion ; in which cafe, they mutt ei¬
ther turn Mahometans or be impaled alive. If they
afterwards apoflatize, they are burned or roafted alive,
or elfe thrown down from the top of the city walls up¬
on 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 5 though by
accident they may be put out of pain at once, as we
have already related of the Spaniffi adventurer John
Gafcon. This terrible punifliment, however, begins now
to be difufed.
The officer next in power to the dey is the aga offf^0 .^e
the janizaries, who is one of the eldeft officers in the^j^er
army, and holds his poll only for two months. He is mii[tary of-
then fucceeded by the chiah, or next fenior officer.— fleers.
Huring the two months in which the aga enjoys his
dignity, the keys of the metropolis are in his hands ;
all military orders are iffued out in his name j and the
fentence of the dey upon any offending loldier, whether
capital or not, can only be executed in the court of
his palace.—As foon as he has gone through this Ihort
office, he is confidered as ma%oul, or luperannuated 5
receives his pay regularly, like the reft of the rmhtia,
every two moons j is exempt from all further duties, ex¬
cept when called by the dey to affift at the grand coun¬
cil, to which be 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 of ftate, who regifters
all the public adts ; and after him are the 30 chiahs
or colonels, who fit next to the aga in the douwan,
and in the fame gallery with him. Out of this clafis
are generally chofen thofe who go ambaffadors to fo-
A L G [ 687 ] A L G
Algiers, reign courts, or who difperl'e the dey’s orders through-
t——y——1 out the realm. Next to them are 800 bolluck hafliaws
or eldell captains, who are promoted to that of chiah
bafhaws according to their feniority. The oldack
balhaws or lieutenants are next} who amount to 400,
and are regularly raifed to the rank of captains in their
turn, and to other employments in the ftate, according
to their abilities. Thefe, by way of diftinftion, wear
a leather Itrap, hanging down to the middle of their
hack. One rule is ftriftly obferved in the rotation of
thefe troops from one degree to a higher, viz. the
right of feniority} one fingle infringement of which
would caufe an in fur re cl ion, and probably coft the dey
his life. Other military officers of note are the veke-
lards or purveyors of the army } the beys, who are the
four oldell foldiers, and confequently the neareft to pre¬
ferment *, the foulacks, who are the next in feniority to
them, and are part of the dey’s body-guard, always
inarching before him when he takes the field, and di-
ftinguiffied by their carabines and gilt feimitars, with a
brafs gun on their caps ; the kayts or Turkiffi fol¬
diers, each band of whom has the government of one
or more adowars or itinerant villages, and colledts their
taxes for the dey •, and the fagiards or Turkifli lance-
men, 100 of whom always attend the army, and watch
over the water appointed for it. > To thefe we may add
the beys 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 5
hut only the 30 chiah baffiaws have a right to fit in
the gallery next after the dey ; the reft are obliged to
ftand on the floor of the hall or council chamber,
with their arms acrofs, and as much as poffible with¬
out motion j neither are they permitted to enter with
their fwords on, for fear of a tumult. As for thofe
who have any matter to tranfadt with the douwanr
they muft ftand without, let the weather he ever fo
had 5 and thei^e they are commonly prefented with cof¬
fee by fome of the inferior officers, till they are dif-
mifled.
Account of It does not appear that the Algerines avail them-
the eorfuirs. felves of the benefit of their internal refources to
commerce, j.jie extent t|iey 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
baffiaw } who,, with the officers under him, form a kind
of douwan, in which 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 way of mer-
chandife or prizes. Thefe confift chiefly of gold and
fxlver 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, however, 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 fhip 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 cenfiderable in
this kingdom, that it is feldom permitted to be {hipped Algiers.
oft’ for Europe. The other exports confift chiefly in 1  
clinches feathers, copper, rugs, lilk falhes, embroider¬
ed handkerchiefs, dates, and Chriftian Haves. Some
mauufadures in filk, cotton, wool, leather, &c. are
carried on in this country, hut moftly by the Spaniards
fettled here, efpecially about the metropolis. Carpets
are alfo a manufadure of the country ; which, though
much inferior to thofe of Turkey both in beauty and
finenefs, are preferred by the people to lie upon, on
account of their being both cheaper and lofter. There
are alfo at Algiers looms for velvets, taffetas, and other
wrought lilks 5 and a coarfe fort of linen is likewife
made in moft parts of the kingdom. The country
furniffies no materials for ffiip-building. They have
neither ropes, tar, fails, anchors, nor even iron. W hen
they can procure enough of new wood to form the
main timbers of a Ihip, they fupply the reft from the
materials of prizes which they have made, and thus
find the fecret of producing new and fwift-failing vef-
fels from the ruins of the old. 01 all the Hates on the
coaft of Barbary, the Algerines are the ftrongeft at
fea.
The religion of the Algerines is chiefly diftinguifhed Religions
from that of the Turks by a greater variety of fuper-
ftitious rites. The Koran is their acknowledged rule
of faith and pradice; but they are not very ferupu-
lous in the obfervance of it. The mufti, or high-
prieft} the cadi, or chief judge ; and the grand ma¬
rabout, 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 determine
caufcs ; but thofe of fuperior importance are fubmitted
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. II.
15. xxv. 7.
Algiers, a city, the capital of the above king¬
dom, is probably the ancient Icojium : by the Arabians
called A/gexair, or rather Al-Jez/er, or Al-Jezerak,
i. e. t/ie ijland, becaufe there was an illand 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-lide, in the
form of an amphitheatre : at fea, it looks like the top-
fail of a ffiip. The tops of the houfes are quite flat and
white, and have all the appearance of a bleachfield.
One houfe rifes above another in fuch a manner that
they do not hinder each other’s profped. The ftreets
are fo narrow, that they will hardly admit two per-
fons to walk abreaft, and the middle part is lower than
the lides. When any loaded beafts, fuch as camels,
horfes, mules, or affes, pafs along, you are forced to
ftand up clofe to the wrall to let them pafs by. There
is but one broad ftreet, which runs through the city
from eaft to weft, in which are the fliops 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; the foffes or ditches are 20 feet wide, and 7 deep.
There is no fweet water in the city ; 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
Algiers,
Alijoa.
A L G [
conveyed by pipes to above a hundred fountains, at
which a bowl is tailened for the ufe of paflengers. The
’ common refervoir is at the end of the mole, where the
flaps take in their water. Every one takes his turn at
the fe places, except the Turks, who are firft, and the
Jews laft. There are five gates, which are open from tun-
riling till fun-fetting ; and feven forts or cattles 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 xo large mofques and 50 fmall ones ;
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 laid to bo about 100,000 inhabitants in the city,
comprehending 5000 Jewilh families, befides Chrittians.
There are four fundics or public inns, fuch as are in
Turkey; and fix cazernes, or barracks, for the unmar¬
ried Turkifh foldiers, which will hold 600 each. There
are no inns for Chrittians to lodge at; but only a few
tippling huts kept by Haves, for the accommodation of
Greeks 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 women have baths of their
own, 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 Turkifli
foldiers are great tyrants ; for they not only turn others
out of the way in the ttreets, but will go to the farm-
boufes 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 tturkey,
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 Have pours water on all their
-hands as they fit, and then they waflx their mouths.
Their drink is water, flierbet, and coffee. Wine is not
allowed, though drank immoderately by fome. The pro-
1’pect of the country and fea from Algiers is very beau¬
tiful, it being built on the declivity of a mountain ; but
the city, though for feveral ages it has braved fome of
the greatett powers in Chrittendom, it is laid, could
make but a faint defence againft a regular fiege 5 and
that three Englilh fifty-gun flaps might batter it about
the ears of its inhabitants from the harbour. If fo,
the Spaniards mutt have been very deficient either in
courage or condudt. They attacked it in the year
I775> !)y an(l by fea, but were i-epulfed with great
lofs •, though they' had near 20,000 foot and 2000
horfe, and 47 king’s flaps of different rates and 346
tranfports. In the years 1783 and 1784, they alfo re¬
newed their attacks by fea to deftroy the city and gal¬
leys j but after fpending a quantity of ammunition,
bombs, &c. were forced to retire without either its
capture or extinction, tthe mole of the harbour is
500 paces in length, extending from the continent to
a fmall Aland where there is a cattle and large battery.
E. Long. 2. 12. N. Lat. 36. 49.
ALGO A Bay, or Z wart-hops, in fouthern Africa,
is fituated in S. Lat. 33. $6. E. Long. 26. 53* an(^
400 miles diftant from the Cape of Good Hope. Mr
Barrow, who vifited this place, found, in an adjoin-
688 ] A L G
ing valley, a fpecies of antelope, called the riet-hok, or
red-goat, previoufiy unknown to naturalifts. He alfo jj
mentions that great advantages might accrue to the Algorithm.
Eatt India Company from the erection of an ettablifh-
ment at this place, for the purpofe of preparing halted
beef and filh, in confequence of the falt-pans, and the
abundance of large bullocks, in the vicinity 5 together
with great numbers of excellent fifii, with which the
coaft abounds.
ALGOL, a fixed ftar of the third magnitude, call¬
ed Medufa's Head, in the conftellation Ferfeus. Its
longitude is 2i° 50' 42" of Taurus, and its latitude
230 23' 47" north; 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 poffelfed great tracts of land along the north
fhore 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
protect from all invaders, and to let them have a fliare
of their venifon. 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 flelh, and drefling
the fkins. By degrees, however, the Iroquois affociated
in the hunting matches and warlike expeditions of the
Algonquins ; fo that they foon 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 fecured, as they
thought, a vaft quantity of game, fix young Algon-
quins and as many Iroquois were lent out to begin
the flaughter. 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 fufficient employment in flaying the game
they fhould kill; but after three days hunting, having
killed none, the Iroquois exulted, and in a day or two
privately let out to hunt for themfdlves. 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 ttudy the art of war as praclifed among thofe
favage nations. Being afraid of engaging with the
Algonquins, at firtt they tried their prowefs on other
inferior nations, and, when they thought themfelves
fufficiently expert, attacked the Algonquins with fuch
diabolical fury, as fliowed they could be fatisfied with
nothing lei's than the extermination of the whole race j
which, had it not been for the interpofition of the
French, they would have accomplifhed.—The few Al¬
gonquin nations, that are now to be feen, feem entirely
ignorant of agriculture, and fubfift by fittiing and hunt¬
ing. They allow themfelves a plurality of wives 5 not-
withftanding which, they daily decreafe in populoufneis,
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 under-
ftood from the river St Lawrence to the Mifiiflippi.
ALGOR, with phyficians, an unufual coldnefs in any
part of the body.
ALGORITHM, an Arabic word expreflive of nu¬
merical computation.
ALGUAZIL,
Altruazil
A L H
ALGUAZIL, in tlie Span]}/, pblity,
whofe bufmefs it is to fee the decrees of a judge exe-
Alhambra. cuted.
ALHAMA, a very pleafant town of the kingdom
of Granada, in Spain, lituated in the midil of forne
craggy mountains, about 25 miles S. W. of Granada,
on the banks of the Rio Frio, in W. Long. 26.
N. I jat. 36. 59. and having the lined warm baths in all
Spain. It was taken from the Moors in 1481. The
inhabitants, though furprifed, and the town without a
garrifon, made a gallant defence $ but being at length
forced to fubmit, the place wras abandoned to the pil¬
lage ol the Clirillian loldiers, who not fatisfied with an
immenfe quantity of gold and jewels, made (laves of
ujiwards 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 well be feen, all huddled together, feeming-
ly without the lead intention of forming one habitation
out ol them. The walls are entirely unornamented, all
gravel and pebbles, daubed over with plader by a very
coarfe hand : yet this is the palace of the Mooriih kings
of Granada, indifputably the mod curious place within
that exids in Spain, perhaps in the world. In many
countries may be feen excellent modern as well as an¬
cient architecture, both entire and in ruins •, but nothing
to be met with anywhere elfe can convey an idea of this
edifice, except the decorations of an opera, or the tales
of the genii.
Faffing round the corner of the emperor’s palace,
one is admitted at a plain unornamented door in a cor-
Travek in ner* Gn my fird vifit, fays Mr Swinburne, I confefs
‘'pain.
I ivas druck with amazement, as I dept over the
threfhold, to find myfelf on a fudden tranfported into
a fpecies of fairy land. The fird place you come to
is the court called the communa or del mcfucar, that is,
the common baths ; an oblong fquare, with a deep ba-
fon of clear water in the middle ; two flights of marble
deps leading doivn to the bottom ; on each fide a par¬
terre of flowers, and a roiv of orange trees. Round
the court runs a peridyle paved Avith marble} the
arches bear upon very flight pillars, in proportions
and dyle different' from all the regular orders of
architecture. The ceilings and Avails are incrudated
with fretAVork in ducco, fo minute and intricate, that
the mod patient draughtfman Avould find it difficult to
follow it, unlefs he made himfelf mader of the general
plan. This Avoukl facilitate the operation exceedingly ;
for all this Avork is frequently and regularly repeated
at certain didances, and has been executed by means
of fquare moulds applied fucceffively, and the parts
joined together Avith the utmod nicety. In every di-
vilion are Arabic fentences of different lengths, mod
of them expreffive of the folloAving meanings : “ There
is no conqueror but God or, “ Obedience and ho¬
nour to our lord Abouabdoulah.” The ceilings are
gilt or painted ; and time has caufed no diminution in
the frefhnefs ol their colours, though condantly expof-
ed to the air. The loAver part of the Avails is mofaic,
difpofed in fantadic knots and fedoons. A Avork fo
novel, fo exquifitely finiihed, and fo different from all
that he had ever feen, mud afford a dranger the mod
Vol. I. Fart XL
[ 689 ] A L H
an officer agreeable fenfations while he treads this magic ground. Alhambra
The porches at the ends are more like grotto-work than v~—
any thing elfe to Avhich they can be compared. That
on the right hand opens into an octagon vault, under
the emperor’s palace, and forms a perfect whifpering
gallery, meant to be a communication between the of¬
fices of both houfes.
Oppofite to the door of the communa through which
you enter, is another leading into the quarto de los
leones, or apartments of the lions ; which is an oblong
Court, 100 feet in length and 50 in breadth, environ¬
ed Avith a colonnade feven feet broad on the fides and 10
at the end. Tavo porticoes or cabinets about 1 feet
fquare, project into tbe court at the tAvo extremities.
The fquare is paved Avith coloured tiles the colonnade
with Avhite marble. The walls are covered five feet up
from the ground Avith blue and yellow tiles, difpofed
chequerAviie. Above and beloAV is a border of fmall
efcutcheons, enamelled blue and gold, with an Arabic
motto on 3, bend 5 fignifying, “ No conqueror but
God.” The columns that fupport the roof and gal¬
lery are of Avhite marble, \"ery llender, and fantallically
adorned. They are nine feet high, including bale and ca¬
pital, and eight inches and a half diameter. They arevery
irregularly placed j fometimes fingly, at others in groups
of three, but more frequently tivo together. The
width of the horfe-ffioe arches above them is four feet
two inches for the large ones, and three for the fmaller.
The ceiling of the portico is finiihed in a much finer
and more complicated manner than that of the com-
muna, and the ftucco laid on the AA^alls with inimitable
delicacy j 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 fe\reral
times in the circumference of the court, but not the
leall attention has been paid to placing them regularly
or oppofite to each other. Not the fmalleft reprefen-
tation of animal life can be difcovered amid 11 the va¬
rieties of foliages, grotefques, and ftrange ornaments.
About each arch is a large fquare of arabefques, fur-
rounded Avith a rim of characters, that are generally
quotations from the Koran. Over the pillars is ano¬
ther fquare of delightful filligree Avork. Higher up
is a Avooden rim, or kind of cornice, as much enrich¬
ed Avith carving as the Itucco 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, Avho a feAV years ago gave the Al¬
hambra, a thorough repair. In Moorifli times, the
building Avas covered Avith large painted and glazed
tiles, of which fome few are Hill to be feen. In the
centre of the court are tAveKe ill-made lions muzzled,
their fore parts fmooth, their hind parts rough, which
bear upon their backs an enormous bafon, out of Avhich
a leffer rifes. While the pipes were kept in good or¬
der, a great volume of Avater was throAvn up, that, fall¬
ing doAvn into the bafons, paffed through the beads,
and iffued out of their mouths into a large refervoir,
where it communicated by channels with the jets d’eau
in the apartments. This fountain is of Avhite marble,
embelliflied Avith many fedoons and Arabic didichs,
thus tranflated :
“ Seed thou not hoAV the water Hoavs copioufly like
the Nile ?”
4 S « Tin*
Alhamljra.
A L H [ 690 ] A L H
l( This refembles a fea wafiling over its fliores threat¬
ening fhipwreck to the 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 (ball approach it.”
“ The fair princefs that walks in this garden, cover¬
ed 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.”
Palling 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 refrelhed the apartment in fummer. The
form of this hall, the elegance of its cupola, the cheer¬
ful diftribution of light from above, and the exquifite
manner 111 which the llucco is defigned, painted, and
finilhed, exceed all power of defcription. Every thing
in it infpires the moll pleafing voluptuous ideas : yet in
this fweet retreat they pretend that Abouabdoulah ai-
1'embled the Abencerrages, and caufed their heads to
be ilruck off into the fountain. Continuing your walk
round, you are next brought to a couple of rooms at the
head of the court, which are fuppoied to have been tri¬
bunals or audience chambers.
Oppofite to the Sal a de los Abencerrages is the en¬
trance into the Torre de las dos /icrma?ias, or the tower
of the two fifters > fo named from tw o very beautiful
pieces of marble laid as flags in the pavement. This
gate exceeds all the reft in profufion oi ornaments, and
in beauty of profpect which it aflords through a range
of apartments, where a multitude of arches terminate in
a large window open to the country. In a gleam ot
funfhine, the variety of tints and lights thrown upon this
enfilade are uncommonly rich. The firil hall is the
concert-room, where the women fat} the muficians play¬
ed above in four balconies. In the middle is a jet d’eau.
The marble pavement is equal to the fined exiding,
or the fize of the flags and evennefs of the colour.
The two fiders which give name to the room, are
flabs thatmeafure 15 feet by feven and a half, with¬
out flaw or dain. The walls, up to a certain height,
are mofaic, and above are divided into very neat com¬
partments of duceo, all of one defign, which is alio
followed in many of the adjacent halls and galleries.
The ceiling is a fretted cove. To preferve this vault¬
ed roof, as well as fome of the other principal cupolas,
the outward walls of the towers are railed 10 ieet a-
bove the top of the dome, and fupport another roof
over all, by which means no danger can ever be caui-
ed by wet weather or exceflive heat and cold. From
this hall you pafs round the little myrtle garden of
Eindaraxa, into an additional building made to the
ead end by Charles V. The rooms are fmall and low.
His dear motto, Plus outre, appears on every beam.
This leads to a little tower, projecting from the line of
the north wall, called el tocador, or the drelhng-room
of the fultana. It is a fmall fquare cabinet, in the
middle of an open gallery, from 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
3
of holes, through which the fmoke of perfumes alcend- ^ihamka.
ed from furnaces below ; and here, it is prelumed, the v—
Moorifh queen was wont to fit to fumigate and fweeten
her perfon. The emperor caufed this pretty room to
be painted with reprefentations of his wars, and a great
variety of grotefques, which appear to be copies, or at
lead imitations, of thofe in the loggie of the S atican.
From hence you go through a long paflage to the
hall of ambafladors, which is magnificently decorated
with innumerable varieties of molaics, and the mottos
of all the kings of Granada. This long narrow anti¬
chamber opens into the communa on the left hand, and
on the right into the great audience hall in the tower
of Comares j a noble apartment, 36 f£luai’e> 3^
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 nine ; the lower range of windows
13 feet high. The whole wall is inlaid with mofaic of
many colours, difpofed in intricate knots, dars, and other
figures. In every part various Arabic lentences are re¬
peated.
Having thus completed the tour of the upper apart¬
ments, which are upon a level with the offices of the
new palace, you defeend to the lower floor, which
confided of bedchambers and fummer-rooms j the back
dairs and paffages, that facilitated the intercourfe be¬
tween them, are without number. The mod remark¬
able room below is the king’s bedchamber, which
communicated by means of a gallery with the upper
dory. The beds were placed in two alcoves, upon a
railed pavement of blue and white tiles } but as it was
repaired by Philip V. who palled fome time here, it
cannot be faid how it may have been in former times.
A fountain played in the middle, to refrefh the apart¬
ment in hot weather. Pehind the alcoves are fmall
doors, that condudt you to the royal baths. Thefe
eonfid of one fmall clofet with marble ciderns for waffl¬
ing children, two rooms for grown-up perfons, and
vaults for boilers and furnaces that lupplied the baths
with water and the doves with vapours. The troughs
are formed of large flabs of white marble } the walls are
beautiful with party-coloured earthen ware} light is ad¬
mitted 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
women and children. One of the pallages of commu¬
nication is fenced off with a drong iron grate, and call¬
ed the prifon of the Sultana ; but it feems more probable
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
king’s Jludy : and adjoining to it are feveral vaults faid
to be the place of burial of the royal family. In the
year 1574, four fepulchres were opened j but as they
contained nothing but bones and allies, wrere immedi¬
ately clofed again.
This defcription of the Alhambra may be finifhed
by obferving how admirably every thing was planned
and calculated for rendering this palace the mod vo¬
luptuous of all retirements} what plentiful fupplies of
water were brought to refredi it in tne hot months ot
fummer 5 what a free circulation of air was contrived,
bv the judicious difpofition of doors and windows}
what fliady gardens of aromatic trees •, what noble
views over the beautiful hills and fertile plains! No
wonder
A L I [ 691 ] A L i
wonder the Moors regretted Granada ! no wonder that
they (till offer up prayers to God every Friday for the
recovery of this city, which they regard as a terrellrial
paradife!
ALI, the fon of Abu Taleb, is one of the moft ce¬
lebrated eharadters in Mahometan hiltory. He was
coufm to Mahomet 5 and at the age of fourteen enga¬
ged with youthful ardour in his caufe. When Maho¬
met firft revealed his prophetic character 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 who dares to i*ife
againil thee I will break his legs, pluck out his eyes,
dafli 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. Fie was remarkable both for eloquence and
valour 5 and the latter obtained him the furname of
14 the Lion of God, always viftorious.” He fucceeded
to the chief dignity of the renowned houfe of Hafhem,
and was alfo hereditary guardian of the temple and
city of Mecca. Mahomet gave him his daughter Fa-
timah in marriage, and the grandfather lived tp em¬
brace the children of his daughter. Thefe advantages
induced Ali to caff a wiftful eye towards the regal
fucceflion ; however, Abubeker, Omar, and Othman,
reigned before him. But after the death of the latter
he was faluted caliph by the chiefs of the tribes, and
companions of the Prophet, when he was repairing to
the mofque of Medina at the hour of prayer, A. D. 655.
Hegir. 35.
Ayefha, the widow of the Prophet, ftrenuoully op-
pofed his fucceffion ; and under her influence two power¬
ful chiefs foon raifed the ftandard of rebellion. Ali
greatly incrcafed his difficulties by the imprudent re¬
moval of all the governors of provinces from their fta-
tions. Telha and Zobeir, two chiefs of great influence,
colle£ted a numerous army, and induced Ayefha to at¬
tend them to the field of battle j but Ali gained a com¬
plete vi&orv, and took Ayefha prifoner. Telha fell in
the field, and Zobeir was afl’affinated after furrendering
•upon promife of quarter. This daftardly action was fe-
verely reprehended by Ali. He likewiie kindly treat¬
ed the captive widow, 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
Jingle combat, but to this his opponent would not agree.
Several Jkirmiffies were fought with confiderable lofs
on both lides •, 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,
laying, “ This is the book which forbids Muffulmans
to fixed each others blood, and ought therefore to de¬
cide our difputes.” Ali was conftrained to yield,
and umpires were mutually chofen; on the fide of
Ali, Abu Moulfa; 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
I inveft Moawiyah with the caliphate, and alfo depofe
Ali.” Fie alfo added, that Othman the former caliph
had declared Moawiyah both his fucceffor and avenger.
Thus began that memorable contett among the Maho¬
metans which was long agitated with confiderable vio¬
lence by both parties.
Ali was highly enraged at this injuftice ; but con¬
ftrained for the prefent to yield, he retired to Kufa. A
fedt of enthufiatts called the Kharejites revolted againft
Ali; but he quickly reduced them to fubjedtion, and
again obtained poffeffion of Arabia. But Syria, Perfia,
and Egypt fell to the fliare of his rival.
An unexpedted event terminated the exifting difputes.
Tluee Kharejites one day converfing together concern¬
ing the blood which had been filed, and the impending
calamities, refolved to affaffinate Ali, Moawiyah, and
Amru, the three authors of the prefent difafters. They
provided themfelves with poifoned 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, he
expired on the fifth day after his wound, A. D. 660.
A. Hegir. 40.
Ali had eight wives befides Fatimah, and left a nu¬
merous family, who were very remarkable for their va¬
lour. He alfo l ofe to high eminence for learning and
wifdom } and of his works there are ftill extant a hun¬
dred maxims, a collection of verfes, and a prophecy of
all the great events which are to happen at the end of
time. One of his fayings may be quoted as an example.
“ He who would be rich without wealth, powerful
without fubjedts, and a fubjedt without a mafter, has
only to forfake fin, and ferve God.”
The Muffulmans term Ali the heir of Mahomet, and
the accepted of God, and his particular followers have
poffeffed various Hates in Africa and Afia, and the Per-
fian part of the Ufbec Tartars ; and fome fovereigns of
India are at'prefent of the fedt of Ali. A monument
is raifed upon his tomb near Kufa, which the kings of
Perfia have fucceffively decorated and religioufly rever¬
ed. Near the ruins of Kufa, a city named Mejhed AH
has been built to his memory. Some of his deluded
followers imagine that he is ftill alive, and that he will
revifit the earth and fill the fame with juftice. A green
turban ftill continues to diftinguiffi the defcendants of
Ali. ( Gen Blog.}.
Ali Bey, an eaftern adventurer, is faid to have been
a native of Mount Caucafus, and about the age of
twelve or fourteen he was fold for a flave in Cairo.
The two Jews who became his matters prefented him
to Ibrahim, then one of the moft refpedtable men in the
kingdom. In the family of this powerful man he re¬
ceived the rudiments of literature, and was alfo in-
ftrudted in the military art. Both in letters and mili¬
tary fkill he made a rapid improvement. He gradually
gained the afl’edtion 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 diftridt, and
afterwards by eledtion he was raifed to the elevated
ftation of one of the governors of provinces. Deprived
of his protedtor by death, and engaging in the danger¬
ous intrigues that pave the way to power in that un-
ftable government, he procured his own banifhment to
Upper Egypt. Here he fpent two years in maturing
4 S 2 , his
A L I [69
his fchemes for future greatnefs, and in 1766, returning
to Cairo, he cither 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 AH Bey ieized
this favourable opportunity to recover a part of the
Said 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}
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 Bed leas. Having formed an
alliance in 1770, with one Shaik Daher, a rebel a-
gainll the Porte in Syria, he aimed at the conqueft of
all Syria and Palefiine. He firft endeavoured to le-
cure Gaza 5 then his army forming a junction with that
of Haher at a place called Acre, advanced to Damai-
cus. On the 6th of June 1771, a battle was fought at
this place with the Turkifh pachas, and Mohammed and
Daher the commanders of Ali Bey routed them with
great flaughter. They inftantly took pofl’eflion of Da-
mafcus, and the caftle itfelf had alfo capitulated, when
all on a fudden Mohammed hallened back to Egypt
with all his Mamelukes. Some afcribe this ftrange con-
du6t to an impreflion made upon Mohammed by the
Turkilh agents, and others to a report of the death of
Ali Bey.
Although unfuccefsful, Ali Bey never loll fight of
his favourite object, and Mohammed lofing his confi¬
dence was forced to fave his life by exile. Mohammed,
however, quickly returned with an army, and drove Ali
Bey from Cairo. In this unfortunate Hate of affairs
Ali Bey fled to Daher, and, combining their forces,
they attacked the Turkilh commander at Sidon, and
came off victorious, although the Turkilh army was
three times their number. After a fiege of eight months
they next took the town of Jafl'a. Deceived by letters
from Cairo which were only intended to enfnare him,
and llimulated with recent victories, he returned 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 wife, and had obtained
the promife of her, provided that he could take Ali
Bey captive. Murad wounded and made Ali Bey pri-
foner, and carried him up to Mohammed, who received
him with affeCted refpeCt: but in three days, either in
confequence of poifon or the effieCts of his wounds, Ali
breathed his lall.
Ali Bey was certainly a Angular production 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 accomplifli; but he is
acknowledged to have been very favourable to the
Franks, and to have governed Egypt with no fmall
degree of Heady moderation. He is alfo charged with
devolving too much upon his lieutenants, and not be¬
ing fufficiently attentive to the exactions made by his
officers. Among his failings may alfo be ranked that
2 ] ALI
of an unbounded confidence in his favourite. Gencrofity
and a fenfe of juilice were not wanting in his character, ||
although his morals, under the fanClion of his clafs and Alien,
country, were Hrongly 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 junta, which was ap¬
pointed by the emperor Charles \. in 1526, in favour
of the Morifcoes, this was one, That the Morifcoes
fliould no longer fpeak Algavareia, i. e. Moorilh, or
Arabic j but Ihould all fpeak Aljameia, i. e. Spanifh,
as it was called by the Moors, and all their writings and
contracts fliould be in that language.
ALIAS, in Law, a fecond or farther writ iffued from
the courts of Weffminffer, after a capias, &c. fued out
without effeCt.
ALIBI, in Law, denotes the abfence of the accufed
from the place wliei'e he is charged with having com¬
mitted a crime } or his being elfewhere, as the -word
imports, at the time fpecified.
A LiCANT, 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 caffle
deemed impregnable. The port is defended by three
baffions furniihed with artillery. To prevent the vifits
of the Algerine pirates, watch-towers were built to
give notice of the approach of an enemy’s fliip. It
was taken from the Moors in 1264. The caflle was
taken by the Englifli in 1706, and held out a fiege of
two years before it was retaken by the French and Spa¬
niards, and at laff furrendered upon honourable terms,
after part of the rock was blown up on which the caffle
Hood, and the governor killed. The houfes are high,
and w'ell built 5 and a very great trade is carried on
here, particularly in wine and fruit. It is feated on the
Mediterranean, on a bay of the fame name, 37 miles
north-eaH of Murcia, and 65 fouth of Valencia. W.
Long.-o. 36. N. Lat. 38. 24.
ALICATA, a mountain of Sicily, near the valleys
Mazara and Noio, upon which v?as fituated (as is ge¬
nerally thought) the famous Dmdalion, where the ty¬
rant Bhalaris kept his brazen bull. \
Alicata, a town of Sicily, remarkable for corn and
good wine. It was plundered by the Turks in 1543?
and is feated on a fort of peninfula near the fea, 22
miles fouth-eaffi of Girgenti. E. Long. 15. 20. N.
Lat. 37. 11.
Alicata Chlamys, was a fort of veil with fleeves
worn by the Roman boys till the age of thirteen, at
which titne they put on the pretewta.
ALIEN, in Law, implies a perfon born in a Hrange
country, not within tl^e king’s allegiance } in contra-
dillinCtion to a denizen or natural fubjeCt. The word
is formed from the Latin alias, “ another j” q. d. one
born in another country. An alien is incapable of in¬
heriting lands in Britain till naturalized by an aCt 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 where an
alien is party in a caufe, when the inquell is compofed
of an equal number of denizens and aliens. The rea-
fons for eBablifliing thofe laws were, that every man
is prefumed to bear faith and love to that prince and
country where he received protection during his infan¬
cy j
A L I [ 603 ] A L I
Alien, CJ ? and that one prince might not fettle fpies in ano-
Alienation. ther’s country 5 but chiefly that the rents and revenues
u“"’v—"-1 of the country might not be drawn to the fubjefts of
another. Some have thought that the laws againil
aliens were introduced in the time of Henry II. when
a law was made at the parliament of Wallingford, for
the expulfion of ftrangers, 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 ;
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
Cives Romani were efleemed freemen ; but when their
territories increafed, all the Italians were made free
under the name of Latins, though they had not the pri¬
vilege of wearing gold rings till the time of Juftinian.
Afterwards all born within the pale of the empire were
confidered as citizens.
AiAEyt-Dutij, an impoll laid on all goods imported by
aliens, over and above the cuftoms paid for fuch goods
imported by Britifli fubjects, and on Britifh bottoms.
Aliens-Duty is otherwife called petty cujloms, and
navigation duty.—Fifh dried or faked, and cod-fifh or
herring not caught in Britifh veflels and cured by Bri¬
tifli fubjeets, pay a double aiiens-duty.—On what foot-
_ ing aliens are permitted to import foreign commodities
into Great Britain, fee Duty.
Alien Priories, a kind of inferior monafleries, for¬
merly very numerous in England, and fo called from
their belonging to foreign abbeys.
t ALIENATION, in Law, denotes the aft of mak¬
ing over a man’s property in lands, tenements, &c. to
another perfon.
Alienation in mortmain, is the making over lands,
tenements, &c. to a body politic, or to a religious houfe,
for which the king’s licenfe muft firft be obtained, other-
wife the lands, &.c. alienated will 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 Edward I. a bar was
put to alienations by what we call entails, which is an
expedient for procuring perpetuities in families ; but
counter-expedients were tlevifed to defeat this intent,
and a praftice was introduced of cutting off entails by
fines, and of barring remainders and reverfions by re¬
coveries. The ftatute for alienation in Henry VII.’s
time had a great effeft on the conftitution of this king¬
dom •, as, among other regulations of that reign, it
tended to throw the balance of power more into the
hands of the people. By the flat. 12 Car. II. cap. 24.
fines for alienations are taken away. Crown lands are
only alienable under a faculty of perpetual redemp¬
tion. The council of Lateran, held in 1x23, 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 primi¬
tive owners, or their defeendants, to whom the lands
were originally allotted at the firft diftribution of Ca-Alienation,
naan. . Aliment.
Alienation-Office, is an office to which all writs of-y—"
covenants and entry, upon which fines are levied, and
recoveries fuffered, are carried, to have fines for aliena¬
tion fet and paid thereon.
ALIMENT (from a/o, to nouriffi), implies food
both folid and liquid: from which, by the procefs of
digeftion, is prepared a very mild, fweet, and whitifh
liquor, refembling milk, and diftinguifhed by the name
of c/iyle ; which being abforbed by the lafteal veins,
by them conveyed into the circulation, and there affi-
mHated 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 ournouriihment; and, in particular
deviations from health, what is the bell adapted to re-
ftore us. The blood and fluids naturally incline to
wafte and diminifli : frefli chyle, duly received, pre¬
vents this 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 grol’s 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 } yet
the ufe of vegetables prevents both repletion and a
too great tendency to a putrefeent acrimony of the
blood. In hot climates, as well as againft the confti-
tutional heat of particular perfons, vegetables are de¬
manded in the largeft proportion. Animal fubftances
afford the higbeft relifti while our appetite continues 4
but Avill fate the appetite before the ftomach is duly fil¬
led. Vegetables may be eaten after either flefn or fifh:
few herbs or1 fruits fatiate fo much as that the ftomach
may not be filled with them, when it is already fatisfied
with flefli or fiih whence it may be obferved, that no
diet which is very nouriftiing can be eaten to fulnefs,
becaufe its nutritious parts are oily and fatiating.
Health depends almoft wholly on a proper crafis of the
blood •, 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
correfting their exceffes} but in cold, pituitous, and
nervous habits, who want moft nourilhment from leall
digeftion, and from the fmalleft quantity of food,, ani¬
mal diet is to be ufed more freely.
Thus much being offered as general principles with
refpeft to the matter and quality of our aliment, the
valetudinarian may ealily regulate his diet with fome
advantage to himfelf by an attention to the few enfu-
ing particulars. In winter, eat freely, but drink fpa-
ringly: roaft meat is to be preferred, and what is di-ank
fhould be ftronger than at other feafons. In fummer,
let thirft determine the quantity to be drunk 5 cold fto-
machs never require much : boiled meats and vegeta¬
bles, if not otherwife contraindicated, may now be more
freely ufed. Lax habits require the winter’s diet to
be continued all the year, and rigid ones fhould be
confined to that of fumraer. Fat people fiiould fall
at
A L 1 [ 694 ] A L K
Aliment times, but the lean fliould never do fo. Thofe who
|| are troubled with eruftations occafioned by their food
Ahguant. ^ fhould drink but little, and ufe fome unaccuftomed ex-
ercife. The thirfty fltould drink freely, but eat fpa-
ringly. In general, let moderation be obferved } and
though no dinner hath been had, a light fupper is at
all 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 afliftant to the work of digeltion
than the common method of taking brandy. See fur¬
ther Food and Drink.
Obligation of Aliment, in Scots Law, the natural
obligation on parents to provide their children with the
neceffaries of life, &c. See Law Index.
Alimentarii Pueri, &c. were certain children main¬
tained and educated by the munifice-nce of the empe¬
rors, in a fort of public places, not unlike our hofpi-
tals.—Trajan was the firll 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 folicitation of Fauftina ; and hence, in fome medals
/of that emprefs, we read pvellaE favstinianae.—
Alexander Severus did the like at the requeft of Mam-
maea 5 and the maids thus educated were called Mam-
mceance.
Alimentary Duel or Canal, is a name given by Dr
Tyfon and fome others to that part of the body through
which the food pafl’es from its reception into the mouth
to its exit at the amis; including the gula, ilomach,
and intellines. See Anatomy.
This duct has been faid to he the true characteriftic
of an animal, or (in the jargon of the fchools) in pro-
prium quarto modo; no animal being without it.
Plants receive their nourilliment by the numerous fi¬
bres of their roots : but have no common receptacle
for digefting the food received, or for carrying oft’ the
recrements. But in all, even the loweft degree of
animal life, we may obferve a ftomach and inteftines,
even where 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 iiructure of
the alimentary tube in man, to prove that he is not
naturally carnivorous 5 to which Dr Tyfon makes fome
obj eft ions. Vid. Phil. Traff. N° 260. p. 777"
Alimentary Law, lex alimentaria, was an old law
among the Romans, whereby children were obliged to
find fuftenance for their parents.
ALIMONY, in Law, implies that allowance
which a married woman fues fox*, and is entitled to,
upon any occafional feparation from her hufband. See
Law Index.
ALIPILARIUS, or Alipilus, in Roman antiqui¬
ty, a fervant belonging to the baths, whofe bufinefs
it was, by means of waxen platters, and an inftrument
called volfella, to take off the hair from the arm-pits,
and even arme, legs, &c. this being deemed a point of
cleanlinefs.
ALIPTERIUM, xtewliigtev, in antiquity, a place
in the ancient palejlrce, where the athletes were anointed
before their exercifes.
ALIQUANT part, in Arithmetic, is that number
which cannot meafure any other exactly without fome
remainder. Thus 7 is an aliquant part of 16 ; for Aliquot
twice 7 wants two of 16, and three times 7 exceeds 16 I
ky ^ Alkermes.
ALIQUOT PART, is that part of a number or quan- v~"~'
tity which will exactly meafure it without any i-emain-
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.
ALISONTIA,orALlsuNTIA, in Ancient Geography,
a river of Belgic Gaul, now Alfit% ; which, rifing on the
borders of Lorrain, and imnning 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 fuch birds as afford matter of auguries by their
flight.
ALKADARII, a feft among the Mahometans who
deny any eternal, fixed, divine decrees, and are aft’er-
tors of free-will. The word is formed from the Ai-a-
bic alkadar, which fignifies “ decree.” The Alkadarii
are a branch of Motazalites, and ttand oppofed to the
Algiabarii. See AlgiabarII.
ALKAHEST, or Alcahest, among alchemifts,
derived from a word which fignifies fpirit of fait, or
all fpirit, was fuppofed to be an univerfal menftruum,
capable of refolving all bodies into their principles.
Van Helmont px-etended he was poflefl’ed of fuch a nxen-
ftruum.—It is likewife ufed by fome authors for all fix¬
ed halts volatilized.
ALKALI, in Chemiflry, denotes a particular clafs
of halts. The word alkali is of Arabian origin, and
was introduced into chemiftry after it had been applied
to a plant which ftill x'etains the name of kali. When
this plant is burnt, the allies wafhed in water, and the
water evaporated to drynefs, a white fubftance remains,
which was called alkali. According to Albei’tus Mag¬
nus, who ufes the word, it fignifies feex amaritudinis,
“ the dregs of bitternefs.” Alkali may be obtained
from other fubftances befides kali. Chemifts 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 genei'al, and is now applied to all bo¬
dies which poflefs the following propei’ties : 1. Incom-
buftible. 2. A hot cauttic tafte. 3. Volatilized by
heat. 4. Soluble in water even when combined with
carbonic acid. 5. Capable of converting vegetable
blues to gx*een.
The alkalies at prefent known are three in number :
i.Potafsj 2. Soda; 3. Ammonia. The two firft are
called /?.red alkalies, becaufe they require a x'ed heat to
volatilize them ; the laft is called volatile alkali, be-
'caufe it readily affumes a gafeous form, and confequent-
ly is diffipated by a vex*y moderate degree of heat. See
Chemistry Index.
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 beiTies ufed in its compofition.
ALKORAN.
ALL [ 695 ] ALL
Alkcuran ALIvORAN. See Alcoran.
II ALL-Hallows. See AH-Saints.
Allahabad., All-Gooc/. See Chenopodium, Botany Index.
ALL-Heal. See Heracleum and Stachys, Bo¬
tany Index.
ALL-Samts, in the Kalcndar, denotes a feftival ce¬
lebrated on the firft of November, in commemoration
of all the faints in general j which is otherwife called
All-Hallows. The number of faints being lb exceflive-
ly multiplied, it was found too burdeniome to dedicate
a feafl day to each. In x'eality, 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 feafl of All-Saints in Italy, which ivas foon after
adopted in the other churches.
All-Saints, illands near Guadaloupe in the Weft
Indies.
ALL-Suints, a parifh in Georgetown diftridt, South
Carolina, containing 2225 inhabitants, of whom 429
are whites, and 1796 flaves. It fends a member to
each houfe of the ftate legiflature.
ALL-Samts Bay, a fpacious harbour near St Salvador
m Brazil, in S. America, on the Atlantic ocean. W.
Long. 490, S. Lat. 120.
ALL-Saints Bay, a captainfliip in the middle divifion
of Brazil, fo called from the harbour of that name ;
bounded on the north by the liio Real; on the fouth
by that of Las Ilheos j on the eaft by the ocean j and
on the weft by three unconquered nations of Indians.
It is reckoned one of the richeft and moft fertile cap-
tainfliips in all Brazil, producing great quantities of
cotton and fugar. The bay itfelf is about two and a
hall leagues over, interfperfed with a number of fmall
but pleafant iflands, and is of prodigious advantage to
the whole country. It has feveral cities and towns,
particularly St Salvador, which is its capital. All-
Saints Bay lies in S. Lat. 12. 3. W. Long. 40. 10.
See Salvador.
All-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, who enjoined it on his own order 5
but it was not long before it became adopted by the
neighbouring churches.
ALL-Spice. See Myrtus and Calycanthus, Bo¬
tany Index.
ALLA, or Allah, the name by which the profef-
lors 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 Eloah, which
fignifies the Adorable Being.
ALLAHABAD, in Geography, a province of Hin-
doftan, about 160 miles in length, and 120 in breadth.
Its eaftern boundaries meet the province of Bahar, the
iouthern 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, which are divided into
177 pergunnahs 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
n,375 cavalry. Azuph Dowla, a tributary ally of Allahabad
the Britifli power, poffeffes the greater part of this pro- ||
vince. Allahabad, Benares, and Iconpour, are the Allatius.
principal cities. v/
Allahabad, the capital of the above province,
is fituated at the confluence of the great rivers Jumna
and Ganges. This city is divided into two parts,
called the Old and the Neiv Town : The old is fitua¬
ted upon the Ganges, and the new upon the Jumna.
The emperor Akbar erefted a ftrong fortrefs of ftone,
which occupies a large fpace in this city, and from him
it received its prefent name. Of this fortrefs, Air
Hodges, in N° IV. of his feledt 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 Mahome¬
tan architedure. 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 worlhipped 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 when a man dies here, they
believe he will obtain the utmoft of his wifhes in his
next regeneration. They deem it a meritorious adion
for a man to flay himfelf, although they teach that fui-
cide will be punifhed with torments in a future ftate. In
and about this city there are various objeds of venera¬
tion, which immenfe numbers of pilgrims continue to
vifit with great devotion. Alajor Rennel has placed Pali-
bothra on the fame fite with Patna j 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 Pertbfhire in Scotland, which
paffes by Dumblane, and falls into the Forth near
Stirling.
ALLANTOIS, or Allantoides, a thin tranf-
parent bag invefting the foetus of quadrupeds, as cows,
goats, fheep, &c. filled with an urinous liquor conveyed
to it from the bladder of the young animals by means
of the urachus. See Anatomy Index.
ALLATIUS, Leo, keeper of the A atican 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, or more inveterate againft the Greek fchxf-
matics, than Allatius. He never was married ; nor
did he take orders ; and Pope Alexander VII. having
afked him one day, why he did not enter into orders? he
anfwered, “ Becaufe I would not 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
paffed his whole life, wavering betwixt a parifli and a
wife; 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 John Patricius, Allatius had a very ex¬
traordinary pen, with which, and no other, he wrote
Greek for 4.0 years at the lols of which, he was fo
grieved
ALL [696] ALL
Allatius grieved as to lament it with tears. He publiflied le-
I! veral manuferipts, feveral tranflations of Greek authors,
Alleghany. an(| feveral pieces of his own compofing. In his work
" v he difeovers more erudition and induftry than found
judgment. His manner of writing is dillufc and per¬
plexed, making frequent digreffions from one fubject to
another. He died at Home, in 1669, aged 83.
ALLAY. See Alloy.
ALLECTUS, the prime minifter and confidential
friend of Caraufius, emperor of Britain. In order to a-
void the punifliment 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, whi*h he maintained for three years.
With a defign of recovering Britain, Conftantius about
this period fitted out a large fquadron, which being al-
fembled in the mouth of the Seine, the command was
devolved upon the prefedt Afclepiodotus. The fleet of
Alledlus was ftationed off the Ifle of Wight to receive
them j but under the cover of a thick fog, the inva¬
ders efcaped their notice, and landed in fafety on the
weftern coafb, and, according to Gibbon, convinced
the Britons “ that a fuperiority of naval ftrength will
not always protect their country from a foreign in-
vafion.” No fooner had the intrepid commander dif-
embarked his forces, than he fet fire to his fhips, 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 defeent of
Afclepiodotus, he made forced marches to oppoie his
progrefs. Alledtus 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
lingle battle, the fate of this great ifland was decided j
and Britain, after a feparation of 10 years, was reftored
to the Roman empire, A. D. 297. Conftantius land¬
ing on the fhores of Kent, was fainted with the loud
applaufes and unanimous acclamation of obedient fub-
jefts, and welcomed to the Britifli foil.
ALLEGATA, a word anciently fubferibed at the
bottom of referipts and conftitutions of the emperors }
as Jlgnata, or teft at a, was under other inftruments.
ALLEGEAS, or Allegias, a ftuff manufactur¬
ed in the Eaft Indies. There are two forts of them :
fome 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 }
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 ^ ir-
ginia on the fouth, and Sideling-hill Creek divides it
from Wafhington county on the eaft. It contains 4809
inhabitants, including 258 Haves. 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, Pittiburgh, is fituated, to the New-
York line. It contains 10,309 inhabitants, including
159 Haves.
Alleghany Mountains, between the Atlantic ocean,
the Miffifiippi river, and the lakes, are a long and
broad range of mountains, made up of a great num¬
ber of ridges, extending north-eafterly and fouth-weft- Alleghany,
erly, nearly parallel to the fea coaft, about 900 miles Allegiance,
in length, and from 60 to 150 and 200 miles in breadth.
Mr Evans obferves, with refpeft 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. Numerous tradts of
fine arable and grazing land intervene between the
ridges. The different ridges which compofe this im-
menfe 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,
Jackfords mountains, and Kitlatinny mountains. All
thefe different and immenfe ridges, except the Alle¬
ghany, are broken through by rivers, which appear to
have forced their way through folid rocks. This prin¬
cipal ridge is more immediately called Alleghany, and
is deferiptively named the Back-bone of the United States,
I rom thefe feveral ridges proceed innumerable branches,
or fpurs.
The general name of the whole range, taken col¬
lectively, feems not yet to have been determined. Mr 1
Evans calls them the Endlcfi 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 Appalachieola; but the
moft common name is the Alleghany mountains, fo
called, probably, from the principal ridge of the range.
Thefe meunta'ins are not confufedly icattered, riling
here and there into high peaks, overtopping each other J
but run along in uniform ridges, fcarcely half a mile
hitjh. They fpread as you proceed fouth, and fome
of them terminate in high perpendicular bluffs : others
gradually fublide in a level country, giving rife to
the rivers which run foutherly into the gulf ol Mex¬
ico.
Alleghany River, in Pennfylvania, riles on the
Weftern fide of the Alleghany mountains, and after
running about 200 miles in a fouth-weft direction, meets
the Mcnongahela at Pittfburg, and both united form
the Ohio. The lands on each fide of this river, for
1 miles above Pittfburg, conhft ol white oak and
chefnut ridges, and in many places ol poor pitch pines,
interfperfed with tradts ol good land, and low mea¬
dows. This river, and the Ohio likewife, from its head
waters until it enters the Miffiffippi, are known and
called bv the name of Alleghany river, by the Seneka
and other tribes of the Six Nations, who once inha¬
bited it.
ALLEGIANCE, in Law, is the tie, or ligamen,
which hinds the fuhjedt to the king, in return for that
protection, which the king affords the lubjedl. Ihe
thing itfelf, or fubftantlal part of it, is founded in rea-
fon and the nature of government; 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
fuhjedlion to fome fuperior or lord, from whom or from
whofe anceftors the tenant or vaffal had received them •,
and there was a mutual trull or confidence fubfifting
between the lord and vafial, that the lord fliould protect
the vaffal in the enjoyment of the territory he had granted
him •, and, on the other hand, that the vaffal Ihould be
faithful to the lord, and defend him againft alibis enemies.
This obligation on the part of the vaffal was called his
Jidelitas
ALL [
Allegiance, fidelitas or fealty: and an oath of fealty was required by
1 ^ ' the feodal law to be taken by all tenants to their land¬
lord, which is couched in almoft the fame terms as our
• ancient oath of allegiance*, except that, in the ufual
oath of fealty, there was frequently a laving or excep¬
tion of the faith due to a fuperior lord by name, under
whom the landlord himfelf was perhaps only a tenant or
vaffal. But when the acknowledgment was made to the
abfolute fuperior himfelf, who was valfal 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 Ins fovereign lord, in oppofition to ail men, without
any laving or exception. Land held by this exalted
fpecies of fealty, was called feudum ligium, allege fee5
the vafl’als homines ligii, or liege men 5 and the fove¬
reign, their dominus ligius, or liege lord. And when
fovereign princes did homage to each other for lands
held under their refpective fovereignties, a ditlincrion
was always made between Jiniple homage, which was
only an acknowledgment of tenure *, and liege homage,
which included the fealty before mentioned, and thefer-
vices confequent upon it. In Britain, it becoming a
■ fettled principle of tenure, that all lands in the king¬
dom are hoi den of the king as their fovereign and lord
paramount, no oath but that of fealty could ever be ta¬
ken to inferior lords ; and the oath of allegiance was
neceflarily confined to the perfon of the king alone. By
an ealy analogy, the term allegiance was foon brought
to fignify all other engagements which are due from
fubjedts to their prince, as well as thofe duties which
were Amply and merely territorial. And the oath of
allegiance, as adminiftered in England for upwards of
600 years, contained a prohiife “ 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 bear 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 of the notion of non-refiffance, the
prelent form was introduced by the convention parlia¬
ment, which is more general and indeterminate than
the former ; the fubject only promifing “ that he will
“ be faithful and bear true allegiance to the king,”
without mentioning “ his heirs,” or fpecifying in the
leait 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 iupplies the loofe and general texture of the
oath of allegiance ; it recognifing the right of his ma-
jefly, derived under the act of fettlement ; engaging to
fupport him to the utmofl of the juror’s power 5 promi¬
fing to diiclofe all traitorous confpiracjes againll him j
and exprefsly renouncing any claim of the defcendants
of the late pretender, in as clear and explicit terms
as the Englifh language can furnifli. 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 fliall lufpehl of difaffec-
tion. 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-
Vol. I. Part II,
Hlackjl.
Comment.
697 ] ALL
legiance, owing from every fubjeft to his fovereign, an- Allegiance
tecedently to any exprefs promife, and although the 1—‘
fubjeft never fwore any faith or allegiance in form.
Thus Sir Edward Coke very juftly obferves, that “ all
lubjeds 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-
flinguifhed by the law into twm forts or fpecies, the
one natural, the other local; the former being alfo per¬
petual, the latter temporary.
Natural allegiance is Inch as is due from all men
born within the king’s dominions immediately upon
their birth. For, immediately upon their birth, thev
are under thej king’s protection at a time too, when
(during their infancy) they are incapable of protecting
themfelves. Natural allegiance is, therefore, a debt of
gratitude j which cannot be forfeited, cancelled, or al¬
tered, by any change of time, place, or circumftance*
nor by any thing but the united concurrence of the le-
giflature. A Briton who removes to France, or to
China, owes 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 law', That the natural-
born lubjeCl of one prince cannot by any aCt of his
own, no, not by fwearing allegiance to another, put
oft or difeharge his natural allegiance to the former:
lor this natural allegiance was intrinfic and primitive,
and antecedent to the other ; and cannot be divelled
without the concurrent aCt of that prince to whom it
U'as firlb due.
Local allegiance is fuch as is due from an alien, or
ftranger born, for fo long time as he continues within
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 perpe¬
tual, 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 fubject, upon an
implied contradt with the prince ; that fo long as the
one affords protection, 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, were the Spencers
baniflied in the reign of Edward II. And from hence
arofe that principle of perfonal attachment and affec¬
tionate loyalty, which induced our forefathers (and, if
occafion required, would douhtlefs induce their fons)
to hazard all that was dear to them, life, fortune, aud
family, in defence and fupport of their liege lord and
fovereign.
It is to be obferved, however, in explanation of this
allegiance, That it does not preclude refiftance to the and
king, when his mifeonduct or weaknefs is fuch as to
make refiftance beneficial to the community. It feems ih^loLcPh*,■
fairly prefumable, that the convention parliament,
which introduced the oath of allegiance in its prefent
form, did not intend to exclude all refiftance: fuice the
4 I vexr
ALL [698
Allegiance, very authority hy which the members fat together, was
Allegory. ’ itfelf the effect of fi fuccefsful oppofxtion to an acknow-
] ALL
Balm of hurt minds, great Nature’s fecoml courfe,
Chief nouriflier in life’s feaft. Aff ii.yi. 3.
Allegory,
Allegri.
ledged fo\ereign.
Again: The allegiance above defcribed can only be
underitood to lignify obedience to lawful commands.
If, therefore, the king fhould itliie a proclamation, le¬
vying money or impofing any fervice or reftraint upon
the fubjeft, beyond what the law authorized, there
would exiil no fort of obligation to obey Inch a procla¬
mation, in conference of having taken the oath ot al¬
legiance.
Neither can allegiance be fuppofed to extend to the
king after he is actually and abfolutely depofed, driven
into exile, or otherwife 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 protection, which belong to the office of
king *, for it is the poffeffion of thele which makes luch
a particular perfon the objeft of the oath.
ALLEGORY, in Compofition, confifts in chooling
a fecondary fubjea, having all its properties and cir-
cumftances refembling thole of the principal iubject,
and defcribing the former in fuch a manner as to re-
prefent the latter. Hie principal fubjea is thus kept
out of view, and we are left to difcover it by refleaion.
In other words, an allegory is, in every refpea, firm-
lar to a hieroglyphical painting, excepting only that
words are ufed inftead of colours. Their efleas are
precifely 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 repreientative
fubjea is defcribed, and the refemblance leads us to ap¬
ply the defcription to the fubjea reprefented.
There cannot be a finer or more correa 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 itv Ihou didlt
caufe it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 1 he
hills were covered with its ffiadow, and the boughs
thereof were like the goodly cedars. V\ hy haft thou
then broken down her hedges, lo that all that pals do
pluck her ? The boar out of the wood doth wafte it,
and the wild beaft doth devour it. Return, we be-
feeeh 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 madelt
ftrong for thyfelf,” Pfal. Ixxx.
Nothing gives greater pleafure than an allegory,
when the reprefentative fubject bears a ftrong analogy,
in all its circumftances, to that which is reprefented.
But moft writers are unlucky in their choice, the ana¬
logy being generally fo faint and obfcure, as rather to
puzzle than to pleafe. Allegories, as well as meta¬
phors and fimilies, are unnatural in exprefimg any fe-
vere paffion which totally occupies the mind. I or this
reafon, the following fpeech of Macbeth is juftly con¬
demned by the learned author of the Elements of tii-
ticifm :
Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more !
Macbeth doth murder Sleep : the innocent lleep j
Sleep that knits up the ravcll’d fleeve of Care,
The birth of each day’s life, fore Labour’s bath.
But fee this fubjc6l more 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 obfcure village, he enjoyed
none of thofe advantages which contributed to form
the other great painters of that illuflrious age. He
faw none of the ftatues of ancient Greece or Rome *
nor any of the works of the eftablifhed fchools of
Rome and Venice. But Nature was his guide 5 and
Corregio was one of her favourite pupils. To exprefs
the facility with which he painted, he uled 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 childien,
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
perfect intelligence of light and fhade, give an aftomfh-
ing relief to all his pi&ures, and have been the admi¬
ration both of his cotemporaries and his fucceilors.
Annibal Caracci, who flouriflied 50 years after him,
ftudied and adopted his manner in preference to that
of any other mafter. In a letter t© his couiin Louis,
he expreffed with great warmth the impreffion which
was made on him by the firft fight of Corregio’s paint¬
ings : “ Every thing which I fee here (fays he) afto-
niihes 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 impoffible 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-
regi0—that fo wonderful a man (it he ought not ra¬
ther to be called an angel) fliould 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 occurrence 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 fubjett 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 tafte, for the grandeur of defign, and efpe-
cially for the boldnefs of the fore-fhortenings (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 j and although the price
originally agreed upon had been very moderate, they
alleged that it was far above the merit of the artift,
amf forced him to accept of the paltry fum of 200
livres 5 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 ^velS
ALL [ 699 ]
AUco-ii. of Isis burden, the heat of the weather, and his chagrin fame picture
>—v —— > at this villanous treatment, immediately threw him into
a pleurify, which in three days put an end to his life
and his misfortunes.
For the prefervation of this magnificent work the
world is indebted to Titian. As he palled through
Parma, in the fuite of Charles V. he run inftantly to
fee the chef d'ccuvre of Corregio. W hile 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 molt unbounded applaufe bellowed 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 lalt had occafion to fee. He
examined it attentively for fome minutes in profound
lilence; and then with an air of fatisfaction exclaim¬
ed, I am Jlill a painter. Julio Romano, on feeing
fome of Corregio’s pictures at Parma, declared they
were 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 file law
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 file), to fee how different the characters are in
this picture from that which I already have deferibed
to you. The fubjeCt is a Nativity} and the extraor¬
dinary beauty of this picture proceeds from the clair
ohfeure: 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 preferved diftinCt, and pro¬
duce a moll wonderful effeCt. 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 effeCt
they produce upon the furrounding objeCts. They are
not rays dillinCl 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 dazzling brightnefs •, by their light
you fee clearly the face, neck, and hands, of the Vir¬
gin (the rell of the perfon being in llrong lhadow),
the faces of the pajlori who crowd round the child, and
particularly one woman, who holds her hand before
her face, left her eyes Ihould be fo dazzled as to pre¬
vent her from beholding the infant. This is a beautiful
natural aCtion, and is moll ingenioullv introduced.
The ftraw on which the child is laid appears gilt, from
the light of his body fhining on it. The moon lights
up the back ground of the picture, which reprefents
a landfcape. Every objeCt is dillinCl, as in a bright
moonlight night 5 and there cannot be two lights in
nature more different than thofe which appear in the
ALL
The virgin and the child are of the moll
perfeCt beauty. There is a great variety of character
in the different perfons prefent, yet that uniformity
common to all herdfmen and peafants. In lliort, this
copy was fo admirable, that I was quite forry to be ob¬
liged to lofe fight of it fo foon *, but I never lhall for¬
get it. The duke of Modena, for whom Corregio did
the original picture, gave him only 600 livres ol I ranee
for it *, a great fum in thofe days : but at prefent, what
ought it to coll ?” This great painter’s death happened
in 1534.
Allegri, Gregorio, an ecclefiaftic by profeffion,
and a celebrated compofer of mufic of the feventeenth
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 was deemed an excellent mailer ot
harmony ; and fo much refpeCted by all the nud’cal
profeffors of his time, that the pope, in the year- r 6 29,
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 character, exhibiting
in his aClions the devotion and benevolence of his
heart. The poor crowded daily to his door, whom he
relieved to the utmoft of his ability } and not content
with thefe beneficent aCtions, he daily vifited the
prifons of Rome, in order to relieve the moll deferving
and afflicted objeCts 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 was feverely felt and fin-
cerely lamented by the whole college of fingers in the
papal fervice. He died Feb. 18. 1650, and was in¬
terred in the Chiefa Nuova, in a vault dellined 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 miferere, which, for
170 years, has been annually performed at that chapel
on Wednefday and Good Friday, in Paffion-week, by
the choral band, and the heft 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, expreffions,
and graces of convention, which produce Avonderful ef¬
fects. Some of the effeCts 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 ate extingulftied one by one, and the
laft verfe of this pfalmVs terminated by tivo choirs ;
the maejlra di capello beating time floAver and lloAver,
and the fingers diminiffiing, or rather extinguilhing
the harmony by little and little, to a perfeCt point.”
Padre Martini fays, that there Avas never more than
three copies made by authority, “ one of Avhich was
for the emperor Leopold, one for the late king of
Portugal, and the other for himfelf: but a very com¬
plete one Avas prefented by the Pope himfelf to King
George III. as an ineftimable curiofity.” {Gen. Biogi)
ALLEGRO, in Mujic, an Italian Avord, denoting
4 T 2 that
Allegri,
Allegro.
Allegro,
Allein.
ALL [ 700 1 ALL
that the part is to be played in a fprightly, britk, live¬
ly and gay manner.
Pm Allegro, lignifies that the part it is joined to
fliould be fung or played quicker j as
Pocu pin. Allegro intimates, that the part to which
it refers ought to be played or fung only a little more
britkly than allegro alone requires.
ALLEIN, Joseph, the fon of Tobias Allein, was
born in the Devizes, in Wiltfhire, in 1633, and edu¬
cated at Oxford. In 1651;, he became allillant to Mr
Newton, in Taunton Magdalen, in Somerfetfhire ; 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 nonconformill, and a
fevere fuft'erer on that account, great refpe6t for the
church, and loyalty to his fovereign. He wrote ieve-
ral books of piety, which are highly efteemed j but his
Alarm to unconvertedfinners is more famous than the
reft. There have been many editions of this little
pious work, the fale of which has been very great ; of
the edition 1672, there were 20,000 fold ; of that of
1675, with this title, A Jure guide to heaven, 50,000.
There was alfo a large imprellion of it with its lirft
title, in 1720.
Allein, Richard, an Englifh nonconformift divine,
a native of Ditchet, in Somerfetftiire, was born in
the year 1611. His father was redtor of Ditchet, and
condudted the education of his fon, until he was pre¬
pared for the univerfity. There he loon obtained the
degree of mailer of arts, and after he entered into
holy orders, firft as an alfiftant to his father, and af¬
terwards as redtor of Batcomb, in Somerfetlliire, he
difcharged the duties of a clergyman with great in-
duftry and fingular fidelity. From his education, he
conceived an early prediledtion for the fentiments of
the Puritans, and eonfequently, in the conteft between
Charles I. and the parliament, he firmly adhered to
the latter. Having adopted thefe fentiments, he iome-
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 Minifters of
Somerfetftiire to the truth of Chrift,” in which their
declared principles and becoming candour were amply
difplayed. Along with his father, he was employed by
the commiflioners appointed by parliament for ejedting
fcandalous minifters 5 a commiflion which was executed
with rigour, and originated in intolerance.
Upon the Reftoration he manifefted a difpofition to
loyalty, but unable with a good confcience to unite in
the adt 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 ejeffed niin jlers. 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 penalty of that adt, and ivas confequently
reprimanded by the magiftrates and imprifoned ; but
his piety and exemplary condudt procured him a mi¬
tigation of punifliment. But no dangers could deter
him from duty ; for although conftrained to remove
from that place in confequence of the “ five-mile adt,”
he continued in the difcbarge of his minifterial office
at Frome-Selwood. Here he remained until he ter¬
minated bis labours by death, in 1681.
Piety, boldnefs, adtivity, and candour, fticne in
the charadter of Richard Allein. He was admired as
a pathetic and pradtical preacher, and juftly refpedt-
ed for the diligence with which he difcharged the pub¬
lic and private duties of his profeffion. Mr Jenkins,
the vicar of the parifti where he relided, preached his
funeral fermon, and bore an honourable teftimony to
his adtivity, moderation, and piety. Richard Allein,
fimilar to his nonconformift brethren, chiefly confined
his ftudies and publications to fubjedts of religion. His
works are ftrongly marked with the peculiar features
of the religious charadter then prevalent among the
nonconformifts. They have been frequently reprinted,
and very much perufed. His moft celebrated work is
“ Vindicice Pietatis, or a Vindication of Godlinefs in
its greateft Stridtnefs and Spirituality, with diredtions
for a godly life j” this book was publifhed in 1665,
without a printer’s name } and being unlicenfed, the
copies of it were feized and fent to the king’s kitchen
for waite paper. The other produdtions of his pen
are, “ Heaven opened, or a brief and plain difcovery
of the riches of God’s Covenant of Grace printed in
1665. “ The World Conquered publiftied in 8vo,
in 1688. “ Godly Fear,” printed in 8vo, in 1674.
“ A Rebuke to Backfliders, and a Spur for Loiterers
printed in 8vo in 1677. “ A Companion for Prayer 5”
in i2mo, 1680. “ A brief charadter of Mr Jofeph
Allein j” and “ Inftrudtions about heart-work, what
is to be done on God’s part and ours for the cure and
keeping of the heart a pofthumous piece publiftied
in 8vo, by Dr Annefley in the year 1681. (Gen.
Riog.)
ALLELUIAH, or Halleluiah, a word figni-
fying, Praife the Lord, to be met with either at the
beginning or end of fome pfalms : fuch as ptalm exlv.
and thofe that follow to the end. Alleluiah was fung
upon folemn days of rejoicing, Tobit xiii. 12. St John
in the Revelation (xix. 1, 3, 4, 6.) lays, that he “ heard
a great voice of much people in heaven, who laid, Al¬
leluiah ; and the four and twenty elders, and the four
hearts, fell down and worfhipped God that iat on
the throne, faying^ AUeluiakP This hymn of joy
and praifes was transferred from the iynagogile to the
church. St Jerome tells us, that at the funeral oi
Fabiola feveral pfalms were fung with loud alleluiahs 5
and that the monks cf Paleftine were awakened at
their midnight watchings, with the finging of allelui¬
ahs. So much energy has been obferved in this term,
that the ancient church thought proper to preferve it,
without tranllating it either into Greek or Latin, for
fear of impairing the genius and loftnefs ot 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 prelent'
practice of the Romifti church, this word is never re¬
peated in Lent, nor in the obloquies of the dead ; not-
wkhftanding which, it is ufed in the mals lor the dead,
according to the Mofarabic ritual, at the introit, when
they ling, I'a es portio mea, Domine, Alleluiah, in ter¬
ra viventiirm, Alleluiah, Alleluiah. The finging alleluiah
was 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
Allein
II
Alkmand.
, A L L [ ?oi ] ALL
Allennnd good meafure, and a flow movement. It is alfo a brifk
|| kind of dance, very common in Germany and Switzer-
A^cn- land.
'r~"J Axle HAND, a river which falls into the MiffifFippi
from the louth-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 hiftory, Allcmannic language,
Allemannic law, &c.
ALLEN, John, archbifliop of Dublin in the reign
of King Henry VIII. was educated in the univerfity
of Oxford 5 from whence removing to Cambridge, he
there took the degree of bachelor of laws. He w'as
lent by Dr Warham, archbifliop of Canterbury, to
the pope, about certain matters relating to the church.
He continued at Rome nine years; and was created
doctor 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
judge of his court as legate a latere: in the execution
of which office he was fufpedted of great diflionelly,
and even perjury. He affilled the cardinal in vifiting,
and afterwards fuppreffing, 40 of the fmaller monaile-
ries, for the ere&ion of his college at Oxford and that
at Iplwich. The cardinal procured for him the living
of Dalby in Leicellerfliire, though it belonged to the
mailer and brethren of the kofpital of Burton-Lazars.
About the latter end of the vear 1525 he was incor¬
porated doctor of laws in the univerfity of Oxford.
On the 13th of March 1528 he was confecrated arch-
bilhop of Dublin, in the room of Dr Hugh Inge de-
cealed ; and about the fame time was made chancellor
of Ireland. He wrote, 1. Epjlola de Pallii Jignifica-
tione ach'va et pajjiva ; penned by him at the time
when he received the archiepifcopal pall. 2. Tie con-
juetiuhmbus ac Jlatutis in tuitoriis caujis obfervandis.
He wrote alio feveral other pieces relating to the church.
His death, which happened in July 1534, was very tra¬
gical ; for being taken in a time of rebellion by Thomas
Fitzgerald, eldelt fon to the earl of Kildare, he was by
his command moll cruelly murdered, being brained like
an ox, at Tartaine in Ireland, in the 58th year of his
age. 'Ihe place where the murder was committed was
afterwards hedged in, overgrown, and unfrequented, in
detellation of the fact.
Allen, Thomas, a famous mathematician of the 16th
century, born at Utoxeter in Staffordlhire the 2111 of
December 1542. Fie was admitted fcholar of Trinity
college, Oxford, the 4th of June 1561 $ and in 1567
took his degree of mailer of arts. In 1580 he quitted
his college and fellowfhip, and retired to Glouceller-
hall; where he lludied 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
Leiceller had a particular elleem for Mr Allen, and
would have conferred a bifhopric upon him, but his
love of folitude and retirement made him decline the
offer. His great fkill in the mathematics made the ig¬
norant and vulgar look upon him as a magician or con¬
juror : the author of a book entitled Leicejlcr's Common¬
wealth, has accordingly accufed him with ufing the art
of figuring, to procure the earl of Leicefler’s unlawful
defigns, and endeavouring bv 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 Rate was
tranfa&ed without his knowledge } and the earl had
conflant information, by letter from Mr Allen, of what
palled in the univerfity. Mr Allen was very curious
and indefatigable in collecting feathered manuferipts re¬
lating to hiflory, antiquity, aflronomy, philofophy, and
mathematics : thefe collections have been quoted by fe¬
veral learned authors, &c. and mentioned to have been
in the Bibliotheca Alleniana. He publifhed 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 ConJlruElion,
with an expofition. He wrote alfo notes on many of
Lilly’s books, and fome on John Bale’s work Tie Scrip-
toribus M. Britannice. Having lived to a great age, he
died at Glouceller-hall on the 30th September 1632.
ALLENDQRF, a fmall town in the circle of the
Upper Rhine, and in the landgravate of Heffe Caffel,
remarkable for its fait works, and three Rone bridges.
It is feated on the river Wefer, 15 miles eaR of Caffel.
E. Long. 10. 5. N. Lat. 51. 26.
ALLENSTOWN, a town of New Jerfey, in Mon¬
mouth county, 15 miles north-eaR from Burlington,
and 13 fouth-by-eaR from Princeton.
Allenstovvn, a townfliip in Rockingham county.
New Hampfhire, containing 254 inhabitants 5 fituated
on the eaR fide of Merrimack river, 25 miles north-
weR 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
A erden.
ALLER-gwr/, in our ancient writers. The word
cller ferves to make the expreffion of fuperlative fignifi-
cation. So, aller-good is the greateR good. Sometimes
it is written alder.
ALLERION, or Alerion, in Heraldry, a fort of
eagle without beak or feet, having nothing per feci but
the wings. They differ from martlets by having their
wings expanded, whereas thofe of the martlets are clofe •,
and denote imperialiRs vanquifhed and difanned 5 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 Shropfnire, in 1619, was educated in the
grammar fchool of Coventry, and afterwards at ChriR-
ehurch in Oxford. His natural talents, which were
uncommonly vigorous, he carefully improved by an
unwearied application to Rudy. Accordingly, his pro¬
motion was rapid. FirR he obtained the degree of ba¬
chelor of arts \ next he was chofen moderator in philo¬
fophy •, then made a canon of ChriR-church, created
doblor of divinity, appointed chaplain in ordinary to
the king, and afterwards regius profeffor of divinity.
But in the early part of life his Rudies were intep-
ruptedj.
ALL [ 702 ] ALL
rapted, and he was called to military fervice by hoflile
occurrences of the times. In the year 1641, he, along
with many other Undents of Oxford, entered the royal
fervice, and gave eminent proofs ol their courage and
loyal attachment. A Ihort interval of hoftilities per¬
mitted them to return to their literary purfuits j but a
republican party foon alter difturbed their repole, and
entering Oxford, attempted to plunder the colleges.
Having entered the treafury, and finding nothing but
fourpence and a halter, they hattened 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 leized him;
and had they not been unexpeftedly called off by an
order of the earl of Effex, they would have feverely
wrecked their indignation upon him. In Oftober lol-
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 ol the king he was taken pnfoner,
but foon afterwards releafed by the king’s torces.
A violent difeafe which then prevailed in the garri-
fon of Oxford, brought Alleftry to the brink ot the
grave 5 but recovering, he again joined a regiment
of volunteers, chiefly confifting of Oxford Undents.
Here he ferved as a common foldier, and was often
feen with the mulket in one hand and the book in the
other. When the republican party prevailed, he re¬
turned at the termination of the war to his favourite
lludies, but Hill continued true to that fide ol politics
which'he had adopted. This conduct occafioned his
expulfion from the college *, but he was provided with a
comfortable retreat in the families of the honourable
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 reiteration, they entrufted him with perion-
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 Lambeth-houfe. Hie
earl of Shaftelbury obtained his releafe in a few weeks.
Returning to vifit 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 dillref-
fes. The doftor left him his valuable library, aflign-
ing as a realon that 44 he well knew that his books in
his hands would be ufeful weapons, for the defence ol
that caufe he had fo vigoroully fupported.” This va¬
luable library, along with his own, Alleltry 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,
elocution, great modefty, and no lefs allurance, a com-
prehenfion of things, and a fluency of words; an apt-
nefs for the pleafant, and fufficiency for the rugged parts
<of knowledge ; a courage to encounter and an induftry
to mailer all things, make up the character of his hap¬
py genius. There was not in the world a man of
3
clearer honefty and courage 5 no temptation could Alleftry 1
bribe him to do a bale thing, or terror affright him ||
from the doing a good one. This made his friendfliip, A1|cy~
as lafting and inviolable as his life, without the mean
confideration of profit, or fly referves of craft ; without
the pageantry of ceremonious addrefs, the cold civility
of fome, and the fervile falfenefs and oblequious flattery
of others.” He left a volume of fermons printed at
Oxford in 1684, from the perufal of which pollerity
may judge of his literary abilities. Although his lec¬
tures gave univerfal fatisfaefion, yet he prohibited their
publication.
Allestry, Jacob, an Englilh poet of the lafl cen¬
tury. He was the fon of James Alleflry, a bookleller
of London, who was ruined by the great fire in 1666.
Jacob was educated at W efcminfter fchool, entered at
Chrift-church, Oxford, in the a£t-term ifiyx, at the
age of 18, and was ele&ed ftudent in 1672. He took
the degree of arts-, was mufic reader in 1679, ani*
terrae filius in 1681 ; both which offices he executed
with great applauie, being efteemed a good philologift
and poet. He had a chief hand in the verfes and
paftorals fpoken at the theatre at Oxford, May 21.
1681, by Mr William Saville, fecund fon of the mar¬
quis of Halifax, and George Cholmondely, fecond
fon of Robert Yifcount Hells (both of Chrift-church),
before James duke of York, his duchefs, and the lady
Anne ", which verfes and paftorals, were afterwards
printed in the “ Examen Roeticum.” He died Oc¬
tober 15. 1686, and was buried in St Thomas’s church¬
yard.
ALLEVEURE, a fmall brafs Swedifli coin, worth
about 4-d. Englifli money.
ALLEVIATION, denotes the making a thing
lighter, and eafier to bear or endure. It Hands oppo-
fite to aggravation.
ALLEY, William, biffiop of Exeter in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, was born at Great Wycomb in
Buckinghamfhire. From Eton fchool, in the year
1528, he removed to King’s college, Cambridge, where
he took the degree ot 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 ", where he maintained
his wife and himfelf by teaching a fchool and pradlif-
ing phyfic. Queen Elizabeth afeending the throne,
he went to London, where he acquired great reputa¬
tion by reading the divinity ledture at St Raul s, and
in July 1560 was confecrated bifliop of Exeter. He
was created dodtor of divinity at Oxford in November
1561. He died on the 15th of April \§*]0, and was
buried at Exeter in the cathedral. He wrote, 1. The
Poor Man’s Library, 2 vols. fol. Lond. 1571- Thefe
volumes contain twelve lectures on the firft epiftle of
St Peter, read at St Raul’s. 2. A Hebrew Grammar.
Whether it was ever publifhed is uncertain. He tranf-
lated the Pentateuch, in the verfion of the Bible which
was undertaken by Queen Elizabeth’s command.
Alley, in Gardening, a ftraight parallel walk,
bounded on both fides with trees, flrrubs, &c. and
ufually covered with gravel or turf.
Alley, among builders, denotes a narrow pailage
leading from one place to another.
Alley, in Perfpeflive, that which, in order to ha\e
ALL [ 703 ] ALL
Alley a greater appearance of length, is made wider at the
|j entrance than at the termination.
Alleyn. Alley, in the new hufbandry, implies the vacant
' k fpace between the outermoft row of corn on one bed
and the neareft row to it on the next pai-allel bed •, and
it is ufually about four feet in breadth, exclufive of
the partitions between the rows of corn in the beds.
The lirfl 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
rows, leaving a furrow in the middle of the alley. The
third hoeing is from the rows, after the wheat has
bloffomed : this turns the earth into the intervals, form¬
ing fmall ridges there, as at the firil hoeing. The
fourth hoeing returns the earth to the ridges, which
is performed a month or more after the third hoeing.
This commonly finifhes the horfe-hoeings, if the land
is in good heart •, otherwife one or two more hoeings
are neceffary.
ALLEYN, Edward, a celebrated Englifli aftor
in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James, and
founder of the college of Dulwich in Surrey, was born
at London in the parifh of St Botolph, Sept. 1. 1566,
as appears from a memorandum of his own writing.
Dr Fuller fays, that he was bred a ftage-player *, 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, however, a youth of an excellent capa¬
city, a cheerful temper, a tenacious memory, a fweet
elocution, and in his perfon of a llately port and afpedt:
all which advantages might well induce a young man
to take to the theatrical profeffion. By feveral autho¬
rities we find he mu id have been on the ilage lome time
before 1592; for at this time he was in high favour
with the town, and greatly applauded by the bell judges,
particularly by Ben Johnfon.
Haywood, in his prologue to Marlow’s Jew of Mal¬
ta, calls him Proteus for lhapes, and Rofcius for a
tongue. He ufuallv played the capital parts, and was
one of the original actors in Shakefpeare’s plays ; in
fome of Ben Johnfon’s lie was alfo a principal per¬
former : but what characters he perfonated in either ol
thefe poets, it is difficult nowr to determine. This is
owing to the inaccuracy of their editors, who did not
print the names of the players oppolite to the charac¬
ters they performed, as the modern cuftom is •, but gave
one general lill of actors to the whole fet ol plays, as
in the old folio edition of Shakefpeare } or divided one
from the other, fetting the dramatis perfonse before the
plays, and the catalogue of performers after them, as in
Johnfon’s.
It may appear furprifing how one ol Mr Alleyn’s
profeffion Ihould be enabled to eredt fuch an edifice as
Dulwich college, and liberally endow it for the main¬
tenance of fo many perfons. But it mull 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 adting, to one of his provident and managing
difpofition, and one who by his excellence in playing
drew after him fuch crowds of fpedtators, mull have
confiderably improved his fortune : befides, he was not
only an adtor, but mailer of a playhoufe built at his
own expence, by which he is laid to have amaffed con- Alleyn.
fiderable wealth. He was alio keeper of the king’s ' r—
wild bealls, or mailer of the royal bear garden, which
was frequented by vail crowds of fpedtators •, and the
profits arifmg from thefe fports are faid to have amount¬
ed to 500I. per annum. He was thrice married ; and
the portions of his two’ firll wives, they leaving him
no ilfue to inherit, might probably contribute to this
benefadtion. Such kind of donations have been fre¬
quently thought to proceed more from vanity and of-
tentation than real piety j but this of Mr Alleyn has
been aferibed to a very lingular caufe, for the devil has
been faid to be the firll promoter of it. Mr A ubrey
mentions a tradition, “ that Mr Alleyn playing a de¬
mon, with fix others, in one of Shakelpeare’s plays,
was, in the midll of the play, furprifed by an appa¬
rition of the devil 5 which fo worked on his fancy, that
he made a vow, which he performed by building
Dulwich college.” He began the foundation of this
college, under the direction ol Inigo Jones, in 1614 j
and the buildings, gardens, &c. were finilhed in 1617,
in which he is faid to have expended about io,oool.
After the college was built, he met with fome difficul¬
ty in obtaining a charter for fettling his lands in mort¬
main $ for he propoled to endow it with 800I. per
annum, for the maintenance of one mailer, one war¬
den, and four fellows, three whereof were to be
clergymen, and the fourth a Ikilful organill j 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 calling. The ob-
llruftion he met with arofe from the lord chancellor
Bacon, who wilhed King James to fettle part of thofe
lands for fupport of two academical leftures; and
he wrote a letter to the Marquis of Buckingham, dated
Augull 18. 1618, entreating him to ufe his interell
Avith his majelly for that purpofe. Mr Alleyn’s feli¬
citation Avas hoAvever at lall complied Avith, and he
obtained the royal licenfe, giving him full poAver to lay
his foundation, by his Majelly’s letters patent, bearing
date the 2ill of June 1619 j by virtue whereof he did,
in the chapel at the faid neAV hofpital at Duhvich, call¬
ed T/ic College of God's Gtft, on the 13th of Septem¬
ber following, publicly read and publifh a quadri¬
partite Avriting in parchment, whereby he created and
eftablifhed the faid college j he then fuhfcribed it with
his name, and fixed his feal to feveral parts thereof, in
prefence of feveral honourable perfons, and ordered
copies of the waitings to four different parilhes. He
Avas himfelf the firil mailer of his college *, fo that to
make ufe of the words of Mr HayAvood, one of his
contemporaries, “ He Avas fo mingled Avith humility
and charity, that he became his own penfioner, hum¬
bly fubmitting himfelf to that proportion of diet and
clothes which he had bellowed on others.” We
have no reafon to think he ever repented of this di-
liribution of his fubllance ; but, on the contrary,
that he Avas entirely fatisfied, as appears from the
following memorial in his own Avriting, found amongll
his papers: “ May 26. 1620.—My Avife and I ac-
knoAvledged the fine at the common pleas bar, of all
our lands to the college : bleffed be God that he has
given us life to do it.” His Avife died in the year
1623 ; and about two years afterAvards he married
Conftance Kincbtoe, Avho furvived him, and received
remarkable
A L L [ 704. ] ALL
Alleyn remarkable proofs of bis affe&ion, if at leaft we may
H judge of it by bis will, wherein he left her confider-
Adlwmce. ably. pje died Nov. 25. 1626, in the 61ft year of
v bis age, and was buried in the chapel of his new
college, where there is a tomb-llone over bis grave,
with an infeription. His original diary is alfo there
preferved.
The fubjoining anecdote is entertaining in iti’elf, and
fhows the high etleem in which Mr Alleyn was held as
an actor: “ Edward Alleyn, the Garrick of Shake-
ipeare’s time, bad been on the moft friendly footing
with our poet, as well as Ben Johnfon. They uled fre¬
quently to fpend their evenings together at the fign of
the Globe, fomewhere near Blackfriars, where the
playhoufe then was. The world need not be told, that
the convivial hours of fuch a triumvirate mull be plea-
ling as well as profitable, and may be laid to be fuch
pleafures as might bear the reflections of the morning.
In conl’equence of one of thefe meetings, the follow¬
ing letter was written by G. Peele, a fellow of
Chrift-church college, Oxford, and a dramatic poet,
who belonged to the Club, to one Marie, an intimate
of his :
‘ Friend Marie.
‘ 1 mull defyr that my fyfler liyr watch, and the
4 cookerie hook you promyfed, may be fente bye the
‘ man. 1 never longed for thy company more than
‘ lafl night: we were all very merrye at the Globe,
‘ when Ned Alleyn did not fcruple to affyrme plea-
‘ fauntely to thy Friende Will, that he had ftolen his
‘ fpeech about thee Qualityes of an ador’s excellencye
‘ in Hamlet hys Tragedye, from converfations many-
‘ fold which had palled betweene them, and opinyons
4 given by Alleyn touching the fubjede. Shake-
4 fpeare -did not take this talke in good forte •, but
4 Johnfon put an ende to the llrife with wittylye re-
4 markinge, T/tts affair needeth no Contentione ; you
^ Jlole it from Ned, no doubts : do not marvel: Have
4 you not Jeen him atl tymes out of number ?■—Believe
4 me moll fyncerilie, yours, G. Pee/c.”
‘ ALLIA, a river of Italy, in the Sabi pc territory,
which running dowrn a very deep channel from the
mountains of Crufluminum, mixes with the Tiber 40
miles from Borne •, famous for the great daughter of the
Romans by the Gauls, under Brennus, when 40,000
Romans were killed or put to flight 5 hence Allievfu
dies, an unlucky day (Virgil, Ovid,Lucan). Our an-
ceflors, fays Cicero, deemed the day of the light of Al-
lia more fatal than that of taking the city.
ALLIANCE, in the Civil and Canon Law, the re¬
lation contraded 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 diflin-
guilhed into fuch as are offenfive, whereby the con-
trading parties oblige themfelves jointly to attack
fome other powerand into defenlive ones, whereby
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 way of thank!giving
for having obtained this alliance. The reafon was,
that thenceforward people were fure not to receive Alliance 1
any injuries except from them. There were different j|
forts of allies : fome only united to them by a partici- Alhgation
pation of the privileges of Romans, as the Latini and v |
Hernici; others by their very foundation, as the colo¬
nies 5 others by the benefadions they received from
them, as Mafmiffa, Eumenes, and Attains, who owed
their kingdoms to Rome ; others by free treaties,
which lafl by a long alliance became fubjeds, as the
kings of Bithynia, Cappadocia, Egypt, and moll of
the cities of Greece: Lallly, others by compulfive trea¬
ties, and the law of fubjedion, as Philip and Antio-
chus. For they never granted peace to an enemy,
without making an alliance with him } that is, they
never fnbdued any people without ufmg it as a means
of fubduing others.
The forms or ceremonies of alliances have been va¬
rious iu 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 facriflces together, were the cuftomary rite of rati-
lying an alliance. Among the Jews and Chaldeans,
heifers or calves, among the Greeks bulls or goats,
and among the Romans hogs, were facrificed on this
occafxon. Among the ancient Arabs, alliances were
confirmed by drawing blood out of the palms of the
hands of the two contracting princes with a fharp
Hone, dipping herein a piece of their garments, and
therewith Uncaring leven Hones, at the fame time in¬
voking the gods Vrotalt and Alilat, i. e. according to
Herodotus, Bacchus and Uranius. Among the people
of Colchis, the confirmation of alliances is faid to he
effeded by one of the princes offering his wife's breaffs
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 connedion ; thus we fay, there is an
alliance between the church and Hate.
ALLIARA. 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 i her
on the eaff by thole of Saone and Loire, and the Loire j
on the fouth by thofe of the Loire, Pay de Dome, and
Creuie j and on the weff by thofe of Creufe and Cher.
It contains 1,454,341 fquare acres ; the number of in¬
habitants is about 206,105 and it is divided into four
communal diffrids. The principal town is Moulins.
ALLIGATI, in Roman antiquity, the bafeff kind
of Haves, who were ufually kept fettered. rIhe Ro¬
mans had three degrees, or orders, of Haves or fer-
vants j the lirff employed in the management of their
effates 5 the fccond in the menial or lower fundions
of the family: the third called alligati, above men¬
tioned.
ALLIGATION, the name of a method of folying
all queHions that relate to the mixture of one ingredient
with another. Though writers on arithmetic generally
make alligation a branch of that fcience 3 yet, as it
is plainly nothing more than an application of the
common properties of numbers, in order to folve a few
queftions
ALL I yoK ] ALL
flfiligatioti. qucilions that occur in particular branches of bufinefs,
we choofe rather to keep it dillinct from the fcience of
arithmetic.
Alligation is generally divided into medial and alter¬
nate.
Alligation Medial, from the rates and quantities of
the fimples given, difeovers the rate of the mixture.
Rtde. As the total quantity of the fimples,
To their price or value 5
So any quantity of the mixture,
To the rate.
Examp. A grocer mixeth 3oil), of currants, at 4d.
per lb. with xolb. of other currants, at 6d. per II). :
W hat is the value of ilb. of the mixture ? AnJ'. 4^d.
faid remainder, divided by the difference of the rates, Alligation.
will quote the faid quantity. Thus, <...—v <
Suppofe a grocer has a mixture of qoolb. weight,
that coft him 7I. 10s. confifting of raifins at,4d. per lb.
and almonds at 6d. how many pounds of almonds were
in the mixture ?
lb. Rates.
400 6d.
L. s. d. 4 4d.
7 10=1800      
1600 i6ood. 2d.
  Z. sx
2) 200(i00lb. of almonds at 6d. is 2 10
And 3001b. of railins at 4d. is 50
Total 400 Proof 7 10
lb. d. d.
30, at 4 amounts to 120
xo, at 6   60
40 180
lb. d. lb. d.
If 40 : 180 : : 1 : 4^.
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 fum by
the number of fimples. Thus,
Suppofe a grocer mixes feveral forts of fugar, and of
each an equal quantity, viz. at 50s. at 54s. and at 60s.
per cwt. the rate of the mixture will be 54s. 8d. per
cwt. } for
s. s. d.
5°+ 54+ 60= 164, and 3)164(54 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;
fo the quantity of the mixture propofed, to the quan¬
tities of the fimples fought.
Note 3. If it be required to know how much of
each fimple is an affigned portion of the mixture,
lay, As the quantity of the mixture, to the feveral
qtiantities of the fimples given •, fo the quantity of 'the
afligned portion, to the* quantities of the fimples fought.
Thus,
7 £
Suppofe a grocer mixes lolb. of railins with 3olb. of
almonds and 401b. 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,
c8.
80 : 10 : : 16 : 2 raifins.
80 : 30 : : 16 : 6 almonds.
80 : 40 : : 16 : 8 currants.
Proof 16
Note 4. 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 leffer rate into the total quantity, fub-
tradt the product from the total value, and the remain-
der will be equal to the produdt of the excefs of the
higher rate above the lower, multiplied into the quan¬
tity of the higher-priced fimple *, and confequentlv the
Vol. I. Part II.
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 5 and on the right fide
of the brace let the rates of the feveral fimples, under
one another, 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
dilference betwixt the root and the feveral branches
right again!! their refpedtive yoke-fellows. Thefe al¬
ternate differences are the quantities required. Note 1.
If any branch happen to have two or more yoke-fel¬
lows, the difference betwixt the root and thefe yoke¬
fellows muft be placed right again!! the faid branch,
one after another, and added into one fum. 2. In fome
quellions, the branches may be alligated more ways
than one : and a queftion will always admit of fo ma¬
ny anfvvers as there are different ways of linking the
branches.
Alligation alternate admits of three varieties, viz.
1. The queftion may be unlimited, with refpect 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. Wrhen the queftion is unlimited, with re-
fpect both to the quantity of the fimples, and that of the
mixture, this is called Alligation Simple.
Examp. A grocer would mix fugars at yd. 7d. and
lod. per lb. fo as to fell the mixture or compound at 8d.
per lb.: W7hat quantity of each mull he take ?
lb.
Here the rate of the mixture 8 is placed on the left
fide of the brace as the root} and on the right fide of
the fame brace are fet the rates of the feveral fimples,
viz. 5, 7, 10, under one another, as the branches} ac¬
cording 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 *, as directed in Rule II.
The difference between the root 8 and the branch 5,
viz. 3, is fet right again!! this branch’s yoke-fellow 10.
The difference between 8 and 7 is likewife fet right
4 U again!!
A L L [?
Alligation, againfl: the yoke-fellow 10. And the difference he-
v'— ' twixt 8 and 10, viz. 2, is fet right againft the two
yoke-fellows 7 and 5 ^ as prefer!bed 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 3d. 2lb. at 7d. and 41b. at tod.
will make the mixture required.
The truth and reafon of the 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 rod. fugar at 8d. per lb.
there is 8d. loft : but the like fum is gained upon its
two yoke-fellows; for by felling 2lb. of yd. fugar at
8d. per lb. there is 6d. gained ; and by felling 2lb. of
7d. fugar at 8d. there is 2d. gained ; and 6d. and 2d.
make 8d.
Hence it follows, that the rate of the mixture muft
always be mean or middle with refpect to the rates of
the fimples; that is, it muft be lefs than the greateft,
and greater than the leaft ; otherwife a folution would
be impoflible. And the price ol the total quantity
mixed, computed at the rate ot the mixture, will always
be equal to the fum of the prices of the leveral quanti¬
ties call up at the refpective rates of the fimple.
Variety II. When the queftion is limited to a cer¬
tain quantity of one or more ol the limples, this is cal¬
led Alligation Partial.
If the quantity of one of the fimples only he limited,
alligate the branches, and take their differences, as if
there had been no fuch limitation ; and then work by
the following proportion :
As the difference right againft the rate of the fimple,
whofe quantity is given,
To the other differences refpeftively ;
80 the quantity given,
To the feveral quantities fought.
• Examp. A diftiller would, with 40 gallons of brandy
at 12s. per gallon, mix rum at 7s. per gallon, and gin
at 4s. per gallon : How much ol the rum and gin muft
he take, to fell the mixture at 8s. per gallon ?
Gal.
06 ] A L L<
would mix it with water, fo as to make a compofition Alligation
of 144 gallons, worth 2s. 6d. per gallon. How much
wine, and how much water, muft he take l
Gal.
8
{'Bf
40 of brandy.
32 of rum.
32 of gin.
}
Anf.
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; therefore fay,
If 5 : 4 :: 4° 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 cer¬
tain quantity of the mixture, this is called Alligation
Total.
After linking the branches, and taking the differen¬
ces, work by the following proportion :
As the fum of the differences,
To each particular difference y
So the given total of the mixture,
To the refpeftive quantities required.
Examp. A vintner hath wine at 3s. per gallon, and
3°
3°
6
36
120 of wine
24 of Avater
\A"f-
144 total.
120 X 36—4320
24 X 0= o
Proof 144)4320(30
As 36 : 30 :: 144 : 120
As 36 : 6 :: 144 : 24.
There being here only two fimples, and the total oi
the mixture limited, the queftion admits but of one an¬
fwer.
ALLIGATOR, in Zoology, a fynonyme of the la-
certa crocodilus. See Lacerta.
Alligator Pear. See Laurus, Botany Index.
ALLIONIA. See Botany Index.
ALLIOTH, a ftar in the tail of the Greater Bear,
much ufed for finding the latitude at lea.
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 latisfaciory account of
alliteration in the writings of the critics. They ieem
to have paffed it over in contemptuous filenee *, 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 expreffion refulting from dif¬
ferent arrangements of long and fliort lyllables, and on
the powers of paufes as they are vanoufly placed, with¬
out a word of alliteration. This is the more extraor¬
dinary, as one fhould think it impolliole for any man
to examine minutely, and, as it were, diffeft a number
of verfes, without perceiving the vaft abundance of this
ornament. It is as if an anatomift fhould publifh a
complete table of the arteries in the human body, and
affeft 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 foi
fweetnefs or for energy, they will be found in fome de¬
gree alliterative. We do not pretend to fay, that the
fweetnefs and energy of verfification depends chiefly on
this circumftance, yet we cannot help believing that it
may claim fome fhare : for it is a conftant appearance,
as far as we have ever obferved, that the poets whole
fame is higheft for verfification, have been attentive to
alliteration.
The very trifling appearance of the ornament itfelf,
upon a fuperficial view, and the frequent abufe of it,
are circumftances indeed which give no encouragement
to a ferious inquiry into its nature and operation. Plow
common is it for writers, who affect to be comic, when
in want of other means for raifing a Imile, to ufe af-
fedted alliteration with fuccefs ? But, in the fine arts,
no beauty or grace is beyond the power of ridicule.
The n obi eft attitudes in painting have been rendered
laughable by caricature. St Raul preaching at Athens,
in the defign of Raphael, appears elegant, noble, and
in fome degree awful. The lame apoftle, represented
by Hogarth in nearly the fame attitude, pleading be¬
fore
ALL [ 707 j ALL
Allitera- fore the governor Felix, feems altogether ridiculous,
tion. 80 the language and verfification of Milton in the Pa-
radife Loll appear only proper for the molt elevated
fubjedts. 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 fliort intervals, one cer¬
tain conformation, than to throw themfelves into a
number of different ones, unconnected and difeordant.
For example, a fucceflion of labials, interfperfed at
regular diftances with dentals and gutturals, will he
more eafily pronounced than the fucceffion of all the
three ak random. Sounds of which the articulation is
eafieft, are moll completely in the power of the fpeaker.
He can pronounce them flowly or rapidly, foftly or
with force, at pleafure. In this we imagine the power
and advantage of alliteration are founded •, for we would
not lay any llrefs on the pleafure which can reiult 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 llrainj but that analogy is extremely faint.
The ear, we prefume, can be pleafed with alliteration
only in fo far as it contributes to the fuperior eafinefs
of recitation ; for what is recited with eafe mull be
heard with pleafure.
Thefe remarks might be confirmed and illuflrated
by numberlefs paffages from the bell poets. Some few
lines will fuffice, taken from Gray, who feems to have
paid particular attention to this grace. He profeffed
to have learned his verfification from Dryden, as Dry-
den did from Spenfer: 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 j for
lie ufes it chiefly when he aims at flrength and bold-
nefs. In the SJler Odes (as Dr Johnfon llyles them),
almoft every llrophe commences and concludes with an
alliterative line. The poet, we fuppofe, tvilhed to be¬
gin with force, and end with dignity.
“ 7?uin feize thee, 7’uthlefs king.”
“To /iigh-born Ho el’s /?arp, or foft Zlewe/lyn’s /ay.”
“ TFeave the warp, and weave the woof.”
“ Stamp we our vengeance Jeep, and ratify his r/oom.”
“ Regardlefs of theyiveeping whirlwind’syivay.”
“ That hufli’d in grim repofe, expects his ev’ning
/>rey.”
It mull 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 words j the
repeated letter bearing a llrong analogy to the bars in
a mufical phrafe. Gray feems to have had a particu¬
lar liking to thefe forts of balanced verfes which divide
equally, and of which the oppolite fides have an allite¬
rative refemblance.
“ Eyes that glow and fangs that grin.” Allitera-
“ Thoughts that breathe, and words that 6urn.” tion
“ Hauberk cralh, and helmet ring.” I!
’ 6 Allix.
All thefe lines appear to us to have a force and v—"
energy, arifing from alliteration, Avhich renders them
eafy to be recited •, or, if the reader pleafes, mouthed.
For the fame reafon the following paflage appears fad
and folemn, by the repetition of the labial liquid.
“ Mountains, ye wourn in vain,”
“ Modred, whole magic long”—&c.
If alliteration thus contributes to enforce the ex-
preffion of a poetical fentiment, its advantages in poetry
mull be conliderable. It is not, therefore, unworthy
a poet’s regard in the adt of compolition. If two
words offer of equal propriety, the one alliterative, the
other not, we think the firll ought to be chofen. We
would compare this to the pradtice of fuguing in mu-
fic. A compofer who aims at expreffion will not hunt
after fugues j but if they offer, if they feem to arife
fpontaneoufly from the fubjedt, he will not rejedt them.
80 a good poet ought not to feledt an epithet merely
for beginning with a certain letter, unlefs it fuit his
purpofe well in every other refpedt; for the beauty of
alliteration, when happy, is not greater than its de¬
formity when affected. A couplet from Pope will ex¬
emplify both ; the firll line being had, ami the fecond
good :
“ Eternal beauties grace the A'hining/cene,
“ Fields ever jfielli, and groves for ever green.”
ALLIUM (from uXia, “ to avoid or fhnn,” becaufe
many fliun the fmell of it), Garlic. See Botany
Index.
ALLIX, Peter, a French Proteflant divine, ivas
born at Alen^on in France, in the year 1641. He be¬
came, a learned divine of the Englifli church, and a
llrenuous defender of the Proteftant faith. At the
time when the edidt of Nantes tolerated and protected
the Proteftants of France, he entered upon his clerical
profelfion, and remained miniller of Rouen until the
thirty-fifth year of his age. In this period he wrote
feveral pieces upon the controverfy between the Pa-
pills and the Protellants, which obtained him great
fame among his own party. He removed to Charen-
ton in the vicinity of Paris, which was the principal
church among the reformed, and frequented by per-
fons of the firll rank in France, who profeffed the Pro-
tellant faith. Here Allix preached a courfe of excel¬
lent fermons in defence of the Protellant religion, fome
of which were afterwards printed in Holland, and ad¬
ded to his increafing fame. The chief objedt of thefe
fermons was to repel the attack of the bilhop of
Meaux, the moll ingenious and able opponent of the
Reformation at that time. The unwife revocation of
the edidt of Nantes drove Allix and many others to
feek refuge in England. Three years after his arrival
in England, he had made himfelf fo perfedtly mailer
of the Englilh language as to be able to write very
corredtly a “ Defence of the Chrillian Religion.”
This work he dedicated to James II. in tellimony of
gratitude for his kind reception of the dillreffed refu¬
gees of France. In jullice to the memory of James,
4 u 2 and
3
ALL [ 708 ] A L. L
Allix, and as a fpecimen of the talents of Allix, it may be
Alloa. proper to give an extract from this carious dedication,
v —“ As your majefty continues Hill to give inch illu-
ftrious inftanccs of your clemency and royal protection
to thofe of our nation •, fo I confefs, Sir, I thought
myfelf under an obligation to lay hold upon this oppor¬
tunity of publifliing what all thofe who find fo lure a
protection 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 Iharers in all the advantages
which thofe who live under your government enjoy j
vour majefty did yet fomething more, and infpired all
vour fubjects with the fame compaflion towards us, with
which your royal breaft was already touched. You
law our miferies, and refolved to give us eafe ; and
this generous defign was executed, and your royal
clemency diffufed in the hearts ot all your fubjedts.
The whole world, Sir, which has received upon all its
coafts fome remainders of our fliipwreck, is filled with
admiration of the unexampled effects ol your majefty s
clemency. I could wilh, Sir, that this work which I
now prefent to your majefty might be fo happy as to
pafs to pofterity with this character of our acknowledg¬
ment, and that it might Hand as a faithful record for
ever to perpetuate the memory of that lively ienfe ot
your bounty which is imprinted on all bur hearts.”
Not long after his arrival in England, he was ho¬
noured with the title of doctor of divinity, and alio
received the more fubftantial honour of being appointed
treafurer of the church of Salifbury. Allix ftill main¬
tained the Hat ion of a champion for the Proteftant
eaufe, and in oppofition to the hifliop of Meaux proved
that the charge of herefy juftly belonged to the Papifts,
and not to their opponents, becaufe they had introduced
new doctrines 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 doctrine of the Trini¬
ty againft the Unitarians, who contended that the idea
of thrift’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
dodtrine was believed by the Jewifli church. But the
reputation which he had acquired for learning and abi¬
lity was fomewhat diminifhed by the ridicule which he
brought upon himfelf in attempting to fix the preeile
time of Chrift’s fecond coming to the year 17 20, or at
the very lateft, to the year 1736. He died at Lon¬
don in the year 1717, after his ftudious life had been
protracted to the length of 76 years. He left behind
him numerous proofs of his great talents, extenhve
learning, uncommon induftry, and zealous attachment
to the doctrines 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 Stnlmg.
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 } and veflels are expeditioufly loaded with
coals from the pits by an uncommon waggon-way, on
which one horfe draws with eafe three waggons at once,
2
each waggon containing a ton and a halt. An excel- AlToa
lent dry dock has alfo lately been ere&ed here, capable H
of receiving fljips of the greateft burden. There is like- Alloeutio.
wife a large glafs-houfe for blowing bottles, of which
veffels are fupplied with any quantity upon the fliorteft
notice. \
The tower and lands of Alloa were exchanged by
David II. king of Scots, anno 1365, with Thomas
Lord Erfkine, for the lands and eftate of Strathgartney
in Perthfliire ; and fince that time the caftle of Alloa
has been the favourite refidence of the family of Mar.
The fituation is uncommonly beautiful. The gardens
here were the firft that were laid out on a great fcale in
Scotland 5 and, with the advice of La 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 tim¬
ber, near a century old.
The tower of Alloa is 89 feet in height, with walls
of 11 feet in thicknefs j and was built in the end of
the 13th century. In this refidence of the family «t
Erfkine many of the Scottiih 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 fortrefles of the kingdom, Edin¬
burgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton. The laft heir of
the Scottifli monarchy who was nurtured there was
Henry prince of M ales 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 lias
preferved feveral anecdotes, con netted with the Er-
fkines and his refidence at Alloa. Among other re¬
mains of antiquity preferved at Alloa, in remembrance
of the confidence and affettion which fubfifted always
betwixt the Stuarts and the Erfkines, is the private fig-
net of the unfortunate Mary? which Hie gave to the re¬
gent Mar, after fbe was obliged by the treaty ot Edin¬
burgh to defift from wearing the arms of England in
the firft quarter', thd child’s chair of James N I. her
fon ; and the feftive chair of Thomas Lord Erfkine the
fecond earl of Mur of the name, with the fail non able
grace carved on it, Soli T)eo Honor et Gloria..
ALLOBftGOES, (Infcription, Livy, h elleius, ITo-
rns) ; from Allobrox (Horace) : a people of Gallia
Narbonenfis, fituated between the rivers Ifara and Bho-
danus, and the Lacus Lenianus y commended by Cice¬
ro for their fidelity j but reproached by Horace on ac¬
count of their fondnefs for novelty.
Novij'que rebus infidelis Allobrox. Epod. 16.
ALLOCATION denotes the admitting or allow¬
ing of an article of an account, efpecially in the ex,-
chequer. Hence
Allocations Facienda, is a writ directed to the lord
treafurer, or barons of the exchequer, commanding
them to allow an accountant Inch fums as he has
lawfully expended in the execution of his office.
ALLOCUTIO, an oration or fpeech ol a general
addreffed to his foldiers, to animate them to fight, to
appeafe fedition, or to keep them to their duty. A
mount of earth was raifed upon the occaficn, as it were
a kind of a tribunal of turf. From this the, general
pronounced his harangue to the army, which was ran--
A L L [ 709 ], A L M
Allodium ged in feveral fquadrons round lum, with their captains
|| at their head. When the time and circumftances
, would not admit of a formal harangue, the general
* Avent 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 a promife 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 System.
ALLOPHYLLUS, in Botany. See Botany In¬
dex.
ALLOTTING, or Allotment of Goods, in mat¬
ters of commerce, is when a Ihip’s cargo is divided in¬
to feveral parts, bought by divers perions, whole 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.
ALLOWAY Creek, in Salem county, New Jer-
fey, empties into the Delaware. It is navigable 16
miles, interrupted, however, by feveral draw-bridges.
ALLOY, or Allay, properly lignifies a propor¬
tion of a baler metal mixed with a finer one. The al¬
loy of gold is eltimated by carats, that of filver by
pennyweights. In different nations different propor¬
tions of alloy are ufed 5 whence their moneys are laid
to be of different degrees of finenefs or bafenefs, and
are valued accordingly in foreign exchanges. The
chief reafons alleged for the alloying of coin are :
I. The mixture of the metals, which, when fmelted
from the mine, are not perfectly pure. 2. The faving
the expence it mull otherwife coil if they were to be
refined. 3. The neceffity of rendering them harder*
by mixing fome parts of other metals with them, to
prevent the diminution of weight by wearing in paf-
iing from hand to hand. 4. The melting of foreign
gold or coin which is alloyed. 5. The charges of
coinage, which mull be made good by the profit arifing
from the money coined. 6. and lallly, 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 word is employed in
chemillry 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 ihall not here enter into the detail of the
particular alloys, all which are not yet nearly known.
Thofe which ax-e ufed, as Bronze, Tombac, Brafs, White
Copper, &c. may be 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.
ALLUMINQR, from the French allumer, “ to
lighten,” is ufed for one who colonreth or painteth upon
paper or parchment; and the reafon is, beeagfe he gives
light and ornament by his colours to the letters or other
figures. Such ornaments are ftyled illuminations. The
word is ufed in Hat. I..R. III. cap. 9. But now fuch
a perfon is called.a limner.
ALLUSH, in Ancient Geography. The Ifraelites
being in the wildernefs of Shur, departed from Doph- Allufion,
kah, and went to Allufh, from whence they proceeded ||
to Rephidim j Num. xxxiii. 13, 14. Eufebius and St , Almagro.
Jerome fix Allufli in Idumea, about Gabala or Petx-a,
the capital of Arabia Petrtea. In the accounts of the
empii'e, it is' fituated in the third Palelline j and by
Ptolemy, among the cities of Idumaea.
ALLUSION, in Rhetoric, a figure by which fome-
thing is applied to, or underflood of, another, on ac¬
count of fome fimilitude between them.
ALLUVION, in Law, denotes the gradual increafe
of land along the fea-lhore, or on banks of rivers.
ALLEY, in mattex-s of polity, a fovereign prince or
Hate that has entered into alliance with others. See
Alliance.
ALMACANTARS. See Almucantars.
ALMACARRON, a fea-port town of Spain, in the
province of Murcia, at the mouth of the river Guada-
lantin. It is about twenty miles well 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 Caflile, fituated upon
the top of a mountain, where are the moil ancient as
well as the richell 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 eatlmri.
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 ailronomy.
Almagest is alfo the title of other colledions of
this kind. Thus, Riccioli has publiflxed a book of
ailronomy, which he calls the Hew AlmcgeJI; and Plu-
kenet, a book which he calls Almagejlum Botanicum.
ALMAGRA, a fine deep red ochre, with fome ad¬
mixture of purple, very heavy, and of a denfe yet fri¬
able ilrudture, and x'ough dully furface. It adheres
very firmly to the tongue, melts freely and eafily in the
mouth, is of an aullere and llrongly aflringent talle,
and llains the Ikin in touching. It is the Sil Atticum
of the ancients } it ferments very violently with acid
menflruums ; by which fingle quality, it is fufficicntly
diftinguilhed from the Sil Syricvm, to which it has in
many x’efpedts a great affinity. It is found in imrnenfe
quantities in many parts of Spain 5 and in Andalufia
there are in a manner whole 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 diffridls of La Mancha. It was built by
the archbifhop Roderic of Toledo, who finiffied it in
1214, and put a conliderable garrifon into it to rellrain
the incurfions of the Moors. This was hardly done,
when the fortrefs was befieged by an army of 5000
horfe and foot, under the command of a Mooriffi offi¬
cer of great reputation; but the prelate, its founder-,
took care to fupply thofe within with fuch plenty of
neceffaries, that at length the enemy found themfelves
obliged to raife the fiege and retire with great lofs.
Almagro, Diego de, a Spanifli commander, was 1
of.'
A L M
Almagro. of fuch obfcure birth and mean parentage that he de-
—v" rived his name from the village where he was born, in
1463. Deprived of the means of early inftruftion, he
could neither read nor write, but neverthelefs, in con-
fequence of his improvements in the military art, he
formed an all'ociation with Pizarro and de Luque, for
the purpoi'e of difcoveries and conqueft upon the Peru¬
vian coaft. The governor of Panama having fan6tioned
their enterprife, they devoted their united exertions to
that undertaking. Pizarro diredled the conquell, and
Almagro was appointed to conduct the fupplies, pro-
vifions, and reinforcements. In the two firll unfuccefs-
ful attempts, he performed this office with perfevering
fidelity and uncommon aftivity. His perfeverance wras
followed with complete fuccefs 5 for they at laft dif-
covered the coaft of Peru, and landed at Tumbez, di-
ftinguifhed by its temple and palace of the incas or
fovereigns, and fituated about three degrees fouth of
the line. Pizarro was lent over to Spain to folicit far¬
ther powers, after the three adventurers had previoully
adj lifted their future preferments, and agreed that Pi¬
zarro ffiould be governor, Almagro lieutenant-governor,
and Luque bifliop. In this negotiation Pizarro ob¬
tained the clerical dignity for Luque ; but chiefly con¬
cerned about his own intereft, he negle6ted the prefer¬
ment of Almagro. On his return, Almagro was lo
enraged, that he refufed to aft with fuch a perfidious
companion, and refolved to form a new afl’ociation. Pi¬
zarro for the prefent artfully endeavoured to avert the
indignation of Almagro, and gradually foothed the rage
and difappointment of the foldier. The union was re¬
newed upon the former terms ; and it wras folemnly fti-
pulated that a common expence and a common advan¬
tage fliould 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 immenfe
fpoil, and made fuch ample remittances to Alma¬
gro, 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 •, 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 croffing the mountains, he fuffered
great hardlhips and lofles by miftaking the route, but at
length he defcended into the plains of that devoted re¬
gion. Here he met with a more vigorous refiftance
from the natives than the Spaniards had ever experi¬
enced in other countries. He had, however, made
A L M
fome progrefs, when he was recalled to Peru by the Almagre.
news of the natives having rifen in great numbers, —
and attacked Lima and Cuzco. He purfued a new
route, and marching through the fandy plains on the
coaft, 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
againft the Indians and his Spanifh rivals. He attack¬
ed the Peruvian army with great vigour, and making
a great flaughter, he proceeded to the gates of Cuzco
without any further 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 harfti and oppreffive conduft.
With their aid, he advanced towards the city by night,
furprifed the fentinels, and furrounded the houfe where
the two brothers relided, who were compelled, after an
obftinate defence, to furrender at difcretion. A form
of government was fettled in the name of Almagro,
and his jurifdiftion over Cuzco was univerfally ac¬
knowledged. This was the origin of a civil \tar} the
beginning of which was very advantageous to Almagro,
who by Ikilful manoeuvres entirely routed a body of
Spaniih troops advancing to the relief of Cuzco, and
made Alvarado their commander prifoner. But inftead
of improving thefe advantages, he unwifely marched
back to Cuzco, and there awaited the arrival of Pizarro.
Pizarro, convinced of his own feeble refources, pro-
pofed an accommodation, and with his ufual art pro-
trafted 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 wdio 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,
religned 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, was maffacred in cold
blood. During that fatal day, Almagro, placed in a
litter, which was 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 was taken prifoner, remained
feveral months in confinement, and afterwards was tided,
and condemned to death. In the view of an ignomini¬
ous death, the courage of the veteran forfook him, and
he unfuccefsfully fupplicated for life, in a manner un¬
worthy of his former charafter. All the arguments
he could employ were ineffeftual. The Pizarros 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 ftrangled in prifon, and after¬
wards beheaded. He left one fon by an Indian woman
of Panama ; and in confequence of a power which the
emperor had granted, he declared his fon his fucceffor
t 71® ]
A L M [ 711 ] A L M
in the government, although he was then a prifoner
in Lima.
With the qualities of intrepid valour, indefatigable
activity, and infurmountable conftancy, he blended the
more amiable difpofitions of franknefs, generofity, and
candour. TheiL-qualities rendered him beloved by his
followers j and his misfortunes excited their fympathy
and pity, fo that his death was univerfally regretted,
and particularly by the poor Indians, who deemed him
their guardian and protector again!! the cruel and un¬
feeling Pizarro. Upon the whole review of his cha¬
racter, it appears juft to conclude, that he was, although
of inferior abilities, a more amiable man than his rival.
(Gc«. JSiog.)
Almagro the Younger, by his courage, genero¬
fity, and other accompliftnnents, was placed at the
head of the party after the death of his father. The
father, confeious of his own inferiority from the total
want of education, ufed every poffible means to improve
the mind and emhellilli the manners of his fon 5 fo that
he foon acquired thofe accomplifhments which rendered
him re (peered by illiterate adventurers, who cheerfully
ranged round his ftandard ; and, by his dexterity and
fkill, fought deliverance from the oppreffions of Pizzaro.
Juan de Herrada, an officer of great abilities, conti¬
nued ftill to direft his counfels and to regulate his
enterprifes : and, while Pizzaro confided in his own
fecurity, a confpiracy was formed againft him, which
terminated in his death. The alfaflins, exculting in
their fuecefs, 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, where his ojiponents had
ereCted the royal ftandard under the command of Pe¬
dro Alvarez Holguin. Herrada the guide of his coun¬
fels died during his march 5 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 victory long
remained doubtful ; till at laft it declared for the new
governor. The followers of Almagro difplayed un¬
common valour, and Almagro conducted the military
operations of that fatal day with a gallant fpirit, wor¬
thy of a better caufe and defervingof a better fate. In
proportion to the number of combatants the carnage
was very gx-eat. Of 1500 men 500 fell in the field,
and many more were wounded. Almagro efcaped,
but being beti’ayed by fome of his own officers, he xvas
publicly beheaded at Cuzco, and in him the name and
fpirit of the party of Almagro became extinCt. ( Ge/i.
Bwg.)
ALMAMON, or Mam ON, alfo named Abdallah,
caliph of Bagdad, was born A. I). 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 Almamoa.
was px-ovided, that his three Ions fliould fucceed to the
caliphate in order, Almamon ordered his elder bro- -
ther to be proclaimed caliph throughout his govexn-
ment. But his brother repaid his friendflxip and at¬
tachment to his intereft with open expreffions of hatred,
and unjuft attempts to exclude him from the deftined
fucceffion. Almamon was thus forced to confult mea¬
fures for his own fafety and promotion, by cauling him-
felf to be proclaimed caliph. After various ftruggles,
his general, Thaher, in the year 813, took poffefiion of
Bagdad, purfued A1 Amin to his x-eti’eat, and caufed
him to be aflaffinated, fo that Almamon remained with¬
out a competitor. Various x'ebellions difturbed the
tranquillity of the firft years of his reign ; hut by his
prudent adminiftration and vigorous exertions, thefe
were at length extinguiflied. Inftigated by the advice
of his vizier, he foon after railed greater commotions,
and expofed his dignity to greater dangers, by counte¬
nancing the feCt of Ali. He invited to court Iman
Bizza, 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.
Alai’med at thefe proceedings, the orthodox Mulful-
mans, and the houfe of Abbas, excited a great revolt
in Bagdad, and proclaimed Ibrahim, Almamon’s uncle,
caliph. A civil war was juft about to commence, when
Fadel the vizier was alfalfinated, and Bizza 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 exilled during a period of 16
yeax-s.
Almamon employed the period of tranquillity that
followed, 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 knowledge, 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
preiident. When his father remonftrated againft con¬
ferring fuch an honour upon a Chriftian, he reminded
him, that the moft learned men and the moft Ikilful
artifts in his dominions were Jews and Chriftians •, and
added, that he had chofen Mefue as a preceptor in fei-
ence and uieful arts, and not as a teacher of religion.
Under his auipices Bagdad became the feat of litei'a-
tui'e, of private and academical inftruction, 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, wrere tranflated into the Arabic at
his own expence. This caliph himfelf deemed it an
honour to let an example to othei*s of the becoming
refpedt due to mental cultivation, by vifiting the fchools,
and treating the profeffors 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
charafter of the Saracens was fuddenly changed from
A L M [71
am on. a rude and ferocious to a polite and civilized people,
•w— while the moft powerful and extenfive ol the Euro¬
pean Hates were involved in ignorance and barbarifm.
Literature has fullained fome irreparable lofl’es from his
« too great partiality to the Arabic writers, which indu¬
ced him to delfroy the originals of the tranflated ma-
nui'eripts. 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
conduct, however, Ihows that he was not fufficiently
careful to preferve a philofopbical mean betwixt the
different religious parties during the time ol his admi-
nillration, as he openly manifefted a predilettion to the
doctrines of the Motazeli, who afl’erted the free will of
man, and denied the eternity of the Koran. Some al¬
lege that on account of the murmurs which arole a-
gainll him, he was induced to exhibit too great a zeal
by eftablilhing a kind of inquifition, to compel all his
fubjeds to profefs Illamifm. The experiment, however,
fooii terminated in the better and julter expedient of
univerfal toleration ; and it is abundantly evident, that
the Chriftians in his dominions never felt the power of
his inquifition.
The public tranfadions of his reign are in themfelves
important. In the year 822 he fent a body ol his
troops to the afliftance of Thomas, a Greek, who made
war on Michael the Stammerer, the emperor ol Con-
ilantinople, and befieged his capital. This expedition,
which on the part of the caliph feems to have been
founded in juftice, proved unfuccefslul > Thomas was
taken prifoner, and fullered death. In the years 829
and 830, he commenced open hoftilities upon the
Greeks, rendered himfelf mailer of many places, and
carried devallation into their territories. He was luc-
cefsful in reprefling a revolt in Egypt, in the year
831. In this country he was led to difeover a trea-
fure buried under two columns by Merwan, the lall
caliph of the houfe of Ommijah. In repairing a de¬
cayed mikias or meafuring pillar, and ereding 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
penetrated into the territories of the Greek emperor,
even into Cilicia. Returning home, he encamped on
the banks of a river, and, excited by thirll, he drank
too freely of the ivater •, and at the lame time indulged
himfelf immoderately in eating a particular kind ol
dates, which brought on a complaint in his Itomach,
and reduced him to the moll imminent danger. Sen-
fible of his approaching diffolution, he wrote letters in¬
to all the provinces, announcing his brother Motaffem
his fucceffor, and then patiently waited the event.
After a tedious llruggle under the preffure of his dii-
eafe, and while uttering this ejaculation, “ O thou
who never diell, have mercy on me a dying man !” he
expired at the age of forty-eight or forty-nine years.
He reigned 27 years and fome months, and was buried
at Tarfus, which fome religious zealots interpreted as
a mark of reprobation.
The hillory of this caliph affords an illullrious in-
llance of the meliorating effect of'fcience and literature
upon the conduct and temper of rude and uncultivated
men. Under the milder features of a liberal, virtuous,
and beneficent fovereign, the ulual cruelty ol a Sara-
2 ] A L M
cen and a defpot feemed entirely loll. He difplayed Almamon,
an uncommon greatnefs of mind and an unufual ex- Almanack,
ample of clemency, in his conduct towards his rival~y—
and uncle Ibrahim. After his depofition, that prince
concealed himfelf in fome fequellered corner of Bagdad.
The place of his concealment being at length diicover-
ed, he was inllantly brought before the caliph, and in¬
formed that the council had unanimoully condemned
him to death. “ Your counfellors (laid Ibrahim) have
judged -according to the accuilomed rules of political
government; if you pardon me, you will not, indeed,
judge according to precedent, but you will have no
equal among fovereigns.” The caliph rofe up, and em¬
bracing him tenderly with great emotion, laid, “Uncle,
be of good cheer : 1 will not do you the leall injury
and he added to forgivends a fortune fuitable to his
birth and former elevated Ration. When Almamon’s
courtiers complimented him on this generous aftion, he
exclaimed, “ Ol did men hut know the pleafure I feel
in pardoning, all who have offended me would come
and confefs their faults.” To the fame generofity of
difpofition may be aferibed his‘ ilrong prediledion to
the oppreffed houfe of All, which filled the beginning
of his reign with political troubles. By his frequent
intereourfe with men of enlightened minds, and ol dif-
ferent religious fentiments, he acquired a liberality very
unufual in a Muffulman 5 and his preference to fome
particular opinions feems to have originated from his
own vigour of mind, and his knowledge of theie opi¬
nions. ( Gen. Jiiog.)
ALMANACK, a book or table, containing a ka-
lendar of days and months, the riling and Jetting of
the fun, the age of the moon, the eclipfes ol both lu¬
minaries, &c.—Authors are divided with regard to the
etymology of the word j lome deriving it from the
Arabic particle al and manach, to count ; fome from
almanach, new-years gifts, becaufe the Arabian allro-
logers ufed at tbe beginning of the year to make pre-
fents of their epbemeridesj and others, from the leu-
tonic almaen achte; obfervations on all the months. Dr
Johnfon derives it from the Arabic particle al, and tbe
Greek pm, a month. But the moil fimple etymology
appears from the common fpelling the word being
compofed of two Arabic ones, Al Manack, which
Yignify the Diary. All the claffes of Arabs are com¬
monly much given to the lludy ol ailronomy and aflro-
logy • to both which a palloral life, and a fort of huf-
bandry, not only incline them, but aflord time and
opportunity to cultivate them. They neither fow, reap,
plant, travel, buy or fell, or undertake any expedi¬
tion or bufmefs, without previoufly confulting the liars,
or, in other words, their almanacks, or fome of tbe 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 palled over hither : and
ihofe aflronomical compofitions have flill everywhere
not only retained their old Arabic name j hut were,
like theirs, for a long while, and flill are among many
European nations, interfperfed with a great number of
allrological rules for planting, flowing, bleeding, pur¬
ging, &c. down to the cutting of the hair and paring
of the nails.—Regiomontanus appears to heve been the
firfl in Europe, however, who reduced almanacks into
their prelent form and method, gave the characters of
/
A L M [71
Almanack, each year and month, foretold the eclipfes and other
v—phafes, calculated the motions of the planets, &c. His
firtl almanack was puhliflied in 1474.
The effential part of an almanack is the kalendar of
months and days, with the rifmgs and fettings of the fun,
age of the moon, &c. To thefe are added various parer-
ga, aftronomical, meteorological, chronological, politi¬
cal, rural, &c. as calculations and accounts of eclipfes,
iolar ingreiles, prognoftics of the weather, tables of the
tide, terms, &c. lifts of polls, oftices, 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 ; fome
tor binding, which may be denominated book alma¬
nacks; others in loofe papers, called Jhcet almanacks.
The modern almanack anfwers to the Fajli of the
ancient Romans. See Fasti.
Conjlruftion 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 ; next, find
the dominical letter, and, by means thereof, diftribute
the kalendar into weeksthen, having computed the
time of f-after, 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
ol day and night, the afpe&s 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
lolftices. (See Astronomy, pajjim). By the help
wf good aftronomical tables or ephemerides, the con-
llrudtion of almanacks is extremely eafy.
For every almanack or kalendar for one year or
lefs, a ftamp duty of 8d. mull be paid. And for eve-
pr 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 Iheet, one
flieet only need be-ftamped ; and every almanack is re¬
quired by law to be fo printed, that fome part of the
print lhall 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.
Almanacks, among Antiquaries, is alfo the name
given to a kind of inftrument, ufually of wood, in-
Jcribed with various figures and Runic characters, and
reprelenting the order ol the feafts, dominical letters,
flays of the week, and golden number, with other mat¬
ters neceffary to be known throughout the year ; 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 ; as rim-
ilocks, primftaries, runftocks, runftaffs, Scipiones Ru-
nict, Bacculi Annales, clogs, &c. They appear to
have been uled 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-
fcription and figure of one of thefe clogs, found in
Staftordfihire, under the title of The Perpetual Stuffbrd-
'[hiire Almanack. The external figure and matter of
thefe kalendars appear to have been various. Sonie-
Vol. I. Part II*
3 ] A L M
times they were cut on one or more wooden leaves, Almanack,
bound together after the manner of books j lometimes Aimanfor.
on the fcabbards of fwords, or even daggers j fome- ' > *
times on tools and implements, as portable lleelyards,
hammers, the helves of hatchets, flails, &c. Some¬
times they were made of brafs or horn ; fometimes of
the {kins of eels, which being drawn over a Hick pro¬
perly infcribed, retained the impreffions of it. But
the moll ufual form was that of walking ftaves, or
Hicks, which they carried about with them to church,
market, &c. Each of thefe ftaves is divided into three
regions ; whereof the firft indicates the figns, the fe¬
cond the days of the wreek and year, and the third the
golden number. The characters engraven on them are,
in fome, the ancient Runic ; in others the latter Gothic
characters ol Ullilas. The laints days are exprefled in
hieroglyphics, lignificative either of fome endowment
ol the faint,- the manner of his martyrdom, or the like*
Thus againlt the notch for the firft of March, or St
David’s day, is reprefented a harp; againft the 25th
ol October, or Crifpin’s flay, a pair of Ihoes; againft
the 10th ol Auguft, or St Lawrence’s day, a gridiron •,
and, laftly, againft New-year’s day, a horn, the fymbol
of liberal potations, which our anceftors indulged in at
that period.
ALMANSOR the Victorious, the fecond caliph
ol 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 lla-
fliemiyah. Although Al Saftah had declared him pre-
fumptive heir of the crown, and he had been proclaim¬
ed caliph in the imperial city of Anbar, yet imme¬
diately upon his inauguration, his uncle Abdallah ebn
AH had fufficient intereft to caufe himfelf to be pro¬
claimed caliph at Damafcus. In Arabia, Syria, and
Mefopotomia, he collected a numerous army, and ar¬
rived at the banks of the Mafius, near Nifibis, where
he encamped, ready to difpute his royal acceffion by
arms. Aimanfor collected an immenfe army in Per-
fia, Khorafan, and Irak, and gave the command of it
to Abu Moflem, who haraffed his uncle’s troops for
five months, and at laft totally defeated him, A. D.
754. Notw’ithftanding the fervices which Abu Mo¬
flem had rendered to the family of Al Abbas, af¬
ter this victory he became an object of jealoufy, and
was affailinated in the prefence of Aimanfor himfelf,
by his exprcfsnrder. After the death of Abu Moflem,
the ftandard of rebellion was railed by Simon a Magi-
who feized on the treafures of the deceafed go¬
at)
vernor of Khorafan, and excited the people of that
country to a general revolt ; but this infurrection was
fuddenly quelled by the general of Aimanfor, Jam-
hur ebn Morad. The caliph avaricioufly feized the
fpoils of this victory, which fo incenfed Jamhur that he
immediately turned his arms againft his royal mailer ;
but he was foon defeated by the caliph’s forces. The
patriarch of Antioch was about this time detected in
an illicit correfpondence with the Grecian emperor, and
conlequently was banilhed into an obfeure part of Pa-
leftme 5 and in the mean time the Chriftians in the do ¬
minions of the caliph were prohibited from building
or repairing any churches, and alfo were laid under fe-
veral other fevere reftraints.
Aimanfor fent a large army into Cappadocia i«
the year 757, fortified the city of Malatia or Me-
4 X litene,
A L M t 7H 1
Alomnfor. Ktene, and depofited in it a great part ot treasures.
But in this year he was attacked by a feet of believers
in the metempfyehofis, called the Ruwandions. rLtus
fed alfembled at A1 Hafhemiyah, the refidence of the
caliph, and by the ceremony of going in proceffion
round his palace, intimated their purpoie of invoking
him as a deity, and paying him divine homage. In-
cenfed by their impiety,' the caliph ordered feveral of
thefe fedaries to be imprifoned, which roufed their re-
fentment, and led them to lorm the defign of his al-
faffination. The generous interpofition of Maan ebn
Zaidet, an Ommiyan chief, who had been under tne
necellity of concealing himfelf from the caliph’s re-
fentment, however, defeated their intention. This in-
fult received in his capital, induced him to build the
city of Bagdad, and to fix his refidence there, A. D.
*-62. In the preceding year a plan was formed to de¬
throne him j but it being difeovered, he feverely pu-
niflied all who were either diredly or indiredly 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 proteaion, he was placed in a build-
ins? which was fo conflruaed that it immediately fell
and crufiicd him in its ruins. Not long after his refi¬
dence at Bagdad, he was feized with a dilorder of which
he wras cured by the advice of a famous Chriflian phy-
fician, whole name was George ebn Baktifliua A1 Jon-
difaburi. The caliph, previoufly informed that he was
married to a wife old and infirm, as a recoinpenie pre-
fented him with three beautiful Greek girls, and a con-
fiderable fum of money 5 the girls, to the caliph’s fur-
prife, were fent back, with a declaration on the part ot
George, that it was not lawful for a Chriflian to have
more drives than one at a time. The conduft of the
phyficianT on this occafion, raifed him in the efleem of
the caliph, and procured him a greater profufion of fa¬
vours. In his fucceeding military tranfadions, Alman-
I'or was generally victorious. His condtift to his Chrii-
tian fubjeds was rigorous and fevt*re. He let out on
a pilgrimage to Mecca in the year 774, and being
feized on the road with a dangerous diteafe, he lent 101
his fon and intended fuccefl’or A1 Mohdi. and gave him
fome falutary advice. “ I command you,” faid he, “ to
treat publicly your relations with the greatell marks
of diflindion, fince this condud will refled no Imall
degree of honour and glory upon yourfelf. Increaie the
number of your freedmen, and treat them with all
* kindnefs, as they will be of great fervice to you in
your adverfity ; but neither this nor the other injunc¬
tion will you fulfil. Enlarge not that part of your ca¬
pital ereded on the eaftern bank of the Tigris, as you
will never be able to finifh it j but this work I know
1 you will attempt. Never permit any of your women
to intermeddle in affairs of flate, or to have any influence
over your councils 5 but this advice I know you wil
not take. Thefe are my lafl commands ; or, if you
pleafe, my dying advice ; 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, /. 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 charader of Almanfor was formed of . very dif¬
ferent and even contradidory qualities. His tempei
conciliated affedion and attachment in private life, but
A L M
Almc.
in his public charader his afped and demeanour infpir- Almanfor
ed terror. He was well acquainted with the arts of go¬
vernment ; he was prudent and brave, but perfidious, ^
covetous, cruel, and implacable *, and amid fuch a va¬
riety of character, it is lingular that he fhould have
difplayed a love of fludy and literature, and particu¬
larly of aflronomy. (Gen.Biog.)
ALMANZA," a little town of New Caflile, 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 adion the Englifli Troops penetrated through
the centre of; the Spanifh army, but the Portuguefe
cavalry being broken by the Spanifh, and the French .in¬
fantry making a dreadful fire on their flanks, the allied
army was at lafl 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 palled, they might have
been fafe : but being very much fatigued, they were
obliged to halt; by which means they were furrounded,
and forced to furrender prifoners of war. In this bat¬
tle the allies loll 120 flandards, together with all their
artillery and baggage 5 a great number were killed, and
feveral thoufands taken prifoners. The marquis de las-
Minas was dangeroully ivounded 5 and his millrels, in
the garb of an amazon, killed by his fide. I he earl
of Galway had two cuts aerofs the face, which, though
not dangerous, had prevented him from feeing, or giv¬
ing orders properly. .
Heresy of ALMARIC, a tenet broached m
France by one Almaric, in the year 1209. It conlifl-
ed in affirming, that every Chriflian 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 power of the Father lafled only during
the continuance of the Mofaic law } that the coming
of Chrifl introduced a new law } that at the end of this
began the reign of the Holy Ghofl} and that now
confeffion and the facraments were at an' end, and that
every one is to be laved by the internal operation of the
Holy Spirit alone, without any external aft of reli¬
gion. Their morals were as infamous as their do&rine
was abfurd. Their tenets were condemned by a public
decree of the council of Sens., in the year 1209*.
ALMF', or Alma, finging and dancing girls m
Egypt, who, like the Italian Improvifatori, can oeca-
fionally pour forth “ unpremeditated verfe.” Ihey
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 underfland the language well, to know the
rules of poetry, and be able to compote and iing coup¬
lets on the fpot, adapted to the circumftances.. I he
Alme know by heart all the new fongs. Their me-
mory is furniflied with the moft beautiful tales, ihere
is no feflival without them } no entertainment of wine 1
they do not conflitute the ornament. Ihey are pla¬
ced in a roftrum, from whence they fing during the
repafl. They then defeend into the faloon, and foim
dances which have no refemblance to ours. Hiey are
pantomime ballets, in which they reprefent the uiual
occurrences of life. The mylleries of love, too, ge¬
nerally
A L M [7
neraHy furniili them with fcenes. The fupplenefs of
their bodies is inconceivable. One is allonilhed at the
mobility of their features, to which they give at plea-
fure the impreflion 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 expreilive a manner, that it is impoflible to
miftake them. At the beginning of the dance, they
lay afide with their veils the modefty of their fex. A
long robe of very thin filk goes down to their heels,
which is flightly faftened with a rich girdle. Long
black hail', plaited and perfumed, is flowing on their
fhoulders. A Ihift, tranfparent as gauze, fcarcely hides
their bofom. As they put themfelves in motion, the
iliapes, the contours of their bodies, feem to develope
themfelves fucceffively. Their Heps are regulated by
the found of the flute, of caftanets, the tambour de
bafque, and cymbals, which accelerates or retards the
meafure. They are Hill further animated by words
adapted to fuch fcenes. They appear in a Hate of in¬
toxication. They are the bacchants in a delirium. It
is when they are at this point, that throwing off all re-
ferve, they abandon themfelves totally to the diforder
of their fenfes; it is then that a people far from delicate,
and who like nothing hidden, redouble their applaufes.
Thefe Alme are lent for into all the harams. They
teach the women the new airs ; they amufe them with
amorous tales, and recite in their prefence poems, which
are fo much the more interelling, as they furnifh a
lively pi£ture of their manners. They initiate them
into the myfteries of their art, and teach them to con¬
trive lafcivious dances. Thefe girls, who have a culti¬
vated underllanding, are very agreeable in converfa-
tion. They fpeak their language with purity. The
habit of dedicating themfelves to poetry renders the foft-
ell and moft fonorous expreffions familiar to them. They
repeat with a great deal of grace. In finging, nature
is their only guide. Sometimes two of them fing toge¬
ther, but always with the fame voice. It is the fame
with an orchelira, where all the inftruments playing in
unifon execute the fame part.
The Alme allift at the marriage ceremonies, and
march before the bride, playing on inftruments. They
make a figure likewife at funerals, and accompany the
proceffion, 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; but they have neither their elegance, their
graces, nor their knowledge. They are everywhere to
be met Avith. The public places and the walks about
Grand Cairo are full of them. As the populace require
allufions ftill more ftrongly marked, decency Avill not
permit the relation to what a pitch they carry the li-
oentioufnefs of their geftures and attitudes.
ALMEDIA, a frontier toAvn of Portugal, in the
province of Tralos Montes, on the confines of Leon,
where there tvas 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 Mahometan cuftoms, a niche
mi their mofques, pointing towards the kebla or temple
[5 ] A L M
of Mecca, to which they are obliged to botv in pray¬
ing. See Kebla.
ALME IS AR, a celebrated game among the an¬
cient Arabs, performed by a kind of calling of lots Avith
arrows, ftrictly forbidden by the Lav of Mahomet, on
account of the frequent quarrels occafioned by it.
The manner of the game Avas thus : A young camel
being brought and killed, Avas divided into a number
of parts. The adventurers, to the number of feven,
being met, 11 arroAVS Avere provided without heads or
feathers; feven of Avhich were marked, the firft Avith
one notch, the fecond with tAvo, the third Avith three,
&c. the other four had no marks. Thefe arroAvs were
put promifcuoully into a bag, and thus drawn by an
indifferent perfon. Thofe to A\Thom the marked ar-
roAvs fell, won fliares in proportion to their lot j the
reft to Avhom the blanks fell, Avere entitled to no part
of the camel, but obliged to pay the Avhole price of it.
Even the Avinners tailed not of the flefli themfelves
more than the lofers, but the Avhole Avas diftributed to
the poor.
ALMENE, in Commerce, a Aveight of two pounds,
uied to Aveigh faffron in feveral parts of the continent
of the Eaft Indies.
ALMERIA, a fea-port town 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 toAvn is by
fome thought to ha\'e rifen upon the ruins of the an¬
cient Abdera, and was formerly a place of great con-
iequence. It Avas taken from the Moors in 1147, by
the emperor Conrad III. in conjundtion with the
French, Genoefe, and Pifans. It was at that time the
ftrongeft place in Spain held by the Infidels *, from
which their privateers, which Avere exceedingly nume-.
rous, not only troubled the fea-coafts inhabited by the
Chrillians, but gave equal dillurbance to the maritime
provinces of France, Italy, and the adjacent illands.
The city being Avell fortified, having a ftrong caftle,
a numerous garrifon, and being excellently provided
Avith every thing neceffary, made a vigorous refiftance j
but Avas at laft taken by ilorm, when the vidlor put to
the Iword all the inhabitants who Avere found in arms,
dillributing the bell part of the plunder among his al¬
lies, Avhom he fent aAvay thoroughly fatisfied. The
Genoefe, particularly, acquired here that emerald vef-
fel which ftill remains in their treafury, and is deemed
invaluable.
Upon its reduction by the Chriftians, Almeria be¬
came a bilhopric ; 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.
W hat 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 Avants Avords to exprefs its charms and excel¬
lence. Its fields and meads are covered Avith floAvers
all the year round; they are adorned alfo with palms,
myrtles, plane ti’ees, oranges, and olives j and the moun¬
tains and promontories near it are as noted for their
producing a great variety of precious Hones, infomuch
that the next promontory to it is called the Cape of
Gates, Avhich is a corruption from the Avord agates, the
4X2 hills
Almelirab
Almeria.
/
A L M [
Almeria hills thereabouts abounding in that fort of precious
IS Hones, as well as in emeralds and amethyfts, garnets
Almohedes. or coarfe rubies, and extreme curious alaballer in the
v 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-
llile with Granada *, and in confequence of his import¬
ant fervices he became highly eileemed in the court
of his fovereign. Without any lolicitation on his part
he was nominated the firft governor general and vice¬
roy of the newly conquered countries in the Faft In¬
dies j and fet fail from Liihon in March 1505-6 with
a powerful fleet. To give dignity and influence to
his elevated llation, a body of guards was appointed to
attend his perfon, feveral chaplains were alligned him,
together with every other appendage of grandeur.
.He touched at the Cape Yerd iflands, doubled the
cape at a confiderable diitance to the fouth, and arrived
at Guiloa. From thence he proceeded to Mombaza,
a well fortified city in an illand, 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,
-lie fecured it to the Portuguefe intereft. The ifland
of Madagafcar was difcovered during his government,
and his fon Don Lorenzo firft furveyed the Maidive
iflands } and about the fame time difcovered the fine
ifland of Ceylon, the principal fovereign of which he
brought under fubmiflion to the crown of Portugal.
Returning from this expedition, while employed in the
fleet deflined againft Calicut, he loft his life in a lea-
fight againft the Zamorin. His father fuftained his lofs
with a heroic firmnefs, faying, “ that Lorenzo could
not die better than in the fervice of his country.” On
the arrival of Alphonfo d’Albuquerque, who was
deftined to be his fucceffor, Almeyda yielded to the
irapreffions of jealoufy ; and under the pretence of mif-
condudt he confined him in the citadel of Cannanor.
He engaged in 1508, the whole force of the Mahome¬
tans in the port of Diu ; 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 feme of the failors,
in quell of water, quarrelled with the natives, who at¬
tacked and drove them to their fliips. M ith a view
to revenge this pretended affront, they perfuaded Al-
meyda himfelf to go alliore, with a body of 150 men,
armed only with fwords and lances. While flopping
into the boat, Almeyda exclaimed, “ whither do you
carry my 60 years?” The Portuguefe furioufly rufli-
cd on to attack the natives, whofe numbers were great¬
ly augmented, and Almeyda with 57 of his men were
killed in this ralh and unprovoked attempt. (Gen.
Jliog.)
ALMISSA, a fmall but flrong town at the mouth
of the Cetina, in Dalmatia, famous for its piracies;
ten miles eafl of Spalatro. E. Long. 18. 14. N. Lat.
43. 56.
ALMOHEDES, the name of a dynafly, which,
2
716 ] A L M
in the commencement of the twelfth century, fucceed- Almohede-;,
ed that of the Almoravides in Barbary. It derived L——y——1
its name from an obfcure founder called A1 Mohedi,
or A1 Mohedes, and it rofe into public notice in the
2$th year of the reign of A1 Abraham, or Brahtm,
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 ingenuitv,
and it was executed with unremitting aftivity. In or¬
der to obtain attention and fuccefs, 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 power 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 llrength, fo that the king wras at lafl
roufed from his indolence, and prepared for his own
fecurity and their fubjection. In the firfl engagement
he was defeated, being overpowered with fuperior
numbers. The artful Abdallah took poffeflion 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 were Unit againll him ;
but they were opened to admit his purfuers. He
next took refuge in the city of Auran, or Oran *,
but he was purfued by Abdolmumen, who threatened
to dellroy the city with fire and fword ; and the ma-
giilrates, 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 purfued by the enemy, rather than fall into
their hands, he rufhed 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 was chofen by the chiefs of
that party his fucceffor, and proclaimed king of the Al¬
mohedes, under the title oi A1 Emir A1 Mumin Ab¬
dallah Mohammed Abdal Mumin Ebn Abdallah Ibm
Ali, i. e. Chief or Emperor of the true Believers of the
houfe of Mohammed Abdal Mumin, the ion ol Abdal
Mumin, the Ion of Abdallah, of the lineage of Ali. Ab¬
dallah, during his reign, enabled prudential laws for the
ellablilhment of his new kingdom, and the regulation
of the conduct of his followers. He appointed a coun-
.cil of forty of his difciples, all ol whom were preach¬
ers. Some of thefe were commiffioned to regulate all
public affairs , and at proper leafons they went forth
as itinerant preachers for the purpofe ol llrengthening
their party, and fpreading their doctrines, and fix teen
of their number acted as fecretaries. As both the re¬
gal and pontifical dignities were united in the lame
perfon, the king was chofen from both of theic two
clafles. The difciples oi this leCt were denominated
Mohameddin, or All Mohaddin } but the Arabian
writers only Hyle them preachers, and the Spanilh Al-
Mohedes. The defeendants and fucceffors oi that tribe
continued to retain the appellation ol Emir A1 Mu-
menin, or chiefs of the faithful believers, as long as
their dynaily lulled ; and they became very powerful
both in Africa and Spain. Bv their invedlives againll
the
A L M [7
Almohedes. the tyranny of the Almoravides, and their loud cla-
-v ' raours 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 pre¬
tence to orthodoxy, and ftrift adherence to the unity of
the Godhead, which they inculcated with the greatell
' zeal and diligence.
On his acceflion to power, the new fovereign extir¬
pated all the unhappy remains and Heady adherents of
this race, by ftrangling Ifaac the fon of Brahem. The
Almoravides governor taking advantage of the gene¬
ral tumult and dillradion that prevailed, conflituted
their governments into independent principalities and
petty kingdoms; and they who inhabited the moun¬
tainous parts, ellablifhed under their own cheyks a
variety of lordfhips. The Libyans and Nubians took
the lead } and the Hates of Barbary, Tripoli, Kairwan,
Tunis, Algiers. Tremecen, and Bujeyah, followed
their example. Abdolmumen, however, fuccefsfully
purfued his conqueHs ; and in a few years he reduced
to his fubjedtion the Numidians and Galatians in the
wefl, and the kingdoms of Tunis, Tremecen, and the
greater part of Mauritania and Tingitana. He expell¬
ed the ChriHians of Mohedia, the chief city of A-
frica, and fome others on the fame coafl •, and likewife
made conqueHs both in Spain and Portugal. He died
in the feventh year of his reign, and was fucceeded,
A. I). 1156, by his fon Yufef or Jofeph. Yufef
proved a valiant and martial prince, and in his milita¬
ry court he firfl eHablilhed the kings of Tunis and
Bujeyah in their retpedtive dominions, as his tributa¬
ries and vallals; and then by earneH felicitation he
embarked for Spain to affiH the Monrilh princes. Ya¬
kub or Jacob, or the Conqueror, fucceeding him, af¬
ter providing for his own fafety againH the revolted
and plundering Arabs, purfued his conqueHs with fuch
luccefs, that he foon became maHer of the whole coun¬
try lying between Numidia and the entire length of
the Barbary coaHs, from Tripoli to the boundaries of
the kingdom ol Morocco. Thus he was acknowledged
as fovereign by moH of the Arabian Moorifh princes
in his Spanifh dominions ; 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 1206, he quel¬
led a revolt in Morocco, but violated bis 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,
fur named A1 Naker, fucceeded his father ; and, on bis
acceflion to the crown, he paffed over into Spain with
an immenfe army of 120,000 horfe and 300,000 foot,
and engaging the whole force of the ChriHians on the
plains of Tholofa, received a total defeat, with the lofs
of above 150,000 foot, 30,000 horfe, and 50,000 pri-
loners. According to Spanifli and other hiHorians,
this famous battle was fought in 617, A. I). 12205
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 fubjedts, on account of his defeat; and
foon after died of vexation, having appointed his grand-
17 ] A L M
fon Zeyed Arrax his fucceffor. A defeendant of the Almohedes
Abdolwates, ancient monarchs of the kingdom, named |1
Gamarazan Ebn Zeyen, of the tribe of the Zeneti, Almoravi-
caufed him to be aflaifinated. With him terminated . (^s~
the dynafiy or government of the Almohedes, having
poflelfed it for about 170 years, which gave place to
that of the Benimerini, another branch of the Zeneti.
Thefe having enlarged their conqueHs, and enriched
themfelves by frequent inroads, not only into the
neighbouring kingdoms, but even Nubia, Libya, and
Numidia, were at length loH in the general preva¬
lence of Mohamedifm, after having exifled 117 years.:
(Mod. Univ. Hijl.)
ALMOND, the fruit of the almond tree. See
Amygdalus, Botany Index.
Almond, in Commerce, a meafure by which the Por-
tuguefe fell their oil: 26 almonds make a pipe.
Almonds, in Anatomy, a name fometimes given to
two glands, generally called the tonjils.
Almonds, among lapidaries, fignify pieces of rock-
eryHal, ufed in adorning branch-candleHicks, &e. 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
well riding of Yorkfhire, fix miles from Halifax.
ALMONER, in its primitive fenfe, denotes an of¬
ficer in religious houfes, to vThom belonged the ma¬
nagement and difiribution of the alms of the houfe.
By the ancient canons, all monafleries were to fpend
at leaH 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 do¬
nors, to bury the poor who die in the neighbourhood,
and to breed up eight boys to finging, for the ufe of
the choir. By an ancient canon, all bifliops are requi¬
red to keep almoners.
Lord Almoner, or Lord High Almoner of Eng¬
land, is an ecclefiaHicaL officer, generally a bifhop,
w ho has the forfeiture of all deodands, and the goods
ot felos de fe, which he is to diHribute among the
poor. He has alfo, by virtue of an ancient cullom,
the powder of giving the firfl difh from the king’s table
to whatever poor perfon he pleafes, or, inilead of it, an
alms in money.
Great Almoner, Grand Aumonier, in France, be¬
fore the revolution, was the higheH ecclefiaffiical 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 fafhionable title given by
feme writers to chaplains. Jn this fenfe we meet with
almoner of a fhip, almoner of a regiment.
ALMONRY, or Aumbry, the office or lodgings
of tiie almoner 5 alfo the place where alms are given.
See Ambry.
ALMORAVIDES, in Hijlory, the name of an
Arab tribe, who took poffeffion of a diffiridt of Africa,
witn the pretence of living in retirement, that their
minds might not be diHradted from the rigid obfer-
vance of the precepts of the Koran. Hence they afiu-
med the name of Morabites, which was changed by
the
A L M
Almoravi- tlie Spaniards into that of Almoravides. Abubeker
des. " ben Omar, called by the Spanilh writers Abu Texe-
'''■"■'"■"v 1 Hen, was the firll chief of this tribe. Supported by a
powerful army of malecontents from the provinces of
Numidia and Libya, which was afl’embled by the in¬
fluence of the Morabites, or Marabouts, he founded
the dynafty of the Almoravides in Barbary, in the
year 1051. Texefien was fucceeded by his ion Yufef
or Jofeph, who, after having reduced to a ftate ot vai-
itilage the kingdoms of Tremecen, Fez, and lunis,
palfed over into Spain during the time of the civil Avars,
vigoroufly repulfed the Chriftians, and ioon faw the
greateft part of the kingdoms of Murcia, Granada,
Cordova, Leon, and fome parts of Valencia, fubjected
to his power. He then returned into Africa, and left
his newly acquired dominions, Avith a confiderable ar¬
my, under the government oi his nepheAA' Mohammed.
On his arrival in Africa, Avith a vieAV to proiecute and
extend his conqueft in Spain, he announced, in a pub¬
lic declaration, a general game, or religious Avar ; af-
fembled a numerous army, with which he embarked at
Ceuta; and rejoining his nephew in Andalufia, foon laid
wafte that province Avith fire and fword.
In the year 1107, five years afterwards, he under¬
took another invafion, penetrated into the kingdom ot
Portugal, and reduced the city of Liibon, with a con¬
fiderable part of the kingdom. At this time he loll
the cities of Alguazir and Gibraltar, which he had for¬
merly taken. On his return to Barbary, he was de¬
feated at lea. This induced him to propofe a truce,
which Avas agreed to only on condition oi his iubmitting
to become the tributary of the Spaniih king. Indignant
at thefe humiliating terms, Yufef made a voav that he
would never defiil in his attempts, till he had utterly
rooted out the Chriftian religion in Spain. He made
preparations accordingly for a freih invafion, embark¬
ed his army, and landing at Malaga, marched into the
enemy’s country. His progrefs was rapid ; but his
meafures Avere inconfiderately planned and raflily exe¬
cuted. In the famous battle of the Seven Counts, he
was indeed victorious, but after a terrible daughter,
and the lofs of a great part of his army. This difaftrous
vidory obliged him to return to Africa; and he died
foon after at his capital of Morocco. Ali, his ion, fuc¬
ceeded to the fovereignty in 1110. This prince, who
feems to have been of a lefs Avarlike difpofition than his
father, neglecting his Spanifli conquefts, turned his at¬
tention to the arts of peace, and ereCted many fump-
tuous buildings, and in particular the great mofque of
Morocco. Alphonfo, then king of Arragon, retook
from him fome confiderable cities ; which obliged him
to undertake an expedition to Spain in fupport of the
Mooriih princes. But all his attempts proved unfortu¬
nate ; and in his laft enterprife, though poAverfully af-
iifted by the Mooriih chiefs, with the lofs of 30,000
men, he Avas defeated and ilain by Alphonfo, in the fixth
year of his reign.
He was fucceeded by his fon A1 Abraham, A\Tho de¬
voted himfelf entirely to pleafure. His iubjeCts Avere
haraffed and oppreffed with heavy taxes, which ex¬
cited difcontent and open rebellion. A revolution Avas
foon effected, and in the 25th year of his reign, the go¬
vernment transferred from the tribe oi the AlmoraA7ides
to the Almohedes. {Mod. Umv.
A L M
ALMS, a general term for Avhat is given out of Alms
charity to the poor. |j
In the early ages of Chriftianity, the alms of the cha- Almugg&n.
ritable Avere divided into four parts ; one of which Avas v
allotted to the biiliop, another to the prieils, and a third
to the deacons and fubdeacons, which made their whole
fubfiftence ; the fourth part Avas employed in relieving
the poor, and in repairing the churches.
No religious fyitem is more frequent or warm in its
exhortations to almfgiving than the Mahometan. The
Alcoran reprefents alms as a neceflary means to make
prayer be heard. Hence that faying of one of their
caliphs : “ Prayer carries us half way to God, failing
brings us to the door of his palace, and alms introduces
us into the prefence chamber.” Hence many illuftri-
ous examples of this virtue among the Mahometans.
Hafan the fon of Ali, and grandfon of Mohammed, in
particular, is related to have thrice in his life divided
his fubilance equally between himfelf and the poor, and
twice to have given aAvav all he had. And the genera¬
lity are fo addicted to the doing of good, that they ex¬
tend their charity even to brutes.
Alms, alfo denotes lands or other efieCts left to
churches or religious houfes, on condition of praying
for the foul of the donor. Hence, #
Free Alms, that Avhich is liable to no rent or fer-
vice.
Reafonable Alms, a certain portion of the eftates of
inteftate perfons, allotted to the poor.
Alms-Box or Chejl, a fmall cheil or coffer, called by
the Greeks wherein anciently the alms Avere
collected, both at church and at private houfes.
The alms-cheil, in Engliih churches, is a ilrong box,
Avith 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 ereCting of fuch alms-cheil
in every church is enjoined by the book of canons, as
alfo the manner of dillributing what is thus collected
among the poor of the pariili.
ALMS-Houfe, a petty kind of hofpital for the main¬
tenance of a certain number of poor, aged, or difabled
people.
ALMUCANTARS, in AJlronomy, an Arabic Avord,
denoting circles of the fphere paffing through the centre
of the fun or a liar, parallel to the horizon, being the
fame as Parallels of Altitude.
Almucantar'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 oi 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,
Avorn chiefly by monks and ecclefiaftics. It was of a
fquare form, and feems to have given rile to the bon¬
nets of the fame iliape Hill retained in univerfities and
cathedrals.
ALMUGGIM, Almiggim, or Almug tree, a
certain kind of Arood mentioned in the firft book oi
Kings (x. II.), Avhich the Vulgate tranflates ligna
thyina, and the Septuagint wrought wood. I he Rab¬
bins generally render it coral; others, ebony, brazil,
or pine. 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
iVas
t 718 ]
A L N r 719 1 A L O
Alnmggim was ufed, fnch as mufical inllruments, ftaircai'es, &c.
fl The word thyinum is a name for the citron tree, known
Aimuck. ^ l|,c ancients, and very much eftsemed for its fweet
odour and great beauty. It came from Mauritania.
The almug tree, or almuggim, algumim, or fmiply gum-
tnim, taking al for a kind of article, is therefore by the
bell commentators underftood to be an oily and gummy
fort of wood $ and particularly that foil of tree which
produces the gum ammoniac, which is alfo thought to
be the fame with the! Shittim wood, whereof there is
Inch 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 ftrong caftle, 20 miles fouth of
Alhama. W. Long. 3. 45. N. Lat. 36. 50.
ALNAGE, or Aulnage, the meafuring of wool¬
len manufaftures 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 llatute ; but, it be¬
ing now poffible to purchafe thefe feals, they are affix¬
ed, whenever the vender pleafes, to all cloths indifcri-
minately, to the great prejudice of our woollen manu-
ladlures.
ALNAGER, Alneger, or Aulneger, q. d. mea-
jfurer by the ell, lignifies a fworn public officer, who, by
himfelf or deputy, is to look to the allize 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 alnager feems
to have been derived from the llatute of Richard I.
A. D. 1197, which ordained that there fhould be only
one weight and one meafure throughout the kingdom ;
and that the cullody of the affize, or ilandard of weights
and meafures, fhould be committed to certain perfons
in every city and borough. His bufmefs was, for a cer¬
tain fee, to meafure all cloths made for fale, till the
office was aboliffied by the llatute 11 and 12 W. III.
cap. 20.
ALNUS, the Alder Tree. See Betula, Bo¬
tany Index.
Alnus, in the ancient theatres, that part which was
moll dillant from the llage.
ALNWICK, 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 Ion, and his army
defeated, by Robert Moubray, earl of this county, anno
1092. Likewife William, king of Scotland, 1111174,
invading England with an army of 80,000 men, was
here encountered, his army routed, and himfelf made
priloner. The town is populous, and in general well
built ; it has a large town-houfe, where the quarter-
feffions and county-courts are held, and members of
parliament elected. It has a fpacious fquare, in which
a market is held every Saturday. Alnwick appears
to have been formerly fortified, by the velliges of a
wall Hill vifible in many parts, and three gates which
remain almoll entire. It is governed by four cham¬
berlains, who are chofen once in two years out of a
common council, conlilliHg of 24 members. It is or¬
namented by a llately old Gothic callle, which has
been the feat of the noble family of Percy, earls of
Northumberland. As the audits for receipt of rents
have ever been in the callle, it has always been kept
in tolerable repair; and not many years ago it was Alnwick
repaired and beautified by the duke of Northumber- |j
land, who made very confiderable alterations, upon, Moof.
a moll elegant plan, with a view to relide in it fome
part of the fummer feafon. The manner of making
freemen is peculiar to this place, and indeed is as ridi¬
culous 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 fide,
dreffed in white, and with white nightcaps, attended
by the four chamberlains and the callle bailiff, mount¬
ed and armed in the fame manner; from hence they
proceed, with mufic playing before them, to a large
dirty pool, called Freeman’’s-ivcll, where they dif-
mount, and draw up in a body, at fome dillance from
the water; and then rufh into it all at once, and
fcramble through the mud as fall as they can. As the
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 dillrict; then re-enter the town, fword
in hand, and are met by women dreffed in ribbons
with bells and garlands, dancing and fmging. Thefe
are called timbev-wajls. The houfes of the new free¬
men are on this day dillinguifhed by a great holly
hufli, as a fignal for their friends to affemble 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 punifliment for - not mending the road,
made this a part of their charter. Alnwick is 310
miles north-by-well from London, 33 north of New*
callle, and 29 fouth of Berwick. Long. 1. 10. Lat.
55- 24- *
ALOA, in Grecian antiquity, a fellival kept in ho¬
nour of Ceres by the huffiandmen, and fuppofed to re-
femble our harvell-home.
ALOE, in Botany. See Botany Index.
American Aloe. See Agave, Botany Index.
ALOGIANS, m Church Hjlory, a feet of ancient
heretics, who denied that Jefus Chrill was the Logos;
and confequently reje&ed the gofpel of St John. The
word is compounded of the privative <* and A«y«s, q. d.
IFithout Logos or Word. Some aferibe the origin of
the name, as well as of the fe£t of Alogians, to Theo¬
dore of Byzantium, by trade a currier; who having;,
apollatized under the perlecution of the emperor Seve-
rus, to defend himfelf againll thofe who reproached
him therewith, faid, that it was not God he denied,
but only man. Whence his followers were called in
Greek xtoyoi, becaufe they rejected the Word. But
others, with more probability, fuppofe the name to
have been firll given them by Epiphanius in the way of
reproach. They made their appearance toward the
clofe of the fecond century.
ALOGOTRQPHIA, among phyficians, a term lig-
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 jullly or not, we lhall not prefume
to determine. It is known in common difeourfe to im¬
ply at a djlance; and the refemblance of the phrafes
keep aloof, and keep a luff, or keep the luff, in all proba¬
bility gave rife to the conjecture. If it was really a--
fca-
ALP
[ 720 1
ALP
A400f fea-phrafe originally, it feems to have referred to the
dangers of a lee-lhore, in which fituation the pilot
AlpArflan. might naturally apply it in the fenfe commonly under-
ftood, viz. keep all off, or quite off: it is, however, ne¬
ver expreffed in that manner by feamen now. See
Luff. It may not be improper to obferve, that be-
fides ufing this phrafe in the fame fenfe Avith us, the
French alfo call the Aveather-fide of a fhip, and the
weather-clue of a courfe, Ic lof.
ALOPECE, Alopecia, in Ancient Geography, an
ifland placed by Ptolemy at the mouth of the Tanais,
and called the iiland Tanais, noAV Pljle des Renards.
(Baudrand). 'Alfo an iiland of the Bofphorus Cim-
merius (Pliny) 5 and another in the iEgean fea, over-
againll Smyrna.
ALOPECIA, a term ufed among phyficians to de¬
note a total falling off of the hair from certain parts,
occafioned either by the defect of nutricious juice, or
by its vicious quality corroding the roots of it, and leav¬
ing the fkin rough and colourlefs.
The word is formed from xXwTtrfc, vulpes, “ a fox;”
whofe urine, it is laid, will occalion baldnefs, or be-
caufe it is a difeafe AA'hich is common to that creature.
It is directed to wafh the head every night at going to
bed Avith a ley prepared by boiling the allies of vine
branches in red wine. A powder made by reducing
hermodadtyls to fine flour is alfo recommended for the
fame purpofe.
In cafes where the baldnefs is total, a quantity of
the finell burdock roots are to be bruifed in a marble
mortar, and then boiled in white Avine until there re¬
mains only as much as Avill cover them. This liquor,
carefully ftrained off, is faid to cure baldnefs, by Avalh-
ing the head every night Avith fome of it warm. A
ley made by boiling allies of vine branches in common
Avater is alfo recommended Avith 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 \ alefcus de Taranta, Rondele-
tius, Hallerius, Trincavellius, Celfus, Senertay, and
other practical phyficians.
AliOPECURUS, or Foxtail-grass. See Bo¬
tany Index.
ALOPEX, in Tjoology, a fpecies of the canis, Avith
a Rraight tail and black tip. It is commonly called the
field fox.
ALOSA, the Iliad, or mother of herrings, a fpecies
of the clupea. See Clupea, Ichthyology Index.
ALOST, a town in Flanders, belonging to the
lioufe of Auftf ia, lituated on the river Dender, in the
midAvay between Bruffels and Ghent. It has but one
parilh; hut the church is collegiate, and has a provoft,
a dean, and 12 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 Avhich is the tomb of Theodore Mar¬
tin, who brought the art of printing out of Germany
into the Low Countries. He Avas the friend of Eraf-
mus, and Avrote his epitaph. Aloft Avas taken and dif-
mantled by Marfhal Turenne in 1667 ; and after the
battle of Ramillies in 1706, Avas abandoned to the al¬
lies. E. Long. 3. 56. N. Lat. 49. 55.
ALP ARSLAN, the fecond fultan of the dynafty
of Seljuk in Perlia, Avas the fon of David, and great
grandfon of Seljuk the founder of the dynafty. He
Avas born in the year 1030, of the Hegira 421. In
place of lira,el, which Avas his original name, he affu-
med that of Mohammed, when he embraced the Muf-
fulman faith, and he obtained the furname Alp Arfi
lan, Avhich in the Turkiih language ligniiies a valiant
lion, on account of his military proAvefs. Having held
the chief command in Khorafan for ten years as lieu¬
tenant of his uncle Togrul Beg, he fueeeeded him in
the year 1063,. and at the commencement of his reign
law hirhfelf foie monarch of Perfia, from the river Amu
to the Tigris. When he affumed the reins of govern¬
ment, faction and open rebellion prevailed in his domi¬
nions, in fubduing of which he Avas ably alfifted by
Nadham al Molk his vifir, one of the moft diftinguilli-
ed characters of his time, Avhofe 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 eftablifhed in his
dominions, he convoked an affembly of the ftates ; and
having declared his fon Malek Shaw his heir and fuc-
feffor, feated him on a throne of gold, and exaded ait
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 Balil in Caefarea, the capital of
Cappadocia, he placed himfelfat the head ol the Turk¬
iih cavalry, croffed the Euphrates, and entered and plun¬
dered that city. He then marched into Armenia and
Georgia, which in the year 1065 ^!e finally conquered.
In the former country, the very name of a kingdom
and the fpirit of a nation Avere totally extinguilhed.
But the native Georgians, Avho had retired to the
woods and valleys of Mount Caucafus, made a more vi¬
gorous refiftance. They too, hoAvever, overpowered
by the arms of the fultan and his fon Malek, Avere for¬
ced to fubmiffion, and reduced to flavery. To punifli
them for the brave defence Avhich they had made, and
as a badge of their humiliating condition, Alp Arflars
obliged them to wear at their ears horfe limes of iron.
Some, to efcape this mark of cruelty and ignominy,
profeffed to embrace the religion ol Mahomet.
In the year 1068 Alp Arflan invaded the Roman
empire, the feat of Avhich Avas then at Conftantinople.
Eudocia, the reigning emprefs, law and dreaded the
progrefs of his arms. To avert the threatened dan¬
ger, ffie married Romanus Diogenes, a brave ioldier,
Avho was accordingly aflociated with her in the go¬
vernment, and railed to the imperial dignity. The
neAV emperor, during the exhaufted ftate ol their re-
fources, fuftained the Roman poAArer with furprifing va¬
lour and invincible courage. His ipirit and luccefs
animated his foldiers in the field to aft Avith fortitude
and firmnefs, infpired his fubjecls Avith hope, and ftruck
terror in his enemies. In three fevere campaigns his
arms Avere victorious; and the Turks were lorced to
retreat beyond the Euphrates. In the fourth he ad-
A7anced Avith an army ol 100,000 men into the Arme¬
nian territory for the relief of that country. Here he
Avas met by Alp Arflan Avith 40,000 cavalry, or ac¬
cording to fome authors, a much fmaller number ; and
the fultan having propofed terms of peace, which were
infultingly rejected by the emperor, a bloody and de-
cifive engagement took place. Alp Arflan, it is laid,
when he faAV that a battle Avas inevitable, wept at the
thought that fo many of his faithful lollowers muft fall
w in
Alp Arllan
A’lp Arflan.
ALP [ 721 ] ALP
in the ftruggle ; and after offering up a devout prayer,
granted free permiHion to all who chofe it to retire
from the field. Then with his own hand he tied up
his horfe’s tail, exchanged his how and arrows for a
mace and fcymitar, and robing himfelf in a white gar¬
ment perfumed with muik, refolved to perifh on the
fpot unlefs he came off victorious. The fkiiful move¬
ments of the Turkifh cavalry foon made an impreflion
on the fuperior numbers of the Greeks, who were
thrown into great diforder, and after a terrible flaugh-
ter, were totally routed. Romanus, defected by the
main body of his army, with unfiiaken courage kept
his Ration, till he was recognized by a Have, taken pri-
foner, and conducted into the prefence of Alp Arf¬
lan. In the Turkilh divan, the captive emperor was
commanded to kifs the ground as a degrading mark of
fubmiflion to the power and authority of the fultan,
who, it is faid, leapt from his throne and fet his foot
on his neck. But this is fcarcely probable or confif-
tent with the generous and rcfpedtfnl treatment which
he other wife experienced. For the fultan inftantly
railed him from the ground, embraced him tenderly,
and affured him that his life and dignity fhould remain
inviolate under the protection of a prince who had not
forgotten the rcfpect due to the majeity of his equals,
and the viciflitudes of fortune. When the terms of
his ranfom were about to be fettled, Romanus was alk-
ed by Alp Arllan what treatment he expedted to re¬
ceive. To this quefiion the emperor, with feeming in¬
difference, replied, “ If you arc cruel, you will take
my life j if you follow the dictates of pride, you will
drag me at your chariot wheels j if you confult your
intereft, you will accept a ranfom, and reRore me to
my country.” “ But what,” fays the fultan, “ would
you have done in Rich circumltances ?” “ Had I been
victorious,” faid the infolent Romanus, “ I would have
inflicted on thy body many a Rripe.” The conqueror
fmiled at the fierce and unfubdued fpirit of his captive j
obferved that the Chriftian precepts Rrongly inculca¬
ted the love of enemies and the forgivenefs of injuries ;
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 lafi agreed to as the
terms of peace and the liberty of the emperor. Ro¬
manus was now difmiffed loaded with prefents, and re-
fpectfully attended by a military guard. But the dif-
tradted Rate of his dominions, the confequence of a re¬
volt of his fubjedts, precluded him from fulfilling the
terms of the treaty, and remitting the Ripulated 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 accomplifliment of his genei-ous, or rather am¬
bitious, defign.
At this time the dominion of Alp Arflan extended
over the fairelt part of Afia *, 1200 princes, or fons of
princes, furrounded his throne; and 200,000 foldiers
were ready to execute his commands. He now medi¬
tated a greater enterprife, and declared his purpofe of
attempting the conqueR of TurkeRan, the original feat
of his anceRors. After great preparations for the ex¬
pedition, he marched with a powerful army, and arrived
YOU I. Part II.
at the banks of the Oxus. Before he could pafs the ri¬
ver with fafety, it was neceflary to gain poffellion of
fome fortrefles in its vicinity 5 one of which was for
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
fuitan, who, being enraged at his obllinacy and pre-
fumption, addrefl’ed him in very reproachful terms.
Jofeph replied with fo much fpirit, that he roufed the
refentment ofAAlp Arflan, and was commanded in-
Rantly to be faflened by the hands and feet to four
Rakes, to fuller 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, rulhed towards the throne to Rab the fultan ;
the guards railed* their battle-axes, and moved forward
to defend their fovereign; but Alp Arflan, the moR
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 rulhed forward, and
plunging his dagger in the brcaR of the fultan, was
himfelf inRantly 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 addrefl'ed 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 Rrength, or to defpife the
moR contemptible enemy. Thefe leffons I have ne-
gledted, for which I have now met deferved punilh-
ment. YeRerday, when I beheld from an eminence
the number and difeipline of my troops, I faid in the
confidence of my heart, ‘ What power on earth can
oppofe me ? what man dares to attack me ?’ To day,
vainly truRing to my own Rrength and dexterity, I
foolilhly checked the prompt zeal and alacrity of my
guards for my fafety, and now I have fallen by the
hand of an affaffin : But I perceive that no force or
addrefs can refiR 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 dynafiy. On his tomb was inferibed 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 duR.”
This prince was diRinguiflied for his valour, libera¬
lity, and piety. He was patient, juR, and fincere.
His Rature, afpedt, and voice, commanded the refpedt
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 Shah, who had
been proclaimed and acknowledged fultan of the Turks
during his life. {Mod. Univ. Hi/}. Gibbon's Hi/}./
ALPHA, the name of the firR letter of the Greek
alphabet, anfwering to our A. As a numeral, it Rands
for one, or the firll of any thing. It is particularly
ufed, among ancient writers, to denote the chief or
firR man of his clafs or rank. In this fenfe, the word
Rands contradiRinguifhed from beta, which denotes
the fecond perfon. Plato was called the Alpha of the
wits : EratoRhenes, keeper of the Alexandrian library,
whom fome called a Second Plato, is frequently named
Beta.
Alpha is alfo ufed to denote the beginning of any
thing. In which fenfe it Rands opp&fed to omega,
4 Y which
Alp Arflan,
Alpha.
.1
ALP [ 722 ] ALP
\1 ilia which denotes the end.. And thefe two letters weie
Alphabet, made the fymbol of Chriftianity } and accordingly were
1 y 1,11 1 engraven on the tombs of the ancient Chnftians, to di-
ftinguilli them trom thofe of idolaters. iNloralez, a
Spanifli writer, imagined that this cuftom only com¬
menced fince the rife of Arianrfm 5 and that it was pe¬
culiar to the orthodox, who hereby made confeffion of
the eternity of Chnft : but there are tombs prior to the
age of Conllantine 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 ot
the feveral letters of a language (fee Language and
Writing). The word is formed from alpha and beta,
the fir ft and fecond letters of the Greek alphabet, fthe
number of letters is different in the alphabets ot diffei-
ent languages. The Englilli alphabet contains 24 ''fit¬
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 j the Arabic
28 j the Perfian 3*5 the .Furkifti 33 i the Geoigian
36 *, the Coptic 32 ; the Mufcovite 43 j the Greek 24
the Latin 22 $ the Sclavonic 27 j the Dutch 26 ; the
Spanilh 27 j the Italian 2Q j the Ethiopic and Tarta¬
rian, each 202 j the Indians of Bengal 21 j the Baia-
mefe 19. The Chinefe have, properly fpeaking, no
alphabet, except we call their whole language by that
name j their letters are words, or rather hieroglyphics,
amounting to about 80,000.
It has been a matter of confiderable diipute whether
the method of exprelfmg our ideas by vifible fymbols
• called letters be really a human invention j or whether
we ought to attribute an art fo exceedingly ufeful to
an immediate revelation from the Deity.—In tavoui ol
the latter opinion it has been urged,
Arguments 1 • The five books of Mofes are uniyerfally acknowv
for writing ledged to be the moft ancient compofitions, as well as
being a di- the moft early fpecimens of alphabetical writing we
vine revela-jjave# jf? therefore, we fuppofe writing to be the re-
Sion' fult of human ingenuity, it muft be different from all
other arts, having been brought to perfection at once j
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 fpecimens have perifhed. This, however, be¬
ing a mere unfupported affection, 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 fubjeCt, the fimphcity ot
manners predominant in the early ages, the tmall ex¬
tent of the intellectual powers of mankind, and the
little intercourfe which nations had with one another,
which would feem more particularly to render writing
neceflary, can fcarcely allow' us to fuppofe that fuch a
complex and curious contrivance as alphabetical writing
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 expeCted that different nations
would have fallen upon the fame expedient independent
*»f each other during the compafs of fo many ages.
But no fuch thing has taken place j and the writing of
every people on earth may be referred to one common
3
original. If this can be proved, the argument from Alphabet
fuccellive derivation, without a fingle inftance of inde- * 1 ■
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 ; and which may he fummed up in the
following manner.
Among the European nations, we find none who
can pretend any right to the difeovery of letters. All
of them derived the art from the Romans, excepting
only the Turks, who had it from the Arabians. The
Romans never laid claim to the difeovery 5 but con-
feffed that they derived their knowledge from the
Greeks, and the latter owned that they had it from
the Phoenicians j wrho, as well 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 Hebrew, 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 ifl’ued from the fame ftock, as
the fimilarity of their formation, and the numberlefs.
words common to them, all fufficiently evince : and the
Perfic is very nearly allied to the Arabic. Alterations
indeed would naturally be produced, in proportion to
the civilization of the feveral nations, and their inter-
courfe with others j which will account for the fuperior
eopioufnefs 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 : 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 corv-
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 are entirely dilhmilar. Why
Ihould not one nation, it may be urged, adopt from the
other the mode of expreffing the art as well 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,
wTe know what diverfities may be introduced in this
refped merely by length of time and an intercourfe
with neighbouring nations. And fuch an effed would
be more likely to take place before the art of printing
had contributed to eftablifli an uniformity of charader:
For when every work was tranferibed by the hand,
we may eafily. imagine how many variations wonld a-
rife from the fancy of the feribe, and the mode of
writing fo conftantly different in individuals. 2. This
diverfity might fometimes arile from vanity. W hen
an individual of another community had become ac¬
quainted with this wonderful art, he might endeavour
to recommend himfelf as the inventor j and, to avoid
detedion, might invent other charaders. 3. The char
raders
ALP . . [723
Alphabet, rafters of the alphabet might fometimes he accommo- be
— 1 dated as much as poflible to the fymbolical marks al¬
ready in ufe amongfl a particular people. Thefe hav¬
ing acquired a high degree of fanftity by the ufe of
many generations, would not eafily be fuperfeded with¬
out the aid of fome fuch contrivance. 4. This is lup-
ported by the teftimony of Herodotus j who informs
us, “ that thole Phoenicians who came with Cadmus
introduced many improvements among the Greeks,
and alphabetical writing too, not known among them
before that period. At firil they ufed the Phoenician
charafter 5 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 pharafters, and confefl’ed in-
genuoufly, that it was called Phoenician from the in¬
troducers of it.” He tells us that he had himfelf feen
the charafters 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 fame as the He¬
brew language ; and the Samaritan Pentateuch does
not vary by a lingle letter in twenty words from the
Hebrew : but the charafters are widely different: for
the Jews adopted the Chaldaic letters during their cap¬
tivity at Babylon inftead of the charafters of their fore¬
fathers.
3. What we know of thofe nations who have con¬
tinued for many centuries unconnefted with the rell of
the world, Itrongly militates againft the hypothefis 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-
poled to have produced alphabetical writing by regu¬
lar gradations •, and this experiment determines pe¬
remptorily in their favour. The Chinefe, a people fa¬
mous for their difcoveries and mechanical turn of ge¬
nius, have made fome advances towards the delineation
of their ideas by arbitrary figns, but have neverthelefs
been unable to accomplilh this exquifite device j and
after fo long a trial to no purpofe, we may reafonably
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 ex¬
pedient as that of alphabetical charafters. The Mexi¬
cans, too, had made fome rude attempts of the fame
kind y but with lefs fuccefs than the Chinefe. We
know alfo, that hieroglyphics were in ufe among the
Egyptians poflerior to the practice of alphabetical writ¬
ing by the Jews y but whether the epiftolography, as it
is called, of the former people, which was in vogue du¬
ring the continuance of the hieroglyphics, might not
poflibly be another name for alphabetical writing, can¬
not be decided.
4. We fliall confider the argument on which the
commonly received fuppolition 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
deteftion of alphabetical charafters. The flrength of
this argument will be bell underllood from the follow¬
ing r-eprefentation.
“ I. The firft method of embodying ideas would
]
A L t*
Alphabet.
by drawing a reprefentation of the objefts them-
felves. The imperfeftion of this method is very obvi-'
ous, both on account of its tedioufnefs and its inability
of going beyond external appearances to the abllradl
ideas of the mind.
“ 2. The next method would be fomewhat more
general, and would fubllitute two or three principal cir-
cumllances for the whole tranfaftion. 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 y but what it gained
in concifenefs would be loll in perfpicuity. It is a de-
fcription more compendious indeed, but llill a defcrip-
tion of outward objefts alone, by drawing their refem-
blance. To this head may be referred the pifture-
writing of the Mexicans.
“ 3. The next advance would lie to the ufe of fym¬
bols : the incorporation, as it were, of abllraft and
complex ideas in figures more or lefs generalized, in
proportion to the improvement of it. Thus, in the
earlier llages of this device, a circle might ferve to ex-
prefs the fun, a femicircle the moon y which is only a
contraftion of the foregoing method. This fymbol
writing in its advanced Hate would become more x-e-
fined, but enigmatical and myllerious in proportion to
its refinement. Hence it would become lefs fit for com¬
mon ufe, and therefore more particularly appropriated
to the mylleries of philofophy and religion. Thus, two
feet Handing upon water ferved to exprefs an impof-
fibility ; a lerpent denoted the oblique trajeftories of
the heavenly bodies y and the beetle, on account of
lome fuppofed properties of that infeft, ferved to repre-
fent the lun. The Egyptian hieroglyphics were of this
kind.
“ 4. This method being Hill too fubtle and com¬
plicated for common ufe, the only plan to be purfued
w^s a reduftion of the firff Hage of the preceding me¬
thod. Thus a dot, inHead of a circle, might Hand for
the fun; and a fimilar abbreviation might be extend¬
ed to all the fymbols. On this fcheme every objeft:
and idea would have its appropriated mark; thefe
marks, therefore, would have a multiplicity propor¬
tionable to the works of nature and the operations of
the mind. This method was likewife praftifed by
the Egyptians *, but has been carried to greater per-
feftion by the Chinefe. The vocabulary of the latter
is therefore infinite, or at leaff capable of being ex¬
tended to any imaginable length. But if we compare
this tedious and awkward contrivance with the aHonifli-
ing brevity and perfpicuity of alphabetical writing,
we muH be perfuaded that no two things can be more
dillimilar y and that the tranfition from a fcheme con-
Hantly enlarging itfelf, and growing daily more intri¬
cate, to the expreflion of every poffible 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 expreffion of
things in a manner fimilar to the fecond Hage of fym¬
bol writing than the notification of ideas by arbitrary
figns.”
To all this we fliall fubjoin the following remarks, Additional
which feem to give additional force to the foregoing remarks in
reafoning. confinna-
“ I. Pliny afferts the ufe of letters to have been eter-tlon oftllflG
4Y2 na|. “(!«»«•
A L P
[ 724 ]
ALP
Alphabet, nal j which (hows the antiquity of the practice to ex¬
tend beyond the era of authentic hiftory.
“ 2. The cabaiittical doaors of the Jews maintain,
that alphabetical writing was one of the ten things
which God created on the evening of the Sabbath.
“• 3. Moll of the profane authors of antiquity aferibe
the firfl ufe of alphabetical characters to the Egyptians,
who, according to fome, received them from Mercury 5
and, according to others, from their god leuth.
“ 4. There is very little reafon to fuppofe that even
language itfelf is the effect of human ingenuity and in¬
vention.” ■ r c 4.1
Thus we have dated the arguments in favour of the
revelation of alphabetical writing j which are anfwered,
by thofe who take the contrary fide, in the following
manner.
Mofes nowhere fays that the alphabet was a new
Anfwers to
the above
arguments.
thing in his time 5 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;
where Mofes is commanded to write in a book; and
which took place before the arrival of the Ifraelites at
Sinai. This fhows that writing did not commence
with the delivery of the two tables cf the law, as fome
have fuppofed. Neither are we to conclude that the
invention had taken place only a fliort time before
for the writing in a book is commanded as a thing com¬
monly underdood, and with which Mofes was well
acquainted. It is plain, from the command to engrave
the names of the twelve tribes of Ifrael upon dones
like the engravings of afignet, that writing had been
known and praftifed 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 polls, &c. fo that the art feems not only to have
been known, but univerfally praclifed among them.
But had writing been a new difeovery in the time of
Mafes, he would probably have commemorated it as
well as the other inventions of mufic, &c. . Noi is
there any reafon to fuppofe that God was the immediate
revealerofthe art’, 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, Though feveral profane writers attribute the
origin of letters to the gods, or to fome divine perion,
yet this is no proof of its being adually revealed *, but
only that the original inventor was unknown. J he
learned bifliop of Glouceder obferves, that the ancients
gave nothing to the gods of whole original they had
anv records ; but where the memory of the invention
was lod, as of feed-corn, wine, writing, civil fociety,
&c. the gods feized the property, by that kind of light
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 corjee-
tures we think mod plaufible concerning the origin of
them 5 and this, it is thought, might have taken place
in the following manner.
“ 1. Men, in their rude uncultivated ftate, would
have neither leifure, inclination, nor inducement, to
cultivate the powers of the mind to a degree fufhcient
for the formation of an alphabet: but when a people
arrived at fuch a pitch of civilization as required them
to reprefent the conceptions of the mind which have Alphabet,
no corporeal forms, neceffity would occafion further ex- '—f'
ertions, and urge them to find out a more expeditious
manner of tranfadling their bufinefs than by picture¬
writing.
“ 2. Thefe exertions would take place whenever a
nation began to improve in arts, manufactures, and com¬
merce y 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
perfect fydem of elementary characters 5 and perhaps
advance no farther for many ages tnan tne marks or
characters of the Ghinefe. Hence we may fee, that the
bufinefs of princes, as well as the manufactures and com ¬
merce of each country, would produce the necellity ot
deviling fome expeditious manner of communicating in¬
formation to one another.”
The art of writing, however, is of fo great anti-
quitVj and the early hiflory ot mod nations io full of"
fable, that it mud be extremely difficult to determine
what nation or people may judly claim the honour ot
the invention. But as it is probable that letters were
the produce of a certain degree of civilizatioif among
mankind, we mud therefore have recourfe to the hiflo-
ry of thofe nations who feem to have been fil’d civi¬
lized.
The Egyptians have an undoubted title to a very Claim of
early civilizationand many learned men have attri-the Egyp-
buted the invention of letters to them, ihe late bifliop
   .invention
of Glouceder contends, that Egypt was the parent 0f letters,
all the learning of Greece, and was reforted to by all
the Grecian legiflators, naturalids, and philofophers; and
endeavours to prove that it was one of the fiiit civilized
countries on the globe. Their writing was of four
kinds: 1. Hieroglyphic; 2. Symbolic; 3. Epijlolic}
and, 4. Hierogranimatic. In the mod early ages they
wrote, like all other infant nations, by piff ures j oi
which fome traces yet remain among the hieroglyphics
of Horapollo, who informs us, that they reprefented a
fnl/er by a man’s two feet in water j fre, by fmoke
"afeending, &c. But to render this rude invention lefs.
incommodious, they loon devifed the method of putting
one thing of fimiiar qualities for another.
The former was called the curiologic, the latter the
tropical hieroglyphic; which lad was a gradual improve¬
ment on the former. Thefe alterations in the man¬
ner of delineating hieroglyphic figures produced and
perfeaed another charader, 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 efteas
of which w’ere, that the condant ufe of them would
take off the attention from the fymbol and fix it on
the thing fignilied. Thus the dudy of fymholie writ¬
ing would be much abbreviated; becaufe the writer
or decypherer would 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 learnqd. This, together with the other
marks by inditution, to denote mental conceptions,
would reduce the charaaers to a fimilar date with the
prefent Chinefe ; and thefe were properly what the an¬
cients called hieroglyphical. We are informed by Dr
Ilobert Huntingdon, in his
account of the Porphyry
pillarsj
Alphabet.
Letters not
invented in
Egypt.
ALP [ ,72
pillars, that there are feme ancient monuments of this
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 characters, in the following
manner : “ lie (the hierophant) drew out certain books
from the fecret repolitories of the ianctuary, written in
unknown characters, which contained the words of the
facred formula compendioufly exprefl’ed, partly by fi¬
gures of animals, and partly by certain marks or notes
intricately knotted, revolving in the manner of a wheel,
crowded together, and curled inward like the tendrils
of a vine, lb as to hide the meaning from the curiolity
of the profane.”
But though letters were of gi*eat antiquity in Egypt,
there is reafon to believe that they were not firft in¬
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 firft 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
alfo, 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
Egyptians 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 either 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
confeffes, that all he relates before the reign of Pfam¬
mitichus is uncertain •, and that he reports the early
tranfa&ions of that nation on the crc Lt of the Egyptian
priefts, on which he did not greatly depend ; 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 5 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 priefts,
to fupply their lofs, and to keep up their pretenfions to
antiquity, began to write new records 5 wherein they
not only unavoidably made great miftakes, but added
much of their own invention, efpecially as to diftant
times.
Claim of The Phoenicians have likewife been fuppofed the
the Phoeni- inventors of letters ; and we have the ftrongeft proofs
]
ALP
of the early civilization of this people. Their moft an- Alphabet,
cient hiftorian, Sanchoniatho, lived in the time of Abi- v ' ■ '
bains, father of Hiram king of Tyre. He informs us,
that letters were invented by Taaut, 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 was governed by Uranus, and after
him by his fon Saturn or Cronus. He invented letters
either in the reign of Uranus or Cronus •, and ftaid in
Phoenicia with Cronus till the 3 2d year of his reign.
Cronus, after the death of his father Uranus, made
feveral fettlements of his family, and travelled into
other parts ; and when he came to the fouth country,
he gave all Egypt to the god Taautus, that it fliould
be his kingdom. Sanchoniatho began his hiftory with
the creation, and ended it with placing Taautus on the
throne of Egypt. He does not mention the deluge,
but makes two more generations in Cain’s line from
Protagonus to Agrovenus (or from Adam to Noah)
than Alofes. As Sanehoniatho has not told us
whether Taaut invented letters either in the reign of
Uranus or Cronus, “ we cannot err much (fays Air
Jackfon) if we place his invention of them 550 years
after the flood, or 20 years after the difperfion, 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 were famed for the invention of letters, as well
as for aftronomical obfervations and novel and martial
arts. Curtins 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 rvith gx-eat application the writings of
Taaut, knowing that he was the firft who invented let¬
ters.”
The Gi-eeks, as we have already obferved, knew no
older Hermes than the fecond, who lived about 400
years after the Alezrite Taaut or Hermes. This fe¬
cond Hermes is called by Plato T/ieuth, and counfellor
or facred fex-ibe to King Thanius ; but it is not faid
that he ever reigned in Egypt : but the former Taaut,
or Athothes, as Alanetho calls him, was the immedi¬
ate fucceffor of Afencs the firft king of Egypt. This
fecond Alercury, if we may believe Alanetho, compof-
ed feveral brtoks 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, dialect of the Hebrew j
and though their alphabet does not entirely agi'ee with
the
(a) He fays in another place, that the knowledge of letters is eternal,
opinion of a writer who thus contradicts himfelf ?
What dependence can we put in the
ALP
t
Of the
Chaldeans
Alphabet, the Samaritan, yet there is a great fimilarity between
..--v""111 them. Aftronomy and arithmetic were much cultivated
among them in the moft early ages; their fine linen,
purple, and glafs, were much i’uperior to thofe of other
nations ; and their extraordinary {kill in archite&ure
and other arts was fuch, that whatever was great, ele¬
gant, or pleafing, whether in buildings, apparel, or toys,
was dillinguilhed by the epithet of Tyrian or Sidonian ;
thefe being the chief cities of Phoenicia. Their great
proficiency in learning and arts of all kinds, together
with their engrofling all the commerce of the weftern
world, are likewife thought to give them a jull claim to
the invention of letters.
The Chaldeans alfo have laid claim to the invention
of letters 5 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
Avas a Chaldean. This tradition is in fome degree con¬
firmed by moft of the weftern writers, who afcribe the
inventions of arithmetic and aftronomy to the Chal¬
deans. Jofephus pofitively afferts, that the Egyptians
were ignorant of the fciences of arithmetic and aftrono¬
my before they were inftrufted by Abraham ; and Sir
Ifaac Newton admits, that letters were known in the
line of that patriarch for many centuries before Mofes.
The Chaldaic letters appear to have been derived from
the Hebrew or Samaritan ; which are the fame, or near¬
ly fo, with the old Phoenician. Ezra is fuppofed to
have exchanged the old Hebrew characters for the more
beautiful and commodious Chaldee, which are ftill in
ufe. Berofus, the moft ancient Chaldean hiftorian, who
was born in the minority of Alexander the Great, does
not fay that he believed his countrymen 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 fidll in the fine arts. Their
language is faid to have been the vernacular of all the
oriental tongues, and was divided into three dialeCts.
I. The Aramean, ufed in Mefopotamia, and by the in¬
habitants of Boha and Edefa of Harram, and the Outer
Syria. 2. The dialed of Paleftine ; fpoken by the in¬
habitants of Hamafcus, Mount Libanus, and the Inner
Syria. 3. The Chaldee or Nabathean dialed, the moft
unpolifhed of the three ; and fpoken in the mountainous
parts of Affyria, and the villages of Irac or Babylonia.
It has been generally believed, that no nation of equal
antiquity had a more confiderable trade than the Syri¬
ans : they are fuppofed to have firft brought the com¬
modities of Perfia and India into the weft of Afia ; and
they feem to have carried on an inland trade by en¬
grofling the navigation of the Euphrates, whilft the
Phoenicians traded to the moft diftant countries. Not-
withftanding thefe circumftances, however, which might
feem to favour the claim of the Syrians, the oldeft cha-
raders they have are but about three centuries before
Chrift. Their letters are of two forts. 1. The Ef-
trangelo, which is the more ancient 5 and, 2. The Eflii-
to, the Ample or common charader, 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 written a grammar of
the Shanfcrit language, informs us, that it is not only
the grand fource of Indian literature, but the parent,
Of the Sy¬
rians.
Of the In¬
dians.
726 ] ALP
of almoft every dialed from the Perfian gulf to the Alphabet.
Chinefe feas, and which is faid to he a language of the
moft venerable antiquity. At prefent it is appropriated
to religious records of the Bramins, and therefore ihut
up in their libraries j 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 di-
ftrid 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 j
and thefe not in technical or metaphorical terms, but
in the main ground-works of language ; in monoiylla-
bles, the names of numbers, and the appellations ot iuch
things as would be firft difcriminated on the immediate
dawn of civilization. The refemblance which may be
feen of the charaders on the medals and fignets ot dif¬
ferent parts of Afia, the light they reciprocally throw
upon one another, and the genei’al analogy which they
all bear to the grand prototype, affords another ample
field for curiofity. The coins of Allam, Napaul, Cafh-
miria, and many other kingdoms, are all ftamped with
Shanfcrit letters, and moftly contain allulions to the
old Shanfcrit mythology. The fame conformity may
be obferved in the impreflions of feals from Boutan and
Thibet.”
The country between the Indus and Ganges ftill pre-
ferves the Shanfcrit language in its original purity, and
offers a great number of books to the perulal ot the cu¬
rious ; many of which have been handed down from
the earlieft periods of human civilization.
There are feven different forts of Indian hand-writ¬
ings, all comprifed under the general term of Naagorec,
which may be interpreted writing. The Bramins fay
that letters were of divine original 5 and the elegant
Shanfcrit is ftyled Dacb-naagoree, or the writings of the
Immortals, which might not improbably be a refine¬
ment 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 in¬
to them all the Daeb-naagoree manufcripts for their
own perufal. The Moorifti dialed! is that fpecies of
Hindoftanic which we owe to the conquefts ot the Ma¬
hometans.
The Shanfcrit language contains about 700 radical
words •, the fundamental part being divided into three
clafles, viz. 1. Dhaat, or roots of verbs j 2. Skitbd,
or original nouns j 3. Evya, or particles. Their al¬
phabet contains 50 letters ; viz. 34 confonants and 16
vowels. They afl’ert that they were in pofleflion of
letters before any other nation in the world ; and Mr
Halhed conjedtures, that the long-boafted original ci¬
vilization of the Egyptians may ftill be a matter of dii-
pute. The rajah of Kifhinagur affirms, that he has
in his poflieffion Shanfcrit books, where the Egyptians
are conftantly defcribed as difciples, not as inftrudtors $
and as feeking in Hindoftan that liberal education, and
thofe fciences, which none of their own countrymen
had fufficient 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 themfelves
of the trade of the Eaft by the Red lea, and that they
carrieil
ALP
Alphabet, carried on a confiderable traffic with the Indian nations
l—-v-——' before the time of Sefoftris ; whom they fuppofe to have
been cotemporary with Abraham, though Sir Ifaac
Newton, conjectures him to have been the Shiffiak who
took Jerufalem in the time of Rehoboam.
In the year 1769, one of the facred books of the
Gentoos, called Bugavadam, tranflated by Meridas
Poule, a learned man of Indian origin, and chief in¬
terpreter to the fupreme council of Pondicherry, was
fent by him to M. Berten in France. In his preface
he fays, that it was compofed by Viaffar the ion of
Brahma, and is of facred authority among the worfhip-
pers of Vifchnow. This book claims an antiquity of
5000 years 5 but M. de Gaines has fliown, that its pre-
tenfions to fuch extravagant antiquity are entirely in-
conclufive and unfatisfadtory: whence we may con¬
clude, lays Mr Allle, 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.
letters not It is not pretended that the Perfians had any great
invented in learning among them till the time of Hyllafpes the
e ia' father of Darius. The former, we are told, travelled
into India, and was inllrudted by the Bramins in the
fciences for which they were famed at that time. The
ancient Perfians defpifed riches and commerce, nor had
they any money among them till after the conquell of
Lydia. It appears by feveral inferiptions taken from
the ruins of the palace of Perfepolis, which was built
near 700 years before the Chrillian era, that the Per¬
fians fometimes wrote in perpendicular columns like
the Chinefe. This mode of writing was firll made ufe
of on the Hems of trees, pillars, or obelilks. As for
thofe fimple characters found on the well fide of the
llaircafe 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 Conjedural Ob-
lervations 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 were 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 pofleffion of the coun¬
try they now inhabit for upwards of 3700 years, with¬
out being intermixed with foreign nations, or fubjugat-
ed by any other power, their language mull be very
vor by the ancient. The two principal dialedts of it were that
Arabians, fpoken by the Hamyarites and other genuine Arabs ;
and that of the Koreilh, in which Mahomet wrote the
Alcoran. The former is named by oriental writers,
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 confills of 2000 radi¬
cal words.
The old Arabic characters are faid to have been of
very high antiquity ; for Ebn Halhem relates, that an
infeription in it was 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 New¬
ton is of opinion, that Mofes learned the alphabet from
the Midianites, who were Arabians.
The alphabet of the Arabs confifts of 28 letters
ALP
fimilar to the ancient Cufic, in which the firll copies of Alphabet.
the Alcoran were written. The prefent Arabic cha- 1 v—-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 ar
Ihort time before the intvoduftion of Illamifm.
On this account of the pretenfions of different na¬
tions to the invention of letters, Mr Allle makes the
following refleftions: “ The vanity of each nation in¬
duces them to pretend to the moll early civilization j
but luch is the uncertainty of ancient hillory, that it
is difficult to determine to whom the honour is due. It
fhould feem, however, that the contell may be confined
to the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Chaldeans.
The Greek writers, and moll of thofe who have copied
them, decide in favour of Egypt, becaufe their infor¬
mation is derived from the Egyptians themfelves. The j
pofitive claim of the Phoenicians does not depend entire-moft pre-
ly upon the tellimony of Sanchoniatho j the credit bably in-
of his hillory is alfo well fupported by Philo of Byblus ventec|
his tranllator, Porphyry, Pliny, Curtius, Lucan, andf
other ancient writers, who might have feen his works
entire, and whole relations deferve at leall as much
credit as thofe of the Egyptian and Greek writers. It*
mull be allowed, that Sanchoniatho’s hillory contains
many fabulous accounts ; but does not the ancient hi¬
llory of the Egyptians, the Greeks, and moll other na¬
tions, abound with them to a much greater degree?
The fragments which we have of this moll ancient hi-
ftorian are chiefly furnilhed by Eufebius, who took all
poffible advantages to reprefent the Pagan writers in
the worll light, and to render their theology abfurd
and ridiculous.
“ Ihe Phoenician and Egyptian languages are very
fimilar 5 but the latter is laid to be more large and
full, which is an indication of its being of a later date.
Ihe opinion of Mr Wife, however, that the ancient
Egyptians had not the knowledge of letters, feems to
be erroneous; as they had commercial intercourfe
with their neighbours the Phoenicians, they probably
had the knowledge of letters, if their policy, like that
of the Chinefe at this day, did not prohibit the ufe of
them.
“ The Chaldeans, who cultivated allronomy in the
moft remote ages, ufed fymbols or arbitrary marks in
their calculations ; and we have fhewn that thefe were
the parents of letters. This circumllance greatly fa¬
vours their claim to the invention : becaufe Chaldea,
and the countries adjacent, ax-e allowed by all authors,
both facred and profane, to have been peopled before
Egyptand it is certain, that many nations faid to
be defeended from Shem and Japheth, had their let¬
ters from the Phoenicians, who were defeended from
Ham.
“ It is obfervable that the Chaldeans, the Syrians,
Phoenicians, and Egyptians, all bordered upon each
other ; and as the Phoenicians were the greatell as well
as the moll ancient commercial nation, it is very pro¬
bable that they communicated letters to the Egyptians,
the ports of Tyre and Sidon being not far dillant from
each other.
“ Mr Jackfon is evidently millaken when he fays
that letters were invented 2619 years before the birth
of Chrift. The deluge recorded by Mofes was 2349
years
[ 727 1
ALP
[ 728 ]
ALP
Alphabet, years before that event ; and if letters were not invent-
e, 1 1—v — .) et| tin years after, as he aflerts, we muft date their
difcovery only 1799 years before the Chriftian era,
which is 410 years after the reign of Menes, the firft.
king of Egypt, who, according to Syncellns and others,
is laid to have been the fame perfon with the Milor of
Sanchoniatho, the Mizraim of the Scriptures, and the
Ofiris of the Egyptians $ hut whether this be true or
not, Egypt is frequently called in Scripture the land of
Mi%raim.
“ This Mizraim, the fecond fon of Amyn or Ham,
feated himfelf near the entrance of Egypt at Zoan, in
the year before Chrift 2188, and 160 years alter the
flood. He afterwards built Thdbes, and fome lay
Memphis. Before the time that he went into Egypt,
his fon Taaut had invented letters in Phoenicia •, and
if this invention took place ten years before the migra¬
tion of his father into Egypt, as Mr Jackfon fuppofes,
we may trace letters as lar hack as the yeai 2178 be¬
fore Chrift, or 150 years after the deluge recorded by
Mofes1, 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 ol the Indian nations,
we muft be better acquainted with their records before
we can admit of their claim to the firft ufe of letters-,
efpecially as none of their manufcripts of any great an¬
tiquity have as yet appeared in Europe. J hat the
Arabians were not the inventors of letters, has appeared
by their own confeflion. Plato fomewhere mentions
Hyperborean letters very different from the Greek j
thefe might have been the characters ufed by the I al¬
tars, or ancient Scythians.
“ It may be expe&ed that fomething fliould be laid
concerning thofe books mentioned by fome authors to
have been written before the deluge. Among others,
Hr Parfons, in his Bemains ol Japheth, p. 34^> 359’
fuppofes letters to have been known to Adam j and
the Sabcans produce a book, which they pretend was
written bv Adam. But concerning thefe we have no
guide to direa us any more than concerning the fup-
pofed books of Enoch j fome of which, Ongen tells
us were found in Arabia Felix, in the dominions ot
the queen of Saba. Tertullian affirms, that he faw and
read feveral pages of them: and, in his treatife De Ha-
bitu Mulierum, he places thofe books among the cano¬
nical : but St Jerome and St Auftin look upon them to
be apocryphal. William Poftellus pretended to com¬
pile his book, De Originibus, from the book of Enoch-,
and Thomas Bangius publiffied at Copenhagen, in 1657,
a work which contains many fingular relations concern¬
ing the manner of writing among the Antediluvians,
which contains feveral pleafant ftories concerning the
books of Enoch. _ - ^ , o r j
« With regard to this patriarch, indeed, bt Jude
informs us that he prophejied, but he does not fay that
he wrote. The writings, therefore, attributed to the
Antediluvians, muft appear quite uncertain ; though it
•Of antedi¬
luvian writ¬
ing.
might be improper to affert that letters were unknown Alphabet,
before the deluge recorded by Mofes.” ' ^
Our author proceeds to fliow, that all the alphabets All the al-
in the world cannot be derived from one original -, be- phabets in
caule there are a variety of alphabets ufed in different
parts ot Afia, which vary in name, number, figui e, or- prove(j t0
der, and power, from the Phoenician, ancient Hebrew, arife from
or Samaritan. In feveral of thefe alphabets alfo, there one origi-
are marks for founds peculiar to the languages of theual-
Eaft, which are not neceffary to be employed in the
notation of the languages of Europe.
None of the alphabets to the eaft of Perfia have any
qonnexion with the Phoenician or its derivatives, ex¬
cept where the Arabic letters have been introduced by
the conquefts ot the Mahometans. J he foundation ot
all the Indian characters are thofe called Shanfcrit or
Sungscrit. This fignifies fomething brought to perfec-
tion, in contradiftinefion to Prakrit, which fignifies vul¬
gar or unpolithed. Hence the refined and religious lan¬
guage and characters of India are called Sungscrit, and
the more vulgar mode of writing and expreffion Prakrit.
From this Shanfcrit are derived the tacred characters ot
Thibet, the Caffimirian, Bengalefe, Malabaric, and
Tamoul 5 the Cingalefe, Siameie, Mahrattan, Conca-
nee, &c. From the fame fource we may derive the
Tangutic or Tartar characters, which are fimilar in
their great outlines to the Shanfcrit -, though it is not
eafily determined which is derived from the other. I he
common Tartar is generally read, like the Chinele,
from top to bottom.
There are, however, feveral alphabets uled in ditier-
ent parts of Afia, entirely different not only from the
Shanfcrit and all thofe derived from it, but alio Irom
the Phoenician and thofe which proceed trom it. Some
of thefe are the alphabet of Pegu, the Batta characters
ufed in the ifland of Sumatra, and the Barman or Bo-
man characters ufed in iome parts ot I egu. 10
names and powers of the letters of which theie alpha¬
bets are compofed, differ entirely from the Phoenician,
or thofe derived from them. It is impoffible to aflimi-
late their forms ; and indeed it is by no means eaiy to
conceive how the 50 letters ot the Shanlciit language
could be derived from the Phoenician alphabet, which
confifted originally only of 13 -, though it is certain,
that by far the greater number of alphabets now m
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
have been immediately the ancient Hebrew or Saman- rhoeIliciaKl
tan-, the Chaldaicj the Baftulian (a) or Spanilh 1 hoe-
nician-, the Punic, Carthaginian, or Sicilian j and the
Pelafgian. From the ancient Hebrew proceeded the
Chaldaic or fquare Hebrew -, the round Hebrew j and
what is called the running hand of the Rabbins. 1 he
Pelafgian gave birth to the Etrufcan, Eugubian 01
Umbrian, Ofcan, Samnic, and Ionic Greek, written
from the left. From the Chaldaic or fquare Hebrew
are derived the Syriac, and the ancient and mo ern
Arabic. The Syriac is divided into the Eftrangelo
(a) The Baftuli are faid to have been a Canaanitiffi or Phoenician people who fled from Jofliua, and fettled
afterwards in Spain.
A L ? [ 729 ] . A . L r
Alphabet. Mendoean, and the modern Arable has given rife
—A 1 to the Perfian and Turki Hi. From the ancient Arabic
are derived the Cufic or Oriental, the Mauritanic or
Occidental, the African or Saracen, and the Moorifli.
The Ionic Greek gave rife to the Arcadian, Latin, an¬
cient Gaulifli, ancient Spanifh, ancient Gothic, Coptic,
Ethiopic, Ruffian, Illyrian or Sclavonic, Bulgarian, and
Armenian. From the Roman are derived the Lombar-
dic, Yifigothic, Saxon, Gallican, Franco-Gallic or Me¬
rovingian, German, Caroline, Capctian, 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, wemuft
admit feveral pure Phoenician letters.
The Pelafgi were likewife of Phoenician original *,
and, according to Sanchoniatho, the Diofcuri and Ca-
biri wrote the firft annals of the Phoenician hiftory, by
order of Taaut, the inventor of letters. They made
ihips of burthen *, and being call upon the coaft near
Mount Cafius, about 40 miles from Peluftum, where
they built a temple in the fecond generation after the
deluge related by Mofes, they were called Pelajgi, from
their palling 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 pra&ifed the Cabiric myfte-
ries 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 •, after which fome of them fettled at the mouth
of the Po, and others at Croton, now Cortona in Tuf-
'cany. Their alphabet confilled of 16 letters, and the
Tyrrhenian alphabet, brought into Italy before the
reign of that prince, confided of no more than 13. Deu¬
calion is faid to have reigned about 820 years after the
deluge, and 1526 before the Chriftian era.
That the Tyrrheni, Tytfeni or Hetrufci, fettled in
Italy long before this period, appears from the tedi-
mony of Herodotus, who informs us, that a colony
went by fea from Lydia into Italy under Tyrrhenus *,
and Dionylius of Halicarnaflus proves that many au¬
thors called them Pelafgi. He then cites Hellanicus
'Leffiicus, an author fomewhat more ancient than He¬
rodotus, to prove, that they Were fird called Pelajgi
Tyrrheni; and when they paffed into Italy, they fet¬
tled in that part of It called Etrtiria. Their emigra¬
tion took place about the year of the world 2011, or
I993 years before the Chridian era, which is 350 years
before the Pelafgi left Greece. Bidiop Cumberland ad¬
duces many proofs to ffiow that the Tyrrhenians origi¬
nally came out of Lydia into Italy. Several Roman
authors alfo fpeak of this Lvdian colony; and Horace
compliments his patron Maecenas upon his Lydian def-
•cent:
Lydorum quicyuid Etrnfcos
Incoluit fines, nemo generofior cfi te.
The Etrufcan 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.
language was a diale6l of the Etrufcan ; their charac- Alphabet,
ters are nearer the Ionic or Roman than the Etrufcan. —
There is alio very little difference between the Pelaf-
gian, Etrufcan, and mod ancient Greek letters, which
are placed from right to left. The Arcadians were an¬
cient Greeks, and ufed the Ionic letters ; 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 Samuite alphabets, are derived
from tbe Pelafgic : thev differ from each other more in
name than in form ; but a far greater number are de¬
rived from the Ionic Greek, namely, the Arcadian,
the Latian or Roman, and the others already enume¬
rated.—The Runic is immediately derived from the
Gothic.
According to Dionyfms of Halicarnaflus, the firil
Greek colony which came into Italy confided of Arca¬
dians, under the conduct of Oenotrus, the ion of Ly-
caon, and fifth in defcent from Phoroneus, the fird king
of Argos, who reigned about 599 years before the tak¬
ing of Troy, and 1750 years before the Chridian era.
Thefe Oenotrians were called Aborigines; and after
they had been engaged for many years in a war with
the ’Siculi, entered into ah alliance with a colony of the
Pelafgi, who came out of Theffaly into Italy, after ha¬
ving been driven from the former country. About 1476
B. C. another colony of the Pelafgi, who had been dri¬
ven out of Theffaly by the Curetes and Leleges, arrived
in Italy, where they affidcd the Aborigines to drive
out the Siculi, poffelling themfelves of the grcated part
of the country between the Tiber and the Liris, and
building feveral cities. Solinus and Pliny tell us, that
the Pelafgi fird carried letters into Italy j and the lat¬
ter didinguilhes between the Pelafgi and the Arcades ;
fo the letters fird carried into Italy were not the Ionic
Greek, but thofe more ancient Pelalgic characters
which the Pelafgi carried with them before Deucalion
and Cadmus are faid to have conic into Roeotia and
Theffaly. The dory of Cadmus is much involved in
fable 5 but it is agreed by mod of the ancients, that
the children of Agenor, viz. 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 letters, mu-
fic, poetry, and other arts, fciences, and cudoms, 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 Palantimn.
4. Thofe who came from Peloponnefus with Hercules;
and, 5. Thofe who came with /lineas from Troy. It
is not eafy to difcover when the Ionic way of writing
from left to right was introduced into Italy •, but it is
certain, that it did not univerfallv prevail even in
Greece till feveral ages after it was found out. Tim
Athenians did not comply with it till tbe year ol Rome
350 •, nor was it praftifed by the Samnites even in the
6th century of that city, or 230 years before Chrid :
for M. Gobelin, vol. vi. PI. 2. gives us the Samnite
alphabet of that century, wherein the letters are placed
from right to left 5 although the Ionic way of writing
prevailed in fome parts of Italy in the third century of
Rome. “ In time (fays Pliny) the tacit confent of all
4 Z nations
A L P r 73
Alphabet, nations agreed to ufe the Ionic letters. The Romans
1—"-y—confented to this mode about the time of Tarquinius
Prifcus, their fifth king.” The letters brought by
Demaratus the Corinthian, the father of Tarquin, Mr
M ife thinks, mult have been the new or Ionic alpha¬
bet, and not the fame with that brought by Evander
500 years before. After the Homans had ellabliihed
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
inferiptions of Herodes Atticus. This learned man,
out of a regard to antiquity, caufed the oldell ortho¬
graphy to be obferved in the writing, and the letters to
be delineated after the moll antique forms that could
be found ; and they arc plainly no other than the Ionic
or right-handed char afters.
See Plates The ancient Gaulilh letters are derived from the
XV. and Greek, and their writing approaches more nearly to
XVI. for the Gothic than that of the Romans: this appears by
IdAhe'an- monumental infeription of Gordian, mell’enger of
cient al- the Gauls, who fullered martyrdom in the third cen-
plmbets tury, with all his family. Thefe ancient Gaulilli cha-
liere enu- ra£ters were generally ufed by the people before the
ineiated. conqueft of Gaul by Cafar; but after that time the
Roman letters were gradually introduced. The ancient
Spaniards ufed letters nearly Greek before their inter-
eourfe with the Romans. The ancient Gothic alpha¬
bet was very fimilar to the Greek, and is attributed to
Ulphilas, billiop of the Goths, who lived in Madia
about 370 years after Chrift. He tranflated the Bible
into the Gothic tongue. This circumllance might have
occafioned the tradition of his having invented thefe
letters 5 but it is probable that thefe charafters were in
ufe long before this time. The Runic alphabet is de¬
rived from the ancient Gothic.
The Coptic letters are derived immediately from the
Gi’eek. Some have confounded them with the ancient
Egyptian ; but there is a very material difi’erence be¬
tween them. The Ethiopic alphabet is derived from
the Coptic.
The alphabet proceeding from that of the Scythians
ellablifhed in Europe, is the fame with what St Cyril
calls the Servien. The Ruflian, 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.
Alphabets With regard to the alphabets derived from the La-
derived tin, the Lombardic relates to the manuferipts of Italy j
from the the Vifigothic to thofe of Spain ; the Saxon to thofe
Latin. jrng]ant| . the Gallican and Franco-Gallic or Me¬
rovingian to the manuferipts of France •, the German
to thofe of that country \ and the Caroline, Capetian,
and modern Gothic, to all the countries of Europe
who read Latin. The firft fix of thefe alphabets are
before the age of Charlemagne, the laft three pofterior
to it. They are more diftinguifhed by their names
than the forms of their charafters 5 and the former in¬
dicate all of them to have been of Roman extraftion.
Each nation, in adopting the letters of the Ro¬
mans, added a talle and manner peculiar to itfelf;
which obvioully diftinguilhed it from the writings of
all other people j whence arofe the difterences between
3
o ] ALP
the writings of the Lombards, Spaniards, French,
Saxons, Germans, and Goths, and all the ftrange terms
obfervable in tiie writings of the I rancic Gauls or Me¬
rovingians } and thofe of the Carlovingians, their fuc-
ceffors, may be traced from the fame fource. From
thefe diltinftions the name of national writing was de¬
rived.
The writing of Italy was uniform till the irruption
of the Goths, who disfigured it by their barbarous
talle. In 569, the Lombards, having potfeffed them-
felves of all Italy, excepting Rome and Ravenna, in¬
troduced that form of writing which goes under their
name} and as the popes uled the Lombardic manner
in their bulls, the name of Roman was fometimes given
to it in the nth century , 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 ceafedj 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 ; but it was
aboliihed in a provincial iynod, held at Leon in 1091,
when the Latin characters were eftablifiied for all pub¬
lic inftruments, though the Vifigothic were ufed in pri¬
vate writings for three centuries afterwards.
The Gauls, on being fubjefted by the Romans, a-
dopted their manner of writing; but by iubfequent ad¬
ditions of their own, their charafters were changed into
what is called the Gallican or Roman Gallic mode. This
was changed by the I ranks into the Franco-Galhc or
Merovingian mode of writing, being praftifed under
the kings of the Merovingian race. It took place to¬
wards the dole of the fixth century, and continued till
the beginning of the ninth.
The German mode of writing was improved by Char¬
lemagne ; and this improvement occafioned another di-
flinftion in writing, by introducing the alphabet named
Caroline, which declined in the I2th century, and was
fucceeded in the 13th by the modern Gothic. In
France it had degenerated by the middle of the icth
century, but was reflored in 987 by Hugh Capet,
whence it obtained the name of Capetian. It w7as ufed
in England, as well as Germany and France.
The modern Gothic, which ipread itfelf all over Eu¬
rope 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 moll barbarous way of writing, and originated
among the fchoolmen in the decline of the arts •, being
indeed nothing elfe than Latin wTiting degenerated.
It began in the 12th century, and was in general ufe,
efpecially among monks and fchoolmen, in all parts of
Europe, till the reftoration of arts in the 15th century,
and continued longer in Germany and the northern
nations. Our ftatute books are ftill printed in Gothic
letters. The moll barbarous writing of the feventh,
eighth, and ninth centuries, was preferable to the mo¬
dern Gothic. It is diverfified in fuch a manner as can
fcarce admit of defeription •, and the abbreviations ufed
by the writers wrere fo numerous, that it became \ery
difficult to read it j which was one of the great caules
of the ignorance of thofe times. Along with this,
however.
ALP
[ 73< 1
ALP
Letters
could not
take place
but from a
decompofi.
tion of lan¬
guage.
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 from the Roman, tends to prove the diftindtion
of national writing, and is of great ufe in difcovering
the age of manufcripts : for though we may not be able
exadtly to determine the time when a manufcript was
written, we may be able nearly to al'certain its age. For
example, if a writing is Merovingian, it may be decla¬
red not to be pofterior to the 9th, nor prior to the 5th,
century. If another be Lombardic, it may be affirmed
to be pollerior to the middle of the 9th, 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 confidered 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
elements of words, or how far they are capable of ex-
preffing thofe founds which, by proper combination
and arrangement, conftitute articulate language. The
number of fimple founds in any language cannot be very
numerous •, and it is plainly thefe fimple founds alone
that we have occafion to reprefent by alphabetical cha-
radters. Hence the perfon who firft invented letters
muft have been capable of analyzing language in a man¬
ner which feems by no means eafy to do, and concern¬
ing which even the learned among ourfelves are not yet
agreed. It is this difficulty which has produced the
great diverfity in the number of alphabetical characters
ufed by different nations j and where we fee a vaft num¬
ber of them ufed, we may account the writing not the
better, but much the worfe for it; and whoever the pre¬
tended inventor was, it is more reafonable to fuppofe
that he disfigured an alphabet already invented, by un-
neccffary additions, than that he was the author of one
himfelf. ,
When we confider alphabetical charadters 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 ofprogreffive operation of the human mind through many
the.human ages. There is not the leaft affinity betwixt reprefent-
ing any objedt by a pidture, and finding out the founds
wdiich compote the word by which it is exprefi’ed : 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 always be the
fame with pidtures in this refpedt, that they muft al¬
ways be fixed to particular objedts, and thus be in-
creafed ad infinitum. Letters, on the other hand, are
indifferent to all objedls j and therefore, by their com¬
binations, which are more numerous than as many ar¬
bitrary marks as we could remember, may exprefs all
the objedts in nature. This might furnifh an argument
of fome {Length for the divine revelation of writing,
were it not that other arts, feemingly as ufeful, and as
difficult to be invented, had not been exprefsly aferib-
ed to particular perfons whom we cannot luppofe to
have been divinely infpired. Thus metallurgy, mufic,
the keeping of cattle, and ufe of tents, are all aferib-
ed to i' fingle family } and though writing be not ex-
Probably
not the rc-
full of a
progreffive
powers.
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 known to have been fufti-
cient for the invention of it. Neyerthelefs, if we take a
review of the different arts which mankind have in¬
vented, we fhall find, that few of them refulted from
any gradual progrefs or evolution of the powers of the
human mind, but rather by fome fudden and almoll un¬
accountable turn of thought in an individual. Thus,
the art of printing, little inferior in its utility to that
of writing, lay hid for ages, and was at laft invented
we fcarce know how } 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 what
all the inventions and evolutions of human powers fince
the creation had never been able to accomplilh ; 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
fdurces, and are furprifed that it did not occur long
before. In like manner, the method of accounting for
the eeleftial motions by the united forces of projection
and gravitation, was no rcfult of the progrels that
mankind had made in fcience, but luckily occurred to
Mr Horrox, without any thing that we know to di¬
rect him, or perhaps from caufes almoft unknown to
himfelf. Thus, alfo, the fteam engine, aeroftation, &c.
were fuddenly invented only by a llight review of prin¬
ciples wrell known before, and which had been a thou-
fand times overlooked by thofe who might have invent¬
ed both. Alphabetic writing, therefore, might have
been no deduction from hieroglyphic or picture writ¬
ing, from which it is efl’entiaily different ; and it feems
to be fome confirmation of this, that all nations w'ho
ever pretended to the invention of letters, have alcribed
it to the labours of one particular perfon, without taking
notice of the progrefs made towards it in preceding
ages.
The learned author of Hermes informs us, that to Of the elc-
about 20 plain elementary founds we owre that variety'nentary
of articulate voices which have been fufficient to ex-.0H” ^ol
plain the fentiments of fuch an innumerable multitude ^ ® ’
as all the paft and prefent generations of men. Mr
Sheridan fays, that the number of fimple founds in our
tongue is 28 ; while Dr Kenrick fays, that we have
only 11 diftinCt fpecies of articulate founds, which even
by contraction, prolongation, and compolition, are in-
creafed only to the number of 16 •, every lyllable or ar¬
ticulate found in our language being one of the number.
Bifliop Wilkins and Dr William Holder fpeak of 33
diftinCt founds.
After the analyfis or decompofition of language in¬
to the elementary founds, the next ftep towards the nota¬
tion of it by alphabetical characters, would be the de¬
lineation of a feparate mark or letter to reprefent each
found 1 which marks, though few in number, would
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 Scriptural Concor¬
dia, p. 64. endeavours to fliow, that ten marks or cha¬
racters are fufficient for this purpofe. His fcheme is
as follows :
4 Z 2
Genus.
ALP
Alphabet.
Gemis.
Vocal.
Guttural.
Lingual.
Lingual.
Lingual.
Dental.
Labial.
Labial.
Figura.
o
13
Pote/las.
a. e. i. o. u.
c. ch.
£. h.
d. t.
b. p.
Labial.
NafaL
s. pb. v. w.
If this is the cafe, then the moft hmple alphabet,
which confifted only of 13 letters, mull have been abun¬
dantly fufficient to anfwer all the purpofes of mankind,
and much of our twenty-four letter alphabet may ap¬
pear fuperfluous. That able mathematician Tacquet
has calculated the various combinations oi the 24 let¬
ters, even without any repetition, to amount to no
fewer than 620,448,4oi,733,239439>3o6o>00°; whlle
Clavius makes them only 5»^52’^I^’73^’497’ 4?c^0,
Either of thefe numbers, however, is wpmte io the hu¬
man conceptions, and much more than fu icient to ex
prefs all the founds that ever were articulated by man.
Number of As there are more founds in fome languages than in
lett< rs in others, it follows of courfe that the number ol e emen-
dlfferent tary characters or letters mull vary in the alphabets of
different languages. The Hebrew, Samaritan, and Sy¬
riac alphabets, have 22 letters j the Arabic 28 *, the
Perfian, and Egyptian or Coptic, 3 2•, the prelent Kullian
41 ; the Shanfcrit 50 •, while the Calhmirian and Ma-
labaric are Hill more numerous. The following is the
fcheme of the Englilh alphabet, as given by Mr Sheri¬
dan in his Rhetorical Grammar, p. 9.
Number of fimple founds in our tongue 28.
31 23 2 3 I?1
o Vowels, a a a e o 0 e u
hall hat hate beer note noofe bet lit but
w y
Ihort 00 Ihort ee
alphabets.
IllUl W VM »   
C eb ed ef eg ek el em en ep er es
19 Confonants, | et ev ez et^ ^ gfli ezh ing.
2 Superfluous, c, which has the power of ek or efs:
q, that of ek before u.
2 Compound, j, which Hands for ed%h ,
x, for ks or g ss.
A No letter, h, merely a mark of afpiration.
[ 732 1 . A L p
Confonants divided into Mutes and Semivowels. Alphabet
6 Mutes, ch ed eg ek ep et.
3 Pure Mutes, ek ep et.
3 Impure, eb ed eg.
13 Semivowels § et el em en efs ev ez etli eth
or liquids, \ elb ezh ing.
9 Vocal, el em en er ev ez eth ezh ingv
4 Afpirated, el els etli elh.
Divided again into
4 Labial, eb ep ev ef.
8 Dental, ed et etlT eth ez efs ezh efii.
3 Palatine, eg ek el er.
3 Nafal, em en ing.
Mr Sheridan obferves, that our alphabet is ill ealeu- Imperfec-
lated for the notation of the Englilh tongue, as there
are many lounds for which we have no letters orpjjg'J,,,^
marks : and there ought to be nine more chara&ers
or letters to make a complete alphabet, in which
every fimple found ought to have a mark peculiar to
itfelf. The reafon of the deficiency is, that the Ro¬
man alphabet was formerly adopted lor the notation of
the Englilh language, though by no means fuited to
the purpofe.
I t now remains only to take fome notice of the forms Of the
of the different letters-, fome knowledge off which is
abfolutely neceffary for afeertaining the age and an- e C1S’
thenticity of inferiptions, manuferipts, charters, and
ancient records. Many authors are of opinion, that
letters derive their forms from the pofitions ot the or¬
gans of fpeech in their pronunciation. ^ an Helmont
has taken great pains to prove, that the Chaldaic cha-
racters are the genuine alphabet of nature j becaufer
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 fyflem, he has anatomized the organs ol articu¬
lation.
Mr Nelme has endeavoured to fhow, that all elemen¬
tary chara&ers or letters derive their forms from the
line and the circle. His alphabet confills ol 13 radical
letters, four diminiflied and lour augmented. Ihe
radicals are L, O, S, A, B, C, D, N, U, I, L, M, R.
—H, according to him, is derived from A 5 1 from
B j T from D ; and F from U : thefe are called di-
minifiled letters. The augmented ones are, Z from S j
G from C W from U j and Y from I. He proves
that his chara&ers are very fimilar to thofe or the an¬
cient Etrufcans : but all chara&ers are compofed either
of lines and circles ot the former, or parts ot the
latter.—Mr Gcbelin deduces them from hieroglyphic
reprefentations and has given feveral delineations ol
liuman figures, trees, &c. in confirmation ot his hypo-
thefis.
One of the mofl fimple alphabets has been formed
by making two perpendicular and two horizontal lines:
i|b|c
Thus, djejf. From which may be
g|h{i.
deduced nine different chara&ers or letters : Thus,
a) |b| |c dj |ej \J g| \h\ ji.
Nine
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ALP
[' 733 ]
ALP
Alphabet
I!
Alphery.
Nine more may be made by adding a point to each,
k I 1 | m
New lan¬
guage in¬
vented by
Mr Dow.
P ; and as many more as may be fuffieient for the
q. Kl ?
notation of any language, by adding two or more points
to each character. Though thefe Iquare characters are
not calculated for defpatch 5 yet they may be made as
expeditioully, or mqre i'o, than the Tartar, the Bramin,
the Callimirian, or many others. Writing compofed of
thefe character's, is at firft fight fomewhat like the .He¬
brew.—Mr Dow, author of the Hiilory of Indoftan,
lately formed a new language and alphabet. This lan¬
guage, and the 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.
ALITIyEN IX, 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 falsi¬
fied with ftarch.
ALPHERY, Mikipher, an Englifh divine, was
born in Rufiia, and of the imperial line. When that
country was dillraCled by inteftine commotions, in the
latter end of the 16th century, and the royal houfe
particularly was fo feverely perfecuted by impoflors,
this gentleman and his two brothers were font over to
England, and recommended to the care of Mr Jofoph
Bidell a Ruffia merchant. Mr Bidell, when they were
of age fit for the univerfity, font them to Oxford,
where 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 •, and in the
year 1618, was prefonted to the reClory of W ooley in
Huntingdonlliire, 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 and alacrity 5
and although he was twice invited back to his native
country by fome who would have ventured their ut-
moft to have fot him on the throne of his anceftors, he
chofo rather to remain with his flock, and to forve
God in the humble ftation of a parifh prieft. Yet in
1643, he underwent the foverefl trials from the rage
of the. fanatics ; who not fatisfied with depriving him
of his living, infulted him in the moft barbarous man¬
ner ; for, having procured a file of mulqueteers to
pull him out of his pulpit, as he was preaching on a
.Sunday, they turned his wife and imall children into
the flreet, into which alfo they threw his goods. The
poor man in this diftrefs raifod a tent under fome trees
in the churchyard, over againft his houfo, 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 thefo 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 agamll
the church (for this poor man was fo harmlefs they
could have none againll him), came and kicked about
his fire, threw down his fkillet, and broke his eggs.
After this, having iliil a little money, he made a fmall ATphery
purchafo in that neighbourhood, built a houfo, and lived |)
there fome years. He was encouraged to this by the Alphonfm.*
Prcfbyterian minifler, who came in his room, who ho-
neflly paid him the fifth part of the annual income of
the living, which was the allowance made by parliament
to ejected niiniflers, treated him with great humanity,
and did him all the forvices in his power. It is a great
misfortune that this gentleman’s name is not preforved,
his conduct in this refpedt being the more laudable, be-
caufe it wras not a little lingular. Afterwards, proba¬
bly on the death or removal of this gentleman, Mr Al¬
phery left Huntingdonfliire, and came and refided at
Hammerfmith till the Refloration put him in poffoflxon
of his living again. He returned on this occafion to
Huntingdonfliire, where he did not flav long ; for be¬
ing upwards of 80, and withal very infirm, he could
not perform the duties of his funfiion. Having, there¬
fore, fettled a curate, he retired to his eldeft fon’s houfo
at Hammerfmith, where foon after he died, much ho¬
noured and refpedted, and affording a remarkable in-
flance of the viciflitudes of the world.
ALPHEUS, (Strabo) j Alpheius, (Ptolemy) •, a
noted and large river of the Peloponnefus; which, riling
in, and after foveral windings running through, Area*
dia, and by Olympia in Elis, with a fouth-wefl courfo1
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 Parthenius, near the vil¬
lage Afea, (Strabo). The Alpheus and Eurotas mix
and run together for 20 fladia ; after which, they enter
a fubterraneous pall’age at Mantinea; then again emerge,
the Eurotas in Laconia, and the Alpheus in the terrL
tory of Megalopolis, (Paufanias). The poets fable
flrange things of this river, particularly, that out of
love to the nymph Aretha fa, it runs under the fea to Si¬
cily, and burfls out at the fountain of that name in Sy-
racufe, (Virgil). Its waters wrere reckoned good in the
leprofy, which is called AA;p«s by the Greeks ; and
hence the name Alpheus. On the banks of this river
the Olympic games were celebrated, to which Pindar
alludes.
“ Alpheus, thy immortal flood,
On his lord’s triumphant brows
The Olympic wreath beflow’d.”
West’s Pindar. .
Paufanias adds, that the Eleans had a law, which con¬
demned any woman to death that fhould 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 herfolf in the
habit of a mailer or keeper of thefo games, and eon-
ducled her fon thither ; but when fhe law him come oil
victorious, her joy made her forget her difguifo, lo that
her fox was dilcovered. She wras pardoned ; but from
that time a law was made that the keepers lliould appear
there naked.
ALPHONSIN, in Surgery, an inflrument for ex¬
tracting bullets out of gunfhot wounds. This inflru¬
ment derives its name from the inventor Alphonfus
Ferrier, a phyfician of Naples. It confifls of three
branches, which are clofod by a ring. When clofod
and introduced into the wound, the operator draws
back the ring towards the handle, upon which the
branches
ALP [ 734 ] ALP
Alphonfin, branches opening take hold of the hall; and then the
Alphonfo. ring is puihed from the haft, by which means the branch-
" v es grafp the ball fo firmly as to extract it from the wound.
ALPHONSO I. king of Portugal, Ion of Henry of
Burgundy, count of Portugal, grandion ot Don Alon-
fo king of Leon and Callile, who, as the dowry of his
wife Therefa, received part of the kingdom of Portu¬
gal. One Egas Munitz. had the charge ot his edu¬
cation from his father, the duties of which he executed
with fidelity and fuccefs. In the year 1112 his father
died, leaving him a boy only throe years ot age,
when the reins of government and the care of tlie
infant fon fell to his mother Therefa. At the age ot
18 he affumed the fovereign authority by the advice of
the nobles of Portugal, who were highly offended at
the growing partiality of his mother for Don Ferdinand
Perez, count of Trattemara for it was fufpefted that
flie intended to marrv him. But Therefa was little
difpofed to refign the reins of government. Her party
railed an army, which took the field to oppcte the no¬
bility who fupported Alphonto 5 but her adherents
were defeated, herfelf taken prifoner, and kept in
confinement during the remainder ot her lite. Not
long after his accetiion to the throne, his abilities both
to govern and to conquer received a feverc trial, in
feveral arduous enterprifes, as well againtl the king of
Leon and Catlile as againtl; the Moorifh princes, who
then poffefl'ed great part of Spain and Portugal. I he
Moorith emperor in Barbary having fent a llrong rein¬
forcement to the princes, they were enabled to take the
field with an army far fuperior to that of Alphonfo 5
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 Catlile affumed the
title of emperor of the Spaniards, and entered Portu¬
gal to watle and defboy; but after the emperor had
received a temporary check, the matter was ac¬
commodated, and he withdrew his army. In confe-
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 conquell of Santaren preceded this event,
and was fanctioned by the unanimous concurrence of
the Hates. The honour of crowning the king was
conferred upon the archbitliop of Braga } and it was
legally provided, that the regal fucceflion fliould de-
fcend with an uninterrupted fuccelfion to the heirs
male of Alphonfo. The prelates and nobility, with
the concurrence of the people, inftituted a code of laws
confifting of 18 flatutes, for the government of the
kingdom. It being propofed whether it was their plea-
fure that the king thould go to 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 ; and if he thall
at any time fubmit to fuch an act, he deferves death,
and thall not either reign over us or among us.” The
year after his coronation he was married to Matilda,
daughter of Amadeus, count ot Maurienne and Savoy ,
and he recovered Litbon from the hands ot the Moors,
in the year 1147. A multitude of adventurers being Alphonfo.
affembled at the mouth of the Tagus in their progrefs ’— 
to the Holy Land, greatly afiitled him in this conquetl.
After having added fix other provinces to his domi¬
nions, he wifely began with indultrious aftivity to re¬
gulate the affairs of his kingdom. In all his great and
benevolent defigns he was vigoroutly feconded by
Matilda, a princeis equally celebrated for her great
beauty, mental vigour, and finguiar piety. M ith
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 princeis -was
greatly enhanced by a numerous offspring, which ena¬
bled him, by great alliances, to ftrengthen his interells.
His fecond daughter was married to Don Ferdinand,
king of Leon, who, notwithllanding of this alliance, un-
generoufly made war on his father-in-law, and took
him prifoner in the field of battle j but releafed him,
on the humiliating condition of coming in perfon to
do homage for his dominions at Leon. In the latter
part of his reign, his fon Don Sancho, who inherited
all his father’s military talents, took the lead on feve¬
ral occafions j and in the year 1180, Jofeph, king ot
Morocco, and emperor of the Almohedes, advancing
w7ith an army as far as Santaren; he there gained a
glorious victory over him. Such w7as the conlieina-
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. A orn out with
care and intenfe application, Alphonio 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 ot the holy crols at Coimbra his remains were
depolited with 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 ftpries concerning his military achieve¬
ments, fo that, in the annals of chivalry, as well as in
the records of martial exertions, he fuflains a very high
rank. Two orders of knighthood, that of the Wings,
and that of the Avis, were inflituted by him ; and they
jlill continue to flourilh in that kingdom. At the age
of 51, when all the faculties of the human mind are in
full vigour, Don Sancho, his fon fucceeded him. {Mod.
Univ. Hi/I.).
Alphonso II. diftinguifhed by the furname of the
Fat, was the third king of Portugal, and fucceeded
his father at the age of 27 years, in 1212. His acv
complilhed education, and his military and political
talents, were tarnilhed by his great negled and ha¬
tred of his brothers and fillers, which involved him
in many troubles. He, however, commenced bis"
reign with two very popular adtions. The one wras, .
fending a body of infantry to the alfillance of the king
of Callile, who fought with uncommon bravery in the
renowned battle of Navas de Tolofa. The other was,
his donation of the callle of Avis to the knights of
that order, when the grand-mailer remove d from Evo-
ra, and took up his habitation in that callle. During
the life of his father, he difeovered his averlion to the
reft of the family, which induced him to fecure the
right of his children from the effeds of his refentment
as
A L P
fo. as much as in his power, by conferring upon them
Iarg'e fums of money and jewels, and ibme of the bell
j»arts of the kingdom. After the death of his father,
however, Alphonlo lerenuotitiy laboured to convince
them that it was not in the power of his father to ie-
parate or give away any part of his dominions j but all
Ins urgent'eloquence proving unluecefsful/he had re-
eourle to arms. The two princeiles, his lillers, who
had received by the grant ol their father very exten-
live and valuable property, upon being attacked by
tneir brother, implored the interference of the pope,
and alio applied to the king of .Leon, to grant his pro¬
tection, lo that they made a very vigorous defence.
1 he pope granted the requell ot the young princelTes,
and threatened to excommunicate Alphonfoj and from
Galicia, Don Ferdinand entered the dominions of Por¬
tugal to ravage and deilroyj but the king prepared to
defend himfelf againft the arms of the king of Leon,
and by ipecious pretences to evade the excommunica¬
tion of the pope.
Authors are not agreed with refpedt to the fuccefs of
this war, but it is generally Tuppoied that, by the inter-
feiencc or thcl’e two powerful perfons, the domellic af¬
fairs os tnat houle were reilored to a certain degree of
tranquillity; however, the departure of the infant Don
xerdinaiKi to the court of Caftile, and of Don Pedro to
another place, ,trong]y indicate that the reconciliation
was far from being perfect. The condudl of the king,
however, produced much diverhty ot opinion among
the common people of Portugal. Some were induced,
by the arguments of the king, to conclude that it was
not in the power of Don Sancho, the late king, to dif-
memoer his kingdom ; and others very properly i'uf-
pected the kindnefs of a prince to his people who dif-
played fuch uncommon and fuch unjuftifiable hatred to
his own relations ; at the fame time, thofe nobles whom
the father had folemnly fworn to carry his will into ex¬
ecution, regarded the facred nature of their oaths to
fuch a degree as induced them to operate againfl the
reigning prince.
I he dilpleafure of the pope, however, was not to be
endured. I he mind of Alphonlo feemed indeed to be
of that quality which little regarded the difpleafure or
thunders of his holmefs ; but the elledls of his threaten-
ings were very different upon the public mind, confe-
quently the king was conftratned to feck the favour of
the pope, to retain the obedience of his fubje&s. The
king therefore fent deputies to Rome, who argued, that
the crown his father wore was the purchafe of the blood
and valour of the Portuguefe nation, and therefore not
in his power to alienate ; that it was a dangerous pre¬
cedent, and obvioully tended to fubvert the fovereignty
ol a Rate ; that the diluniting of the kingdom would
tend to promote the caufe of the infidels ; and, in fine,
that his difputes with his lifters had no connexion with
ecclefiaftical matters. The pope, however, was as well
qualified to difeern the nature of thefe fpecious argu¬
ments as the prince was qualified to urge them, confe-
quently he remained mynoved ; and Alphonib, in order
to have the lenience of excommunication removed which
bad been pronounced upon him, was reluctantly induced
to he reconciled to his fifters. His holinefs informed
of the reconciliation, with great ceremony revoked his
curfe and excommunication from the king and his fub-
je&s.
1 735 ]
ALP
Rut the reign of this prince was deftined to troubles ;
for no fooner was this domeftic broil terminated, than
the Moors milled into the plain country in iuch 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 objed, by the taking of a fortrefs feat-
ed on a rock which was deemed impregnable, in the
following manner. The Germans and Flemings had
equipped an immenfe fleet deftined for the Holy Land,
conufling of 300 fail, with a numerous army on board.
Jn confequence of tempeftuous weather, their fleet was
fo dilabled, that they were forced to put into the
harbour of Lilhon to refit, juft at the time when Al¬
phonib was preparing an army to attack the Moors.
The king inftantly lent fome of the moil refpeda-
ble men of his court to iblicit their aid againft
the Moors, alleging, that it was perfedly confiftent
with 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 by
this argument, and cheerfully engaged to join him
againft the infidels ; but about a third part of the
fleet refilled to join, and proceeded on their voy¬
age. It happened, however, that they were driven
by a violent ftorm into Italy, where they wintered.
I he greater part of the nobility and gentry landed
under the conduft of William earl of Holland; and
it was relolved that they fliould proceed bv fea, and
block up Alca^ar-do-Sal, the fortrefs already men¬
tioned, while the army of Alphonib, reinforced by
a confiderable number, ftiould march by land ; and
thus attack the place both by land and fea at once.
1 he Moors, convinced of the importance of this place,
brought an army into the field conlifting of 50,000
men ; hut the Chriftians railed the fiege, gave them
battle, and routed them with great flaughter; and Ibme
or the chiefs ol the Moors fell in the field. The for¬
trefs furrendered on the 21ft of October 1217, and was
conferred upon the order of St James ; but notwith-
ftanding of very urgent entreaties, the pope would not
permit the army to winter in Portugal. He was defi-
rous of having thele troops and their general removed
to a greater diftance. The writers of that nation affirm
that the ibldiers experienced fupernatural aid in this
battle, and that the banner of the crofs was actually dif-
played by angels.
Rut civil animofity fucceeded to infidel war. The
archbilliop of Rraga was highly ofiended that the clergy
were forced to pay money and furnifli troops to carry
on the war againft the infidels; and the people Ibvere-
ly complained of the ftriftnefs of the laws. To chaf-
tife the rebellious clergy, the king feized upon the re¬
venues of the hifliop, and forced him to fly from his
dominions. Enraged at this impious conduit, the
pope excommunicated the king, and laid his kingdom
under an interdiit. The natural confequence was,
that all things were thrown into confufion, and confter-
nation and perplexity univerfally prevailed; fo that
Alphonfo was obliged to confult meafures to quell
the rifing difeontent. It happened, however, that in
the midft of thefe negociations he was removed by
death, and not only died under the papal malediction,
hut left his kingdom under the fame curfe. He was
interred without royal honours in the conventual
church
AJphont’o.
L P [ 736 ] ALP
His perfon was above the com- temper broke out in many occurrences, nntiMie luc- Alphonfo.
Alphonfo. church of Alcobaga.  t.
1—.< n1on iize • be was brave and ftrong, but not devoid ot
many qualities worthy of blame. (^Mod. Umv. HJid)
Alphonso III. Don, king of Portugal, iucceedcd
his brother Don Sancbo 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 confiderably extended
the Portuguefe dominions. He took pollellion ot the
citv of Fara, the capital of the Moorifh kingdom, in
the province of Algarve. Foul a, another Mooriih
town, which was carried by florm, alfo fell into his
hands. His power was thus extended abroad by the
fuccefs of his arms, and the adminiftration of his atlairs
at home became profperous and popular by his wifdom
and prudence. But the tranquillity and profperity of
the kingdom were fornewhat difturbed by an interdict
which it was put under by Pope Alexander IV. whole
difpleafure he had incurred by marrying Donna Bea¬
trix, the natural daughter ot Don Alonio the M ite,
king of Catlile, while his firft ivife wras living. In 1262,
when his firft queen died, the interdittwas removed by
Pope Urban, a difpenfation was granted, and the chil¬
dren of Donna Beatrix were legitimated. Hitherto
frequent difputes had occurred between the kings ot
Portugal and Caftile relating to the boundaries ot the
two kingdoms. To terminate all differences on this
fubject, and to prevent them in future, commifiioners
were appointed to define and iettle the limits ot their
refpedtive 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 bis enterprifes, Al-
phonfo made an attempt to extend the influence ot the
crown, by obliging the clergy to contribute to the wel¬
fare of the ftate. But this meafure, as might have been
expedted, was not quietly fubmitted to. It occafioned
the revival of old difputes, the pope interfered, and in
1268 the kingdom was again laid under an interdict.
He fucceeded, by the wifdom of his negociations, 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 recon¬
ciled to the pope and clergy, having made a full and
ample fubmiffion. The prince was tall in ftature, of a
prepoffeffing afpe£t, and of engaging manners. Alike
removed from a difpolition to extravagant expence or
fordid avarice, in times of peace and profperity he could
indulge in magnificence *, but when his affairs required
it, he failed not to regulate them by frugality and eco¬
nomy. To the poor he was a fincere friend. In a time
of fcarcity he pawned his crown to provide them with
bread. His fteadv and vigorous adminiftration fecured
to him the refpetft of the nobles and the obedience of
the clergy. (Mod. Univ. DiJ}.')
Alphonso IV. king of Portugal, furnamed the
Brave, was the fon of King Denis. Inftigated, it
is faid, hy the queen dowager of Caftile, and moved
with jealoufy againft his natural brother Alphonfo
Sanchex, he revolted againft his father, and com¬
menced a civil war. In this unnatural and bafe war,
he was juftly unfuccefsful 5 but although he was re¬
duced to fubjection, yet his haughty and ungovernable
ceeded his father in 1324. Hunting was his favourite '—
amufement at the time when he afeended the throne}
and one day entertaining his counfellors with a narra¬
tive of his {porting adventures during a month, one of
them ventured to remonftrate againft his conduct, and
even proceeded to threaten, that if the grievances of
liis fubjefts were not fpeedily redrefled, they would
be forced to look out for a better king. Alphonfo
was greatly enraged ; but fuddenly recolledting him-
felf, he faid, “ I perceive the truth of your remark ;
he cannot long have fubjeds who will not be a king.
Remember that from this day, you have nothing to do
with Alpbonfo the fportfman, but with Alphonlo the
king of Portugal.” To this refolution he ftridly ad¬
hered, and exercifing the power of a dclpot, he over¬
awed his fubjeds, without conciliating their favour or
procuring their efteem. He difplayed a conduct very
lingular in a young man, regarding thole who had lo
vigoroufly oppoied him when at Avar with ins lathei,
as&friends to the crown, although enemies to the young
ambitious prince. He commenced his reign with de¬
viling plans for the fecurity of his family in the govern¬
ment, and the good of the kingdom } he likewule ma-
nifefted a ftrong benevolence ot heart, in his affediou
for his confort Queen Beatrix, and his dutiful condud
toAvards his mother. NotAvithftanding all thefe amiable
qualities, he perfecuted his brother Alonzo Sanchez,
and Availed to infiid the punifliment due to him as a
proferibed traitor-, Avhich drove the defperate Alon¬
zo to open rebellion. But, hoAvever, the natural
good qualities of the heart of the king rofe fuperior,
fo that his perfecuted brother Avas again received into
favour. Not long after he engaged in Avar Avith Alon¬
zo XL king of Caftile, and Avbich, after feveral fevere
ftruggles Avifh various fuccefs on both tides, terminated
in an alliance, and in effedual afhftance againft the
Moors. The artful and cruel part which he aded to-
Avards Donna Agnes de Caftro, the miftrefs and con¬
cealed wife of his fon, refleded the greateft difgrace
upon his charader. It is proper, however, to remark,
that he Avas inftigated to the murder of this princefs by
his courtiers. It was not therefore to be Avondered at
if his fon Avas induced by this ad to l ife up in open re¬
bellion againft him, but the arms of his father Avere
too formidable -, and after his fubmiflion, his father
treated him Avith particular marks ot attention. ln-
ftruded by the growing infirmities of years, he faAV
the termination of his reign and his life approaching.
He began to compenlate for his paft errors and faults,
by eftabliftiing a£ls of piety and benevolence, by re-
dreffing grievances, by reftraining immorality through
the eftablilhment of pious laAvs, by didating falutary
maxims for the government of the ftate, by removing
thofe from the feats of poAvcr Avho Avere the moft likely
to become the objeds of refentment after his death : he
thus laboured to cfl’ace from the remembrance of his
fon the infult which he had received. While concert¬
ing thefe conciliatory meafures, he died in May I357»
in the 3 2d year of his reign, and the 67th of his
age, with the charader of an undutiful fon, an un¬
natural brother, and a cruel father.” But in many re-
fpeds he deferves the charader “ of a great man and
a great king, brave and fortunate in Avar, but artful
and indired in his political meafures, attached to his
fubjeds,
alp ^ i
Alnwv folirfb, Aria in the adminiftration of juftice, attentive ‘ his authority,
to the puUic welfare, and afFiduous in ericouragino; in-
duitry, and enriching his people.” But after all, it mull
be acknowledged, that though he was feared, and even
eiteemed, 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 charafter is per¬
haps exprefled in his device, which was an eagle on the
wing, with the following motto, A/f/ora peto, “I aim at
higher things.”
Alphoxso v. TAon, king of Portugal, was born in
14321 and on account of his heroic deeds, obtained
the lui name of the African. At the age of fix years
he fucceeded his father King Edward. The admini-
Itration of the affairs of the kingdom during his mino¬
rity, was entrufted to his uncle Don Pedro, who al¬
though his public conduct met with general approba¬
tion, was perfecuted as a traitor at the expiration of his
regency, and with feveral perfons who were attached
to bis 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-
fbee to Ins memory, and difeovered an unufual mark
of reipedt and attachment to his queen, by abflainino-
110111 all connedhon with the fex after her death, which
happened m 1455, and it has been fuppofed, was oc-
cahoned by poifort, admmiftered by the enemies of her
lather.
Alphonfo afpired to the acquifition of military glory.
In the year 1458, he made great preparations to at¬
tack the Moors m Barbary. He afl’cmbled an army
of 20,o°3 men, and equipped a fleet of 200 fail. He
hrit directed his arms againft Alcazer, which foon fell
into Ins hands 5 and to maintain the footing which he
had gained, he furnilhed this place with a ftrong gar-
rilon. for 12 years he profecuted the war in Barba-
ry with various fuccefs, in that time reduced Arzila
ALP
and Tangier, and ,n 1740 returned to Portugal load¬
ed with honours. It was then he obtained the fur-
tiame of African, and to the titles which he derived
from Ins anceftors, added that of lord of the coa/ls of
mt.i fcas. And with a view to perpetuate the memo¬
ry of thefe exploits and conquefts, he caufed a repre-
fentation of them to he wrought in tapeftry, a monu¬
ment furely conlWted of very frail materials, but
not leis durable than many which have been erected
by ambition and vanity. During the war in Africa a
military order denominated the knights of the fword
Was founded. ^
Alphonfo was lefs fuccefsful in fupporting the claim
of Ins niece Donna Joanna to the crown of Cailile
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 fohcitations proved fruitlefs •
and the mortification which he experienced from this
faithle s 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 kino--
dom with great ability. When the king returned, he
was joyfully received by the prince, and reinfiated in
Vol. I. Part IF
. - JjU^ ^,e mind of Alphonfo had loft its Alphonfo
wonted vigour, and was unfit to refume the arduous
duties of government. Oppreffed Hill 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¬
pole and quiet of a monaftery. But on his journey to
the place of his retirement, he was jfeized with the
plague at Cintra, where he died in the year 1481,
in the 43d year of his reign, and the 49111 of his
a/te‘ . mo3cration, the prudence and wiidom, which
(ms prince exhibited in his public coiidudt, were not
more powerful in conciliating the love and veneration
of Ins iubjects, and of all good menv than were the,
amiable virtues of bis private ebarader. He was di-
ungitifiied for liis allability and condeicenfion, his he-
mgnity and bounty, and especially for his unbounded
ebanty. In the exercife of this latter virtue, he was
honoured with the tittle of redeemer <f the captives, in
conlequence of his having procured the freedom of
many prifoners, whole ranfom he cheerfully paid.
i\or was he iels eminent for his chaftity and temper¬
ance, his attachment to letters, and his love and en¬
couragement of learning. The fir 11 library in the pa-
lace of the kings of Portugal was founded in his time.
He eitablifhed and vindicated againll the pretcnlions
and hoftile attempts of the Spaniards, a very profitable
ti.ule on the coali of Guinea, which country was dif¬
eovered during his reign, under the aufpices of his uncle
Don Henry, a celebrated charader of that age. (Mod.
Uni v. Hi/l.).
Alphonso \ T. Don Enriquez, king of Portugal,
alcended 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 was remarkable for weaknefs
of body, and imbecility of mind 5 the regency in the
hands of a woman, and that woman a Caftilian ; the
nation involved in war, and this refpeding the title to
the crown; many of the nobility engaged in feuds
and contentions with each other, and fome of them fe-
cretly dilaffeded to the reigning family ; f° that the
queen fcarcely knew to whom fhe could truft, or by
whom file was to he obeyed. A very indecent joy
was manifefted by the people on the king’s death, as if
his death was the diflolution of government: but the
great abilities of the queen, and the vigorous meafures
which flie adopted, ibon changed the face of affairs,
lor her own lafety, and the profperity of the king¬
dom, fhe appointed Don Francifco de Faro, count of
Odemira, of the houie of Braganza, governor to the
king, and one-of her principal minifters of Hate *
and Hie made choice of Don Antonio de Menefes,
count de Caftenheda, to be his coadjutor. The former
was a perfon of high repute among the nobility, in
great favour with the people, entirely devoted to the
interefts of the queen, poffeffed of a large eftate, and
far advanced in years 5 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 expected, thefe men fometimes differed in
opinion ; hut this difference never hurt the caufe of the
queen. Seconded, protected, and counfelled by fuch
able men, the nation began to feel the effe&s of the
queen’s firmnefs and fuperior talents.
The firft important exertion of the queen was, to
5 A- fend
AlpTionfo
ALP [7
fend exprels orders to the count de San Lorenzo, " ho
' commanded on the frontiers, to act oileniively •, bvit
the meafure, though prudent in itieli, was not attend¬
ed with the defired fuccefs. About this time,-how¬
ever, the duke de St Germain, an Italian ofhcer in the
fervice of Spain, entered Portugal, befieged and took
Olivenza and the caftle of Moran. In coniequence ot
this, the general was difmided, and his place was tilled
by Juan Mendez Vafconcelles, a man m great favour
with the troops, and univerfally popular. He engaged
to a£t alfo upon the offenfive, but being unfucceisiul,
he was only faved from punilhment, by his fimple and
candid defence •, in which he fays, “ that he had under¬
taken the fiege in obedience to the order ot the queen,
and for the honour of the nation *, and that he had rai-
fed 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 hte, 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. Hon Sancho Manuel, "ho
commanded in Elvas, and defended it with equai lira-
very and condua, fliowed himfelf to be an otticer ot
a confiderable degree of judgment, by his hazarding
nothing more when he had performed his fervice, upon
which the very being of the ftate depended ; but it
was the count de Caftanheda who railed that liege,
and forced the army of Spain in their lines. Alter
fome other political meafures, fome of them more and
feme of them lefs important •, the queen regent hmlhed
in a manner, her adminillration, with the marriage oi
her only daughter, the princefs Catharine, onee in¬
tended for Lewis XIV. with Charles II. king of Great
Britain, one of the moll fortunate events that ever
happened for Portugal 5 fince it immediately procured
them the protedHon of the Englifh fleets, reinforcements
of fome theufands of horfle and foot •, befnles adding
much reputation to their affairs throughout Europe j
which was the reafon that the Spanilh court oppoled it
with fo much heat, or rather paffion. By the vigo¬
rous exertions and fortunate victories of Monteiclaros,
the war was foon terminated to the honour of Portu¬
gal. The fixth and laft victory in the enurie ot 28
years, was obtained by the Marquis de Manana,
which was chiefly owing to unforefeen accidents, and
the determined courage of foreign troops, and to the
great abilities of Schomberg. This victory determined
the fate of the kingdom, though not ot the lovereign ,
and it was eafy to be feen by the more intelligent tort
of people in Portugal, that the king would looner 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 ilate of health ; confequently, as he
rofe to maturity, his want of parts, and the defects in
his education, were very perceptible. It is alleged
that a greater affeaion was Ihown by the queen his
mother, to the infant Don Pedro, and that fhe endea¬
voured, at the time of their father’s deceafe, to inh-
nuate into the nobles an idea of preferring him ; but
they univerfally declined to make a breach m the luc-
ceffion, declaring it was difficult to make an eitimate
of the powers of a king who was then onlv a c 11 .
The queen yielded, and endeavoured by every pio-
8 ] . A L . P
per means to make him worthy of a crown, which, by Alplionfo.
birth, he was entitled to wear. The count de Ode- 1 v—
mira, who was charged with his education, found it a
very*difficult talk to manage the young prince, who,
forgetful of his birth and deilination, vyas prone only,
to thofe amufements which the youth of his age were
accuftomed to. His guardian and preceptor llruggled
with this difpofition, and even ventured to take iome
pretty fevere meafures •, hut to his great mortification,
it proved entirely abortive. Education^ can only im¬
prove, but can never conler mental abilities. Act he
was quick enough to perceive he was a king, which
proved very fatal to him. Thofe who approached his
perfon complied with his follies, and even commend¬
ed the moll abfurd actions ; and thole who vyere inde¬
pendent of the court inveighed againil him in the
ft rouge ft terms, and, hecauie guilty of lome childilh
actions, they aferibed to him all the cruel and toolilh
accidents which happened in Lifbon. Lnfqrtunatelj,
however, for his adverfaries, many of thefe adhons,
fuch as fighting of dogs, fcouriug the ilreets, encoun-
tering three men alone, running at a bull, and luc 1
Uke, “indicate no want of ftrength or courage. A
variety of fads that might be mentioned, are iutiicient
evidence that his natural difpofitions were weak, wild,
refradory, and unteachable j and that although he was
born to reign, yet he was dellitute of the quaht.es ah-
folutelv neceffary in a prince. The direful conlc-
quences of this having been for fome time experi¬
enced by the nation, the nobles at laft were driven to
the refolution of depofing the king, and exalting Don,
Pedro to the regency. In the morning ol the next
dav after the determination, the marquis de Laleaeb,
at the bend of the council, went to the palace to pro-
pofe the refignation to the king. The king was m ,
bed and fall afleep: the marquis ordered him to be
awakened, and knocked violently at the door for that
purpoie ; and when he had obtained admilhon, he is
faid to have upbraided him in very coarie terms for his
lazinefs and inattention to publie aflairs at fo critical a
eonjunaure ; adding, that fince he muft be fenfible of
his want of abilities to govern a kingdom, the wifeit me¬
thod he could adopt was, to refign it in favour ot his
brother. The king abfolutely refilled to confent j but
not long after, Don Pedro coming to the palace, oiv
dered him to be confined in his apartment, where one
of his favourites perfuaded him, in the hope of being
fet at libertv, to make a fliort renunciation of the
crown in favour of his brother Don I edro, and his
lawful iffue, referviog the houfe ot 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 confnmmation, his marriage was
null. ’ This he at firft declined 5 but, by the advice of
fome divines, he was prevailed on to fubfcnbe the
deed. When evening drew on, the unhappy king then
perceived be was a prifoner j upon which he lent to
requeft bis brother to let him have John, who mana¬
ged his dog-kennel, to keep him company. When
Don Pedro heard it, lofing his ufual calmnefs, he built
into a violent fit of paffion, and inilantly gave or¬
ders, that thofe who were the moil agreeable to him,
fhould remain in his apartment. Such was the iita-
ation of affairs until the meeting of the ftates. But
1L.:
ALP [ 7
A1 plionfo. 111 tlie mean time, the unfortunate Don Alonzo died,
——v—after he had been a prifoner near fifteen years,
fuddenly in tlie callle of Cintra, on the 1 2th 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, “ I am
now going *, but it will not be long before the queen
fliall follow me, to give an account at the moft awful
tribunal of the wrongs file has done me.” (Mod.
Univ. M/ft.)
Alphoxso III. the Great, king of Afturias, was
born in 847, and fucceeded his father Ordogno in 865.
In confequence of the rebellion of Don Frolia, not long
after his acceflion to the throne, he wTas forced to leave
his kingdom *, but that ufurper being affaffinated, with
univerfal applaufe he returned to his throne. In many
fuccefsful enterprifes againft 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, defcended 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 difgufted his
haughty nobles ; which excited them to revolt againft
him in the advanced part of his life. Enjoying a Imall
interval of tranquillity from the diftraction and tumults
of war, he called a general council of the clergy and
nobility, enafted fome ufeful regulations, and directed
their attention to feveral other fubjedts, which contribu¬
ted to the honour and happinefs of his kingdom. YS hilft
he w'as bufily occupied in repairing fome of thofie towns
which he had taken from the Moors, he was fuddenly
interrupted by them, and wras under the neceffity 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 ion Don
Garcias, at this time, greatly difturbed his government •,
but by the diligence of the father, this unnatural rebel¬
lion wras foon quelled. Die confinement of Garcias, and
the new7 impofition of taxes, produced general murmurs
among the people 5 which induced Alphonfo, now7 worn
out with years and inceffant contentions, to aflemble
the ftates, and relign 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 dilcovered
in his father’s reign, foon difplayed itfelf in an attack on
the Moors. lly the advice of his father, to which
he prudently liftened, he wras taught that thefe new
conquefts tended more to enrich the foldiers, than to
the advantage of the crown. Alphonfo, although far
advanced in vears, 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
20. 912, two years after his abdication, 46 years
from the time of his being affociated w7ith his father in
the government, and when he was about 64 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 w'riters affirm that he com-
pofed a chronicle of the Spaniffi affairs, from the death
of Recefuintho, to that of his own father Don Ordog-
39 ] ALP
no, which has been incorrectly publiflied by Sandovel, Alphonfo.
and the later editions have fuftained confiderable injury. —v—
The bifliop of Orenfa, at whofe requeft it wras original¬
ly compofed, publifhed it in his own name to the
world. (Gen. Biog.)
Alphoxso X. the Wife, king of Leon and Caftile,
fucceeded his father Ferdinand in the year I2?2. He
obtained the appellation of wife, not for his political
knowledge as a king, but his erudition as a philofopher.
In confequence 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, difturbed the
profperitv of his reign. Pretending a better right than
Henrv III. of England to that territory, he directed
his firft attempt againft Gafcony. The arms of Eng¬
land, however, proved too formidable ; and he was
compelled to renounce his claim, on condition that
Henry’s fen, afterwards King Edward I. fiiould 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 Swabia, which
he w7as called to defend, diverted him from it. \ bus
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-
tarv talents ; and he was fuccefsful both in oppofing
and defeating them. He formed tbe romantic defign
of vifiting Italy in the year 1268 5 but the ftates firm¬
ly remonftrating, he was obliged to relinquifh 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, 4ind even after Rodolph of Hapfburg was adually
elected emperor of Germany, and for that purpofe took
a journey to Beaucaire to obtain an interview7 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. This ambi¬
tious journey, undertaken at fo vaft an expence, and
productive of fo much confufion in his kingdom, proved
unfuccefsful •, for the pope would not realize his claim,
or alter the former eledtion. But his exceffive ambi¬
tion was foon puniflied by domeftic calamity ; for his
eldeft fon died in the interval, and his fecund ion Don
Sanchez, having obtained great reputation in oppofmg
the infidels, to the prejudice of his brother’s children,
laid claim to the crown. This claim was admitted by
the ftates of the kingdom ; but Philip king of France,
fupporting the caufe of the children, whofe mother was
his fifter Blanche of France, involved Alphonfo in a
war •, and it occafioned the retreat of his own queen
Yolande or Y iolante to the court of her father, tbe king
of Arragon. YY'hile thus haraffed with diffenfions,
he proclaimed war againft Trance, and by the autho¬
rity of the pope he renewed the war with the Moors,
which proved fo unfortunate, that he reluctantly con¬
cluded a truce with them, and engaged in a conteft
5 A 2 with
ALP
Alphonfo. with the king of Granada. Thefe various meafures ex-
-v—haufted his treafure j taxes were multiplied, and the af¬
fairs of the kingdom were in luch conlulion, that he was
under the difagreeable necellity of calling an alfembly
of the ftates, which was held at Seville in the year 1281,
where, on the king’s propofal, the Hates conlented to
give a currency to copper money. In confequence of
the intrigues of Don Sanchez his fon, another affembly
of the Hates was held at \ alladolid, A. D. 1282, which
deprived Alphonfo of the regal dignity, and appointed
Sanchez regent. Reduced to aimoli infurmountable
difficulties, Alphonfo folemnly curled and dilinherited
his fon, and by his 1 alt will, in the year 1283, con¬
firmed the aft of exclulion, and appointed, for the fuc-
ceffion, the infants de la Cerda, and upon the failure
of their heirs the kings of France; and at the lame
time fupplieated the affiHance of the king of Morocco
againH the power of his fon. At the commencement
of the next year, when Alphonfo received information
from Salamanca, that Sanchez was dangeroufly ill, his
heart relented. He pardoned his fon, revoked his
curies, and then died, on the 4th of April 1284, in the
81H year of his age. His remains were interred in
the cathedral ol Seville 5 and he lelt behind him the
charafter ol a learned man, but a weak king. Al¬
phonfo has been charged with irreligion and impiety,
chiefly on account of a well-known laying of his, viz.
“ if he had been of God’s privy-council when he cre¬
ated the world, he could have advifed him better.
The various contrary accounts, given by different writ¬
ers, render the truth of this doubtlul 5 but it ever Inch
a horrible faying dropt from his lips, it muff nnquef-
tionably be declared inconfiffent with the character of
an enlightened philolopher, and that reverence ol the
Creator which an enlarged contemplation of his works
naturally infpires.
“ An indevout affronomer is mad.” li ouxe.
He was an eminent proficient in fcience, and a patron
of literature. He concluded that book ol laws, known
by the title of Las Pai'tides, which his father had be¬
gun ; and in that work difplayed the abilities of a po¬
litician as well as thole of a legiflator. By obliging
his fubje&s to ufe their own language, he redreffed the
confufion in law proceedings occalioned by intermixing
Latin with the vulgar tongue. Under his patronage
a general hiffory of Spain was compofed, which he
took great pains in polilhing he alio coi reeled many
errors in the Hatutes of the univerfity of Salamanca.
Affronomy being his favourite Hudy, he chiefly direct¬
ed his attention to the improvement of that icience ;
fo that, even during the life of his father, he ai-
fembled at Toledo, a number of the moff celebrated
affronomers of his time, Chriffians, Jews, and Aia-
bians, from all parts of Europe, for the purpofe of ex¬
amining the affronomical tables of Xtolemy, and cor-
refting 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 Alphonfme Tables, from the name of
this prince, who encouraged the eonffrudlion 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 alcribed the principal
management of this work to the Jewilh Rabbi liaac
ALP
Aben-Said} others, pretending to derive information Alphonfo.
from the MSS. of Alphonfo, refer it to Aben-Ragec 1
and Alcabitius. The other affronomers who were em¬
ployed on this occafion were Aben-Mufa Mohammed^
Jofeph Ben-Ali, and Jacob Abuena, Arabians: if there
were any Chriffians, their names are unknown. 'I he
30th of May 1252, which was the day of bis accellion
to the throne, was fixed as the epoch of thefe tables.
A book, entitled “ The Treafure,” is aifo aferibed to
him, containing treatifes of rational philofophy, phyfics,
and ethics. He is likewife laid to have been well ac¬
quainted with affrology and chemiffry ; in which laff
fcience, he is laid to have compiled two volumes in ci¬
pher, which are extant, and to be found Hill in his Ca¬
tholic majeffy’s library. But this work mult be more
curious than ufeful, if we confider the Hate of this fci¬
ence at that period. ( Gem Blog.)
Alphonso V. king of Arragon and Naples, fucceed-
ed his father in the year 1416. As the father bad for¬
merly been honoured with the appellation of Ji/jl, fo
the fon -was honoured with that of Magnanimous. The
conipiracy of feme of his own nobles agamff his life, to¬
gether with the infolence of Pope Benedict XIII. great¬
ly dillurbed the tranquillity of his reign. Fortunately
this confpiracy was difeovered juff when it was about to
be carried into execution j and inlleatf of proceeding
with rigour againH the confpirators, he generoufly tore
a paper containing their names without reading, and
added, “ that he would at leail force them to acknow¬
ledge that he had a greater regard for their lives than
they had for his.” After quelling a diiturbance in
Sardinia, he was jufl making preparations to advance
to Sicily, when Joan of Naples offered, if he would
aillH her againH the pope, the duke oi Anjou, and
the conflable Sforza, who had formed a confederacy
to depofe her, to adopt him as her fon and heir, lle-
readily accepted the propofal, and with a powerful ar¬
my foon railed the liege of Naples, and was immedi¬
ately declared heir apparent of her kingdom, and duke
of Calabria. But as the queen was unfaithful, am!
did not fulfil her engagements, Alphonfo took poffeffion
of Naples, and expelled her from it j hut when the
duke of Anjou again entered her territories, and made
himfelf mailer of great part of them, Hie was obliged
to renew her felicitations to Alphonio \ who, in the
vear 1434, involved himfelf in a quarrel with the
duke of Milan and the republic of Genoa, by be-
fieging Gaeta- in a feeond attempt to conquer Naples.
The Genoefe fleet engaged Alphonio : and all his
fliips were difperl’ed or deilroyed, and himfelf taken
prilbner. But fuch was the addrefs of this prince,
that when carried to Milan a priioner, he there, ingra¬
tiated himfelf fo much into the duke’s favour, that he
became his friend and ally, and liaen role to greater
power than formerly.
He got poffeffion of Naples in 14435 and hi an af¬
fembly of the Hates held at Bcneventum, and then
transferred to Naples, his fovereignty was recognized,
and his fon, Don Ferdinand, declared iucceffcr to the
throne, and in confequence of this elevation lie was
deemed the foie arbiter of peace and war. through all
Italy. Naples became the refidence of Alphonio du¬
ring the remainder of his life : but his declining years
were much difquieted by political diffenfions and in¬
trigues. The natural attendants of jealous old age at
[ 740 J
ALP
Alplionfo,
Alphonfus.
lad feized him.*, and in conllernation and dread, he
was removed from one caille of Naples to another,
[ 74i ]
ALP
until he breathed his lalt 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¬
lonia. Alplionfo was not only deemed the ableft ftatef-
man, and the moll renowned military commander in
that age, but alio the greateil prince that ever occupied
the throne of Arragon. He was a diilinguilhed patron
of learning, and opened an afylum for the Greek lite¬
rati expelled from Conllantinople. His device was an
open book. He frequently uttered this expreffion,
u I hat an unlettered prince was but a crowned ais.”
He was brave and liberal 5 and in all his negotiations
he dildained the mean artifices of intrigue and diffinm-
lation. It is reported that his perufal of Quintus
Curtins cured him of a diforder with which he was at¬
tacked at Capua. Such was Ins familiar interconrfe
with his 1 objects, and his affection towards them, that
lie walked unarmed and unaccompanied in bis capital ;
and was wont to fay, “ that a father, has nothing to
fear in the midi! of his children.” While he was be-
fieging Gaeta, he difmifled the women and children that
were turned out of the town without any injury, faying,
Inat he had rather lole any city m lus dominions
than lole the reputation of humanity.” He leaped
into a fnallop for the relief of one of his galleys, which
with its whole crew and foldiers was jull about to pe-
rifli, exclaiming, “ I had rather lhare than witnefs their
calamity.” Such was his generofity, that upon hear¬
ing an officer who law his trealurer bringing him
10,000 ducats, exclaiming, “ I Ifiould only wifii that
lam to make me happy.” “You Ihall be fo,” faid
Alphonfo, and gave him the money in a prefent. He
deemed dancing a certain degree of madnefs \ but was
firongly addicted to women, which involved him in
many dilhonourable intrigues, and juflly entailed upon
him the difgrace of an unfaithful hulfiand to a kind and
affe&ionate queen. (Mod. Univ. Hijl.)
ALPHONSUS TOSTATUS, billiop of Avila, a
learned and voluminous Spanilfi writer. He flouriflied
about the middle of the 15th century, and by bis un¬
common abilities rofc to the higheft offices both in the
civil and ecclefiaftical departments of the Hate. At the
age of 22 years be finilhed bis {Indies at the nniverfity
of Salamanca, havingmade great progrefs in every branch
of learning then in ellimation. He w as prefent at the
council of Bafil, and was afterwards promoted to the
billiopric of Avila. He died at the age of 40 years, in
1454, and was buried in the church of Avila. The
following epitaph, expreffive of his great erudition, was
inferibed on his tomb.
Ihcjlupor cj} mundi qui Jennie djeutit omne.
I bis is the wonder of the world who treated of every
thing that could be known.”
The numerous prodndlrons of Alphonfus are fufficient
proofs of his laborious induflry: during bis life he
wrote no lels than 27 volumes in foiio, of which 24
are commentaries on the Scriptures ; the reft are on
theological fubjedls. -By the order of Cardinal Xime-
aes they were printed at Venice in 1530, and in 1596 }
Z
and at Cologne in 1612. Several of his pieces on ec-
clefiafticai hiftory, fcience, and literature in general,
were feparately printed at Salamanca in 1506, and
alio his commentary upon the Chronicon of Eufebius.
Although high encomiums have been bellowed upon
his works, they have neverthelefs in the current of
time and human improvement fallen into oblivion,
(DupinJ
ALP1NJ, 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 perfuaffon of his father,'
who w'as a phyfician, be retired from the army, and
devoted bis attention to literature. To profecute his
ftudies with more advantage, he went to the univerfity
ol Padua, where he was loon after elected deputy to
the redor and fyndic to the Undents. But in the dif-
charge of his official duties, which was diftinguHhed by
prudence and addrefs, he was not prevented from pur-
iuing the lludy of phyfic which he had chofen. He
continued his medical ftudies with zeal and fuccefs ;
and after having acquired the neceffary qualifications,
he was admitted to the degree of dodor 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 Pa¬
duan territory.
In the courfe of his Undies he had paid particular at¬
tention to plants, and had become an enthufiali in bo¬
tanical fcience. I he fphere of bis prefent pradice w7as
too limited to afford him much opportunity of profecut-
ing his favourite lludy. He wiflied particularly to ex¬
tend his knowledge of exotic plants ; and the only means
to attain this, he thought, was to ftudy their economy
and habits in their native loil. And to gratify this lau¬
dable curiofity an opportunity loon prefented itlelf.
George Emo, the coniul for the \ enetian republic in
Egypt, appointed Alpini his phyfician. They failed
Ironi \ enice in September 1580 j and after having ex¬
perienced a 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 alliduity, greatly improved his botanical
knowledge. M idi this view he travelled along the
banks ot the Nile, vifited every place, and confulted
every perfon from whom be expected any new informa¬
tion. From a practice in the management of date trees
which he obferved in this country, Alpini feems to have
deduced the dofirine ol the fexual difference of plants,
which was adopted as the foundation of the celebrated
iyilem of Linnaeus. He fays, “ That the female date
trees, or palms, do not bear fruit, unlefs the branches
ol the male and female plants are mixed together; or,
as is generally done, unlefs the daft found in the male
(heath, or male flowers, is fprinkled over the female
flowers.”
TV hen Alpini returned to Venice in 1586 he was
appointed phyfician to Andrea Doria prince of Melfi,.
and during his refidence at Genoa, acquired fo great a
name as to be efteemed the firft phyfician of his age.
1 be Venetians became jealous that the Genoefe ftate
Ifiould number among its citizens a perfon of Inch
diftinguilfied merit and reputation, whofe fervices might
b$
Alphonfus,
Alpini.
ALP [
be effentially beneficial, and vs'liofe fame might
highly honourable, to his native country. In the year
1593, he was recalled to fill the botanical chair m the
univerfity of Padua, with a falary of 200 florins, which
was afterwards augmented 10750. He difcbarged the
duties of his profefforfhip 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 profelfor by
one of his fons. Alpini wrote the following works in
Latin : 1. JDe Medicina JEgyptiorum, libri iv. “ Of the
Phyfic of the Egyptians, in four books }” printed at
Venice, 1592, in 4to. 2. De Plantis JEgypti hher:
“ A treatife concerning the plants of Egypt printed
at Venice, 1592, in 4to. 3. De Balfamo Dialogus : “A
dialogue concerning the Balm of Gilead printed at
Venice, 1592, in 4to. 4. De Preefagienda vita et mor-
te cegrotanium hbri vii: “ Seven books concerning the
method of forming a judgment of the life or death of
patients*,” printed at Venice, 1691, in 4to. 5. De
Medicina mcthodica, Hbri xiii : “ Thirteen books con¬
cerning methodical Phyfic*,” Padua, 1611, folio j
Leyden, 17x9, in 4to. 6. De Rhapontico Difputatio :
“ ^ difputation held in the fchool at Padua concerning
the Rhaponticum *,” Padua, 1612, and 1629, in 4to.
7. Dc Plantis Exoticis, Hbri ii. : “ Of exotic plants, in
two books Venice, 1699, in 4'to. He left feveral
other works, which have never been printed *, particu¬
larly, 8. The fifth book concerning the phyfic of the
Egyptians. 9. Five books concerning the natural hi-
ilory of things obferved in Egypt, adorned with figures
of plants, flones, and animals. {Biog. Dift.)
ALPINI A. See Botany Index.
ALPINES. See Alpini.
ALPISTE, or Alpia, a fort of feed ufed to feed
birds with, efpecially when they are to be nounflied
for breeding. The alpifte feed is of an oval figure, of
a pale yellow, inclining to an ifabel colour, bright and
glofly. It is an article of the corn-chandlers and feedf-
men’s trade.
ALPS, in Geography, a range of high mountains,
feparating Italy from Gaul and Germany, in the form
of a crefcent. They take their rife from the \ a-
da Sabatia, or Savona } and reach to the Sinus r lana-
ticus (now Golfo di Carnaro of the Adriatic), and the
fprings of the river Colapis (now the Hulpe) ; extend¬
ing, according to Livy, 2000 ftadia in length, or 250
miles: they are divided into feveral parts, and accoid-
ingly have different names. From Savona to the
iprings of the Varus, where the Alps lie againll the fea
of Genoa, they are called Maritime, now le Montague
di Tenda. 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 Cottier (Sueton.) Cot-
tana; (Tacitus) ; mountains extremely high, feparating
Dauphine from Piedmont, and extending from Mount
Vifo to Mount Cenis, between the Alpes Mantimee to
the fouth, and the Graice to the north. The Alpes
Graice (Pliny), fo called from the paffage of Hercules,
begin from Mount Cenis, where the Cottier terminate 5
and run out between Savoy and the Tarentefe to the
3
742 ] ALP
be weft, and Piedmont and the duche d’Aoufte to the
eaft, quite to the Great St Bernard, where the Alpes
Penniner begin, ft hey are alio called by iome Gi aicr
Alpes, and 'Grains Mons (Tacitus) ; which extend
from weft to eaft, between St Bernard and the Adula,
or St Gothard; and thus they run out between the
Valaife to the north, and the Milanefe to the fouth.
With thefe are continued the Alpes Rheticer, to the
head of the river Piave 5 a part of which are the Atpcs
Tridentinev, to the north of Trent. To thefe join the
Alpes Noncce, 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 Pannonicer, and
Julier, extent to the fprings of the Kulpe. Some, how¬
ever, extend the Alps to the north of Dalmatia 5 others,
again, to Thrace and the Euxine. But then teinu-
nation at the Kulpe, as above, is more generally
received. They were formerly called Alb in, and Atpi-
onia (Strabo.) Through thefe mountains Hannibal for¬
ced his paffage into Italy, by pouring vinegar on the
rocks, heated by burning large piles of wood on them,
by which means they became crumbled, (Livy). Iluv
are covered with perpetual fnow.
The Alps are the higheft mountains in Europe ; be¬
ing, according to fome geometricians, about two. miles
in perpendicular height, ftfliey begin at the Mediterra¬
nean 5 and ftretching northward, feparate Piedmont and
Savoy from the adjacent countries ; whence dire6hng
their courfe to the eaft, they form the boundary between
Switzerland and Italy, and terminate near the extremi¬
ty of the Adriatic fea, north-eaft of V emce. It was
over the weftern pcirt of thofe mountains^ towai (Is x led-
mont, that Hannibal forced his paflage into Italy.
ft'he prol'pect from many parts of this enormous
range of mountains is extremely romantic, elpecialh
towards the north-weft. One oi 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 tins
courfe, the road runs winding up, for the moft 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 5 at the bot¬
tom of which rolls a torrent, that, fometimes tumbling
among the fragments of ftone which have fallen fJ01T1
on high, and fometi*mes precipitating itfelf down vail
defeents with a noife like thunder, rendered yet moie
tremendous by the echo from the mountains on each
fide, concurs to form one of the moft folemn, the molt
romantic, and moft aftoniftiing feenes in nature. lo
this defeription may be added the ftrange views made ly
the crags and cliffs, and the numerous calcades which
throw themfelves from the very fummit down into the
vale. On the top of the mountain is the convent ot St
Bruno, which is the fuperior of the whole order. Hie
inhabitants confift of 100 fathers, with 300 fervants,
who grind their corn, prefs their wine, and perform
every domeftic office, even to the making ot their
clothes. In the Album of the fathers is an admired al-
caic ode, written by the late ingenious Mr Gray when
he vjfited the Chartreufe, and which has fince been
publifhed among his works.
The glaciers of Savoy are alfo juftly reckoned among
ALP [ 743 J ALP.
Alps. the mod Unpemlous works of nature. Thefe are im-
■—v itienfe mafl’es of ice, lodged upon the gentler declivities
amidft the Alps, and exhibiting reprefentations be¬
yond conception fantallic and piclurefque. In the ex-
traordinary narrative of M. Bourrit’s journey hither,
we meet with the following account of the Prieure, in
the valley of Chamouni. “ We had (fays he) the mag¬
nificent profpecl of a chain of mountains, equally in-
acceffible, and covered with ice : and above the reft
that of Mont 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 com poled of mad’es of rock 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 character of their
form, or the majefty of their appearance, give them a
piclurefque variety. Lower down, the eye furveys with
raviftiment, the hills of ice, and the feveral glaciers, ex¬
tending almoft into the plain, whilft this appears like
an artificial garden, embelliflied with the mixture^of a
variety of colours. We have a picturefque oppofition to
this chain, which is formed by innumerable mountains
at the diftance of near 50 leagues, between whofe tops
we have a glimpfe of thofe feveral plains which they en¬
viron.”
M. de Sauffure, who had vifited thofe mountains
about two months before M. Bourrit, felt himfelf na¬
turally eleftrified 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 thunder, 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
falland maffy blocks of ice, which precipitated from
the fummits.
The valley of Montanvert appears to be peculiarly
romantic. “ Here (fays M. Bourrit) we beheld a fpa-
cious icy plain entirely level. Upon this there rofe a
mountain all of ice, with fteps afeending to the top,
which feemed the throne of fome divinity. It like wife
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 wras ornamented with prodi¬
gious glaciers, that, ftiooting up to an immeafurable
height between the mountains, blend their colours with
the fkies, which they appear to reach.”
Alps, befides its proper fignification, by which it de¬
notes a certain chain of mountains which leparate Italy
from France and Germany, is frequently ufed as an ap¬
pellative to denote any mountains of extraordinary height
or extenfive range. In this fenfe, Aufonius and others
call the Pyrenean mountains Alps; and Gellius the
Spanifh Alps, Alpini Hifpani.
Hence alfo we fay, the Britijh Alps, the AJiatic Alps,
the Alps of America.
The Scottijl Alps terminate, in a moft fublime and
abrupt manner at the great promontory, the Alfa Ripa Alps,
ot Ptolemy, the Ord or Aird, i.e.the Height of Caithnefs. '
The upper part is covered with gloomy heath •, the lower
is a ftupendous precipice, excavated into vaft caverns,
the haunt of teals and difl’erent fea fowd. On the eaftern
fide of the kingdom, this is the linking 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, defeendants of Saxons, French, and Normans j
congenerous with the Englilh, yet abfurdly and invi-
dioufly diftinguilhed from them. Language, as well as
ftriking natural boundaries, mark their place. Their
mountains face on the weft the Atlantic ocean j 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 Rofslhire and In-
vernefslhire. Their Sumnue Alpes are Meal Fourvon-
nich, the Coryarifii, Benewich, and Benevifh near Fort
W illiam 5 the laft of which is reported to be 1450 yards
in height. Great part of Aberdeenfhire lies in this
tra£t. 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 finilli on the magnificent fhores
ot Lochlomond; on the weftern fide of which Ben-
lomond rifes, diftinguifhed among its fellows. From
hence the reft of North Britain forms a chain of hum¬
bler hills j but in Cumberland, part of Weitmorland,
A orkfhire, Lancafliire, and Derbyfhire, the Alps re¬
fume their former majefty. A long and tame interval
fuccceds. The long fublime trad of Wales arifes, the
ancient poffellion of the ancient Britifh race. From the
Ord, the great mountains recede inland, and leave a vaft
flat between their bafes and the fea, fronting the waves
with a feries of lofty rocky precipices, as far as the little
creek of Staxigo : the whole a bold, but moft inhofpi-
table ihore for fhipping. 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.
Ihe AJiatic Alps are deferibed under the articles
Altaic Chain and Werturian Mountains.
The American Alps are, the Andes or Cordilleras,
in South America 5 and the Apalachi AN or Alleghany
mountains in North America.
Ihe higheft ground in North America is placed by
Captain Carver in Lat. 470, Long. W. from London
98°, between a lake from which the Oregon flows, and
another called Uhitc Bcar Lake, from which arifes the
Mifliffippi.
Bins exalted fituation is part of’ the Shining Moun¬
tains, which are branches of the vaft chain which per¬
vades the whole continent of America. It may be
fairly taken from the fouthern extremity, where Staten
Land and Terra, del Fuego rife out of the fea as infu-
lated links to an immenfe height, black, rockv, and
marked with rugged fpiry tops, frequently covered
with fnow. New Georgia may be added as another
horribly congenial, rifing detached farther to the eaft.
The mountains about the ftraits of Magellan foar to
an amazing height, and infinitely fuperior to thofe of
the northern hemifphere under the fame degree of la¬
titude. From the north fide of the ftraits of Magel¬
lan,
ALP
[ 744 1
the king- the central
lan, they form a continued chain throng!
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 I 2, which are from 2400 toifes high to above
~ooo. Pichincha, which impends over Quito, is about
35 leagues from the fea ; and its fummit is 2430 toiies
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 •, in which kingdom is a range of volca¬
noes, from lat. 26. fouth, to 45. 30. and poflibly from
thence into Terra del Fuego itfelf} which, forming the
itraits of Magellan, may have been rent from the con¬
tinent by fome great convulfion, occafioned by their la-
bourings, and New Georgia forced up from the fame
caufe. An unparalleled extent of plain appears on their
eallern fide. The river of Amazons runs along a level
clothed with forefts, after it burtts from its confinement
at the Pongo of Borjas, till it reaches its lea-like dif-
charge into the Atlantic ocean.
In the northern hemifphere, the Andes pafs through
the narrow ifthnms of Darien into the kingdom of
Mexico, and preferve a majeflic height and their vol¬
canic dilpofition. The mountain Popocatepec made
a violent eruption during the expedition of Cortez,
which is moft beautifully defcribed by his hiftorian An¬
tonio dc Solis. This is probably the fame with the
volcano obferved by the Abbe d’Auteroche, in his wray
from Vera Cruz to Mexico •, which, from the naked-
nefs of the lavas, he conjeftured to have been but late¬
ly extinguifhed. From the kingdom of Mexico, this
chain is continued northward, and to the eafl of Cali¬
fornia 5 then verges fo greatly towards the weft, as to
leave a very inconfiderable Ipace between it and the
Pacific ocean j and frequently detached branches jut
into the fea, and form promontories 5 which, with
parts of the chain itfelf, were often feen by our navi¬
gators in the courfe of their voyages. Some branches,
as 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 trail, from the great lakes
of Canada, as low as the gulf of Mexico ; and eaft-
ward to the other great chain of mountains, the Apa-
lachian, which are the Alps ot that fide of northern
America. Its commencement is luppofed to be about
Lake Champlain and Lake George, with branches
pointing obliquely to the river St Lawrence eaftward,
and riling on its oppofite coafts 5 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 hy the name of the Highlands, and lies within
40 miles of the Atlantic. From thence it recedes
" trom the fea, in proportion as it advances fouth ward}
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-
rally clothed with variety of woods. Ihefe ridges
rife gradually from the eaft, one above the other, to
A L P
from which they gradually fall to the Alps,
wrell, into the vaft plains of the Mifiiflippi. The mid- Alpuxarras.
die ridge is of an enormous bulk and height. The w—-
whole extends in breadth about 70 miles 5 and in many
places leaves great chafms for the diicharge of the vail
and numerous rivers which rife in the boloms of the
mountains, and empty themfelves into the Atlantic
ocean, after yielding a matchlefs navigation to the pro¬
vinces they water.
Beyond the branch of the Apalachian mountains
called The Endltfs, is another of amazing extent,
nearly as high as the mountains themfelves. This
plain (called the Upper Plain) is exceedingly rich
land •, begins at the Mohocks river; reaches to with¬
in a final! diftance ot Lake Ontario and to the wreil-
wrard forms part of the extenfive plains ot the Ohio,
and reaches to an unknown diftance beyond the Mifiif-
iippi. Vaft rivers take their rife, and fall 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-
worn bed far up, even to within a final 1 diftance of
the head of the Delaware ; w hich, after a furious
courie down a long defeent, interrupted with rapids,
meets the tide not very remote from its difeharge into
the ocean.
Lower Alps, Department of, 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 j on the eaft by Pied¬
mont, and the department of the Maritime Alps j on
the fouth, by the department of the ^ ar, and the north-
eaft extremity of that of the Mouths of the lihone j
and on the weft, by the departments of Vauclufe
and the Drome: the chief town is Digne ; its fuper-
ficies is about 1,459,699 fquare acres ; population
144,436 individuals. It is divided into five communal
dillrids. '
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 I fere 5 on the eaft by Piedmont 5 on the fouth, by
the department ot the Lower Alps •, on the weft, by
that of the Drome, and part of that of Here : Lmbrun
is the principal town ; its fuperficies is about 1,084,614
fquare acres } population 116,764 individuals. It is di¬
vided into three communal diitricls.
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 j 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 j its fuperficies is about 632,619
fquare acres ; population 93,366 fouls. It is divided
into three communal diftridts.
ALPUXA11RAS, or Alp ax ares, mountains of
Spain, in the province of Granada, on the coall of the
Mediterranean lea. ft hey 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. ft’hey embraced the Chriftian religion j but pre¬
ferve their own manner of living, and their language,
though much corrupted. Here is a rivulet between
A L* S [ 745 ] . A L S
Alpuxarras Titros and Portugos, ndiich dyes linen that is dipped in
]| it black in an inftant. Near this rivulet is a cavern,
, Ahace. | from which proceeds fo malignant a fleam, that it de-
”~v flroys fuch animals as come near it. The Morifcos
cultivate the foil extremely well, and plant fruit trees ;
fome of which grow to a prodigious height and thick-
nefs, and give the mountains a very agreeable af-
peft.
ALQUJER, a liquid meafnre ufed in Portugal to
meafure oil, two of which make an almond. See Al-
MOXD.
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 varnifli to their works,
and thence is called potters ore. It is met with in Corn¬
wall, &c. The potters mix a fmall portion of manga-
nefe with the alquifou, and then the varnifli or glazing-
on their ware is of a blackifli hue.
ALREDUS, Alfred, or Aluredus, of Bever¬
ley, one of the moil ancient Englifli hiflorians, was
born at Beverley m h orkfhire. lie wrote 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
of St John’s at Beverley. And we learn in a note of
Bifliop T aimer’s, that, for the fake of improvement,
he travelled through France and Italy; and at Rome
became domellic chaplain to Cardinal Othoboni. He
died in the year 1128 or 1129, leaving behind him
the following works : x. The Annals of Alured of Be¬
verley ; which was publiflied at Oxford in 1716, by
Mr Hearne, from a manufeript which belonged to
Thomas Rawlinfon, Efq. It contains an abridgement
of our hiliory from Brutus to Henry I. written in
Eatin, and with great accuracy, elegance, and perfpicui-
ty. 2. Libertates ecclefue S. Johannis de Bevvrlac, &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.
ALRESFORD, a town ofHampfhire, feated on the
road from London to Southampton, clofe by the river
Itching, which feeds a great pond to the left of the
town. Part of a Roman highway runs from hence to
Alton. It confifts of about 200 houfes ; has one church,
and two principal flreets, which are large and broad 5
and has a fmall manufacture of linens. It is 57 miles
tliflant from London.
ALSA, in Ancient Geography, a river of Carniola
(Pliny), now the Aufa, running by Aquileia, with a
fliort courfe from north to fouth, into the Adriatic 5
where Conflantine, the fon of Conflantine the Great,
fighting againft Conflans his brother, loil his life.
ALSACE, formerly a province of France, bound¬
ed on the eafl by the Rhine, on the fouth by Switzer¬
land, on the well by Lorraine, and on the north by the
palatinate of the Rhine. It was formerly a part of
Germany, but was given to France by the treaty of
Munfter. It is one of the moll fruitful and plentiful
provinces in Europe, abounding in corn, wine, wood,
flax, tobacco, pulfe, fruits, &e. The mountains
which divide it from Lorraine are very high ; and ge¬
nerally covered with fir, beech, oak, and hornbeam,
Vql. I. Part II.
Thofe on the fide of Switzerland are lefs high ; and Alface.
furniflied with all forts of wood, as well for fuel as \—
building. The country itfelf is diverfified with rifing
hills and fertile vales, befides large forefts'j but that
between the rivers 111, Hart, and the Rhine, as far as
Strafburg, 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 thofe 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 equal almoll to
the profit. There are iron works in feveral parts of
Alface, and particularly at Betford. There is a mi¬
neral fpring at Sultlbach, near Munfler, in High Al¬
face 5 which is in great reputation for the palfy, weak-
nefsofthe nerves, and the gravel.—The original in¬
habitants of Alface are honeii and good-natured, but
wedded to their own manners and cultoms. The fruit-
fulnefs of their country renders them indolent and in-
aftive } for the Swifs make their hay and reap their
corn, as well as manage the vintage of High Alface,
winch tends a great deal ot money out of the province.
The common language is the German ; but the better
fort of people in the towns fpeak French ; and, even in
the country, they fpeak French well enough to be un-
derftood.
The number of inhabitants was 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 Lower Rhine ; the capital of the former being
Colmar, and that of the latter Strafhurg 5 but former¬
ly it was divided into Upper and Lower Alface, the
former contained 32 large and fmall towns, and the lat-
ter 39, and in both there are upwards of 1000 market
towns and villages. The Rauraci, Sequani, and Medio-
matrici, were the ancient inhabitants of this province.
Under the Merovingian kings its name firft occurs in the
hiftory of France, and it mofl probably is derived from
the river Ell or 111, the inhabitants on the borders of
which were called Elfajfon, from whom the country
itlelf was afterwards denominated E/Jhs, in Latin Eli-
Jatia, Alifutia, and Aljatia. The Romans wrefled it
from the Celia; 5 from them it palled into the hands of
the Germans 5 and after the famous battle of Tolbiac,
gained by Clovis in 496, it palled into the poffeflion of
the Franks. It was incorporated at a future period with
the kingdom of Auflrafia ; and, in 1752, it was fubjedt-
ed, like the reft of the monarchy, to the laws of Pepin
and his fucceffors. Lotharius, the eldefl ion of Lewis
Hebonnaire, at the deceafe of his father in 840, obtain¬
ed it and united it to that part of the empire of the
Franks which fell to Aim, and was generally known by
the name of Gothamngia, or Lorraine. Afterwards it
fell to his youngefl fon Lotharius by inheritance, and
after him, in 869, it became a province of Germany,
and was governed by dukes.
About a century before the title of duke was abo-
liflied, the provincial counts who 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 befl part of the inferior was conveyed to
the bifhops of Strafburg in 1375, who alliimed the
J B titl«
A L
title of Landgrave of Alface
vernment was given by the emperors to ieveral ianulies,
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 dillriAs of the ten united
imperial cities in Alface, with the whole fovereignty
belonging to them, was for ever ceded by the emperor
,o the crown of France, at the peace of Munfter m
J648. The perpetual fovereignty of tile city of btral-
burg, together with all its dependencies on the lelt ot
the Rhine, were ceded to France by the peace of Kyl-
W1 AllsEN^y an idand of Denmark, fituated in the Lef-
fer Belt, or entrance into the Baltic fea, between blei-
wick and Funen, 100 miles weft of Copenhagen. It
extends in length fix leagues, and about two in breadth.
The foil is fertile, producing abundance ol fruit and va¬
riety of grain, with large crops of anifeeds, a carmina¬
tive much ufed in feafoning the food and mixing with
the bread all over the Daniih dominions. F. Long.
10. 12. N. Lat. 55. 12. , iii
ALSFIELD, a town of Germany, in the landgra¬
vate of Heffe Caffe!, ten miles north-weft of Marpurg,
and 25 fouth of Heffe Caffel. It is an ancient town and
well built j and the inhabitants were the firft of this
country who embraced the Reformation. E. Long.
q. c. N. Lat. 50. 40.
ALSHASH, a very beautiful city in Buckhana,
fuppofed to be the fame with that which is now called
To/hcant, the capital of the eaftern part of lurkeftan,
poffeffed by the Kaffats. It is fituated on the river
hun, now Sir, and had a well watered garden for eve¬
ry houfe j but was ruined by Jenghiz Khan, who took
the city, and caufed a great number of its inhabitants
to be mafl’acred. . r c 1 a
ALSHEDA, a parifli in the province ot cjinaland,
in Sweden, where a gold mine was difeovered in
^ ^ _ g
ALSINA, in Botany, a fynonyme of the
mini. See Theligonum, Botany Index..
ALSINASTRUM, in Botany, the trivial
the elatine. See Elatine, Botany JWe.r.
ALSINE, or Chickweed. See Botany Index.
The common chickweed affords a remarkable mftance
of what is called the Jleep of plants; for every night,
the leaves approach in pairs, fo as to include within their
S [ 746 ] A L S
T„ after times, the go- will foon mifs their footing, and tumble headlong into Alfurt
hell, which is gaping beneath to receive them. _ II
* r otttiv/i Clonrewnhn n ritv nf ancient Allop.
theligo-
name
of
tue leaves ... ^ ,  n .
upper furfaces the tender rudiments of the new Ihoots
and the uppermoft pair but one at the end of the llalk
are furnilhed with longer leaf-ftalks than the others *, fo
that they can clofe upon the terminating pair, and pro¬
tect the end of the branch.
ALSIRAT, in the Mahometan theology, denotes a
bridge laid over the middle of hell, finer than a hair,
and fharper than the edge of a fword over which peo¬
ple are to pafs, after their trial, in the day of judge¬
ment. To add to the difficulty of the paffage, Maho¬
met affures, that the allirat, narrow as it is, is beiet
with briars and thorns-, none of which, however, wil
be any impediment to the good who ffiall fly over it
like the wind, Mahomet and his Muffulmans leading
the way, whereas the wicked, by the narrownefs ot
the path, the entangling of the thorns, and extinction
of the light which direaed the former to paradile,
3
ALSIUM, in Ancient Geography, a city of ancient u
Etruria, occupying (according to Cluverius) the fpot
on which Bala nave Hands. We are told by Dionyfins
Halicarnaffenfis, that Alfium was built by the Abon-
gines, long before the Tyrrhenians invaded Italy. In
this cafe it muft have been founded not long alter the
difperfion in the days of Peleg. Its founder is faid to
have been one Alcefus, Alefus, or Alfa; whom iome
conjeaure to have been Alifah, or Eliflia, the Ion ol
Javan, mentioned in Scripture.
ALSOP, Anthony, an Englilh divine and poet,
was educated at Weftminfter ichool, and from thence
eleaed to Chrift-church, Oxford, where he took the
degree of M. A. in March 1696, and of B. D. in De¬
cember 1706. On bis coming to the umverfity, he
was very foon diftinguilhed by Dean Aldrich, and pu-
blifhed Fahularum Mfopicarum DeleBus, Oxon. 1698,
8vo, with a poetical dedication to Lord V ifeount Scu¬
damore, and a preface in which he took part againlt
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 ; and for lome
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, bifliop ot \\ inch eft er,
who appointed him his chaplain, and loon altei gaie
him a prebend in his own cathedral, together with the
reftory of Brightwell in the county ol Berks, which
afforded him ample provifion tor a learned retirement,
from which he could not be drawn by the repeated lo-
licitations of thole who thought him qualified tor a
more public chara&er and a higher ftation. In 1717
an action was brought againft him by Airs Elizabeth
Aftrey of Oxford, for a breach of a marriage contract *,
and a verdidl obtained againft him for 2000I. which
probably occafioned him to leave the kingdom lor lome
time. His death, which happened June 10. 1726,
was oceafioned by his falling into a ditch that le to
his garden door. A quarto volume was publilhed in
17 .-2, under the title of Antonii Alfopi, AUdts Uirijh
ohm Alumni, Odarum lihri duo. I our Englilh poems
of his are in Dodfley’s Colletfion, one in Pearch s, ie¬
veral in the early volumes of the Gentleman’s Maga¬
zine, and fome in “ The Student.” Mr Allop is re-
fpeafullv mentioned by the facetious Dr King oi the
J /■'XT 1 • ~ ~/CA oxrirr pnrirnpn the
Commons (Vol. i. p. 236), as having enriched the
commonwealth of learning, by “ Tranflations ol babies
from Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic •” and not els de-
traftingly by Dr Bentley, under the name o lony
Alfop, a late editor of the ^Elopean babies. {Biog.
Aesop, Vincent, an Englifh nonconformift divine,
was born in Northamptonlhire, and educated at St
John’s college, Cambridge, where he took the degree
of Mailer of Arts. When he received deacon s or¬
ders, he went to Rutlandftiire, and fettled at Oakham,
where he was an affiftant to the maftei o tic tee
fchool. As he was a man of a fprightly turn, he tell
into indifferent company but was reclaimed »y e
frequent admonitions of the Reverend i r enjamin
King. He afterwards married that gentleman s daugh¬
ter, and becoming a convert to his principles, receiJ’
A L S t 747 1 A L S
Alfop, eel ordination in the Prefbyterian way, not being iatif-
Al'ftedius. fied with that which he had from the hifiiop. He was
J fettled at Wilbee in the county of Northampton, whence
he was ejected 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 hook
he wrote againft Dr Sherlock in a humorous ftyle, made
him well known to the world, and induced Mr Cawton,
an eminent nonconformift in Weftminfter, to recom¬
mend him to his congregation for his fucceffor. On
receiving this call he quitted Northamptonfhire, 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 5 hut
thefe ended with the reign of Charles II. or at leaft in
the beginning of the next reign, when Mr Aifop’s Ion
engaging in treafonable practices was freely pardoned
by King James. After this our divine went frequently
to court, and is generally fuppofed to have been the
perfon who drew the Prelbyterians addrefs to that
prince for his general indulgence. After the Revolu¬
tion, Mr Alfop gave public teftimonies of his attach¬
ment to government 5 yet upon all occafions he ipoke
very refpe£tfully 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 cxereife of
his miniftry, preaching once every Lord’s dayj befides
which he had a Thurfday lecture, and was one of the
lecturers at Pinner’s-hall. He lived to a great age,
and, preferving his fpirits to the laft, died in May
1703. On grave fubjects he wrote with a becoming
ferioufnefs : but where wit might properly he lliown, he
difplayed it to great advantage. His funeral fermon
was preached by Mr Slater, and his memory will he
always preferved by his own learned and elegant writ¬
ings. Of thefe the molt remarkable, hefides his fer-
mons, are, 1. AntiJo%%o ; in vindication of fome great
truths oppofed by Dr William Sherlock, 8vo. 1675.
2. Melius Inquirendum; in anfwer to Dr Goodman’s
Compaffionate Inquiry, 8vo, 1679. 3. The Mifchief
of Impofitions j 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 Minilters in London, 8vo. (Biog. Brit.)
ALSTEDIUS, John Henry, a German Protef-
tant divine, and one of the molt indefatigable writers
of the 17th century. He was fome time profeffor of
philofophy and divinity at Herborn in the county of
Naffau : From thence he went into Tranfylvania, to be
profeffor at Alba Julia j where he continued till his
death, which happened in 1638, in the 5°th year of
his age. His Encyclopcedia has been much elteemed
even by the Roman Catholics*, it was printed at Lyons,
and fold very well throughout all France. His The-
faurus Chronologicus is by fome confidered as one of
his belt works, and has gone through feveral editions.
He alfo wrote Triumphus Biblicus, to Ihow that the
principles of all arts and fciences are to be found in the
feriptures. He was a Millenarian *, and publilhed, in
1627, a treatife Me mille annis, in which he afferted
that the reign of the faints on earth was to begin in
J694.
ALSTON, Charles, M. D. a botanical and medi- Alfton
cal writer, was born in the welt of Scotland in the U
year 1683. He began his Itudies at the univerfity of, Alfton);t-
Glafgow, and about this time he had the good for¬
tune to be taken under the patronage of the duchefs
of Hamiltcn, which afforded him an opportunity of
purfuing the bent of his inclination, by attaching him-
felf to the Itudy of phyfic. About the age of 33, along
with his friend and companion the celebrated Alex¬
ander Monro, he went to Leyden, and ftudied three
years under Boerhaave. On their return to their na¬
tive country, they, in conjunction with Rutherford,
Sinclair, and Plummer, undertook departments in the
college of Edinburgh, and by their abilities and in-
duftry, laid the foundation of that fchool of phyfic.
The branches of botany and materia medica were
long the favourite lludies of his life, confequently he
undertook that department, and continued to lecture
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
ftrong, which he improved and ftrengthened with great
affiduity and induftry, and employed them fuccefsfully
in the fervice of fcience. In the year 1753, his dif-
fertation on the fexes of plants, in which he combats
the doCtrine of Linneeus, was publilhed in the firft
volume of the Edinburgh Phyfical and Literary Ef-
fays. The general plan of the work is conducted
with much ingenuity, fupported by fome ftrong expe¬
riments, and although in the opinion of the learned,
it has failed in its principal defign, yet it mull be ac¬
knowledged to be one of the heft argued pieces on that
fide of the queftion. An afperity of language is fome¬
times ufed, very unfuitable to a fcientific topic ; but,
however, it is proper to remark, that Linnaeus had
given fome reafons for this conduCt by the nature
of fome of his deferiptions. In the fifth volume of
the Edinburgh Medical Effays, we have a fhort
paper by Dr Alfton on the efficacy of the powder of
tin, to deftroy or expel worms from the bowels. He
informs us, that he received the prefeription from an
empyric, wTho was renowned for his Ikill in curing
- perfons afflicted with that difeafe. The patient receiv¬
ed the firft morning one ounce of tin reduced to pow¬
der, and half an ounce each of the two following
mornings, and was then purged with the infufion of
fenna and manna. He fpeaks with great certainty
upon the efficacy of this medicine, which certainly has
confiderable power in thefe cafes, and may be given
to the moft delicate fubjcCts with perfeCt fafety. Dr
Alfton alfo engaged in a chemical controverfy refpeCt-
ing quicklime with Dr ’Whytt. But the moft valuable
of all his works, are his leCtures on the Materia Me¬
dica, which were publiflied in the year 1770, in 2 vols.
4to. The number of curious and ufeful fads 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, feated
on a hill, at the bottom of which runs the river Tyne,
with a ftone bridge over it. Near this place is plenty
of lead ore. W. Long. 2. 4. N. Lat. 54. 45.
ALSTONIA. See Botany Index.
5 B 2 ALSTROEMERIA.
Alftroeme-
ria
Altar.
ALT [ 748 ] A L T
ALSTROEMElilA. See Botany Index.
ALT, in Mafic, a term applied to the high notes in
the fcale.
ALTAI mountains, an extenfive range of moun¬
tains in the northern parts of Alia. It begins at the
vail mountain Bogdo, paffes 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 Oby; then proceeds by the lake Telezkoi,
the rife of the Oby } after which it retires, in order to
comprehend the great rivers which form the Jenefei,
and are locked up in thefe high mountains ; finally un¬
der the name of the Sainncs, it is uninterruptedly con¬
tinued to the lake of Baikal. A branch infinuates it-
i'elf 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 flretches
along the Olecma, croffes the Lena below Jakoutfk,
and is continued between the two rivers Tongoufka to
the Jenefei, where it is loft in wooded and moraffy
plains. The principal chain, rugged with fharp-point-
ed rocks, approaches and keeps near the fliores of the
fea of Ockhotz, and palling by the fources of the ri¬
vers Outh, Aldan, and Mala, is diftributed in Imall
branches, which range between the eaftern rivers which
fall into the Icy fea 3 befides two principal branches,
one of which, turning fouth, runs through all Kamtf-
chatka, and is broken, from the Cape Lopatka, into
the numerous Kurile ifles, and to the eafl forms another
marine chain, in the Aleutian iflands, which range from
Kamtfchatka to America; mofl of them, as well as
Kamtfchatka itfelf, diflinguillied by volcanoes, or the
traces of volcanic fires. The lafl chain forms chiefly
the great Cape Tfchutfki, with its promontories and
rocky broken fliores.
The fummits of the higheft of the Altai mountains
are covered with perpetual inow. The loftiefl range
of this extenfive chain, is compofed of granite. An¬
other range of inferior height confifls of fhiltus, which
lies on the fides of the granite mountains. Befide thefe
rocks, there are ftrata of chalkflone, limeflone, and
marble. The Altai mountains abound in metallic ores.
Gold, filver, and lead mines, have been dileovered in
them, with great abundance of copper and iron. I he
two latter have been wrought to a confiderable extent,
and have been found productive.
ALT A MO NT, a very handfome town of Italy, in
the kingdom of Naples, and in Calabria Citerior, 15
miles north-well of Bafigniano. 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 facrifices were ancient¬
ly offered to fome deity.
The heathens at firit made their altars only of turf ;
afterwards they ivere made of flonc, of marble, of wood,
and even of horn, as that of Apollo in Delos.
Altars differed in figure as well as in materials. Sqme
were round, others fquare, and others triangular. All
of them were turned towards the caff, and itood lower
than the ftatues of the gods; and were generally adorn- Altar
ed with fculpture, reprefenting either the gods to whom —y—.
they were erected, or their fymbols.. See the Pagan
Altars reprefented on Plate XVII. Upon the fides
of fig. 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 theNymphs,
as the infcription 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 fides,
which made it appear triangular. Of fig. 4. which
was alfo triangular, each face or fide exhibited a genius,
one of whom (on the fide reprefented) carries an oar
upon his neck, which feems to denote it an altar of
Neptune. Fig. 5. an altar of a round fliape, is infcrib-
ed Ara Neptunii the god himfeif is there reprefented,.
all naked, faving the pallium upon his fhoulder; 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 facrificed. According to
Servius, thofe altars let apart for the honour of the
cclefcial gods, and gods of the higher clafs, were placed
on fome pretty tall pile of building ; and for that rea-
fon were called alt aria, from the words alt a and ara.
“ a high elevated altar.” Thofe appointed for the
terreflrial gods were laid on the furface ol the earth,
and called arce. And, on the contrary, they dug into
the earth and opened a pit for thole ,ol the infernal
gods, which they called ZoS^ol XxKxtn, fcrobical/. But
this diftindion is not everywhere obferved : the bell
authors frequently ufe ara as a general word, under
which are included the altars of the celeilial and in¬
fernal, as well as thofe of the terrellrial gods. AYitnefs
Virgil, Eel. 5.
  En quatuor aras,
where ara plainly includes altaria ; for whatever wre
make of Daphnis, Phoebus was certainly a celellial
god. So Cicero, pro Quint. Aras delubraque Hcca-
tes in Gracia vidimus. The Greeks alfo diltinguilhed
tw'o forts of altars ; that whereon they facrificed to the
gods was called and was a real altar, different
from the other whereon they facrificed to the heroes,
which was fmaller, and called Pollux makes
this diilindion of altars in his Onomaflicon ; he adds,
however, that fome poets ufed the word t^cc^a, for the
altar whereon facrifice was offered to the gods. The
Septuagiut verfien does fometimes alfo ufe the word
for a fort of little low altar, which may he ex-
preffed in Latin by crdticula; being a hearth rather •
than an altar.
Before temples were in ufe, altars were eredfed fome¬
times in groves, fometimes in the highways, and feme-
times on the tops of mountains; and it was a cuflom to
engrave upon them the name, enfign, or character of
the deity to whom they were confecrated.
In the great temples of ancient Rome there were
ordinarily three altars: The fir ft was placed in the fanc-
tuary, at the foot of the Itatue of the divinity, upon
which incenfe W'as burnt and libations offered ; the fe-
cond was before the gate of the temple, and upon it
they facrificed the vidtim s ; and the third w as a port¬
able altar, upon which were placed the offering and
the facred veffels.
2
Befulcs
A LT.AR Plate xvn.
A L T [ 749 ] ALT
Bei'iJes thole ufes of altars, the ancients fwore upon
j them, ami fwore by them, in making alliances, confirm¬
ing treaties of peace, and other folemn occafions. Al¬
tars alfo fervtd as places of refuge to all thofe who lied
to them, whatever crime they had committed.
Altars are doubtlefs as ancient as facrifices thcm-
fel ves j conlequently their origin is not much later than
that of the world, Gen. ch. iv. Some attribute their
origin to the Egyptians ; 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
Jewilb, and even Chriftian writers. Others are con¬
tented to make the patriarch Enoch the full who con-
fecrated a public altar. Be this as it will, the earliell
altars we find any exprefs tellimony of are thofe creeled
by Abraham.
Altars, in the patriarchal times, were very rude. The
altar which Jacob fet up at Bethel was nothing but a
flone, which ferved him inllead of a bolller j that of
Gideon, a Hone before his houfe : and the firll which
God commanded Moles to eredt was probably of earth
or unpolilhed Hones, without any iron ; for if any ufo
was made of that metal, ‘the altar was declared impure.
The principal altars of the Jews were, The altar of
incenfe ; that of biir?it-ojferivg ; and the altar, or table,
for the Jhew bread.
The altar of incenfo was a fmall table of fhittim
wood, covered with plates of gold, of one cubit in
length, another in width, 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 hid¬
den by Jeremiah before the captivity j and upon it the
officiating priefi ofl’ered, every morning and evening, in-
cenfe of a particular compofition. See Plate XYII.
The altar of burnt-offerings was made of fhittim
wood, and carried upon the fhoulders of the priefis by
Haves of the fame wood overlaid with brafs. In the
time of Moles, this altar was five cubits fijuare and
three high ; but in Solomon’s temple it was much lar¬
ger, being 20 cubits lijuare and 10 in height. It was
covered with brafs $ and at each corner was a horn or
i'pire, wrought out of the fame wood with the altar, to
which the lacrifices were tied. ithin the hollow was
a grate of brafs, on which the fire was made j through
it fell the allies, which were received in a pan below.
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 inlide of the tabernacle.
See Plate XV II.
The altar or table for the Jhew-bread was likewife of
fnittim 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, ivith
ialt and incenfe.
The Jewifh altars, after their return from the capti¬
vity, and the building of the fecond temple, were in
lome reipecls different from thofe described above.
That of burnt offerings was a large pile, built of un¬
hewn Hone, 32 cubits fquare at the bottom, and 24
Iquare at the top. The afcent was by a gentle riling,
32 cubits in length, and 16 in breadth.
Altar, is alfo ufcd among Chriffians for the com- Altar
munion-table. ||
In the primitive church, the altars were only of Altenberg.
wood ; as being frequently to be removed from place v
to place. But the council of Paris in 509, decreed
that no altar fliould be built but of Hone. At firH
there was but one altar in each church hut the num¬
ber loon increafed 5 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 Madgeburg there arc
no lefs than 49 altars.
The altar is fometimes fuHained on a Angle column,
as in the fubterraneous chapels of St Cecilia, at Rome,
&c.; and fometimes by four columns, as the altar of St
Sebaflian of Crypta Arennria *, but the cuHomary form
is, to be a mallive of Hone work, fullaining the altar
1 table. Thefe altars bear a refemblance to tombs : to
this purpofe, we read in church-hiHory, that the primi¬
tive Chriflians chiefly held their meetings at the tombs
of the martyrs, and celebrated the myileries of religion
upon them : for which reafon, it is a Handing rule to
this day in the church of Rome, never to build an altar,
without incloling the relics of fome faint in it.
ALTAR-thane, or Altar ist, in old law-books,
an appellation given to the prieH or parfon of a parilh,.
to whom the altarage belonged. See Altarage.
ALTARAGE, in Law, altars eredtcd in virtue of
donations, before the Reformation, within a parochial
church, for the purpofe of finging of mais for deccafed
friends.
Altarage likewife fignifies the profits arifing to the
prieH on account of the altar.
AL-TAYEFF, a town of Hejaz, a diHrid of Ara¬
bia Felix. It is fituated about 50 miles call of Mecca,
behind Mount Gazwan, where the cold is more intenfe
than in any other part of the diHrict, but the air very
wholefome. Its territory abounds in fountains, and
produces excellent raifins. The town is furrounded with
a wall, but is not very large.
ALTDORF, a large handfome 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 pafiagcs are difficult, and
fierve infiead of fortifications. It has four churches and
two convents •, St Martin’s church and that of the Ho¬
ly Crofs are the fineH. The town-houfe and the arie-
nal are alfo worth feeing. E. Long. 8. 30. XT. Lat.
46- 50.
ALTEA, a fea-port town of Y alencia in Spain. It
was taken in 1705, in favour of the archduke Charles ;
but loH after the battle of Almanza. W. Lon«L o. 1 c.
N. Lat. 46. 34.
ALTEMBURG, a town of Tranfylvania, 17 miles
fouth-wefl of Wifemburg, and 35 fouth of Claufenbourg.
E. Long. 23. 5. N. Lat. 46. 25.
ALTENA, or Altoxa, a fea-port town of Germa¬
ny, in the duchy of Holfiein in Lower Saxony. It is a
modern town, built by the king of Denmark, and was
burnt by the Swedes in 1712 ; but has fince been beau¬
tifully rebuilt. The merchandife brought from Afia by
the Danifh EaH India Compaay is fold here. E. Lone-.
10. o. N. Lat. 33. 51.
ALTENBERG, an ancient town of Germany,
fituated
ALT
r 750 ]
ALT
Altcnburg Situated on the river Pleifs, with a good caftle placed on
|i a rock, in Mifnia, in the circle of Upper Saxony. It
Alternate. was formerly an imperial city, but at prefent belongs
~v " to the houle of Saxony. Here is a college which
has always been in a flourifliing condition, fn 1705,
there was a nunnery founded for women ot a high
rank, who are Proteflants. E. Long. 15* 8. N. Lat.
50. 59.
ALTENBURG, a fmall fortified town of Hungary,
in the ^territory of Mofon, near the Danube, about
fifty miles from Vienna. E. Long. 35. 30. N. Lat.
48. 15.
Altenburg, or Owar, a fmall but flrong town of
Hungary, feated in a marfh, with wide ffreets. ft is
near the river Danube, and is furrounded tvith deep
ditches. It is 15 miles fouth of Prefburg, 40 fouth-
eafl of Vienna, and 65 fouth-weft of Buda. E. Long.
17. 56. N. Lat. 44. o.
ALTERANTS, or Alterative Medicines, fuch as
correct the bad qualities of the blood and other hu¬
mours, without occafioning any fenfible evacuation.
ALTERATION, in Fhyjics, the aft of changing
the circumftances and manner of a thing 5 its general
nature and appearance remaining the fame. Or, it is
an accidental and partial change in a body j without
proceeding fo far as to make the iubject 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 wras cold, is faid to be al¬
tered, when it is made hot ", fince it may Hill 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 teims
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 efte&ed by means of local motion. According
to them, it always confifts either in the emiflion, ac-
ceffion, union, feparation, or tranfpofition, of the compo¬
nent particles.
ALTERCATION, a debate or conteft between two
friends or acquaintance. The word comes from alter-
cari, which anciently fignified to converfe or hold dif-
courfe together. Thus we fay, They never come to an
open quarrel, but there is continually fome little alter¬
cation or other.
ALTERN-BASE, in Trigonometry, a term ufed in
con trad iftin&ion to the true'bafe. Thus in oblique tri¬
angles, the true bafe is either the fum of the fides, and
then the difference of the fides is called the altern-baje y
or the true bafe is the difference of the fides, and then
the fum of the fides is called the altern-baje.
ALTERNATE, in a general fenfe, a term applied
to fuch perfons or tilings as fucceed each other by
turns. Thus, two who command each his day, are
faid to have an alternate command, or to command al¬
ternately.
Alternate, in Heraldry, is faid in refpect 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 alternately.
Alting
ALTERNATION, in its primary fenfe, denotes a Alternation
fucceffion by turns.
Alternation is fometimes ufed to exprefs the dit- ^
ferent changes or alterations of orders in any number of
things propofed. -This is alfo csiWoft. pet mutation, &c.
and is eafily found by a continual multiplication of all
tbe numbers, beginning at unity. Thus, it it be re¬
quired to know how many changes or alterations can
be rung on fix bells, multiply the numbeis 1, 2, 3> 4»
3, 6, continually into one another •, and the laft product
gives the number of changes.
ALTERNATIVE, is particularly ufed for the
choice of two things propofed. In this lenfe we fay, to
take the alternative of two propofitions.
ALTHAEA, Marshmallow. See Botany Index.
Althjea Finitext See Hibsicus, Botany Index.
ALTIMETRY, the art of meafuring altitudes or
heights, whether aceellible or inaccelfible. See Geo-
metry. .
ALTIN, a money of account m Mufcovy, worth
three copecs : 100 of which make a ruble, woith about
4s. 6d. fterling.
Altin, a lake in Siberia, from whence iflues the li¬
ver Ob, or Oby, in N. Lat. 52. o. E. Long. 85. 55.
This lake is called by the Ruffians Telojkoi Ofero, from
the Telelfi, a Tartarian nation, who inhabit the borders
of it, and who give it the name of Altin-Kul. By the
Calmucks it is called Altinmr. 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 paflable on
foot, but the fouthern part is never covered with ice.
The water in the Altin lake, as well as in the rivers
which run through the adjacent places, only riles in the
middle of fummer, when the fnows on the mountains
are melted by the heat of the fun. _ .
ALTINCAR, among mineralills, a fpecies ot tadi-
tious fait ufed in the fufion and purification of metals.
The altincar is a fort of flux 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 Ins Ion to the
fame profeffion. In the year 1602, after a grammatical
courfe he was fent to the univerfity of Herborn : there
he ftudied with fo much affiduity 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 Naflau,
Solms, and Ifenburg, who ftudied with the ele&or 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, lor he was
appointed preceptor to the prince in 1608: and in
confequence of his afliduity and fuccefs, he was cho-
fen to accompany the elector into England. Among
the number of celebrated men to whole acquaintance
he was introduced in England, was the famous Dr Ab¬
bot, archbifhop of Canterbury. In 1613, Alting re¬
turning to Heidelberg after the marriage of the elector
with the princefs of England, received his degree oi
doctor of divinity, and was appointed director of the
college of Wifdom. The increafed knowledge and
invigorated talents ot Alting, were always receiving
renewed opportunities of exertion j thus his elo¬
quence
A L T C 75i ] ALT
quence and learning obtained full fcope in the fynod of
J Dort, to which he had been deputed by the Palatinate,
along with two other divines.
It was but reafonable for Alting to expect high pre¬
ferment and high advantages from the avowed patro¬
nage of the elector; but in this he was greatly difap-
pointed, and he had only to participate in his misfor¬
tunes. In 1622, Count Tilly took the city of Heidel¬
berg, and devoted it to plunder. In order to efcape the
fury of the foldiers, Alting endeavoured to pals by a
back door into the chancellor’s houfe, which was put
under a Itrong guard ; but the officer who guarded the
houfe, as he was entering faid to him ; “ with this bat¬
tle-axe I have to-day killed ten men, and Alting, if I
knew where to find him, fliould be the eleventh ; who
are you ?” Alting with a lingular prefence of mind re¬
turned an evafive anfwer, which faved his life. “ I am
(faid he) a teacher in the college of Wifdom.” The of¬
ficer took him under his protedion, but the Jefuits un¬
fortunately taking poffeffion of the houfe, the next day,
left the generous 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 eledoral court fupplied him
with tood, who happened to be employed by Count Til¬
ly in the kitchen occupied by him in the chancellor’s
houle. In this perilous fituation he remained until an
opportunity offered of making his efcape to Heilbron,
whither his family had been eonduded before.
But ecclefiaftical intolerance haraffed Alting, as
much as he was formerly endangered by military hof-
tility. MS ith the permiffion of the duke of Wirtem-
berg he retired for a few months to Schorndorf after
the defolation of the Palatinate by the vidorious forces
of Count Tilly. It was reafonable to exped that a
welcome and hofpitable reception might have been giv¬
en, among Proteftants, to one who had juft efcaped the
flames of a Popiffi war. But the dodrine 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
refpedive vicinities. The injuries which Alting had
fuffered from the common enemy were not fufficient to
fee ore 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 refide
there. The mifehievous effects of religious diffenfions
have been univerfally felt.
In 1623, Aiting retired with his family to Embden,
and afterwTards 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 eldeftJon; and prevented him
from accepting the charge of the church at Embden,
and likewife of a profefforfhip at the univerfity ef Fra-
neker. In 1627 his importunity prevailed upon his
patron, and he obtained leave to remove to Groningen,
and there afeended the divinity chair j and continued
to lecture with increafing reputation until the day of Airing,
his death. I he ardent defire and repeated endeavours 1 *" i/*"-"
of feveral univerfities to appropriate to themfelves the
honour and benefit of his fervices, is the moft unequivo¬
cal proof of the general efteem in which his character
was held. 1 he ftates of Groningen pofitively refuted
to give their confent to this removal, when the univer¬
fity of Leyden lolicited him to come and labour among
them. But fome time after, the profpedt of extenfive
ufefulnefs in re-eftabliffiing the univerfity of Heidelberg,
and reitoring the churches of the Palatinate, determined
him to accept the office of profeflor of divinity and ec¬
clefiaftical fenator, prefented to him by Prince Lewis
Philip. In the year 1634, amidft numerous hardfhips,
to which the exifling war expofed him, he fet out for
Heidelberg, and purfued his journey as far as Franc-
fort ; when the battle of Norlingen, in which the im-
perialifts were victorious, rendered his farther progrefs
impracticable, and therefore with great difficulty he re¬
turned to Groningen.
Domeftic affliction and perfonal fufferings embittered
the remaining years of this excellent man’s life. De¬
prived of his eldeft daughter by death, fuch v as his
great afleCtion for her that it brought on a fettled me¬
lancholy, attended with a bodily difeafe which was with
great difficulty removed; but after an interval of four
years a fettled and irrecoverable melancholy feized him,
in confequence of the lofs of an amiable and beloved
wife, which, together with a 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 himfelf. The amiable character and extenfive
led ning ol 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 Ins own judgment, ad¬
hering to the plain dodrine of Scripture, he "was equal¬
ly defirous to avoid fanatical fcrupulofity and fophifti-
cal fubtility. The productions of his pen are, Notcc
hi Decadent Problcmatmn Jacobi Behm, Heidelbcrgay
1618 ; “ Notes on a Decad of Jacob Behmen’s Pro¬
blems.” JjOci Communes / 44 Common Places.” Pro-
biemata ; “ Problems.” Explicatio Catache/eos Pala-
tmat; “ Explanation of the Palatine Catechifm.”
Excgefis Augvjiance Confejioms, &c. Amft. 1647 j
“ Commentary on the Auguftan Confeffion.” Mctho-
dus Theologian Didapiece et Catacheticon, Amft. 1650;
“ A Method of DidaCtic and Catechetic Theology.”
The Medulla Hijlorian Prophance, “ Marrow of Pro¬
fane Hiftory,” publiffied under the name of Parseus,
was written by Alting. {Gen. Biog.)
Alting, Janies^ Ion of Henry-Alting, was born
at Heidelberg in 1618. After the ufual courfe 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 j and in 1638 he put him¬
felf under the tuition of a Jewifti rabbi at Embden.
Determining to take up his refidence in England, he
arrived there in 1640, and was admitted to clerical
order’s, by Dr Prideaux biffiop of Worcefter. By
an
Siting,
Altitudo.
ALT [ 75
an oft'er of the Hebrew profefforfliip in tlie univerfity
of Groningen, lie was foon induced to alter his plan of
' life, and consequently again returned to Germany in
1643. His active aUiduity in thefe languages, and his
knowledge in other Sciences, procured him univerfal
efteem, and great reputation as a Scholar, About
this time he received many academic honours •, he was
and
des
pro-
and
admitted doftor of philofophy, academic preacher,
at lalt, in conjunftion with a colleague, Samuel
Marets, was chofen profeffor of divinity. Thefe
fetlors followed different methods of teaching,
adopted different fyflems. Des Marets was an admirer
and follower of the Subtilities of the fcholaftics •, and
by the ingenuity with which he purfued the fcholaftic
plan of inftru&ion had acquired great reputation and
coniiderable influence. Alting Ipent his time in the
Study of the Scriptures, and in the purfuit of Rabbini¬
cal learning} and he delivered a courle of lectures on
divinity, which gained him great popularity. As it
might naturally be expected, a mutual jealoufy arole
between the two profeffors : and their refpetdive par-
tifans in the univeriity carried their animoiity to an un¬
due height. Eftabliflied opinion, and the weight
of authority, marfhalled on the fide of Des Marets.
By the pertniffion of the curators of the univerfity he
appeared as public accufer of Alting, and produced a
long HR of erroneous propofitions to the divines of
Leyden for their opinion. The judgment of the di¬
vines upon the dilpute fliowrs a great degree of modeia-
tion and good fenfe : they pronounced Alting innocent
of herefy, but imprudently fond of innovation j and they
declared Des Marets deficient in modeily and can¬
dour. If the fuperiors had not prohibited the farther
difeuffion of thefe fubjedts in the confiltories, claffes,
and Synods, they would have occafioned as much mif-
chief as they had excited general attention. Such was
the protection given to Alting, that whenever any of
the order of ecclefiaftics propofed any further mea-
fures againll him, they were immediately rejected by
the civil power; nay, the penalty of deprivation was
decreed againit thole clergy who fliould revive the
Marefio-Altingiun controverfy. Whatever might be
the advantages refulting to Alting from this protetfion,
the magiftrates certainly did wrong in proceeding To
far in prohibiting a free difculfion from the piefs, cithei
for or againit 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 {hewed 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 col 1 eTed a fc\v years alter his death, and pubjilli-
ed in five volumes folio, by his coufin Menfo Alting,
who wrote a good delcnption ot the Low Countnes,
under the title of Notitia Germania; Inferior is. ( Gen.
]3iog.)
ALTITUDE, acceffible and inacceffible. See Geo¬
metry.
The method of taking confiderable terreltrial alti¬
tudes, of which thole of mountains are the greatelf, by
means of the barometer, is very cafy and expeditious.
2 ] ALT
It is done by obferving, on the top of the mountain,
how much the mercury has fallen below what it was at
the foot of the mountain. See Barometer. ^
Al titude of the Eye, in PerfpeShve, is a right line
let fall from the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical
plane. _ _
Altitude, in AJlronomy, is the diltance of a flar
or other point, m the mundane Iphere, fiom the ho¬
rizon.
This altitude may be either true or apparent. II it
be taken from the rational or real horizon, tne altitude
is laid to be true or real j if from the apparent or fen-
111)! C horizon, the altitude is apparent. Or rather, the
apparent altitude is fuch as it appears to our obfervation j
and the true is that from which the refraftion has been
fubtradted.
The true altitudes of the fun, fixed liars, 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 fubjcct is further explained under Astro¬
nomy.
Alt it UD1; Ivjlrv ment, or Equal Altitude Injtrumcni,
is that ufed to obferve a celeftiai object when it has the
fame altitude on the call and weft lides ol the meridian.
See Astronomy.
ALTKIRK, a town of France, in the department oi
the Upper Rhine, lituated on the river 111, in N. Lat.
47. 40. E. Long. 7. 15- ' „
ALTMORE, a town of Ireland, in the county oi
Tyrone, and province of Uliler, fituated in N. Lat.
54. 34. w. Long. 7. 2. .
ALTON, a town in Hampfhire, feated on the river
Wey •, W. Long. o. 46. N. Lat. 51. 5. It is govern¬
ed by a con liable •, and confifts of about 300 houfes,
indifferently built, chiefly laid out in one pretty broad
llreet. It has one church, a IVefbyterian, and a Qua¬
ker meeting, a famous free fchool, a large manuiac-
ture of plain and figured baragons, ribbed druggets,
and ferges de Nifmes 5 and round the town is a large
plantation of hops. _ . „ iri .
Alton, or Avelton, a village in otalrordlhire,
five miles north ofUtoxeter. I here are the ruins ol
a callle here, which fome would have to be built before
the Norman conquell ; but Dr ITott is pretty certain
that it was eroded by Theobald de ^ erdun, in the be¬
ginning of the reign of Edward II. A great part ot
the walls are Hill Handing, but they are in a very ruin¬
ous condition. .
ALTO Basso, or in Alto et in Basso, m Lair,
fignifies the abfolute reference of all differences, fmall
and great, high and lowT, to fome arbitrator or indiffer¬
ent perfon. Pa teat univerfis per preefentes, quod // il-
lielmus Tylar de Yctton et Thomas Gower de Almejlrc,
pofuerunt fe in Alto et in Baffo, in orbitrio quatuor ho-
minnm; viz. dc quadam querela pendente inter eos in
curia. -Nos et terram nojlram alte et bafse ipjius donum
Regis fuppofuimus voluntati.
ALTO-Relievo. See Relievo.
ALTO-Repieno, in Mujic, the tenor of the great cho¬
rus, which fings and plays only now and then in lome
particular places. . .
ALTORF, a town of the circle of Franconia, in
Germany.
Altitude
Altorf.
A L V [ 753 ] A L V
Akrii-f Germany. It has a botanical garden, with a great
|| variety ot’ plants, an anatomical theatre, and a hand*
AIva' . fome library. It is ful>jeel to the houfe of Branden¬
burg j and is feated on the confines of Bavaria, 15
miles from Nuremberg. E. Long. 11. 7. N. Lat. 49.
25-
ALT-IIANSTADT, a town in Saxony, famous for
the treaty between Charles XII. king of Sweden and
Auguflus elector of Saxony, in 1706, wherein the latter
refigned'the kingdom of Poland.
ALTRINCHAM, a town of England, in Chefliire,
upon the borders of Lancafhire, fieven miles from Man-
chefter. W. Long. 1. 30. N. Lat, 53. 25.
ALTZEG, a town of Germany, in the Lower Pa¬
latinate, the capital of a territory of the fame name,
with an old caftle. W. Long. 7. 25. N. Lat. 49. 44.
AL\ A DE Tormes, a confiderable town in Spain,
in the kingdom of Leon, and territory of Salamanca,
with a very handfome caltle. It is feated on the north
bank of the river Tormes. W. Long. 6. 1. N. Lat.
41. o.
Alva, Ferdinand Alvarez of Toledo, duke of, was
horn in 1308, and defeended from one of the moll il-
luftrious families in Spain. His grandfather, Frederick
de Toledo, was his preceptor in the military and poli¬
tical arts, and he difplayed his valour at the battle of
Pavia and at the liege of Tunis. The ambitious
Charles \. feledted Alva as a proper initrument for
conducting his military enterprifes, and he made him
his genera] in 1538; and, after feveral operations, in
which he both difplayed his valour and military know¬
ledge, in 1542 he fuccefsfully defended Perpignan a-
gainft the dauphin of France.
In 1546, Alva was made general in chief of the
army which marched againft the German Protellants,
vdio were marflialled under the banners of the elector
of Saxony. Francis, the king of France, died at Ram-
bouillet, and by his death a confiderable change was
made in the Hate 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 Elller. Inceffantly pulli-
ing forward, he arrived the evening of the 23d of
April on the banks of the Elbe, oppolite to Muhl-
berg. The river, at that place, was three hundred
paces in breadth, about four feet in depth ; its current
rapid ; and the bank poffefl'ed 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 eledtor difplayed great per-
fonal courage and military knowledge, but having re¬
ceived a wound in the face, he at la ft furrendered him-
felf prifoner. When he approached the emperor, he
faid, “ The fortune of Avar 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 acknoAvledged to be emperor ; Charles of
Ghent was the only title you lately allowed me. You
ftiall be treated as you deferve.” The eledtor made
no reply; but, with an unaltered countenance, which
dilcovered neither aftonifhment nor dejedlion, accom¬
panied the Spanifli foldiers appointed to guard him.
The emperor proceeded toAvards Wittemberg, whither
Vol. I. Part II.
the remains of the Saxon army had fled, carry ing along
with him the captive prince, as a fpedtacle of coniterna-
tion and amazement to his own fubjedts. But when
he approached the town, he found it defended by the
vigorous efforts of the eledtors wife, along with the in¬
habitants. He fummoned Sibylla once and a fecond
time to open the gates, informing her, that if flie per-
fifted in her obftinacy, the eledtor ihould anfwer for it
with his head. Accordingly he brought his prifoner to
an immediate trial. The proceedings againft him Avere
as irregular as the ftratagem was barbarous. Inllead of
confulting the ftates of the empire, or remitting the
caie to any court, Avhich, according to the German
conilitution, might have legally taken cognizance of
the eledtor’s crime, he fubjedted the greateft prince in
the empire to the jurifdidtion of a court martial. The
emperor feledted the unrelenting duke of Alva as a pro¬
per inftrument to carry into effect any meafure of vio¬
lence and oppreffion, and therefore made him prefident
of that court, compofed of Spanifh and Italian officers.
Moved more by the intreaties of his Avife than by a
fenfe of his oavii danger, the eledtor fubmitted to all the
rigorous and unjuft meafures that Avere propofed in or¬
der to fave his life ; but when it A\ras added, that he
fhould alfo renounce the Proteftant faith and become a
Roman Catholic, he refufed to adt in oppofition to his
conlcicnce, and bravely fell a facrifice to the caufe of
truth.
In 1552, Alva Avas intrufted Avith the command of
the army intended to invade France, and Avas con-
ftrained by the opinion and authority of the emperor
to lay liege to Mentz, in oppofition to his own mili¬
tary knoAvledge •, but notAvithftanding 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 Avas made commander in chief
of all the emperor’s forces in Italy, and at the fame
time invefted with unlimited power. Succefs did not,
however, attend his firft attempts, and after feveral
unfortunate attacks, he Avas obliged to retire into
Avinter quarters. The next year he %vas font into the
pope’s territories, and, had he not been reftrained by
his mafter, he would have taken poffeffion of all his
fortified places, and deterred Henry from entering- in¬
to any iicav connexion Avith him, and have thereby pre¬
vented the renewal of the war. Philip was ftrongly
inclined to peace, but Alva Avas inclined to fevere mea¬
fures : he, however, yielded to the inftruftions of his
mafter, until being deluded, and fometimes haughtily
anfwered, he at length font Pino de Loffredo with a
letter to the college of cardinals, and another to Paul,
in which, after enumerating the various injuries which
his mafter had received, and reneAving his former offers
of peace and friendlhip, he concluded with protefting
that, if his oilers Avere again rejected, the pope fhould
be chargeable Avith all the calamities that might follow.
The pope threAv Loffredo into prifon ; and, had not
the college of cardinals interpofed, he would have even
put him to death ; and on account of Philip’s failing to
pay tribute for Naples, he deprived him of the fove-
reignty of that kingdom. This violent conduct of
Paul gave great offence throughout all Europe, and
greatly leflened his influence in Italy 5 but Philip,
though a young, ambitious, powerful monarch, and of
a temper of mind impatient of injuries and affronts,
5 moved
Alva.
A L V [ 75
moved with a religious veneration, difcovered an ama
zing reluftance agairift proceeding to extremities. Af¬
ter much time fpent in negotiation, Philip was at laid,
forced to give orders for Alva to take the field. He
cheerfully obeyed, and began his march in the begin¬
ning of September 1556, with a well-difciplincd army,
which reducing feveral towns in the Campagna di P10-
ma, 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 forty days, and,
after feveral negociations, he yielded to peace. One of
its terms was, that the duke of Alva fhould in perfon
afk forgivenefs of the haughty pontiff whom he had con¬
quered. Proud as the duke was by nature, and accuf-
tomed to treat with perfons of the highefl dignity, yet
inch was the fuperftitious veneration then entertained
for the papal character, that he confeffed his voice fail¬
ed him at the interview, and his prefence of mind for-
fook him. Not long after this, he was lent at the head
of a fplendid embaffy to Paris, to elpoufe, in the name
of his mafter, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry king of
France.
Philip II. his new mailer, being ftlongly devoted to
I he Roman fee, and determined to reclaim rebels to
his government, and diffenters from his faith, by the
moft unrelenting feverity and unbounded cruelty, he
pitched upon Alva as the fitteft perfon to carry this
lyftem into practice: with this defign, therefore, he
was fent into the Eow Countries in 1567* Having
received his orders, armed with luch power as left only
the fhadow 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 hcVnerited the confidence which his
mailer repofed in him, and inftantly ere&ed a bloody
tribunal to try all perfons who had been engaged in
the late commotions which the civil and the religious
tyranny of Philip had excited, ft he 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 with uncontrolled
fury and cruelty, put multitudes of them to death.
Beholding herfelf deprived of all authority, and her
fubjefts devoted to deftrudtion, the duchefs of Parma
refigned her office, dildaining to hold the nominal,
while the actual reins of power were in the hands of
Alva. This event increafed the general tide of
wretchednefs, and every place was filled with feenes
of horror and difmay. Unable for the prefent to ad-
minifter the leaft aid, the prince of Orange faved his
life by flight. ft'his noble prince fuddenly collected
an army in Germany, and returned to the relief of his
countrymen \ and at the fame time Prince Lewis, his
brother, marched with an army into Friefland. Al¬
though fuccefs at firft attended Lewis, yet the a&ivity
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 fkill of the prince of Orange, this was effedted -,
4 ] A L V
and the glory- remained to Alva to baffle that great
leader, and to compel him, after great lofs of men,
to difband the remainder of his army. Now the cruel¬
ty of Alva had unreilrained vent. Inftantly the exe¬
cutioner was employed in removing all thofe friends
of freedom whom the fword had ipared. Uncontrol¬
led, the baft; and unrelenting heart of Alva began to re¬
duce all the provinces to utter flavery, and to extix-pate
Proteftantifm in that country. In moft of the confi-
derable towns, Alva built citadels. He eredled a
ftatue of himfelf, which was no lefs a monument of his
vanity than his tyranny, in the city of Antwerp : he
was figured trampling on the necks ol two fmaller fta-
tues, reprefenting the two eftates of the Low Coun¬
tries. By his unufual and arbitrary requifition of new
fupplies from the Hates, he greatly aggravated this
haughty infult. ft'he human mind difplays unufual vi¬
gour when rendered defperate by oppreffion. ft'he ex¬
iles from the Low Countries, roufed to a&ion, fitted out
a kind of piratical fleet, and, after ftrengthening tliem-
felves by fuecefsful depredations, ventured upon the bold
exploit of feizing the town of Briel. ft bus, unin¬
tended by him, the cruelty of Alva was the inttrument
of the future independence of the feven Dutch provin¬
ces. ft'he fleet of the exiles having met the Spamfli
fleet, totally defeated it, and reduced North Holland
and Mo ns j and numbers of cities battened to throw oil
the yoke : while the ftates-geneval allembling at Dor¬
drecht, openly declared againft Alva’s government,
and marfhalled under the bannei-s 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 ; he therefore began in vain to uie
more lenient meafures. He prepared, however, with
vigour to oppofe the gathering florin, and afterwards
recovered Mons, Mechlin, and Zutphen, under the
conduct of his fon Frederick, where his foldiers more
than retaliated upon the prince of Orange. M ith the
exception of Zealand and Holland, he regained all the
provinces-j and at laft his fon ftormed M aerden, and,
maflacring its inhabitants with the moft lavage 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 liege j and nothing-
lefs than the inflexible and perfevering ipirit of Alva
could have oppofed difficulties almoft inlurmountable.
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 inhabi-
tahts, overcome with fatigue and refiftance, furrendeied.
The viclorious Frederick gave tolerable conditions to
the town -, but his cruel father arriving on the third day
after the furrender, facrificed numerous victims, who
had been led to expect mercy, and fatiated his ven¬
geance to the full. Their nekt attack was upon Alk-
maar but the fpirit of defperate refiftance was railed
to fuch a height in the breafts of the Hollanders, that
the Spaniffi veterans were repulfed with great lols, and
Frederick conftrained reluaantly 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
irate
Alva.
A L V [7
Alva. ilate of health and continued difafters induced him to
—v""—'1 folicit his recal from the government of the Low Coun¬
tries •, a meafure which, in all probability, was not dif-
pleaflng to Philip, who was now refolved to make trial
of a milder adminiftration. In December 1573, that
devoted country was freed from the prefence and oppref-
fions of the duke of Alva, who, accompanied by his ion,
returning home, gave out the inglorious boait, that he
had, during the courfe of fix years, befides the multi-
tudes^deilroyed in battle and mafl’acred after victory,
configned 18,000 perfons to the executioner. Reque-
fens, who fucceeded him in the command, in his firft
act 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 injuf-
tice and cruelty.
Returning from this feene of oppreffion and blood,
he was treated for fome time with great diftindtion by
his mafter. Jullice, however, loon overtook the crimes
of Alva : for his fon having debauched one of the king’s
attendants, under promife of marriage, he was com¬
mitted to prifon ■, and being aided in his efcape bv his
father, and married by him to a coulin of his own,
this procured Alva’s baniffiment from court, and con¬
finement in the caftle of Uzeda. He remained two
years in this difgraceful fituation, until the fuccefs of
Don Antonio, in alfuming the crown of Portugal, de¬
termined Philip to turn his eyes towards a perfon, in
whofe fidelity and abilities he could on this ocoafion
moil confide. A fecretary was inftantly difpatched to
Alva, to make inquiries concerning the ftate of his
health, and whether 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 Angular fa6l, however, that the enlarge¬
ment and elevation of Alva was not followed by for-
givenefs. It is a charatteriftic mark of the unrelenting
temper of Philip, and, at the fame time, a noble tefti-
mony to the honour and loyalty of Alva, that although
placed in this important trull, he did not procure his
pardon. In 1 ^81, Alva entered Portugal, defeated
Antonio, drove him from the kingdom, and foon re¬
duced the whole under the fubjeclion of Philip. En¬
tering Lifbon, he feized an immenfe treafure; and with
their accuftomed violence and rapacity, he fullered his
foldiers to lack the fuburbs and vicinity. It is report¬
ed, that Alva being requefted to give an account of
the money expended on that occafion, he fternly replied,
“ If the king afks me for an account, I will make him
a ftatement of kingdoms preferved or conquered, of
lignal viftories, 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 lall expedition, for in 1582, at the
age of 75, he was removed by death to the impartial
tribunal of heaven to receive the juft rewards of his ini¬
quitous life,
The a&ions already enumei’ated 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 heft qualities of a commander were
blended with fome of the worft that ever exifted in
a man or in a general. The Spanifli feverity, little
tempered by the fpirit of generofity, appeared in all
55 ] A 1. V
its horrible deformity in Alva. A ftridt impartial dif- Atvg.
cipline was his greatell military virtue, and vanity H
Avas his greateft weaknefs. In confequence of this Alvares.
flritt difeipline, he fometimes punilhed the unlicenfed
barbarities of his foldiers •, and there is an inftance re¬
corded, that Avhen 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 cafe of repetition. (Gen.
Bwg.)
ALVA!!, the Avood wherewith Mofes lAveetened the
Avaters of Marab, Exod. ch. xv. ver. 25.—The name ol
this Avood is not found in Scripture *, but the Mahome¬
tans give it that of alvah, and pretend to trace its hifto-
ry from the patriarchs before the Hood. Jofephus, on
the contrary fays, that Mofes ufed the wood Avhich he
found next lying before him.
ALVARES df. luna, treafurer, and a great fa¬
vourite of John II. king of Call He, Avas famous for the
prodigious afcendency he gained over this prince, and
for the punilhment Avhich at length overtook him. He
Avas a natural fon of Don Alvaro de Luna, lord of
Canete in Aragon, and of a woman of infamous cha-
rafter. He Avas born in 1388, and named Peter ; but
Pope Benedict XIII. who Avas charmed with his Avit
though yet a child, changed Peter to Alvares. He
Avas introduced to court in 1408, and made a gentle¬
man of the bedchamber to King John, Avith whom he
greAV into the higheft favour. In 1427 he Avas obliged
to retire : the courtiers exerted all their endeavours to
ruin him : they complained, that a man of no military
fkill, of no virtues Avhatever, ftiould by mere artifice
•and diffimulation, be advanced to the higheft autho¬
rity ; and they could not bear, that by the affiftance
of a feAV upftart men, Avhom he had railed and fixed
to his intereft, he fhould reign as abfolutely as if he Avere
king.
They prevailed againft him, and Alvares Avas banifli-
ed from court a year and a half: but this Avas the
greateft affliction imaginable to the king •, Avho fliow-
ed all marks of diftrefs the moment he Avas removed
from his prefence, and noAV thought and fpoke of no¬
thing but Alvares. He Avas therefore recalled ; and,
being invefted with his ufual authority, revenged him-
felf feverely upon his enemies, by perfuading the king
to banifli them. Of the 45 years he fpent at court, he
enjoyed for 30 of them fo entire an afcendency 0Arer
the king, that nothing could be done without his ex-
prefs orders : nay, it is related by Mariana, that the
king could not change an officer or fervant, or even his
clothes or diet, Avithout the approbation of Alvares.
In fhort he Avanted nothing to complete his grandeur
but the name of king : he had all the places in the
kingdom at his difpofal; he Avas mafter of the treafury,
and by bounties had fo gained the hearts of the fubjeCls,
that the king, though his eyes were noAV opened, and
his affeCtions fufficiently turned againft him, durft not
complain.
But the day of reckoning was approaching, and at
length he Avas feized; yet not diredtly, openly, and vio¬
lently, but with fome of that management A\diich up¬
on a fimilar occafion Avas formerly employed by Tibe¬
rius againft Sejanus. During his confinement, he made
5 C 2 feveral
A L V [ 756 ] A L V
Alvares, feveral attempts to fpeak to the king in perfon ; but
Alvarez, not being able to effect this, he fent 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 inftruction. “ Sir, It is five
“ and forty years lince 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-
“ pedation, as I ihall not deny. There was but one
“ thing wanting to complete my happinefs ; 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 greatell men, I ftill
“ continued in the employment, which I thought not
“ only my duty, but necelfary for your interelf, I fell
“ into this misfortune. It is very hard that I lliould
“ be deprived of liberty, when I have ritked life and
4‘ fortune more than once to relfore it to you. Grief
“ prevents me from faying more. I know that the
“ Deity is provoked againil me by my fins j but it will
“ be fufficient for me, if his anger is appealed by the
“ calamities I now fuffer. I can no longer bear that
“ prodigious mafs of riches, which it was wrong in
“ me to have heaped together. I fliould willingly
“ refign them, but that every thing I have is in your
“ powrer j and I am denied the opportunity of fhowing
“ mankind, that you have raifed a perfon to the height
“ 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 by 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 rellore them to
“ the perfons 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 effect in his fa¬
vour : Alvares was tried, and condemned to lole his
head. After condemnation, lie was removed to ^ alla-
dolid ; and having eonfeffed himielf, and received the
facrament, he was carried upon a mule to the market¬
place, in the middle of which a large fcaflold was erect¬
ed. Mounting the fcaffold, he paid reverence to the
crofs, and prefently gave his hat and iignet to the page,
laying, “ Thefe are the laft gifts you will ever receive
from me.” He then fubmitted himfell to the axe with
the utmoft intrepidity.
ALVAREZ, Francis, a Portuguefe priefl, and
almoner to Emanuel, king ol Portugal, flourifhed
about the beginning of the 16th century. He was
fent ambaffador from Portugal to David prince of A-
byffinia; and after arefidence of fix years in that coun¬
try, returned with letters of friendfliip 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
1540, he publiflied the relation of his journey in one
volume folio, in the Portuguefe language. He gives
a plain and accurate defcription of this empire •, and we
are indebted to him for the firft ot the kind that ever
was publiflied. This work was tranflated into Latin,
under the title of De Fide, Regione, Moribus Ethio¬
pia)?, by Damien Goez, a Portuguele gentleman j and
2
it has often been reprinted and tranllated into other Alvarez
languages. The information of Alvarez is not, how- j)
ever, to be received with implicit credit, becaufe he Alviano.
does not always fpeak from his own obfervation, and he
frequently exaggerates. ( IJici. Hi/E)
ALUDELS, in the older and more complicated che¬
mical apparatus, were earthen pots without bottoms, in¬
fected into each other, and ufed in fublimations.
ALVEARIUM, in Anatomy, the bottom of the con¬
cha, or hollow of the outer ear.
Alvearium alfo fignifies a bee-hive. The word is
formed of alveus, “ channel or cavity,” in allufion to
the alveoli or cells in bee-hives.
Some of the ancients ul© alfo the word alvearium lor
a bee-houfe, more ufually called among us apiary.
Alvearium is fometimes alfo ufed figuratively, to
denote a colleftiony in which fenfe, alvearium amounts
to much the fame with what we otherwife call thefau-
rus, cornucopia, or the like. Cine. Boreus has pub¬
liflied an alvearium of law.
ALVEOLUS, in Natural Hi/lory, the name of the
waxen cells in bee hives. Alfo the name of a fea foffil
of a conic figure, compofed of a number of cells like
bee-hives, joined into each other with a pipe of commu¬
nication.
Alveolus, in Anatomy:, the fockets in the jaws
wherein the teeth are fixed. Some writers ipeak oi
teeth growing without alveoli. Pliny mentions a per¬
fon who had a tooth in his palate. Euftachius relate®
that he faw a man at 60 who had a tooth growing out
of the middle of his fauces. Haller gives an inliance
of a perfon whole teeth w ere of a piece with his jaws,
without any infection into alveoli.
ALVIANG, Bartholomew, a Venetian gene¬
ral, ilourilhed in the beginning of the 16th century.
His talents were well calculated for the conduct of mi¬
litary affairs, and in the early part of his life, railed
him to great reputation. In the year 1508, he gained
fucli fignal victories over the emperor Maximilian, that
he was decreed triumphal honours by the republic.
During the famous league ©f Venice, he was feeond
in command along with Count Pitigliano. It was,
however, unfavourable to the cauie in which they had
engaged, that the tempers of the two commanders
were very different. The commander in chief was he-
fitating and cautious ; the other was bold and intrepid.
Alviano commanded the rear-guard at the famous
battle of Aignadel, and after dilplaying the greatelt
exertions of valour was wounded, overpowered, and
at lall taken prilbner. An increafing tribute was paid
to the military talents of Alviano j for after the Ve¬
netians had become the allies of France, he was im-
trulled with the command of their army. YV h&n the
emperor attacked Padua, he defended it againil him,
and difplayed numerous acts ol valour in re pul ling the
imperial troops. But the current of human life runs not
equally fmooth on its attendance upon any character •,
for he loll the great battle of La Alette, in which,
however, his exertions were fo confpicuous, that the
ienate gave him the moll honourable allurance ol the
continuance of their eileem. Fortune, however, foon
became propitious to this great man, and he defeated
the enemy in Friuli. In the defperate battle ol Marig-
nana, he afforded iucb timely aid to Francis 1. that
it greatly contributed to his i'uccefs, But the moll vi¬
gorous.
AJviano,
Alum.
ALU [ 757 ] ALU
gorous couftitution mull one day yield to the force of
conllant exertions, and the moll inceflant fatigue j
he had incurred fuch hardfhips in fuperintending the
works at the fiege of Breccia, that he was feized with
a fever, of which he died at the advanced age of 60.
His character Hands high in the annals of military fame.
By a Uriel obfervance of difeipline, and a profufe libe¬
rality to his foldiers, he fecured their elleem. As
an unequivocal proof of this, they kept his body unbu¬
ried twenty-live days, carrying it about with them dur¬
ing their march, with all funeral pomp. His Infs was
deeply regretted by the llate, and, as a proof there¬
of, his body was buried at the public charge, his
unprovided family was fupported by a liberal penlion,
and his daughters were portioned by the llate. ( Gc?i.
Biog.)
ALUM, in Chcmijlry, a clear and tranfparent fa-
line matter, ufually fold in large maffes, of a very an¬
il ere and allringcnt talle, ufeful in medicine and in va¬
rious arts.
Moll 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 1'mall quantity is produced
naturally. This native alum is mixed with heteroge¬
neous matters, or efflorefees in various forms upon the
ores during calcination. It rarely occurs in a cryllal-
iized llate, though thus it is laid to be met with in
1'lgypt, Sardinia, Spain, Bohemia, and other places.
I t is alio found in waters impregnated with fixed airs,
but very feldom in fountains or hot medicated waters-
There are feveral kinds of alum to be met with ;
but thefe difier 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 with in
thrall cryllals, and has a reddifh colour, moll probably
owing to a imall quantity of calx of iron, which, how¬
ever, does not in the leail impair its qualities. The
other kinds of alum contain a portion either of vitriolat-
ed tartar or fal ammoniac, according to the nature of
the alkali ufed in its preparation. Mr Bergman informs
us, that the vegetable alkali, if pure, does not hurt the
alum, though it be added in the preparation 5 but that
the volatile alkali, by adulterating it with a portion of
vitriolic fal ammoniac, renders it unfit for iome purpofes.
The alum, made by adding a portion of clay to the li¬
quor at the beginning of the boiling, he confiders as
equal, if not fuperior to Roman alum. He informs us
alio, that a kind of alum fome time ago began to be ma¬
nufactured at Brunfwick, which was equal in quality to
the Roman alum. On a chemical analyfis of this alum
he found it mixed with cobalt.
Tins fait is exiremely ufeful in the art of dyeing ; as
by means of it a great number of colours are fixed and
rendered permanent upon doth, which otherwife would
either not adhere in any degree, or only for a very
lliort time. In what manner this is accomplilhed, we
are very much ignorant j the conjectures and theories
on this fubjeil are related under the article Dyeing.
Jt conilitutes the bans of crayons, which generally con-
fill ol the earth of alum finely powdered and tinged for
the purpofe. In the preparation of Pruliian blue, it
prevents the balls of martial vitriol, winch is foluble in
acids, from being precipitated by the fuperfluous alkali
employed in the preparation of the pigment; that is, Alum. '
the alkali which is not coloured by the faturating mat- —v ’
ter. As this halls adheres more llrongly 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 fhades. It is alfo of ufe in the making of eaiv-
dles : for, being mixed with the tallow, it gives it a
hardnefs and confillence which it has net naturally.
Wood fuffieiently foaked in a folution of alum does not
eafily take fire ; and the fame is true of paper impreg¬
nated with it; which, for that reafon, is very properly
employed in preferving gunpowder, as it alfo excludes
the moillure of the air. Paper impregnated with alum
is ufeful in whitening filver, and filvering hrafs without
heat. Alum is alfo of ufe in tanning, where it alfifts
in reltoring the cohefion of the Ikins almoll entirely de~
llroyed by the lime. Vintners fine down their wines,
&c. with alum ; filliers ufe it to dry cod filh with 5 and
bakers have mixed it with the flour to make their bread
compadl and white : to this lafl ufe of it great object
tions have been made j but unjuftly, for it is entirely
innocent. It is now feldom ufed.
In medicine it is of confiderable ufe as an allrin-
gent and tonic. It is reckoned particularly ferviceable
for reilraining hemorrhages, and immoderate fecretions
from the blood ; but lefs proper in intellinal fluxes. In
violent hemorrhages, it may be given in. dozes of 1 5
or 20 grains, and repeated every hour or half hour
till the bleeding abates : in other cafes, fmaller doles
are more advifable j large ones are apt to naufeate
the llomach, and occaflon violent eonllipations of the
bowels. It is ufed alfo externally, in allringent and
repellent lotions and eollyria. Burnt alum taken in¬
ternally has been highly extolled in cafes of colic. In
fueh inllances, when taken to the extent of a fcruple
for a dofe, it has been laid gently to move the belly,
and give very great relief from the fevere pain. Its
officinal preparations are, for internal ufe,- pulvisJlypli-
cus, and aqua Jiyptica ; for external applications, the
aqua aluminis, and coagnlum aliimiuis and alumen
vjlum ; which lafl is no other than the alum dried by
lire, or freed from the watery moiflure, which, like
other falts, it always retains in its cryllalline form. By
this lols of its water it becomes fharper, fo as to adl 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.
Alum Mines are faid to have been firfl found in Italy
in the year 1460 ; and in 1406 King Henry VII. made
a monopolizing grant of this commodity to Augnfiin’e
Chigi, a merchant of Sienna. In the year 1608, the
manufacture of alum was firll invented, and fuccefsfully
pra&ifed in England, meeting with great encourage¬
ment in Yorkfhire, where it was firfl made, from Lord
Sheffield, and the other gentlemen of that county.
King James I. by advice of his minillry, affumed the
monopoly of it to himfelf, and therefore prohibited the
importation of foreign alum j and in 1625 the importa¬
tion of it was further prohibited by the proclamation of
Charles 1.
Alum Works, places where alum is prepared, and
manufactured in quantities for fale. They differ from
alunt
A L Y [ 753 ] A L Y
Aluntium alum mines, as in the former an artificial alum, and in Alypius, one of the fevcn Greek writers on mufic,
|| the latter natural alum, is produced. which Meibomius has induftrxoufiy collected and pub-
Alypius. ALUNTIUM, Alontium, in Ancient Geography, lilhed, with a commentary and explanatory notes. The
v a town in the north of Sicily, fituated on a fleep emi- time in which he flouriihed cannot be precifely afeertain-
nence, at the mouth of the thydasy laid to be as old • ed. He is faid to have wrote before Euclid and Ptolemy y
as the war of Troy. It is now in ruins j and from and Calliodorus arranges his work, entitled, “ Introduc-
thefe has arifen the hamlet At Philaddfo, in the ^ al tion to Mufic,” between that of Nicomachus and Gau-
di Demona. The inhabitants were called Haluntini. dentius. In this work is to be found the moll complete
ALVUS, in Anatomy, a term ufed for the belly in nomenclature of all the founds of the different ieales and
general, but more frequently applied to the bowels. modes of the ancient Greek mufic, which have eicapcd
ALWAIDII, a fe£t of Mahometans who believe all the wreck of time. So complex was the fcience of
great crimes'to be unpardonable.—The Alwaidii Hand mufic in Greece at this period, that the charadters ufed
in oppofition to the Morgii. They attribute lefs efli- for founds wrere 1620 in number. The 24 letters oi
cacy to the true belief in the falvation of men than the the alphabet furniihed thefe notes, fometimes in an en-
reft of the Muffulmans. tire, fometimes in a mutilated, and fometimes in an al-
ALYPIUS of Antioch, a geographer of the fourth tered form y and numerous diferiminations of thele took
century. He was fent deputy-governor by the empe- place by means of the accents and varied petitions of
ror Julian into Britain y and after he remained in this letters. ,
iituation for fome time, he received orders from the From the MS. of Jofeph Scaliger, Meurfius firll
emperor to rebuild the temple of Jerufalem. Ammia- publiihed this tradt in 1616 y but according to the te-
nus Marcellinus, the Homan hiftorian, informs us, that Itimony of Fabricius, it is by no means corredl. Ex-
during the progrefs of the work, whilft it was proceed- tracts have been publiflied from Alypius, by Kircher,
ing with great rapidity, huge balls of fire iffued in his Mufurgia, 1650, alleging that he tranflated
forth in the vicinity of the foundations, which inter- the whole into Latin y but this table of ancient mufi-
rupted the men at their labour, and even fometimes cal notation is fo inaccurate, which he has inferted from
confumed them with its violence. Thus the place him, that Meibomius, who confulted not only the Greek
being rendered inacceffible, they were reluctantly MS. of Scaliger, but that of Belejanus, Barocus, Barbe-
conltrained to defill from their undertaking. Hit- ritti, and Selden, affirms, that he found in it more than
ferent fentiments have been entertained of this pheno- 200 errors. The learned Meibomius, with incredible
menon y but the reader may confult for his own fatis- induftry, decyphered thofe characters, which previous to
faCtion, what has been written by Lardner and Gib- his time were fo much confounded, disfigured, and
bon concerning it. In the evening of his life, after corrupted, either through the ignorance or inattention
he had retired from the fervice of the public, Aly- of the tranferibers of ancient MSS. This advantage re-
pius, in conjunction with feveral other perfons, was fulted to the fcience of mufic, chiefly by his commenta-
formally accufed of the crime of praClifing magic. In ries on Greek muficians, and particularly on the works
confequence of which he was puniflied with banifh- of Alypius.
ment and confifcation of property, and Hierocles his Alypius of Tagafta, a Chriftian divine w’ho flou-
fon was condemned to capital punifliment. Ammia- riffied in the fourth century. In the year 388, he was
nus Marcellinus, whilft he mentions that the crime for baptized along with Auguttine, and, in confequence of
which they fullered, was that of adminiftering poifon to a fimilarity of difpofitions and religious fentiments, they
others, at the fame time freely delivers his opinion, became ftrongly attached to each other. In queft of
that they were the victims of the general injuftice and information and improvement, he took a journey into
oppreffion which reigned at that period, and extended Paleftine y and returning home, he foon acquired inch
their fway even to the moil retired habitations. The general efteem, that he w7as appointed biffiop of his
emperor Julian himfelf honoured Alypius with his con- native city. He had adopted in the early part of his
fidence, and fpeaks of him with great refpeCt. “ As life the opinions of the Manichees y but in conie-
to your conduCl in public aftairs (fays the emperor), it quence of farther information and matured experi-
gives me pleafure to obferve the affiduity and humani- ence, he became a powerful advocate for the Catholic
ty which appear in all your tranfaCtions y for fo to tern- faith. The Donatifts flouriflied about this period, and
per lenity and moderation with firmnefs and fortitude, arrogantly claimed the exclufive honour of being the
that the good may experience the benefit of the for- true church y but he, along with his friend Auguftine,
mer, and the bad may be corrected by the latter, re- united his exertions in oppofing the tenets of that left,
quires no fmall fliare of ability and virtue.” Alypius In the council of Carthage in the year 403, the eru-
compofed a geographical work which is laid to have dition and talents of Alypius, along with feveral other
gained the approbation of the emperor, but this work eminent divines, were unfuccefsfully employed in en-
has fhared the fame fate as many other productions of deavouring to reclaim them, and to bring them again
antiquity. Some have aferibed the wrork which God- into the bofom of the church. In 411 Alypius was
frey publiflied under the title of “ A Hefcription of one of the feven wdio held a friendly and theological
the Old World :” printed in 4to, at Geneva, to Aly- conference with feven of the Donatift bifliops. But
plus y but fince that author fpeaks of Britain, not mere- all the eloquence and ftrength of argument made
ly from report, but his own obfervation y this, toge- ufe of by thefe divines, although feconded by the pe-
ther with the teftimony of fome wi iters, leads to the nal decrees of the emperor Honorius, were unluecefs-
conclufion, that this “ Hefcription” is an anonymous ful in producing a recantation of their errors, or a
work, publiflied in the reigns of Conftantius and Con- peaceful union with their brethren. In fupport of the
ftftns. (Gen. Biog.). Catholic faith, Alypius appears to have vigoroufly ex¬
erted
3
A M A [7
Alypius erted his talents ; and it is much to he regi’etted that
]| the means he employed for that purpofe were not at all
Amdr.l.at times the moft 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 againll the fe& of the Pelagians. Although
Alypius failed in his attempts to reclaim the Dona-
tilts from error, yet he was fuccefsful with the em¬
peror in obtaining penal decrees againll the Pelagi¬
ans •, in con Sequence of which their minifters were
banilhed, their churches demolilhed, and their aflem-
blies difcontinued. Alypius died about the year 430,
and his difpolitions appear to have participated more
of the violence of zeal, than of the meeknefs of cha¬
rity. ( Gen. Biog.)
ALYSSUM, Alysson, or Alysoides, Mad wort;
(from uX'js-o-M, to be mad; becaufe it was believed to
have the property of curing madnefs). See Botany
Index.
AL Y FARCFI A, a priell of Antioch in Syria, who,
in the games inllituted 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. 10.
AMA, in ecclefiaftical writers, denotes a vefl'el
wherein wine, water, or the like, were held, for the
fervice of the euchariit. In this fenfe the word is alfo
written amnia : fometimes alfo hama, and hamula.
Ama is fometimes alio ufed for a wine meafure, as a
eafk, pipe, or the like.
AMABYR, a barbarous cuitom which formerly pre¬
vailed in feveral parts of England and Wales, being a
fum of money paid to the lord when a maid was mar¬
ried within his lordfhip. The word is old Britifh, and
fignifies “ the price of virginity.”
AMACK. See Amak.
AMADABAT, a corruption from Ahmed Abad,
or Ahmed's city (fo called from a king of that name) ;
a large and populous city of Indoitan, 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 Guzerat ; and by Shah Jehan nicknamed Gkerd-
ubdd, or “ the habitation of doit,” becaufe it was much
incommoded therewith. It was the feat of the Guze¬
rat kings, as it is now of the Mogul governor. 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 Hone and brick, flanked at certain di-
ftances with great round towers and battlements It has
twelve gates ; and, including the fuburbs, is about four
miles and a half long. The Hreets are wide. The
meyddn Jhdh, or king’s fquare, is 700 paces long, and
400 broad, planted round with trees. On the wefl
fide is the caHle, well walled with freellone, and as
fpacious as a little city } but its inward appearance is
not conformable to its external magnificence. The
caravanlera is on the fouth of the fquare, and its chief
ornament. Near the mevdan alfo is thevking’s palace,
whofe apartments are richly ornamented ; and in the
59 ] AMA
midH of the city is the Englifh factory, where they pur- Amadabat
ebale fine chintz, calicoes, and other Indian merchan- ||
dife. The place is fo full of gardens flored with fruit Amadeus,
trees, that from an eminence it looks like a wood. The v-“~v—'
Hindoos have here an hofpital for fick beaHs, and an¬
other for fick birds, which they take great care of. Ac¬
cording to fome late accounts, this city is little inferior
to the beH 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* I5- 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 j but
there are a great many wafle 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 afpeit.
There is but one tolerable Hreet j and that is where
Huff’s, garments, and the like, are expofed to fale: it
is llraight, long, and wide j and the fhops are very well
furnifhed. I he adjacent parts are fruitful in corn and
rice, infomuch that the neighbouring provinces are fup-
plied from hence. It is laid to enjoy a very falubrious
air j but the cold in winter is intenfe. The Armenians
have a church in this town j but it is a very ill contriv¬
ed Hruclure. The Jews have a fynagogue near a
tomb, where they pretend Either and Mordecai lie in*
terred. lo this place they come in pilgrimage from
feveral parts of the Levant. About a league from
Amadan, there is a mountain called ±S(Ubana, which
abounds with all forts of curious herbs. In the fpring,
people flock to this mountain from all parts to recover
their health, by lucking in the falutary effluvia with
their breath.
Amadan is a very ancient city. It is laid to have
been deHroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and rebuilt by
Darius, who brought hither all his riches. The king:s
of Perfia frequently retired to this place on account of
its delightful fituation \ for which reafon it obtained the
name of the Boyal City. It was conquered by the ca¬
liph Othman, and narrowly efcaped being deHroyed by
Jenghiz Khan in 1220. It luftl then Hrong walls and a
good caHle, which are now in ruins. Its prefent beau¬
ty confiHs in its gardens and fprings.
AMADANAGER, a town in the hither peninfula
of India, in the province of Deoan. E. Long. 74. 15.
N. Lat. 18. xo. It was taken by the Moguls in 1598,
after a liege of fix months-, being at that time defended
by a Hrong cattle, fituated on an eminence, and fur-
rounded with deep ditches, into which feveral fprings
difeharged their waters.
AMADEUS V. count of Savoy, arofe to that dig¬
nity in the year 1285. In him it appeared, that
mental excellence can rife fuperior to riches or extent
of territory j for although his dominions were by no
means extenfive, nor his riches great, yet, in confe-
quence of his wifdom and fuccefs, he obtained the fur-
name of Great. The cautious prudence of Amadeus,
however, enabled him greatly to increafe his territory
by means of marriage, purchafe, and donations. In
this fituation, with extended dominion, and diHinguifli-
ed for wifdom and prudence, he rofe to fuch eminence
among the European powers, that he was conHituted
their umpire to fettle their differences -, and in that Ra¬
tion acquitted himfelf with much reputation and ge¬
neral
A M A
t 76° ]
A M A
Amadeus, neral utility. But in liis charadter valour and ivifdom
y~—1 were combined ; for when the Turks attempted to re¬
take the itle 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 fuccel-
fors, in memory of this lignal victory. The explana¬
tion of this motto is laid to be, FortiUido ejus Rhoditm
tenuit.—“ Ills valour kept Rhodes.” For this im¬
portant fervice the grandmafter 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 fou-in-law, Amadeus took a
journey to Avignon to perfuade Rope John XXII. to
preach a crufade in favour of Andronicus. In the
year 13 23 the famous Amadeus died at that place.
j)eep penetration, keen difcernment, confummate pru¬
dence, great valour, together with no fmall portion of
the religious luperftition of his time, appear to have
been the reigning features in his character. (Mod.
Univ. Hijl.).
Amadeus VIII. count of Savoy, in 1391, fucceed-
ed his father Amadeus VII. With the large fum of
45,000 florins of gold he purchafed the country of
Genevois from its fail 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 io illuftri-
ous that the emperor Sigifmund eredled Savoy into a
duchy in the year 1426. Hiflorians relate, that he
aflifled John Faleologus againfl 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 leveral other eflates, but fubmit-
ted to hold all the marquifate of Montferrat as a fief
from the houfe of Savoy. Tbefe fortunate acquifitions
of territory \\ere not yet limited } for upon the mar¬
riage of his daughter with Philip Maria, duke of Mi¬
lan, he received ^ efcelli, and about the fame time the
count of Crefcentino fubmitted to become his feo-
dary. In his ambitious •pnrfuit, he laid claim to the
fovereignty of the city of Geneva 5 but that claim,
though enforced by the pope, was rejected by the
citizens with difdain, and the emperor Sigifmund
taking it under his protection, declared it an imperial
city. After fuch an extenfive acquifition of dominion,
and amafling fuch fums of money, he formed the lin¬
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 £lavoy to his e'ldeft fon Lewis, and made
his youngefl fon Philip, count of Genevois; yet their
honours were merely nominal, for lie conflrained them
to live on a very fcanty allowance, while he in his
retirement received all the revenues, and colledted
fuch fums of money, that he is faid to have purchafed
the papal honours. During the previous part of his
life, having adopted great fandtity of manners, the mo¬
tives for his retirement were generally reckoned reli¬
gious $ but what was the aftonifhment 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 lituation of the place was truly
delightful, and was enriched with every thing that
could afford gratification to the fenfes and his reti- Amadeus.
nue confiiled of fome of his moll intimate friends, along 1 
with 20 faithful fervants, who were the guardians ot
his voluptuous fecrets. Neither did he affume a religi¬
ous habit, but wore purple robes, and upon his mantle
was embroidered a golden crofs. His table groaneu un¬
der the weight of luxurious dainties, and the moil ex¬
cellent mulic cheered the daily feail ; in fliort, fuch was
the voluptuoufnels of that place, that in the I rench
language the phrafejjfoj/r ripuilleSy iignifies to make
exquifite good cheer.
He inllitiited a locular knighthood in that place un¬
der the appellation of St Maurice. The brethren ai-
fumed the name of hermits, wore beards, and excluded
women from their community ; and in other reipects
compofed the character of decent epicures.
When he obtained the papal dignity, and was
crowned by the cardinal of Arles at Bah!, all Europe
was filled with aftonifliment in confequence of his ele¬
vation •, for he had never entered into holy orders.
But he had found means to remove every objection,
the council confirmed fiis election, and with pretend¬
ed reluctance he put on his pontifical ornaments,
and was confecrated in the church ol St Maurice.
It feemed good to Amadeus to aflume the title of
Felix V. As might naturally be expe&ed in fuch
circumftances, the papal dignity was feverely con-
tefted between him and Eugenius; and notwithlland-
ing all the importunities of the council, the emperor
refufed to acknowledge his elevation. 1 his religi¬
ous difpute involved all Europe in contention. Hi-
florians relate that Germany remained neutral, and
France, England, Italy, Spain, and Hungary, decla¬
red for Eugenius } hut Arragon, Poland, and Bretagne,
recognized the council only j ut the lame time that
Savoy, Switzerland, Bafil, Strail)urg, Pomerania, and
one of the duchies of Bavaria, recognized Felix. The
emperor Frederick IIP. held a council at Frank¬
fort, before which both the popes urged their refpec-
tive rights by means of deputies. rIhis attempt, how¬
ever, to regain peace to Europe was unluccelsful;
therefore the emperor repaired to the vicinity oi Bafil,
and had a perfonal interview with Felix. The mind ot
Amadeus w as now lo confirmed in the enjoyment of
pleafure, that he had again returned to his favourite re¬
treat ; 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 contell, Eugenius had
excommunicated Felix, the council, and feveral of the
German princes, fo that the whole church was then
filled with confufion and diforder. The death ol Eu¬
genius, however, terminated the llruggle) for upon his
death the cardinals at Rome ele&ed Thomas de Sar-
zan, who affumed the name ot Nicholas "V. In this
fituation of affairs, Amadeus deemed it prudent to en¬
ter into a negociation for the refignation of his pa¬
pal crown. In this tranfaction he difplayed the pro-
foundeft policy and addrefs, which induced Nicho¬
las to annul all that Eugenius had done to his dif-
honour, or that of his alfociates; to confirm the de¬
termination of the council of Bafil to appoint him per¬
petual apoftolical 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,
Strafburg,
A M A [ 761 ] A M A
Amadcas Strafburg and Conftance. Nor did his vanity forfake
|| ' him even in this political tranl'aclion, for he provided
Amadow. ^ l|]a^ !ie fliould continue to wear the pontifical drcfis
unlefs in a very few particulars. In order to gratify
the fame haughty diipofition, he ftipulated that he fhould
not be obliged to go to Home to attend any general
council •, and that when he iiad occalion to approach
the pope, he fliould rife to receive him, and initead of
killing his toe, he fliould be permitted to kifs 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 memora¬
ble events, fo the character of Amadeus was one of
the moll dillkiguiflied of his time. The verfatility of
his genius has led writers to dilfer in the delineation of
his character. Some have reprefented him as a perfon
of lingular fanftity of manners, and pofi’efi'ed of uncom¬
mon moderation and virtue j otiiers have reprefented
hhfl as a confirmed bigot, and a violent enthuliall ; and
- a third clafs of authors have magnified his talents far
above the general llandard, and extolled him as one of
the moll accomplished princes in Europe. His real
character appears to be a compound of extravagancies,
in which virtue, genius, caprice, and vanity, were
blended. (Mod. Univ.
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
fubjedts, is worthy of more fame than the prince who
increafes the number of his fubjects by unjull and un-
neceffary wars. In this view' Amadeus IX. deferves a
place in the annals of his nation. His bodily conllitu-
tion was weak, and he was afflidted with the falling-
licknefs, yet, in confequence of his piety, virtue, bene¬
volence, and jullice, he was furnanied the Happy.
The clemency of his temper was fuch that he readily
pardoned thole who offended him, and in few inftances
was he induced to punifli. In his character, however,
the virtue of benevolence flione with peculiar fplendour
among the other virtues of the Chrillian. A foreign
miniiler one day ufed the freedom to inquire at Ama¬
deus, if he kept any hounds. The duke replied, “ a
great number, and you fliall fee them to-morrow at
noon.” The miniiler attended at that hour in expec¬
tation of feeing a numerous pack of hounds j 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 generoufly replied, “ Here
is the collar of my order, let them fell it and relieve
my people.” In the feventli year of his reign, and the
thirty-feventh of his life, he died univerfally lamented
bv all his loyal fubjecls, in the year 1472. In high
eileem for his virtuous qualities, his fubjedts conferred
on him the appellation of The Blcjfed. (Mod. Univ.
Hi/i.)
AMADIA, a trading town of Afia, in Curdillan,
belonging to the Turks •, featcd on a high mountain.
£. 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.
of a fort of large muflirooms or fpongy excrefcences, Amadow
which commonly grow on old trees, efpecially oaks, ||
alii, and firs. This fubftance being boiled in common .Amalaru:.
water, and afterwards dried and well beaten, is then *
put into a ilrong ley prepared with faltpetre, after
which it is again put to dry in an oven. The drug-
gills fell this match wholefale in France, and feveral
hawkers retail it. Some give to the amadow the name
oipyrotechnicalJponge, becaufe of its aptnefs to take,
fire.
AMADOW RY, a kind of cotton which comes from
Alexandria by the way of Marfeilles.
AMAIN, in the lea language, a term importing to
lower fomething at once. Thus, to Jh ike amain, is to
lower or let fall the topfails ; to wave amain, is to make
a lignal, by waving a drawn fword, or the like, as a de¬
mand that the enemy ilrike their topfails.
AMAiv, a fmall illand in the Baltic fea, near Co¬
penhagen, from which it is feparated by a canal over
which there is a drawbridge. Amak is about four
miles long and two broad 5 and is chiefly peopled by
the delcendants of a colony from Fail Frielland, to
whom the illand was configned by Chrillian II. at the
requell of his wife Elizabeth, filler of Charles V. for
the purpofe of fupplying her with vegetables, cheefe,
and butter. From the intermarriages of thefe colonills
with the Danes, the prefent inhabitants are chiefly de-
feended 5 but as they wear their own drefs, and enjoy
peculiar privileges, they appear a dillincl race from
the natives. The illand contains about fix villages,
and between 3000 and 4000 fouls. It has two churches,
in which the miniflers preach occafionaliy in Dutch
and Danilh. The inhabitants have their own inferior
tribunals •, 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 when they
firil migrated to the illand, is Hill in ufe amongll them.
It refembles the habit of the ancient Quakers, as repre¬
fented in the pictures of the Dutch and Flemilli paint¬
ers. The men wear broad-brimmed hats, black jac¬
kets, full glazed breeches of the fame colour, looie at
the knee, and tied round the waill. The women are
drefled chiefly in black jackets and petticoats, with
a piece of blue glazed cloth hound on their heads. The
illand is laid out in gardens and pailures; and Hill, ac¬
cording to the original delign, fupplies Copenhagen
with milk, butter, and vegetables. E. Long. 12. 10.
N. Lat. 55. 20.
AMAL, 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 when an in¬
fant, he would have been bereft of his crown, had not
his grandfather Theodoric king of the Oflrogoths 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-
S I) rians
A M A [ 762 ] A M A
Aunilaiic, rians relate, that the king being violently attached to
AmaWon- ^]le ^rian caufe, ufed means to compel his queen to
^7 . embrace the fame opinions j which participated more of
cruelty than piety. W xth all the lirmnels of a great
mind, and the amiable patience of a Chriftian, fhe en¬
dured her wrongs for a eonliderable period j but at
length, worn out with injurious treatment, ihe was for¬
ced to apply to her brothers for afliftanee, and fent
them a handkerchief ftained with her blood in proof of
her cruel ufage. In order to relieve their filler, one
of them, Childebert king of Paris, entered the territories
of Amalaric, who then refided with his court at Nar-
bonne } and their different forces having joined battle,
the troops of Amalaric were totally defeated, and the
king himfelf forced to fave his life by flying into Spain,
A. I). 531. It is reported that, when endeavouring to
regain Narbonne, lie was {lain either by an affaffin, em¬
ployed bv Theudis his fucceffor, or that he fell in battle.
Some hiftorians again fay, that he died in Barcelona.
( Gc??. Biog.)
AMALASONTHA, youngeft daughter ol Theo-
doric the Great, king of the Qilrogoths, was born about
the year 498. The filler of Clovis was her mother,
and in 515, Ihe married Eutharic the only remaining
heir of the legal race ol the Amali. Her lather hav¬
ing formed the delign of making him his fuccellor, he
fent to bring him from Spain for that purpofe. But he
never arrived at the deftmed honour , lor Eutharic died
previous to his father-in-law, and his only fon Athala-
ric, was alfo bereft of his grandfather at the age^ of
eight years. The well known abilities of Amalaion-
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 5 and her father had been exceedingly
careful to improve thefe natural endowments by means
of a liberal education. She became a great proficient
in the philofophy and morals of that age, and with
equal elegance and grace fhe could converfe in the
Greek, Latin, and Gothic languages. Nor were her
talents merely qualified to adorn private life : fhe dil-
played them in the adminillration ol public jullice, and
political difeuffion. Her firll efforts were in behalf of
the injured children of Boethius and Symmachus, whom
Ihe reinllated in the poffeffion of their inheritance.
When the chiefs of the Goths were llrongly inclined to
treat the Romans as a conquered people, fhe mildly re-
ftrained their violent oppreffion and their ungovernable
rapacity. Adorning the female charadter, Ihe relieved
her fubjedts from fome of the feverer impofitions of her
father } but carefully retained all his laws, magiilrates,
and political inllitutions. Having herfelf tailed of the
fweets of literature, and experienced its advantages,
Ihe patronized learning with an affiduous care, by
regularly paying the falaries 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-
radter. Both with the imperial court, and with all the
other powers, Ihe lived upon agreeable terms, and thus
univerfal honour and profperity prevailed. Both in
confequence of maternal aftedlion and the high cultiva¬
tion of her mind, Ihe exerted all her ingenuity in the
education of her orphan fon. Unfortunately, however,
both for the mother and the fon, neither the general AniaIafon>-
charadter of the Gothic nation, nor the wayward inch- tlia,
nations of the boy, feconded her laudable endeavours. Amalek.
The Gothic nobles had jull commenced their murmur- v
ings again 11 the loft effeminate manner in which their
prince was educating, when, upon a certain day, the
youth having undergone fome kind maternal challife-
ment, rufhed into the room where iome ol the nobles
were affembled with the tears ftreaming from his eyes.
Informed of the caufe ol his diftrefs, the wrath ol the
nobles fuddenly arofe, and in a violent buril ol paflion
they infilled upon the immediate releafe of their prince
from the bondage of learning and from the reilraints ol
a mother.. The unfortunate youth was thus dragged
from the habitation of learning, prudence, and virtue •,
and plunged into all the extravagancies of diflolute
pleafure, and his mind infpired with contempt and aver-
lion to his virtuous mother.
It was impoflible for humanity to bear this infult and'
high injury without oppofition y therefore, in the firll
effufions of her refentment Ihe leized three ol the prin¬
cipal perfons concerned in this tranfadtion, and confin¬
ed them in one of the remoteil parts ol Italy. But the
efforts of one or of a few individuals, are never ade¬
quate to the talk of counteracting the general eflorta
of a nation, for the party whole fentiments were op-
pofed to hers, grew daily in magnitude and llrength,
to fuch a degree that Amalafontha formed ferious reio-
lutions of Iheltering herfelf under the protection oi
Jultinian. After a correfpondence had been carried on
to prepare for tins event, and when fhe wras about to
fail for that place, fhe determined to make one bold
effort to regain her abfolute power. With this view
Ihe caufed the three perfons who were in Gonfinement
to be fecretly aflaflinated ; and this adion re-ellablilh-
ed her authority, although it augmented the public
hatred. But another caufe of dilquiet foon arofe. At
the early age of fixteen, her fon fell a victim to his
debaucheries and lollies, and Ihe was left devoid ol any
legal claim to the crown. The accomplilhed and am¬
bitious Amalafontha fpurned the idea ol retiring to a
private Ration, and formed the bold defign ol ihar-
ing the throne with Theodotus her coulin. She had
fufficient penetration to perceive that the difpofitions of
that youth wrere indolent and w7eak, and conlequently
Ihe hoped Hill to remain at the helm of government. But
the future fortune of that accomplilhed woman, demon-
llrates to pollerity the danger ol confiding in human
weaknefs, where the principles ot honour and jullice
and virtue are wanting. rl heodotus iffued an order
for her confinement in an illand in the lake Bollena ; and
in the year 535 Hie was llrangled in the bath. Some
hillonans aferibe this aCtion to the influence of the em-
prefs Theodora,, who was feized with jealoufy in con¬
fequence of the refpeCt Ihown her by Juilinian. (Ge«.
Biog.}
AMALEK, the fon of Eliphaz, by Tirana Ins con¬
cubine, and the grandfon ol Elau, Gen. xxxvi. 12. and
x Chr. i. 36. Amalek fucceeded Gatam in the govern¬
ment of Edom. He was the lather of the Amalekites.
a powerful people who dwelt in Arabia Betrsea, be¬
tween the Head lea and the Red lea, or between Ha-
vila and Shur (1 Sam. xv. y.) 5 lometimes in one can¬
ton and fometimes in another. It does not appear that
A M A t 763 ] A M A
Amalek. they iiad cities j for there is no mention of any but one
 y—' in the Scriptures (/V/. ib. 5.) ; they lived generally in
hamlets, caves, or tents.
The Ifraelites had fcarcely paffed the Red fea on
their way to the wildernefs, before the Amalekites came
to attack them in the deferts of llephidim (Exod. 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 upon this people; to record the aft of inhumanity
which they had committed in a hook, in order to have
it always before their eyes; and to revenge it in the
moft remarkable manner. Jolhua therefore fell upon
the Amalekites and defeated them, while Mofes was
upon the mountain, with Aaron and llur in companv.
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 Moies’s hands being tired, Aaron and Hur fup-
ported his arms, and held them extended while the
battle lafted, which was from the morning till the ap¬
proach of night, when the Amalekites were cut in
pieces. This happened in the year of the world 2513,
before Chritl 1491.
The ground of the enmity of the Amalekites a gain it
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-
fmg. 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 exceffive drought they laboured under, was an
inhuman aftion, and juilly 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 deiign to opprefs Ifrael; but Ehud delivered
the Ifraelites from Eglon king of the Moabites (Judg.
iii>), and Gideon (chap, viii.) delivered them from the
Midianites and Amalekites. About the year of the
world 2930, Saul marched againll the Amalekites,
advanced as far as their capital, and put all the people
of the country to the fword ; but fpared the heft of all
the cattle and moveables, contrary to a divine com¬
mand ; which aft of difobedience was the caufe of
Saul’s future misfortunes.
After this war, the Amalekites fcarcely appear any
more in hillory. However, about the year of the
world 2949, a troop of Amalekites came and pillaged
Ziklag, which belonged to David (1 Sam. xxx.),
where he had left his two wives, Ahinoam and Abi¬
gail •, hut he returning from an expedition which he
had made in the company of Achifh into the valley of
Jezreel, 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 j 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, lliould be the father of a
people lo powerful and numerous as the Amalekites
were when the liraelites departed out of Egypt. Mofes
in the hook of Genefis (xiv. 7.) relates that in Abra¬
ham’s time, long before the birth of Amalek, the fon
of Eliphaz, the live confederate kings carried the wdl* Amaleft
into Amalek’s country, about Kadelli; and into that of Amalfi.
the Amorites, about Hazezon-tamar. The fame Mo-   
fes (Num. xxiv. 20.) relates, that the diviner Balaam,
obferving at a dillance the land of Amalek, laid in his
prophetic llyle, “ Amalek is the firft, the head, the o-
riginal of the nations ; but his latter end fhall be, that
he perilh for ever.” Our commentator obferves, that
this epithet of the firft of nations cannot certainly a-
gree with the Amalekites deleended from the fon of
Eliphaz, becaule 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 defeend-
ed from Efau 5 in which cale they had been the bre¬
thren of the Ifraelites. Laftly, we fee the Amalekites
almoft alwaysjoined in the Scripture with the C'anaan-
ites and Philiftines, and never with the Edomites ; and
when Saul made war upon the Amalekites, and almoft
utterly deftroyed them, we do not find that the Edom¬
ites made the leaft motion towards their affiftance, nor
to revenge them afterwards. Thence it is thought pro¬
bable, that the Amalekites, who are fo often mentioned -
in Scripture, were a free people defeended from Ca¬
naan, and devoted to the curie 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 ot Saul. This tribe contained only
the Arabians who are called Pure; the remains where
of were mingled with the pofterity of Joktan and Ad-
nan, and lo became Mofarahes or Moftaarabesj that is
to lay, Arabians blended with 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 Jofhua’s tune were of
the fame race. That at laft part of the Amalekites re¬
tired into Africa while Jofliua wras yet living, and fet¬
tled upon the coafts of Barbary, along the Mediterra¬
nean fea. The fon of Amalek was Ad, a celebrated
prince among the Arabians. Some make him the fon
of Uz, and grand ion of Aram the fon of Shem. Let
this be as it will, the Mahometans fay that Ad w7as the
lather of an Arabian tribe called Adites ; who wTere ex¬
terminated, as they tell us, for not hearkening to the
patriarch Eber, who preached the unity of God to
them. Ad had two Ions, Schedad and Schedid.
AMALFI, an ancient city of Italy, lituated in E.
Long. 15. 20. N. Lat. 40. 35. It is faid to have de¬
rived its origin from a number of Roman families, who,
about the middle of the fourth century, either from
private views of emolument, or in confequence of com-
pulfory orders from the emperor, had left Rome, and
embarked for Conftantinople; but meeting with ftorms
on their paffage, were call awTay on the fliores of Sa¬
lerno, and deprived of the means of purfuing their
voyage. In this Hate of perplexity they long remain¬
ed 5 but at laft came to the refolution of fettling on the
prefent fite of Amalfi, where they expefted to enjoy
lecurity, and fufficient plenty of the neceflaries of life.
The earlieft notice of them in this fettlement dates no
higher than the latter end of the fixth century. Im-
5 ^ ? pervious
A M A [ 764 ]
Amalfi, pervious mountains and inacceflible coafts preferved and, after
■ v ' their infant ftate from the firft fury of the Lombards,
who leldom attempted the conqueft of a maritime
people.
In the year 825, when this little republic had, under
the patronage of the eallern emperors, attained a degree
of wealth and reputation fufficient to excite the ambi¬
tion of its neighbours, Sico, prince of Salerno, marched
a body of troops by night, furprifed Amalfi, and car¬
rying off the greatell part of the inhabitants, compelled
them to fix at Salerno, which had lately luffered a great
lofs of people by an epidemical diforder. But before
the fourth year of their captivity was expired, the A-
malfitans took advantage of the abfence of the Salerni¬
tan chiefs, who were then carrying on a war with the
Beneventans 5 armed themfelves •, and, after burning
and plundering Salerno, marched in triumph back to
their own country. >
Here they framed a better fyftem of government,
and reformed many abufes in their former legillation j
adopting various meafures that Avere likely to promote
internal concord, and defeat the evil intentions of fo¬
reign enemies. Their firft plan was to veft the iupreme
authority in a temporary prefect ; but the experience
of a few years caufed them to prefer lodging that power
in the hands of a duke ele&cd 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 eaftward from Vico
Vecchio, and weftward to the promontory of Minerva,
including like wife the ifland 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 ', toivards the iouth, thofc of Scala,
Ravelli, Minori, Majuri, Atrani, Tramonti, Agenda,
Citara, Praiano, and Rofilano.
Leo IV. found the Amalfitans an ufeful ally in his
wars Avith the Infidels, and honoured the common¬
wealth Avith the title of Defender of the Faith. The
Neapolitans, Avith whom, as Greek vaffals, they were
united in ftrid bonds of friendfhip, experienced many
fignal favours at their hands *, and the Muffulmans
themfelves found it expedient to court their alliance,
and to enter into treaty Avith them. Their fituation
had from the beginning given them a turn to commerce,
and their attention to naval affairs lb much confequence
in the eyes of their protestor, the emperor of Conftan-
tinople, that by his orders a court was eftablifhed at
Amalfi, for the decifion of all controverfies arifing in
maritime tranfaftions. Its code and reports became the
general rule in thole cafes throughout this part of Eu¬
rope •, its precedents and decrees were allowed to be
good authority to found judgment upon even in foreign
tribunals. To croivn the mercantile and naval glory
of the republic, it was referved to the lot of an Amal-
fitan to make, or at leaft to perfect, the moll import¬
ant difeovery ever made for the improvement of navi¬
gation. Pafitano, a village which ftands on the fhore a
few miles Aveft of Amalfi, boalls of having given birth
to Flavius Gioia, the inventor of the mariner’s com-
pafs.
The merchants of this toAvn engroffed the trade of
the Levant, and tranfa&ed the commercial bufinefs ot
the Avorld in a lucrative and exclulive manner i he
Pifans, Venetians, and Genoefe, role upon their ruin }
Amaltkea.
A M A
monopolizing the emoluments of trade for Amalfi'
fome ages, made Avay for the more comprehenfn'e and
daring fpirit of the prefent maritime poAvers.
At prefent Amalfi is fubjebt to Naples, and is the
fee of an archbilhop. It is but a lhadow of what it
was in its flourilhing Hate, when it extended over the
ftupemlous rocks that bang on each fide, Hill croAvned
Avith battlemented Avails and ruined toAvers. Its build¬
ings, Mr Swinburne fays, are not remarkable for ele¬
gance or fize} and contain at molt 40^0 inhabitants,
Avho feem to be in a poor line ol life. Hie cathedral
is an uncouth building. Under the choir is the cha¬
pel and tomb of the apoftle St AndreAV} to wdiofe
honour the edifice AAras dedicated, when Cardinal
Capuano, in 1208, brought his body from Conftanti-
nople.
AMALGAM, mercury united Avith lome metal.
AMALGAMATION, the operation of making an
amalgam, or mixing mercury with any metal.
For the combination of one metal Avith another, it
is generally fufficient that one of them he in a ftate ol
fluidity. Mercury being ahvays fluid, is therefore ca¬
pable of amalgamation Avith other metals without heat 5
neverthelefs, heat confiderably facilitates the opera¬
tion.
To amalgamate Avithout heat requires nothing more
than rubbing the two metals together in a mortar j
but the metal to be united Avith the mercury fhould be
previoufly divided into very thin plates or grains.
When beat is uled (Avhich is alAA'ays moft eficdlual, and
Avith fome metals mdifpenfably necefiary), the mercury
fhould be heated till it begins to fmoke, and the
grains of metal made red hot before tiiey are throAvn
into it. If it be gold or filver, it is fufficient to ftir the
fluid Avith an iron rod lor a little while, and then throw
it into a A'effel filled with water, ft his amalgam is uft d
for gilding or filvering on copper, Avhich is alterAvards
expofed to a degree ot heat iufficient to evaporate the
mercury.
Amalgamation with lead or tin is effected by pouring
an equal Aveight of mercury into either cl theie metals
in a ftate of fufion, and ftirring with an iron rod.
Copper amalgamates Avith great difficulty, and iron not
at all.
AM ALTHAEA, the name of the Cumaean Sibyl,
who offered to Tarquimus Superbus nine books, con¬
taining the Roman deftimes, and demanded 300 pieces
of gold for them. He derided her-, whereupon fhe
threw three of them into the fire ; and returning, afked
the lame price for the other iix} Avhich being denied,
fhe burnt three more: and returned, Hill demanding
the fame price. Upon which ft'arqnin conftiltmg the
pontiffs, was advifed to buy them, ihei’e books were
in fuch efteem, that tAvo magiftrates Avere created to
confult them upon extraordinary occafions.
AmalTHjEA, in Pagan Mythology, the daughter of
Meliffus, king of Crete, and the mirfe of Jupiter, whom
Hie fed Avith goats milk and honey. According to
others, Amalthaea was a goat, Avhich Jupiter tranflated
into the fky, with her two kids, and gave one ol her
horns to the daugliters of MeliIIus, as a reward for die
pains they had taken in attending him. Tins horn had
the peculiar property ot lurnifhing them Avitb Avbatever
they Avilhed for j and Avas thence called the cornucojrice,
or horn of plenty. AMAL'UI-EUS,
A M A l 765 l A M A
Amaltliseus AMALTH/EUS, Jerome, John Baptista, and
|| Corneille, three celebrated Latin poets of Italy, who
t Amand. flonrifked in the 16th century. Their compolitions were
v printed at Amllerdam in 1685. One of the prettieft
pieces in that collection is an epigram on two children,
whole beauty was very extraordinary, though each of
th em was deprived of an eye :
Limine Aeon clextro, capta eji Leonilla JiniJlro :
Kt potcratforma vinccre uterque ILt os.
P arve puer, lumen quod habes concede forori;
Sic tu ccecus Amor,fic erit ilia Venus.
AMAMA, Sixtinus, profeflbr of the Hebrew
tongue in the univerfity of Franeker, a man of great
learning, was born in Friefland, and had Itudied under
Drufius. He publillied a criticifm upon the tranflation
of the Pentateuch *, collated the Dutch tranllation of
the Bible with the original and the moll accurate trani-
lations j and wrote a cenfure of the Vulgate tranflation
of the hiftorical books of the Old Teftament, Job, the
Pfalms, and Canticles. It is impoffible to anfwer the
reafons whereby he fliows the neceffity of confulting
the originals. This he recommended fo earneftly,
that fome fynods, being influenced by his reafons, de¬
creed, that none fhould be admitted into the mini-
itry, but Inch as had a competent knowledge of the He¬
brew and Greek text of the Scriptures. 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, Mark 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 Ihips in the fervice of Elizabeth queen of
England for 22 years, and that he was for three years
pril'oner in the Black Tower at Conflantinople. He
mentions alfo that twro brothers of his had been killed
in an engagement againft the Turks. His own life
was fpent in a continual facceffion of travels, which
was of no advantage to his fortune. There are mifcel-
laneous poems of this author, the greatell part of which
are of the comic or burlefque, and the amorous kind.
Though there are many blemifhes in his poems, yet he
had the talent of reading them in fo agreeable a man¬
ner, that every one was charmed with them. Jn 1650,
he publillied Stances fur la groffljfe dc la reiite de Po-
logne et de Suede. There are fix dan/.as of nine verfes
each. In 1693, he printed his Moifc j'auvc, idijle hc-
roique. This poem had at firll many admirers 5 M.
Chapelein called it a [peaking piclure ; but it has fince
fallen into contempt. Amand wrote alfo a very de¬
vout piece, entitled, Stances a M. Corneille, fur fun
Imitation de Jefus Chrijl, which was printed at Paris in
1656. M. Broflette fays, that he wrote alfo a poem
upon the moon, wherein he paid a compliment to
Lewis XI\ . upon his Ikill in fwimming, in which he
ufed often to exercife himfelf when he was young, in
the river Seine 5 but the king could not bear this poem
to be read to him, which is fald to have afiected the
author to fucb a degree, that he did not fuTvive it long.
He died in 166r, being 67 years ol age. He was ad¬
mitted a member of the French academy, when it was
firll founded by Cardinal Richelieu, in the year 16335
and Mr Peliffon informs us, that in 1637, at his own
defire, he was excufed from the obligation of making a
fpeech in his torn, on condition that he would compile
the comic part of the dictionary •which the academy had
undertaken, andcolledt the burlefque terms. This was
a talk well fuited to him 5 for it appears by his writ¬
ings, that he was extremely converfarit in thefe terms,
of which he feems to have made a complete collodion
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, leated 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 magillracy. It was given to France by the treaty
of Utrecht. E. Long. 2. 35. N. Lat. 50. 27,
AMANICvE pYL/E (Ptolemy) 5 Amanides Py~
lac (Strabo) 5 Amani Porta: (Pliny) 5 llraits or
denies in Mount Amanus, through which Darius en¬
tered Cilicia ; at a greater dillance from the fea than
the Pylte Cilicia: or Syriae, through which Alexander
palled.
AM ANTE A, a fea-port town and hillxop’s fee of
the kingdom of Naples, lituated 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 5 a branch of Mount Taurus (Cicero, Strabo,
Pliny) 5 extending chiefly eallward, from the fea of Ci¬
licia to the Euphrates : Now called Monte Negro, or
rather Montagna Neres, by the inhabitants 5 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, Jnftituted
in Sweden by Queen Chriftina, in 1653, ^ie clofe
of an annual feall, celebrated in that country, called
V irtfehaft. This feall was folemnized with entertain¬
ments, halls, 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 {\\efcaf of the gods, in regard each per (bn 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 ihepherds, ferved the gods at the table.
At the end of the feaft, the queen threw oft her habit,
which was covered with diamonds, leaving it to be
pulled in pieces by the mafques ; and in memory of io
gallant a feaft, founded a military order, called in Swe-
diih Gefchilfchaffl, into which all that had been prefent
at the feaft were admitted, including 16 lords and as
many ladies, befides the queen. Their device was the
cypher of Amarante, compofed of two A’s, the one
eredl, the other inverted, and interwoven together 5 the
whole enelofed by a laurel crown, with this motto,
Dolce nella memoria.
Amand
II
Amarante,
’ v — J
Bulftrode
A M A [ 766 ] A M A
Amanmte Bulftrode Whitlock, the Englifli ambaffador from
II Cromwell to the court of Sweden was made a knight
Amafis. 0f tjie or(ler 0f Amarante: on which account it feenis
' ' v to be, that we fometimes find him fliled Sir Buljlrotle
Whitlock.
AMARANTHOIDES, m Botany, the trivial name
of a fpecies of illecebrum. See Illecebrum, Botany
Index.
AMARANTHUS (of * privative, and to
wither, becaufe the flower of this plant, when cropped,
does not loon wither), Amaranth, or flower gen¬
tle. See Botany Index.
AMARGURA, an ifland in the Southern Pacific
ocean, difeovered by Maurell in 1781. It is quite bar¬
ren, and inaccefiible even to boats. S. Lat. 17. Si'
W. Long. 175. 17.
AMARYLLIS, Lily-asphodel. See Botany
Index.
AMARYNTHUS, in Ancient Geography, a hamlet
of Eretrias, in the ifland of Eubcea, about leven lladia
diftant from its walls. Here Diana was worfhipped in
an annual folemnity, at which thole ot Caryftus allifled ;
hence the title of the goddefs was Amarynthis and Ama-
rysia.
AMASIA, in Ancient Geography, now Marparg, a
eity in the landgravate of Hefle, on the Lahn. Accord¬
ing to others, it is Embden in Wellphalia.
Amasia, an ancient town of Turkey, in iSatolia,
remarkable for the birth of Strabo the geographer.
It is the refidence of a balhaw, and gives its name to
the province it Hands in, where there are the bell wines
and the bell fruits in Natolia. It is feated near the ri¬
ver Iris or Cafalmack 5 and was anciently the refidence
of the king of Cappadocia. E. Long. 36. 10. N. Lat.
39. 33.
Amasia, the name of the northern divifxon of Lefler
Afia, lying on the fouth lliore of the Euxine lea in Na¬
tolia. It takes its name from Amafia the capital, men¬
tioned in the preceding article.
AMASIS, king of Egypt, afeended the throne
B. C. 569, and commenced his reign with the death of
his former mailer Apries. King Apries having fent an
army to the affillance 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 dellroy great numbers of them,
that fo lie might reign over the remainder with un¬
controlled oppreffion. The coniequence was, that a
general infurre6lion arofe, and all the multitude were
in an uproar. Informed of this tumult, Apries fent
Amafis, whom he deemed one of his moll faithful ad¬
herents •, but inllead of endeavouring to reconcile the
difaffedted people to their prince, he fecured them to
his own interell ; and while he was pretending to re¬
proach their dilloyalty, and endeavouring to recal
them to duty, a foldier Hepped in behind him, and, pla¬
cing a helmet upon his head, fainted him king ol E-
gypt. Amafis inHantly took the field againH his royal
maHer, and prepared to drive him from his throne.
Apprifed of the treachery of Amafis, he fent another
in whom he confided, to bring Amafis belore him,
to give an account of his condudt. This meffenger
met him on horfeback, and having delivered his mef-
fage, Amafis after fome infolent behaviour, replied,
3
that he was preparing to vifit the king, but thought it Amafis.
proper to bring a fuitable equipage to attend him.' v—
When the meflenger haHened back to inform his ma-
fler, that he might confult for himfelf, his only reward
was to have his ears and note cut oft', by the order of the
tyrant, becaufe he brought not Amafis along with him.
In this, as in numerous other inllances, tyranny pro¬
cured its own dellru&ion } for the rell of the nobles
who Hill remained obedient to the king, feeing the bar¬
barous manner in which he had treated the mefien-
ger, they all went over to the Handard of the uiur-
per. Now all the nation -was in commotion. The
ufurper, on the one hand, with the whole hody of the
natives marlhalled under his banner, and the tyrant on
the other hand, with a body of foreigners and merce¬
naries, which he had engaged in Ins fervice. I he two
armies met in a field in the vicinity of .Memphis, and
the tyrant was made captive and Ins forces defeated.
The ufurper treated the captive tyrant with great le¬
nity and refpedt, and alligned him the palace ot Sais
for his confinement. But the hatred o4 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 inHantly put him to death by
Hrangling him.
The plebeian extraction of Amafis deprived him for
Tome time of that refpect, to which he was entitled as
a prince } but obferving this, he contrived a flratagem
to induce them to pay him fuitable honour. He order¬
ed a golden ciflern, in which his vifitants were accul-
tomed to wafli their feet, to be melted and call in the
form of a god, and fet it up in the moll frequented
part of the city, and all the inhabitants did it homage.
He then called an affemblage of the people, and remind¬
ed them, that the gold they now venerated in the form
of a god, was once a cillern, and confequently that al¬
though he was formerly a perfon of low rank, yet now
that he was their king, they ought to give him the re-
fipcCt and homage due to his Hation.
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 conHant piac-
tice to attend to bufinefs in the mornings, and in the
evenings he indulged in amuiement and pleafuie } but
in thefe he fometimes tarniflied 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 carried to the oracle of the place, who fome¬
times condemned and fometimes acquitted him. Re-
collefting the conduft of the oracles after he afeend¬
ed the throne, he conceived a difrefpeft for them, be¬
caufe they were 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 a capital punifliment, fliould appear before
the governor of his refpeftive province, and declare by
what occupation he acquired his fubfiHence. Thus,
under the prudent government of Amafis, Egypt en¬
joyed, for many years, great fertility and extenfive po¬
pulation. He alfo employed his indufiry in the erec¬
tion of feveral public works; among which were a
portico to the temple of Alinerva at Sais, and the re¬
moval of a houfe, all of one Hone, to the temple. He
A M A [ 767 j A M A
Am ills JiHo built the great temple of Ifis at Memphis.. He
|| likewile erected a colofl’us before the temple of Vulcan,
Amatorii. ^ ^$ feej. jn length, relling on its back, and on the bails
v lie erected two ftatues, each 20 feet high, cut out of
the lame Hone. Eeiides thefe he raifed feveral monu¬
ments in Greece.
The liberality and refpect for fcience which Amafis
difplayed, and the encoui'agement he gave to learned
ftrangers, particularly to the Greeks, to vifit his coun¬
try, mauifelled an enlightened mind. And to encou¬
rage Grecian ilrangers to remain in Egypt, he marked
out fettlements for them on the fea coalt, 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 lliort time,
the fame of Amafis for his generofity and humanity
■was io extenfive, that when the Delphians were going
about from citv to city, collecting 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 prof-
perity Avas greatly clouded, by the report of the A-aif
preparations that Cambyfes was making to invade
Egypt. Phanes, who Avas captain of the Greek auxi¬
liaries in the fervice of Amafis, being offended at his
mailer, deferted his caufe, and Avent over to Cambyfes.
A llrong affedion had long fubfifted betAvixt Poly¬
crates, the tyrant of Samos, and Amafis 5 yet he, de-
ferting his caufe, became his enemy. Whether the fore¬
bodings of the impending florin tended to impair his
health or not is not related 5 but about this time he died,
in 525 B. C. after a reign of 44 years. It is reported
that after interment, his body AA’as dug up by his ene¬
mies, and confumed by fire, which, according to the
fuperflition of the Egyptians, conflituted a Angular ca¬
lamity. (Anc. Univ.
AMASONIA. See Botany Index.
AMATHUS, a very ancient toAvn in the fouth of
Cyprus (Strabo, Ptolemy) : fo called from Amathus
the founder j or, according to others, from Amath, a
Phoenician toAvn facred to Venus, with a very ancient
'temple of Adonis and Venus : and hence Venus is de-.
nominated Amathnjia (Tacitus). According to Ovid,
it Avas a place rich in copper ore, and Avhere the in¬
habitants became Cerajice, or liorneth Noav called Li~
mijfo.
Amathus, in Ancient Geography, a toivn of the tribe
of Gad, beyond Jordan; but Avhether at a greater or
lefs diflance from it, is ^ot fo eafy to determine. Eufe-
bius places it in the loAver Persea; Reland, in Ramoth
Gilead*. Gabinius, proconful of Syria, eflablifhed five
juridical conventions in Judea j two of which Avere on-
the other fide Jordan j one at Gadara, the other at Ama*
thus (Jofephus).
AMATIQUES, a fea-port toivn, in the province
«f Vera Paz, in Mexico, at the mouth of the river Gua-
nacos, which flows into the gulf of Honduras. The in¬
habitants are chiefly employed in cutting logwood. N.
Eat. 15.. 23. W. Long. 89. o.
AMATORII musculi, in Anatomy, a term fome-
times ufed for the obliquus fuperior and obliquus infe¬
rior mufcles of the eye, as thefe mwfcles affifl in oggling
©j* draiving the eye fideivife.
AMATRICE, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in Aniatiiee
the farther Abruzzo, upon the confines of the pope’s |)
territories, and the marquifate of Ancona. Amaidah.
AMATTA Eoa, an ifland in the Southern Pacific *“—>“““■
ocean, which Avas difeovered by Captain Cook in 1774.
It is about five leagues in circumference, and confider-
ably elevated ; it is inhabited, but not Arery fertile ; and '
it lies about tivelve leagues diflant, and north-north-weil,
from Anamooka.
AMAUROSIS, in Medicine, a deprivation of fight,
the eye remaining fair and feemingly unaffedted. A
perfect amaurofis is Avhen the blindnefs is total 3 when
there is flill a power of dillinguifliing light from dark-
nefs, the difeafe is called by M. de St Ives an imperfeti
amaurojis. There is a periodical fort, which comes on
inllantaneoufly, continues for hours, or days, and then
difappears.
AMAZIAH, one of the kings of Judah, afeended
the throne of his father Joafn in the 25th year of his
age. His mother’s name Avas Jehoddan, a native of
Jerufalem. In confequence of his Avavering virtue,
and his mingling foreign idolatry Avith the Avorlliip of
the true God, he is faid, according to Scripture, to
have done that Avhich Avas right in the fight of the
Lord, but “ not Avith a perfect heart.” His father
had been ungeneroufly murdered by his OAvn fervants,
therefore his Ion, on his elevation to the throne, put to
death the murderers of his father. In this a£t of re¬
munerative jullice, however, he flioAved a becoming re-
Ipect to the laAv of Mofes, which prohibited the punifli-
ing of the children for the crimes of their guilty fa¬
thers. He gave early proofs of his military talents,
by making a general muiler of all his fubjeds able to
bear arms j and likewife hired a numerous army from
the neighbouring kingdom of IfraeL; and with this in-
creafed multitude he hallened to attack Edom. The
tAVo kindred armies met together in the valley of Salt,
and, after an obllinate engagement, the Edomites Avere
put to flight j and Amaziah from thence proceeded to ■
take the toAvn of Selah. But the fpirit of jealoufy
arofe betAveen the Iavo armies, fo that Amaziah thought
it prudent not to make ufe of the arms of the Ifraeli-
tilh 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
againfl the cities of Judah, and ravaged and deftroyed
them. The imperfetflion of the heart of Amaziah Avas
fully difplayed on this occafion; for he is related to
have brought home the gods of the children of Seir,
Avho Avere unable to protect their OAvn votaries, and in
the folly of his heart to have paid them divine honours.
Flufhed with the fuccefs of his arms in the valley
of Salt, he font a hollile challenge to Jehoalli king
of Ifrael, exprefled in the phrafeology of thofe times,
that they lliould “ look one another in the face.
Pride goeth before dellrudlion, and a haughty fpirit
before a fall.” In vain the prudent and peaceful fpi¬
rit of Jehoalli endeavoured to perfuade him from his
bold attempt. They faw one another in the face at
Bethlhemelh, and Amaziah was made prifoner, and the
men of Judah put to flight. Jehoafli advanced to the
capital, carrying the vanquillied king along Avith him;
and he entered the city by breaking a large portion of
the wall) and, after plundering the temple and the
king’s
A 'M A [ 768
Amaziab, king’s palace, lie returned home in triumph to Sama-
Amazonia. ria. This misfortune feems to have damped the mili-
""v"- 1 tary ardour of Amaziah.j for, although he fwayed the
fceptre over Judah fox' many yeai's aftex*, yet he ne\ei
engaged in any hoftile contentions with his neighbours.
Whether, through the opprellive conduct of Amaziah
or whatever caufe, it is certain that a coni piracy xvas
formed againft him in Jerufalem, which compelled him
tti fly to the city of Ijachilh for ihelter; hut the con¬
federacy was lo fh-ong and numerous, that his enemies
purfued him thither j and there he fell by their hands,
in the 29th year of his reign. (2 Kingsxiv. 2 Chron.
xxv.).
AMAZONIA, or the country of the Amencan
Amazons, is fituated between 50 and 70 degrees of
•well longitude j and between the equator and 15 de¬
crees of fouth latitude j being bounded on the louth
by La Plata, on the well by Peru, on the north by
the province of Terra Firma, and on the call by
Brazil.
With refpefl to the Amazons faid to have given
name to this territory, they have been reprefented as
governed and led to war only by then' queen. No men
were fuffered to live among them; though thole of
feme neighbouring nations were fullered to yifit them,
at a certain feafon, for the fake of procreation. The
females iffuing from this commerce were bred up with
care, and inllrudled in what relates to war and govern¬
ment; as to the males, they were fent away into the
country of their fathers. But no fuch nation is at pre-
fent to he found, any more than the giants and canni¬
bals mentioned by the firll adventurers thither.
Amazonia is generally a flat region, abounding in
woods, lakes, rivers, hogs, and moralfes, _ The chief
river, and one of the largell in the -world, is that call¬
ed the river of Amazons, or the Orellana, which is
formed by two large rivers, the one riling in the pro¬
vince of Quito, a little fouth of the equator, in 73 de¬
grees of well longitude, and the other, named Xmixu,
rifing in the lake of Bourbon, near the Andes, in 10
degrees of fouth latitude. Thefe two rivers uniting
on" the confines of Peru and Amazonia, in three de¬
grees odd minutes of louth latitude, alTume the name
of Amazon; whence running eallward upwards of 2000
miles, and afterwards inclining to the north, they lall
into the Atlantic ocean by 84 channels, which in the
rainy feafon overflow the adjacent country. Befides
the two llreams mentioned, a multitude of othei’s, both
on the north and fouth fide, contribute to the forma¬
tion of this extraordinary river. As it x'uns almoil
acrofs the broadelt part of South America, it is com¬
puted to be between 4000 and 5000 miles in length,
including all its windings. Its channel from Junta, de
Jos Reyos, about 60 degrees from its head, to the river
Maragnon, is from one to two leagues broad ; it then
widens from three to four, and becomes gradually
broader as it approaches the ocean. Between the
places lall mentioned, its depth is from five to ten fa¬
thoms ; but from Maragnon to Rio Negro it increafes
to 20 fathoms; after which it is fometimes 30, and
iometimes §0 lathoms, or moi'e, till it comes near the
end of its courfe. It has no land banks, nor does the
{bore Ihelve fo as to render it dangerous for veffels.
The manatu and tortoife abound both upon the banks
ef this and the other rivers; and the fifhermen mull
]
A M A
he upon their guard againft the crocodiles, alligators,
and water ferpents, which alfo fwarm here.
The air, as in the countries under the fame parallel,
is obferved to he nearly as coot under the equator as
about the tropics, on account of the rains continuing
longer, and the Iky in that feafon being clouded. Be¬
fides, an eafterly wind lets from the Atlantic up the
river lb ftrong, that veflels are carried by it againft the
lire a in.
The produce of the countrv is Indian corn and the
c a Hava x'oot, of which thev make flour and bread ; to¬
bacco, cotton, fugar, larfaparilln, yams, potatoes, and
other roots. They have aHo plenty ol venilon, fiih,
and fowl. Among the latter are vail flocks of parrots
of all colours, the flelli of which lerves for food and
the feathers for ornament. .A the trees here are ever¬
greens ; and fruits, flowers, and herbage, are in per¬
fection all the year round. The principal fruits are
cocoa nuts, ananas or pine apples, guavas, bananas,
and fuch others as are ufually found between the tro¬
pics. The forelt and timber trees are cedar, Brazil
wood, oak, ebony, logwood, ironwood, lb called from
its weight and bardneis, and feveral forts of dyeing
wood.
The natives are of the common ftature, with good
features, a copper complexion, black eyes and hair.
It is computed that there are ot them about 150 dif¬
ferent tribes or nations, and the villages ai'e lo nume¬
rous as to be within call of one another. Among thole
the Homagues, a people near the bead of the river,
are famous for their cotton manufactures ; the J urines*
who live between five and ten degrees of latitude, lor
their joiners work; and the A\ roll flares for their eartn-
en ware. The J opmambes, who inhabit a large
ifland in the river, are remarkable for their ftrength*
Some of thole nations frequently make war upon each
other. Their armour confifts of darts, javelins, hows
and arrows; and they wear targets of cane or filh-lkin.
They make Haves of their prifoners, whom they other-
wife ufe very well. Every tribe is governed by its ic-
fpeCtivc chief or king, the marks of whole dignity are
a crown of parrots feathers, a chain of lions teeth 01
claws hung round his neck, ox- gix*t about his waift, and
a wooden fword which Iiq carries in his hand.
Moll of thole nations, except the Homagues, go na¬
ked. The women thruft pieces of cane through their
ears and under lips, as well as through the fkin ol the
pudenda. At the griille of their nofes they alfo hang
glafs beads, which wag to and fro when they fpeak.
They are fuch Ikilful markfmen, that they will ihoot
fifli as they iwim ; and what they catch they eat with¬
out either bread or fait. 1 hey Avorlhip images, uhich
they always carry with them on their expeditions ; but
they neither have temples nor any order ol pnells; and
permit both polygamy and concubinage.
The country affords neither gold nor filver mines;
only a fmall quantity of the former is found in the ri¬
vulets which fall into the Amazon near its fources in
Perils When the Spaniards imagined that it contained
thofe metals, they made great efforts from Peru to re¬
duce this territory to fuhjedtion; till being at length
undeceived, they abandoned the defign.
AMAZONS, in antiquity, a nation of female war¬
riors, who founded an empire in Afia Minor, upon the
river Thermodoon, along the coafts of the Black lea.
' They
Amazonia,
Amazons.
A M A
Amazons.
They are faid to have formed a flate, out of which men
were excluded. W hat commerce they had with that
lex, was only with Grangers ; they killed all their male
children •, and they cut ofl' the right brealls trf' their fe¬
males, to make them more fit for the combat. From
which laft circumfiance it is that they are luppofed to
take their name, viz. from the privative and ^*£0$,
mamma, “ breaft.” But Dr Bryant, in his Analyfis
of Ancient Mythology, explodes this account as fa¬
bulous ; and obferves that they were in general Cu-
thite colonies from Egypt and Syria, who formed fet-
tlements in difierent countries, and that they derived
their name from %on, “ the fun,” which was the na¬
tional objed of worfliip, vol. iii. p. 463. It has indeed
been controverted, even among ancient writers, whe¬
ther there ever really was fuch a nation as that of the
Amazons. Strabo, Palfephatus, and others, deny it.
On the contrary, Herodotus, Paufanias, Diodorus Si¬
culus, Trogus Pompeius, Juftin, Pliny, Mela, Plutarcfi,
'See. 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 exiftence is fufiiciently proved by the
' teftimony of fuch of the hiftorians of antiquity as are
mofi worthy ot credit ; by the monuments which many
of them have mentioned j and bv medals, fome of
which are Hill remaining ; and that there is not the
leaft; room to believe that what is faid of them is fabu¬
lous.
The Amazons are mentioned by the moft ancient of
the Greek writers. In the third book of the Iliad,
Homer reprefents Priam fpeaking of himfelf as having
been prefent in the earlier part of his life, in a battle
with the Amazons ; and fome of them afterwards came
"to the afliftance of that prince during the liege of
"Troy.
The Amazons are particularly mentioned by Hero¬
dotus. That hiftorian informs us that the Grecians
fought a battle with the Amazons on the river Ther-
modoon, and defeated them. After this vidory, they
carried off all the Amazons they could take alive in
three fiiips. But whilft they were out at fea, thefe
Amazons confpired againft. the men, and killed them
all. Having, however, no knowledge of navigation,
nor any Ikill in the ufe of the rudder, fails, or oars,
they were driven by wind and tide till they arrived at
the pi-ecipices of the lake Maeotis, in the territories of
the Scythians. Here the Amazons went afhore, and,
inarching into the country, feized and mounted the
firft horfes they met with, and began to plunder the
inhabitants. The Scythians at firlt conceived them
to be men 5 but after they had had fkirmiflies with
them, and taken fome prifoners, they difeovered them
to be women. They were then unwilling to carry on
hoftilities againft them •, and by degrees a number of
the young Scythians formed connexions with them,
and were defirous that thefe gentle dames Ihould live
with them as wives, and be incorporated with the reft
of the Scythians. The Amazons agreed to continue
their connexion with their Scythian hufbands, but refu-
fed to affociate with the reft of the inhabitants of the
country, and efpecially with the women of it. They
Vol. I. Part II.
[ 769 3
A M A
afterwards prevailed upon their* hufbands to retire to
Sarmatia, where they fettled. “ Hence,” fays Hero¬
dotus, “ the wives of the Sarmatians ftill continue their
ancient Way of living. They hunt on horfeback in
the company of their hufbands, and fometimes alone.
They march with their armies, and wear the fame
drels with the men. The Sarmatians ufe the Scythian
language, but corrupted from the beginning, becaufe
the Amazons never learned to fpeak corredtly. Then-
marriages are attended with this circumftance j no vir¬
gin is permitted to marry till ibe has killed an enemy
in the field; fo that fome always grow old before they
can qualify themfelves as the lawT requires.”
Diodorus Siculus fays, “ There was formerly a na¬
tion who dwelt near the river Thermodoon, which was
fubjedled to the government of women, and in which
the women, like men, managed all -the military affairs.
Among thefe female warriors, it w'as faid, was one who
excelled the reft in ftrength and valour. She affcmbled
together an army of women, whom Ihe trained up in
military difeipline, and lubdued fome of the neighbour ¬
ing nations. Afterwards, having by her valour in-
creafed her fame, fhe led her army againft the reft 5
and being fuccefsful, fire was fo puffed up, that flic ftyi-
ed herfelf the daughter of Mars, and ordered the men
to fpin wool, and do the work of the women within
doors. She alfo made laws, by which the women were
enjoined to go to the wars, and the men to be kept at
home in a fervile ftate, and employed in the meaneft
offices. They alfo debilitated the arms and thighs of
thofe male -children who were born of them, that they
might be thereby rendered unfit for war. They fear¬
ed the right breafts of their girls, that they might be
no interruption to them in fighting: whence they
derived the name of Amazons. Their queen, having-
become extremely eminent for fkill and knowledge 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 enterpx-ifes fhe adhered
ftricftly to military difeipline and good order j and fhe
added to her empire all the adjoining nations, even to
the river Tanais. Having performed thefe exploits,
file at laft ended her days like a hero, falling in a bat¬
tle, in which Ihe had fought courageoufly. She was
fuceeeded 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 inftituted 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 into Thrace, lieturning then with
a great quantity of fpoils into her own kingdom, fhe
caufed magnificent temples to be erefted to the deities
before mentioned 5 and ihe gained the love of her fub-
jedts by her mild and gentle government. She after¬
wards undertook an expedition againft thofe who were
on the other fide of the river, and fubjedted to her do¬
minion a great part of Afia, extending her arms as far
as Syria.”
Diodorus alfo mentions another race of Amazons
who dwelt in Africa j and whom he fpeaks of as being
of greater antiquity than thofe who lived near the
river Thermodoon. “ In the weftern parts of Libya,”
$ E fays
Amazons.
Amazons.
A M A [
f:iys he, “ upon the borders ot thofe Ir.tcls that are
habitable, there was anciently a nation under the go¬
vernment of women, and whole manners and mode of
living were altogether different from ours. It was the
cuftom of thofe women to manage all military allairs •,
and for a certain time, during which they preferved
their virginity, they went out as loldiers into the field.
After fome years employed in this manner, when the
time appointed for this purpofe was expired, they affo-
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, w:ere employed in houfehold afiairs, fub-
mitting themlelves wholly to the authority of then
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 call off the yoke of their wives. As
loon as any child was born, it, was delivered to the fa¬
ther, to be fed with milk, or inch other food as was
fuitable to its age. If females were born, they feared
their breafts, that they might not be burdenfome to
them when they grew up •, for they confidered them as
great hinderances in fighting.
Juflin reprefents the Amazonian republic to have
taken its rife in Scythia. The Scythians had a great
part of Afia under their dominion upwards of 400
years, till they were conquered by Ninus, the founder
of the Affyrian empire. After his death, which hap¬
pened about 1150 years before the Chriflian era, and
that of Semrramis and their fon Ninyas, Ilinus and Sco-
lopites, princes of the royal blood oi Scythia, Avere dn-
ven from their country by other princes, avIio like them
afpired to the crown. They departed with their wives,
children, and friends •, and being folloAved by a great
number of young people of both Texes,, they paffed into
Afiatic Sarmatia, beyond Mount Camaffus, Avhere they
formed an ellablifhment, fupplying themfelves with the
riches they wanted, by making incurfions hi to the coun¬
tries bordering on the Euxine lea. Ihe people of
thofe countries, exafperated by the incurlions of then
new neighbours, united, furpnied, and mailacred the
men. ,
The women then refolving to revenge their death,
and at the fame time to provide for their oavh fecurity,
refolved to form a new kind of government, to choofe
a queen, enact laivs, and maintain themfelves, Avithout
men, even againfl the men themfeWes. This defign
was not fo very furprifing as at firfl fight appears : for
the greateft number of the girls among the Scythians
had been inured to the fame exercifes as the boys, to
draiv the boiv, to thrmv the javelin, to manage other
arms ; to riding, hunting, and even the painful labours
that feem referved for men ; and many of them, among
the Sarmatians, accompanied the men in Avar. Hence
they had no fooner formed their refolution, than they
prepared to execute it, and exercifed themlelves in
all military operations. They loon fecured the peace¬
able pofieflion of the country 5 and not content Avith
fliowing their neighbours that all their efforts to drive
them thence or fubdue them Avere ineffedtual, they
made war upon them, and extended their OAvn fron¬
tiers. They had hitherto made ufe of the inflrudtions
and afliflance of a Fcav men that remained in the coun¬
try ; but finding at length that they could Hand their
o ] AM A
ground, and aggrandize themfelves, without them, they Amezons,.
killed all thofe whom flight or chance had laved from v—-v—
the fury of the Sarmatians, and for ever renounced mar¬
riage, which they noAV confidered as an infuppoytable
flavery. But as'they could only fecure the duration of
their neAV kingdom by propagation, they made a hiA\ to
go every year to the frontiers, to invite the men to
come to them j to deliver themlelves up to their em¬
braces, without choice on their part, or the leall attach¬
ment; and to leave them as foon as they were pregnant.
All thofe whom age rendered fit for propagation, and
were willing to ferve the Hate by breeding girls, did not
go at the fame time in fearch ot men: for in order to
obtain a right to promote the multiplication of the fpe-
cies, thev mull firfl have contributed to its defliudlion;
nor was any thought worthy of giving birth to childrca
till Ihe had killed three men. „
If from this commerce they brought forth gills, they
educated them ; but with refpeft to the boys, if we
may believe Jullin, they firangled them at the moment
of their birth : according to Diodorus Siculus, they
twilled their legs and arms, io as to render them uimt
for military exercifes j but Quintus Curtins, I Liloura-
tus, and Jordarus fay, that the lefs lavage lent them
to their fathers. It is probable, that at firfl, when
their fury againfl the men was carried to the great-
eft height, they killed the boys ; that when this fury
abated, and moll of the mothers were filled with hor¬
ror at depriving the little creatures of the fives the}
had juft received from them, they fulfilled the full du¬
ties of a mother ; but to prevent their caufing a revo¬
lution in the ftate, maimed them in inch a manner as
to render them incapable of war, and employed them
in the mean offices which thefe warlike women thought
beneath them. In fliort, that, when their conquefts
had confirmed their power, their ferocity fubfiding,
they entered into political engagements with their
neighbours ; and the number of the males they had pre¬
ferved becoming burdenfome, they, at the defire of thorn
who rendered them pregnant, lent 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, Ayhich inleniibly dried
up the fibres and glands ; lome 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 : iome
ao-ain, with much greater probability, aflert, that they
employed no violent meafures ; but, by a continual com-
preffion of that part from infancy, prevented its growth,
at leaft fo far as to hinder its ever being incommodious
Plutarch, treating of the Amazons in bis life 01 The-
feus, confiders the accounts which had been preierved
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 ^ yet calle
Amazonium, and the right to a place called Iryx> >‘C«r
Chryfa ; upon which the Athenians, illuing h'om^'
A M A [ 771 ] A M A
Amazons, liind tlie temple of the Mnfes, fell upon them ; ami
y-~—"i that this is true, the graves of thofe that were llain, to
be feen in the flreets 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 frefii fupplies coming
in from Palladium, Ardettus, and Lyceum, charged
their right wing, and beat them back into their very
tents *, in which action a great number of the Ama¬
zons were flain.” In another place he fays, “ It ap¬
pears that the paffage of the Amazons through Thef-
faly was not without oppolition } for there are yet to
be feen many of their fepulchres near Scotuflbea and Cy-
nocephalse.” And in his life of Pompey, fpeaking 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 Lefgoe lie betwixt) :
and with thefe people do they yearly, for two months
only, accompany and cohabit, bed and board, near
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 (he had under
her fubjection 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
Hie had conceived to fee Alexander •, and being advan¬
ced near the place where he was, fhe previoully fent
meffengers to acquaint him, that the queen was come
to have the fatisfadtion of feeing and converting with
him. Having obtained permiffion to vifit him, the ad¬
vanced with 300 of her Amazons, leaving the reft of her
troops behind. As foon as fhe 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 ftomach ; nor do the fkirts of their
garments, which 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 ;
and they cut off and fear their right, that they may
draw their bows, and call their darts, with the greater
eafe. Thaleftris looked at the king with 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 actions on whom
nature has conferred a dignified appearance. The king
having afked her whether flie had any thing to defire
of him, fhe replied, without fcruple or hefitation, that
flie was come with a view to have children by him, flie
being worthy to bring him heirs to his dominions.
Their offspring, if of the female fex, flie would retain
herfelf; and if of the male fex, it fliould be delivered
to Alexander. He then afked her, whether flie would
accompany him in his wars ? But this ftie declined,
alleging, That flie had left nobody to take care of her
kingdom. She continued to folicit Alexander, that
he would not fend her back without conforming to
her withes ) but it was not till after a delay of 13 days Amazons,
that he complied. She then returned to her own king- 1—~v ~
dom.”
Juftin alfo repeatedly mentions this vifit of Thaleftris
to Alexander j and in one place he fays, that flie made
a march of 25 days, in order to obtain this meeting with
him. The interview between Alexander and Thaleftris
is likewife mentioned by Diodorus Siculus. The learn¬
ed Goropius, as he is quoted by Dr Petit, laments, in
very pathetic terms, the hard fate of Thaleftris, who
was obliged to travel fo many miles, and to encounter
many hardfliips, in order to procure this interview with
the Macedonian prince ; and, from the circumltances,
is led to confider the whole account as incredible. But
Dr Petit, with equal erudition, with equal eloquence,
and with fuperior force of reafoning, at length deter¬
mines, that her journey was not founded upon irrational
principles, and that full credit is due to thofe grave and
venerable hiftorians by whom this Iran faction has been
recorded.
The Amazons are reprefented as being armed with
bows and arrows, with javelins, and alfo with an axe
of a particular eonftruction, which was denominated
the axe ot the Amazons. According to the elder
Pliny, this axe was invented by Penthefilea, one of
their queens. On many ancient medals are reprefenta-
tions of the Amazons, armed with thefe axes. They
are alfo faid to have had bucklers in the fliape of a half
moon.
The Amazons are mentioned by many other ancient
authors, belides thofe which have been enumerated ;
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 feveral
other nations.
That at any period there fliould have been women,
who, without the affiftance of men, built cities and go¬
verned them, railed 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; 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 impofi-
fible, however contrary to the ufual courfe of things.
In fupport of this fide of the queftion, it may be urged,
that women who have been early trained to warlike
exercifes, to hunting, and to a ha.d and laborious mode
of living, may be rendered more ftrong, and capable of
more vigorous exertions, than men who have led indo¬
lent, delicate, and luxurious lives, and who have fel-
dom been expofed even to the inclemencies of the wea¬
ther. The limbs of women, as well 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 wrhat is faid of the Amazons is fabu¬
lous, there can be no reafonable doubt; but it does not
5 E 2 therefore
A M A
[ 772 J
A M A
Amazons, therefore follow, that the whole is without foundation.
 v 1 The ancient medals and monuments on which they are
repreiented are very numerous, as are alio the tellimo-
nies of ancient writers. It feems not rational to fuppofe
that all this originated in lidion, though it be much
blended with it. The abbe Guyon {peaks of the hiftory
of the Amazons as having been regarded by many per-
fons as fabulous, “ rather from prejudice than from any
real and folid examination j” and it mull be acknow¬
ledged, that the arguments in favour of their exiftence,
from ancient hillory, and from ancient monuments, are
extremely powerful. 1 he tact feems to be, that truth
and fiction have been blended in the narrations concern¬
ing thefe ancient heroines.
Inftances of heroifm in women have occafionally oc¬
curred in modern times, fomewhat refembling that ot
the ancient Amazons. T he times and the manners ^ oi
chivalry, in particular, by bringing great enterprifes,
bold adventurers, and extravagant heroifm, into falhion,
infpired the women with the lame tafte. Ihe women,
in confequence of the prevailing paffion, were now feen
in the middle of camps and of armies. T hey quitted
the loft and tender inclinations, and the delicate offices
of their own fcx, lor the toils and the toilfome occupa¬
tions of ours. During the crulades, animated by the
double entbufiafm of religion and of valour, they of¬
ten performed the moft romantic exploits j obtained m-
dulgencies on the field of battle, and died with ai ms in
their hands, by the fide of their lovers or of their huf-
bands.
In Europe, the women attacked and defended for¬
tifications j princelfes commanded their armies, and
obtained victories. Such was the celebrated Joan de
Montfort, disputing for her duchy of Bretagne, and
fighting herfelf. Such was that frill more celebrated
Margaret of Anjou, that aclive and intrepid general
and foldier, whole genius fupported a longtime a feeble
hufband j which taught him to conquer; which re¬
placed him upon the throne; which twice relieved him
from prifon ; and, opprefled by fortune and by rebels,
which did not bend till after ihe had decided in perfon
twelve battles.
The warlike fpirit among the women, confiftent
with ages of barbarifm, when every thing is impetuous
becaufe nothing is fixed, and when all excels is the ex-
cefs of force, continued in Europe upwards of 400
years, Blowing itfelf from time to time, and always in
the middle of convulfions, or on the eve ol great revo¬
lutions. But there were eras and countries in which
that fpirit appeared vuth particular luftre. Such were
the difplays it made in the 15th and 16th centuries in
Hungary, and in the illands of the Archipelago and
the Mediterranean, when they were invaded by the
Turks. .
Among the {hiking inftances of Amazonian condutt
in modern ladies, may be mentioned that of Jane of
Belleville, widow of Monf. de Cliffon, 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 hulband, and exafperated at the ill
treatment which Ihe confidered him as having received,
lent off “ her fon fecretly to London ; and when her
apprehenfions were removed with refpect to him, Ihe
£old her jewels, fitted out three Ihips, and put to fea, to
revenge the death of her hulband upon all the French Amazons,
with whom flie Ihould meet. This new corfair made 1 r——
feveral defcents upon Normandy, where Ihe frormed
caltles ; and the inhabitants of that province were
fpedtators more than once, whilft their villages were
all in a blaze, of one of the fineft women in Europe,
with a fword, in one band and a torch in the other,
urging the carnage, and eyeing with pleafure all the
horrors of war.”
We read in Mezeray (under the article 01 the Groi-
fade, preached by St Bernard in the year 1147), “ That
many women did not content themlelves with taking
the crofs, but that they alfo took up arms to defend
it, and compofed iquadrons 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 ol their
being difembarked, Barri de St Aunez, Henry I\ .V
governor at Leucate, fet out to communicate a fcheme
to the duke de Montmorenci, commander in that
province. He was taken in his way by fome of
the troops of the League, who were alio 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, alter hav¬
ing affembled the garrifon, put herfelf lo refolutely at
their head, pike in hand, that Ihe infpired the weakeft
with courage ; and the befiegers were repulfed wbere-
ever they prefented themlelves. Shame, and their great
lots, having rendered them defperate, they lent a met-
fenger to this courageous woman, acquainting her that
if jhe continued to defend herfelf, they would hang her*
hulbaud. She replied, with tears in her eyes, “ 1 have
riches in abundance : I have offered them, and I do
frill oiler them, for his ranfom ; but I would not igno-
minioully purchafe a life which he would reproach me
with, and which he would be afliamed to enjoy. I
will not dilhonour him by trealon againft my king and
country.” The befiegers having made a frelh attack
without fuccefs, put her huiband to death, and railed
the fiege. Henry IV. afterwards lent to this lady the
brevet of governefs ol 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 acoun-
tefs of St Balmont, who ufed to take the field with her
hufband, and fight by his fide. She lent leveral Spanifh
prifoners ol her taking to Marlhal I euquiers ; and, what
was not a little extraordinary, this Amazon at home was
all affability and fweetnefs, and gave, herfell up to read¬
ings and a6ts of piety.
Dr Jobnlon feems to have given fome credit to the
accounts which have been tranfmitted down to us con¬
cerning the ancient Amazons; and he has endeavoui-
ed to fhow, that we ought not haftily to rejea ancient
hiftorieal narrations becaule they contain facts repug¬
nant to modern manners, and exhibit feenes to whicly
nothing now occurring bears a reiemblance. Ot
what we know not (lays 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 t 773 ] A M B
Amazons, experience or teftimony have hitherto acquainted us ;
r ' if it palfes farther beyond the notions that we have
been accultomed to form, it becomes at lail incredible.
We feldom confider that human knowledge is very
narrow } that national manners are formed by chance ;
that uncommon conjunctures of caufes produce rare
effects ; or, that what is impoffible at one time or place
mav yet happen in another. It is always ealier 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 affume, 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
veracityand it may reafonably be imagined that many
ancient hiltorians are unjuftly fufpeCted of falfehood,
becaufe our own times afford nothing that refembles
what they tell. Few narratives will, either to men or
women, appear more incredible than the hiilories of the
Amazons; of female nations, of whole conftitution it
was the effential and fundamental law, to exclude men
from all participation, either of public affairs or dome It ic
bufinefs; where female armies marched under female
captains, female farmers gathered the harveft, female
partners danced together, and female wits diverted one
another. Yet feveral fages of antiquity have tranf-
mitted accounts of the Amazons of Caucafus *, and of
the Amazons of America, who have given their name
to the greateft river in the world, Condamine lately
found fuch memorials as can be expected 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 fubjedt
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 unpradtifed 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 the race of Amazons now
ceafes to exift.
Rouffeau fays, “ The empire of the woman is an em¬
pire of foftnefs, of addrefs, of complacency. Her com¬
mands are carefles, her menaces are tears.” But the
empire of the Amazons was certainly an empire of a
very different kind. Upon the whole, we may conclude
with Dr Johnfon : “ The charadler of the ancient Ama¬
zons was rather terrible than lovely. The hand could
not be very delicate that was only employed in drawing
the bow, and brandifhing the battle-axe. Their power
was maintained by cruelty, their courage was deformed
by ferocity 5 and their example only Ihows, that men
and women live bell together.”
Amazons, the river of, in America. See Amazo¬
nia.
Amazonian Habit, in Antiquity, denotes a drefs
formed in imitation of the Amazons. Marcia the fa¬
mous concubine of the emperor Com mod us, had the
appellation of Amazonian, becaufe (he charmed him
molt in a habit of’this kind. Hence alfo that prince
himfelf engaged in combat in the amphitheatre in an
Amazonian habit j and of all titles the Amaxonius was
one of thofe he moll delighted in. In honour either of Amazonian
the gallant or his millrefs, the month December was al- H
fo denominated Ama%onius. Some alfo apply Ania%o- Ambarva-
nian habit to the bunting-drefs worn by many ladies ■ , f
among us.
AMBA, an Abyffinian or Etbiopic word, fignify-
ing a rock. The Abyffinians gave 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. A-
mongft the mountains, and even frequently in the plains,
of this country, arife lleep and craggy rocks of various
forms, fome refembling towers, other pyramids, &c.
fo perpendicular and fmooth on the tides, that they feem
to be works of art j 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, fifh-ponds, &.c. which very co-
jnoufly fupply the animals feated thereon with all the
conveniences of life. The moll remarkable of thefe
rocks is called Amba-GtfhcTU It is prodigioufly lleep,
in the form of a callle built of freelione, and almoll
impregnable. Its fummit is about half a Portuguefe
league in breadth, and the circumference at the bottom
about half a day’s journey. The afeent at firll is eafy j
hut grows afterwards fo lleep, that the Abaffine oxen,
which will otherwife clamber like goats, mull be cran¬
ed up, and let down with ropes. Here the princes of
the blood were formerly confined, in low cottages a-
mongll fhrubs and wild cedars, with an allowance bare¬
ly fufficient to keep them alive. There is, according
to Kircher, in this country, a rock fo curioufly hollowed
by nature, that at a dillance it refembles a looking-
glafs 5 and oppofite to this another, on the top of which
nothing can be fo foftly whifpered but it may be heard
a great way oil'. Between many of thefe rocks and’
mountains are vail abyffes, which appear very dreadful
to the eye.
AMBACHT, is a word which denotes a kind of
jurifdiction or territory, the poffeffor whereof has the
adminillration of jullice, both in alto and bajfo ; 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 far the
jurifdiction, government, or chief magillracy 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, amba&us; 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 harvell, they conducted the vidtims thrice
round the corn fields in proceffion, before facrificing
them.—Ambervalia were either of a private or public
nature : the private were performed by the mailer of a
family, and the public by the prieils who officiated at
the folemnity, called /ratres arvales. The prayer pre¬
ferred on this occafion, the formula of which we have
in Cato de Re Ruftica, cap. cxlii. was called carmen
ambarvale. At thefe feails they facrificed to Ceres a
fow, a Ihcep, and a bull or heifer, whence they took
A M B [ 774 ] A M B
linbarva- the name of'fuovetaurilia. The method of celebrating
lia them was, to lead a vidtim round the fields, while the
II peafants accompanied it,'and one of their number, crown-
, Amber. ^ e(j w;t[, oa^ hymned forth the praifes of Ceres, in verfes
"v compofed on purpofe. This fellival was celebrated twice
-a-year j at the end of January, according to fame, or in
April, according to others j and for the iecond time, in
the month of July.
AMBASSADOR, or Embassador, a public mini-
fter fent from one fovereign prince, as a reprefentative
of his perfon, to another.
AmbalTadors are either ordinary or extraordinary.
Ambaffador in ordinary, is he who conftantly refides in
the court of another prince, to maintain a good under-
ilanding, and look to the intereft of his mailer. Till
about two hundred years ago, ambaffadors in ordinary
were not heard of: all, till then, were ambaffadors ex¬
traordinary ; that is, fuch as are fent on fome particular
occaiion, and who retire as i’oon as the affair is defpatch-
ed.
By the law of nations, none under the quality of a
fovereign prince can fend or receive an amballador. At
Athens, ambaffadors mounted the pulpit of the public
orators, and there opened their commiffion, acquainting
the people with their errand. At Rome, they were in¬
troduced to the fenate, and delivered their commiilions
to the fathers.
Ambaffadors fnould never attend any public folemni-
ties, as marriages, funerals, &c. unleis their mailers
have fome interell therein : nor muft they go into
mourning on any occafions of their own, becauie they
reprefent the perfon of their prince. By the civil law,
the moveable goods of an ambaffador, 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 relides, as lome con¬
ceive : for all aftions ought to be far from an ambaffa¬
dor, as well that which toucheth his neceffaries, as his
perfon : if therefore, he hath contracted any debt, he
is to be called upon kindly} and if he refufes, then let¬
ters of requell are to go to his mailer. Nor can any
of the ambaffador’s domellic fervants that are regiltered
in the fecretaries of Hate’s office be arrelted in perfon
or goods •, if they are, the procefs fliall be void, and the
parties Hieing out and executing it fliall lufler and be
liable to fuch penalties and corporal punilhment as the
lord chancellor or either of the chief juHices fliall think
fit to inlliCl. Yet ambaffadors cannot be defended when
they commit any thing againff 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 a-
gainH the law of nations, they Jofe the privilege of an
ambaffador, and may be fubjeCt to punilliment as private
aliens.
AMBE, in Surgery, the name of an inffrument for
reducing dillocated bones. In Anatomy, a term for the
fuperficirl jutting out of a bone.
AMBER (Suecinum), in Natural Hijlory, a lolid,
hard, femipellucid, bituminous fubHance, of a particular
nature, of ufe in medicine and in feveral ol the arts. It
has been called ambra by the Arabians, and eledlrum
by the Gi’eeks.
Amber has been of great repute in the world from
.the earlieH times. Many years before Chrilt it was in
3
effeem as a medicine •, and Plato, AriHotle, Herodotus, Amber.
iEfchylus, and others, have commended its virtues. In -v—
the times of the Romans, it became in high effeem as a
gem •, and in the luxurious reign of Nero, immenfe
quantities of it were brought to Rome, and ufed for or¬
namenting works of various kinds.
The moff 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 tbofe lubffances
which the ancients thought it had an antipathy to •, as
oily bodies, drops of water, human fweat, &c. Add,
that, by the friaion, it is brought to yield light pretty
copioully in the dark j whence it is reckoned among the
native phofphori.
'fhe property which amber poffeffes of attraaing
light bodies was very anciently obferved. Thales of
Miletus, 600 years before Chrill, concluded from hence,
that it was animated. But the firff perfon who exprefs-
ly mentions this fubHance is TheophraHus, about the
year 300 before Chriff. The attraaive property of am¬
ber is likewife occafionally taken notice of by Pliny and
other laternaturaliffs, particularly by Gaffendus, Kenelm
Digby, and Sir Thomas Brown •, but it was generally
apprehended that this quality was peculiar to amber and
jet, and perhaps agate, till Gilbert publifhed his treatile
de Magnete, in the year 1600. From eM*Tg«v, the
Greek name for amber, is derived the term Elctfricity,
which is now very extenfively applied, not only to the
power of attraaing light bodies inherent in amber, but
to other fimilar powers, and their various elleas in what¬
ever bodies they refide, or to whatever bodies they may
be communicated.
Amber affumes all figures in the ground 5 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.—W ithin lome 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 was once foftened, and rendered fufceptible ol
the leaves, infeas, &c. which came in its way. The
latter of thefe fuppofitions feems the more agreeable to
the phenomenon j becaufe thofe inleas, &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 where amber is produced, that all animals,
whether terreffrial, aerial, or aquatic, are extremely fond
of it, and that pieces of it are frequently found in their
excrements. The bodies of infeas, found buried in am¬
ber, are viewed with admiration by all the world; but
of the moff remarkable of thefe, many are to be fuf-
peaed as counterfeit, the great price at which beautiful
fpecimens of this kind fell, having tempted ingenious
cheats to introduce animal bodies in fuch artful man¬
ners, into feemingly whole pieces ol amber, that it is
not eafy to detea the fraud.
Of thofe infeas which have been originally enclofed
in amber, fome are plainly feen to have ftruggled 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 ilout beetle,
the animal wanting one, or perhaps two of its legs ;
and thofe' legs in different places, nearer that pai 1
of the mafs from which it has travelled. This alio
may account for the common accident of finding legs
A M B [ 775 ] A M B
Amber, or wings of flies, without the reH; of their bodies, in
—>/-—■-—’ pieees of amber j the infects having, when entangled
in the yet foft and vifcid matter, efcaped, at the ex-
pence of leaving thofe limbs behind them. Drops of
dear water are fometimes alfo preferved in amber.
Thefe have doubtlefs been received into it while foft,
and preferved by its hardening round them. Beauti¬
ful leaves of a pinnated ftructure, refembling fome of
the ferns, or maidenhairs, have been found in fome
pieces ; but thefe are rare, and the fpecimens of great
value. Mineral fubftances are alfo found at times
lodged in maffes of amber. Some of the pompous col¬
lections of the German princes boafl of fpecimens of
native gold and filver in maffes of amber •, but as there
are many fubllances of the marcafite, and other kinds,
that have all the glittering appearance of gold and fil¬
ver, it is not to be too haffily 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 {bite of
vitriol, it is not impoffible but that copper, and the
other metals, may be alfo fometimes immerfed in it in
the fame ftate 5 hence the bluifh and greenilli colours,
frequently found in the recent pieces of amber, may
be Giving, like the particles of the gem colours, to
thofe metals •, 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 fund, and frag¬
ments of other Hones, are alfo not unfrequently found
immerfed in amber.
Naturaliffs have been greatly divided as to the ori¬
gin of this fubftance, and what clafs of bodies it be¬
longs to ‘7 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 Sweden), and
difcharged thence into the fea, where undergoing feme
alteration, it is thrown, in this form, upon the fhores of
Pruflia, which lie very low : he adds, that it was hence
the ancients gave it the denomination fuccinum ; 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, which
mixing with the vitriolic falts abounding in thofe
places, the points of thofe falts fix its fluidity, whence
it congeals •, and the refult of that congelation makes
what we call amber; which is more or lefs pure, tranf-
parent and firm, as thofe parts of fait and bitumen are
more or lefs 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 was told, from copal, but very different from the
natural.
According to Hartman, amber is formed of a bitu¬
men, mixed with vitriol and other falts. But though
this were allowed him in regard to the foflil amber,
many difpute whether the fea amber he fo produced.
It is, however, apparent, that all amber is of the
fame origin, and probably that which is found in the Amber,
fea has been walked thither out of the clifl's ; though
Hartman thinks it very poflible, that fome of it may
be formed in the earth under the fea, and be walked
up thence. The fea amber is ufually finer to the eye
than the foflil; but the reafon is, that it is divefted of
the coarfe coat with which the other is covered while ‘
in the earth.
Up on "the whole, it feems generally agreed upon,
that amber is a true bitumen of a foflil origin. In a
late volume of the Journal tie Physique^ however, we
find it afferted by Dr Girtanner to be an animal pro-
duct, a fort of honey or wax formed by a fpecies of
large ant, called by \Annvzm formica rufa. Thefe ants,
our author informs us, inhabit the old pine forefts,
where they fometimes form hills about fix feet in dia¬
meter : and it is generally in thefe ancient forefts, or
in places where they have been, that foflil amber is
found. This fubftance is not hard as that which is ta¬
ken up in the fea at Pruflia, and which is well known
to naturalifts. It has the confiltence of honey or of
half melted wax, but it is of a yellow colour like couit
mon amber; 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,
lalt. This accounts for the infe&s that are fo often
found inclofed in it. Among thefe infects ants are ak
ways the moft prevailing; 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 wax is
nothing but an oil hardened by the acid of bees ; a fa£t
inconteftably proved, we are told, fince Mr Metherie
has been able to make artificial wax by mixing oil of
olives with the nitrous acid, and which wax is not to
be diftinguiflied from the natural.
There are feveral indications which difeover where
amber is to be found. The furface of the earth is there
covered with a foft fcaly ftone ; and vitriol in parti*
cular always abounds there, which is fometimes found
white, fometimes reduced into a matter like melted
glafs, and fometimes figured like petrified wood.
Amber of the fineft kind has been found in Eng¬
land. It is frequently thrown on the Ihores of It ork-
fliire, and many other places, and found even in our
clay pits ; the pits dug for tile clay, between Tyburn
and Kenfington gravel pits, and that behind St George’s
Hofpital at Hyde-park corner, have afforded fine fpcr
cimens.
Poland, Silefia, and Bohemia, are famous for the
amber dug up there at this time. Germany affords
great quantities of amber, as well dug up from the
bowels of the earth, as toffed about on the fliore of
the fea and rivers there. Saxony, Mifnia, Sweden,
and many other places in this tradt of Europe, abound
with it. Denmark has aft’orded, at different times, fe¬
veral quantities of folk! amber; and the Ibores of the
Baltic abound with it. But the countries lying on the
Baltic afford it in the greateft abundance of all ; and
of thefe the moft plentiful country is Pruflia, and the
next is Pomerania. Pruflia was, as early as the time
of Theodoric the Goth, famous for amber; for this
fubftance 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
f 776 ]
A M B
that fubftance, 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 oi I taly, which had before unde-
lervedly that title. This article alone brings his Prui-
lian majefty a revenue of 26,000 dollars annually. The
amber of Pruflia is not only found on the lea eoafts,
but in digging ; and though' that of Pomerania is ge¬
nerally brought from the {bores, yet people who dig,
on different occafions, in the very heart of the country,
at times find amber.
Junker defcribes, after Neumann, the Pruflian amber
mines, which are the richeft known. I'lrlt, At the im-
face of the earth is found a Hr atom of fand. Immedi¬
ately under this fand is a bed of clay, filled with imall
flints of about an inch diameter each. Under this clay
lies a ftratum of black earth or turf, filled with folbl
-wood, half decompofed 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 talle, and fragrant
aromatic fmell, -efpecially when diffolved. It differs
from the other bituminous fubftances in this, that it
yields by diftillation a volatile acid fait, which none of
the others do •, otherwife it affords the fame lort 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 water, it neither foftens nor undergoes any
fenfible alteration. Expofed to the fire in an open
vefl'el, it melts into a black mafs very like a bitumen :
It is partly foluble in fpirit of wine, and likewife in
feme effential oils j but it is with difficulty that the
expreffed ones are brought to aft upon it. The
ftronger lorts of fixed alkaline lixivia almoft totally dil-
folve it. nil
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 Calf, though
the yellow is moft valued by thofe who manufa&ure
beads and other toys with it, by reafon of its tranipa-
rency.
Amber is the bafis of all varniflies, by folution in the
ways defenbed under the article ^ arnish.
Amber, when it has once been melted, irrecoverably
lofes its beauty and hardnefc. There have been fome,
however, who pretended they had an art ot melting
fome fmall pieces of amber into a mafs, and conftitu-
tinfr large ones of them: but this feems fuch another
undertaking as the making of gold 5 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. (Phil. Tranf. N 248.
^ Could amber indeed be diffolved without impairing
its tranfparency, or one large mafs be made ot it by
uniting feveral fmall ones, it is eafy to fee what would
be the advantages of iuch a procefs. The art of em¬
balming might poflibly be alfo carried to a great height
by this, if we could preferve the human eorpfe in a
gran {’parent cafe of amber, as the bodies ot flies, fpi-
ders, grathoppers, &c. are to a great perfection.— Amber
Something of a fubftitute of this kind we have in fine ||
rofin *, which being diffolved by heat, and the bodies 0f Amberpii^,
fmall animals feveral times dipped in it, they are thus v
coated with colophony, that in fome degree refembles
amber; but this muti 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 fecundines in la¬
bour : but as in its crude ftate it is quite infoluble by
our juices, it certainly can have very little effect on the
animal fyilem, 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 w hich are deferibed in the proper place under the
article Pharmacy.
AuBER-Tree, the Englifh name of a fpccies of An-
THOSPERMUM.
AMBERG, a city of Germany, the capital ot 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 W ils. It has a great trade in
iron and other metals, which are found in the neigh¬
bouring mountains. E. Long. 12. Q. N. Lat. 49. 25-
Amberg, a lofty mountain ot Eat! 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 ot the country. The ipot
is marked by a flat Hone.
AMBERGRIS, Ambergrease, or Gray-Amber,
in Natural HJIo?y, is a folid, opaque, afh-coloured,
fatty, -inflammable tubftance, variegated like marble,
remarkably light, rugged, and uneven in its furface,
and has a fragrant odour when heated. It does not
effervefee with acids ; it melts freely over the fire into
a kind of yellow rofin ; and is hardly foluble in tpirit oi
wine.
It is found fwimming upon the fea, or the tea coatt,
or in the fand near the tea coaft ; efpecially in the At¬
lantic ocean, on the fea coaft ot Brazil, and that of
Madagafcar ; on the coaft of Africa, ot the Eaft In¬
dies, China, Japan, and the Molucca iflands : but moft
of the ambergris which is brought to England comes
from the Bahama iflands, from Providence, &c. where
it is found on the coaft. It is alto tometimes found m
the abdomen of whales by the whale fifhermen, always
in lumps of various fliapes and fizes, weighing from
half an ounce to a hundred and more pounds. The
piece which the Dutch Eaft India Company bought
from the king ofTydore, weighed 182 pounds. Ah
American fiflierman from Antigua tound tome years
ago, about fifty-two leagues fouth-eaft from the Wind¬
ward iflands, a piece ot ambergris 111 a whale whiefh
■weighed about a hundred and thirty pounds, and fold
for 500I. fterling.
There have been many different opinions concerning
the origin of this iubftance.
It has been fuppofed to be a foffil bitumen or naph¬
tha, exuding out ot the bowels ot 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 produdion.
Clufius afferted it to be a phlegmatic recrement, or
indurated
A M B [ 777 ] A M B
A'fabefgris. Indurated indigefti'ole part of the food, collected and
t v—< found in the ftomach of the whale, in the fame manner
as the BezOars are found in theftomachs of other ani¬
mals.
In an account communicated by Paul Dudley, Efq.
in the 23d volume of the Philofophical Tran factions,
the ambergris found in whales is reprefented as a kind
of animal product, like mutk and calloreum, See. fecret-
ed and collected in a particular bag or bladder, which
is furniihed with an excretory duct or canal, the fpout
of which runs tapering into and through the length of
the penis, j and that this bag, which juit lies over the
tellicles, is almoil full of a deep orange-coloured liquor,
not quite fo thick as oil, of the fame fmell as the balls
of ambergris, w'hich float and fwim loofe in it j which
colour and liquor may alfo be found in the canal of the
penis ; and that therefore ambergris 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 lawrs of the animal economy : For, in
the fir 11 place, ambergris Is frequently found in females
as wrell as males j although that found in females is ne¬
ver in inch large pieces, nor of fo good a quality, as
what is found in males. Secondly, No perfon who has
the leaft knowledge in anatomy or phyfiology, will
ever believe that organized bodies, inch as the beaks of
the fepia, which are fo conilantly found in ambergris
taken out of the whale, can have been abforbed from the
inteilines by the lafteals or lymphatics, and collected
with the ambergris in the precluded bag above men¬
tioned.
Ksempfer, 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 lie
fays that it is the dung of the wdiale 5 and that the Ja-
panefe for this reafon call it kyfura no fan, 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 flory, with which the Ja-
panefe impofed upon him, who had himfelf no direct ob-
fervation to prove the fadt.
This matter, therefore, remained a fubjedt of great
doubt ; and it wras generally thought to be more proba¬
ble, that ambergris, after having been fwallowed and
fomehow or other changed in the ftomach and bowels
of the wdiale, was found among its excrements.
But the moft fatisfadtory account of the real origin
of ambergris, is. that given by Dr Swediaur in the 73d
volume of the Philofophical Tranfadtions, art. 15.
W e are told by all writers on ambergris, that fome-
t imes claws and beaks of birds, feathers of birds, parts
of vegetables, fhells, filh, and bones of fiih, are found
in the middle of it, or varioutly mixed with it. Of a
very large quantity of pieces, however, which the Doc¬
tor examined, he found none that contained any fuch
thing 5 though he allows that fuch fubftances may fome-
times be found in it : but in all the pieces of any confi-
derable fize, whether found on the fea or in the whale,
he conftantly found a confiderable quantity of black
fpots, which, after the moft careful examination, ap¬
peared to be the beaks of the Sepia O&opodia ; and
thefe beaks, he thinks, might be the fubftances which
have hitherto been always miftaken for claws or beaks
of birds, or Ihells.
The prefence of thefe beaks in ambergris proves evi-
Vol, I. Part II.
dently, that all ambergris containing them is in its ori- Ambergm
gin, or muft have been once, of a very foft or liquid v——v—- '
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 wdiales, is a matter of fad
univerfally credited. But it has never been examined
into and determined whether the ambergris found upon
the fea and fea-COall, is the fame as that found in the
whale, or whether they are different from one another ;
whether that found on the fea or fea-coaft has fome pro¬
perties or conftituent parts which that found in the
whale has not 5 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 onlv
in a particular fpecies of them j whether it is conftantly
and always to be met with in thofe animals ; and, if fo,
in what part of their body it is to be found ?
All thefe queftions we find very fatisfaCtorily difeufled
by D r Swediaur.
According to the heft information that he could ob¬
tain from feveral of the moft intelligent perfons employ¬
ed 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 whale,
but in that particular fpecies only which is called the
fpermaceti whale, and which, from its defeription and
delineation, appears to be the Physeter Macrocepha*
lus Linnaei.
The New England fifhermen, 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£t, 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
wdiale filhery, confine their views to the phyfeter ma~
crocephalus. They look for ambergris in all the fper¬
maceti whales they catch, but it feldom happens that
they find any. Whenever they hook a fpermaceti
whale, they obferve, that it conftantly not only vomits
up wdiatevcr it has in its ftomach, but alfo generally
difeharges its faxes 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, w hich
leems torpid and fickly, they are always pretty fure to
find ambergris, as the whale in this ftate feldom voids
its faeces upon being hooked. They likewife generally
meet with it in the dead fpermaceti whales, which they
fometimes find floating on the fea. It is obferved alfo,
that the Wdiale 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 obfer¬
ved, that all thofe whales in whofe bowels ambergris
is found, feem not only torpid and lick, but are alfo
conftantly leaner than others 5 fo that, if we may judge
from the conftant union of thefe two circumftances, it
would feem that a larger colle&ion of ambergris in the
belly of the whale is a fource of difeafe, and probably
fometimes the caufe of its death. As foon as they
.5 F hook
A M B
[ 778 l
A M B
hook a Whale of this defcriptioi), torpid^ fickly, ema
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 defiance of two, but mofi
frequently of about fix or feven feet from the anus, and
never higher up in the inteftinal canal 5 which, accord¬
ing to their defcription, is in all probability the mtef-
tinum caecum, hitherto mifiaken tor a peculiar bag
made by nature for the fecretion and colleftion of this
lingular fubfiance. That the part they cut open to
come at the ambergris is no other than the inteftinal
canal is certain, becaufe they conftantly begin their in-
eifion 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 impolfible for them to miftake. The
ambergris found m the intcftinal canal is not fo hard
as that which is found on the lea or iea-coaft, but icon
grows hard in the air: when firft taken out it has
nearly the fame colour, and the fame difagreeable fmell,
though not fo firong, as the more liquid dung of the
whale has ; but on expofing it to the air, it by degrees
not only grows grayith, and its furface is covered^ with
a grayifh dull like old chocolate, but it allb loles its
difagreeable fmell, and, when kept for a certain length
of time, acquires the peculiar odour which is fo agree¬
able to moft people. < r /r i
The gentlemen the Dodfor converfed with confeffed,
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 difiinguifli
ambergris from hard indurated fecces. Ibis is fo true,
that whenever a whale voids its ficees 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 compadt fubftance than the reft.
Thefe they take up and wafh, knowing them to be am¬
bergris. ,
In confidering whether there be any material differ¬
ence between the ambergris found upon the fea or fe?-
coaft, and that found in the bowels or among the dung
of the whale, the Doftor 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, compadt-
nefs, 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 lets valuable. All ambergris
found in whales has at firft, when taken out of the in-
teftines, very near the fame Imell as the liquid excre¬
ments of that animal have ; it has then alfo nearly the
fame blackilh colour: they find it in the whale forne-
times quite hard, fometimes rather foftifli, but never lo
liquid as the natural faeces of that animal. And it is
a matter of fadt, 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
fuch an agreeable one, as that in general has which is Amhn
found fwimming upon the fea; therefore the goodnefs ' y"
of ambergris feems rather to depend on its age. By
being accumulated after a certain length of time in
the inteftinal 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 poffeffes the above-men¬
tioned qualities in a fuperior degree is, becaule it is
commonly older, and has been longer expofed to the
air. It is more frequently found in males than females j
the pieces found in females are in general 1 mailer, and
thole found in male's feem conftantly to be larger and
of a better quality ; and therefore the high price in
proportion to the iize is not merely imaginary for the
rarity’s fake, but in fome refpedts well founded, be¬
caufe fuch large pieces appear to be of a greater age,
and pofiefs the above-mentioned qualities in gene¬
ral in a higher degree of perfection, than fmaller
pieces.
It is known, that the fepia oClopodia, or cuttle-fifli,
is the conftant and natural food of the fpermaceti
whale, or phyfeter macrocephalus. Of this the fifhers
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, ill that part.
Another circumftance which corroborates the fatt is,
that the fpermaceti whale, on being hooked, generally
vomits up fome remains of the fepia. Hence it is eafy
to account for the many beaks, or pieces of beaks, of-
the fepia, found in all ambergris. The beak of the iepia
is a black horny fubftance, and therefore paffes undi-
gefted through the ftomach into the inteitinal eanal,
where it is mixed with the faeces ; after which it is ei¬
ther evacuated with them, or if thefe latter be preterna-
turally retained, forms concretions with them,-which
render the animal lick and torpid, and produce an ob-
ftipation, which ends either in an abicefs ol the abdo¬
men, as has been frequently obferved, or becomes iatal
tuthe animal j whence, in both the cales, on the burft-
ing of its belly, that hardened fubftauce known under
the name of ambej'gns, is found fwimming on the lea on
thrown upon the coalt.
From the preceding account, and his having conftant¬
ly found the above-mentioned beaks of the lepia in all
pieces of ambergris of any conliderable fize, Dr Swe—
diaur concludes, wfith great probability, that all amber¬
gris is generated in the bowels of the phyieter macroce¬
phalus or fpermaceti whale } and there mixed with the
beaks of the fepia odopodia, which is the principal food
of that whale. He therefore defines ambergris to be
the preternaturally hardened dung or faeces ol the phy¬
feter macroeephahjs, mixed with fome indigeftible relics
of its food.
The opinion of Dr Swediaur, with regard to the?
origin of ambergris, has been confirmed by the infor¬
mation of Captain J. Coffin, matter of a Ihip employed
in the fouthern whale fiffiery, given to a committee
of privy council in the year I791* According to Mr
Coffin’s information, American ffiips had lometimes
found final 1 quantities of ambergris ; but none, that he
knew of, had ever been found by Britifli Ihips. The
quantity which he had brought home amounted to
362 ounces j and it was taken liom the body of a fe¬
male Ipermaceti ivliale on the coaft of Guinea, which'
waft
A M B [ 779 ] A M B
Ambergris. 'yas leart, fickly, and old j and yielded but a imall pro-
  v portion of oil. While the people were employed in
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 obierved in the fame paflage, and the reft was
found in a bag a little below the paflage and commu¬
nicating with it. ' Mr Coffin fuppofes, that the fper-
maceti whale feeds almoft wholly on the fepia or
[quid; for when the whale is dying, a quantity of this
fiffi, fometimes whole, fometimes in pieces, is thrown
Up. The bills of the fquid were found, tome on the
outfxde adhering to it, and fome mixed with it. The
fpermaceti whale, when ftruck, generally voids her ex¬
crement, and if ffie does not, Mr Collin conjectures,
that ilie has no ambergris; for he fuppofes, that the
production of it is the caufe or the effect of fome dif-
order; and that it is moft likely to be found in a fickly
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 was fcarce, at 25s. It was bought part¬
ly for home confumption, and partly for exportation to
Turkey, Germany, and France. (.Phil. Tranf. vol.
Ixxxi.j
The ufe of ambergris in Europe is now nearly con¬
fined to perfumery, though it has formerly been re¬
commended in medicine by feveral learned phyficians.
Hence the ElTentia Ambrte Hoffmanni, Tinctura Re¬
gia Cod. Parifmi, Trochifci de Ambra Ph. Wurtem-
berg, &c.
If we wiffi to fee any medicinal effeds from this fub-
ftance, the Doctor obferves, we muft certainly not ex-
peCt them from two or three grains, but give rather
as many fcruples of it for a dofe ; though even then,
he thinks, there would not be reafon to exped much
efledl from it, as he' had himfelf taken of pure un^
adulterated ambergris in powder 30 grains at once
without obferving the leaft fenflble effeCt from it. A
failor, however, who had the curiofity 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 \ which proves that it is not quite an inert
fubftance.
In Afia 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
leveral diflies as a fpice. A great quantity of it is al¬
io 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
nfed in Catholic countries. The Turks make ufe of it
as an aphrodifiac. Our performers 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 mufk,
See. though its fmell is to fome perfons extremely of-
fenfive.
Ambergris may be known to be genuine by its fra¬
grant feent when a hot needle or pin is thruft into it,
and its melting like fat of an uniform confiftence $
whereas the counterfeit will not yield fuch a fmell, nor
prove of fuch a fat texture. One tiling, however, is
very remarkable, that this drug, which is the moft
fiweet of all the perfumes, ffiould be capable of being
refembled in fmell by a preparation of one of the moft Ambergris
odious of all ftinks. Mr Homberg found that a vefl’el 11
in which he had made a long digeftion of human, Ambient^
faeces, acquired a very ftrong and perfect 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 was fo ftrong and offenfive,
that the veffel was forced to he 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
{tuffs are manufadtured here. E. Long. 5. 15. N. Lat.
45- i8-
AMBETTUWAY, a barbarous name of a tree,
the leaves of which, when boiled in wine, are faid to
create an appetite, and are ufed by the people in Guinea
with that intention.
AMJBIANI, or Ambianensis civitas, now A-
miens, a city of Picardy. It is called Samarohriva by
Caelar and Cicero : which, according to Valefius, fig-
nifies the bridge of the Samara, or Somme. Ambtani
is a later name, taken from that of the people, after
the ulual manner of the lower age. This people, ac¬
cording to CaTar, furniffied 5000 men for the fiege of
Alefia.
AMBIDEXTER, a perfon who can ufe both hands
with the lame 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
Ipirits from the heart and brain, which furniffies both
hands with the neceffary ftrength and agility ; others,
as Nicholas Maffa, to an eredt 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 conjedtures, or rather
chimeras. Many think, that were it not for educa¬
tion and habit, all mankind would be ambidexters j
and in fadt, 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
neceffity 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 were en¬
joined to exercife both hands alike $ and Plato enjoins
ambidexterity to be obferved and encouraged in his re¬
public.
Ambidexter, among Engli/h Lawyers, a juror or
embracer, who accepts money of both parties, for giving
his verdidfl: an offence for which he is liable to be im-
prifoned, for ever excluded from a jury, and to pay ten
times the fum he accepted.
AMBIENT, a term ufed for fuch bodies, efpecially
J F 2 fluids,
A M B [ 780
Ambient fluids, as encompafs others on all iidtjs : thus, the air is
I) frequently called an ambient fluid, becauie it is diilufed
Ambitus, round the earth.
U’"-V   AMBIEKLE, a town of France, in the department
of the Rhone and Loire. It is the clnet place ol a can¬
ton in a diftridt of lloanne.
AMB LGEN/E OVES, in the heathen facrifices, 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 facrifices to Juno.
AMBIGENAL HYPERBOLA, a name given by Sir
Ifaac Newton to one of the triple hyperbolas ol the ie-
cond order, having one of its infinite legs falling within
an angle formed by the aflymptotes, and the other
without.
AMBIGUITY, a defedt of language, whereby words
are rendered ambiguous. See the next article.
AMBIGUOUS, a term applied to a word or expref-
fion which may be taken in different fentes. An ano¬
nymous writer has publifhed a didlionary ol ambiguous
words: Lexicon PJiilofophicnm de Ambiguitatc Vocabulo-
rum, Francof. 1597, 4to.—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 1 eri-
METER.
Ambit was particularly ufed, in antiquity, to de¬
note a fpace of ground to be lelt 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 2U feet was 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 landtity ailigned
to it was limited. The whole ground wherein a tomb
was eredted was not to be fecreted from the common
ufes j for this reafon, it was frequent to infenbe the
ambit on it, that it might be known how far its fanc-
tity extended : thus, in frontepedes tot, in agrimpedes
tot.
AMBITION (amhitio') is generally ufed in a bad-
fen fe, for an immoderate or illegal puriuit of power. .
In the ftridl meaning, however, of the word, it ligni-
fies the fame with the ambitus of the Romans. See the
next article. r t r r •
Ambition, in the former and more ufual lenle, is one
of thofe paflions that is never to be latisfied. It fweils
gradually with fuccefs 5 and every acquifition ferves but
a#S a fpur to further attempts.
“ If a man (it has been well obferved) could at once
accomplilli all his defines, he would be a miferable crea¬
ture } for the chief pleafure of this life is to wiili and
defire. Upon this account, every prince who afpires
to be defpotic afpires to die of wearinefs. Searching
every kingdom for the man who has the leaf! comfort
in life, Where is he to be found ?—In the royal palace.
 What! his Majefty ? Yes, especially if he he de-
fpotic.” .
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 a&, the latter in the mind.
] A M B
Ambitus was of two kinds j one lawful, the other
infamous. The firfl, called alfo ambitus popularis, was
when a perfou 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. I. Amici, or
friends, under different relations, including cognaii, aj-
Jines, necejjarii,familial es, vicini, tribules, clientes, mu-
nicipes,fodalcs, collegcc. 2. Notnenclatura, or the call¬
ing and fainting 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. Prenjutio, the fhaking
every perfon by the hand, offering him his fervice,
friendihip, &c. The fecond kind was that wherein
force, cajoling, money, or other extraordinary influence,
was made ufe of. This was held infamous, and fevere-
ly punifhed, as a fource of corruption and other mil-
chiefs.
Ambitus was pradtifed not only at Rome, and in the
forum, but in the meetings and aflemblies of other
towns in Italy, where numbers of citizens were ufual]y
found, on account of trade and bufmeis. The practice
ceafed in the city from the time of the emperors, by
reafon polls were not then to be had by courting the
people, but by favour from the prince.
Perfons who had caufes depending practifed the fame,
going about among the judges to implore their favour
and mercy. They who pradtiied this were called A/u-
bitioji. Hence we alfo meet w ith ambitiofa decreta,
and ambitiofa juf a, ufed for fuch fentences and de¬
crees as were thus procured from the judges, contra¬
ry to reafon and equity, either gratuitoufly or for mo¬
ney.
AMBLE, in Horfemanjliip, a peculiar pace by
Avhich a horfe’s two legs of the fame fide move at the
fame time. See Horsemanship.
AMBLESIHE, a town in Weftmoreland, fcated
at one end of Winandermeer. W. Long. o. 49. N. Lat.
54- 30-
AMBLETEUSE, a fca-port town of France, in the
department of the Straits of Calais, in the Engliffi
Channel, twelve miles fouth-weft from Calais, and eight
north from Boulogne. x\t this port Caefar embarked
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.
50. 48.
AMBLYGON, in Geometry, denotes an obtule-
angled trkngle, or a triangle one of whole angles con-
fifts of more than 90 degrees.
AMBLYOPY, among phyfieians, fignifies an ob»
feuration of the fight, fo that objefils at a diftance can¬
not be clearly diftinguifhed.
AMBO, or Ambon, a kind of pulpit or defk, in the
ancient churches, where the priefts and deacons flood
to read or fmg part of the fervice, and preach to the
people 5 called alfo Analogium. The term is derived
from xnx/3cavilv, to mount.,, I he umbo ivas mounted
upon two fides } whence fome alio derive the appella¬
tion from the Latin ambo, “ both.”
The ambo was afeended bv Heps; which occafioned
that
Ambitus
Ambo.
A MB [ 781 ] A M B
Ambo that part of the office performed there to he called the
1| Gradual. See Gradual.
Lmboife. Befides the gofpel, which was read at the top of the
^ anibe, and the epiitle, which was read a Hep lower,
they likewife publifhed from tliis place the a£ts of the
martyrs, the commemoration of departed faints, and
the letters of peace and communion feat by one church
to another : here, too, converts made a public pro-
feffion of their faith 5 and bilhops their defence, when
accufed j treaties alfo were fometimes concluded, and
the coronations of emperors and kings performed, in
the fame place.
The modern reading-delks and pulpits have been ge¬
nerally fubflituted for the ancient ambos 5 though in
fome churches remains of the ambos are Hill feen. In
that of St John de Lateran at Borne, there are two
moveable ambos.
AMBOHITSMENE, or Vohitsanghombe, a
province of the ill and of Madagafcar, fo called from
fome red mountains of the fame name, lying in S. Lat.
20°. Thefe mountains are very high, refembling the
Tafelberg of 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 marlhes. Here is alfo a lake of 15 leagues
in length, and the fame in breadth, containing many
fmall illands. The inhabitants of the mountains are
called Zaferahongs; and have plenty of gold, iron,
cattle, filk, &c.
AMB OISE, a town of France, in the former pro¬
vince of Touraine, now the department of the Indre
and Loire, feated at the confluence of the rivers Loire
and Mafle. The town is the capital of a diflrift, and
has been rendered famous in hiltory by the confpiracy
of the ProteHants in 1560, which opened the fatal wars
of religion in France. The caflle is fituated on a
craggy rock, extremely difficult of accefs, and the
lides of which are almoH perpendicular. At its foot
flows the Loire, which is divided into two Hreams by
a fmall ifland. To this fortrefs the duke of Guife,
when he expe&ed an infurredtion among the Hugue¬
nots, removed Francis II. as to a place of perfect
fecurity. Only two detached parts of the ancient caltle
now remain, one of which Avas con Hr noted by Charles
\ III. and the other by Francis I. The former of thefe
princes was born and died at Amboife. The town is
fituated in E. Long. 1. 10. N. Lat. 47. 25.
Amboise, Z)’, Francis, fon of a fnrgeon 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 Hudies at the univeriity of Na¬
varre, where he devoted his talents to rhetoric and phi-
lofophy with great affiduity and luccels. His eloquence
and extenlive information railed him in 1572 to the
place of folicitor of the French nation. He afterwards
applied to the Hudy of the law, and became one of the
moH accompliflied advocates of the parliament of Paris.
He was next advanced to be counlellor in the parlia¬
ment of Bretagne, and next to be a maHer of requells
and counfellor of Hate. He vifited different countries,
and publiflied the hiflory of his travels, with feveral
poetical pieces. He prefixed an apologetical preface
to the edition of Abelard’s works in 1616, and rvith
much induflry collected many of his manuferipts. His
brother Adrian refe to conliderable confequence in the Amboifc.
church } and his brother James was not let's eminent as y-~
a phyfician. (Gen. F)i£i.)
Amboise, Z)’, George, a French cardinal and mi-
nilter of Hate, Avas born in the year 1460. His father
Avas a defeendant of the renowned houfe of Amboife,
and, through the influence of his poAverful connexions,
he beheld the path of church preferment open before
his fon •, therefore he deilined him to the clerical order.
In thefe fanguine expectations heAvas not difappointed J
for he had fufficient influence to procure for him the
biihopric of Montauban at the early age of fourteen.
Louis XL appointed him one of his almoners 5 and in
the courfe of political events, he became Hrongly at¬
tached to the duke of Orleans, and fuffered imprifon-
ment in his caufe. When this prince, hoAvever, had
regained his favour at court, he Avas elevated to the
archbifhopric of Narbonne. After he had remained
there for fome time, he changed that Hation for
the archbifiiopric of Kouen. When the duke of Or¬
leans Avas governor of Normandy, he made him lieu¬
tenant general; and in that fituation he Avas of efl'en-
tial fervice to the province, in refloring juHice and
order. \\ hen the duke of Orleans became Louis XII.
Amboife AAras fuddenly railed to the elevated Hation of
firll miniHer and one of the cardinals. The fame re¬
gard to equity, Avhich characieriy.ed his conduct Avhen
lieutenant general, induced him to diminilh the impoils,
which rendered him very popular as firB miniHer of.
France. In 1499, by his advice, the king undertook
the conquell of the Milanefe, and, on their revolt, the
firfl miniHer Avas lent to quell the rebellion. The great
confidence Avhich Louis had repofed in him, induced
the pope to make him his legate in France ; and, in
that Hation, he pioufly laboured to reform the eccle-
fiaHical orders. He enforced his doctrine by precept,
not only in letting 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 oavu account he was ambitious of the papal chair,
“ merely for the purpofe of efledting the reformation
of abides and the correction of manners.” It is re¬
ported that, upon the death of Pius III. he ivould
have been eledted pope had he not been deceived by
the Italian cardinals. Difappointed in his vieAvs ivith
regard to the papal honours, he perfuaded his maHer to
declare Avar againll the Venetians, to Avhofe influence
he fuppofed his failure was Giving. But this impru¬
dent undertaking was fuddenly interrupted ; for in the
profecution of his journey for the Venetian war, he
Avas feized with an ilinefs, and confined in the city of
Lyons. Affliction roufes the reflecting powers of the
mind, and calls to remembrance the paft aCtions of life.
From the confeioufnefs, of his pall errors and faults he
was induced to exprefs his contrition to a brother of the
infirmary Avho attended him at the convent of the Ce-
leflines. In the year 1510, and in the 50th of his age,
he breathed his laH in that place. InduHry, Headinefs,
and good intention, characterized his conduCt as a
prime miniHer. He flione with peculiar brightnefs as
a man of literature. By his liberality and patronage,
the arts and fciences flourilhed under his adminiflra-
tion. It may be proper to add, that, affiHed by fome
off
A M B
[
Amboule, of die aWeft. lawyers in the kingdom, he formed a code
Amboyna. of laws to reform the reigning abufes in the nation.
" v Thus, by fteadilv purfuing the general welfare, he ob¬
tained the appellation of the “ father of the people.”
{Gen. Biog.).
AMBOULE, a province of Madagascar, fomewhat
be the northward of S. Lat. 230. It is a fertile and
agreeable country, watered by the river Manampani,
whole mouth lies in S. Lat. 23. 30. The country pro¬
duces plants and fruits in plenty. Iron mines are alfo
found here. The black cattle are extremely fat, and
their flefli excellent. In this province Hands a large
town of the fame name j near which is a fountain of
hot water, within 20 feet of a fmall river whole fand
is almoll burning. The water of the fountain is fa id
to boil an egg hard in two hours 5 and the inhabitants
affirm it to be a Sovereign remedy againft the gout.
The people here are employed in ditt'erent preparations
of iron and Heel, which they have from their own mines,
and forge Several inllruments with tolerable {kill. Their
governor is honoured with the title of Rabertmt, or
Great Lord. He exercifes Sovereign authority and ab¬
solute power j but is frequently, in times of diftrefs,
SurpriSed by his Subje&s, who alfemble in great num¬
bers, Seize his perfon, and threaten him with death un-
leSs they are relieved. To extricate himSelf from this
dilemma, he is inftantly obliged to ifl’ue orders for dis¬
tributing provifions among them ; but is ufually repaid
with intereft, a quadruple return being made in a plen¬
tiful harveft. The people of Amboule live in great
licentioufnefs with their Superiors, and their country is
generally a retreat for the roguilh and lazy.
AMBOYNA, one of the Molucca illands 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 Hutch Eaft India Company. It is
about 24 leagues in circumference. Befides cloves,
it likewife abounds in moft of the tropical fruits and
fiflx} nor is there here any deficiency of good water j
but fleffi is very Scarce. This Scarcity, 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, induftrioufly diScouraged the
cultivation of every efculent commodity, with the view
of withholding fubfiftence from thofe who might be
tempted to invade them.
Of the natives the men wear large whifkers, but
leave little hair upon the chin 5 and have only a flight
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 Some Chriftians: but
they are all Said to be lazy, deceitful, and treacherous.
They make war with fmall Swift veffels, in Shape like
dragons with regard to the head and tail. Their houfes
are built of bamboo canes and Sago trees. They ileep
on mats. Their weapons are bows and arrows, jave¬
lins, Scimitars, and targets.
Amboyna W’as firft difcovered by the Portuguefe,
who built a fort upon it, which wras taken from them
by the Dutch in 1605. They did not, however, be¬
come mafters of the whole ifland at once. The Eng-
2 ] A M B
lifh had here five factors, who lived under the protec- Amboyna
tion of the Dutch caftle ; holding thiemfelves Safe, in j
refpedt of the friendship between the two nations.
Great differences had arifen between the Dutch and
Engliffi coloniils in this part of the world ; till at lafl,
the Englifh Eaft India Company applying to King
James, a treaty was concluded in 1619, by which the
concerns both of the English and Dutch were regu¬
lated, and certain meafures agreed upon for prevent¬
ing future difputes. This was an additional Security
to the English j and by virtue of the treaty, they
continued two years in Amboyna, trading with the
Dutch. During this time, however, Several difputes
happened; which occafioning mutual diScontents, the
complaints were Sent to Jacatra, in the ifland of Java
Major, to the council of defence of both nations reli-
dent there: but they not agreeing, a Slate of the mat¬
ter was Sent over to Europe, to be decided by the Eaft
India Companies of both nations ; or, in cafe they
could not agree, by the king of England and the
Slates of Holland, according to an article in the treaty
of 1619.—But before thei'e difputes could be decided
in a legal wav, the Dutch, in order to give the more
Specious colouring to the violent Seizure which they
meditated of the illand of Amboyna, made ufe of the
Stale pretext of a confpiracy being formed by the Eng¬
lish and Japanefe to dilpoffefs them of one of their forts
in this place. This plot, it was alleged, had been
confeffed by a Japanefe and Portuguefe in the EngliSh
Service, who were moft inhumanly tortured til! they
Should anfwer in the affirmative Such interrogatories as
might favour the Secret delign of thole cruel inquifitors.
Upon the injurious evidence of this conftrained decla¬
ration, they immediately accufed the EngliSh faftors
of the pretended confpiracy. Some of them they im¬
prisoned, and others they loaded with irons, and Sent
on board their Ships 5 Seizing at the Same time all the
Englilh merchandise, and their writings and books.
Thefe a£ts of violence were followed by a Scene of
horror unexampled in the puniShment of the moft atro¬
cious offenders. Some of the factors they tortured,
by compelling them to Swallow water till their bodies
rvere diftended to the utmoft pitch ; then taking the
miferable victims down from the boards to which they
had been faftened, and caufing them to dilgorge the
Avater : if they did not acknowledge the imputed guilt,
the procefs of torture was repeated. Others of the
Engliffi they confumed by burning them gradually
from the feet upAvards, in order to extort the confeffion
of a confpiracy, which Avas only pretended by the in¬
fernal policy of thofe Savage tormentors. Some had the
nails of the fingers and toes torn off} and in iome they
made holes in their breafts, filling the cavities Avith in¬
flammable materials, to which they afterwards put
fire. Thofe who did not expire under the agonies of
torture vvere configned to the hands of the execu¬
tioner.
The allegation of this pretended confpiracy Avas
equally void of probability and truth. The Dutch had
a garrifon of 300 men in the fort, befides the burghers
in the toAvn and Several other forts and garrifons in
the ifland, Avhile the number of the Engliffi did not
amount to 20 men } nor were even thofe provided Avith
arms or ammunition to efteft Such a deiign as that with
Avhich they Avere charged. There likewife Avas not one
Engliffi
A M B l >■
Amboyna: Englifli vefTel in the harbour, whereas the Dutch liad
A M B
1 eight Ihips riding near the town : neither, when the
Dutch broke open the defks and trunks of the factors,
was there found a fingle paper qi* letter which could be
conftrued into the molt diilant relation to any confpi-
racy. Add to all this, that fuch of the unhappy fuf-
ferers as could fpeak to be heard, declared in the moll
folemn manner their innocence of the plot with which
they were charged.
The whole of the tranfaction affords the moll irrefra¬
gable tellimony, that it was founded entirely upon a
political fiction of the Hollanders, who had themfelves
formed the defign of monopolizing the trade of the Spice
Illands •, for the accomplilliment of which they perpe¬
trated about the fame time, a limilar tragedy at Fool-
eron, where they put to the torture 162 of the natives,
whom they likewife charged with a pretended confpira-
oy. It may juftly be reckoned Angular in the fortune
of this commercial republic, that they have ever lince
been permitted to enjoy in peace thofe invaluable illands,
which were originally obtained by fuch atrocious in¬
fringements of humanity and the laws of nations, as will
ftain the Dutch annals, to the latell ages, with indelible
infamy.
The more effe&ually to preferve this trade, the Dutch
have had all the clove trees in the adjacent illands grub¬
bed up. Sometimes alfo, when the harvell is very large,
part of the produce of Amboyna itfelf is burnt.—To
prevent the rearing of cloves in any of the neighboux-ing
illands, or the inhabitants from felling them to llrangers,
the governor of Amboyna makes the tour of his govern¬
ment with a fleet of curi'icurries, conlilling fometimes of
20, and at others of 30, 40, or 50 fail. This expedi¬
tion is made with all the pomp Imaginable, in order to
gratify the pride and folly of the Indian chiefs. The
true reafon of their taking all this pains is, becaufe ex¬
perience has lliown, that no contrads, however folemn,
can pi’event the inhabitants of thofe illands from felling
their fpice to llrangers: and even now, frauds are fo
frequently pradifed by the Dutch themfelves, though
the Company is inexorable in punilliing them, that the
common people call the cloves galken-h'i/ic/, 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 walhed from feme mountains by the torrents.
Here alfo grow feveral kinds of valuable wood, of which
they make tables, chafes, eferutoires, &c. for tlxe princi¬
pal perfons in the government ; and the rell is fold all
over the Indies at a vexy extxavagant late.
Amboyna is divided into two parts, viz. a greater
and leffer peninfula. The former, called JrJUon, is 12
leagues in length, and two and a half. broad. In this
the Dutch have no Ids than five forts, or rather llrong
redoubts, mounted with cannon. The other is called
Leytimor, five leagues in length, and one and a half
bread, which is the fouthern part of the Aland ; on
this Hands the fort of Vidoria, which is the refidence
of the governor and .his council, compofed of 15 gen¬
tlemen or merchants. The fort refs is a fquare, the
ramparts mounted with 60 pieces of brafs cannon, and
the garrifon ufually compofed of 600 men. It is fo
llrong by nature and art, as to he in a manner impreg-
3
83 ]
nable, and fo effectually does it command the harbour, Amboyna,
that no veffel could come in or go out without being Ambracia!
funk by the cannon, if the governor chofe. The inha-1 v 1
bitants of Amboyna ax-e competed at 70,000 or 80,000,
of whom but a fmall number are Dutch : and this obli¬
ges the latter to be continually upon their guard, and
to keep a competent number of troops in each of their
ferts, particularly in that of Middleburgh, which Hands
upon the iffiimus that conneds thefe peninfulas. There
are alfo redoubts and garrifons in all the iflands of this
government.
AMBRACIA, one of the moll confiderable cities of
ancient Epirus, fituated on the river Aradhus, at a
fmall diltance from the fea. At firil it was a free city;
but was afterwards reduced by the ^Eacidae kings of
Epirus, who chole it lor the place of their refidence.
In procefs of time, the yEtolians made themfelves maf-
ters of it, and held it till the year before Chriil 189.
when it fell into the hands of the Romans.
At this time Ambracia was a place of great llrength.
It was defended on one fide by the river Aradhus, and
on the other by fleep and craggy hills; and furrounded
with a high and thick wall, about three miles in com-
pals. I he Roman conful Fulvius began the fiege by
forming two camps, feparated by the river, but with a.
communication between them; the Romans were polled.-
in one, and the Epirots their allies in the other. He
then threw up two lines, one of circumvallation, the
other of contravallation ; and built a wooden tower in
form of a callle, over againll the citadel, which Hood on
a hill. The Aitolians, however, before the lines were
quite finilhed, found means to throw about 1000 men
into the place.
The lines being completed, the city xvas attacked in >
five different places at once. The battering rams lliook
the wall on all fides: and the Romans, from their
moveable towers, pulled down the battlements with a
kind of feythes, which they fattened to long beams. -
The befieged made a vigorous defence. They were
night and day on. the walls, and indefatigable in pre¬
venting the-effects of the rams and feythes. The llrokes
of the former they deadened, by letting down beams,
lai'ge Hones, lumps of lead, &c. by means of pulleys,
upon them when they xvere in motion: the others they
X'endered ufelefs, by pulling the beams to which they
were faflqned into the city with hooks contrived for the
purpofe.
While Fulvius was carrying on the fiege, Nicander,
the HLtolian proetoi’, found means to throw 500 men
into the city, under the command of one Nicodamus,
with whom Nicander agreed to attack the Roman camp
in the night-time; 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 narrowly watched the time at
which he was ordered to fally ; 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; but the third, commanded
A M B
I 784 1
A M B
Anibracia, Ijy two i^tolian .generals, made a great flaugliter of the
Ambreada. Homans, and not finding themfelves feconded by Nican-
‘ ■ v der, retired m good order into the city.
Though the belieged were thus abandoned and had
no hopes of ailiilance, they continued to defend them¬
felves with incredible vigour and refolution. The Ho¬
mans had no fooner made a bi’each in the wall, but it
was repaired, and a new one built behind it. 1 he con-
ful, therefore, altered his meafures } and, inftead of
making breaches with the ram, began to undermine
the Avail, in hopes of throwing down great part of it at
once, and entering the city before the befieged could
have time to build a new wall. The miners being co¬
vered, wfcre 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 Avail
Avhere they heard the llrokes of the pickaxes of the
Homans. When the two mines met, a battle eniued,
firft with pickaxes and fpades, and then with fwords
and fpears: but this attack did not lafl long, each par¬
ty making themfelves a kind of rampart Avith the loole
earth. The iEtolians, in order to drive their enemies
quite out of the mine, invented a machine which they
brought to the place where the two mines met: this
was a holloAv vtdfel with an iron bottom bored through
in many places, and armed with fpikes at proper dillan*
ces, to prevent the enemy from approaching it : this
veflel they filled Avith feathers, which they let on fire,
and with belloAvs driving the fmoke on the befiegers,
obliged them to leave the mine half fuffocatcd. This
interval the iEtolians made ufe of in repairing the foun¬
dations of the Avail.
The vigorous refiflance made by the Ambracians,
dioAvever, did not raife the courage of the nation in ge¬
neral, Avho were determined on a peace with Home at
all events. Fulvius, in the mean time, being defirous
of getting pofl’eflion of Ambracia before the conclulion
of the peace, employed Amynander, king of the Atha-
manes, to perfuade the inhabitants to furrender. As
Amynander had great interell in Ambracia, having long
refided there, he eafily perfuaded them to capitulate on
the folloAving terms, viz. That the iEtolian garrifon
fhould have leave to march out of the city 5 that the
inhabitants Ihould pay 500 talents, 200 doAVn, and the
reft at fix equal payments 5 and that they fhould deliver
to the conful all the prifoners and deferters that AVere
in the city. The gates were then opened to Fulvius }
and he was prefented Avith 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. t
From this time the city of Ambracia made no figure
in hiftory. It is fcarcely known at prefent where the
city flood ; but that called Arba, in Upper Albania,
feems bell to agree Avith what is laid of the ancient fi-
•tuation of this city. The river AraCtlms, on which
Ambracia was fituated, is iioav called by the natives
Spagmagniuriji.
AMBREADA, thus they call the falfe or fiftitious
amber, which the Europeans ufe in their trade with
the negroes on the coaft of Africa, and particularly
an the river Senegal. There are fome large and .red
pieces of it, a thoufand of which making twenty ropes Ambread*
or firings, weigh three pounds. There are others ||
fmall, and alfo red, which weigh but trvo pounds and , Aml'rgfe'f
a half.
AMBRESBURY, or Amesbury, a market toAvn
in Wiltlhire, about fix miles north of Salilhury, and £-
tuated in VV. Fong. 1.40. and N. Eat. 51. 20.
AMBRONES, a Gauliih people Avho lived near the
foot of the Alps, between Switzerland and Provence.
They invaded the Roman territories in conjunction Avith
the Cimbri and Teutones; but Avere defeated Avith great
llaughter by Marius, about 101 years before Chrift.
Their women, who had llaid during the engagement
in a kind of fortification made Avith their carts, on feeing
their hulbamls flying, and the Romans at their heels,
armed themfel\res with axes, and, gnafhing Avith their
teeth, fell Avith fury on the purfuers and the puriued.
Their firft rage being ipent, they defired to furrender
themfelves, upon the fingle condition, that their chafti-
ty Ihould not he violated ; but this equitable requeft be¬
ing denied, they firft killed their children, and then
themfelves, not one remaining alive out of the Avhole
multitude.
AMBROSE, Saint, an illand in the South Paci¬
fic ocean, on the coaft ol Chili, four or fi\re leagues
due Avefl from St lelix illand. At firft vieAV, it ap¬
pears like tAvo fmall illands j but after a nearer ap¬
proach, it is found they are joined by a reef. It lies
in 8. Lat. 26. 13. W. Long. 80. 55. from Greenwich.
There is a large rock four miles to the nortliAvard of
the illand, called, from its appearance, Sail-rock. Cap¬
tain Roberts, who Avas here in I792> found St Felix
iiland inaccelhble. On St Ambroie illand, his ciew
killed and cured 13,000 leal Ikins of the bell quality,
in feven Aveeks. The illand lias little elle to recom¬
mend it. Fifli and crawfifh abound. The heft feafon
for fealing is from the ill of April to the ill ot Au-
gufl. _ .
Ambrose of Alexandria, lived in the beginning
of the third century, and Avas the intimate friend of
Origen. Jerome and Eulebius ciiller in the account
theAr give of this man. Ihc one denominates him a
Marcionite, the other a ^ alentinian j hut they both a-
gree that he Avas converted to the orthodox faith,
through means of the preaching ot Origen. As is
generally the calc Avith new profelytes, he became
very zealous, and Avas appointed deacon either at
Alexandria, or at Cceiarea, svhere Protectetus Avas
prefbyter. Origen dedicated many of his Avorks, and
among others his hook on martyrdom, to Ambiofe ,
at Avhofe defire and expence they were publilhed. O-
rigen and Ambroie Avere alike indefatigable in then
application to lludy, and liA-cd in terms of the moll
intimate friendfhip. Origen being poor, Ambrofe ailift-
ed him, by providing notaries and amanuenfes to copy
his Avorks.
In that period of fociety, A\rhen the increafe of co¬
pies Avas a Avork of immenfe labour and great expence,
thefe Avere not only inflances of private friendfhip, but
of public utility. ’ Ambroie is thus juftly 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. Ihe friends of
Ambrofe excufe this part of his condua, by faying
that Origen chofe to live poor, and daily dependant on
A M B
Ambrofe. a divine Providence.
According to fome hiftorians,
Ambrofe died as a martyr, along with his friend Pro-
te&etus, in the perfecution under Maximin, about the
year 236 5 but the dedication of Origen’s eight books
againit Celfus fliows, that though he died before Orb
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 fludy of the facred Scriptures.
Gen. Bt'og.J
Ambrose, bifliop of Milan, was one of the moll
eminent fathers of the church in the fourth century.
He was a citizen of Rome, and born in France; fome
hillorians fay in the year 334 ; but others fay in the
year 340. The birth of Ambrofe is faid 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 Praetorian prefeft of Gallia
Narbonenfis; but, upon bis death, the widow repaired
to Rome with her family. Ambrofe received a reli¬
gious education, and was reared in the habits of'vir¬
tuous conduct by his mother, who was an accomplilh-
ed woman, and eminent for piety. The names of
thole mailers who inllrudted him in the rudiments of
the Gx-eek and Roman literature have not been tranf-
mitted to pollex-ity : but in thefe branches he made
eax-ly proficiency 5 and, having dix-edted 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 llation for fome time,
Probus appointed him confular of Liguria and Emilia,
comprehending the territories of Milan, Liguria, Tu¬
rin, Genoa, and Bologna. Milan was chofen for the
place of his refidence, and by' the prudent and gentle
xxfe of his power, he conduced the affaix-s of the pro¬
vince with general approbation and growing popula-
rity.
In the year 374, Auxentius the bilhop of that city
died, and his death gave a fudden change to the foi’-
tune and literaxy purfuits of Ambrofe. At that pe¬
riod the tide of religious contention i’an high between
the Catholics and the Arians, and there enfued a llrong
contell concerning the choice of a new bilhop. When
the people were affembled in the church to eiedt, Am-
brofe, in the character of governor of the place, went
into the alfembly, and in a grave, eloquent, and pa¬
thetic addrefs, admonifhed the multitude to lay afide
their contention^, and, in the fpirit of religious meek-
nefs, to proceed to the important work of choofxng a
bilhop. It is repoi’ted, that when Ambrofe had finiflx-
ed his addrefs, a child cried out, “ Ambrofe is bifhop.”
The agitated multitude fuddenly caught the fuperlli-
tious flame, and regarding this as a miraculous intima¬
tion, they unanimoully elected Ambrofe bilhop of Mi¬
lan. Some fuppofe that this was entirely a device of
Ambrofe or his friends, and others afex-ibe it to mere
accident. Ambrofe llrongly affected reluctance, 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 di(’covered, when the will of the em¬
peror wras known concerning the confirmation of his
election. Finding it inconvenient any longer to. iciill
Vol. I. Part II.
[ 785 1
A M"B
the public choice, he exchanged the enfxgns of civil AmWofe,
for thofe of ecclefxallical dignity j and, after being bap- '■ — v“"'
tized, he was ordained bilhop of Milan, about the end
of the year 374.
But whatever may be the fentimersts of mankind
concerning the lingular conduit of Ambrofe in accept¬
ing an office for which he was certainly unqualified in
refpedt of previous lludies, habits, and employments,
yet it mull be admitted, that he immediately betook
himfelf to the neceffaxy lludies, and with ability, bold-
nefs, and integx-ity, acquitted himfelf in his new eleva¬
tion. Having appropxuated his money to the pool’,
fettled his lands upon the church, with the exception
of making his filler tenant during life, and having com¬
mitted the care of his family to his brother, he entei'ed
upon a regular courfe of theological ftudy, under the
care of Simplician, a preffiyter of Rome, and devoted
himfelf to the labours of the chui’ch.
Compelled by the irruption of the Goths and the
northern barbarians, who ruffied down upon the Ro¬
man empire, fpreading terror and defolation all around,
Ambrofe, along with feveral others, fled to Illyricum j
but he remained only a fhort 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 ; therefore, he and his com¬
panions returned to their x’efpeflive habitations.
After he returned to his ecclefiallic llation, the elo¬
quence and abilities of that zealous bifiiop found ample
icope in the difpute between the Ax-ians and the Catho¬
lics. About this era, the dodlidne of Arius concern¬
ing the jxerfon of Chrill had been extenfively received,
and had many powerful defendei'S, both among the
clergy and the common people. Ambrofe efpoufed
the caule of the Catholics. Gratian, the fon of the
elder \ alentinian, marfhalled on the fame fide. But
the younger ^ alentinian, who xvas now become his
eolleague in the empix-e, adopted the opinions of the
Arians ; and all the arguments and eloquence of Am-
broj'e were xnfufficient to reclaim the young pi’ince tot
the orthodox faith. Theodofius, the emperor of the
call, alio profeffed the orthodox faith, yet there were
numerous adherents to Arius fcattered throughout his
dominions. In this genei'al Hate of x*eligious opinions
in the empire, two leadex-s of the Arians, Palladius and
Secundianus, confident of numbers, prevailed upon
Gratian to call a genei'al council from all parts of that
empire. This requefl appeared fo equitable that he
complied without hefitation; but Ambrofe, aware of
the confequence, had the eloquence to perfuade the
empei-or that a general council was improper, and that
the matter could be determined by a council of the
wellern bifiiops. The x'efult was, that a fynod, com-
pofed of 32 biilxops, was held at Aquileia in the year
381. Ambi’oie was elected prefident, and Palladius
being called upon to defend his opinions, declined •, in¬
filling that the meeting was a partial one, and that the
whole bilhops of the empire not being prefent, the fenfe
ol the Chrillian church could not be obtained concern¬
ing the quellion in difpute. Ambrofe mentioned feve¬
ral pi'ecedents in favour of the authority of the coui'-t,
and added, that the oriental biffiops being acquainted
with the place and nature of the meeting, might have
been prefent, if they had deemed the matter in difeuf-
5 Gr flOB ,
•A M B [ -?86 ] A M B
of their attention ; therefore, the court, temporal and fp;ritual intereils of the church, and that Ambi
although Falladius perhfted in lus refuial to plead his
caufe, put the vote, and he, along with his affociate
Secundianus, was rejected from the epifcopal office.
If Ambrofe difplayed great zeal in oppoiing the errors
of Arius, he difplayed equal zeal in oppofmg the hea¬
then fu peril it 10ns. Many ot the fenators remaining
llrongly attached to the heathen idolatry, upon \ alen-
tinian II. afcending the throne, they made a vigorous
effort to reflore the worfhip ol the heathen deities.
Symmaehus, a very opulent man, and a great orator,
ivho 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 ol N i&ory might
he reftored to its ancient llation in the hall ot the fe-
nate, and for the proper fupport of ieven veilal virgins,
and the regular obfervance of the other Pagan cere-
monies. Great eloquence and peculiar infinuation cha-
raClerized the petition. He argued that this form ol
religion had long been profitable to the Roman Hate,
reminded the emperor how much Rome had been in¬
debted to viftory, 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 lads to
prove the advantages derived to the Hate, from its an¬
cient religious inilitutions, and infmuated that it was
one divinity that all men worfliipped under dillerent
forms, fo that ancient praftice lliould not be ralhly
laid afide. He even proceeded fo far as to Hate tue
injuftice of increafmg the public revenue by robbing
the church, and attributed the late famine which had
overtaken the empire to the neglect ol the ancient woi-
fhip. ... tt
To this petition, Ambrofe replied in a letter to V a-
lentinian, arguing that the devoted worfliippcrs ol idols
had often been forfaken by their deities •, that the na¬
tive valour of the Roman foldiers had gained their vic¬
tories, and not the pretended influence ol Pagan priefts }
that thefe idolatrous worfliippers requefted lor them-
felves what they refufed to Chrillians •, that willing
virginity was more honourable than that procured by
the public money j that as the Chrillian miniHers de¬
clined taking temporal emoluments, they ffiould alio
he 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 fyftem contrary to
his revealed will in the Scriptures j that the whole
procefs of nature encouraged innovations 5 and that all
nations had permitted theie, even in religionthat
heathen facrifices were exceedingly ollenlive to Chri-
ftians •, and that every Chriftian prince ftiould fuppreis
thefe Pagan ceremonies. ^ , r , ,,
In the epiftles of Symmachus and of Ambroie, ootli
the petition and the reply are preferved, in which lo-
phiftry, fuperftition, found fenle, and folid argument,
are ftrangely blended. It is fcarcely neceffary to add
that the petition was imfuccefsful.
The increafmg ftrength of the Arians proved too
formidable for the zealous Ambrofe. The young em¬
peror and Juftina, along with a confiderable number ot
clergy and laity profefiing the Arlan faith, requeued
from’ the bithop the ufe of two churches, one in the
city, the other in the fuburbs ot Milan. I he prelate
believing the bitliops to be the guardians, both ot the
the religious edifices were the unqueltionafile property
of the church, pofitively refufed to deliver up the tem¬
ples of the Lord into the impious hands of the heretics.
Filled with indignation, Juftina refolved to employ the
imperial authority of her ton in procuring by force
what Hie could not by perfuafion. Ambrote was re¬
quired to anfwer for his conduct before the council.
He went, attended by a numerous crowd of people,
whole impetuous zeal fo overaived the minifters ol \ a-
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 fubux-bs.
Still continuing obftinate, the court proceeded to vio¬
lent meafures. The officers of the houfehold were
commanded to pi'epai'e the Bafilica and the Portian
churches to celebrate divine fervice upon the arrival of
the emperor and his mother at the enfuing feftival of
Falter. The order refpecting one ol them was carried
into effedt, but the court perceiving the growing
ftrength of the prelate’s intereft, deemed it prudent to
ufe loiter meafures 5 but all meafures proved in vain :
the bilhop boldly replied, “ If you demand my perfon,
I am ready to fubmit : carry me to prifon or to death,
I will not refill; but I will never beti’ay the church
of Chritt. I will not call upon the people to fuccour
me ; 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 moll 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 ien-
tence of excommunication againil them, and lo over¬
awed them that they retired-, and Ambrofe and his
friends remained in poffeffion of the churches. About
this time, alio, an Arian bifliop challenged^ Ambrofe
to a difpute before the emperor ; but he declined, lay¬
ing that matters of faith lliould be determined by a coun¬
cil of biffiops.
Many circumftances in the hiftory of Ambrofe are
ftrongly charaderiftic of the general fpirit of the times.
The chief caufes of bis vidory over his opponents were,,
his great popularity, and the fnperftitious reverence
paid to the epifcopal charader at that period of fociety.
But it mull be alio admitted, that he uled feveral 111-
dired 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 fevei’e allufions to exifting and public
charaders j the alternate mode of finging had no fmall
effed upon the minds of the vulgar. At a time when
the influence of Ambrofe required vigorous fupport,
he fortunately was admonilhed in a dream to fearch for
the remains of Gervafius and Protafius, two martyrs
who had quietly repoted under the pavement ol the
church. The Ikeletons were found entire, were ftain-
ed with the 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 C 787 ] A M B
Anibrofe. report, a blind man was reftored to figbt, feveral
; demons were expelled, and lick perfons healed by
touching tbel'e bones. Ambrofe exulted in thefe. mi¬
racles, and appealed to them in his eloquent fermons ;
whilft the court derided and called in quetlion their ex-
illence. The bifhop continued firm in his opinions 5 the
people believed ", and the exillence of the miracles was
eftablifhed. And it is a very lingular fad, that thefe,
and many other miracles, obtained current credit among
the Chi’ittian hiftorians of the fecond, third, and fourth
centuries. Dr Cave in fpeaking of them fays, “ I
make no doubt but God fuffered them to be wrought,
at this time, on purpofe to confront the Arian impie-
ties.”
Although the court were difpleafed with the religious
principles and con dud of Ambrofe, yet they refpected
his great political talents ; and when necellity required,
they folicited his aid, which he generoully granted.
When Maxentius ufurped the fupreme power in Gaul,
and was meditating a defcent upon Italy, Yalentinian
fent Ambrofe to him, who prevailed upon him to deliil
from the undertaking. On a fecond attempt of the fame
kind Ambrofe was employed; and, although he was un-
fuccefsful, yet, if his advice had been followed upon bis
return, the fchemes of the ufurper would have proved
abortive ; but indifferent to his counfels, the enemy was
permitted to enter Italy, and Milan was taken. Jultina
and her fon fled ; but Ambrofe remained in his ftation,
and proved beneficial to many of the fufferers, by cau-
fing the plate of the church to be melted for their re¬
lief. Theodofius, the emperor of the Eaft, efpoufed the
caufe of Juftina, and by force of arms regained the king-
_ dom.
In the year 390, a tumult happened at Theffalonica,
in which Botheric, one of the officers of Theodofius,
was llain ; and he was fo greatly enraged, that he if-
fued a royal mandate for the promifeuous maffacre
of the inhabitants of that place : and about feven
thoufand perfons were affaffinated, without diftinc-
tion or mercy. The courageous Ambrofe, informed of
this deed, wrote to the emperor a fevere reproof, and
an earneft admonition, charging him not to approach
the holy communion with his hands llained with innocent
blood. When the emperor was about to enter the
church of Milan to attend upon the fervice, the bifhop
met him, and with a flern countenance prohibited him
from approaching the temple of God. The emperor
reminded him that David bad been guilty of murder and
> of adultery. The biffiop replied, You have “ imitated
David in his guilt ; go and imitate him in his repen¬
tance.” The prince obeyed the prieft, and, by a courfe
of penitential borrow, 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 was made to fign an edidl that an interval
of thirty days ffiould intervene before the fentence of
death or confifcation fliould be put in execution. When
the mind refledls upon the numerous bad effedls of in-
ilant and violent paffion, this meafure was certainly
fraught with policy and humanity. If the reader la¬
ments the weaknefs which fubjedled the confcience to
the clerical power, he mull be gratified that a moderate
ufe was made of that authority.
The undaunted courage of Ambrofe received ano¬
ther fevere trial in the year 393, after the affaffination
of Valentinian, and the bafe Eugenio had ufurped the
empire of the welt. Bather than join the llandard of
the ufurper, he fled from Milan. But after the army
of Theodofius was victorious, he generoully fupplicated
the emperor for the pardon of thofe who had lupported
the caufe of Eugenio. Theodofius, foon after he had
acquired the uncontrolled poll'effion of the Roman em¬
pire, died at Milan. The hilhop did not long fur-
vive the emperor; but died in the year 397- In his
lait illnefs he preferved perfect compofure of mind, in¬
forming his friends that he had-endeavoured fo to con-
dudt himfelf that he might neither be alhamed to live
nor to die.
On many accounts the chara6ter of the bifliop of Mi¬
lan Hands high among the fathers of the ancient church.
With unvarying lleadinefs he delivered his religious fen-
timents on all occafions ; with unwearied alliduity he
difeharged the duties of his office ; with unabated zeal
and boldnefs he defended the orthodox caufe, in oppofi-
tion to the Arians ; with a liberal hand he fed the nu¬
merous poor who flocked to his dwelling ; with uncom¬
mon generofity hemanifelled kindnefsto his adverfaries;
and with Chriftian affection he fought the happinefs of
all men. His general habits were amiable and virtuous,
and his powers of mind were uncommonly vigorous and
perfevering. Ambition and bigotry were the chief ble-
miflies in his character.
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 perfedtion 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 his ftyle,
and there are excellent fentiments interfperfed, which
render the writings of the hiffiop of Milan worthy of
a perufal. With his ufual feverity and acrimony,
Gibbons too feverely cenfures this prelate. “ Ambrofe
(fays he) could adt better than he could write; his
compofitions 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 publifhed hy the Benedidtine
monks, printed at Paids in two volumes in 1682. (Gc«.
Biog.)
Ambrose, Ifaac, an eminent Prefbyterian miniftcr,
was 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-
fhire, whence he was in 1662 ejedted for nonconformi¬
ty. It was ufual for him to retire every year for a
month into a little hut in a wood, where he munned all
iociety, 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 houfes a lit¬
tle before his departure : and the laft night of his life
he fent his difeourfe concerning angels to the prefs.
The next day he fhut himfelf up in his parlour, where
to the great furprife and regret of all who faw him, he
5 G 2 - was
Ambrofe.
A M B [ ] A M B
AntWofe was found juft expiring. He died in 1663-4, in the
II 7 2d year of his age. He wrote feveral other books }
4 mbrofius.^ as {j)e Pf'ima, Media, et Ultima, or the I irft, Middle,
and Laft Things j War with JDevils ; Looking unto
Jeius, &c.
Ambrose, or St Ambrqfe in the TFood, an order of
religious, who ufe the Ambrofian office, and wear an
image of that faint engraven on a little plate : in other
refpects they conform to the rule of the Auguftins. See
Ambrosias OJfice and Augustins.
AMBROSIA, in Heathen Antiquity, denotes the fo¬
lk! food of the gods, in contradiftinftion from their drink,
which was called nc&ar. It had the appellation ambro-
Jia (compounded of the particle « privative, and /Sg&k?
mortal^, as being fuppofed to render thofe immortal who
fed on it.
Ambrosia is alfo a fplendid kind of title, given by
fome phyficians to certain alexipharmic compolitions ot
extraordinary virtue. The name was particularly given
to a famous antidote of Philip of Macedon againft all
poifons, bites, and ftings of venomous creatures, as well
as many internal difeafes.
Ambrosia. See Botany 'Index.
AMBROSIAN OFFICE or RITE, in Church Hi/lory,
a particular formula of worfhip 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
office upon all the weftern churches, that ol Milan
fbeltered itfelf under the name and authority of St
Ambrofe ", 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 vilion ol 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-
BROSlus, a famous general of the ancient Britons, of
Roman extraction. He was educated at the court of
Aldroen of Armorica 5 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 luch fucceis 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 Watling-Jlreet. Some time after, the Britons
being difcontended with Vortigern, and having with¬
drawn their allegiance from him, he retired to a caftle
in Wales, where being befieged by Ambrofms, and
the caftle taking fire, lie periffied in the flames, and
left his rival foie monarch of Britain ; who now took
upon him the imperial purple, after the manner of the
Roman emperors. CJeoflrey of Monmouth tells us, that
Ambrofius built Stonehenge near Saliffiury in Wilt-
ftrire. Ambrofius, according ;to this hiftorian, coming
to a monaftery near Caercaradoc, now Salifbury, where
three hundred Britifti lords, maffacred by Hengift, lay
buried, and refolving to perpetuate the memory of this
aCtion, he ordered his workmen to prepare a large Anibrofms
quantity of ftones and other materials. But having, |1
at the inlligation of Tremounus archbilhop of Caer- An.bubajas
Icon, confulted the famous Merlin, this magician ad- v_ '
vifed him to fend over to Ireland for certain great
ftones, called choreagigantnm, the giant’s dance, placed
in a circle on a hill called Killair, which were brought
thither by giants from the fartheft borders of Afri¬
ca. A body of forces was accordingly font into Ire¬
land, under Pendragon, Ambrolius’s brother, to fetch
thefe ftones j 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 vanquilhed this
prince in battle, brought away the ftones j and by the
direction and affiftance of Merlin, who had accompa¬
nied them, thefe wonderful ftones, by order of Am¬
brofius, were placed over the graves of the BritifU
lords, und are now what is called Stonehenge. Alex¬
ander Mecham celebrates this fable in his poem De (li¬
mner Japientice laudibus. Polydore ^ irgil affigns ano¬
ther origin of Stonehenge : he tells us it was ereCled 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 rejeCted by our beft an¬
tiquaries; who, however, are by no means agreed as to
the true origin of this famous piece of antiquity. See
Stonehenge.
After the Britons had defeated the Saxons, and ob¬
liged them to retire northward, Ambrofius is faid to
have convened the princes and great men at \ ork,
where he gave orders for repairing the churches de-
ftroyed by the Saxons, and reftoring the exercife of re¬
ligion to its former luftre. ft his is confirmed by Mat¬
thew of Weftminfter ; who highly applauds the great
zeal of Ambrofius in repairing the churches, encoura¬
ging the clergy, and reftoring the honour of religion.
The Monmouth hiftorian gives this prince a very high
character. “ He was a man (fays he) of fuch bravery
and courage, that when he was in Gaul no one durll
enter the lifts with him ; for he was fure to unhorfe his
antagonift, or to break his fpear intoihivers. He was,
moreover, generous in bellowing, careful in perform¬
ing religious duties, moderate in all things, and more
especially abhorred a lie. He was ftrong on foot,
ftronger on horieback, and perfectly qualified to com¬
mand an army.” ft he fame author tells us he was 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 Avas an office under this denomination,
wherein Avere laid up all charities for the poor.
AMBU B AJkE, in Roman Antiquity, Avere immodeft
Avomen, who came from Syria to Rome, Avhere they
lived by proftitution, and by playing on the flute. I he
Avord is derived from the Syriac abub, which fignifies a
flute ; although others make it to come from am and
Raier, becaufe thefe proftitutes often retired to Baiae.
According
A M B [ 7§9 ] A M E
Aflibubajae According to Cruquius, thefe women ufed likewife to
ii fell paint for ornamenting the face, &c.
AMBULANT, or Ambulatory. They gave in
' inT-.. ^ . i France the name of Ambulant commijjioners to thofe
commiffioners, or clex*ks of the king’s farms, who had
no fettled office 5 but viGted all the offices within a cer¬
tain diftridt, to fee that nothing was done in them againft
the king’s right and the intereif of the farm.
Ambulant is alio ufed to denote thofe brokers at
Amllcrdam, or exchange agents, who have not been
fworn before the magi Urates. They tran fact brokerage
bufinefs, but their tellimony is not received in the courts
of jultice.
AMBULATORY, a term anciently applied to fuch
courts, &c. as were not fixed to any certain place ; but
held fometimes in one place, and fometimes in another:
in oppoiition to flationary courts.—The court of parlia¬
ment was anciently ambulatory } fo alfo were the courts
of king’s bench, &o.
AMBURB1UM, in Roman antiquity, a prijceffion
made by the Romans round the city and pomcerium,
in which they led a victim, and afterwards facrificed
it, in order to avert fame calamity that threatened the
city.
AMBURY, or Anbury, among Farriers, denotes a
tumour, wart, or fweliing, 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 verdigrife 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 fharp hot
iron 5 and in finewy parts, where a hot iron is impro¬
per, they eat it away with oil of vitriol, or white fubli-
mate.
Many of our farriers boafl of a fecret which infalli¬
bly cures all protuberances of this kind ; the prepara¬
tion of which is this : Take three ounces of green vi¬
triol and one ounce of white arfenic) beat them to a
eoarfe powder, and put them into a crucible} place
the crucible in the midfl of a charcoal fire, flirring the
fubflance, but carefully avoiding the poifonous fleams':
w hen the whole grows reddifh, 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 rhq/is ; make the whole into an ointment, and let
it be applied cold to warts 5 rubbing them with it every
day. They will by this means fall off gently and eafi-
Jv, without leaving any fuellings. It is bell to keep
the borfe quiet, and without working, during the cure.
What fores remain on the parts from which the fwell-
ings fall off, may be cured with the common application
called CoimteJs'ls 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 ene¬
my.
In the language of Scripture, thefe terms are not
always taken in their proper lignification, for laying
arabuflies for any one, attacking him in fecret, laying
fnares for him. They fometimes fignify no more than Ambui’eadfi
attacking a man who has no diflrufl of fuch a thing j ||
attacking one behind, concealing one’s felf in fome Amelot. ^
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
palled that way very ill, came and attacked the city
of Sichem with his troops divided into three bodies :
Tetendit injidias juxta Sichimam in qnatuor locis. Li¬
terally, according to the Hebrew, “ They prepared
ambufcades againil Sichem in four heads or compa¬
nies.” And a little farther, verfe. 43. “ Abimelecb,
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 palfages ambuffies, properly fo called, were not
the things in qucllion. In the firll book of Samuel
Saul complains that David laid ambufcades for him :
Injidiator vfque hodiepennanens. Now nothing could
be worfe grounded than this accufation, if we under-
lland the word injidian in its proper Ggnification ; but
he might fay, though unjuftly, that David was his
fecret enemy. And in the Chronicles it is laid, that
God turned the ambullies laid by the enemies of Ifrael
upon themfelves ; that is to fay, their endeavours, their
malice, their arms, he turned againil themfelves; for
the enemies there mentioned came not in private or
by llratagem } they marched openly in arms againil If-
x'ael.
AMBY, a town of the Auflrian Netherlands, in the
province of Limburg, fituated oppofite to Maellricht,
on the call fide of the river Maefe, in E. Long. 5. 43.
N. Lat. 50. 37.
AMEDIANS, in Church Hijiory, a congregation
of religious in Italy, fo called from their profeffing
themfelves amantes Deum, “ lovers of God j” or rather
amati Deo, “ beloved of God.” They wore a gray
habit and wooden llioes, had no breeches, and girt
themfelves with a cord. They had 28 convents; and
were united by Pope Pius V. partly with the Cillercian
order, and partly with that of the Soccolanti, or wood¬
en Ihoe wearers.
AMELIA, an epifcopal city of Italy, in the Hate
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-x-klge and the tide waters, having Cumberland
county on the north, Prince Geoi’ge county on the eall,
and Lunenburg county on the fouth and weft. Amelia,
including Nottaway, a new county, contains 18,097
inhabitants, of whom 11,037 are Haves.
Amelia IJle, on the coaft of Eaft Florida, lies about
feven leagues north of St Auguftine, and very near Tal¬
bot illand on the fouth, at the mouth of St John’s river.
It is 13 miles long and two broad, is very fex-tile, and
has an excellent harbour. Its north end lies oppofite
Cumberland illand, between which and Amelia ille is
the entry into St Mary’s river, in N. Lat. 30. 92. W.
Long. 67. 23.
AMELLUS, Star wort. See Botany Index.
AMELOT de la Houssai, Nicholas, born at Or¬
leans in 1634, was much efteemed at the court of France,
and
Amelot,
Amelotte.
A M E [ 790
and appointed fecretary of an embaffy which that court
fent to the commonwealth of \ enice, as appears by the
’ title of his Tranflation of Father Paul’s Hiitory ot the
Council of Trent; but he afterwards publifhed writings
which gave fuch offence, that he was impriloned in the
Baffile. The firll works he printed were the Hiftory
of the Government of Venice, and that of the Uicoks,
a people of Croatia. In 1683 he publilhed his tranlla-
tions into French of Machiavel’s Prince, and Father
Paul’s Hillory of the Council of ffrent, and Political
Difcourfes of his own upon Tacitus. Thefe perform¬
ances were well received by the public. He did not
prefix his own name to the two laft mentioned works,
but concealed himfelf under that of Fa Mothe Joffeval.
His tranflation of Father Paul was attacked by the
partifans of the pope’s unbounded power and autho¬
rity. In F ranee, however, it met with great luccefs }
all the advocates for the liberty of the Gallican church
promoting the fuccefs of it to the utmoffc ot their pow’er,
though at the fame time there were three memorials
prefented to have it fuppreffed. When the fecond edi¬
tion of this tranflation was publiihed, it was violently
attacked by the Abbe St Real, in a letter he wrrote to
Mr Bayle, dated Oftober 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 P Homme ae
Cour. In 1686, he printed Fa Morale de Tacite de la
Flatterie ; in which w ork he collected feveral particular
facts and maxims, which reprefent in a ftrong light the
artifices of court flatterers, and the mifehievous effedt
of their poifonous difcourfes. Frederick Leonard, a
bookfeller at Paris, having propofed in the year 1692,
to print a colledtion of all the treaties of peace between
the kings of France and all the other princes ot Pu-
rope, fince the reign of Charles VII. to the year 1690,
Amelot publifhed a fmall volume in duodecimo, con¬
taining a preliminary difeourfe upon thefe treaties} where¬
in he endeavours to fliow, that moft princes, when they
enter into a treaty, think more how to evade than how
to perform the terms they fubferibe to. He publifhed
alfo an edition of Cardinal d’Offat’s letters in 1697, with
feveral obfervations of his own 5 which, as he tells us
in his advertifement, may ferve as a fupplement to the
hiftory of the reigns of Henry III. and Henry IV. kings
of France. He wrote feveral other works 5 and died
at Paris in 1706, at the age of 73. Amelot was atone
time confined in the Baftile, probably on account of his
political writings.
AMELOTTE, Denis, a celebrated French writer,
was born at Saintonge in 1606. He maintained a dole
, correfpondence with the fathers of the Oratory, a con¬
gregation of priefts founded by Philip ofNeri. He
wrote the life of Charles of Gendron, fecond fuperior
of this congregation, and publifhed it at Paris in 1643.
In this work he faid fomething of the famous abbot
of St Cyran, which greatly difpleafed the gentlemen of
Port Royal, who, out of revenge, publiftied a libel a-
gainft him, entitled Idee generale de Pefprit et de livre
de P. Amelotte. He was fo much provoked by this fa-
tire, that he did all in his power to injure them. They
had finifhed a tranflation of the New Teftament, and
were defirous to have it publiihed : for which purpofe
they endeavoured to procure an approbation from the
3
]
A M E
doctors of the Sorbonne, and a privilege from the king. Amelotte
But Amelotte, by his influence with the chancellor, ||
prevented them from fucceeding In this he had alio Amentum,
a view to his own intereft j for he wras about to publifh
a tranflation of his own. Amelotte’s tranflation with
annotations, in four volumes o&avo, was printed in the
years 1666, 1667, and 1668. It was not very accurate,
according to F. Simon, who tells us that it contains
fome very grots blunders. Amdotte wrote alfo an
Abridgement of Divinity, a Catechifpi 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, “ittx fignifies true, faithful, certain. It is
made ufe of likewife to affirm any thing, and was a
fort of affirmation ufed often by our Saviour: Au^,
A gw, yiXu vftiv, i. e. Verily, verily, Jfay unto you, Laft-
ly, It is underftood as expreffing a wish j as Amen, So
be it (Numb. v. 22.), or an affirmation, Amen, ycsl be¬
lieve it, 1 Cor. xiv. 16. The Hebrews end the five
books of Pfalms, according to their way of diftribut-
ing them, with the words Amen, Amen ; which the
Septuagint have tranflated yevo<r«, yiwro j and the La¬
tins, Fiat, fiat. The Greek and Latin churches have
preferved this word in their prayers, as well as alleluiah
and hafannah; becaufe they obferved 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 j
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 fimilitudine ccelefis tonitrui Amen re-
boat. The Jews affert, that the gates of heaven are
opened to him who anfwers Amen with all his might.
AMEND, or Amende, in the French Cujloms, a pe¬
cuniary punifhment impofed by a judge for any crime,
falfe profecution, or groundlefs appeal.
Amende Honorable, a fpecies of punifliment for¬
merly in Hi cited 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 fhirt is ftripped off, a rope put about his neck, and
a taper in his hand 5 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 j but
fometimes it is only a prelude to death, or banifhment
to the galleys.
Amende Honorable is a term alfo ufed for making
recantation in open court, or in prefence of the perlon
injured.
AMENDMENT, in a general fenfe, denotes fome
alteration or change made in a thing for the better.
Amendment, in Law, the correftion of an error com¬
mitted in a procefs, which may be amended after judg¬
ment, unlefs the error lies in giving judgment •, 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 5 but not after¬
wards, without motion and leave of the court.
Amendment of a Fill, in parliament, is fome alte¬
ration made in the firft draught of it.
AMENTUM, in Botany, the name of a Ipecies of
calyx, confifting of valves, and hanging down indif¬
ferent
1
Amentum,
Amcrade.
A M E [ 79i ] A M E
ferent directions from the caulis. Common oats afford
a good example of the amentum.
Amentum, in Homan 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
alio denotes a latchet that hound 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 punifliment impofed on offenders at the mercy
of the court. It differs from a fine in being impofed
arbitrarily, in proportion to the fault j whereas a fine
is a certain puniffiment fettled exprefsly by fome fta-
tute.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Ameracie,
Amerce¬
ment.
A
DIKECTIONS for placing the PLATES of Vol. I.
Part I.
Plate I. - - - - - Page 16a
II. III. 228
IV. „ - - - - 244
V. - - - ... 254
Part II.
VI.—XIII. - ... 538
XIV. . . . ^ 674
XV. XVI. 732
XVII. 748
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