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ALLODIUM; land held by a man in his own right, without any feudal obligation. It is opposed to fee, or feudum. All landed property must be either feudal or allodial. In England, according to the theory of the British constitution, all land is held in fee. The word allodial is, therefore, never applied to landed property there. Such as is really allodial bears the name of fee-simple. The same word is used in the U. States of America, though land is not held there, in fact, by any feudal tenure. In ancient France, the feudal character of landed property was taken for granted (nulle terre sans seigneur), until the contrary was proved. In Germany, the contrary rule prevails. As the vassal is under many restrictions in respect to the disposal of the feud, and as the principles of inheritance with respect to the A. are, in some particulars, different from those which govern the feud, the distinction is of importance. If a feud falls back to the lord, of course the A. is separated from it; the same takes place when the heir of the A. and that of the feud are different persons. In Germany, the word allodificiren signifies to make an estate allodial, which is favored by many governments. In such allodification, a part of the value must be paid as a compensation to the former lord, or a fixed annual tax (canon) is imposed on the estate. The great, and generally successful efforts, which the Prussian government has made for about 17 years, to absolve the estates of the peasants from all feudal obligations, on the payment of a certain part of their value to the lord, must be considered as one of the consequences of the enlightened spirit of the age, even in countries not favored with a representative government. The immense change which took place in France, during the revolution, by the extinction of all feudal tenures, and the endeavors to bring about the same change wherever governments in the French spirit were established, e. g. in the kingdom of Westphalia, are well known. The etymology of the word A. is uncertain; most probably it is of German origin.

ALLOY; a composition, the result of a mutual combination of two or more metals. To alloy generally means to mix a metal of less with one of more value.Various processes are adopted in the formation of alloys, depending upon the nature of the metals. Many are prepared by simply fusing the two metals in a covered crucible. It has been a question whether alloys are to be considered as

compounds, or as mere mixtures. Mr Dalton considers alloys to be chemical compounds, one striking instance of which is in the alloy of tin and copper, called speculum metal; the smallest deviations from the true proportions will spoil the alloy as a reflector. In some cases, the metals are found to unite in definite proportions only; and it is probable that all the alloys contain a definite compound of the two metals.-The principal characters of the alloys are the following:-1. We observe a change in the ductility, malleability, hardness and color. Malleability and ductility are usually impaired, and often in a remarkable degree; thus gold and lead, and gold and tin, form a brittle alloy. The alloy of copper and gold is harder than either of its component parts; and a minute quantity of arsenic added to copper renders it white. 2. The specific gravity of an alloy is rarely the mean of its component parts; in some cases an increase, in others a diminution of density having taken place. 3. The fusibility of an alloy is generally greater than that of its components. Thus platinum, which is infusible in our common furnaces, forms, when combined with arsenic, a very fusible alloy; and an alloy of certain proportions of lead, tin and bismuth is fusible at 212°, a temperature several degrees below the melting point of its most fusible constituent. 4. Alloys are generally more oxydizable than their constituents taken singly; a property which is, perhaps, partly referable to the formation of an electrical combination.-From early times, the baser metals have been used to alloy gold and silver coins, to prevent loss by wear. In England, the legal proportion of base metal for gold coin is 1 part in 12, and for silver coin 3 parts in 40. In France, the legal proportions of the different coins are as follows: silver coin, 9 parts silver, 1 copper; copper money, 4 parts copper, 1 silver; gold coin, 9 parts gold, 1 copper. For silver plate, the French proportions are 9 parts silver, copper; for trinkets, 8 parts silver, 2 copper. For gold plate, they have three different standards; 92 parts gold, 8 copper; also, 84 gold, 16 copper, and 75 gold, 25 copper. Gold and silver are alloyed partly that they may wear better, partly to diminish the price of articles made of them.

ALLSPICE, or PIMENTO, is the dried berry of a West Indian species of myrtle (myrtus pimenta), which grows to the height of 20 feet and upwards, and has somewhat oval leaves, about 4 inches long,

of a deep shining, green color, and numerous branches of white flowers, each with 4 small petals. In the whole vegetable creation there is scarcely any tree more beautiful or more fragrant than a young pimento-tree about the month of July. Branched on all sides, richly clad with deep-green leaves, which are relieved by an exuberance of white and richly aromatic flowers, it attracts the notice of all who approach it. Pimentotrees grow spontaneously, and in great abundance, in many parts of Jamaica; but they cannot be propagated without great difficulty. The usual method of making a new pimento walk, or plantation, is to appropriate for this purpose a piece of woody ground in the neighborhood of an already existing walk, or in a part of the country where the scattered trees are found in a native state. The other trees are cut down; and, in a year or two, young pimento plants are found to spring up in all parts, supposed to have been produced from berries dropped there by birds, which eagerly devour them. About the month of September, and not long after the blossoms have fallen, the berries are in a fit state to be gathered. At this time, though not quite ripe, they are full grown, and about the size of pepper-corns. They are gathered by the hand; and one laborer on a tree will strip them off so quickly, as to employ three below in picking them up; and an industrious picker will fill a bag of 70 pounds' weight in a day. The berries are then spread on a terrace, in the sun, to be dried, but this is an operation which requires great care, from the necessity of keeping them entirely free from moisture. By the drying they lose their green color, and become of a reddish-brown; the process is known to be completed by their change of color, and by the rattling of the seeds within the berries. They are then packed into bags or hogsheads for the market. When the berries are quite ripe, they are of a dark-purple color, and filled with a sweet pulp. Pimento is thought to resemble, in flavor, a mixture of cinnamon, nutmegs and cloves, whence it has obtained the name of all-spice. It is much employed in cookery, and is chiefly used in whole grains. It is also employed in medicine, as an agreeable aromatic, and forms the basis of a distilled water, a spirit, and an essential oil. The leaves of the pimento-trees yield, in distillation, an odoriferous oil, which is not unfrequently used, in medical prepa<tions, instead of the oil of cloves.

ALLUM. (See Alum.)

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ALLUVION (from the Latin alluvio, or adluvio, rising or swelling of a river, flood, deluge) now signifies a gradual increase of land along the sea-shore or the banks of large rivers, or at their mouths. Great alterations in the limits of countries are produced by A.; e. g. New Orleans and Messalonghi stand on land formed by A. Holland, too, constantly experiences the effects of A. Whole islands are often formed by this cause. In most of the countries on the European continent, the sovereigns have declared themselves owners of all alluvial formations. In Germany, A., which is there called by the much more proper name Anländung, takes place constantly on the coast of the North sea, owing, probably, to the great extent of flats along the shore, on which every tide deposits some mud. This alluvial land is at first without vegetation; then the salicornia maritima appears, which affords a rich salad. Next follows poa maritima, and, on very rich A., aster tripoleum,-a plant from 1 to 6 feet high. In this state, the A. receives the name of Vorland, and geese begin to resort to it. Afterwards it is diked, and used as pasture for sheep, horses and cattle. It is supposed that this kind of land will increase much, in consequence of the many flats along the seashore of Germany.

ALMA. The Latin word almus belongs to those words which cannot be rendered precisely in other languages, and of which every idiom possesses some. It means cherishing, nourishing, fostering, bountiful, dear. This epithet, therefore, was applied to gods, men, qualities and things-Alma Ceres, A. Venus, A. lux, A. parens, &c. In modern times, it is particularly used in Italy, alma città, for Rome, and in England, alma mater, for Oxford, Cambridge, &c., by those who have received their education at these universities. This custom has been transplanted into the U. States. Sometimes A. is used as the Christian name for individuals of the female sex.

ALMAGEST; a celebrated book, composed by Ptolemy; being a collection of the observations and problems of the ancients relating to geometry and astronomy.

The original Greek name was ourTas syúžŋ or μeyiorn, i. e. greatest compilation. The Arabians, at the time when science flourished among them, translated it, about 827, and added their article al to the word megiste; thus the word almagest originated. (See Ptolemy.) In 1230, the emperor Frederic II caused this work

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to be translated from the Arabic into Latin.

ALMAGRO, Diego; a Spaniard of low birth, one of the adventurers who accompanied Francis Pizarro. He showed himself brave, profligate and cruel. In 1525, he took Cusco, the ancient capital of the incas, by storm, when he exhibited the greatest barbarity towards the unfortunate Atahualpa, or Atabalipa, as he is sometimes called, the last monarch of the race of Manco Capac, and put him to a horrid death. Quarrelling with Pizarro about the division of their spoil and power, a schism ensued; and, both factions taking arms, Almagro was defeated, made a prisoner by his rival, and strangled in 1538, at the age, it is said, of 75. His son, however, succeeded in avenging him: the friends of his father, rallying round him, assassinated Pizarro in his turn, after an obstinate resistance, in his own palace, July 26, 1541. This outrage excited the attention of de Castro, viceroy of Peru; and young Almagro, falling into his power, was, with a considerable number of his party, executed by his orders in the following year. (See Pizarro.)

ALMAMON, OF ABDALLAH, caliph of Bagdad, was the son of Haroun al Raschid, and succeeded his brother, Al Amin, in 813. He was a great patron of learning, and founded a celebrated academy at Bagdad. He died in 833.

ALMANAC ; a table or calendar, in which are set down the revolutions of the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun, the phases of the moon, the most remarkable conjunctions, positions and phenomena of the heavenly bodies, for every month and day of the year; also the several fasts and feasts to be observed in the church and state, &c. The history of A., and even the etymology of the word, are involved in considerable obscurity. By some, it is derived from the Arabic al manach, to count. Verstegan, who has written on the antiquities of Great Britain under the title of Restitution of decayed Intelligence concerning Britaine, makes the word of German origin, almonat, and says that the Saxons were in the habit of carving the annual courses of the moon upon a square piece of wood, which they called almonaught. The modern almanac answers to the fasti of the ancient Romans. There are several very splendid English almanacs of the 14th century existing in MS., particularly in the British museum. A very curious specimen is in the library of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge. Almanacs became generally used

in Europe within a short time after the invention of printing; and they were very early remarkable, as some are now in England, for the mixture of truth and falsehood which they contained. In 1579, their effects in France were found so mischievous, from the pretended prophecies which they published, that an edict was promulgated by Henry III, forbidding any predictions to be inserted in them relating to civil affairs, whether those of the state or of private persons. No such law was ever enacted in England. It is singular, that the earliest English almanacs were printed in Holland, on small folio sheets; and these have occasionally been preserved, from having been pasted within the covers of old books. In the reign of James I, letters patent were granted to the two universities and the Stationers' Company for an exclusive right of printing almanacs. These, in 1775, were declared to be illegal. During the civil wars of Charles I, and thence onward to our own times, English almanacs became conspicuous for the unblushing boldness of their astrological predictions, and their determined perpetuation of popular errors. At the present day, the almanacs of the continental states are generally free from misleading matters of this nature; and the almanacs most similar to some of those extensively circulated amongst the English are produced in Persia. A modern Persian almanac is thus described in the Encyclopedia Metropolitana: "The first page contains a list of fortunate days for certain purposes; as, for example, to buy, to sell, to take medicine, to marry, &c.; then follow predictions of events, as earthquakes, storms, political affairs, &c., after the manner of Moore's Almanac, except being apparently more concise." This resemblance between the productions of a highly-cultivated nation, and one which is noted for its general ignorance, is a remarkable instance of the permanency of vulgar errors. The first almanac at Constantinople is said to have been printed in 1716, under the direction of Abdonaham. Regiomontanus was the first person in Europe, who prepared almanacs in their present form with the exception of their predictions, which were, in all probability, introduced into Europe from the Persians.-Some of the almanacs in the U. States still contain predictions respecting the weather. There is, perhaps, no class of books, which bea. so obviously the stamp of the age, and of the spirit of different countries, as alms

nacs.

At present, they become every year more full of statistical matter. Once they were almost entirely filled with subjects of a religious character. At another time they overflowed with astrological calculations and predictions. In the time of Napoleon, an almanac was published in France, in which, to every day, an achievement of the emperor, or something else relating to him, was added. Almanacs, in the petty principalities of Germany, exhibit the endless genealogical tables of the princes. Some almanacs in modern Greek, printed at Venice, where, formerly, all books in this language were published, we found full of astrological superstition, and matters relating to the Greek church. One of the most curious almanacs which we have seen is an Italian one for 1822, exhibiting, in a striking manner, the Italian vivacity. To the 30th of July is added, Sudano ancora le ossa! to the 11th of August, Oh! che noja; to July 12, Cascano le braccia; to January 2, Stivali e Ombrello! In Germany, almanach is the name given to annuals like those which appear in England, and the U. States of America, under the names of Souvenir, Forget me not, &c. In France, a work appears annually under the title of Almanach des Gourmands, which is conducted with much spirit, and is in high repute among epicures.

ALMANAC, Nautical. An important work of this kind is published in England annually, but two or three years in advance, bearing the name of Nautical Almanac, in which (besides most things essential to general use, that are to be found in other almanacs) are contained many interesting particulars; more especially, the distances of the moon from the sun, and from certain fixed stars, for every three hours of apparent time, adapted to the meridian of the royal observatory, Greenwich. By comparing these with the distances carefully observed at sea, the mariner may, with comparative ease and certainty, infer his longitude to a degree of accuracy unattainable in any other way, and sufficient for most nautical purposes. This almanac was commenced, in 1767, by Dr. Maskelyne, astronomer royal, and has been continued ever since. During 48 years, Dr. Maskelyne devoted the most sedulous attention to it, and it was distinguished for accuracy. Since his death, it has not been so well conducted, and the board of longitude, under whose auspices it was published, has been lately dissolved. The French Connaissance des Tems is published with the

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same views as the English Nautical Almanac, and nearly on the same plan. It commenced in 1698, and has been, in one or two instances, discontinued for short intervals. For many years, however, it has been published with great regularity, and in a manner highly creditable to the bureau de longitude. The most valuable of the nautical almanacs now existing, is that published at Berlin, under the superintendence of professor Encke, who has, within a short time past, taken charge of it. It is called Astronomisches Jahrbuch, and is the same which was conducted for 50 years by professor Bode, with great credit to himself. It is distinguished for completeness and accuracy.

ALME, or ALMA; girls in Hindostan and Egypt, whose profession is to tell stories, dance, sing, play, and appear as improvisatrici. The latter accomplishment is not of very difficult acquisition, as the extempore poetry of the East deals much in repetition, and is little constrained by rule. These arts are taught to female slaves, with a view to enhance their price in the market. The art of telling stories, of which the Asiatics are so fond, is undoubtedly carried to much greater perfection in the East, than with us. Almes, in their dances, imitate the occurrences and actions of life, and often overstep the bounds of decency. Their singing, like Asiatic singing in general, is extremely poor; but in their dances, they show the greatest skill. They often amuse rich people at dinner. There are also Almes for the lower classes.

The

ALMEIDA, Francisco and Lorenzo; father and son. Francisco was the first viceroy of India, in 1505. After ravaging the coast of Africa in the course of his expedition, he subjected to the Portuguese dominion Quiloa, Onor, Cananor, with other petty states, and, in a desperate struggle, carried by storm and burned the strong fortress of Panama, though defended by a resolute garrison of 4000 men, while his own force scarcely exceeded 700. His son, who accompanied him, being now detached on a separate expedition, subdued the island of Ceylon, carried off 250,000 lbs. weight of cinnamon as the first fruits of his success, and imposed on the country an annual tribute to the same amount. In a subsequent expedition against the combined fleets of the Arabians and Egyptians, he was slain. His father revenged his son in a bloody battle at Dabul. He then resigned his command to the famous Albuquerque,

and sailed for Portugal, but was killed on the African coast, near the cape of Good Hope.-A Portuguese bishop, a Jesuit, member of the same family, called Apollinarius, suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, whither he went as a missionary, in 1568. ALMEIDA, one of the strongest fortresses in Portugal, is situated in the province of Beira, near the Spanish border, on the Coa, and contains 2750 inhabitants. In 1762, it was taken by the Spaniards, after great loss, but was restored at the peace. When Ney, 24th July, 1810, attempted to pass over the Coa into Portugal, the English defended the fortress of A. against marshal Massena, till 27th August, when they were obliged to capitulate. In his retreat from Portugal, March 1811, the evacuation of A. cost marshal Massena a bloody battle of two days with Wellington, the 3d and 4th of May, near Fuentes d'Onoro, when the French commander, general Brenier, blew up the fortress on the night of the 11th, and made his way through the midst of the besiegers. The English have restored the works.

ALMENE; a weight of 2 pounds, used to weigh saffron in several parts of the East Indies.

ALMOHEDES; the name of an African dynasty which succeeded that of the Almoravides, in Barbary, in the commencement of the 12th century.

ALMONER, in its primitive sense, denoted an officer of any religious establishment, to whom belonged the distribution of alms. By the ancient canons, all monasteries were to spend at least a tenth part of their income in alms,—a rule which is still followed by several convents. Every bishop, also, was required to keep an almoner. The great almoner (grand aumonier) of France was the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in that kingdom before the revolution. Napoleon restored this office, and it has been kept up by the Bourbons, but we do not know its rank at present. To the almoner belonged the superintendence of all hospitals and houses of charity. The king received the sacrament from him, and he said mass at all grand solemnities. He still officiates at the performance of the mass called Veni, Spiritus, before the chamber of deputies. The lord almoner, or lord high almoner of England, is an ecclesiastical officer, generally a bishop, who formerly received all deodands and the goods of every felo de se, which he was to distribute among the poor. He had, also, the power of giving the first dish from the king's table to whatever poor person he pleased.

The emperors of Germany, too, and most of the European monarchs, had their almoners. The almoner of the pope is one of the highest officers of his state.The name almoner has been given, by some writers, to the chaplains of ships, regiments, &c.

ALMOND. The common or sweet almond is a soft and pleasantly-flavored kernel, contained in a nut, which is of flattish shape, and has a tender shell, with numerous small holes on the outside. The almond-tree (amygdalus communis) is usually 12 or 14 feet high. Its beautiful pink flowers, of five petals, grow in pairs, and appear very early in spring. The leaves are oval, pointed, and delicately serrated at the edges. Its flowers are remarkably beautiful, and form a great ornament of the English shrubberies, particularly as they appear in March and April,—a season when few other parts of the vegetable creation have recovered from their wintry state. Though known to the ancients from the most remote period of antiquity, the almond-tree has been cultivated in England only since 1562, and this almost wholly on account of the beautiful appearance of its flowers, since the climate of Great Britain is not sufficiently warm for the fruit to be perfected. The almonds which are consumed in that country and the U. States are imported, sometimes in the shell, and often without, from France, Spain, Italy and the Levant; and they are packed in casks, boxes or bales. The province of Valencia was formerly much celebrated for its almonds, but the cultivation of the trees in that part of Spain has for several years been much neglected. The chief uses of sweet almonds are in confectionary and cooking. They are also eaten with raisins in desserts after dinner; but they should be well chewed, since every piece that is swallowed entire is indigestible. By pressure, they yield a considerable proportion, sometimes nearly half their weight, of oil. Some preparations of almonds are used in medicine, particularly that called milk of almonds, which is formed of pounded almonds, loaf-sugar and water, well mixed together. In some parts of the East Indies, it is said that almonds supply the place of small money.-Bitter almonds resemble, in all respects, the sweet almonds, both in the appearance of the kernels themselves, and of the trees which produce them, excepting a slight difference in the size of the flowers and fruit. Like the sweet almonds, they yield a large portion of oil. This has no bitter