ALO 



doniug, all who have offended me Would 

 come and confess their faults." Alma- 

 mon, in the course of his reign, employed 

 the most skilful astronomers that he 

 could find, to compose a body of astrono- 

 mical science, which still subsists among 

 oriental MSS. entitled " Astronomia ela- 

 borata a compluribus D. D. jussu regis 

 Maimon." 



ALMANAC, in matters of literature, a 

 table containing the calendar of days and 

 months, the rising and setting of the sun, 

 the age of the moon, Sec. 



Authors are neither agreed about the 

 inventor of almanacs, nor the etymology 

 of the word; some deriving it from the 

 Arabic particle al, and manah, to count ; 

 whilst others think it comes from almanah, 

 i. c. handsels, or new year's gifts, because 

 the astrologers of Arabia used, at the 

 beginning of the year, to make presents 

 of their ephemeridesforthe year ensuing. 



As to the antiquity of Almanacs, Du- 

 cange informs us, that the Egyptian as- 

 trologers, long before the Arabians, used 

 the term almunurh, and o.lmenacldca des- 

 criptio, for their monthly predictions. Be 

 this as it will, Kegiomontanus is allowed 

 to have been the first who reduced alma- 

 nacs to their present form. 



ALMAKACS, construction of. The first 

 ihing to be done is, to compute the sun's 

 and moon's place for each day in the year, 

 or it may be taken from some epheme- 

 rides and entered in the almanac ; next, 

 find the dominical letter, and, by means 

 thereof, distribute the calendar into 

 weeks : then, having computed the time 

 of Easter, by it fix the other moveable 

 feasts ; adding the immoveable ones, 

 with the names of the martyrs, the rising 

 and setting of each luminary, the length 

 of day and night, the aspects of the pla- 

 nets, the phases of the moon, and the 

 sun's entrance into the cardinal points of 

 the elliptic, z'. e. the two equinoxes and 

 solstices. 



These are the principal contents of al- 

 manacs ; besides which there are others 

 of a political nature, and consequently 

 different in different countries, as the 

 birth-days and coronation of princes, ta- 

 bles of interest, Stc. 



On ih; v.liole, there appears to be no 

 mystery, or even difficulty, in almanac 

 making, provide'd tables of the heavenly 

 motions be not w anting. For the duties 

 upon almanacs, see STAMP-DUTIES. 



ALMANAC, nautical anil astronomical 



efthemeris, is a kind of national almanac, 



published annually by anticipation, under 



lirection of the commissioners of lon- 



gitude. Besides every tiling essential to 

 general use that is to be found in other 

 almanacs, it contains, among other par- 

 ticulars, the distances of the moon from 

 the sun and fixed stars for every three 

 hours of apparent time, adapted to the 

 meridian of Greenwich, by comparing 

 which with the distances carefully ob- 

 served at sea, the mariner may readily in- 

 fer his longitude, to a degree of exactness 

 that may be thought sufficient for most 

 nautical purposes. The publication of it 

 is chiefly designed to facilitate the use of 

 Mayer's lunar tables, by superseding the 

 necessity of intricate calculations in deter- 

 mining the longitude at sea. 



.ALMAJTAC, is part of the law of Eng- 

 land, of which the courts must take notice 

 in the returning of writs ; but the almanac 

 to go by is that annexed to the Book of 

 Common Prayer. An almanac, in which 

 the father had written the day of the na- 

 tivity of his son, -was allowed as evidence 

 to prove the nonage of his son. 



ALMOND-*ra, in botany. See AMTG- 



DALTTS. 



ALMUCANTARS, in astronomy, an 

 Arabic word denoting circles of the sphere 

 passing through the centre of the sun, or 

 a star, parallel to the horizon, being the 

 same as parallels of altitude. 



Almucantars are the same, with respect 

 to the azimuths and horizon, that the pa- 

 rallels of latitude are, with regard to the 

 meridians and equator. They serve to 

 shew the height of the sun and stars, and 

 are described on many quadrants, &c. 



ALNAGE, or AULNAGE, in the Eng- 

 lish polity, the measuring of woollen ma- 

 nufactures with an ell, and the other func- 

 tions of the alnager. See the next arti- 

 cle. Alnage was at first intended as a 

 proof of the goodness of the commodity, 

 and therefore a seal was invented, as a 

 signal that the commodity was made ac- 

 cording to the statute. 



ALNAGEIl, in the English polity, a 

 public sworn officer, whose business is to 

 examine into the assize of all woollen 

 cloth made throughout the kingdom, and 

 to fix seals upon them. Another branch 

 of his office is, to collect an alnage duty 

 to the king. See the -last article. 



There are now three officers relating to 

 the alnage, namely, a searcher, measurer, 

 and alnager; all which were formerly 

 comprized in the alnager, until, by his 

 own neglect, it was thought proper to 

 separate these offices. 



ALNUS, tiie alder-tree, in botany. See 



1'ETl'LA. 



ALOE, in botany, a genus of the Hex- 



