Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/32

 A C H

A C H

. We find mention of Aetna: in the antient church. The Jews had alfo their Accrrec, in our verfion rendered eetifers ; and the romanifts ftill reftrain them under the name of Incetife pots. Tirtull. adv. Gent. c. g. magr. notiz. Vocab. Ecclef. p. 3.

In Roman writers, we frequently meet with plena Acerra, a full Acerra ; to underfhnd which it is to be obferved, that people were obliged to offer incenfe in proportion to their eftate and condition ; the rich in larger quantities, the poor only a few grains : the former poured out Acerras full on the altar ; the latter took out two or three bits with their fingers. V. Brijfon. de formul. 1. 1. p. m. 25. Marcill. ad Peri'. Sat. 2. v. 5.

ACETABULUM, (Cycl.)— in botany, the name of a genus of fea-plants, compofed of leaves formed in the fhape of a bafon, and making a fort of inverted cone. The fpecies of Acetabulum, mentioned by Mr. Tournefort, are two. 1. The taller fea Acetabulum, called Andre/ace, and 2. The fmaller fea Acetabulum, called the fmaller Androface. Tenrn. Inft. p. 569. See Tab. 1. of botany, Clafs 17.

ACETARY is ufed for an inner part in the ftrudfure of cer- tain fruits ; thus called from the fournefs of its tafte. Greiv. Anat. Vegct. 1. i.e. 6. §. 3. p. 41.

The Acetary of a pear "is a globular part, lying within the calculary, or choafc, and unrounding the coar. It is of the fame fubftance with the parenchyma or pulp, only that the bladders of which it confiits are fmaller, and rounder than thofe of the parenchyma : from whence however it feems to be de- rivet]. Whence it is fornctimes, alfo called, the Inner Paren- chyma. t The quince alfo has an Acetary, rcfembling, tho' lefs than, that of a pear.

AGETIFICATION is ufed by fume chymifts to denote the ac- tion or operation whereby vinegar is made. Becker. Phyf. Subterr. 1. 1. Sec. 5. c. 2. n. r24. p. 362. feq. Acetification is a branch or fpecies of fermentation, arifing by expofing vinous liquors in open veffels, and a warm place, which turns them acid. Vid. A&. Lipf. an. 1 701. and an. 1 703. Acetification chiefly differs from the fermentation, whereby wine is made, in this, that the latter is effected by a gentler heat, fufficient only to raife, and rarify the fulphureous parts ; whereas, in. Acetification, there is what is fufficient to raife and ratify the faline parts ; which is the precife point, where- in Acetification confifts. Becker. Phyf. Subterr. 1. 1. Se£t. 5 c. 2. n. 124. p. 362. feq.

ACETOSA, in botany. See the article Sorrel.

ACETOSE. Sec Acetous, Cycl.

ACETUM {Cycl.)—Acetum efuriens, in chemiftry, a diftilled . vinegar, reaped with the help of verdigreafe. It is made by diffolving the common verdigreafe in fine diftilled vinegar, then evaporating the folution, and procuring the verdigreafe again in form of cryftals ; and from this, by a proper degree of fire, diftilling with a retort an acid fpirit, which is the l'icheft acid that can by any art be prepared from vinegar. Zwelfer, to whom this acid owes its name, affirms, that it maintains its acid qualities, after having diffolved pearls or other of the alcaline abforbents ; but in this he is not to be cre- dited. Boerbaave'% Chem. p. 1 38.

Acetum Portabile. Sec the article Vinegar.

ACHAC, in natural hiftory, the name given by the people of the Philippine Hands, to a bird common there. It is of the fize of a common hen; its belly, brcaft, and neck are of a pale brown, and its back of a dufky reddifh colour ; its wings are extreamly beautiful, being principally of a greenifh blue colour ; the tail is white, fhort and continually in motion ; the eyes are black, and the beak is thick and ftrong, and is of a black colour, and obtufe figure ; the legs are reddifh, and the claws black : when it makes any noife, it feems to utter the word phi, phi, very often repeated. It lives prin- cipally about the cultivated parts of the iflands, and feeds on rice, and other vegetables, being properly of the partridge kind. D

ACHALALACTLI, in zoology, the name of an American . bird, defcribed by Nieremberg, and remarkable for a chain or ring of filvery whitenefs round its neck. It is of the fize of a pigeon, its beak is fharp and three fingers breadth long, and its head is ornamented with a very long creft of a bluifh black colour. The belly and under fide of the wings are white, and the back and outfide of the wings are of the colour of the creff, of a bluifh black, and variegated with white fpots ; the tail is partly black, and partly blue. It is common about the lakes and rivers of Mexico, and feeds on fmall fifh. Ray's Ornithol. p. 301.

ACH ANDES, in ichthyology, a name given by fome to the Remora. See RemoRA.

ACHAOVA, in the materia medica of the antients, the name of an herb much celebrated in many diftempers ; but we are not affured at prefent, what is the plant that it truly belongs to. Some have efteemed it, what is called in Egypt Uchove an herb nearly refembhng chamomile, but lower, and with broader leaves approaching to thofe of feverfew, and of a faint, but not difagreeable fmell.

Avifenna feems however to have meant a different plant by this name, and probably the herb we call Marum ; for he

defenbes it as being of a very acrid tafte and ftrong fmell, ire fome refpecis refembling our origanum or wild majorum, but of a whiter colour. Pro/per. Alpin. de Plant. Egypt.

ACHA PES, in natural hiftory, the tone popularly called Agat, See Agat, Cycl.

Dr. Plot makes ufe of the word Achat in this feme ; on what authority we know not. V. Nat. Hill. Stafford, c.4, S. 47. P- 17,5-

ACHATOR, in our old ftatutes, is ufed for Pourveyor. See Achat and Pourveyor, Cycl.

ACHE, in fome old authors, a name given to the plant called Apium paluflrc, or paludapium, in Englifh, fmallage. Ger. Emac. Ind. 4.

ACHERNER, {Cycl.)— This word is alfo written Acarnar, and Achernar, fometimes Aeharmhar, and Acbamaharim. Vital. Lex. Mathem. Voc. Acarnar.

Achemcr is the fame with what is otherwife denominated Pharton, and by the Perfians, Aulax, that is fafe. Wolf. Lex. Math. p. 1054. Voc. Phxton.

ACHETA, in natural hiftory, a name by which the antients called the large fpecies of Cicada, the nymphs of which they ufed to eat, and efteemed an excellent food : the fmaller kind, which feems to have been our middling fort (for we have three kinds) they called Tcttigonia. See Cicada.

ACHI^NUS, or Achjeinus, in natural hiftory, a word ufed by the antients to exprefs a ftag or deer in the fecond year's age. In the firft, it was called Nelrrus, in the third Dicrotus, and always after that Cerajles. Pliny.

ACHILLEA, in the materia medica of the antients, a name given to the gum, which we at this time know by that of fanguis draconis, or dragons-blood.

The antient Greeks called this Cinnabari ; and the ufe of that word for the mineral which we now call cinna- bar, was only becaufe of its being of the fame fine red co- lour with this gum. Avifenna treating of the Achillea, fays it is otherwife called fanguis-draconis, and defcribes it as a red gum, univcrfally known in his time. Many have been of opinion, that the Achillea was an infpiffated juice of the plant of that name; but this paflage of Avifenna, added to there being no gum of the Achillea mentioned by any of the an- tients, fufficiently explodes this opinion. The more probable account of the name is, that this very plant was called fangnis draconis, becaufe of its leaves being ufually as red as blood ; which peculiarity is mentioned in its defcription by Diofcorides, and all the antient writers. Now this plant being for this rea- fon called fanguis draconis, that name, and Achillea, became fvnonymous terms ; and thence the name Achillea, as a fyno- nymous one for fanguis draconis, became given to the gum fo called. Avifenna, L. 4. c. 99.

ACHIOTL, in botany, a name given by fome authors to the Uraca, or Ametto, called Orleana, and Orellana, by other writers. See the following article.

ACHIOTTE, a red drug from America, ufed in dying, and in the preparation of chocolate.

The word is Brafilian, where it properly fignifies the tree from whence this matter is procured ". Ray writes it Acchiote b . — T'Tnv. Dift. Univ. T. 1. p. 101. » Ray, Trav. p. 485.] Achiotte is the fame with what the French frequently call Rocou, and the Dutch Orleans, It has been commonly efteemed a kind of argtila, or earth ; but later obfervers find it a flower, or feed of a tree, which grows chiefly in very hot countries, as Yucutan, or Campeche, and Guatimala. It is about the fize of a plumb-tree, only more tufted ; its branches, being longer than the trunk. The fruit is enclofed in a rind like a chefhut, except that it is of an oval figure. It begins to open crofs-ways from the middle to the top ; and fubdivides into four parts; having in the middle a beautiful car- nation coloured flower. The tree has no leaves ; but inftead thereof fhoots out filaments like thofe of faffron, only bi^cr and longer. Between thefe grow little foft Vermillion coloured grains, about the fize of pepper-corns; which the indians, fepe- rating from the filaments, bake in cakes of about half a pound each ; in which form the drug is brought into Europe. Savar. Dia. Comm. T. 1. p. 13.

The poor people ufe Achiotte inftead of faffron, others mixt it as an ingredient in chocolate, during the grinding of the cacoa, the quantity of two drams to a pound, to give it » reddifh colour, &c. tho' this praBice was formerly more frequent than at prefent ; the opinion of its being an earth which even Mr. Ray fell into, having dilcreditcd its ufe Some alfo ufe it to dye wax of a Vermillion colour. Phy- ficians hold it a good cordial, and prefervative againft reten- tion of urine. V. Mem. de Trev. An. 1704. p. 1974. I. Labat defcribes the Achiotte fomewhat differently ; efpe- cially, the preparation of it for dying. The tree accord- ing to him, produces yearly its crops of flowers, of a car- nation colour ; not unlike wild rofes. Thefe are fucceeded by a kind of rough pods, or fruit refembling cliefnuts, full of fmall grains ; which being fermented in water, and this water afterwards paffed thro' a carribbe fievc, it contraas a red colour. It is then boiled, fcummed, fet on the fire again and ftirred; till at length it thickens, and will fall loole from the fpatula : which is the Achiotte, or Rocou in perfection : tho' to make it more beautiful, they have two 1 • fur-