panied by heat, thirst and fever, while it inflames, or violently stimulates the bile, and, not unlike the plague, promotes a speedy dissolution of the humours.
It is remarkable that, according to Boerhaave, the white of eggs was employed by the reputed Paracelsus, as a menstruum of extraordinary properties; and which greatly contributed to his fame. When boiled hard in the shell, and then suspended in the air by a thread, it dissolves and drops down into a flavourless liquor; which, though destitute of acrid, oily, or saponaceous ingredients, makes a more perfect solution of myrrh than either water, oil, spirits, or even fire itself can effect.
In domestic economy, the white of eggs is usefully employed for clarifying ale, wine, &c. for which purpose it should be mixed with the liquor, and the whole boiled together: thus all the gross particles of the latter will subside, or be carried off with the former, which, by this process, is reduced to a concrete state, and is either precipitated, or combined with, the feculent ingredients of the liquid.
The vegetable albumen is one of those primary constituents of plants, which may be separated by chemical aid, without undergoing any change of their native or inherent qualities. It is found principally in cresses, scurvy-grass, hemlock, and most abundantly in the antiscorbutic and narcotic plants, where it generally resides in the leaves. Its existence may be easily discovered, by mixing the freshly expressed juice of these plants with spirits of wine, or by macerating them with hot water, nearly to the boiling point: in both cases, the albumen will be coagulated and separated from the other fluids in the form of cheesy matter. It is, perhaps, superfluous to observe, that this vegeto-animal production may in times of scarcity serve as a proper substitute for the white of eggs; it being possessed of similar properties.—See the article Eggs.
Alcali. See Alkali.
Alcea rosea, L. See Hollyhock and Paper.
Alchemilla vulgaris, L. See Common Ladies' Mantle.
ALCHEMY is the art of transmuting metals into gold, or changing the inferior into more precious ores. It was formerly much cultivated, and held in high estimation by fanatics, as well as by many learned but deluded men: in later times, however, it has been almost generally exploded, and is now pursued only by crafty impostors.
The ruin which frequently attended this popular delusion, became so exclusive, that alchemy has, at various times, been proscribed in several states. The Romans banished such persons as professed it; and Dioclesian and Cæsar ordered all books on this subject to be publicly burned. In England it has, at no period, been much encouraged; for the native good sense of our countrymen generally prevailed, so that this useless art has, by the more enlightened, always been considered in its true colours.
ALCOHOL, in chemistry, signifies spirit of wine, in a more ardent and purified state, obtained by distillation. Its specific gravity is to that of distilled water, as 815 to 1000. Whten diluted, in the proportion of about twenty ounces to seventeen of water, it is called proof spirit, and is
