val 
rubbish of the schools. Iu medicine his merit is of a very 
high order, and his name marks an epocha in the history of 
that science in Italy. 
VALLISNERIA [so named by Micheli, in honor of An¬ 
tonio Vallisneri, professor of medicine at Padua, Archiater 
to the Emperor Charles VI.], in Botany, a genus of the 
class dioecia, order diandria, natural order of palmse, hydro- 
charides (Juss.) —Generic Character. Male—Calyx: com¬ 
mon spathe two-parted ; segments oblong, bifid, reflexed; 
common spadix compressed, covered all over with flowers, 
digested into a spike. Corolla one-petalled, three-parted. 
Tube none; segments obovate, spreading very much and 
bent back. Stamina: filaments two, upright, length of the 
corolla. Anthers simple. Female—Calyx: spathe one- 
flowered, cylindrical, long; with the mouth bifid, erect. 
Perianth three-parted, spreading, superior; segments ovate. 
Corolla: petals three, linear, very narrow, truncate, shorter 
than the calyx. Nectary a spreading cusp placed under each 
of the stigmas. Pistil: germ cylindrical, inferior, long. 
Style scarcely any. Stigma three-parted; segments semi¬ 
bifid, oval, convex, longer than the calyx, spreading, pubes¬ 
cent above. Pericarp: capsule cylindrical, long, one-celled. 
Seeds numerous, ovate, fastened to the side of the capsule.— 
Essential Character. Male—Spathe two-parted. Spadix 
covered withfloscules. Corolla three-parted. Female—Spathe 
bifid, one-flowered. Calyx three-parted, superior. Stigma 
three-parted. Capsule one-celled, many-seeded. 
1. Vallisneria spiralis, or two-stamened vallisneria.— 
Flowers two-stamened. This is an aquatic plant, with long, 
thin, almost transparent leaves, with parallel nerves and 
plaits dividing it transversely, very finely serrate at the end 
and floating on the water. The male flower is very small 
and white, and is borne on a very short scape at the bottom 
of the water ; when it is mature it breaks loose, and floats 
on the surface. The female-flower, which is larger and pur¬ 
ple, grows on a spiral scape.—It grows in the Rhone near 
Orange. 
2. Vallisneria ocfandra, or eight-stamened vallisneria.— 
Flowers eight-stamened. Root annual, fibrous. Leaves ra¬ 
dical, linear, tapering to a fine point, smooth, from nine to 
twelve inches long, and half an inch or less broad.—Native 
of the East Indies, in stagnant shallow sweet water. 
VALLOIRES, a small town in Savoy, province of Mau- 
rienne, situated on the small river Neuvanchette. 
VALLON, a small town in the north-west of France, de¬ 
partment of the Sarthe; 15 miles south-west of Le Mans. 
VALLON, a small town in the South of France, depart¬ 
ment of the Ardeche, situated between the rivers Ardeche, 
and Ibic ; 12 miles south-east of Argentiere, and 25 south- 
by-west of Privas. 
VALLOP1T, a hamlet of England, in the parish of East 
Allington, Devonshire. 
VALLORBE, dr Val d’Orbe, a large village and valley 
in the west of Switzerland, in the Pays de Vaud, near the 
source of the small river Orbe. It has 2700 inhabitants, 
and considerable iron manufactures. 
VALLS, a considerable town in the north-east of Spain, 
in Catalonia; 8 miles north of Tarragona. 
VA'LLUM, s. [Latin.] A trench; a fence; a wall.-— 
Another vallum between the two seas more southward, and 
of a much greater length. Temple. 
VALMONT DE BOMARE (James Christopher), was 
born at Rouen, in September, 1731. He was intended for 
the bar, but his inclination to natural history induced him 
to devote himself entirely to that pursuit; and having ob¬ 
tained an order from the duke d’Argenson, the minister at 
war, to travel for the improvement of science, with sufficient 
funds for the purpose, he spent several years in visiting the 
principal cities of Europe, and examining the most famous 
collections in natural history. His works are as follow : viz. 
“ Catalogued’un Cabinet d’Histoire Naturelle,” 1758,12mo.; 
** Extrait Nomenclature du System complet de Mineialogie,” 
1759,12mo.; and “Nouvelle Exposition duRegne Mineral,” 
1761, 1762, 2 vols. 8vo. But his capital work was his 
VAL 227 
“ Dictionnaire raisonne Universel d’ Histoire Naturelle,” in 
6 vols. 8vo. This has passed through several editions in 
8vo. and 4to., and being the first of its kind, served as the 
basis of all the dictionaries of natural history that have ap¬ 
peared since that time. One of the latest editions appeared 
at Lyons in 1800, 15 vols. 8vo. This celebrated naturalist 
died at Paris, in August, 1807. 
VALMONTONE, a small town of Italy; 22 miles east- 
by-south of Rome. 
VALMY, a village in the north-east of France, depart¬ 
ment of the Marne; 5 miles west-by-south of St. Mene- 
hould. 
VALOE, an island in the south of Norway; 7 miles 
south-south-east of Tonsberg. 
VALOGNES, a town of Normandy, in the north-west 
of France, in the department of La Manche; 10 miles 
south-east of Cherburg, and 32 north-west of St. Lo. Lat. 
49. 22. N. long. 1. 33. W. 
VALOIS (Adrian de), was born at Paris in 1607, and 
studied in the Jesuits’ college. Although he acquired a 
competent knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages, he 
attached himself principally to the study of French history; 
and in 1646 appeared the first volume in folio of his “ Gesla 
Francorum,” which was followed by two more in 1658. 
He began with the reign of the Emperor Valerian, and 
traced the history of the Franks to the deposition of Chil- 
deric, and his work was generally admired. In 1675 he 
published “Notitiee Gallorum,” fob, comprising, in alpha¬ 
betical order, an account of the geography, towns, monas¬ 
teries, &c. of France, deduced from its early records and 
histories. , He died in 1747. Moreri. 
VALOIS, a small district and duchy in the north of 
France, now forming the eastern part of the department of 
the Oise. 
VA'LOROUS, adj. Brave; stout; valiant. — Captain 
Jamy is a marvellous valorous gentleman. Shakspeare. 
VA'LOROUSLY, adv. In a brave manner.—I’ll pay it as 
valorously as I may. Shakspeare. 
VA'LOUR, s. [valor, Lat. Ainsworth.'] Personal 
bravery; strength; prowess; puissance; stoutness. 
That I may pour the spirits in thine ear. 
And chastise, with the valour of my tongue. 
All that impedes thee. Shakspeare. 
VALPARAISO, a city and port of Chili, in the province 
of Quillota, situated on a bay in the South Pacific ocean. 
It was formerly a very small village, with a few warehouses, 
which the merchants of the metropolis erected for their 
goods, in order to ship them for Callao. It is inhabited 
chiefly by whites, mestizoes, and mulattoes, who are en¬ 
gaged in the trade carried on with Peru and Europe ; and 
the governor of this city is nominated by the king, being 
dependent only on the captain-general of Chili. The in¬ 
habitants of Valparaiso joined keenly in the revolution by 
which the South American provinces were emancipated 
from the dominion of the mother country; and it is now 
completely independent of Spain ; 225 miles north of Con¬ 
ception, and 60 north-west of Santiago. Lat. 33.2. 36. S. 
long. 71. 44. 30. W. 
VALPERGA, a small town in the north-west of Italy, 
in Piedmont; 16 miles north of Turin. 
VALREAS, a small inland town in the south-east of 
France, department of the Vaucluse; 20 miles north-east 
of Orange, and 32 north-east of Avignon. 
VALS, a small town in the south-east of France, depart¬ 
ment of the Ardeche, with 2000 inhabitants; 55 miles 
south-west of Privas. 
VALSALVA (Anton-Maria), an eminent anatomist, phy¬ 
sician, and surgeon, was born in 1666, at Imola, in Ro¬ 
magna. Having received the first elements of literature in 
the Jesuits’ seminary, he was sent to the university of Bologna, 
and placed under the immediate tuition of the celebrated 
Malpighi, and here he pursued his various studies with an 
assiduity which impaired his health. He graduated at Bo¬ 
logna 
