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short thumb ; hind-feet five-toed ; coecum large. It has elevenspecies. The Alpine marmot has short ears ; round brown body,reddish beneath. It inhabits dry open places, on the summits ofthe Alps and Pyrenees ; feeds naturally on roots, herbs, and in-sects. See Plate XXVI.
ARC'TOPHYLAX, [from apart;, bear, and guard,]
ARCTOPUS, a genus of the polygamia dioecia class; and inthe natural order, Umbellat®. Umbella compound; involucrumfive-leaved; corolla five-leaved; stamina five; pistilli two;hermaphrodite umbella, simple; involucrum four-parted, spinous,large, and contains many male flowers in the disk. There is butone species, a native of Ethiopia .
ARCTOTIS, a genus of the polygamia necessaria order, andsvngenesia class of plants; and in the natural order, Composita’-tliscoides. The receptacle bristly; corona of the pappus penta-phyllous ; Cafox imbricated with scales loose at the top. f hereare 11 species; natives of Ethiopia, or the Cape of Good Hope .
ARCTURUM Infra, a star of the 7th or 8th magnitude, tothe south of arcturus, observed and named by Mr. Flamsteed.
ARCTURUS , in astronomy, a fixed star, of the first magni-tude, in the constellation Arctophylax, or Bootes . The word isformed of a°xro ; , bear, and am, tail ; q. d. bear’s tail, as beingvery near it. 'Phis star was known to the ancients, and is men-tioned by Job, as well as bv Virgil. Mr. Hornsby concludes,that arcturus is the nearest star to our system, visible in the nor-thern hemisphere, because the variation of its place, in conse-quence of a proper motion of its own, is more remarkable thanfhat of any other of the stars; and by comparing a variety of ob-servations, respecting both the quantity and direction of the mo-tion of this star, he infers that the obliquity of the ecliptic de-creases at the rate of 58” in 100 years; a quantity which nearlycorresponds to the mean of the computation framed by Mr.Euler and M. de laLande, upon the principles of attraction.
ARCUATION, in gardening, the method of raising by lay-ers such trees as cannot be raised from seed, or that bear no seed,fts the elm, lime, alder, willow : and is so called from bendingdown to the ground the branches which spring from the offsets orstools after they are planted. Strong mother plants or stools mustbe planted in a clear border, and in a straight line, about six feetasunder. When these have shot five or six main branches fromthe root, and as many collateral branches, the former must bebent to the ground, and there fastened. The small branches mustbe covered three inches deep upon the joints, and have a largebason of earth made round them to hold the water. About themiddle of September they may be opened, and if they have takenroot, may be immediately removed into the nursery ; but ifthey have not sufficiently extended their roots, they must be suf-fered to remain till the spring, and then transplanted.
Arcuation, [from arcus, a bow, Lat.] in surgery, an incur-vation of the bones : as in the case of rickets, &c.
ARCUBALISTA, in the military art, a kind of balista, pro-bably made after the fashion of a bow.
ARCUTIO, a machine made of a board covered with piecesof hoops, like the tilt of a waggon ; used in Italy to prevent chil-dren from being overlaid and smothered by nurses or others.
ARDAMA, or All DAMON, [from ajfu), to water, ] in anti-quity, a vessel of water placed at the door of a person deceased,till the time of burial, as a token that the family was in mourning,and to serve to sprinkle and purify persons as they came out ofthe house.
ARDASSES, in commerce, the coarsest of all the silks ofPersia .
ARDASSINF.S, called in France ablaques ; a very fine sortof Persian silk.
■ ARDBRACCAN, a town of Ireland in the county of Meath ,25 miles N. W. of Dublin . Long, 7. 0. W. Lat. 53. 40. N.
ARDEA, anrientlv a town of Latium , the royal residence ofTurnus king of the Rutuli; now a village in the Campagnia diRoma. Long. 17. 49. E. Lat. 41. 30. N.
Ardea, a genus of the class and order aves, grallae. Generalcharacters: the bill straight, sharp, long, and somewhat com-pressed, with a furrow from the nostrils towards the point; nos-trils linear; feet four toes. I nder this genus Linnaius compre-hends the grits or crane, the ciconia or stork, and the ardea orheron, of other authors. There are 79 species, of which theA. Americana, or hooping crane of Edwards, is a native of Ame-
rica . The crown of the head and temples arc naked and papu-lous; the forehead, nape of the neck, and prime wing feathers,are black ; but the body is white ; the under part of the head, asfar as the lower chap, is red. This species is often seen at themouth of the Savanna, Aratamaha, and other rivers near St. Au-gustine : in spring, going north to breed, like the common crane,and returning, like that bird, to the south in autumn. In summerthey are found in Hudson’s Bay, where they arrive in May, andretire in September. A. Argil, or Hurgil, of Ives, is a verylarge species: from tip to tip of the wings measuring 14 feet 10inches ; and from the tip of the bill to the claws 7 feet and a half:the bill is 16 inches round at the base, of different colours, andnearly of a triangular shape; the feathers of the back and wingsare very strong, and of an iron colour; those of the breast long:over the belly a great deal of down, of a dirty white: the legs andhalf the thighs are naked ; the naked parts full 3 feet in length.This monster, as Ives terms it, inhabits Bengal, and is also foundat Calcutta ; at the last place called Hurgil. It majestically stalksalong before one, and appears at first like a naked Indian. Thecommon opinion is, that the souls of the Brainins possess thesebirds. On opening one of these, a terapin, or land tortoise, 10inches long, was found in its craw, and a large male black cat wasfound entire in its stomach.
A. Ciconia, or white stork of Ray', has naked eye-balls, andblack prime wing feathers. The skin below the feathers, as also thebeak, feet, and claws, are of a blood colour. I t is a native of Europe ,Asia, and Africa; but is seldom or never to be met with in Italy .The Ciconia feeds upon amphibious animals. It is such an enemyto serpents, that it is reckoned almost a crime to kill a stork.
A. Grus, or common crane, has a naked papillous crow'n; theprime feathers of the wings are black ; the body is ash-coloured;the prime feathers of the tail are ragged. This species is farspread, being met with in great flocks throughout northern Eu-rope and Asia; in Sweden, throughout Russia and Siberia as faras the river Anadyr , migrating even to the arctic circle. InKamtschatka they are only seen on the southern promontory : aremigratory, returning northward to breed in spring, and generallychoosing the same places which had been occupied by them theseason before. In winter they' inhabit the warmer regions, suchas Egypt, Aleppo, India, &c. they are also met with at tlie Capeof Good Hope , changing place with the season.
A. Major, or common heron, has a black crest dependingfrom the back part of the head, an ash-colotired body, and a blackline and belt on the neck and breast. It is a native of Europe .This bird is remarkably light in proportion to its bulk, scarcelyweighing three pounds and an half; the length is three feet twoinches; the breadth five feet four. The body is very small, andalways lean ; and the skin scarce thicker than what is called gold-beater’s leaf. It must be capable of hearing a long abstinence,as its food, which is fish and frogs, cannot be readily got at alltimes. It commits great devastation in our ponds; but being un-provided with webs to swim, nature has furnished it with verylone legs to wade after its prey. It was formerly in this island abird of game, heron-haw king being so favourite a diversion ofour ancestors, that laws were enacted for the preservation of thespecies, and the person who-destroyed their eggs was liable to apenalty of twenty shillings for eacli offence. iSot to know thehawk from the lieronshaw was an old proverb, (since absurdly cor-rupted to “ He does not know a hauk from a hand-sun,”) takenoriginally from this diversion; but in course of time served toexpress great ignorance in any science.
A. Pavonia, or the crowned crane, has an erect bristly crest,with the temples and two wattles naked. The head is black; thecrest is yellowish, and lipped with black at the top; the wingsare white ; and the feathers of the tail black, and of an equallength. It is a native of Africa , particularly of the coast ofGuinea , as far as Cape Verd.
A. Virgo has a straight greenish bill and crimson sides. Thecrown of the head is ash-coloured ; the rest of the head, the upperpart of the neck behind, and all the under parts, to the breast,black ; the back, rump, and tail, and all the under part from thebreast, are of a bluish ash colour: behind each eye springs atult-of long white feathers, which decline downwards, and liang inan elegant manner. Plate VIII.
ARDEBIL, or ARDIVIL, a town of Persia , in the provinceof Aderbijcui, There are here several sorts of mineral waters,which serve both for common bathing, andfor the cure of various
diseases ;