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have acquired a degree of coolncfs very gralcful in ihat 

 wann cliinate. 



Ertremaduni pofTcfTes a mnnufa^^ure of largo red jars 

 called Bucaroi, which are applied to the fame piirpofcs as 

 the true Alcarrazas.biit are much inferior, in being lefs porous, 

 a:.d commuiiicatiiig to tlic water an iinpteafant earthy taftc. 



Another ufc to which thcfe vetfels are apphed in Portu- 

 gal, is that of moiftehi;ig fnuff or tob-icco. Tor this pur- 

 pofe, the jar being filled with fnuff is placed in water, 

 which filtering through its fides very flowly, gives in a few- 

 hours, to t!ie incloled powder, the rcquifite humidity. 

 Journal des Mines, vol. vi. p. 791. 



The editor of the Journal de Phyfique is of opinion that 

 the mixture of foftil meal with con'.mon potter's earth 

 might afford an uleful fubftitute both for the Alcarra- 

 las and the filtering i^onis. The />^/ m«;/ is that earth of 

 whieh the floating bricks of Tuicany arc made; and 

 which, according to the teftimony of Pliny and Strabo, 

 was anciently found in great plenty, both in Afia and 

 Spain. To the propofed ufe, however, of this fubilitute, 

 the earthy fiivour which it would communicate to the water 

 is a radical objection. 



ALCAPAR, Louis dp, in Bio^?jnphy, a Spnnifli jcfuit, 

 was born alSeville in 1554, and was at firil a teacher of philo- 

 f.iphy, and afterwards of divinity at Cordova and at Seville 

 for above 20 ycirs. He dircfted for fo many years his chief 

 attention to the fludy of the book of Revelation, and his 

 work oii this fubjtft, intitled, " Vefligatio arcani fenfus in 

 Apocalypfi," is much efteemed among the Catholics, and 

 has been printed feveral tirtcs. Grotius is faid to have bor- 

 rowed many of his ideas from this book. Hii v/orks, com- 

 prehending a commentary on fuch parts of tlieOldTeft.as had 

 in his judgment any relation to the Apocalypfe, and includ- 

 ing a treatife " On Sarred Weii;hts a.id Meafures," and 

 another " On bad Phvficians," form two folio volumes. 

 Heydcgger in his " PiTyfterium Bibylonis magns," pub- 

 lifhed at Leyden in 1687, has examined fome of his apo- 

 calyptic hypothefes. Alcafar died at Seville, June 16, 

 1613, at the age of 60 years. Gen. Dift. 



ALCASSAR, or Alcazar, in Gc-igmphy, formerly 

 Cifar al Cabiris, a city of Africa, on the coaft of Barbar)', 

 in the kingdom of Fez. It is faid to have been built by 

 Jacob Almanzor, about the year ilSo, during his war 

 witli Spain, and intended as a depot for the immenfe flores 

 that were coUeftcd for this purpofe. It was formerly the 

 reCdence of a governor, and a town of good trade, till 

 the Portuguefc m:icle thcmftlves mafters of it in 1458 ; but, 

 though it was not long in their poifLflion, it gradually funk 

 into decay, and lies now in a ruinous condition. Its fitua- 

 tion is fo low, that it is overflowed with water in the win- 

 ter, and molefted with heat in fummer. The ftorks 

 of this place are fo numerous and fo familiar, that they 

 occupy ihe tops of tlie houfes and mofques without mo- 

 Icftatioa ; the inhabitants elteeming them fjcred birds, and 

 thinking it finful to difturb them. The bafhaw of Tetuan 

 now appoints a governor for this town, vs'hich is the laft of 

 his dominions towards Mequinez. In the vicinity of this 

 town, there is a ridge of mountains running towards Te- 

 tuan, whofe inhabitants are a band of robbers, whom it 

 has not been polTible to reftrain or extirpate, as they find 

 an inacceffible fhelter in their mountainous forefts. It was 

 near this town, on the river Elma-haffan, that a famous 

 battle was fought in 1578, when three kings were flain, 

 vii. Abdemeleeh king of Morocco, Mahomet the ufurper, 

 and Scbaftian king of Portugal. The Portuguefe indulge 

 a fanciful notion, that Scbaftian was tranfported to an en- 

 chanted iUapd, and they expeft his return to eflablilh their 



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power, and to render their kingdom the firft on the globe. 

 Thiscity, N. lat. 35' 15'. W. long. 12° 35'., is called Jl- 

 cajfiir qu'ibir, or the great caftle, to dilliiiguiHi it from the 

 alcaffar of the next article. 



AlCassar 7^iqu\r, or Ccguer, q. d. the link palace-, a 

 town or fortrefs of Africa, in the kingdom of Fez, be- 

 tween Tangicrs and Ceuta. It was taken by Alphonfo 

 kin" of Portugal, in 1458, but foon after abandoned to 

 the Moors. It lies on the fouth-fide of the ilraits of Gi- 

 braltar, and a (hallow bay between two points of land, af- 

 fords anchorage for {hips, and on the well of this are two 

 long nanow islands, parallel to the coaft. N. lat. 35^ 4.8'. 

 W. long. 5° 36'. 



Alcassar de Gittte, a town of Spain, in New Caftile, al- 

 moin between Cuenza and Guete, with which it forms nearly 

 a triangle. N. lat. 40° 10'. W. long. 2° 16'. 



Alcassar do Sal, a town of Portugal, in Eftremadura, 

 fix leagues from the fea, on the confines of Alentejo, 

 guarded by a caftle, wliich is faid to be impregnable. The 

 I'alt-work in this town yields very fine white fait, and gives 

 it its name. Of the ruflies that are gathered in the ad- 

 joining fields, mats are made for exportation. N. Lt. 3S* 

 J 8'. W. loug. 9° 10. 



ALCATILE, a town of India in the Carnatic, weft 

 of Madras. 



AECATRASES, an iiland in the Pacific Ocean, about 

 21 leagues from Acapiilco ; and half a league from tliC 

 continent. N. lat. 15" 50'. V/. long. 102^ 30'. 



ALCATRAZ, in Omithalogy, a aame given by the 

 Spaniards, alfo by Fernandez, Hernandez, and Nieremberg, 

 to the PELICAN of Mexico; and erroneoufiy by Clufiu* 

 and others after him, to the Indian horn-bill, or buceros- 

 Ilydro-oiax. 



A LC AVAL A, in Politics, a tax upon transferrable 

 property impofcd by the Spanifli government. It was 

 at firft 10, afterwards 14, and at prefent it is only 6 per 

 cent, upon the falc of every fort of property, whether 

 moveable or immoveable ; and it is repeated every time the 

 property is fold. The levying of this tax requires a mul- 

 titude of revenue -officers, fufficient to guard the tranf- 

 portation of goods, not only from one province to another, 

 but from one (hop to another. It fubjects not only the 

 deiders in fomc forts of goods, but thoie in all forts ; every 

 farmer, every manufaAurer, every mercluint and (hop- 

 keeper ; to the continual vifits and examinations of the 

 tax-gatherers. Through the greater part of a country, 

 in which a tax of this kind is ellablilhed, nothing can be 

 produced for diilant fale. The produce of every part of 

 the country mud be proportioned to the confumption of 

 the neighbourhood. It is to the Alcavala accordingly, 

 that Uilaritz imputes the ruin of the manufadlures of 

 Spain. He might have imputed to it likewife, fays a very 

 competent judge, the declenfion of agriculture ; as it is 

 impofed not only upon manufactures, but upon the rude 

 produce of the land. 



In the kingdom of Naples, there is a fmiilar tax of 

 three per cent, upon the value ot all contracts, and confe- 

 quently upon that of all contrails for fale. This is both 

 lighter than tlic Spanifh tax, and the greater part of towns 

 and pariihes is allowed to pay a compofition in htu of it ; 

 which compofition is levied in any mode they pleafe, and - 

 generally fo as to give no inteiTuption to the interior com-i 

 merce of the place. The Neapolitan tax is therefore not 

 nearly fo ruinous as the Spanilh one. Smith's Wealth of 

 Nations, vol. iii. p. 381. 



ALCAUDETE, in Geography, a beautiful town of 

 Spain, in the province of Andalufia and diftrlcl of Cordova, 



between 



