AGAVE 



ALBINOS 



A mineral composed of chalcedony, jasper, 

 &c., having many shades of colour : consists 

 chiefly of silica. 



Agave, (a-gu've). [Gk. agauos, noble.] Alo: a 

 plant with a veiy short stem, large leathery 

 leaves, and, after 70 or 100 years, a very long 

 flower stem, surmounted by a great num- 

 ber of green flowers, which bloom only once, 

 belonging to Amaryllidaceae. 



Agglomerate, ( ag-glom'er-at ). [L. ad, to; 

 glomerare, to roll.] Rocks formed of angular 

 fragments of other rocks. See Conglomerate. 



Aggregata, (ag-gre-ga'ta). [L. ad, together; 

 firego, I gather.] A family of molluscs = 

 Acephala uuda. 



Aggregate, (ag-gre-ga'te). [Same as Aggregata, 

 q.r.] Sea lavender, <tc. : flowers being aggre- 

 gates of smaller flowers. 



Agila wood=Aloes wood=Eagle wood : the 

 inner wood of the trunk, of Aquilaria ovata, 

 a tree of Malacca. 



Agonic line, (a-gon'ik Hn). [Gk. a, not; gonia, 

 angle.] On which the geographical and mag- 

 netic meridians coincide. 



Agouti, (a-goo'ti) = Long-nosed Cavy=Dasy- 

 procta aguti. A gnawing herbivorous ani- 

 mal resembling the bare, found in tropical 

 America. 



Agrimony, (ag'ri-mo-ni). [The Latin name.] 

 = Agrimonia : an herb with small yellow 

 flowers, belonging to Rosaceae. Hemp agri- 

 wiony=Eupatorium, q.v. 



Agrippa, (a-grip'pa). [Classical.] A crater 

 in the moon, q.v. 



Agrostis, (a-gros'tis). [Tlie Greek name.]= 

 Bent. A creeping grass of quick growth, 

 useful for pasture. 



Ai, (a'e). [From the sound it makes. ]=Sloth 

 =Bradypus tridactylus. An arboreal ape- 

 like quadruped of S. America. 



Aich metal, (ach met'al). An alloy of copper 

 and zinc, with a small proportion of iron. 



Ainos. An Asiatic race. 



Air, (ar). [L. aer, atmosphere.] The gaseous 

 mixture of oxygen and nitrogen that sur- 

 rounds the earth to a distance of 40 miles 

 or more. 



Air-bladder, (ar-bla'der) = Swim-bladder: in 

 fishes, to enable them to rise or sink in water. 



Air-cells, (ur' selz). [L. aer, air; cella, a little 

 room.] 1. Small cavities, containing air, 

 terminating the bronchial tubes. 2. Small 

 cavities in the stem and leaves of plants. 



Air-pump, (ar 7 pump). A machine for re- 

 moving air out of any 

 given vessel, or forcing 

 it in. 



Air-reduction process= 

 Desulphurization by the 

 action of air in lead 

 refining. 



Air-sacs, (ar' saks). [L. 

 aer, air ; A.-S., sacc, 

 bag.] Air vessels in 

 birds, forming the ter- Air-pump, 



mination of the bronchial tubes. 



Air thermometer, (ar ther-mom'et-er). [Gk. 

 aer, air ; thermos, heat ; tnetron, measure.] 

 An instrument in which the rise or fall of 



temperature is shown by the expansion or 

 contraction of air. 



Aisle, (il). [The French word. ]=W ing, or side 

 portion, of a building. 



Aix-la-Chapelle beds, ( a-la-sha-pel' bedz). 

 [Near the town of A.] Thick white sands 

 and laminated clays, in which are found 

 remains of land plants, belonging to the 

 Upper Cretacean strata. 



Ajuga, (a'ju-ga). [Corruption of Abija.]= 

 Bugle: an herb, with blue or yellow flowers, 

 belonging to Lamiacese. 



Ajutage, (aj'66-taj). [F. ajoutage, piece added.] 

 =A short efllux tube used to increase the 

 flow of a liquid from any vessel. 



Aka. An Indian tribe living among the hills 

 of Assam. 



Akassa. An African race. 



Akee-tree=Blighia sapida: a tree -with edible 

 fruit, found in Guinea, S. America, and W. 

 Indies, belonging to Sapindacerc. 



Aki=Lignum vitas of New Zealand=Metro- 

 sideros buxifolia, a shrub, climbing round 

 trees, with very hard wood, belonging to 

 Myrtales. 



Ala (of sphenoid) (ala). [L. ala, wing.] A 

 projection of the sphenoid bone. 



Alabaster, (al'a-bas-ter). [Gk. alabastron, a 

 smooth white stone.] A compact granular 

 variety of sulphate of lime, softer than mar- 

 ble, usually white, used for small statuary. 



Alangiaceae, (a-lan-ji-a'ce-e). [Alangium, q. -.] 

 =Alangiads: trees and shrubs, chiefly Indian, 

 forming a sub-division of Myrtales. 



Alangium, (a-lan'ji-um). [The Malabar name. J 

 An Indian tree, with showy flowers. 



Alanin (a'la-nin) = C ? H 7 N0 2 = Amidopro- 

 pionic acid = Lactamic acid = Amidolactic 

 acid: a neutral crystalline base obtained 

 from ammonic aldehyd by action of hydro- 

 chloric and hydrocyanic acids. 



Alate, (a'lut> [L. ala, wing.] "Winged. 



Alauda, (a-lau'da). [L. laus, praise. ]= Lark: 

 .1 small migratory singing bird belonging to 

 Piisseres. 



Albacore (al'ba-core) = Thynnus albacora = 

 Scomber glaucus: a fish. 



Albata, (al-ba'ta). [L. albus, white]. A white 

 aUoy. 



Albategnius, (al-ba-teg'ni-us). A plain in the 

 moon, q.v. 



Albatross, (al'ba-tros). [Sp. alcatrat, pelican.] 

 A large carnivorous 

 sea-bird, common in 

 temperate regions. 

 Common A. = Dio- 

 medea exulans. 



Albedo, (al'be-do). [L. 

 albeo, to be white.] 

 The power of a planet 

 to reflect light fall- 

 ing on its surface. 



Albertite, (al'ber-tit)= Albatross. 



Pure jet=pure pitch coal : found in the 

 Albert mine, Acadia, and in Scotland. 



Albinos, (al-be'nos). [The Spanish name.] 1. 

 =Leuca;thiopes=white negroes : natives of 

 the coast of Africa, Java, and Ceylon, with 

 white skin, white hair, and pinli eyes. 2. 



