$o A C A 
fmoo'th, the upper valve longed: the corolla has one tri- 
fid lip. 
io. Acanthus Maderafpatenfis, or Madras acanthus; the 
leaves fourfold, flowers axillary, calyxes ciliate, with an 
herbaceous dichotomous Hem: elliptic thornlefs leaves : 
the outer calyx imbricated, with four pairs of obovate 
leaflets inclining to wedge-fliaped, and ciliate: the inner 
four-leaved, the two outer leaflets of which are lanceolate 
and longer than the others; the two inner lefs and linear. 
Capfule red. It is a native of the Ead Indies. 
Propagation and Culture. The fmooth and prickly acan¬ 
thus are lading' plants, which may be propagated either by 
feeds, or parting of their roots ; if by the former method, 
the feeds (hould be fown in a light dry foil, towards the 
end of March: when the feafon proves favourable, the 
plants will appear in May, and all the culture they require 
is to keep them clean from weeds, and, where the plants 
are too clofe to thin them, fo as to leave them about fix 
inches afunder, which will be room enough for them to 
grow till autumn, when they fhould be tranfplanted where 
they are defigned to remain. The firfl fort, and efpecially 
the Portuguefe variety, being more tender, ought to be 
planted in a warm border near a wall; and, as thefe do not 
multiply fo fad by their roots, they do not require more 
room than three feet; but the third fpreads its roots to a 
great didance, therefore mull have more than twice that 
room. This, being hardy, may be planted between flirubs, 
to fill up vacant fpaces, where it will thrive fad enough, 
provided the ground be light, and not over wet; and, 
when it is in flower, will make an agreeable variety. If 
this fort be propagated by its roots, the operation may be 
performed either in fpring or autumn; but the others 
mud only be removed in the fpring; for, it they are 
tranfplanted in the autumn, and the following winter fhould 
prove cold, they will run the hazard of being loll. 1 hefe 
plants take root very deep, fo that when they are planted 
in wet grounds, their roots will rot in winter. When they 
are once efiabliflied in a garden, they are with difficulty 
eradicated. 
The holly-leafed and Madras acanthus are too tender 
to thrive out of a dove in England, and can only be propa¬ 
gated by feeds, which do not ripen in Europe.—The other 
forts mud be placed among Cape plants, and treated in 
tire fame manner as they are. 
Acanthus,/, in architecture, an ornament reprefent- 
ing the leaves of the acanthus, ufed in the capitals of the 
Corinthian and Compofite orders. 
ACAPULCO, a conliderable town and port in Mexico, 
in the South Sea. It has a fine harbour, from whence a 
(hip annually fails to Manillain the Philippine iflands, near 
the coad of China in Afia; and another returns annually 
from thence with all the treafures of the Ead Indies, fuch 
as diamonds, rubies, fapphires, and other precious dones; 
the rich carpets of Perfia; the camphire of Borneo; the 
benjamin and ivory of Pegu and Cambodia; the iilks, 
muflins, and calicoes, of the Mogul’s country; the gold- 
dud, tea, china-ware, (ilk, and cabinets, of China and Ja¬ 
pan; infomuch that this Angle fhip contains more riches 
than many whole fleets. 
It was one of thefe Acapulco fhips or galleons, that 
commodore Anfon captured in 1743, which retrieved all 
the misfortunes of that celebrated voyage, for which fee 
Anson; and the St. Jago regifler-Ihip was alfo one of 
this defeription, which in 1793 was taken by the French 
privateer le Dumourier, and afterwards captured by Sir 
Andrew Snape Douglas in the Phaeton frigate, detached 
from admiral Cell’s fquadron, and brought into Portf- 
mouth. The rich cargo of this fhip, confiding of 33 chefis 
of gold, jewels, and plate, 680 cheds of dollars, and a pro¬ 
digious quantity of the choiced merchandize, loaded twen¬ 
ty-one waggons, which conveyed the property in caval¬ 
cade, under a drong detachment of dragoons, from Portf- 
mouth to the Tower of London, where it was fafely 
depofited. The fhip and cargo, after being two years in 
A C A 
litigation, produced, itisfaid, upwards of 900,000!. which 
was divided amongfi the captors in 1795. 
The goods brought by thefe fhips to Acapulco are car¬ 
ried to the city of Mexico by mules and pack-horfes; and 
from thence to Vera Cruz on the North Sea, in order to 
be (hipped for Europe. Acapulco itfelf is a fmall place, 
confiding only of about 200 or 300 thatched houfes. Ships 
arrive at the port by two inlets, feparated from each other 
by a fmall ifland; the entrance into them in the day-time 
is by means of a fea-breeze, as the failing out in the nicht- 
time is effefted by a land-breeze. A wretched fort^ 42 
pieces of cannon, and a garrifon of 60 men, defend it. It 
is equally extenfive, fafe, and commodious. The bafon 
which conditutes this harbour is furrounded by lofty 
mountains, which are fo dry, that they are even deditute of 
water. The air here is hot, heavy, and unwholefome ; to 
which none can habituate themfelves, except certain ne¬ 
groes that are born under a fimilar climate, or fome mu- 
lattoes. This' feeble and miferable colony is crowded with 
a vad accedion to its numbers upon the arrival of the gal¬ 
leons, and the Spanifh regider-(hips; when a fair is held, 
which continues about 30 days, to which traders flock from 
all the provinces of Mexico, who come to exchange Eu¬ 
ropean toys, their own cochineal, and about ten millions of 
diver (437,500k derling), for fpices, muflins, printed lin¬ 
ens, (ilk, perfumes, and the gold works of Afia. N. Lat. 
17. 30. W. Ion. 102. 29. 
ACARADY, a country on the fouth coad of Guinea, 
remarkable for fine pure gold. 
ACAR AI, a town of Paraguay, in South America, built 
by the Jefuits in 1624. S. Lat. 26. o. Ion. 51.5. W. 
ACARAUNA,/! a fmall American fifli, called by our 
Bailors the old wife. See Labrus. 
ACARNA,/i in botany. See Atractylis, Cardu- 
us, Carlina, Cnicus. 
ACARNANIA, the fird county of Free Greece, or 
Greece Proper, bounded on the wed by the Sinus Ambra- 
cius, and feparated from FEtoliaby the river Achelous on 
the ead, and by the Sinus Ambracius from Epirus. The 
people were called Acarnanes, denoting perfons undiorn ; 
other Etolians, to the ead of the Achelous, being called 
Curetcs, from being fhorn. According to Lucian, they 
were noted for effeminacy and incontinence; hence the 
proverb, Porcellus Acamanius. This country was famous 
for an excellent breed of horfes; fo that Av.apm-oj iwsr©- 
is a proverbial faying for a thing excellent in its kind. It 
is now called la Carnia and il Defpotato. 
ACARON, or Accaron, a town of Paledine, called 
Ekron in Scripture. It was the boundary of the Philif- 
tines to the north ; dood at fome didance from the fea, near 
Bethfhemefh, and was famous for the idol Baalzebub. 
ACARUS, / the Tick or Mite, a genus of infefts 
belonging to the order of aptera, or fuch as have no wings. 
The acarus has eight legs; two eyes, one on each fide of 
the head; and two jointed tentacula. The female is ovi¬ 
parous. Linnaeus enumerates thirty-five fpecies; of 
which fome are inhabitants of the earth, fome of waters; 
fome live on trees, others among dones, and others on the 
bodies of other animals, and even under the (kin. We 
(hall give a defeription of a few of the mod remarkable. 
1. The firo, or cheefe-mite, is a very minute fpecies. 
To the naked eye, thefe mites appear like moving parti-- 
cles of dud; but the microfcope difeovers them to be per¬ 
fect animals, having as regular a figure, and performing 
all the functions of life as perfectly, as creatures that ex¬ 
ceed them many times in bulk. The head is fmall in pro¬ 
portion to the body; and has a fliarp fnout, and a mouth 
that opens and flints like a mole’s. They have two fmall 
eyes, and are extremely quickfighted; and when they have 
been once touched with a pin, you will eafily perceive how 
cunningly they avoid a fecond touch. Their legs are each 
furniflied at the extremity with two little claws, with 
which the animal very nicely takes hold of any thing. The 
hinder part of the body is plump and bulky; and ends in 
an 
