ALL 
ALL 
ing to Bochart, who conjeftures it to be the fame 
as the fchaphanmen tioned in Leviticus xi. 5. and 
there pronounced unclean. 
ALKA. See Auk. 
ALKUSSA. A Swedifli name for a fifh called 
alio by the fame people lake. It is a fpecies of the 
filurus; and Artedi diftinguifhes it by the name 
of the filurus with only one cirrus or beard under 
the chin j whereas the common filurus, which is 
the glanus of the ancients, has four beards. 
ALLELOPHAGI. A term ufed by Ibme natu- 
ralifts to exprefs a peculiar genus of flies which 
feed on one another. They are thus called, to dif- 
tinguifh them from another clafs ftiled the hete- 
rophagi, from their feeding on different fubftances, 
and not on each other. 
ALLIGATOR. A very formidable and fe- 
rocious animal, generally confounded with the 
crocodile; with which, indeed, it agrees in every 
eflential property. This animal, which is placed at 
a happy diftance from the more populous regions 
of Europe is only formidable in thofe countries 
where there are but few inhabitants. In the more 
cultivated parts of the earth, the large and fero- 
cious tribes of animals are feldom feen ; where their 
appearance would rouze a whole country at once 
to oppofe their force, probably at the expence of 
many lives. Hence the crocodile, which was 
once fo terrible along the banks of the Nile, is 
now far lefs common than in ancient times. The 
arts of mankind, which were naturally firft applied 
for the means of prefervation, have in a great mea- 
fure triumphed over this formidable enemy; and 
tliough it fometimes makes it appearance in Egypt, 
it is comparatively feeble, and divefted of it's 
ferocity. To fee this animal in all it's native 
terrors, grown to a furprizing magnitude, propa- 
gated in numbers, and committing afts of perpe- 
tual devaftation ; it is necelTary to learch the unin- 
habited regions of Africa and America, to trace 
thofe prodigious rivers which devolve their ftreams 
through defolate and extenfive realms, where the 
arts of civilization have never penetrated, where 
force alone conftitutes diftindtion, and the favages 
of nature exert their ftrength with confidence, be- 
caufe with fecurity. A confiderable way up the 
River of the Amazons, the Niger, or the Nile, 
thefe animals are numerous and terrible, being 
frequently from eighteen to twenty-five feet in 
length, and fometimes lying as clofe together as a 
raft of timber on the Thames; where they in- 
dolently bafk on the furface, regardlefs of the ap- 
proach of enemies; fince, from repeated trials of 
their power, they have found none whom they 
were unable to conquer. 
We have before hinted, that the crocodile, pro- 
perly fo called, and the cayman or Alligator, are 
nearly the fame. Travellers, indeed, rather than 
nature, have made a diftindlion between them ; for, 
in their general appearance, nature, and conforma- 
tion, they are entirely the lame. The ufual dif- 
tinftions, however, between the crocodile and 
Alligator, are the following. The body of the croco- 
dile is more flender than that of the Alligator; it's 
fnout running off tapering from the forehead, like 
that of a greyhound, while the Alligator's is 
indented like the nofe of a lap -dog. The cro- 
codile has a much wider fwallow, and is afh- 
coloured ; the Alligator is black, varied with white, 
and generally deemed lefs mifchievous. Thele 
diftinftions, however, are very flight, and can only 
be regarded as minute variations, which the dif- 
ference of foil and climate may efi^efl in the fame 
Ipecies. The common length of the Alligator is 
about eighteen or twenty feet; however, Ibme 
have been found to meafure thirty feet from the 
tip of the fnout to the end of the tail. The Je- 
fuits at Siami diflfedted one of the common dimen- 
fions ; and, as the defcription given both of it's 
external appearance, and internal conformation, is 
probably the mofl: accurate of any to be met v/lth., 
we fhall take the liberty to iubjoin it. 
This animal, it appears, was eighteen feet and 
a half, French meafure, in lengtii; of which the 
tail was no lefs than five feet and a half, and rhe 
head and neck about two feet and a half long. 
The fore-legs had the fame parts and form as the 
arms of a man, both internally and externally. 
The hands, if they may be fo called, had five fin- 
gers ; the two lafl: of which were deftitute of nails, 
and terminated conically. The hinder-legs, in- 
cluding the thighs and paws, were two feet two 
inches long. The paws, from the joints to the 
extremities of the longeft claws, were above nine 
inches long : they were divided into four toes, of 
which three were armed with large clav/s, the 
longefl: of which was an inch an half; and thefe 
toes were united by membranes like thofe of web- 
footed fowls, but of a much fl:ronger fjbftance. 
The head was long, and had a little rifing at the 
top ; but the refl: of it v/as flat, and efpecially to- 
wards the extremity of the jaws; and it was co- 
vered by a fl<in which adhered firmly to the fcull 
and jaws. The fcull was rough, and indented in 
feveral places ; and about the centre of the fore- 
head were two bony crefl:s two inches high. 
The fcull between thefe two crefts was muf- 
quet proof; for, on trial, a ball marked it but 
flightly. The eye was very fmall in proportion to 
the reft of the body; and was fo placed within it's 
orbit, that the exterior part, when the lid was fhut, 
was only an inch long, and the line ran pa- 
rallel to the opening of the jaws. It was proteftcd 
by a double lid, one within and another without: 
that within refemblino; the niititatino- membrane ia 
birds, was folded in the great corner of t'te eyv, 
and had a motion towards the tail; but being 
tranfparent, it guarded the eye without interrupt- 
ing the fight. The iris v/as very large in propor- 
tion to the globe of the eye, and of a yellow ifh 
grey colour. Above the eye was placed the ear, 
which opened downwards as if by a kind of Ipring, 
by means of a folid, thick, cartilaginous fubitancc. 
The nofe was placed in the middle of the upper- 
jaw, near an inch from it's extremity, and was per- 
fecflly round and flat, being near two inches in dia- 
meter, of a black, foft, fpongy fubilance, nor very 
diflimilar to^the nofe of a dog; and the jaws feemed 
to be locked one within another. Nothing can 
be farther fi-om the truth, than the generally re- 
ceived opinion, that the lower-jaw is incapable of 
motion: it moves like the under-jaw in all other 
animals ; v/hiie the upper is fixed to the fcull, aii'J 
abfolutely immoveable. This animal had twenty- 
feven cutting teeth in the upper-jaw, and fifteen 
in the lower, with feveral interilices between them; 
they were thick at the root, but fliarp tov/ards the 
point, being^all of different fizes, except ten large 
hooked ones, fix of which were in the lower-jaw, 
and four in the upper. The mouth Avas fifteen 
inches long; and, where broadeft, eig'iit and a half: 
the diftance between the two jaws, when lully ex- 
tended, being fifteen inches and a half; a (pace 
wide enough to admit the entire body of a man. 
The 
