ALE 



to prepared by distillation from 1 part of 

 water, 1 part of alcohol, 1J binoxide of 

 manganese, and IJ of aqueous sulphuric 

 acid. Symbol. O C l H 1 . 



ALDEHYDIC acid is prepared from alde- 

 hyde, and is composed of oxygen, hydro- 

 gen, and carbon. 



AL'OER, a tree which usually grows in 

 moist or boggy places: it is the Betula 

 alnus of the 'botanist, and is a native of 

 Europe, from Lapland to Gibraltar ; and 

 of Asia, from the White Sea to Mount 

 Caucasus. 



ALDERMAN, from Sax. alb, ld > aldeft, 

 older, and man. 1. Among our Saxon 

 ancestors, the second order of nobility : it 

 answered to our title of earl , it was infe- 

 rior to atheling, but superior to thane. 

 The title was also used in the time of 



Edgar for a justice or judge. 2. In 



present usage, a magistrate or officer of a 

 town corporate, next in rank below the 

 mayor. In London there are 26 aldermen, 

 each having one of the wards of the city 

 committed to his care. The office is for 

 life. They are, by their office, justices of 

 the peace, and, with the mayor, constitute 

 the court of corporation. In other bo- 

 roughs, the aldermen are, by 5 & 6 W. 4, 

 c. 76, to be in number one-third of the 

 councillors, one part to be elected Ui- 

 ennially from among the councillors. 



ALDINE EDITIONS, in bibliography, those 

 editions of the Greek and Koman classics 

 which proceeded from the press of the 

 family of Aldus Manutius, first established 

 at Venice, not long after the year 1490. 

 The impress is an anchor and dolphin 

 engraved on the last page. 



ALE, a fermented liquor made from malt 

 and hops, and chiefly distinguished from 

 beer, made of the same ingredients, by 

 a smaller quantity of hops being used in 

 its preparation, which renders (t less 

 bitter, and less fitted to keep than beer. 

 The word is altered from Sax. eale. See 

 BEER. 



ALE.VTO'RIUM, In the .old Roman archi- 

 tecture, an apartment appropriated to 

 the use of players with dice (aleee). 



ALE-CONNER, an officer in London, 

 whose business it is to inspect the mea- 

 sures used in ale-houses, &c. The situa- 

 tion is now a sinecure. Conner, from 

 Sax. con, to see, examine. 



ALECTOR, the generic name of the Hocco. 

 " The hoccos are large gallinacea; of Ame- 

 rica, which resemble turkeys, with a 

 brown, round tail, formed of large stiff 

 quills. They live in woods, feed on buds 

 and fruits, build on trees, and are very 

 social and easily domesticated." Name, 

 <*>.iT,the cock, for what reason on- 

 certain. 



ALECTO'RIA, the alectoriut lapis or cock- 

 *ton (A.ir(, a cock) : a peculiar stone, 



47 ALE 



said to be got in the stomach of the cock, 

 and fabled to possess great medicinal 

 virtues. 



ALECTORIDES, a tribe of gallinaceous 

 birds, including the curassow, and analo- 

 gous species. Typical genus Alector (q.v.). 



ALEE. In nautical language, when the 

 helm is moved over to the lee-side, it is 

 said to be alee or hard alee. 



ALEHOOF, a name of a species of ground- 

 ivy ; the Glechoma hederacea of Lin. The 

 leaves are used in clarifying ale. The 

 name is Dutch, ettoof. 



ALEMBIC, from Ar. al, the, and untbeq, a 

 kind of cup. A chemical vessel used in 

 distilling, called also a Moorshead. It is 

 made of glass, metal, or earthenware ; 

 consists of a bottom part, called the cu- 

 curbit or boiler, to which is adapted a 

 head, called the capital. The head is of 

 a conical figure, and has its external cir- 

 cumference or base depressed lower than 

 its neck, so that the vapours which rise, 

 and are condensed against its sides, run 

 down into the circular channel formed by 

 the depressed part, from whence they are 

 cSnveyed by a tube into a receiver. 



ALEM'BROTH, salt of wisdom. The al- 

 chemists gave this name to a preparation 

 made by dissolving equal parts of corro- 

 sive sublimate and sal ammoniac in dis- 

 tilled water, and adding carbonate of soda 

 as long as any precipitate was formed. 

 This precipitate is the sal alembroth: a 

 hydrochlorate of mercury and ammonia, 

 and the same with the hydrargyrum 

 pra?cipitatum album, or white precipitate 

 of mercury of the present London phar- 

 macopoeia. The word is Arabic, and sig- 

 nifies the key of art. 



ALEPIDOTE, any fish whose skin is not'co- 

 vered with scales (AJW , without scales) . 



ALE-SILVER, a duty paid to the Lord 

 Mayor of London by sellers of ale within 

 the city. 



ALE-TASTER, an officer appointed in 

 every court-leet, and sworn to inspect 

 ale, beer, and bread ; and examine the 

 quality and quantity within the precinct* 

 of the "lordship. 



ALETRIS, a genus of exotic perennials, 

 of eight species, belonging to the class 

 hfxandria, and order monogynia. 



ALEURITBS, the generic name of a South 

 Sea shrub, which belongs to the class 

 ntonceda, and order monvddphia. Name, 

 trornAu^, flour. 



ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL, an academy o! 

 learning of all kinds, founded at Alexan- 

 dria, by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, and sup- 

 ported by his successors. The granmar- 

 ians and mathematicians of this school 

 were particularly celebrated. Among the 

 first may be mentioned Aristarchus and 

 Aristophanes ; and among the laaer Pto- 

 lemy and Euclid. 



