leons, ostriches, camels, dromedaries, monkeys, buffaloes, and wild asses: in the rivers, there are crocodiles and river horses. The most useful of these are the elephant, the camel, and the dromedary. Africa has many islands; on the east are, Madagascar, St. Maurice, Bourbon, and Zocotora. On the west the isles of Madeira, the isles of Cape Verd, the Canary islands. The isles of Madeira are, Madeira, Porto Santo, and La Deserta. The Cape de Verd islands are, St. Anthony, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Nicholas, St. Jago, Sai, Mayo, Del Fuego, Brava, and Bonavista. The Canary islands are, Lancerota, Forteventura, Canaria, Tenerif, Gomera, Ferro, and Palma. There are other islands between this continent and South America, which are reckoned among the African islands, St. Thomas, St. Matthew, St. Helena, Annobon, and Prince's isle.

AFRICA, or MEHEDITA, a sea-port town of Tunis, on the Barbary coast, in Africa. Since the death of Mehedi, from whom this town received its latter name, it has often changed its masters, and been the occasion of much bloodshed. Lat. 35. 36 N. Lon. 11. 10 E.

AFRICAN MARIGOLD.

See TAGETES.

AFRICAN RAGWORT. See OTHONNA. AFRICAN COMPANY, a society of merchants established by king Charles II. for trading to Africa; which trade is now laid open to all his majesty's subjects, paying ten per cent. for maintaining the forts.

AFRICAN ASSOCIATION, was formed in 1788 with a view of promoting the discovery of the interior parts of Africa. Mr. Mungo Parke and others are now employed in this important work.

AFRONT. ad. (from a and front.) In front; in direct opposition to the face (Shakspeare).

AFSLAGERS, persons appointed by the burgomasters of Amsterdam to preside over the public sales made in that city, acting as brokers or auctioneers do with us.

AFT, in the sea language, the same with abaft, i. e. behind, or near the stern of a ship. AFTER. prep. (æften, Sax.) 1. Following in place (Shakspeare). 2. In pursuit of (Samuel). 3. Behind (Newton). 4. Posterior in time (Dryden). 5. According to (Bacon). 6. In imitation of (Addison).

AFTER. ad. 1. In succeeding time (Bac.). 2. Following another (Shakspeare).

AFTER is compounded with many words, but almost always in its genuine signification. AFTERAGES. s. (from after and ages.) Successive times; posterity (Raleigh). AFTER ALL. ad. At last; in fine; in conclusion (Atterbury).

AFTERBIRTH. s. (from after and birth.) The secundine (Wiseman).

AFTERCLAP. s. Unexpected event after an affair is supposed to be at an end (Spenser). AFTERCOST. s. The expence incurred after the original plan is executed (Mortimer).

AFTERCROP. s. Second harvest (Mort.). To AFTEREYE. v. a. To follow in view (Shakspeare). . Methods taken after the first turn of affairs (Wotton).

AFTERGAME.

AFTERMATH. s. (from after and math, from mow.) Aftercrop. The second crop or grass which springs up after mowing; or the grass cut after the corn. In the neighbourhood of London, the aftermath, when made into hay, is of considerable value. But in haying this crop, so as to render it wholesome for horses and cattle, great nicety is requisite the nature of the aftermath being more soft and spongy than grass of the first growth. See HAY and HUSBANDRY.

AFTERNOON. s. The time from the meridian to the evening (Dryden).

AFTERPAINS. s. Pains after birth. AFTERPART. s. The latter part (Locke). AFTERPROOF. s. 1. Evidence posterior to the thing in question. 2. Qualities known by subsequent experience.

AFTERTASTE. s. Taste remaining upon the tongue after the draught.

AFTERTHOUGHT. s. Reflections after the act; expedients formed too late (Dryden). AFTERTIMES. s. Succeeding times

(Dryden).

AFTERWARD. ad. In succeeding time (Hooker).

AFTERWIT. s. Contrivance of expedients after the occasion of using them is past (L'Est.)

AFZELIA. In botany, a genus of the class and order decandria monogynia; thus distinguished: calyx tubular, with a four-cleft border, deciduous; petals four, with claws, the uppermost very large; two uppermost filaments barren; legume many-celled; seeds arillate at the base. The only known species is an African tree described by Dr. E. Smith, in the Transactions of the Linnean Society.

AGA, in the Turkish language, signifies a great lord or commander. Hence the aga of the Janissaries is the commander in chief of that corps; as the general of horse is denominated spahiclar aga. The former is an officer of great importance. We find also agas in other countries. The chief officers under the khan of Tartary are so called; and among the Algerines we read of agas.

AGA CRETENSIUM. (from xx, wild, Talm.) The Spanish milk-thistle, a native of Crete.

AGAGEER, a name given in Abyssinia to those whose business it is to hunt and kill elephants.

AGAIN. ad. (agen, Saxon.) 1. A second time; once more (Bacon). 2. On the other hand (Bacon). 3. On another part (Dryden). 4. In return. 5. Back; in restitution (Shakspeare). 6. In recompence (Proverbs). 7. In order of rank or succession (Bacon). Beside; in any other time or place (Bacon). 9. Twice as much (Pope). 10. Again and again; with frequent repetition, often (Locke). 11. In opposition: thou answerest

8.

again. 12. Back; as, returning from some

message.

AGAINST. prep. (ængeon, Saxon.) 1. In opposition to any person: all are against him Genesis). 2. Contrarily to; in opposition to: is against his will (Dryden). 3. In contradiction to any opinion: tracts against popery (Swift). 4. With contrary motion or endency: against the stream (Shakspeare). $ Contrary to rule: against law (Milton). 6. Opposite to, in place: against the river's mouth (Dryden). 7. To the hurt of another: the accident is against me (Davies), 8. In expectation of: provided against the time (Dryden).

AGALACTIA. (ayahanria, from a priv. and jara, milk.) A defect of milk after child

birth.

AGALA’CTOUS. (ayaλaxros.) Destitute of

milk.

AGALLACHI VERI LIGNUM. See LIGNUM ALOES.

AGALLO CHIUM. (ayaλox.) The aromatic aloe.

AGALMATA, in antiquity, a term sigfying ornaments in a temple, as statues,

AGAMEMNON, king of Mycena and Ae, was brother to Menelaus, and son of Patenes, the son of Atreus. Homer calls them sons of Atreus, which is incorrect, upon the authority of Hesiod, Apollod. &c. When As was dead, his brother Thyestes seized the kingdom of Argos, and removed Agamemen and Menelaus. Agamemnon married Clytemnestra, and Menelaus Helen, both Langhters of Tyndarus king of Sparta, who sisted them to recover their father's kingdom, where Agamemnon established himself, at Mycenae. Menelaus succeeded his father-inlaw. When Helen was stolen by Paris, Agamemnon was elected commander in chief of the Grecian forces going against Troy. Their Beet was detained at Aulis, where Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to appease Diana. During the Trojan war, Agamemnon behaved with much valour; but his quarrel with Achilles, whose mistress he took by force, was fatal to the Greeks Clytemnestra, with her adulterer Ægisthus, prepared to murder him on his return; and as he came from the bath, to embarrass him, she gave him a tunic whose sleeves were sewed together, and while he attempted to put it on, she brought him to the ground with the stroke of a hatchet, and Egisthus seconded her blows. His death was revenged by his son Orestes.

AGANIPPIDES, in ancient poetry, a designation given to the muses, from a fountain of mount Helicon, called Aganippe. AGANIPPE, in antiquity, a fountain of Botia at mount Helicon, on the borders between Phocis and Boeotia.

AGAPANTHUS. In botany, a genus of the class and order hexandria monogynia; with a coral inferior, funnel-form, six-parted, regular. The only known species is a Cape plant.

AGA'PE. ad. (a and gape.) Staring with eagerness (Spectator).

A'GAPE. (, agabe, Heb.) 1. Desire. 2. A delicious banquet.

AGAPES, or AGAPE, in church history, a kind of religious festival, celebrated in the ancient church, to keep up a harmony and concord among its members. The word is formed of the Greek alann, love. St. Chrysostom describes this feast thus: Upon certain days, after partaking of the Lord's Supper, the Christians met at a common feast; the rich bringing provisions, and the poor, who had nothing, being invited; the ceremony ended with the kiss of charity. During the three first centuries, these love-feasts were held in the church without scandal and offence; but, in after-times, the heathens began to tax them with impurity. This led to some regulations and precautions, and at length to their abolition at the council of Carthage, in the year 397. The Agapa have been revived among some modern denominations of Christians, and with them have been restored the old calumnies.

AGAPETÆ, in ecclesiastical history, a name given to certain virgins and widows, who, in the ancient church, associated themselves with, and attended on, ecclesiastics, out of a motive of piety and charity.

A'GARIC, AGA'RICUM, AGA'RICUS. In surgery. (cyapıxov, from Ayapıa, a town in Asia, from which it was brought: or from Agarus, a river in Sarmatia, now Malowonda.) Agaricus chirurgorum: agaricus quercus. Agaric of the oak. Touchwood boletus. The boletus igniarius, acaulis, pulvinatus levis, poris tenuissimis of Linnéus. A fungus formerly much used by surgeons as an external styptic: but, in modern days, deservedly sunk into disesteem.

AGARICUS ALBUS. In medicine, the boletus laricis of the pharmacopeias. The troches, extracts and pills made from it, were formerly considered valuable in pulmonary consumption.

AGA'RICUS CHIRURGORUM.

RIC.

See AGA

AGARICUS MUSCA'RIUS. In medicine, the agaricus muscarius, stipitatus, lamellis dimidiatis solitariis, stipite volvato apici dilatato basi ovato of Linnéus. A fungus employed by foreign surgeons externally, as an escharotic in cases of strumous, phagedenic, or fistulous ulcers, but little used in England.

AGARICUS, AGARIC. In botany, a genus of the class and order cryptogamia fungi; generically distinguished by gills underneath. It is one of the most extensive plants in botany, naturalists having enumerated upwards of three hundred species of it already, and probably there are many that have not yet been noticed. They may be divided into those, 1. With stem surrounded with a ring and curtain. 2. Stem with a curtain without a ring. 3. Stem ranged or innulate without wrapper. 4. Stem without ring or wrapper. 5. Cap funnel-form or oblique. 6. Cap halved;

stew

lateral. 7. Smooth, membranous, or fleshy; cap and gills coriaceous. 8. Smooth, tender, mostly pellucid; with the cap striate and plaited, generally of an uniform colour. 9. Tender; more or less transparent, partly dissolving into a black fluid, or furnished with black gills. 10. Cap opake, conic; gills sooty when old, and dissolving into a black sanies; stem hollow. 11. Stemless. Of these the common mushroom is the a. campestris, and belongs to 3. in the above arrangement.

AGARIC MINERAL. (See CRETA,) of which it forms the species named c. squamosa. AGAST. a. (from agaze.) Struck with terror; staring with amazement (Milton).

AGASYLUS, (ayaovais, from ayaspas to be wonderful,) the name given by Dioscorides to the gum-ammoniac tree, from its supposed good qualities.

AGATHA, (ayabo; good,) a name of the achates or agate.

AGATE. See ACHATES. AGATHODÆMON, in mythology, a beneficent genius or dæmon.

AGATHOPHYLLUM. In botany, a genus of the class and order dodecandria monogynia, thus distinguished. Calyx very minute, truncate, petals six, inserted into the calyx drupe somewhat globular; nut half-five-celled, one-seeded; kernel five-lobed. The only known species is a native tree of Madagascar.

AGA VE. American aloe. A genus of the class and order hexandria monogynia; with corol erect, superior; calyxless; filaments erect, longer than the corol. There are seven species of this magnificent plant, all which are common to North or South America. One or two of the species are also found in the hedges of Spain and Portugal.

AGE. s. (age, Fr.) 1. Any period of time attributed to something, as the whole, or part of its duration (Shakspeare). 2. A succession or generation of men (Roscommon). 3. The time in which any particular man, or race of men, lived (Pope). 4. The space of a hundred years; a century. 5. The latter part of life; oldness (Prior). 6. Maturity; ripeness; full strength of life (Dryden). 7. (In law.) In a man, the age of fourteen years, is the age of discretion; and twenty-one years is the full age. A woman at twenty-one is able to alienate her lands (Cowell). By the Roman law different ages were ascertained for different purposes. Thus the consularage, or that at which a person might hold the consulship, was the forty-third year. The judiciary age, between the thirty and sixtieth year. The military age, seventeen years. The prætorian age, forty years. The legitimate age, twenty-five years.

AGE. Among ancient physiologists the life or age of man was divided into six stages; pueritia or childhood extending from birth, to the year five: adolescentia, or boyhood, to the year eighteen juventus, or youth, to the year thirty virilis ætas, manhood, to fifty: senectus, old age, to sixty: crepita ætas, decrepitude, to death.

Age of a Horse, may be judged of by several

particulars, but the chief characters by which it is determined are found in the teeth; which are forty in number, namely, six great teeth both above and below, on each side called backteeth, or grinders; six above and as many below in the front of his mouth, called fore-teeth, or gatherers; and four tusks, or tushes named bitt-teeth, which make just forty; but mares being in general without tusks, their teeth are but thirty-six in number. A colt is foaled without teeth, but in a few days he puts out four, which are called pincers or nippers; soOL after, the four separaters appear next to the pincers, after which it is frequently three or four mouths before the next, called corner teeth, push forth. These twelve colt's teeth in the front of the mouth continue without alteration, till the colt arrives at the age of two years, or two years and a half, which circumstance renders it very difficult to avoid being imposed upon during that time, if the seller of the colt find it his interest to make the colt appear older or younger than he is in reality. In this case you may judge with more certainty of his age by his coat, and the hair of his mane and tail, than by his teeth; for a colt of a year old has a rough supple coat, like that of a water spaniel, and the hair of his mane and tail feels like flax, whereas a colt of two years has a flat coat, and straight hair like an aged horse. At about two years and a half, or three years of age, a horse begins to shed or change his teeth. Those called the pincers, as they first made their appearance, are the first that fall out; so that when he rises three years, he has four horse's and eight colt's teeth, which are easily distinguished, the former being larger, flatter, and of a yellower colour than the other, and streaked from the end quite down into the gum. Further, these four horse's teeth, or pincers, have in the middle of their extremities a deep black hole or mark, whereas those of the colt are round and white. When the horse comes nearly four years old, he loses his four separaters, or middle teeth, and in room of them puts out four others, which follow the same rule as the former ones, called the pincers. At five years old he changes the four corner, which are the last of his colt's teeth, and is afterwards called a horse. During this his fifth year his four tusks make their appearance behind the others; and the lower

ones

frequently push forth, three or four months before the upper. But whatever some may assert to the contrary, a horse that has the two lower tusks without the upper beginning to make their appearance may be judged under five years of age, unless the other teeth shew to the contrary; for some horses never put forth any upper tusks at all, though this is not very frequently the case. The two lower tusks are one of the most certain signs that a horse is coming five years old, though his colt's teeth may not be all gone at the same time. However unfair, it is no unfrequent thing for breeders and dealers in horses to pull out their last colt's teeth, in order to make them appear five, when they are in reality only four years old; but if

the colt's teeth are gone, and there is no appearance of the lower tusks, you may be pretty sure that this trick has been played; though they sometimes make use of another artifice, to mislead your judgment, which is to at the bars every day with a wooden mallet, in the place where the tusks are to appear, in arder to make them seem hard, and as if the tusks were already nearly cut through. When a horse is full-six years old, the two lower pincers fill up, and instead of the above-mentioned holes, only a black spot remains visible: betwixt six and seven the two middle teeth fill up in the same manner, and between seven and eight the corner teeth do the like; after which it is very difficult, if not impossible, to tell the exact age of a horse, though a good judge will seldom err a great deal notwithstanding a horse has no mark in his mouth. For the purpose of judging of a horse's age, by the teeth, after he has lost the mark, we must have recourse to the tusks and the situation of the teeth. In examining the tusks you must feel the inside of them with your finger, from the extremity quite down to the gun, and if they are pointed, flat, and have two small chanis withinside, you may be certain that the se is not more than nine or ten years old at xt: between eleven and twelve, the two nels are reduced to a single one, which, twelve, is entirely obliterated, and the feel as round withinside, as they appear #chout. After this, there remains no other whereby to discover the horse's age by, but the situation of the teeth. And here it is to be noted, that the longest teeth are not always a sign of the greatest age. For if they Lang or push forward, though but of a moderate length, the animal is certainly very old; At if they meet perpendicularly, let their length be never so great, it is an infallible sign that the horse is still young enough to perform a great deal of service. It will perhaps be needto mention the tricks that are made use of in order to impress a false mark in a horse's mouth, by hollowing his teeth with a graver, and then burning a mark with a small hot iron (which is called bishoping), because those that are acquainted with the true mark will easily detect the cheat, by several other circumstances, such as the size and colour of the teeth, the ength, roundness, and bluntness of the tusks, the colour of the false mark, which is considerably blacker than the true one, and deeper, and by several other visible tokens, which denote that a horse is far advanced in years. When the mark is gone, recourse may be had to the horse's legs, observing whether they be neat and good to his flank, whether it be well trussed, not too full or swallowed up; and likewise to his feet, and appetite, all of which will help to confirm the buyer in his judgment, and prevent his being imposed upon in respect to the age of any horse he may wish to purchase. In addition to the foregoing remarks, the following may not be altogether useless. The bars in a young horse's mouth are always feshy, and form so many distinct ridges, whereas

in an old horse they are lean, dry, and smooth, with little or no rising. The eye-pits in a young horse are generally well filled up with flesh, and look plump and smooth, but in an aged horse, quite the reverse is found to be the case; they appear sunk, and hollow, and make him look ghastly, and of a melancholy aspect. Grey horses, when very old, frequently turn white; black ones are apt to grow grey over their eye-brows, and sometimes all over their faces. All horses when very old sink more or less in their backs, and such as are naturally long or low backed grow so hollow with age, as to render it very difficult to fit them with a saddle. Many of the Spanish and Barbary horses, with some of the Flanders and Danish breed, come under this description. The joints of aged horses likewise grow so stiff, and their knees, and hocks bend so much, that they are almost incapable of going down the smallest declivity without stumbling, notwithstanding the road is by no means rough or unpleasant; when once this comes to be the case with a horse, whatever merit he may have had formerly; he can be of but little service to his owner in future.

Age of a hunting or race Horse, should be five years before you train him in; for however common a custom it may be anong sportsmen to hunt their horses at four years old, or sooner, it is a very blameable one; since at that age a horse's joints are not full knit, nor is he come to his best strength or courage, the consequence of which is, that he is almost sure to be disabled from performing any matter of speed or toughness; beside the hazard which he runs in being put so young to severe labour, and meeting with strains, and putting out splents, spavins, curbs, and wind-galls. How often moreover do we see horses that have been thus injudiciously used, lose all their natural fire and spirit, and become melancholy, stiff, and rheumatic, having all the distempers of old age entailed upon them before they are arrived at their prime.

Age of neat Cattle. The age of the ox, cow, and bull, is known by the teeth and horns. At the end of ten months they shed their first fore-teeth, which are replaced by others, larger, but not so white; and in three years all the incisor teeth are renewed. These teeth are at first equal, long, and whitish; but as the animal advances in years they wear, become unequal and black. They also shed their horns at the end of three years; and these again are replaced by other horns, which like the second teeth continue till old age. The manner of the growth of these horns is not uniform, nor their pullulations equal. In the first year of their appearance, that is in the fourth of the animal's age, two small pointed horns make their appearance, neatly formed, smooth, and towards the head terminating by a kind of button. The following year this button moves from the head, being impelled by a horny cylinder, which, lengthening in the same manner, is also terminated by another button, and so on: for the horns continue to grow during

the life of the animal. These buttons become annular joints, which are easily distinguished in the horn, and by which the age may be easily ascertained, reckoning three years for the point of the horn, and one for each of the joints.

Age of Sheep. Sheep in their second year have two broad teeth; in their third year four broad teeth before; in their fourth year six broad teeth; and in their fifth year eight broad teeth. After which the age of the sheep is uncertain till the teeth are either cast or worn down; both which are common signs of considerable age. At the end of one year, rams, sheep, and wethers, lose the two fore-teeth of the lower jaw, and are known to want the incisor teeth in the upper jaw; at eighteen months the two teeth adjoining the former also fall out; and at three years being all replaced, they are even and pretty white. But with advancing age they become loose, blunt, and at length black. The age of the ram, and of all horned sheep, may also be known by their horns; which shew themselves in their very first year and often at birth, and continue to lengthen by the addition of a ring, annually, to the latest period of life.

Age of Goats. This is ascertained by the same rules that apply to sheep, in regard to their teeth and horns.

Age of the Moon; the number of days elapsed since the last conjunction, or new moon. MOON.

See

A'GED. a. (from age.) 1. Old; stricken in years (Prior). 2. Old: applied to inanimate things (Still).

A'GEDLY. ad. (from aged.) After the manner of an aged person.

AGEM, ( agam, a lake, Hebrew,) a name of the Persian lilac, so called because it grows about ponds and lakes.

or

AGEMA, in Macedonian antiquity, was a body of soldiery, not unlike the Roman legion. AGEMOGLANS, AGIAMOGLANS, AZAMOGLANDS, in the Turkish polity, are children purchased from the Tartars, or raised for the purposes of war every third year, by way of tribute, from the Christians, tolerated in the Turkish empire.

AGEN. ad. (agen, Sax.) Again; in return; in recompence (Dryden),

AGENCY. s. (from agent.) 1. The quality of acting; the state of being in action; action (Woodward). 2. Business performed by an agent (Swift).

AGENDA, with philosophers and divines, signifies the duties a man lies under an obligation to perform: we meet with this in opposition to the credenda, or things he is to believe. AGENDA, among merchants, a terin sometimes used for a memorandum-book, in which is set down all the business to be transacted during the day, either at home or abroad. AGENDA, , among ecclesiastical writers, denotes the service or office of the church.

AGENESIA, (aya, from neg. and givoμm, to procreate.) Venereal impotency; inability to beget children. A term employed

in Vogel's nosology, and correspondent with Cullen's anaphrodisia, and dyspermatismus.

AGENFRIDA, in ancient customs, denotes own lord, or one who has the absolute property and dominion of a thing.

AGENHINE, in our old writers, signifies a guest that has lodged at an inn for three nights, after which time he was accounted one of the family; and his host was responsible for his behaviour.

AGENOIS, in geography, a country of France, in the late province of Guienne, and present department of the Lot and Garonne, comprehending about 120 square leagues.

AGENT. a. (agens, Lat.) That does act (Bacon).

A'GENT. S. 1. An actor; he that acts (South.). 2. A substitute; a deputy; a factor (Dryden). 3. That which has the power of operating, or producing effects on another thing. In this sense, agents are either natural or moral. Natural agents are such inanimate substances, as have a power communicated to them by the author of nature to produce one sort of effect; while moral agents are rational creatures capable of performing several effeces, or several kinds of actions, and of regulating those actions in conformity with a certain rule.

AGENT, in chemistry, signifies any substance capable of producing chemical action, or whose presence determines the combination or decomposition.

AGENT AND PATIENT, in law, a person who is at once the doer of a thing, and the party to whom it is done. Thus when a man who is indebted to another makes his creditor his executor, and dies, the executor may retain so much of the goods of the deceased as will satisfy his debt; by which means he becomes agent and patient; that is, the person who both pays and receives the debt.

AGENTES IN REBUS, one of the ranks of officers, in the court of the Constantinopolitan emperors, whose business was, to collect and convey the corn both for the army and houshold; carry letters and messages from court to all parts of the empire; regulate couriers; to make frequent journeys through the provinces; inspect any motions, disturbances, machinations, &c. and give early notice thereof to the emperor.

AGER, in Roman antiquity, a certain portion of ground allowed to each citizen.

AGER is also used, in middle-age writers, for what we now call acre.

AGER, (from aypos, wild, uncultivated,) the soil or common carth.

AGER CHYMICUs, the ground of chemistry, a term used by chemists to denote water.

AGER MINERALIUM, the same as ager chymicus, and for the same reason: water being equally the ground or basis of minerals.

AGER NATURE, the ground or field of nature. A term applied to the uterus or womb.

AGERA'SIA, (aparia, from & priv. and ypas, old age.) Green, or immature old age.