A L C 



A L C 



between Cordova and Jaen. N. lit. 37° 35'. W. long. 3° 

 26'. 



ALCAZAR, or Alca9.\r, Andrew, of Guadalaxara, 

 in New Callilc, in Biogi\iphy, a cflchratcd pliyfu-iaii of the 

 l6th century, publidicd in 1575, at Salamanca, " Cliiiiirgix 

 libros fex, in qinljus niulta aiitiquDnnn ct i-eccntioiinn 

 tububfcura loca haoftcnus nun declaiata inti-rpiotantin-," fol. 

 In the fifth book, iic treats, " De pudendagra vcl inentagra 

 vcl lichenis, vidgo, morbo Gallico." He contend;! this dif- 

 eafe was known to the antients, and cites Pliny, and various 

 other writers in proof of this poiition ; b\it admits, that in 

 certain ilagcs of the difeafe, it is only to be cured by mer- 

 curial innndion. See a full account of this work, and a 

 refutation of his opinion of the antiquity of the lues, in 

 Allruc's trc-itife, IJe Morbis Venereis, vol. ii. p. 792. 



ALCl'l, in Ancient Gcogr.ipbi, a town of I'eloponnelus, 

 mentioned by Plutarch, in his life of Cleomenes. Alee is 

 alio, according to l^ivy, a town of Spain, belonging to the 

 Celtlberiaus. It is likevvife a name given by Pliny to a river 

 of Dithynia. 



Ai.cE, in Orni'halogy, a fpecies of auk or alca. 



Alck, in Z'jo!o;iy, a fpecies of Ctrvus. See Elk. 



ALCEA, Hollyhock, ATuhui of Tonrnefort, \n Bo- 

 tany, a genus of the monaJc-Ipljin polyandria clafs and oi'der, 

 01 the natural order of colunnuferte, and the malvatftc of 

 Juffieu. Its charafters are, that the calyx is double, each 

 ^one-leafed ; the outer cut half way into fix parts, permanent 

 and very fprcading ; the inner cut half-way into five parts, 

 larger and permanent ; the corolla confifts of five, obcordate 

 emarginate, fi)reading petals, coalefeing at their bafes ; th.e 

 llamina are filaments uniting into a fort of five-angled cy- 

 linder at bottom, loofe at top, and inferted into the corolla ; 

 tfie anthers almoit kidney-lhaped ; the pillillum has a germ 

 crbiculate, ftyle cylindric, (hort, lligmas about 20, fetaccous, 

 of the length of the ftyle ; the pericarpium is compoled of 

 many jointed arils, in a ring round a columnar flatted re- 

 ceptacle, parting and opening on the infide ; the feed is one, 

 flat, icidney (haped in each aril. Schreber and JufTicii join 

 this genus to Althnsa. 



ProfefTor Martyn enumerates three, and Gmelin five 

 fpecies ; lu's. 1. A. rofe^i, common hollyhock, with leaves 

 {innate-angular. 2. A. fmcnfis, with cordated, rough, cre- 

 nated, angular leaves, and ftem below ramofe. 3. A. acaul'u, 

 with numerous cordated rotundo-lobatcd leaves, fpicate 

 flowers, and a ftcm thick and very fmall. 4. A. c'jroman- 

 ddiana, witli fubtriangular crenated obtufe quinquenerved 

 fubtriiobe leaves, and folitarv flowers. The A. AjYicana or 

 African PL of Martyn, is delcribed as having leaves three- 

 lobed crenate, flowers folitary axillary, both calyxes fix- 

 parted. 5. -4.. jfc//b/;(3, fig-leaved H. with inferior palmat-ed 

 fevcn-lobcd crenated leaves, the fuperior haftated. Linnxus 

 doubts, whether the firft and fifth fpecies, above enumeratcd,- 

 are diilinft, and feems to think that the laft is a variety of 

 the tird. But Prof. Martyn obferves, that the difference in the 

 form of their leaves always continues. Ixith thefe forts were 

 cultivated by Gerard in 1597. AUione fays, that the holly- 

 hock grows wild in the county of Nice. The colour of the 

 flowers is accidental, and the double flowers are only varieties 

 proceeding from culture. The various colours that have 

 been noticed are white, pale, red, deep-red, blaekifh-red, 

 purple, yellow, asd flefh colour. Prof. Martyn intorms us, 

 that he has feen fome plants with variegated flowers, laifed 

 from feeds which were brought from China. Although 

 thefe varieties of double hollyhocks are not conftant, yet the 

 greateil number of plants, prod.;ccd by feeds carefully faved 

 from the molk double flowers, will arife nearly the fame with 



the plants from which they were taken, provided they are 

 kept feparale from lingle or bad coloured flowers. 



The hrll ipecies grows naturally in China, the fifth in 

 Itlrui, and has alfo been brought ftoin Madras. Lin- 

 nj-us refers it to Siberia. A dwarf fort, with beautiful 

 double variegated flowers, has been for fome years in great 

 elleem, under the name of Chinefe hollyhock. Thefe plants, 

 though natives of warm countries, are fuiliciently hardy to 

 thrive in the open air in England, and iiavc contributed much 

 to the ornament of gardens towards the clofe of fummer. 

 In large gardens, they make a fine appearance ; a fucceflioii 

 ot fj)ikes arifing on the lame Hem for two nicniths. The 

 flowers on the lower part of the fplke appear in July, and 

 new flowers will be produced till tlie end of September. In 

 good ground tlie llalks will often rife to the height of eight 

 or nine feet, and near lix feet of each will be g irninud with 

 flowers. The African hollylmck is a native of tlie eallcrn 

 fliorc of Africa ; and the alcea indica of iiurin. ind. p. 141;, 

 agrees with this in having three-lobed crenate leaves ; Init 

 difters trom it in having the flowers terminating and yellow ; 

 with the inner calyx five-cleft. The hollyhocks are propa- 

 gated by iceds, whicii ihould be faved from jdants of the beil 

 colours and of the moit double flowers, and they fliould be 

 fown in a bed of light eartli, about the middle of April, 

 and covered about half an inch deep. Wlicii the plants 

 have put out fix or eight leaves, they iluiuld be tranlplaiited 

 into nurfery-beds, at a foot diilance from each other, water- 

 ing them till they have taken root, and afterwards keeping 

 them clean from weeds till Oiitober, when t'ley fliould bo 

 removed to the fituation where they are to remain. 



Alcea. See Hibiscus and Malva. 



Alcea FloruLiyia. See Gokdonia. 



ALCEjE, in Entymulrj;^f, a Ipeci'es of Papilio Plehjus, 

 with divaricated wings, of brown and cinereous colour, the 

 primores marked with points, and the pollerior cinereoun 

 underneath; found in the fouthern parts of Ruflia. 



ALCEDO, L}r.r-JtJhcT, in 0:-nilholo^y, a geiuis of the 

 order of Picx. The characters are, that the bill is thrte- 

 fided, thick, llraight, long and pointed ; the tongue is flelhy, 

 very {liort, flat and fiiarp, and the feet are fm- the moll pan 

 grellory. The fpecies enumerated by Gmelin, befides fe- 

 vcral varieties, ainount to 41. Thefe birds are diiperfed 

 over the whole globe ; inhabiting chiefly the water and living 

 upon fi(h, which they catch with furprifing alcrtnefs and 

 Iwidlow whole, rejetting afterwards the undigelted parts ; 

 though their wings are fhort, they fly fwiltly ; their pre- 

 vailing colour is iky-blue ; their nollrils arc fmall, and ge- 

 nerally covered. I. A. criftiUa, A. amboinenfis criilata of 

 Seha, Ifpida philippenfn, criilata of Brifl'on, vintfi of JMilTon, 

 and crelted king-filher of Latham, is (hort tailed, ll'.y-bluc 

 above, rufous beneath, and has its creft undulated with 

 black. The bill is black, crcft grcenilh, on eadi fide of 

 the neck is a bluifh Itreak beginning from tlie eye ; the 

 fhoulders, the upper coverts of the wings, and the margins 

 of the wing-teathers and tail-fcat'hers, and the whole 

 of the intermediate tail-feathers are violet, the chin 

 rufous, tlie throat rufous, and white, the wing-feathers, 

 brown, and the legs with the claws reddifli. It is about 

 five inelies long, and found in Amboyiia and the Philippine 

 ifles. The ifpida indica criilata, or A. criilata elegantiliima 

 pifta of Scba is a variety. 2. A. hhhi, fpotted king-fi'her 

 of Edwards and Latham, is (hort tailed, grccnifh, yiUov/ 

 beneath, with a nebulous p.cdtoraI fafeia. 'i'he bill is black, 

 the line above and behiw the eyes yellow, the wings punc- 

 tated with wiute, and the feet red. It is feven inches long, 

 and found in Guiana. 3. A. ifpida:, ifpida of Gcfncr, Ray, 



' Otn, 



