Agastra'ria (Gr. without intestines), a name applied to those organic animal bodies which, like the sponges, have no intestinal canal; Agastria is the type. Agas'tric (Gr.), in natural history, applied to animals without a stomach or intestines. Ag'asyllis (Gr.), a genus of plants, of the order Umbellaceæ. Ag'ate (Lat.), an ornamental stone (the Scotch pebble), used in the coarser kind of jewellery; it is a variety of chalcedony, and is chiefly composed of quartz, variegated with colouring matter, and seems to be of igneous origin; whence Agatine, of the nature of agate. Ag'athæa (Gr.beautiful flower), a genus of pretty-flowering plants, of the order Tubulifloræ. Agathis (Gr. a cluster), a genus of coniferous trees; the Dammar pine, a native of New Zealand. Agathophyllum (Gr. a fine leaf), the Madagascar nutmeg tree; order Lau raceæ. Agathos'ma (Gr. a good smell), a genus of evergreen shrubs; order Rutaceæ. Agathyr'sus (Gr. a pretty pannicle), a genus of composite plants, allied to the sow-thistle; sub-order Tubulifloræ. Ag'ati (Sans.), a genus of leguminous trees of the East Indies; sub-order Papilionaceæ. Agave (Gr. admirable), a genus of plants which belong to the pine-apple, the American aloe; fam. Bromelia сеӕ. Agelai'næ (Gr. gregarious), a subfamily of gregarious birds, natives of S. America, of which the maize bird (Agelaius) is the type. Agenne'sia (Gr. impotency), male sterility. Agera'sia (Gr.), immature old age. Agera'tum (Gr. not subject to old age), a genus of ornamental plants, of the order Compositæ. Ageus'tia (Gr.), loss of taste. Agglutinant (Lat. uniting parts together), in pathology, a medicine which has the property of uniting different parts. Aggrega'ta (Lat. called together), in zoology, a family of naked Acephala, whose bodies become united in one mass in the later stages of existence. Agil'ia (Lat. agile), in zoology, a family of Rodents, comprehending the dormouse, squirrel, &c. Agita'to (Ital.), in music, a rapid and broken style of performance, calculated to awaken surprise. Aglaia (Gr. beauty, or splendour), in botany, a genus of plants, of the Aglaophe'nia (Gr. aglaos, and phene the osprey), a class of elegant plantlike corals, resembling the waving plumes of the osprey. Aglau'ra (Gr. bright tailed), in zoology, a genus of dorsi-branchiate annelides, distinguished by their bright colouring. Aglone'ma (Gr. a beautiful grove), a showy flowering plant, of the order Araceæ. Ag'nail (Sax. pain of the nail), in pathology, disease of the nails; whitlow. Agna'tha (Gr. without jaws), in entomology, a family of neuropterous insects, whose mouths are so small as to be scarcely observable. Agnos'tes (Gr. unknown), in palæontology, a genus of fossil trilobites, existing in the Silurian formation. Agnothe'rium (Gr. agnus a lamb, and therion a wild beast), in palæontology, a fossil quadruped, found in the Miocene formation of France. Agom'phians (Gr. toothless), in entomology, a name applied to the rotiferous us infusoria, which have teeth. no Agon'ic (Gr. without angles), in natural philosophy, an epithet applied to two lines on the surface of the globe, in which there is no declination of the magnetic needle from the meridian. Agon'idæ (Gr. contention), in ichthyology, a family of acanthopterygious fishes, with prolonged jaws, and covered with mail plates; the mailed bullheads, of which Agonus is the type. Agou'ti (Ind.), in zoology, a genus of the Rodentia, which do not burrow like the rabbit, but lodge under rocks or trees. Agrimonia (Gr.), a genus of plants, of the order Rosaceæ; agrimony; the only British species is the A. eupatoria, a well-known herb, used medicinally as a tonic. Agrion'idæ (Gr. agrios rustic), a family of neuropterous insects, the dragonflies, of which Agrion is one of the genera. Agri'opus (Gr. agrios, and pous foot), a genus of hog-fishes. Agrobates (Gr. agrios, and batis a thorn-bush), in ornithology, a genus of Warblers, of the sub-order Philomelinæ. Agrodroma (Gr. a field-runner), in ornithology, a genus of the lark tribe. Agronomy (Gr. field-law), the rules or science of agriculture. Agroph'ilus (Gr. field-loving), a genus of ground finches, of the family Fringillidæ. Agropyrum (Gr. field-wheat), a genus of plants, of the order Gramina Agrostem'ma (Gr. a field-stem), a genus of plants, the wild lychnis, of the order Caryophyllaceæ. Agros'tis (Gr. agros rustic), the name of the bent grass; order Graminaceæ. Agrostog'raphy (Gr. agros, and graphe description), a description of the grasses, of which Bishop Stillingfleet enumerates about 300 species. Agrostology (Gr.), a treatise on the various grasses of the field. Agryp'nia (Gr.) in pathology, indisposition to sleep; sleeplessness. Agrypnoc'oma (Gr. sound sleeping), a continued tendency to sleep. A'gynous (Gr. without female sex), in botany, applied to flowers that are without the organs of female fructification; the term being synonymous with male flowers. A'gyrate (Gr. without a circle), in botany, a term applied to those ferns which are without the elastic ring, or annulus. Agyr'ium (Gr. clustered), a genus of speckled gregarious fungi, growing on wood; order Fungi. Ai'guille (Fr.), an instrument used by engineers and miners for piercing a rock for the lodgment of powder.-In physical geography, Aiguilles are the sharp needle like points of lofty mountains. Aikin'ia, a genus of flowering plants, of the order Gesneriaceæ, so called in honour of Arthur Aikin. Ailan'tus (Sans. a heavenly tree), a genus of trees of towering growth, natives of the East Indies and China; order Terebinthaceæ. Ailu'rus (Gr. a cat), a small carnivorous animal, allied to the raccoon, about the size of a large cat, with a red brilliant fur. Aimoph'ila (Gr. loving the thicket), a genus of American ground finches, of the family Fringillidæ. Air (Gr.), an invisible, transparent fluid, which we constantly breathe, and which is essential to the support of animal and vegetable existence. It envelops the entire globe, and constitutes the atmosphere that surrounds it. Air is 816 times lighter than its bulk of water; 1,000 cubic inches at the ordinary temperature and pressure weighing 305 grains. It consists of about 80 parts, in bulk, of nitrogen, and 20 parts of oxygen, and about one-thousandth part of carbonic acid. Air, when inhaled into the lungs, unites with the carbon of the blood, and forms carbonic acid, a process which produces the heat necessary to sustain the proper temperature of the animal system. -In zoology, Air-cells are membraneous receptacles communicating with the lungs, and in birds extending through the different parts of the body, by which their specific gravity is diminished, and they are rendered fitter for sustentation in the air.-In botany, air-cells are cavities in the leaves and stems of certain algæ, which render them buoyant in water.-Air-plants are orchideous plants which live for many months suspended in the air. -Air-vessels are spiral vessels or ducts in plants containing air, and supposed to answer the same purpose in the vegetable system as lungs do in the animal. Air is a useful prefix to numerous words connected with science and art, of which a brief enumeration may be here given.-Air-balloon is a balloon inflated with gas, in distinction from a fire-balloon, which ascends through the rarefaction of the air contained in it by the application of heat.-Air-bladder, the air-bag, sound, or swim, in fishes, which they have the power of compressing and dilating at pleasure, as they require to sink or ascend.-Air-fountain, a contrivance for producing a jet of water by the elastic force of air compressed in a close vessel, and made to act on the surface of the water to be raised.-Air-gun, a pneumatic instrument, so constructed as to propel bullets with immense force by means of condensed air.-Air-lamp, a pneumatic machine, formed by the combination of inflammable air and electricity, which, by turning a stopcock, produces a flame that may be restrained or continued at pleasure.Air-pump, a machine for extracting the air, and producing a vacuum.Air-trunk, a contrivance to prevent the stagnation of putrid effluvia in jails or apartments. It is an open tube passing from the ceiling to the open air, by which the heated or foul Air-poise, a term applied to any instrument used for weighing the air. Aizo'on (Gr. ever alive), a genus of plants, of the order Tetragoniaceæ. Aja'va, the seed of a plant brought from Malabar, used medicinally as a carminative. Ajowan, a species of umbelliferous plants, used in the East Indies for diseases of cows and horses. Ajuga (Gr. not yoked), a genus of herbaceous plants, the bugle, of the order Labiatæ. Ak'era (Gr. wanting horns), in zoology, a family of Mollusca, without horns or feelers. Ala (Lat. a wing), in botany, a term applied to the hollow of a leaf or pedicle, which is made with the stalk. The plural Ala is used for those parts of leaves called lobes or leaflets; and also applied to the side petals of papilionaceous flowers, placed between those other petals distinguished as the vexillum and carina, and which constitute the top and bottom of the flower. In anatomy, the term has various applications, especially to the cartilages of the nostrils, and the cartilaginous parts of the ear; Alæ nasi are the lateral or movable parts of the nose; Alæ vespertilionum (bat's wings) are the broad ligaments situated between the uterus and the fallopian tubes. The term is generally applied to the wings of birds and insects. -Alar, belonging to a wing.-Alate, having wings. Al'alite (from Ala in Piedmont, and Gr. lithos a stone), in mineralogy, a variety of augite, or diopside, which occurs in prismatic crystals of a shiny lustre. Alangia'ceæ, or Alan'giæ (Malabar, alangium), in botany, an order of handsome tropical trees, allied to the Myrtaceæ or Myrtles; its fruit is a drupe. Ala'ria (Lat. winged), a genus of Algæ, so-called from their wing-shaped appearance. Alaris (Lat. wing-like), in anatomy, an epithet applied to the pterygoid processes of the sphenoid bone, and to the inner vein of the bend of the lime or stucco, produced from burnt marble. Alba'ta (Lat. white), in metallurgy, a composition of tin, zinc, nickel, and copper, usually called German silver. Al'batross, a genus of large aquatic birds, the Diomedia, some of which, from wing to wing, measure fourteen or fifteen feet. Albert Coal, a beautiful carbonaceous product from New Brunswick, of the nature of coal and asphaltum. Albi (Lat.), in natural history, botany, and zoology, a prefix of frequent occurrence, denoting whiteness, of which the following is a brief enumeration:- Albicaulis, white-stemmed, or white-tailed; albicollis, having a white neck; albicornis, having white horns, or white or pale-coloured antennæ; albicostatus, or albicostus, white-sided; albidactylus, white-fingered, applied to a butterfly with digited white wings; albiflorus, having white flowers; albilabris, white-lip ped; albimanus, white-handed, or having white tarsi; albinervus, having white nervures or veins in the leaves; albipennis, white-winged; albipes, white-footed; albirostris, white-billed or beaked; albitarsis. having white tarsi, &c. Al'bicore, in natural history, a fish which pursues the flying-fish. Albin (Lat. white), a white mineral (a variety of apophyllite), which consists of an aggregation of crystals. Al'binism (Lat. whiteness), a state in which the skin is white, the eye of a pink colour, and the hair flaxen. This peculiarity exhibits itself in rabbits, mice, &c., as well as in man. Albi'no (Lat. white), a term applied to the white descendants of a black parentage, in whom albinism, as previously explained, is manifested. This phenomenon is frequently witnessed in the inter-tropical regions of Africa, America, Ceylon, &c. In Africa the Albinos are called dongos; in Java, chracrelas; and in Ceylon, bedhas. Albir'eo (Arab.), in astronomy, a star of the third magnitude, in the constellation Cynas. Al'bite (Lat. white), in mineralogy, a four-angled variety of felspar, generally of a white colour. Albo'ra, in ichthyology, a species of fish of the genus Erethynus, found in the Mediterranean Sea. In patho. logy, a kind of itch, or rather leprosy, attended by fetid evacuations from the mouth and nostrils. Alborga, a kind of sandal-wood made of mat weed. Albu'ca (Lat. rwhiteness), a genus of bulbous-rooted flowering plants, of the order Liliaceæ. Albu'go Lat.), in pathology, a disease of the eye (leucoma), which consists of a white speck on the cornea that attends inflammation. Albugeneous, in anatomy, is an epithet applied to membranes distinguished by their white colour, as the albugeneous membrane of the eye. Albugeneous fibre, says Palmer, is white, firm, hard, elastic, and insensible, and constitutes, by its union in fasciculi, or small bundles, and its various dispositions, different membraneous expansions, as the periosteum, duramater, sclerotica, the proper coverings of the kidneys, spleen, testicles, the sheaths of tendons, capsules, and ligaments of joints, the tendons themselves, and faciæ. Al'bulo (Lat. silvery whiteness), a genus of fishes, of the family Salmonidæ. Albu'men (Lat.), a thick glairy substance found in the white of an egg, and identical with the serum of the blood. In physiology, it forms one of the nutritive compounds of food, consisting of nearly the same ingredients as fibrine and caseine, which are identical with blood and muscular fibre. Its principal ingredients are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen.-In botany, albumen is that fleshy or horny consistence which is secreted in certain seeds. -Albuminous, belonging to, or containing albumen. Albur'num (Lat. whiteness), the white Al'cade (Arab.), in ornithology a family Alce'do (Lat.), a genus of beautifully Al'chemy (Arab.), a chemical art by which its professors (the Alchemists) pretended to transmute all metals into gold, and prepare a panacea against disease and death, called Elixir vita. Al'cohol (Arab.), in chemistry, highly rectified spirit; a term applied to the liquors, wine, beer, &c., which is obtained by repeated distillation. From this term there are various formatives; as Alcoholic, of the nature of alcohol;-Alcoholize, to convert spirituous liquors into alcohol by rectification; - Alcoholization, process of rectifying spirits;-Alcoholmeter, an instrument for ascertaining the quantity of spirit in any vinous liquid;-Alcoholate, a species of salt, in which alcohol replaces, or appears to replace, the water of crystallization. Alcoran (Arab.), the Mohammedan Alcyone (Arab.), a bright star in the Aldebar'an (Arab.), a bright reddish Al'dehyde (Arab.), in chemistry, a lim- Alder, a genus of forest trees, the Alnus Alectorolophus (Gr. a cockscomb), in Alem'bic (Gr.), a vessel used in chemical operations. Alem'broth, in chemistry, a compound of the bichloride of mercury and salammoniac, from which is prepared the white precipitate of mercury; the salt of wisdom of the old alchemists, or the philosopher's salt. intoxicating principle of spirituous | A'lepis (Gr. without scales), in ichthyo logy, a genus of scaleless fishes, with small heads and broad bodies. Alepidote, a term applied to any fish not covered with scales. Alepisan'tus (Gr. a scaleless Saurian), in ichthyology, a genus of thin-bodied malacopterygious fishes, of the family Scomberidæ. Alepocephalus (Gr. scaleless heads), a genus of abdominal fishes, with large scales on the body, but none on the head. Alethop'teris, a genus of fossil plants, of which various species have been found in the Palæozoic and Mesozoic formations. Ale'tris (Gr. the miller's wife), a genus of N. American plants, of the order Liliaceæ; so called from the powdery dust with which the plant is covered. Aleuris'ma (Gr. flour), a genus of Fungi, of the tribe Ascomycetes. Aleuri'tis (Gr. flour), a genus of plants, of the order Euphorbiaceæ, which have the appearance of being covered with flour.-A. triloba supplies the candle-nuts of the South-Sea Islanders, which serve for food as well as for torches. Aleurom'eter (Gr. flour-measurer), an instrument for determining the quantity of gluten in flour. Alexan'dra, in astronomy, the name of one of the recently discovered planets, first observed by Goldschmidt, in 1857. Alexandri'na, a genus of leguminous plants, of the sub-order Papilionaceæ. Alexephar'mic (Gr. poison repellent), that which has the quality of repelling poison. Alexepharmics, or Alexeterics, are antidotes to poisons. Alexipyretic (Gr. fever dispellent,) in pathology, a medicine that operates as a remedy against fever. Aley'rodes (Gr. flour), a genus of whitelooking hemipterous or half-winged insects; fam. Aphidæ. Alge (Lat. sea-weeds), in botany, an order of cryptogamous plants, which comprise sea-weeds, lavers, and the floating scum-like substances of ditches and rivers. They constitute the second grand division of the vegetable kingdom, the Cellulares. They grow extensively at the bottom of the sea, or in fresh water. After stormy weather, vast quantities may be found on the rocks, or on the beach of the sea. They are wholly composed of cellular tissue, ascending from the simplest form to a very compound state, the lowest being filiform and leafless, and the highest leafy, with a fructification included in an indehiscent pericarpium. The colour of the lowest grade is green; that of the highest is purple or red. In the philosophical arrangement of Dr. Lindley, in his "Vegetable Kingdom," the Alga are thus classed according to their respective orders:- 1. Diatomaceæ, which are crystalline fragmentary bodies, brittle, and multiplied by spontaneous separation; --2. Confervaceæ, filamentary, or membraneous bodies, multiplied by zoopores, generated in the interior at the expense of their green matter; -3. Fucacea, cellular or tubular unsymmetrical plants, multiplied by simple spores formed externally; -4. Ceramina, cellular or tubular unsymmetrical plants, multiplied by tetraspores; -5. Characeæ, symmetrically branched plants, multiplied by spiral nucules filled with starch. Alg'aroth-powder, in chemistry, the oxychloride of antimony, used in the preparation of tartar-emetic. Algebra (Arab. al-jebr-e-al mokabalah, restoration and reduction, or the reduction of a whole to a part), the science of computing abstract quantities by means of signs or symbols, instead of arithmetical figures; a species of calculation which takes the quantity sought, whether it be a number or a line, or any other quantity, as if it were granted, and, by means of one or more quantities given, proceeds by consequence, till the quantity at first only supposed to be known, or at least some power thereof, is found to be equal to some quantity or quantities which are known, and consequently its own value or quantity, or number, is determined. Algebraic equation is an equation of which the terms contain only algebraic quantities. Algebraic geometry is a name given to the application of algebra to geometrical problems. Algebraic curve is a figure whose intercepted diameters bear always the same proportion to their respective ordinates. Al'geneb (Arab.), in astronomy, a star in the constellation Perseus, in which constellation the star Algal, called Medusa's Head, also appears. Al'gia (Gr. pain), in pathology, a term used at the end of a word, to denote pain in the part spoken of. Algide (Lat. to be cold), in pathology, a term applied to febrile diseases which are accompanied with great coldness. Al'gorah (Arab.), a star of the third magnitude, in the constellation Corvus. Algoro'ba Bean (Arab.), the bean of Ceratonia siliqua; the Carob tree, or St. John's bread. |