Page 69

A LO
( 69 )
ALSCOM, AtoE, in Medicine and Pharmacy, the infpifia-
ted Juice of a ferulaceous Plant of the fame Name; much  X
ured as a purgative Remedy. See PURGATIVE.
The Aloe-klant grows in divers Parts of the Eaft and
WeJf-Indies; and is alfo found in fome Countries of Europe, I
as Spain, and particularly the Mountains of Siera Morena.
-Its Leaves are green, very thick, hard, and prickly; 1
yielding a kind of Cotton, whereof Laces may be made. i
Out of the middle of the Leaves arifes a Stem, which   i
bears the Flower, and the Fruit, the Seed whereof is very
light and hemispherical.
fDiofcorides, 'Pliny, and the antient Naturalifis, feem on-
ly to have been acquainted with one Species of Aloes;
which is the Aloe Vulgaris above defcribed: But the late i
Travels into Afla, Africa, and America, have occafion'd i
the Difcovery of forty more forts, unknown to Antiquity.
Mr. Bradley afTures us, he has feen above fixty feveral Kinds I
in the Phyfick-Garden at Aminerdam.    So that Aloe is
now become the Denomination of a Genus.-Among the
Number, however, there are not above twelve that yield
the purgative Juice above mentioned.
The Juice or Exrrac& of Sloes, is ufually diflinguifh'd in-
to three Kinds.-The flrf, which is called Succotrine as
being brought from .Succotya, is the pureft and moal tranf-
parent; being friable, inodorous, black in the Lump, but
of a beautiful yellow Colour when bruis'd.-It is brought
in Skins from the Levant and Eaft Indies.
The fecond is called Hepatic, becaufe of its Liver-colour:
It is refinous, fmells like Myrrh, has a yellow Colour when
pounded, and is brought from China.-Some confound this
with the following fort; as, in effiEt, there are but two
forts commonly known in our Shops.
The third is the mofl impure, the blackefl, and the
firongeft.-It was formerly ufed by the Indians to pitch their
Verels withal: and is of little Ufe among us, excepting for
Horfes and Cattle, for which reafon it is cali'd Cabailine, i. e.
lHorfe-,loes.
Befides thefe, fome mention another kind of Aloes pre-
pared in Barbadoes, and brought over in large Gourds: but
moff Writers make this the Caballine kind.
Some have imagin'd, that thefe differences of Aloes were
owing only to the greater, or lefs Purification of theJuice: But
this is a Miftake ; it having been found that no Diffolu-
tions, how often foever repeated, will change Hepatic into
Succotrine, nor Caballine into Hepatic Aloes.
The manner of preparing Aloes is very eafy, there being
nothing to do but to cut the Leaves of the Plant, and to ex-
pofe the Juice that fpontaneoully oozes out of them to the
Sun, till it becomes of a proper Confiflence.
Aloes is extremely bitter, and purgative; externally ap-
plied, either in Subflance or Tincrure, it prevents Putrefac-
tion and Gangrene.-Its Bitternefs makes it fo naufeous, that
it is rarely ufed in liquid Forms, but is generally made into
Pills, whereof half a Dram is an ordinary Dofe.-Scarce any
of the Officinal Pills are without this in their Compofition.
See PILL.                        I
Its cathartick Virtue, is befl employ'd in watery, cold,
and corpulent Conflitutions, as it heats and attenuates;
being bad for thin and hefick Conflitutions. It is account-
ed efficacious in promoting the Menfes; and is alfo good to
deflroy Worms.
M. houlduc, by his Analyfis of Aloes, has found that the
Succotrine fcarce contains half the Refin or fulphurous Part,
but one third more of the faline Part, found in the Hepatic.
Hence the Succotrine comes to be preferable for internal
Ufes, and the Hepatic for external.
ALOE Roftita, is a Preparation of the Aloes Juice, made
by diffolving it in Juice of Damask Rofes, and evaporating
it to the Confiflence of a Pafle. Then, more Juice is ad-
ded, and the Evaporation repeated, again and again.-This
is held a gentler and rafer Cathartick than the Aloes alone.
ALOES is alfo a kind of fragrant Indian Wood; thus
called from its exceeding Bitternefs, which refembles that
of the Aloes Juice.
This Aloes, called alfo Agallochum, is infinitely valued;
and divers firange Fables have been invented as to the Ori-
gin of the Tree that yields it: Some feign that it grew in
Paradife, and was only convey'd to us by means of the Ri-
vers overflowing their Bpnks, and fweeping off the Trees
in their way. Others fuppofe it to grow on inacceffible
Mountains ; where it is guarded by certain wild Beais, Ztc.
-The Siamefe Emba Fadors to the Court of France, in
z686, who brought a Prefent of this Wood from their Em-
peror, firf gave the Europeans any confiflent Account of it.
The Tree grows in Cbina, Lao, and Cochinchina; and is
much about the Size and Figure of our Olive Trees.-The
Trunk confifls of three forts of Wood, very different in Co-
lour, and Properties: Immediately under the Bark it is
black, compa&, and heavy, call'd bye the !Por:'gueze, Pao
d'.6quila, q. d. Eagle-Wood. That next under this, is of a
Tan-colour, light and veiny, refembling rotten Wood; and
called Calambou.
A L P l
The Heart, ot innermofs part, is called r7ambade ati d
more valued by the Indians than Gold it felf. It affords a
very frong, but agreeable fmell; and is ufed as a Perfume;
id is withal held a fovereign Remedy againft the Palfy,
Deliquiums, Weaknefies, Etc.
'Tis the Calambou alone that is known among us.-It ist
brought in fmall bits of a very fragrant Scent; efpecially
when cafi on the Fire, where it melts like Wax. lThe bedi
s of a blackilh purple Colour, and fo light as to fwim on
Water: It is hot and drying; and efleem'd a great Streng-.
:hener of the Nerves.
Some pharmaceutical Writers make a Diflineeion between
Aloes, Lignum Aloes and Xylo Aloes; which may amount
to the three Orders of Wood abovemention'd. Tho among
as they are the fame thing.
ALOETICS, Medicines wherein Aloes is the chief and
Fundamental Ingredient. See ALOES.
The Word is form'd of Aloe, which is further derived
from &Ac, the Sea, or Salt; that Plant being chiefly found
near the Sea-Coafls.
ALOGII, or ALOGIANS, a Se& of antient Hereticks;
who denied that Jefus Chrift was the Eternal Word. See
ARIAN.
2'heodore of Byzantium, by Trade a Currier, having
apoflatiz'd, under the Perfecution of the Emperor Severus;
to defend himfelf againil thofe who reproach'd him there-
with, faid ; That it was nor God he denied, but only Man.
Whence his Followers were called in Greek 1aolo:, in regard
they rejeaed the Word; from the Privative &, and AQle,
Perbum.
ALOOF, a Sea Term, fignifying as much as, keep your
Luff: being a Word of Command from him that connt, to
the Man at the Helm, to keep the Ship near the Wind,
when ihe fails upon a Quarter-wind. See CONNER, SC.
ALOPECIA, or ALoPacHr, in Medicine, &ic. a Falling
of the Hair, from what Caufe foever that arife. See HAIR.
The Word is form'd from dom'nTv, Vulpes, a Fox; whofe
Urine, it is faid, will occafion Baldnefs; or becaufe fuch a
Difeafe is common to thar Creature.
ALPHA, the Name of the firfi Letter of the Greek Al-
phabet. See LETTER, and ALPHABET.
The Alpha, in Compofition, denotes, fometimes, 'Priva-
tion, in the fame Senfe with zT£, without; fometimes Aug-
mentation, as 1a, much; and Sometimes Union, as I've
tgether.
It was alfo ufed as a Letter of Order, to denote the frft;
and of Number, to fignify one- but when it was a nume-
rical Letter, a little Stroke, or an acute Accent was drawn
above it thus'A, to diflinguilh it from the A, which was a
Letter of Order.
The Word is originally Hebrew, and comes from tlb
Alapb, which fignifies to learn; whence ql)X the Leader
or firfi of a Ccmpany. In this Senre, the Hebrews call the
firi{ Letter of their Alphabet Aleph, the Syrians Olaph, the
Arabs Eliph, and the Greeks Alpha. See A.
Alpha and Omega, in the Divine Writings, fignify the
Beginning and the End ; and therefore the Hieroglyphick
of God is form'd of thefe two Letters, A and Q.
ALPHABET, the feveral Letters of a Language, difpo-
fed in their natural or accufiom'd Order. See LETTER,
and LANGUAGE.
The Word is form'd from the Names of the two firml
Letters of the Greek Alphabet, Alpha, Beta; which were bor-
row'd from thofe of the Hebrew,Al1eph,Betb. See ALPHA, VC,
In the Englilh Alphabet we reckon 26 Letters, viz. a b
cdefghi j k I m       n o p q r f t uw w v x y z. See
each under its proper Article.
But as there is a much greater Number of diffarent
Sounds in our Language; 'tis not without Reafon that fome
Grammarians maintain, that there ought to be a greater
Number of Letters: As alfo, that the double Letters, x
and y, and the fuperfluous ones, k and g, 1hould be re-
trench'd. See CONSONANT, VOWEL, WC.
The French Alphabet only contains ±3 Letters.-Pafquier
indeed maintains it to confifd of 25, by reafon he adds the
two double Letters F for et, and ' for its ; but thofe are
only Abbreviatures. The Abbe d'Angeau, on better Grounds,
reckons 34 different Sounds in the French Tongue; and
urges, that the Alphabet ought of Confequence to confifi of
34 different Charaaers, fetting afide the double Letters x and
y, and the fuperfluous one q. See FRENCH.
The Difference between Languages, with refpe& to the
Number of Letters, is very confiderable: The Hebrewzv,
Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan Alphabets, have each 22;
the Arabic 28; the Perfian 3'; the 2urkXY 3 3 the Geor-
gian 36; the Cophtick 3 ± ; the M'ufcovite 43; the Greek
4 5 the Latin 22; the Sclavonick 27; the Dutch ±6; the
Span  it 5; the Italian zQo the Indians of Byengal a'z  the
!Baramas i9.
The Ethiopic has no lefs than zoz Letters in its Alphabet,
there being7V9wels,whicb they combine with each of heio ±6
T                    Co