A L G 



is ihr'.iijht to hi artificial and ilviclicd, and he is forrrwliat 

 ol' a manntrill in tlic folds of his Urapirits, arc thicfly 

 at Ri nic and the lu-i^'hbouriiig villas. Two plates, fuppolcd 

 to be his, arc " C'hrill upon the Crofs," a large upright 

 plate, and " the Deliverance of the Souh from I'urgator)-," 

 u fmall oval. Stmtt. Ge:i. Hiog. 



ALGAROTH, Paiutltrof, in Chrniiflry, is a white oxyd 

 of ai'.titr.oiij", procured by addhig pnre water to the butter or 

 oxyinuriatc of a-itimony, whereby the metallic oxyd is preci- 

 pitated. This, when thoroughly edulcorated and dried, 

 fortni the powder of algaroth, and is a very perteft oxyd 

 of antimony. It was lirll applied, a* an internal medicine, 

 bv Al^aroiii, an Italian phyiician. It is not now to be 

 found in the later pharmaeopirias of the l>ondon ecUege, 

 but if it were of any advantage to incrtafe the iiuniber of 

 antiinonial medicines, it might dcferve notice from the 

 eafc with which it is prepared, and the apparent uniformity 

 of its compofitiou. It is retained by the Edinburgh phar- 

 niacopccia, and in fcvenil parts of the continent as the balls 

 of the emetic tartar, or tartarized antimony. See An • 

 T I M n s Y , mur'mie and tartnte of. 



ALGAROT TI.I'r ANCi s,inZ?;5fn7/4i','^asbornatPadua 

 in 171 2, and fMiKhid his lliidies in the univeriiiy of Bologna. 

 He conimcneed his travels at an early period, and in his vilit to 

 lingland aequircil a prcdiledtion for the Newtonian philofo- 

 pliy, which led him to write his " Newtoniariifnio par le 

 Dame ;" or, " Newtonianifni for the Ladies," dated at Pa- 

 rin in 1736. Tliis popular work is formed upon the model 

 of Fontenclle's " Plurality of Worlds," and is equally in- 

 llruetive and amufing. At Berlin ^Algarotti was kind!}'' re- 

 ceived by Frederick, king of Pniflia, who conferred upon him 

 the knigiithood of the order of Merit, the title of count, and 

 the poll of chamberlain. By Stanidaus", king of Poland, 

 who admitted iiim into his court, he was appointed a privy- 

 counfellor. His character was that of a man of letters, a 

 philofopher, and one of the firllconnoiHeursin Europe in the 

 arts of mufic, painting, fculpture, and architefture. He 

 contributed much to the improvement of the Italian opera, 

 and wrote verfes in his own language replete with fentiment 

 and imagery. An ailbciate at Berlin reprclents him, fome- 

 what in the ftyle of fatire, " as fuU of wit, affedlation, and 

 felf-love ; a Frenchman in genius, an Italian in charafter, 

 difagreeable in foclcty, often expofed to royal witticifms, and 

 receiving them as tokens of favour." After his return to 

 Italy he died at Pifa, May 24, 1764. The maufoleum which 

 I'.e trcfted for himfclf indicates both his tatle and his vanity. 

 The epitaph for his tomb was written by himielf ; " Hie 

 jacet Algarottus, fed non omnis." A colleflion of his 

 works, in Italian, was publiihed at Leghorn in 1765, in 

 four volumes, 8vo. They confill of his dialogues on the 

 philofophy of Ncr.ton, of elfays on the firre arts and on 

 commerce, of dillertations on fubjefts of language, of hifto- 

 rical difquifitions, and of milcellanies, literary and pliilofo- 

 phical. An edition of them, in French, was publiihed at 

 Berlin in 1772, in eight vols. 8vo. ; and they have been alfo 

 tranflatcd into Englifli and other languages. They difplay 

 genius and profound refleftion, but are thought by com- 

 petent judges deficient with refpeft to nature and finiplieity» 

 He deligned and engraved, for his amufersent, feveral plates 

 of heads in groups, one of which, containing 13, in the an- 

 ticptc ftyle, is dated Feb. 15, 1744. Nouv. Ditt. Hilh 

 Strutt. 



ALGARVA, in Gtngraphy, the moft fouthern province, 

 anciently a kingdom of Portugal, is bounded on the fouth 

 and weft by the ocean, and hence formerly called Cuiieus or 

 wedge, on the eail by Andalufia, from which it is feparated 



A L G 



by the Gundiana, nnd on the north by a ridge of hills, called 

 bcrra de Algarve a:cd Si.rra dc Monchique, wliicli di\idcs it 

 from Alentejo. The greatell length of this province is 

 about 00 miles, and its greatell breadth is about 2S. The 

 citv of Lagos is properly the chief town of Algarva, though 

 Tavira is now the refidcnce of the governor, and Faro pof- 

 felfes the greatell part of its trade. Aeeurding to the lalt 

 enumeration in 1780, this fniall kingdom contained 93,472 

 inhabitants, of whom 6521 were Inilbaiulnien, and 5575 la- 

 bourers. It lies clofe to the fea, and is well cullivated ; but 

 this cultivation does not extend more than two leagues in. 

 land, beyond which are delert hills. Corn is not grown in 

 fuffieient quantitv for the conlumption ; the oil that is pro- 

 duced here i.; reckoned the bell in Portugal, and exported. 

 The wine is white, and good. I'igs conllitute the piincipal 

 produce of Algarva, and it alfo abounds with almonds, parti- 

 cularly about Tavira, which are exported. This is the only 

 province of Portugal from which dried figs are exported. 

 Oranges are alio cultivated, cipecially in the vicinity of 

 Monehique and Faro ; and thefe, together with oranges 

 and Spanifh reeds (aruiido tfuiiax), are exported from Faro 

 to England. Algarva, it is faid, is the only countrv, 

 Greece excepted, where Caprification is praftifed ; for 

 there are fome varieties of figs, which are veiy excellent, 

 that fall to the gi-ound immature, uulefs thev arc punttured 

 by the gnats. The common people live principally on filh, 

 and are very poor, becaule the province, though capable of 

 great cultivation, is fhamefully neglciited. A quantity of 

 tunny-filhis taken on the coaft, and particularly in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Lagos and Cape St. Vincent, and falted in May 

 and June ; the colour of it rtfembles that of fmoked beef; 

 and a llorehoufc for it is opened at Lifbon, where it is found 

 to fupply the place of cod. The inhabitants, in general, 

 are lefs refined and polite than the other Portuguefe, but 

 they are celebrated through the country for their wit and 

 fhrewdnefs. They are alio confidered as the bell mariners 

 in Portugal ; and on this account many of them emigrate, 

 and moll of the boatmen at Lifbon come from this pro- 

 vince. The mountains that feparate this province from 

 Alentejo, rife in height as they approach the north, and 

 confifl of argillaceous flate and fand-ftone. They are arid 

 and barren, and only bear the ciihis ladaniferus, with two 

 other kinds ol ciihis. The province is for the moll part 

 furroundcd by lime-llone mountains, which exhibit few, if 

 any, traces of cultivation. Olive-trees and fig-trees, and alfo 

 the ca ob-tree (cernlotiia Jlliqua) grow abundantly in the 

 corn-fields, and afford a plcafant ihade. The fan palm (cba- 

 marcps alj/ira oi Limiasus) is very plentihil throughout the 

 whole of this province ; and its fan-fhaped leaves are iifed 

 tor making the baflcets in which figs are packed. Link's 

 Travels through Portugal, p. 432, &c. « 



ALGAS, a river of Spain, which runs into the Mata- f 

 rana, near Nonafpe, in Aragon. 



ALGATRANE, a fort of pitch found in the bay 

 formed by the point of the Cape of St. Helena, on the 

 fouth of the Ifle of Plata. 



ALGAU. See Algow. || 



ALGAVAREIA, the language anciently fpoken by T' 

 the Morefcoes of Spain, which was a fort of Arabic, and 

 was conttadlftinguifhed from the yl/jcmina. 



ALGAZEL, in Bio^ra/>hy, zlezrned Arabian, about the 

 beginning of the I 2th century, was a native of Tos, or Tus, 

 m Afia, and celebrated among the Mahometan theologians 

 for his numerous treatifes in defence of the Mahometan reli- 

 gion, againft the Jews and Chriflians ; particularly for his 

 ** Dcmor.flratioB of Illaroifm," and his " Treatife on the 



Unity 



