ALB 



mily unionidae, having two cardinal and 

 no lateral rceth. 



ALASMODO'NTINJS, a sub-family of unio- 

 nidae ; the typical genus is the alasmodon. 



ALATE, Lat. alatus, winded : having di- 

 lations like wings. Applied : 1. In botany, 

 to stems and- leaf-stalks when the edges 

 and angles are longitudinally expanded 



into leaf-like borders. 2. In concho- 



logy, to shells having an expanded lip, or 

 when any portion of them is much ex- 

 panded. 



ALAU'DA, the generic name of the lark: 

 a granivorous bird which builds on the 

 ground, and generally sleeps there. There 

 are several species : the sky-lark (A. ar- 

 vensis'), is universally known by its per- 

 pendicular mode of soaring, and powerful 

 song; and the crested lark (A. cristata), 

 is well known for the power it has of 

 erecting the feathers on the top of the 

 head into a tuft. Name, from ad, and 

 laudo, to praise. It is classed among the 

 conirostres by Cuvier, in the order pas- 

 serints. 



ALBA, \ Lat. alhus, white. A vestment 



ALBE, ) worn by priests of the Roman 

 Catholic church. It differs from the sur- 

 plice in fitting more closely to the body, 

 and being tied with a girdle. 



ALBA-FIRMA, anciently a rent paid in 

 silver, and not in coin, which was called 

 Hack-mail. 



AL'BATROSS, the most massive of all 

 aquatic birds, called sometimes the great 

 gull, and diomedea, by Lin. The D. exu- 

 lam is the species best known to navi- 

 gators, who, on account of its size, white 

 plumage, and black wings, and because it 

 is particularly common beyond the tropic 

 of Capricorn, call it the Cape sheep. To 

 English sailors, however, it is best 

 known by the name of the man-of-war- 

 bird. It is classed in the family of longi- 

 pennes, and order palmipedes, by Cuvier. 

 Named from alcatros or alcatross, by 

 which the early Portuguese navigators 

 designated all oceanic birds. 



ALBERTUS, a gold coin of the time of 

 Albertus, archduke of Austria. 



ALBICORE, a marine nsh, noted for fol- 

 lowing ships : named from Port, albacor, 

 the little pig. 



ALBIGE'NSES, I A party of reformers 



ALBIGE'NOIS, ) who separated from the 

 Church of Rome in the 12th century. 

 They take their name from Albigenois, a 

 small territory in France, where they re- 

 sided. They are sometimes confounded 

 with the Waldenses, but they were prior 

 to them in time, and different from them 

 in some of their tenets, and resided in a 

 different part of France. The Catholics 

 made war upon them, and they gradually 

 dwindled till the Reformation, when the 

 remains of them fell in with the followers 

 of Zvinglius and the Genevan Protestants. 



t ALB 



ALBINISM, the anomaly of organisation, 

 which distinguishes the albino. It is re- 

 garded as a disease. 



AL'BINO, (from albus, white). A white 

 descendant of black parents, or a white 

 person belonging to a black race. The 

 name was originally given by the Portu- 

 guese to negroes who were born mottled 

 with white spots, or whose entire skin 

 was white. 



The whiteness of the albino is not 

 similar to that of the fair European : it 

 is pallid and death -like, communicating 

 a peculiar and very unpleasant appear- 

 ance to the individual. The hair is 

 white on every part of the body, the 

 iris is of a pale rose colour, the eye can- 

 not bear a strong light, and vision is 

 very imperfect during the day-time. 

 For this reason, the albinos of Africa 

 sleep during the day and go abroad 

 during night, when they see with great 

 accuracy. 



ALBION, an old name of England still 

 used in poetry : supposed to be given on 

 account of its white chalk cliffs, (albus, 

 white.) 



ALBITE, a name of tetarto-prismatic fel- 

 spar : a_ variety of felspar in which the 

 alkali is soda instead of potash. It is 

 sometimes gray, green, or red ; but gene- 

 rally white, whence its name from albus, 

 white. 



ALBORA, a disease of the skin terminat- 

 ing without ulceration, but with fetid 

 evacuations from the mouth and nose : it 

 is described as a complication of morphew, 

 serpigo, and leprosy. 



ALBUCA, bastard star of Bethlehem. A 

 genus of shrubaceous plants of 15 species, 

 all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Hexandria monogynia. Name, froma&u- 

 cum, the daffodil. 



ALBUGI'NEA, Lat. from albugo, the white 

 of the eye. The outer coat or tegument 

 of the eye is called tunica albtiginea oculi 

 by anatomists, on account of its white- 

 ness. It is otherwise called the conjunc- 

 tiva. 



ALBUGINEOCS, Lat. albugineus, pertain- 

 ing to, or resembling the white of the eye, 

 or of an egg ; e. g. albugineous humour 

 is the aqueous humour of the eye. 



ALBU'GO, the white of the eye, from 

 alhus, white. Technically, a white spot 

 on the corner of the eye, which causes 

 blindness ; otherwise called Leucoma. 



ALBULA, a genus of fishes of the trutta- 

 ceous kind. An Indian species (A. indica) 

 is called by the Dutch " wit-fish." Ano- 

 ther species (A. nobilis) is very plentiful 

 in the German lakes. 



Ar.Bi'M, (Latin). Literally anything 

 white. 1. Among the Romans, a white 

 table, board, or register, on which the 

 names of public officers and public trans- 

 actions were >vritten. 2. The term la 



