the upper and lower glaciers, of which the last are much the more considerable in extent and depth; that of Des Bois is fifteen miles long, and in some places upwards of three broad. Saussure found the average depth of the ice, composing this glacier, from eighty to a hundred feet. They seem, in the larger ravines, as if enormous multitudes of icy hills had rushed from the summits of the surrounding mountains, and crushed each other into the thousand forms that thus fill up the valley. Their surfaces are rough and granulated, the ice of which they are composed being remarkably porous and full of bubbles; they are easily passed, except in a rapid descent, and in the case of snow accumulating over the fissures, which, however, are not many, and always felt for by the guides. The upper glaciers, on the sides and summits of the Alps, are formed of the purest snow, converted into various degrees of hardness, and continually sliding downward to the valleys. The avalanches are prodigious masses of these accumulations, which are suddenly precipitated down the sides of the mountains, and, increasing as they proceed, sometimes overwhelm whole villages at their feet. The valleys themselves, nevertheless, present some of the finest landscapes to the eye, and afford the most luxuriant pasturage; corn, vines, and fruits, diversify the scene, and excellent fish of all kinds are found in the waters. Recesses from the world are formed, by means of these mountains, in the very heart of Europe, which would seem designed to be the cradle of liberty; but the warrior and the statesman have often decided the fate of the civilized world upon their borders. Many parts of the Alps yet remain untrodden by the foot of man; but the most noted passes, besides those already mentioned, are those of Mount Cervin, Furca, Col di Seigne, Great St. Bernard, St. Gothard, Splugen, the Bulls of Rastat, and the Brenner. Tourists, in these districts, have multiplied the descriptions of particular passes, so that we shall not conduct the reader through any of the ordinary routes: Saussure, and the MM. Bourrit, have given us, perhaps, the only scientific accounts of the geological and mineralogical wonders of the scene; while Mr. Archdeacon Coxe, and other English travellers, have, no doubt, found their way to most of our readers. A few additional extracts from varieties, descriptive of the most prominent features of Alpine scenery, will form the conclusion of the present article. "The prospects from many parts of this enormous range of mountains,' says a late writer, is extremely romantic, especially towards the north-west. One of the most celebrated is the Grande Chartreuse, where is a monastery, founded by St. Bruno, about the year 1084. From Echelles, a little village in the mountains of Savoy, to the top of the Chartreuse, the distance is six miles. Along this course the road runs winding up, for the most part not six feet broad. On one hand is the rock, with woods of pine trees hanging over head; on the other a prodigious precipice almost perpendicular; at the bottom of which rolls a torrent, that, sometimes tumbling among the fragments of stone which have fallen from on high, and sometimes precipitating itself down vast descents with a noise like thunder, rendered yet more tremendous by the echo from the mountains on each side, concurs to form one of the most solemn, the most romantic, and most astonishing scenes in nature. To this description may be added, the strange views made by the craggs and cliffs, and the numerous cascades which throw themselves from the very summit down into the vale. On the top of the mountain is the convent of St. Bruno, the superior of the whole order, which, though not of the first style of architecture, is not altogether without its effect upon the surrounding scenery.' In the extraordinary narrative of M. Bourrit's journey hither, we meet with the following account of the Prieure, in the valley of Chamouni We had, says he, the magnificent prospect of a chain of mountains, equally inaccessible, and covered with ice; and above the rest that of Mont Blanc, whose top seemed to reach, and even pierce the highest region of clouds. The chain, upon which the mountain looks down like a giant, is composed of masses of rocks, which terminate in pikes or spires, called the Needles, and which are ranged like tents in a camp. Their sides appear lighter and more airy from the ornament of several hollow breaks and furrows fretted in the rock itself, as well as from the different streaks and panes of ice and snow, which, without changing the general character of their form, or the majesty of their appearance, give them a picturesque variety. Lower down, the eye surveys with ravishment the hills of ice, and the several glaciers, extending almost into the plain, whilst this appears like an artificial garden, embellished with the mixture of a variety of colours. We have a picturesque opposition to this chain, which is formed by innumerable mountains at the distance of near 50 leagues, between whose tops we have a glimpse of those several plains which they environ. M. de Saussure, who had visited those mountains about two months before M. Bourrit, felt himself naturally electrified in this place. This extraordinary phenomenon seems not to have been experienced by the latter or his company; but they heard a long continued rumbling noise, like that of thunder, which was rendered more awful by the silence of the place where they stood. This noise proceeded from the subsequent causes, viz. the avalanches of snow, which separated from the tops of the mountains, and rolled down to the bottom; considerable fragments of the rocks which followed them, overturning others in their fall; and massy blocks of ice, which precipitated from the summits. The valley of Montanvert appears to be peculiarly romantic. Here, says M. Bourrit, we beheld a spacious icy plain entirely level; upon this there rose a mountain all of ice, with steps ascending to the top, which seemed the three of some divinity. It likewise took the form of a grand cascade, whose figure was beyond conception beautiful; and the sun which shone upon it, gave a sparkling brilliance to the whole. The valley on our right hand was ornamented with prodigious glaciers, which, shooting up to an immeasurable height between the mountains, blend their colours with the skies, which they appear nearly to reach. ALPS, SUABIAN, a chain of mountains, which stretch along the frontiers of Wirtemberg, in Germany, separating the Danube from the Neckar. They may be considered as a continuation of the Tyrolese Alps, forming part of the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. They reach from Sultz to the vicinage of Tubingen, and then eastward as far as Ulm. ALPS, MARITIME, department of, in France, is formed from the ancient county of Nice, and a certain part of High Provence. Nice is its chief town, and, with Puget and Herieres, forms three sub-prefects or arrondissements. It is divided into twenty-two cantons, and contains a population of 131,300 inhabitants. This is a mountainous district: but the valleys produce excellent wine and oil. It is in the eighth military division east. ALPS, LOWER, department of, in France, is formed out of Provence High, or the north-east part of Provence, and of the valley of Barcelonette. Digne is the chief place. There are five arrondissements, or sub-prefectures, viz. Digne, Barcelonette, Castelane, Sisteron, and Forcalquier. The population is about 149,400, and its extent three hundred and seventy-two French leagues. It has the department of the Upper Alps to the north, to the east the Piedmontese Alps, the department of the Var bounds it on the south, and the mouth of the Rhone and Vaucluse on the west. It is also in the eighth east military division. ALPS, HIGHER, department of, in France, is formed of the south-east part of Dauphine, and part of Provence. Gap is the chief place. There are three sub-prefectures or arrondissements, viz. Gap, Briançon, and Embrun. It is divided into twenty-three cantons, its extent is two hundred and fifty-one French leagues, and contains a population of 121,500 inhabitants. This department is fertile in corn, wines, and nut-oil, and on its hills sheep and goats abound. It is in the seventeenth east military division. ALPS, is likewise frequently used as an appellative to denote any mountains of extraordinary neight or extensive range. In this sense, Ausonius and others call the Pyrenean mountains Alps; and Gellius the Spanish Alps, Alpini Hispani. Hence also we say, the British Alps, the Asiatic Alps, the American Alps, the Scottish Alps, &c. ALPTEGHIN, a Turkish slave of Achmet, sultan of the Samanides, who having obtained his freedom by his talents and address, rose gradually to the highest offices of state; and on the death of Achmet, obtained possession of the city of Gazna, where he reigned for 16 years, and at his death, was succeeded by his son-in-law, Sebecteghin, the father of Mahmud, the founder of the great Gaznian dynasty. ALPUJARRAS, or ALPUXARRAS, mountains of Spain, in the province of Granada, on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. They are about 17 leagues in length, and 11 in breadth, reaching from the city of Velez, almost to Almeria. They are inhabited by the descendants of Moors who have embraced the Christian religion, but preserve their own manner of living and lan guage, though much corrupted. Here is a rivɩlet between Pitros and Portugos, which is said to dye linen that is dipped in it black in an instant. The Moriscoes cultivate the soil extremely well, and plant fruit trees; some of which grow to a prodigious height and thickness, and give the mountains an agreeable aspect. ALQUIER, also called cantar, a liquid measure for oil, used in Portugal. It contains six cavadas, or canadors. Two alquiers make an almeede, or almonde. It contains 675 French, or 817 English cubic inches; so that 21 alquiers are nearly 1 English quarter; or more correctly, 50 alquiers 19 English bushels. ALquier is also a measure for grain at Lisbon. ALQUIFOU, or ARQUIFOU, in mineralogy, a sort of mineral lead, very heavy, easily reduced into powder, though hard to melt. When broken, it parts into shining scales, in colour much like needles of antimony. The potters use it to give their works a green varnish, whence it is commonly called potter's ore. It is found in Cornwall: the potters mix manganese with it, and then the varnish or glazing on their wares becomes of a blackish colour. ALRAMECH, or ARAMECH, in astronomy, the Arabic name of a star of the first magnitude, otherwise called ARCTURUS. AL-RASCHID (Haroun), a caliph of Bagdad. See AARON. ALRATICA, among the Arabian physicians, is where the vagina is imperforate, or at least the foramen smaller than ordinary, whether naturally or by accident. ALRE, a river of England, rising near Alresford, below which it is called Itching. ALREADY, adv. All ready, wholly ready, done, past. For if the wolfe come in the waie Gower. Con. A. The Prologa. already answered, may serve for answer. Touching our uniformity; that, which hath been You warn'd me still, of loving two; Can I love him, already loving you? Hooker. Dryden's Indian Empera. See, the guards from yon far eastern hill Already move, no longer stay afford; High in the air they wave the flaming sword, Your signal to depart. Dryden's State of Innocents. Methods for the advancement of piety are in the power of a prince, limited like ours by a strict exert tion of the laws already in force. Methinks, already I your tears survey; Already hear, the horrid things they say; Already see you, a degraded toast; And all your honour in a whisper lost! Pape ALREDUS, or ALUREDUS, of Beverley, a celebrated English historian, who flourished in the reign of Henry I. It is said that he was educated at Cambridge, and afterwards becar canon and treasurer of St. John's, at Beverley. He travelled through France and Italy, for reprovement, and at Rome became domestic cha~lain to cardinal Othoboni. He died in 1128 e 1129, leaving behind him the following works 1. The Annals of Alured of Beverley: Oxford, 1726; published by Mr. Hearne, from a manuscript belonging to Thomas Rawlinson, Esq. It contains an abridgment of our history, from Brutus to Henry I. written in elegant Latin, and with great accuracy. 2. Libertates ecclesiæ S. Johannis de Beverlac, &c. a MS. in the Cotton library, which has never been published. It is a collection of records relative to the church at Beverley, translated from the Saxon language. ALRESFORD, a market town and parish of Hampshire, in Alton North division, 57 miles from London, and 6 miles north-east from Winchester, containing about 1219 inhabitants. The church of Old Alresford is a neat building, to which the churches of New Alresford and Maidstead are chapelries annexed. The parsonagehouse is a neat commodious building. Near this place is a pond which covers near 200 acres of ground, but was formerly much larger, as it reached the bishop of Winchester's palace at Bishop's Sutton, a mile and a half distant. By charter from king John, the Itching was made navigable for barges and lighters; but the navigation has long reached no further than Winchester. The only manufactory is that of linseys. New Alresford is governed by a bailiff, and 8 burgesses, and formerly sent a member to parliaAt Tichburn Hall, a gift of 2d. in bread or money is given to every applicant on Ladyday. Market day, Thursday. ment. ALROA, or ALROE, a Danish island. ALROE, a small island of Jutland, in the gulf of Horsens, belonging to the bailiwick of Achia. Long. 10°. 30'. E. lat. 55°. 52'. ALRUKAK, in the materia medica, a word used by Avicenna, and others, for what was called by the Greeks leptos libanotis, and manna thuris, i.e. the fragments of frankincense, broken off from the larger pieces in collecting or packing them. ALRUM, in the botanical writings of the ancients, a name given to the tree which produces the bdellium. This gum was originally known to be the exudation of a tree growing in Arabia and the East Indies, and well known to Avicenna, and others, and by all of them called by that name. ALRUNES, a name given by the ancient Germans to small figures of wood, of which they made their lares. ALSA, in ancient geography, a river of Carniola, now the Ausa; running by Aquileia, with a short course from north to south into the Adriatic; where Constantine, the son of Constantine the Great, fighting against Constans his brother, lost his life. ALSACE, LOWER and UPPER, a ci-devant province of France, now included in the departments of the Lower and Upper Rhine. It is bounded on the east by the Rhine; on the south by Switzerland; on the west by Lorrain; and on the north by the palatinate of the Rhine, or ci-devant department of Tonnere. It was formerly a part of Germany, but was given to France by the treaty of Munster. It is one of the most fruitful and plentiful provinces of Euope, abounding in corn, wine, wood, flax, tobacco, pulse, fruits, &c. Upper Alsace conVOL. I. tains silver, copper, and lead mines; and is remarkable for the wine called strok, or straw wine. The mountains which divide it from Lorrain are very high, and generally covered with fir, beech, oak, and horn-beam. There are also iron-works in several parts of Alsace, and a mineral spring at Sultsbach, near Munster, which is in reputation for curing the palsy, &c. Of the two modern divisions of Alsace, (the Upper and Lower Rhine) Strasburgh and Colmarare th capital towns. ALSADAF, in the materia medica, a nam given by Avicenna and Serapio to the ungu adoratus; as also to the murex, or purple-fish, the shell of which it was supposed to be a part ALSAHARATICA, in botany, used by som to signify the parthenium or feverfew. ALSAHARCUR, in the materia medica, name given by Rhases, and some others of th old writers, to the skink, a small animal of the lizard kind, used in medicine as a cordial, and as a provocative to venery. AL SEGNO, in music, to the sign, an expression used to avoid writing the same passage twice over, and generally placed at the end of rondeaux, and such vocal compositions as are constructed upon the principle of the grand coup Ternaire: the first part or division of which must always be repeated. The sign to which the return is made is generally marked thus, or ALSEN, a fertile island of Denmark, about 100 miles west of Copenhagen, in the entrance to the Baltic, between Sleswick and Funen, and belonging to the duchy of Sleswick. It is remarkable for two castles, and produces large crops of grain, and aniseeds, a carminative much used in seasoning the food and bread all over the Danish dominions. Alsen is about eighteen miles long and nine broad, or 132 square miles in superficial extent; and contains 15,045 inhabitants. The chief town is Sonderburg. ALSFELD, a town of Germany, in the grand duchy of Hesse, 18 miles east of Marburg, and 50 north-east of Frankfort. It is an ancient town, and well built; and the inhabitants were the first of this country who embraced the Reformation. Lon. 9°. 5'. E. lat. 50°. 45'. N. Iuhabitants 3000. ALSHASH, a province containing formerly a very beautiful city in Bukharia, supposed to be the same with that called Tashcant, the capital of the eastern part of Turkestan. It was situated on the river Sihûn, now Sir, and had a well watered garden for every house; but was ruined by Jenghiz Khan. ALSHEDA, a parish of Sweden, in the province of Smaland, containing a gold mine: discovered in 1738. ALSHEIM, a market town of the grand duchy of Hesse, formerly in the upper bailiwick of Alzey, containing 165 houses, and 1030 inhabitants. It is 10 miles north of Worms. ALSIMBEL, or SIMBALETH, in the materia medica, a name given by Avicenna and others to the spikenard of India; so called from its 2 Y having the appearance of a spike, or ear, or a congeries of many spikes, or ears, as the nardyx Indica, or Indian spikenard. ALSINA, in botany, a synonyme of the theligonum. See THELIGONUM. ALSINASTRUM, in botany, the trivial name, and also a synonyme of the elatine. See ELATINE. ALSINE, or CHICKWEED, a genus of the trigynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 22d order, caryophyllei. The characters are: CAL. quinquephyllous; COR. five equal petals, longer than the calyx: STAM. five capillary filaments; the antheræ roundish: PIST. an oval germen, three filiform styli, and obtuse stigmata: PER. an ovate unilocular capsule, with three valves: the seeds are roundish and numerous. Of this genus a great number of species are enumerated by some botanical writers; but none of them possess any remarkable properties, except the A. media, or common chickweed, with white blossoms, which affords a notable instance of what is called the sleep of plants. Every night the leaves approach in pairs, so as to include within their upper surfaces the tender rudiments of the new shoots; and the uppermost pair but one at the end of the stalk are furnished with longer leaf-stalks than the others; so that they can close upon the terminating pair, and protect the end of the branch. The young shoots and leaves, when boiled, are hardly to be dis tinguished from spring spinach. ALSINEFORMIS, in botany, the montia fontana, of Linnæus. ALSINELLA, in botany, the name by which Dillenius calls the plant sagina. ALSINGSUND, a strait in the Baltic, near Sunderburg, which separates the island of Alsen from the main land of Sleswick. It is about 30 miles in length, but not above three in breadth, in many places. ALSINOIDES, the bufonia and montia of Linnæus. ALSIRAT, in the Mahommedan theology, a bridge over the middle of hell, said to be finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword, over which people are to pass, after their trial, on the day of judgment. Mahomet assures us, that the alsirat, narrow as it is, is beset with briars and thorns; none of which, however, will be any impediment to the good, who shall fly over it like the wind, Mahomet and his followers leading the way; whereas the wicked, by the narrowness of the path, the entangling of the thorns, and the extinction of the light, which shall direct the former to paradise, will miss their footing, and fall into perdition. ALSIUM, a city of ancient Etruria, occupying the spot on which Pala now stands. Dionysius Halicarnassensis says, that Alsium was built by the Aborigines, long before the Tyrrhenians invaded Italy. In this case it must have been founded not long after the dispersion in the days of Peleg. Its founder is said to have been one Alæsus, or Alisa; whom some conjecture to have been Alisah, or Elisha, the son of Javan, mentioned in scripture. ALSITZ. See ALISONTIA. ALS'O, adv. Gothic als, all, so or so, the article this or that. Sad remembrance now the prince amoves, With fresh desire his voyage to pursue; Als Una earn'd her travel to renew. Faerie Queene, In these two, no doubt, are contained the causes of the great deluge; as according to Moses, so al according to necessity: for our world affords no other treasures of water. Burnet's Theory. ALSOP (Vincent), a non-conformist minister, a native of Northamptonshire, and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. He was successively minister of Welby, in his native county, (whence he was ejected in 1662,) and pastor of a dissenting church in Westminster. King James II. shewed him the great favour of pardoning his son when he had been convicted of treason. He died in 1703; and wrote, -1. Antisozzo, against Dr. Sherlock, 1675. 2. Melius Inquirendum, in an answer to Dr. Goodman's Compassionate Inquiry, 8vo. 1679. 3. The Mischief of Impositions, in answer to Stillingfleet's Mis chief of Separation, 1685. 4. Duty and Interest united in Praise and Prayer for kings. 5. Practical Godliness the ornament of Religion, 1696. ALSOP (Anthony), a divine and poet, educated at Westminster school, and at Christ Church, Oxford; where he took the degree of M.A. in 1696, and B. D. in 1706. He published Fabularum Æsopicarum Delectus, Oxon, 1698, 8vo., with a poetical dedication to lord viscount Scudamore, and a preface in which he took part against Dr. Bentley in the famous dispute with Mr. Boyle. He passed through the usual offices in his college with considerable reputation, until his merit recommended him to Sir Jonathan Trelawney, bishop of Winchester, who appointed him his chaplain, and soon after gave him a prebend in his cathedral, together with the rectory of Brightwell, Berks. In 1717, a verdict for a breach of promise of marriage being obtained against him for £2000., he retired for some time abroad. His death, which happened June 10th, 1726, was occasioned by his falling into a ditch near his garden door. Besides the Fabularum Esopicarum Delectus, a book of his poems, entitled Antonii Alsopi, Edis Christi olim alumni, Odarum Libri duo, and several pieces in Dodsley's collection remain. Bentley calls him Tony Alsop, a late editor of the Esopean Fables. ALSOPHILA, in botany, from ɑλoog, a grove, or forest, and pew, to love; alluding to the favourite station of this beautiful tribe of tree ferns.-Brown Prodr. Nov. Holl. v. 1, 158. This genus is founded on our Cyathea aspera, C. extensa of Swartz, Polypodium lunulatum of Forster, and some other allied species, and can scarcely be distinguished from the first of these. ALSO-SAJO, a place in Hungary, in the county of Gomah, where great quantities of cinnabar, and some mines of quicksilver, are found. ALSTEDIUS, (John Henry), a protestant divine, and one of the most indefatigable writers of the seventeenth century. He was professor of philosophy and divinity at Herborn, in the county of Nassau; whence he removed into Transylvania, to be professor at Alba Julia, and continued there until his death, in 1638. He wrote, 1. An Encyclopædia. 2. Triumphus Bibliorum Sacrorum, seu Encyclopædia Biblica, 12mo. 1620; and united, with his laborious pursuits as an Encyclopædist, some sanguine and peculiar views of prophecy. See his De Mille Annis, in which he anticipated that the millennium would begin in 1694. ALSTON, (Charles), an eminent physician and botanist, was born in Scotland in 1683, and educated at Glasgow, from whence he went to Leyden, and took his doctor's degree. On his return he settled at Edinburgh, and became lecturer on the materia medica and botany. He died in 1760, having published Tirocinium Botanicum Edinburgense, in which he attacked the sexual system of Linnæus. His lectures on the Materia Medica were published in two vols. 4to. 1770. He wrote also some papers in the Edinburgh Medical Essays. ALSTONIA, in botany, called also symplocos, a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the hexandria class of plants; so named after the above botanist. The characters are: CAL, a perianthium beneath, imbricated: cOR. monopetalous, and shorter than the calyx; the border expanding, eight or ten parted, with alternate divisions: STAM. numerous short filaments, the exterior ones longer; the antheræ are orbicular and furrowed: PIST. a small ovate germen above; a simple stylus the length of the corolla, filiform and erect; the stigma inverse, egg-headed. There is but one species, viz. A. theæformis, a native of America. Mr. Brown has given this name to another plant, of the class and order pentandria monogynia, of which he describes four species in his Trans. Werner, Soc. vol. i. ALSTON-MORE, or ALSTON MOOR. See ALDSTON MOOR. ALSTROEMER (Jonas), a patriotic Swedish manufacturer, was born of poor parents at Alingsas, in West Gothland, in 1685. He visited London while in very indigent circumstances; and paid such particular attention to its trade, and the manufactures of Great Britain, that, on his return home, he soon raised his native town to a flourishing condition, and kindled a spirit of emulation which diffused itself all over Sweden. Alstroemer followed up this good work by collecting information respecting manufactures from all parts of Europe; and carried on, at the same time, a most extensive sugar-house at Gottenburgh, and traded to the Indies and the Levant. He is said to have introduced many useful plants, particularly the potatoe, into Sweden. He also improved the woollen trade, by importing sheep from England and Spain, and the Angora goat. Alstroemer, in the decline of life, was deservedly honoured with letters of nobility, the order of the polar star, and the title of counsellor of commerce. The academy of sciences chose him a member, and the national states decreed a public statue to be erected to his honour on the exchange of Stockholm. He died in 1761, leaving a large fortune to his four sons, three of whom were also men of talents and considerable public importance. ALSTROEMER (Claude), born in 1736, became a pupil of Linnæus. He travelled over a great part of Europe, in the course of which he sent many valuable plants to his preceptor, and, among the rest, the seeds of a fine Peruvian plant, to which Linnæus gave the name of the lily of Alstroemer. One of his papers on the simia mammon is in the memoirs of the academy of Stockholm. He died in 1794. ALSTROMERIA, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the hexandria class of plants; and, in the natural method, ranking under the eleventh order, sarmentaceæ The characters are: There is no calyx: the corolla is nearly bilabiated; and consists of six petals, the two inferior tubular at the base : the stamina consist of six subulated filaments, declining and unequal; the antheræ oblong: the pistillum has an hexangular germen beneath; the stylus declining, filiform, the length of the stamina; and three oblong bifid stigmata: the pericarpium is a roundish hexangular capsule, with three cells and three valves: the seeds are globular and numerous. There are five species, natives of Italy and Peru. ALSVIG, one of the Hebrides, near the isle of Sky. ALT, a river in Lancashire, which runs into the Irish Channel, north of Liverpool. ALT, or ALTWA, a river in Transylvania, whose banks and sands contain particles of gold. ALT, from altus, high, Lat., in music, a term applied to the high notes in the scale. ALTA GRACIA, a city of South America, the capital of the province of Satagaos, in the kingdom of Granada. It was founded in 1540, but has at present a scanty population. Also a town in the government of Buenos Ayres, and province of Cordova, twenty miles south-southwest of Cordova. This is the name likewise of five settlements, three of which are in Guiana and in the province of Cumana; one in the kingdom of Peru, and government of Tucuman; and the other in the province and government of Venezuela. This ALTAHEST, in chemistry. See ALKAHEST. ALTAIC CHAIN, OR ALTAIC MOUNTAINS, a range of mountains in Asia, extending, under different names, about 5000 miles in length, between the 70th and 140th degrees of east longitude. The compact of this immense chain consists, for the most part, of granite, porphyry, limestone, marble, and various valuable ores. In some parts of it, in Russia, are several gold and silver mines; and large masses of native iron have been occasionally obtained. range gives rise to many of the largest rivers of northern Asia, and several lower ridges diverge from it, and diversify the neighbouring districts. Little, however, is known beyond its outlines and general direction. The Bogdo Tola, or Bogdo Alim, the Almighty mountain, is situated in about 94°. E. lon, and 47°. N. lat, on the limit between the Soongarian and Mongolian deserts: thence a chain runs north-west, called the Golden Mountain, being the main Altaian ridge, and passing the sources of the Irtish, extends to the lake of Altyn. Another range called Changai, passes to the south, and a ridge, by the Tartars called Alla Koola, or Alla Tau, or the |