AO A : 



AFTER-CROP, the second crop from the 

 tame ground in the same year. 



AFTER-GUARD, the seaman stationed on 

 the poop, or after part of a ship, to attend 

 the after sails. 



AFTER-MOST. In nautical language, near- 

 est the stern ; opposed to foremost. 



AFTERPIECE, in theatricals, a piece per- 

 formed after a play ; a farce or other light 

 entertainment. 



AFTERSAiLs.the sails of the mizen-mast. 

 and stays between the main and the 

 mi/eu-masts. 



AFTERSWARM, any of the swarm of bees 

 which leave a hive after the first. 



AFZELIA, a genus of shrubaceous plants 

 of three species, natives of Sierra Leone. 

 Class dccandria, order monogynia. 



AGA, Per. aka, lord or master. In the 

 Turkish dominions, a commander or chief 

 officer. The title is also given to great 

 landholders, and to the eunuchs of the 

 Sultan's seraglio. It is also a common 

 title of respect in addressing a distin- 

 guished person. 



AGA'LLOCHOR, ) K.yu.X>*oxov. aloes-wood 



Ao A'LLOCHCM, ) (lignum alois). The pro- 

 duce of a large forest tree, to be found in 

 most countries between the 24 J of north 

 latitude and the equator. It seems to be 

 the result of the diseased action of a small 

 part of a few trees of the same kind, and 

 the rest of the wood is without value. 

 The kind most valued and it was at one 

 time reckoned nearly as valuable as gold 

 is so soft and resinous, that it may be 

 modelled with the fingers. It is in high 

 repute for fumigations and incense in all 

 Hindoo, Mohammedan, and Catholic 

 countries. 



AGALMA'TOLITE, figure-stone (ij/a^ooc 

 andx/fiaf) ; a sub-species of mica of various 

 colours. The best specimens are those of 

 China. 



AGAPE (pron. ag'api/}. Among the pri- 

 mitive Christians, a love-feast held before 

 or after communion. The meaning of the 

 name (a-ycvm, love,) was latterly taken 

 in too literal a sense, and this feast be- 

 came scandalous : it was finally sup- 

 pressed. 



&.G'APHITE. Sue TURO.UOISE. 



AGA'RIC, } the mushroom ; & genus of 



AGA'RICCS, ) plants of the class cryptoga- 

 tnia, and order fungi. The plants of this 

 genus approach more nearly to animal j 

 matter than any other productions of the 

 vegetable kingdom. Name, d'/ctqizov, 

 because primarily found near the river 

 Agaros, in Sarmatia. 



AGARIC, MINERAL, a variety of soft car- 

 bonate of lime. It is found in the clefts of 

 rocks, in pieces loosely cohering, and so 

 light as nearly to swim on water. It 

 take* its name from its resemblance to a 

 fungus in colour and texture. 



AGE 



AOASTRICS, Gr. at, without, and yettrrr.f, 

 stomach. A name formerly given to 

 certain animalcules, on the erroneous 

 supposition that they were devoid ot 

 internal digestive organs. The name 

 is still used to designate a family oi 

 medusae. 



AGATE, a genus of semipellucid gems, 

 the basis of which is calcedony, blended 

 with variable proportions of jasper, 

 amethyst, quartz, opal, heliotrope, and 

 cornelian. When cut and polished, agates 

 present an appearance of waving lines, 

 sometimes accurately parallel, as ribbon 

 agate, and sometimes containing a resem- 

 blance to mosses, ferns, &c., as in Mocha 

 stone, and sometimes the parallel lines 

 are zigzag, as in fortification agate. Name 

 yaycti-rif , because found near the river of 

 that name in Sicily, afterwards called 

 achates, and finally agate. 2. An in- 

 strument used by gold wire-drawers ; so 

 called from the agate in the middle of it, 

 through which the wire is drawn. 



AGATHIDIUM, a genus of coleopterous 

 insects belonging to the family of Clavi- 

 palpi. Name from a'yatBi;, a clue, in 

 reference to the faculty possessed by the 

 species, of rolling themselves into a ball, 

 in which state " they feign death in the 

 most imperturbable manner." 



AGATHODJEMON, Gr. ofyaOos, good, and 

 ieu/Muv, demon. In mythology, a good 

 spirit. 



AGATIZED, having the coloured lines 

 and figures of agate ; e. g. agatized wood, a 

 species of horustone, apparently produced 

 by the petrifaction of wood. 



AGA'VE, the generic name of the Ameri- 

 can aloe. There are fourteen species, 

 thirteen of which are beautiful shruba- 

 ceous plants, the other a perennial. Class 

 hexandria, order monogynia . Name crya.'jo; 

 noble, in reference to the beautiful appear- 

 ance of the great aloe, which rises up- 

 wards of twenty feet, and its branches 

 form a pyramidal top. The genus is the 

 type of a subdivision of the amaryllida.- 

 ceous plants. 



AGEDOITE. See ASPAKAGIN. 



AGE'M A, a body of soldiery in Macedonia, 

 not unlike the Roman legion. 



AGEXOOLANS, such children as were 

 obtained by a tax, levied every third year 

 in the Turkish empire upon the'Christians 

 the collectors usually took every third 

 child, and the handsomest. 



AuENDA,froina<jro,toact. \.~lv. theology, 

 what one is bound to perform, in contra- 

 distinction to credenda, what one is bound 



to believe. 2. A memorandum-book of 



things to be daily attended to. 3. A 



ritual or liturgy. 



AGENE'SIA, from , not, and ytttfu, 

 generation 1. Impotence. X. Any 



