A L C 
This fpecies is found both in Guiana and Brafil, in the 
moift woods, which it prefers to the more dry fpots, for 
the fake of infedts, on which it feeds. It is feldom feen 
except (ingle, as it is a very folitary bird, keeping for the 
mod part in the thickeft parts; its flight quick, but fhort.; 
perches on branches of a middling height, where it fits all 
night, and frequently part of the day, without ftirring. 
They are (aid to have a fhort and agreeable note. The 
natives of Guiana call this bird venetorc, and the Creoles, 
colibri desgrands bois. At Bralil their flefh is eaten. 
6. The paradifea, or paradife jacamar, is of the fame 
fize with the former, and has a limilar bill; the throat, 
fore part of the neck, and under wing coverts, are white; 
the reft of the plumage is of a deep dull green, in fome 
lights appearing almoft black, in others with a flight glofs 
of violet and copper bronze; the tail is compofed of twelve 
feathers of unequal lengths; the two middle ones longeft ; 
the legs are black ; the toes are placed two before and two 
behind, and pretty much united. It inhabits Surinam; 
and, like the others, it feeds on irifedts; and fometimes, 
contrary to them, frequents open places. It flies farther 
at a time, perches on the tops of trees, and is frequently 
found with a companion, not being quite l'o folitary a bird 
as the other. It aifo differs in the note, having a kind of 
foft whiftle often repeated, but not heard a great way off. 
Above thirty other fpecies have been deferibed by orni- 
thologifts. 
ALCESTER, Warwickfhirc, (or Aulcefter, originally 
Aincefter,) is a neat market-town, and a place of great 
antiquity, twenty miles from Birmingham; ii-xteen from 
Warwick; eight from Stratford-on-Avon; ten from Eve- 
fham, Worcefterfhire ; thirteen from Broomfgrove ; thir¬ 
teen from Droitwich; and twenty from Worcefter; to 
all which places there are excellent turnpike-roads. It 
is eight miles from Henley in Arden, and one hundred 
and two from the metropolis, and is lituated in a plea- 
fant and fertile vale, near the conflux of the Alne and Ar¬ 
row ; from the firft of which rivers and its having been a 
city, or fortified place, in the times of the Saxons, the 
name is probably derived. The Roman Way, called Ick- 
eniid-ftreet, palled through or near this place; and ma¬ 
ny coins, Roman bricks, &c. continue to be found. There 
is a very conflderable market for corn, See. on Tuefdays; 
and three fairs, on Tuefday before Lady-day, the iSth of 
May, and the 17th of October, for horfes, cattle, (beep, 
Sec. The earl of Warwick is lord of the manor, and pa¬ 
tron of the redlory; and, in the year 1765, generoufly 
furrendered the tolls of the market and fairs for the bene¬ 
fit of the town and county. It is governed by a fteward, 
deputy fteward, two bailiffs, and conftables, who are elect¬ 
ed annually at the court-leet, Sec. of the lord of the manor. 
In the parifh were formerly two chantries, and an ab¬ 
bey erected on a piece of ground encompaffed with the 
river Arrow, and a moat, which made it a kind of ifland. 
The church is a neat edifice fituate near the centre of the 
town. Here are alfo three meeting-houfes, viz. prelby- 
terians, anabaptifts, and quakers. 
Walter Newport, Gent, of Holdenby, in the county of 
Northampton, (34 Eliz.) gave the fum of 400I. to buv 
lands, or an annuity of the value of 20I. a-year, to found 
and endow a fchool. In this town are alfo eight alths- 
houfes for aged men and women, with fuitable allowan¬ 
ces; and many other charities to the poor of this parifh. 
The principal manufactory carried on here is needle-ma¬ 
king, which affords employment to many families. 
ALCHEMILL A, f. [from its having been celebrated 
by the alc/iemifls.~\ In botany, a genus of the tetandria 
monogynia clafs, ranking in the natural order of fenticofae. 
The generic characters are—Calyx: perianthium one- 
leafed, tubulous, permanent; edge flat, divided into eight 
fegments. Stamina: filaments erect, awl-fhaped, very 
fmall, on the edge of the calyx ; antherae roundifti. Pif- 
tillum: germ ovate ; (lyle filiform, length of the ftamina, 
inferted at the bale of the germ; ftigma globular. Pe- 
ricarpium: none, the neck of the calyx clofes and never 
Vol. I. No. 16 . 
ACL 249 
opens. Seed: folitary, elliptic, compreffed.— EJJ'ential 
Char abler. Calyx eight-cleft; feed, one. 
Species. 1. Alchemilla Vulgaris, or common ladies’ 
mantle or bearsfoot: leaves lobed. The whole plant is 
aftringent. In the province of Smolandia, in Gothland, 
they make a tinCture of the leaves, and give it in fpaf- 
modic or convuliive difeafes. Horfes, (beep, and goats, 
eat it. Cows are not fond of it. It grows naturally in 
high paftures in feveral parts of England, but is not very 
common near London: the.roots are compofed of many 
thick fibres, which fpread greatly when they are in a pro¬ 
per foil; the leaves rife immediately from the root fuf- 
tained by long petioles; they are roundifti, and divided 
into feven or eight lobes, fcalloped round the edges, fome- 
what like the ladies’ fcalloped mantles, from whence it 
had its name. The flower-ftems arife between the leaves 
about a foot high, whiefy divide into many branches, and 
have at each joint one fmall leaf, fliaped like thofe below ; 
the flowers are compofed of an herbaceous calyx, with¬ 
out any corolla, fo that the only beauty of this plant is in 
the leaves, which are ufed in medicine, and are efteemed 
to be vulnerary, drying, and binding, and are of great 
force to ftop inward bleeding. There is a variety, which 
is much fmaller; the leaves are much whiter, and appear 
filky; the flower-ftems do'not branch out lb much, nor 
are the flowers produced in fo large clufters; their calyx 
is broader, and the fegments more obtufe. Belides this, 
the fpecies varies much in fize, being abundantly Iarger 
in a moift foil, and in gardens, than on its native dry hills 
and mountains. Dr. Withering mentions another variety 
with a white calyx. 
2. Alchemilla Alpina, or cinquefoil or Alpine ladies’ 
mantle : leaves digitate, ferrate. Grows naturally on the 
mountains in Yorkftiire, Weftmoreland, and Cumberland, 
generally upon moift boggy places. It is alfo a native of 
Sweden, Denmark, the Alps, and other cold parts of Eu¬ 
rope ; and is admitted into gardens for the fake of its 
elegance. The leaves of this fort are very white, and 
confift of from five to nine folioles; the flower-ftems fel¬ 
dom rife more than fix inches high, nor do the flowers 
make a better appearance than the other. It has a great 
affinity with the foregoing. 
3. Alchemilla aphanoides: leaves many-parted; ftem 
eredt. This is a fmall plant, about the fize of parfley 
piert, or apkancs arvenjisy and much refembling it in the 
leaves; it is alfo annual like that, but has the eight-cleft 
calyx of this genus. Foiind in New Granada. 
4. Alchemilla pentaphyllea, or five-leaved ladies’ man¬ 
tle : leaves quinate, multifid, fmooth. Grows naturally 
on the high Alps, as Gothard, Furca, Speluga, Pilat, &c 
and is only to be found in fome few curious botanic gar¬ 
dens in this country. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe are all, except the 
third, abiding plants, which have perennial roots, and 
annual ftaiks, perifhing in autumn. They may be pro¬ 
pagated by parting their roots ; tire beft time for doing 
this is in autumn, that their roots may be eftablifhed before 
the drying winds of the fpring come on. They (honid 
have a moift foil, and a fhady fituation, otherwife they 
will not thrive in the fouthern parts "of England. When 
they are propagated by feeds, they fliould be (own in the 
autumn, on a fhady moift border, and, when the plants 
come up, they will require no other care but to be kept 
clean- from weeds. 
ALCHEMICAL, adj. Relating to alchemy ; produced 
by alchemy. 
ALCHEMIC ALLY, adv. In the manner of analche- 
mift; by means of alchemy. 
ALCHEMIST,/. One who purfucs or pr.ofefies the 
fcience of alchemy: 
To folemnize this day, the glorious fun 
Stays in his courfe, and plays the alchemijl , 
Turning, with fplendour of his precious eye, 
The meagie cloddy earth to glittering gold.’ S/iah'fpeare. 
3 S ALCHEMY, 
