ALICATA. 



ALLKOHANY. 



, is uppcMd now not to exceed 11,000 or 12,000. 



jUieanw'U an ancient town, UM Lucnlitm of the Romans. 



C ATA, or L1CATA. a fortified t<.wn on the south coast of Sicily, 

 hi UM province of Oirreoti, in 37* 4' N. lat, IS* 56' E. long., 29 uiilos 

 8.B. from UM city of Girgenli : population 13,500. The town, which 

 v.. * poor neglected appearance, is built on the right bank and at the 

 mouth of the Salw, UM ancient Himera; it is very favourably situated 

 for trade, and export* oonsiderahle quantities of corn and sulphur, 

 beside* macearoni, fruit, soda, and good wine. The anchorage is 

 boat a mil* *outh-we*t of the town, in from 7 to 12 fathoms water, 

 with a good clay bottom, but ships are much exposed in winter "to 

 all the winds from east to west round southerly. The fortifications, 

 r ^ r i.ii..- O f walls and two castles, were some year* ago in a state of 

 decay. In 1841, Sicilian and foreign Teasel*, with an aggregate 

 freight of 6083 tons, left the harbour : the total invoice value of their 

 cargoes wa* 16,334f. There was a town named Phintias in ancient 

 time* oo UM site of AlicaU ; but no traces of it remain. The ruins 

 of CM* are a few miles farther eastward along the coast 



ALICUDI, the mo*t westerly of the .olian or Lipari Islands, a 

 group belonging to Sicily, and situated between the north coast of 

 that island and the continent of Italy. Alicudi was called Ericusa 

 and Encodes, by the Greeks, from the heath (/ptUij) which abounded 

 on it It consist* of an abrupt conical-shaped crater, and is about 6 

 miles in circumference, rising at once from the sea. The surface is 

 composed of irregular ravine* and precipitous hills; and although its 

 fire* have been extinct for so many ages that no history notices its 

 conflagrations, the lava is seen in grotesque forms like a stream 

 extending from the summit to the sea, and retaining the apparent 

 fertility and forbidding aspect of a recent eruption. The island is, 

 nevertheless, cultivated with laborious industry in every spot capable 

 of producing vegetation. Barilla, flax, capers, and pulse are produced, 

 and wheat of a peculiarly fine quality. 



The coasts are rude craggy precipices, affording only two landing- 

 place*, which an very difficult of access in windy weather. The best 

 is on the south-east side under Point Palomba ; the other is on the 

 north-east coast. The population of Alicudi amounts to about 260 

 pjnom, among whom diseases are said to be almost wholly unknown. 

 They live so secluded from the rest of the world, that a visit from a 

 stranger i* an extraordinary event The modern name is a corruption 

 of Encodes. (Smyth's Memoir of Sicily.) 



ALKMAAR, a strongly fortified and well-built town in the province 

 of North Holland, in the Netherlands, is situated on the Helder Canal, 

 20 miles N.N.W. from Amsterdam, in 52 38' N. lat, 4 43' E. long., 

 and has a population of 9835. It is intersected by broad canals, and 

 has exceedingly pleasant environs hud out in beautiful gardens and 

 rich meadows. There is a weekly market for the sale of cheese, of 

 which article Alkmaar exports a larger quantity than any other town 

 in the world ; above nine millions of pounds of cheese are said to be 

 weighed annually in the town scales. The town has also a great 

 butter-market, and a considerable trade in corn and cattle. Sail-cloth 

 and parchment are manufactured. Alkmaar i* a very old town, and 

 from it* position i* of great importance to the defence of the province. 

 The Spaniards laid siege to Alkmaar in 1578, but failed to take it, 

 although the siege lasted till 1583. In the expedition of 1799, the 

 British and Russians, under the Duke of York, advanced as far as 

 Alkmaar. The principal structures are the town-hall, which is richly 

 decorated with gothie tracery ; the church of St Lawrence, a building 

 of the 15th century ; the arsenal ; and the fortifications. A wood 

 prettily intersected with walks is the favourite promenade. 



ALL SAINTS (Todoi Sanlot), a group of three small islands, no 

 called by Columbus, who discovered them Nov. 4, 1495, are situated 

 off the south shore of the island of Guadaloupe, near the point, 15 51' 

 N. lat, 61- 41' W. long. The island* belong to the French, who call 



The two largest islands of this cluster are called Terre-d'en-Haut. 

 or High Island, and Terre-d'en-Ba*. or Low Island. The first of 

 these ha* a small village on it* western side, between which and the 

 third island, which is little more than a barren rock to the N.W., 

 UMTS is exceedingly good and safe anchorage in from 6 to 16 fathoms 

 water. On the south-west side of Terre-d'en-Haut is a mountain 818 

 feet above the level of the sea, and on the north coast is a remarkable 

 promontory which serve* as a land-mark for vessels approaching from 

 UM northward. The total area of the three inland* hardly exceeds 

 5 *quare miles : the population Is about 1100 ; and the products 

 eomprb* cotton, excellent coffee, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and manioc. 

 Fish, vegetable*, and poultry are abundant 



ALL SAINTS' BAY (Bakia de Todoi o Santo,), a large and 

 cmnmodkm* bay, in the province of Bahia, in Brazil, discovered by 

 UM Portuguese early in the loth century, and forming one of the best 

 and mo* extensive natural harbours in the world. The entrance to 

 UM bay Is in ir 42" a lat, W 42' W. long. ; it is 8 miles wide 

 between UM point, of Tagapipe and Sanf Aiit.,ni.i. The bay is 37 



2r" \S* S*i_ * *' "*" n mile * wide ' *" ** "W*** Prt. fr '" 

 B. to W within which space it is computed that *ecur anchorage 

 could b* found for all the navies of the world. It contains sveral 

 srUl*i.**od.; tb*larg-toftWe. called Itaparica, stretches inwards 

 from UM mouth of UM bay, to which there are two entrances, one on 

 UM east mO and another on tbe west aid* of tbe island. This island 



1 8 miles long and about 8 miles broad in the widest part : the coasts of 

 ie bay have many small inlets. Two shoals lie near the entrance on 

 the west side, but are not dangerous, as there is a channel of sufficient 

 breadth mid depth for ships of any size. 



The town of San Salvador, commonly known as Bahia, stands juet 

 within the bay on the east side. It has a considerable export trade to 

 Europe, in coffee, sugar, cotton, and tobacco ; medicinal roots, gums, 

 balsams, dye-woods, lignum-vitio, and mahogany. [ BAIIIA.] Several 

 rivers which flow from the mountains discharge themselves into All 

 Saint*' Bay. The principal of these rivers are the Paraguaca, the 

 x-rgippe, the Jaguarippe, the Matuim, the Paranamerin, and the 

 Pirajl Those streams add greatly to the trade of the port ; nearly 

 1000 boata being constantly employed upon them in bringing down 

 the various productions of the interior. The coast of Brazil in the 

 vicinity of this bay abounds with whales. 



ALL SAINTS' BAY (Todot Santot), a deep inlet on the west coast 

 of California Vieja, in Mexico, in 81 45' N. lat, 118 45' W. long. 

 A cluster of detached rocks lies at the distance of 3 leagues from 

 Point Orajero, the south point of the bay. A mission, established in 

 1790, is in the immediate neighbourhood of this bay. 



(Vancouver's Voyage.) 



ALLAHABAD, one of the North-Western Provinces of Hindustan, 

 lying between 24 and 26 N. lat, is bounded N. by Oude and Agra, 

 E. by Bahar, S. by Qundwana, and W. by Malwa. It is divided into 

 five districts : Cawnpore, Futtehpore, Humeerpore and Calpee, Banda, 

 mid Allahabad; these contain 10,232 townships. The length of the 

 province is 270 miles, the breadth about 120 miles. The area is 

 11,839 square miles. 



This territory was invaded, but unsuccessfully, about the year 1020, 

 by the Sultan Mahinood of Qhizni. The province fell afterwards 

 under the dominion of the emperor of Delhi, and in the 15th century 

 it became an independent kingdom ; but it subsequently came into 

 possession of the Mogul emperors. The East India Company obtained 

 possession of the province by three successive arrangements, in 1775, 

 1803, and 1810. 



Allahabad is one of the moat populous and productive provinces in 

 the Indian empire. It is watered by the Ganges, Jumna, and Goomty ; 

 and furnishes diamonds, indigo, cotton, sugar, opium, and saltpetre. 

 The natives carry on very considerable manufactures of cotton-cloth. 

 Seven-eighths of the population (which in 1849 was 3,219,087) are 

 Hindoos ; the rest are Mohammedans. 



(Reunell's Memoir of a Map of Hindustan ; Hamilton's Eatt : 

 Gazetteer.) 



ALLAHABAD, a district of the province of the same name. The 

 soil, which in general consists of a sandy loam, is very fertile, so that 

 the crop of wheat, which is the grain principally sown, is said to yield 

 on the average about 56 bushels to the English acre. To obtain 

 this retuni, artificial irrigation is resorted to, and this forms the most 

 laborious part of the cultivator's task. Barley, peas, and potatoes are 

 likewise produced: indigo, cotton, and opium arc largely exported. 

 About one-third of the area of the district is cultivated, one-thin! 

 reclaimable waste, and one-third irreclaimable waste. The chief part 

 of the trade of this district was formerly in native woven cottons ; but 

 these have been nearly superseded by English cotton goods. 



ALLAHABAD, the capital of the sub-division and province of the 

 same name in Hindustan, is situated in 25 27' N. lat, 81 60' E. 

 long., at the junction of the rivers Ganges and Jumna; 63 miles 

 W. by N. from Benares, and 550 miles N.W. from Calcutta, An 



i-\teli-i\.- :in<l \vi'll-]>iv.-iTu-il t'ortit'h-atiiili in rrci-teil mi the tiinu He- nf 



land where these streams unite, so as completely to command the 

 navigation. Allahabad is supposed to occupy the site of the ancient 

 Palimbothra (Arrian, ' Indica,' 10) ; but this is not certain. Many nf 

 the buildings are of mud, and are erected on the ancient foundations of 

 substantial brick edifices, while much of the soil in the immediate 

 neighbourhood, consisting of materials used in building and of the 

 fragments of earthenware vessels, attests the former magnitude of the 

 city. The place is considered by Brahmins to be the most holy of all 

 the sacred confluences of rivers in Hindustan: it in called ! 

 Jihat Prayay. It owes this pre-eminence to the belief that it 

 point of junction of three rivers, the Ganges, the Jumna, ami On- 

 Sereswati ; and 200,000 pilgrims have been known to arrive in one 

 year to bathe in this sacred spot 



Allahabad was a favourite residence of the emperor Akbnr. It 

 was possessed by the Nabob of Oude, before it passed into the hands 

 of the East India Company. The city now contains a permanent 

 judicial establishment, whence periodical circuits are made through 

 the province. Some new buildings for the judicial courts and for the 

 civil revenue establishments, a new burial-ground, and additions to 

 the pilgrim hospital, have been added within the last fourteen years. 

 In 1852 a railway was commenced to communicate with Cawnpore, 

 and to form a part of a great trunk-line. There is a government 

 -li'Mil at Allahabad, whieh, in 1843, had 103 pupil*, of whom M u* n- 

 Hindoos. Small iron steamers, of light draught, now ply on the 

 Ganges from Calcutta to Allahabad, a distance (by river) of not less 

 than 800 miles. The downward passage takes from 8 to 15 days 

 (determined by the depth of water in varying season*) ; the upward 

 passage 20 to 24 days. There were nine such steamers in 1847. 



ALLEGHANY or APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS, a mountain- 



