ALT 



are a'hrrtjh' ; an>l are iifuiilly of the f.cr.c nntnrf . And the 

 like holds of ihe fecond and third. 



ALTERNATION, in its primary fcnfi-, denotes a fuc- 

 cefilon by turns. 



Ai.TERN'ATiON is iiiorc particularly ufed among ChUnir.s, 

 fur disjimttion, as in favlng tliis or that. 



ALTERNATIONS, \n Aiiihin.ih-, a ti-rm fomctimes 

 ufeJ to cxprcls the divers chancres, or alterations of order, 

 in any number of thin";s propofed. This is alio called pcnmi- 

 fiifion, SiC. and is callTy found by a continual multiplication 

 of all the numbLi-s, beginning at unity. 



If there be two quantities d and />, they admit only of I X 2, 

 or 2 changes, as ai, ha. If a third c|uantity c be added, this 

 will ad:r.it of 3 changes with each of the two former ; that is, 

 it may be hrft, fccond or third in each of them ; and therefore 

 in this cafe the luunber of ciianges will be i X 2 X 3=6. A 

 fourth quantity will admit of 4 changes with each of the 

 preceding quantities ; that is, it may be firll, feeoud, third or 

 fourth, or the whole number will be i x 2 X 3 X 4=:24. If 

 the number be n, multiply the feries of natural numbers 

 i, 2, 3, 4, &c. continually to n, and the kill produ6l will be 

 the number of alternations required. 



Thus, if it be required to know how many changes or aller- 

 TiaUoiis can be rung on fix bells, multiply the numbers 1,2,3, 

 4, 5, 6, continually one into another; and thelail produdl gives 

 the number of changes. See Changes and CoMnis atios. 



ALTERNATIVE, is parlieularly ufed for the choice 

 of two things propofed — In this fenfe we fay, to take the 

 .{lienia'ive of two propofitions. 



ALTERNIA, in ^Indent Geography, a town of Spain, 

 belonging to the Carpetani. 



ALTERS, or Altars, in Ntiuticnl Cfngraphy, are a 

 ftony fliclf, weftward of Languard I"ort, about a cable's 

 length and a half, on which there are no more than five or 

 fix feet of water at low water, fo that fliips fliould keep near 

 the fort till they have paiTed it, and then edge off a point or 

 two to the well, till thty come athwart of the north point of 

 Harwich. Malham's Naval Ga/.etteer. 



ALTES, in Aiic'icnt Geography, a town of Peloponnefiis, 

 Ctuate on th^ Caldaiis, wliicli fell into the river Alpheus. 



ALTESSAN, in Geography, a town of Italy, in the 

 piincipality of Piedmont, three miles north of Turin. 



ALTEZEV, or Altzheim, a town and caftle of Ger- 

 many, in the Lower Palatinate, capital of a territory of the 

 fame name, fituate on a fmall brook which runs into the Saltz, 

 I 5 miles fouth-well of Mentz, and 14 noith-well of Worms. 

 North lat. 49° 40'. Ealt long. 8° 12'. 



ALTHA, in yincieiit Geography, a town of Babylonia, 

 tipon the Tigris, and in dependence upon Apamea, accord- 

 ing to Ptolemy. 



ALTHiEA, A>.5zix of Diofcorides, from a?>So,- a remciJy, 

 or aASy-vriv to heal, or as Diofco'ides fays Jix to ^toXuxxSt,- 

 «i'1>i;, from its many excellent quiiUt'ies, in Botany, a genus of 

 the nianadelpl.'id jKl\'anilria clafs • and order, or the natural 

 order of column'ifer/e, and malvnect of Juflieu : its charafters 

 are, that the calyx is a double perianthium, outer fmaller, 

 one-leafed, unequally novem-fid or nine-cleft, (6 — 12) divi- 

 fions very narrow, inner femiquinquelid, divifions broader 

 and (harper ; the corolla is five-pctalled, united at the bale, 

 obcordate, prrcmorfe and flat ; the llamina have many fila- 

 ments infertcd into the corolla, anthers fubrenifonr. ; the pif- 

 tUliiin has an orbiculate germ, ftyle cylindrical and (liort, 

 liigmas many (20), fetaceous, of the length of the llyle ; the 

 pericirphim confiits of arils not jointed, forming a flat ring 

 about a columnar receptacle ; they are deciduous and open on 

 tlie iufide ; the feed is one, flat-kidney-fliaptd in each aril. 



ALT 



There are fevcn fpecies, W-s. i . A. r^V'"' "■ c o-nmrvi niai-fli 

 mallow, with leaves fimplc and downy, (fiibquinqnc-liilicd, 

 Smitli,) or witlileavts undivided, anprnlar r.nd cottony fWi- 

 thering): the root fufifonn or fpindle-diup-.d ; tlic (talks 

 erect, almoll three feel high, (imple, cyl.ndncal, (lender like 

 a twig, Joliole ; the Ic.ue^ altiriiate, pctiolate, cordaud, 

 acute, (ub.juin(juelobed, plicated and (orated ; the par.iclcit 

 axillary, deiife, many-Howcrcd, (lioitcr than the petiole* ; 

 the external calyx often tcn-clcft, alfo twelvc-tl- ft, the iiii.rr 

 five-cleft ; the corolla and (lamina arc puiide flelli-co'.ouiud ; 

 the (ligmas are luimcrous ; the caplules comprtffcd ; tlic 

 whole herb very foftly pubcfccnt or clothed with a vcrj- foft 

 wool or velvet, with llellattd inleiwoveii hairs. It is pc- 

 remral and (lowers from July to September. It grows plen- 

 titully in fait marfnes, and on the banks of rivei\, and ditches 

 in Cambridgclhire, Norfolk, and Sufiolk, or the fca-fliorcs 

 of Cornwall, in Holland, Fiance, Italy, Siberia, &c. There 

 is a variety of this, with the leaves rounder and not ending 

 in a point, called by Ray A. vulgari fimilis, folio rctulo 

 brevi, and found in the i(lc of Ely ; it vaiies alfo with laci- 

 niated leaves. 2. A. cannalina, hemp-leaved marfh-mallow, 

 with the lower leaves palmate, (duitated, Ginelin,) upper 

 digitate, (haliatc, the niiddlelacinia the longeft, Gmelin.) 

 This has a woody Hem, four or (we feet higli, which pulh 

 out many fide branches j the leaves are alternate ; the flowti-g 

 axillary, lefs than thofe of the former fpecies, but of a 

 deeper red colour, and the calyx much larger. This fcldom 

 (lowers the firll year, except in a warm fummer. It grows 

 naturally in Hungary, Iftria, AuHria, Carniola, Italy, the 

 fouth of France, 5:c. by the fides of wood ; and was culti- 

 vated here by Gerard, in 1597. 3. A. hirfula, haii-y marlh- 

 mallow, with leaves trifid, hairy-hifpid, l.Mooth above ; pe- 

 duncles lolitai-y and one-flowered. This is a low plant, its 

 branches trailing on the ground, the (lowei-s axillary, fmaller 

 than thofe of the common fort, and have purplifli bottoms, 

 the ftalks are woody, and feldom lail more than two years ; 

 the outer calyx is eight-leaved, the inner as long as ths 

 corolla, and acuminate ; the corolla crenulate. 1'his fpecies 

 grows wild in Spain and Portugal, Italy, Auflria, Carniola, 

 Germany, Swdlerland, and France ; and wai cultivated in 

 Kew garden in 1683, by Mr. J. Sutherland. 4. A. Ltid'u.'i- 

 gii, Ludwig's marfli-mallow, alcca of Ray's hilL with leaves 

 lobed, naked on both (ides, and peduncles collected and 

 one-flowered This refembles malva alcea ; the peduncles 

 are axillary from two to five, the outer calyx cight-leavcd, 

 and leaflets lanceolate, the inner fliorter, qninquefid, vciy 

 rough, with white villous hairs, y. A. Karbmenfis, Nar- 

 bonne marni-mallow, with leaves tomentofe on both fides ; 

 the lower five-lobed, the upper three-lobed, peduncles fo- 

 litary, one-flowered. The root is perennial, llems arc annual, 

 from four to '!\% feet in hciglit, round, aiid of the thickntfs 

 of a finger, hoary with whitifli llellale hairs.; (lipules fubii- 

 late, acute and cihate ; leaveb alternate, petioled, (errate ; 

 braCtes fubulate and fniall ; tlic fcgments of the outer peri- 

 anthium are fix or feven, deeply cut, lanceolate, and acute ; 

 corolla piirple-rofe -coloured, twice as long as the calyx ; 

 anthers dark-purple ; fligmas white; and arils Imooth ; firll 

 dilcovered by Abbe Pourret near Narhonnc, found alfo in 

 Spain, flowers in Augull and September, and introiluced 

 into Kew garden, in I "So, by M. Tliouin. (1. A. cors'inhofi, 

 with leaves fimplc, cordate or angular, and fmooth, pedun- 

 cles and calyxes hairy, and flowers in corymbs ; a native of 

 Jamaica. 7. A. rncemofa, Pavonia fpicata of Cavan. and 

 trmelin, with leaves fimple, cordate, ovate, ferrate, fcabroiia 

 on the upper furface, and raceme terminating and creel. The 

 llems arc thick, lliff, five feet high, with many branches, 

 5 G 2 leaves 



