A L S 



A L S 



into foutli and north Ilarde, called Sondciburg and Kor- 

 biir;; prefeftures. It is about ICO miles well of Copcn- 



A1.SEN3, a river of Germany, which runs into the 111 

 near Phidentz. 



Alsens, a town of Germany, in the circle of the ITpper 

 Rliine, ar.d duchy of Deux'-Ponts ; zS miles welk of 

 Wunns. 



ALSENZ, a town of Germany, in the circle of the 

 Upper Rhine, and principality of NalTaa-Weiburg, fcven 

 miles foulh of Creiitiinach, and 40 novtli-well of Man- 



heim. 



ALSFELD, a very ancient town of Germany in the 

 circle of the Upper Rhine, in Upper HefTe, in a prefedhi- 

 rate of the fame name. It lies near the river Schwalm, has 

 an old caftle and two churches ; and it is the firll town in 

 HefTe which received the confcflion of Auglburg, beir.g 

 formerly more wealthy and populous than it is at prefent. 

 N. lat. 50° 40'. E. long. 9'' 9'. 



ALSHASn, a beantiful city in Buckliar.a, fuppoftd to 

 be that which is now/;alled Tashkunt, or ThaJcLk.ind. 



ALSHEDA, a parifti of Smaland in Sweden, where a 

 gold mine was dikovered in IJ^S. 



ALSHEIM, a town of .'-^-rmany, in the circle of tlie 

 Lower Rhine, 10 miles north oi Worms. 



ALSIM3EL, in the Materia Malica, a name given, 

 by Avicenna and others, to the fpikenard of India. It 

 is thus called from its having the appearance of a fpike, or 

 ear, and alfo /mi«to/i, a word which fignifies its being a 

 coifsnes of many fpikes, or ears ; and fuch is much of the 

 nwJus Ind'tca, or Indian ffiL-nard, that we receive at this 

 day. 



ALSINA, in Botany. See Theligonum. 



ALSINANTHEMUM. See Arenaria. 



ALSINASTRUM. See Costus and Elatine. 



ALSINE, formed of '' A^.to;, a groi'e, chidiveed, Eng. 

 mor^eline, Fr. in Botany, a genus of the pentandrla trigynia 

 clafs and order, and of the natural order of caryophylki : 

 its characters are, that the calyx is a five-leaved perianthium, 

 leaflets concave, oblong and acuminate ; the corolla has five 

 equal petals, longer than the calyx; the _/?am/n^ coiifill of 

 capillary filaments, the anthers roundilTi ; ihs pijlillum has a 

 fubovate germ, ftyles fihform, and iHgmas obtufe ; the pe- 

 ricarpium is an ovate, one-celled, three-valved capfule, co- 

 vered with the calyx i the feeds are ver^'many and roundifli. 

 Marty n reckons three, and Ximelin five fpecies. I. A. 

 media, holoileum Alfine of Swartz, common cliickweed, 

 with petals bipartite, and leaves ovate-cordate. The num- 

 ber of ftamens in the flower of the common chickweed is 

 uncertain, from three to ten. This fpecies in different foils 

 and fituations aflumes different appearances ; but it is dif- 

 tinguiftied from the ceraftiums, which it moll refembles, by 

 the number of piftils, and by having the petals ftiorter than 

 the leaves of the calyx, and from all the plants related to 

 it, and particularly the ftcUaria nemorum, by having the 

 llalk alternately hairy on one fide only. Dr. Withering 

 refers it to the stellaria, with which genus it agrees in 

 various refpefts, and eipecially in the capfules opening with 

 fix valves. He obferves, that it grows almoft in all fitua- 

 tions from damp and almoil boggy woods, to the drieft 

 gravel walks in gardens ; but in thefe various ftates its ap- 

 pearances are very different, fo that thofe who have only 

 taken notice of it as garden chicken-weed would hardly 

 know it in woods, where it fometimes exceeds half a yard 

 in height, and has leaves near two inches long, and more 

 than one inch broad. In its truly wild ftate, he fays, in 

 7 



damp woods, and hedge bottoms witli a northern afpcifl, it ' 

 has almoft always ten llamens ; but in drier foils and more 

 funr.y cxpolures, the ftamens are ufually five or tl'.ree. Dr 

 Smith (Flor. Brit. vol. ii. p. 473.) alfo refers it to the 

 genus fUllaria, and charafterizes it under the fpecies 

 i-f STELi.ARiA media, with ovatcd leaves and proeum- 

 bent llalks, having the lateral line alternately haiiy. 

 When the flowers firft open, tlte peduncles are upright ; as 

 the flowers go oft", they hang down ; and when the feeds 

 ripen, they again become upright. Dr. Vv'ithering oblerves, 

 that the flowers are upright, and open from nine in the 

 morning till noon ; but if it rains, they do not open. After' 

 rain they become pendent ; but, in the courfe of a few 

 days, rife again. In gardens or dungliills chickweed flieds 

 abundance of feeds, which are round, comprefled, yellow 

 and rough, with little tubercles ; and thus becomes a trou- 

 blefome weed ; but if it be not fuft'ered to feed, it may be 

 deftroyed, as it is annual, without much trouble. This 

 fpecies is a. remarkable inllance of the fleep of plants ; for 

 every night the leaves approach in pairs, including withia 

 their upper furfaces the tender rudiments of the new ftioots; 

 and the iippermo.ft pair but one, at the end of tlie ftalk, is 

 furnilhed with longer leaf-ftalks than the others, fo that 

 th.ey can clofe upon the terminating" pair, and protect the 

 end of the branch. The young fl.oots and leaves, when 

 boiled, can fcarcely be diftinguiflied from Spring fpinach, 

 and are equally wholefom.e. Swine are very fond of it ; 

 cows and horfes eat it : ftieep are indifferent to it ; and 

 goats rcfufe it. It is a grateful food to fmall birds and 

 young chickens. For' medical purpofes this heih was for- 

 merly employed in cataplafms againil inflammations ; and 

 its expreffed juicej or decotlion, given alio internally, as an 

 aperient, antilcorbutic, antiphlogiftic ; and as a rcitoiT.tive, 

 probably for abating heftic heats, in atrophies and con- 

 fumptions. The virtues afcribed to it, fays Dr. Lewis, do 

 not appear to be wholly without foundation ; though its 

 aftive matter is fo far divided and diluted in the herb, as 

 fcarcely to manifeft itfelf till feparated from the grofler 

 paits. This plant is found wild in moft parts of the world. 

 It is annual, and flowers almoft through the whole year. 

 2. A. fegetalis, with entire petals, and awl-ftia^ed leaves. 

 This, according to La Chenal in Hall. helv. is the fame 

 with the Arenaria tenuifoUa. It is ar.nual, and grows 

 about Paris and in Piedmont. 3. A. mueronata, with en- 

 tire, ftiort petals, fetaceous leaves and awned calyces. This 

 is a native of France and SwiflTerland, and introduced into 

 Kew Garden, in 1777, by Dr. Gouan. 4. A. prujlrata, 

 with oblong leaves, and dichotomous proftrate ftalk. Forflv. 

 fl. ^g. arab. p. 207. 5. A. graminifolia, with lanceolate, 

 rigid, haiiy leaves, and ereft three-flowered ftalk. Arduin 

 fp. ii. torn. X. See Arenaria, Callitriche, Campa- 

 nula, Centunculus, Cerastium, Corrigiola, Cu- 



CUBALUS, DrABA, FrANKEJJIA, GlAUX, GlINUS, GyP- 

 SOPHILA, HoLOSTEUM, IsNARDlA, LiNUM, LiMOSELLX, 



Lychnis, Moehringia, Mollugo, Nama, Oldenlan- 



DIA, PepI.IS, PhARNACEUM, SamoLUS, SlBTHORPIA, 



SiLENE, Spergula, Stellaria, Trientalis and Ve- 

 ronica. 



Alsine, A/finis. See Androsace. 



ALSINES Facie. See Theligonum. 



ALSINEFORMIS. See Montia. 



ALSINELLA. See Sagina. 



ALSINOIDES. See Bufonia and Montia. 



ALSIRAT, in the Mahometan Theology, a bridge laid 

 over the middle of hell, finer than a hair, and Jharper than 



the 



