A L C 



or rix-doUars current of 78 albufes ; the albus being rec- 

 koned at 12 hellers : and albufes are filver coins. 



ALCEDO Capenfis, 1. 2, for Ihort-tailed r. long-tailed. 

 A. rudis, 1. 3, r. long-tailed. 



Alcedo. Add — Dr. Shaw has defcribed fome other 

 fpecies, and referred fome of thofe above-mentioned to other 

 titles under Akedo, and to Galbula. The A. giganUa is the 

 fufca above-noted : the afra is the maxima : the ama-z.ona 

 is gloify -green, white beneath ; the fides of the neck white ; 

 thofe of the body variegated with green, and the wing and 

 till feathers fpotted with wiiite ; the amazonian K. of 

 Latham, about the fize of the belted K., or A. alcyon : 

 a native of Cayenne. A. Malimbica, fea-green or beryl K. 

 with the throat and belly white ; the wing-coverts ard 

 ftreak acrofs the eyes black : is much allied to the A. capenfis 

 in the form of its belt and diftribution of its colours ; 

 n.unerous in Malimba, about the fea-coafts, feeding on 

 worms and fifti. A. javanica, blue K., wnth fea-green 

 back, yellowifh-white head, neck, and body ; the crown 

 of the head ftreaked vrith black. fSee A. httcocephala.) 

 A. canerophaga, greenifh-blue K., yellowifh beneath, witll 

 black wing-coverts and eye-ilripe, and ferruginous bill ; 

 crab-eatirg K. of Latham : native of Senegal, where it is 

 called Crab-eater. [SeeA..Senega!en/ij.) A. CoromanJa,pdle- 

 violaceous rofe-coloured K., rufelcent beneath, mth the 

 rump marked by a longitudinal blueifh-white band, and 

 white throat : a native of Coromandel, an elegant fpecies. 

 A. collaris, blue-green K., white beneath, with white col- 

 lar ; Latham's variety of h.. facta: a native of the Philip- 

 pine iflands. A.i;Vo/orofGmelin, referred to A. iWa. K.ca- 

 pijlrata, white-coUared K. of Latham. (See A. cieruka 

 above.) A. albirojlris referred to Galbula. A., cyanoce- 

 phala, defcribed under A. ceruho-cephala. A. tribrachys, 

 tridigitated K. of Nat. Mifc, deep-blue K., ferruginous 

 beneath, with blackifti wings and three-toed feet ; a native 

 of New Holland : to this the azure K. of Latham is 

 much allied. 



ALCINA, in Botany, Cavan. Ic. v. I. 10. t. 15, fo 

 named by that author, in memory of Francis Ignatius Alcina, 

 a learned Spanifli Jefuit, who refided long in the Phihppine 

 iflands, and devoting his leifure hours to natural hiftor)-, 

 left a folio MS., of which CavaniUes fpeaks as likely to be 

 publifhed. This fuppofed genus, hovfever, is now funk in 

 Wedelia ; fee that article. 



ALCOHOL, in Chem'ifiry. A new analyfis of alcohol 

 has been lately publifhed by M. de Sauffure. He employed 

 for his analyfis alcohol of the fp. gr. .8302, at the tempera- 

 ture of 62.8, obtained by rectifying common fpirits. This 

 alcohol he confidered as a compound of 13.8 water, and 

 86.2 of the Richter's abfolute alcohol ; and the water 

 being fubtrafted from the produfts obtained, the refidue 

 gave the compofition of the abfolute alcohol of Richter. 

 His method of analyfis was to pafs the vapour of alcohol 

 through a red-hot porcelain tube, and along a glafs tube 

 furrounded by ice nearly fix feet in length. The produfts 

 were carefully collefted and weighed. There was a Httle 

 charcoal depofited in the porcelain tube, and a very little 

 oil in the glafs tube. The water obtained amounted to 

 \ll% of the weak alcohol employed, which was 1256.7 grs., 

 and it contained ttV-t of its weight of abfolute alcohol. 

 The combuftible gas weighed 912.3 grs., and there was a 

 Icfs of 55.82 grs. The gas was proved to poflefs the pro- 

 perties of olefiant gas. Hence it follows that alcohol may 

 be confidered as compofed of olefiant gas and water ; and 

 the refult of the analyfis was, that the abfolute alcohol of 

 Richter is compofed of 



ALE 



Hydrooren 



Carbon 



Oxygen 



'3-70 

 51.98 

 34-32 



100.00 



Or the compofition may be ftated thus : 



Olefiant gas - . 61.63 



- - - 3«-37 



Water 



100.00 



If, with Dr. Thomfon, we fuppofe alcohol to be a com- 

 pound of one volume of olefiant gas, and one volume of 

 vapour of water, condenfed into one volume, its fpecific gra- 

 vity m a ftate of vapour will be juft equal to that of thefe 

 two elaihc fluids added together. The fpecific g-ravity of 

 thefe two bodies is, r & / 



Olefiant gas - 

 Vapour of water - 



-974 

 .625 



•599 



And M. Gay LufFac determined by experiment the fpe- 

 cific gravity of the vapour of alcohol to be 1.6 13, which 

 very nearly coincides with the above. Hence there is every 

 reafon for prefuming that the above is the true compofition 

 of alcohol, which, ftated more corre<ftly on this fuppofition, 

 \yill be as follows : 



See Fermentation, Addenda. 



AxcoHOL of Sulphur, now generally termed fulphuret of 

 carbon, is a curious compound of fulphur and carbon, firil 

 defcribed by Lampadius. See Carbon, and particularly 

 Sulphur, in the Cyclopaedia; where the recent experiments 

 of Berzelius and Dr. Marcet on this fubftance are 

 detailed. 



ALDRICH, col. 2, 1. 5, r. afcribed to him, but, as 

 fome fay, erroneoufly. 



ALE, col. 2, 1. 28, after parliament, add — The grofs 

 duty on ale, or ftrong beer, is lOr. per barrel, vrith aa 

 allowance of icd., fo that the nett duty is gi- 2d. For 

 table-beer not worth more than 24J. the grofs duty is 2s. 

 per barrel, with an allowance of 2d., fo that the nett duty is 

 IS. lod. 



By 48 Geo. III. c. 143. the feveral duties inipofed npci 



ale- 



