A C H 
to have been the fon of Ceres, whom flic hid in hell for 
fear of the Titans, and turned into a river, over which 
fouls departed were ferrfed in their way to Elyfium. 
Acheron, a river of Thefprotia, in Epirus; which, 
after forming the lake of Acherufia, at no great diftance 
from, falls into the fea near, the promontory of Chime- 
rium, to the weft of the Sinus Ambracius, inacourfe from 
north to fouth. 
Acheron, or Acheros, a river of the Brutii, in Ita¬ 
ly, running from eaft to weft; where Alexander king of 
Epirus was (lain by the Lucani, being deceived by the 
oracle of Dodona, which bade him beware of Acheron. 
ACHERSET,/. an ancient meafure of corn, conjec¬ 
tured to be the fame with our quarter, or eight bufhels. 
ACHERUSIA PALUS, a lake between Cumne and the 
promontory Mifenum, now il Lago della Collucia, (Cluve- 
rius.) Some confound it with the Lacus Lucrinus, and 
others with the Lacus Averni. But Strabo and Pliny dif- 
tinguifh them. The former takes it to be an effufion, ex- 
.undation, or wadies of the fea, and therefore called by 
Lycophron, Ao-v^jpaoaa yyan ;.-—Alfo a lake of Epirus, 
through which the Acheron runs.—There is alfo an Ache¬ 
rufia, a peninfula of Sithnya, on the Euxine, near Hera- 
clea; and a cave there of the fame name, through which 
Hercules is fabled to have defeended to hell to drag forth 
Cerberus. 
ACHIAR,/ a Malayan word, which fignifies all forts 
of fruits and roots pickled with vinegar and fpice. The 
Dutch import from Batavia all forts of achiar, but par¬ 
ticularly that of Bamboo (fee Arundq), a kind of cane, 
extremely thick, which grows in the Eaft Indies. It is 
preferved there whilft it is ftill green, with very ftrong 
vinegar and fpice; and is called bamboo-achiar. The name 
changes according to the fruit with which the achiar is 
made. 
ACHICOLUM,/. is ufed to exprefs the fornix , t/iolus, 
or fudatorium , of the ancient baths : which was a hot room 
where they ufed to fvveat. It is alfo called architholus. 
To ACHIEVE, v. a. [ achever , Fr. to complete.] To 
perform, to finifti a defign profperoufly. To gain, to ob¬ 
tain : 
Show all the fpoils by valiant kings achiev'd , 
And groaning nations by their arms reliev’d. Prior. 
ACHIEVER, f. He that performs; he that obtains 
what he endeavours after.—A viftory is twice itfelf, when 
the achiever brings home full numbers. Shakefpeare. 
ACHIEVEMENT, f. \_achevement, Fr.] The perform¬ 
ance of an adlion. The efcutcheon, or enfigns armorial, 
granted to any man for the performance of great actions: 
Then fhall the war, and ftern debate, and ftrife 
Immortal, be the bus’nefs of my life; 
And in thy fane, the dufty fpoils among, 
High on the burnifh’d roof, my banner fhall be hung; 
Rank’d with my champion’s bucklers, and below, 
With arms revers’d, th’ achievements of the foe. Dryden. 
Achievement, in the firft fenfe, is derived from achieve , 
as it fignifies to perforin: in the feeond, from achieve, as it 
imports to gain. 
ACHILLEA, [fo named from Achilles the famous 
Grecian hero, who is fuppofed to have imbibed the know¬ 
ledge of botany from his mafter Chiron. ] A plant belong¬ 
ing to the fyngenefia polygamia fuperflua clafs, and rank¬ 
ing in the natural order of.co.mpofitae difeoideas. The ge¬ 
neric characters are—Calyx: common ovate, imbricate; 
feales ovate, acute, converging. Corolla: compound ra¬ 
diate ; corollets hermaphrodite, tubular, in the difk. Fe¬ 
males ligulate, five to ten-, in .the ■ ray. P-roper of the 
hermaphrodite, funnel-fhaped, five-cleft, fpreading. Fe¬ 
male obcorda.te, fpreading, trifid ;,the middle cleft lefs 
than the others. Stamina: in the hermaprodites, fila¬ 
ments five, capillary, very fliort. Antherae cylindrical, 
tubular. Piftillum: in the hermaphodites germ fmall. 
Style filiform, the length of the ftamens. Stigma obtufe, 
Vol. I. No .5 
A C H 69 
emarginate. In the females germ fmall. Style filiform, 
the fame length as in the others. Stigmas two, obtufe, re¬ 
flex. Pericarpium : none. Calyx fcarcely changed ;• re¬ 
ceptacle filiform, elongate, as the difk of the feeds, ovate, 
twice the length of the calyx. Seeds: folitary, ovate, 
furnifhed with flocks; but having no down. Receptaculum: 
chaffy, elevated; chaffs lanceolate, the length of the flo¬ 
rets.— EJfentialCharaEier. Calyx, ovate, imbricate. Flo¬ 
rets of the rayabout four. Dowm, none. Receptaculum,' 
chaffy. 
Moft of the milfoils are hardy, herbaceous, fibrous- 
rooted perennials; with the flowers commonly in corymbs 
at the ends of the ftalk and branches ; the ray in fome 
yellow, in others white, in a few purple : the leaves in 
many of the fpecies are pinnate, bipinnate, or fuperde- 
compound; in a few they are fimple. They are chiefly 
inhabitants of the Levant or the fouth of Europe: the 
12th and 20th only are natives of England. The fpecies 
want to be better deferibed ; and probably it may be found 
that culture has produced fome changes which have been 
taken for fpecific differences. 
Species. I. With yellow corollas. 1. Achilleafantodina, 
or lavender-cotton leaved milfoil: leaves briftle-fhaped 
toothed, toothlets nearly entire fubulate reflex. This-has 
large yellow' flowers, which ftand upon pretty long-pe¬ 
duncles fingly, not in clofe bunches, as in the.common 
fort. It has leaves like thofe of lavender-cotton, which, 
when rubbed, emit a ftrong oily odour. It-flowers.'in 
June and July. It is an inhabitant of the Levant. 
2. Achillea ageratum, or fweet milfoil or maudlin r leaves 
lanceolate-obtufe fharply ferrate. It is a native of Italy, 
about Florence, Leghorn,Nice, &c. ofthefouthof France, 
about Montpelier, Orange, &c. and of Spain; by road 
fides : flowering from Auguft to October. Being now 
fcarcely ufed in medicine, it is not cultivated in the gar- 
dens for fale : or, if it is alked for, the people in the mar¬ 
kets give the thirteenth fort, which is a very hardy plant, 
and eafily propagated. For, though this is hardy in re- 
fpedt to cold ; yet in wet winters the roots are often killed, 
efpecially in good ground ; but, when the plants grow out 
of the joints of walls, or in rubbifh, they will live many 
years without care. There are two varieties of this plant; 
one of them having longer and more compact corymbs-; 
the other broader leaves and fmaller flowers. It is fweet 
to the fmell, bitter to the tafte, and aromatic. Linnaeus 
fets it down as obfolete and fuperfluous. Allione, on the 
contrary, thinks it an efficacious plant, and recommends 
it in all diforders arifing from a debility of the nerves. He 
prefers it much to tanfy. 
3. Achillea falcata, or fickle-leaved milfoil: leaves li¬ 
near toothed obtufe flat, toothlets crenate. It is a native 
of the eaft, where it is ufed in medicine. 
4. Achillea tomentofa, or w’oolly milfoil: leaves pin¬ 
nate hirfute, pinnas linear toothed. This is often planted 
in gardens for the fake of variety : is of humble grow th, 
but the flow-ers continue long in beauty. It grows natu¬ 
rally in Spain, the fouth of France, the Valais, and Italy; 
but bears the open air very w,ell jn England. 
5. Achillea pubefeens, or downy milfoil: leaves pin¬ 
nate, leaflets lanceolate gafhed ferrate wool-bearing be¬ 
neath. This hath no chaffs to the receptacle, and there¬ 
fore recedes in that circumliance from the generic cha- 
rafter. It is a native of the Levant, and was cultivated in 
the botanic garden at Chelfeain 1739. 
6. Achillea abrotanifolia, or fouthernwood-leaved mil¬ 
foil : leaves pinnate fuperdecompound, divifions linear 
diftant. This is alfo a native of the Levant. It grows to 
the height of two feet and a half, and it flowers in June 
and July. 
7. Achillea bipinnata, or bipinnate milfoil: leaves- bi¬ 
pinnate tomentofe, leaflets ovate entire. A native of the 
Levant. 
8. Achillea iEgyptiaca, or Egyptian milfoil: leaves 
pinnate, leaflets obtufely lanceolate ferrate-toothed. Lt 
• rifes from nine inches to a foot in height. The flowers are 
T produced 
