great quantities of fine amber. Some pieces contain flies and other insects curiously preserved.

AMBERGRIS : a substance found floating in the sea near the coasts of various tropical countries, and also taken from the intestines of the spermaceti whale, where it is supposed to originate. Its color is a dingy white; its odor is agreeable, and in the state of an alcoholic solution it is used as a perfume. AMBER SEED: a small odoriferous seed, used as a perfume. AMETHYST: a gem of a purple color, which in its purest state is of the same hardness, and at least of equal value with the ruby or sapphire. It is found in the East and West Indies, and in several parts of Europe.

AMMONIA: an alkaline substance, which may be obtained from all bodies in a state of putrefaction. Sal ammoniac is applied to many useful purposes, and it is consumed in considerable quantities by dyers, coppersmiths and tinners. ANATA, or ANNOTTO: a kind of buff-colored dye, which has acquired the name of Nankeen, from Nangking in China, whence the calico so colored was first exported. It is brought from Brazil.

ANCHOR: a large and heavy iron instrument, with a double hook at one end, and a ring at the other, used for mooring vessels. It is cast into the bottom of the sea, or rivers, where taking its hold, it keeps ships from being drawn away by the wind, tide, or current. The parts of which an anchor is composed are the ring into which the cable is fastened, the beam or shank, which is the longest part of the anchor, the two arms, at the end of which are the two flooks or flukes, by some called the palms, which with their barbs fasten into the ground, and the stock, which is a large piece of wood fastened across the beam near the ring, and serving to guide the flukes in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the ground; so that one of them sinks into it by its own weight as soon as it falls, and is still preserved steadily in that position by the flock, which, together with the shank, lies flat on the bottom. In this situation it must necessarily sustain a great effort before it can be dragged through the earth horizontally. Should the anchor be displaced, it is said, in the sea phrase, "to come home."

There are several kinds of an

-chors: 1. The sheet anchor, which is the largest, and is never used but in violent storins, to hinder the ship from being driven ashore. 2. The two bowers, which are used for ships to ride in the harbor. 3. The stream anchor. 4. The grapnel. ANCHOVIES: the name of a small fish, common in the Mediterranean. It is much used in sauces from the excellence of its flavor.

ANIL: the plant from which indigo is made.

ANINGA: a root which grows in the Antilles islands, and is used for refining sugar.

ANISE: a small seed of an oblong shape. It is cultivated in this country, but the best comes from Spain.

ANTHRACITE: the name of one of the most useful kinds of coal. It is found in different parts of Europe, but abounds in the United States. See COAL.

ANTIMONY: a substance separated by fusion from a very hard and heavy lead-colored metal, which has a sparkling appearance when freshly broken. It is employed in medicine and in coloring glass, and is also used in the composition of type-metal.

diluted state. It is used by dyers and calico-printers.

ARANEA: a silver ore found only in Potosi, and in the single mine there of Catamito.

ARGOL: tartar, or the lees of wine, used by dyers.

ARRACK: a strong spirituous liquor, distilled from rice, sugarcane, or the juice of the cocoa-nut. The last, which is most esteemed, comes from Batavia; the others from Goa.

ARROW-ROOT: a white nutritious substance, manufactured from the roots of a plant which grows in the East and West Indies. The arrow-root from Bermuda is of a fine quality.

ARSENIC: a metal of a light blue color. It is one of the most active of mineral poisons, and a very small quantity will destroy life.

ASBESTOS: a kind of mineral substance, of a woolly texture, endued with the property of resisting fire. It is found in India, and in different parts of Europe. Pliny, an ancient writer, says he has seen napkins made of asbestos, which, being taken foul from the table, and thrown into the fire, were by that means rendered as clean as if

ASPARAGUS: a well-known plant, the heads of which are useful for the table, and the roots in medicine. It was formerly an item of considerable commerce, but its roots as a medicine have been superseded by more powerful or fashionable ingredients.

ASPHALTOS: a solid, brittle substance, of a red or dark color, easily inflammable, and of a strong bituminous smell. The best comes from Judea, where it is gathered on the Dead Sea. It is used among the Egyptians in embalming and preserving dead bodies.

ASPHALTUM: a bituminous stone, found generally near the ancient Babylon, and used in the composition of cement, for joining stone or brick-work under water, being impenetrable by that fluid. An oil is extracted from it, which may be made into a sort of pitch, and advantageously used in caulk ing ships and vessels.

ASPIC: an oil drawn from a plant, which grows in France. It is used by painters in the mixing of colors; also by farriers and other artificers. It is likewise of use in medicine. It is very inflammable, and when once on fire it is almost impossible to extinguish it.

ASSA-FOETIDA:

a compact, gummy substance, brought from Persia and the East Indies. It smells like garlic, but much stronger, and has a bitter taste. It is used in medicine as a stimulant.

ASSIGNEE in law, a person appointed by another to do and act, transact some business, or enjoy a particular commodity. Assignments are most commonly applied to those creditors of a bankrupt who are appointed by the rest to manage for them, and consequently have the bankrupt's estate assigned over to them.

substances

ASTRINGENTS: distinguished by a rough, austere taste, and the power of changing solutions of iron, especially those made in sulphuric acid, into a dark purple or black color.

ATLAS: a book of universal geography, containing maps of all parts of the known world.

AUTOM: a sort of bark which resembles cinnamon, but is paler and thicker; it is the color of a broken nutmeg, and full of spangles. It comes from the Levant, and is an ingredient in the carmine dye.

AVOIRDUPOIS: a weight, having sixteen ounces to the pound, in

has only twelve.

B.

BAIZE: a sort of coarse open woollen stuff, sometimes friezed and sometimes not. It is manufactured chiefly in England.

BALE: a pack or certain quantity of goods or merchandise, as a bale of silk, cloth, &c. The bales are always marked and numbered, that the merchants to whom they belong may know them; and the marks and numbers correspond to the same in the bills of lading.

BALLAST: a quantity of stones, gravel, pigs of lead, sand, or any other heavy material, laid in a ship's hold, in order to make her draw the more water, and render her stiffer, or more capable of carrying sail, without oversetting. Ships are said to be in ballast when they have no other loading.

BALM OF GILEAD: the dried juice of a small tree or shrub, which grows in several parts of Abyssinia and Syria. By the inhabitants of Syria and Egypt, this balsam was in great esteem from the remotest periods of antiquity. We are informed by Josephus, the Jewish historian, that the balsam

which was given by the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. The Ishmaelitish merchants, who were the purchasers of Joseph, are said to have been travelling from Gilead, on the eastern side of Canaan, to Egypt, and to have had their camels laden with "spicery, balm and myrrh." It was then, and is still considered one of the most valuable medicines that the inhabitants of those countries possess. The quantity of balsam yielded by one tree never exceeds sixty drops in a day. Hence its scarcity is such that the genuine balsam is seldom exported as an article of commerce.

BALSAM an oily, resinous, liquid substance, flowing either spontaneously, or by means of incision, from certain plants. All the turpentines, the Peruvian balsam, copaiba, &c. are examples of natural balsams. Many medicines, compounded of various resins or oils, have obtained the name of balsams. most important balsams are those of Tolu and Peru-storax and benzoin, as they are named.

The

BAMBOO a plant which multiplies very much by its root. The Indian bamboo is the largest kind of cane that is known.

BANDANNAS: silk handkerchiefs, generally red, spotted with white, manufactured in the East Indies.

BANK: a common repository, where many persons agree to keep their money, to be always ready at their call or direction; or certain societies or communities, who take the charge of other people's money, either to improve it or keep it secure. Generally a bank is established by a company of monied men, who, being duly incorporated by the laws of their country, agree to deposit a certain considerable fund, or joint stock, to be employed for the use of the society; as lending money on good security, buying and selling bullion, gold and silver, discounting bills of exchange, &c.

Banks are of three kinds, namely of deposit, of discount, and of circulation. A bank of deposit receives money to keep for the depositor, until he draws it out. Another branch of the banking business is the discounting of promissory notes and bills of exchange, or loaning money on security. A bank of circulation issues bills or notes of its own, intended to be the circulating currency or medium of

exchange, instead of gold and sil ver, which they represent. Most of the banks in this country unite all these several offices.

BANKRUPT. A trader is said to be bankrupt whose circumstances, being such that he is unable to pay his debts, force him to commit an act of bankruptcy, or to declare himself insolvent.

BARIGA: a species of raw silk, brought from the East Indies.

BARILLA: the name of a seaplant which grows very plentifully on the coast of Spain. It abounds with soda; and the impure ashes of the plant, containing that salt in great abundance, form an important article of commerce. The ashes themselves are commonly called barilla. On the shores of the Mediterranean, where the preparation of soda is pursued to a considerable extent, the seeds of the plant from which it is obtained are regularly sown in places near the sea. These, when at a proper state of maturity, are pulled up by the roots, dried, and afterwards tied in bundles to be burnt. The greater part of the barillas, or crude sodas of commerce, are now obtained from the ashes of various seaweeds, which manufacture is ex