A M A
fctaform of a foftifh brittle mafs, called the Amalgam of mer- cury with lead. Boerh. New Meth. Chem. P. 3. p. 296. This fhews the general method of Amalgamizattons. — After the fame manner the amalgama of tin is made.
Amalgamation of copper. — The amalgamating mercury with cupper is a very difficult procefs* mercury not mixing well with that metal tfnlefs when in fufion, and the heat iuf- ficient to keep it in that ftate being great enough to evapo- rate the mercury. Trituration, however, may be made to fupply the place of heat, firft reducing the copper to an ex- ceeding fine powder. This Amalgama boiled in river water, ■and then d if tilled in a retort, and cohobated twice, leaves the copper, in form of a new metal, of the colour of gold, and more ductile than before. Shaw's Lectures, p. 433- Amalgamations of copper may likewife be performed by difiblving the metal in Aqua forth, diluting the folution with twelve times the quantity of pure water, then heating it and putting into it polifhed plates of iron ; by this means the copper will be precipitated to the bottom, and the iron diflblved. Pour off the liquor and wafh the precipitated powder with hot water, till it become infipid. The powder being well dried and put in a glafs mortar, with an equal quantity of hot mercury, an Amalg ama will be made.
Amalgamation of filver may be effected after the fame manner, by difiblving it in Aqua forth, and then precipi- tating it. V. Burggr. Lex. Med. T. I. p. 5i6._ The method of extracting fdver by Amalgamation is this ; wafh the ores, earths, ftones, fands, &c. in Which filver lies hidden in its metalick form, and when well warned infufe them in very four vinegar, in a clean wooden, or glafs veflel ; about one tenth part of alum, muft alfo be firft boiled, and diflblved in this vinegar, let the vinegar entirely cover the ore, and leave it thus for one or two days. Decant off the vinegar, and wafh the macerated powder in pure warm water, till the water becomes quite infipid, when juft poured upon it ; dry the powder, and put it into an iron mortar, then add mercury four times the quantity of the dried powder, and with a wooden peftle fitted to the-'fize of the mortar with a large round head, beat the whole till every part of the pow- der is rendered of a blackifh colour, by the minute globules of mercury mixt with it ; at this time pour water on the whole, and continue rubbing it with the peftle for fome time ; pour out the turbid water, and add frefh till all the loofe powder is warned off; then dry the Amalgama with a fpunge. Cra- mer's Art of Maying, p. 232.
To feparate the filver from this Amalgama,- fprcad a thin lea- ther over a wide earthen or glafs veflel, fold it up in the form of bag, and put the Amalgama into it, tie the bag very firmly at the top, and fquecze it very hard, and the greateft part of the mercury will be forced thro' into the veflel placed
' underneath ; untie the bag, and all the filver and gold, if there be any there, will be found remaining in it, with about an equal quantity of the mercury mixed with it. Put this pafte into a glafs retort, fet it in a fand heat, adapt on a receiver with a quantity of water in it, let the nofe of the retort be immerfed in the water, make a fire confidently ftrong, and the mercury will all be driven into the receiver, falling into the water with a hilling noife. If you hear a crackling in the retort, diminifh the fire a little; when no more quicklilver can be driven over by a great fire, let the retort grow cool, then take it away and fplit it by means of a thread dipped in brimftone tied round the belly of the retort, and then fet on fire, take out the mafs, and in an open fire run it with the help of borax into a mafs. Cramer's Art of Allaying, p. 254.
Amalgamation is alfo applied, in a lefs proper fenfc, to a folution of fulphur with mercury. Scbrod. 1. 1. c. 3. In this fenfe Amalgamation amounts to the fame with molli- fication or foftening ; in which fenfe, the word is ufed by fome antient chemifts. Caji. Lex. Med. p. 37.
AMALOZQUE, in zoology, a name under which N'terembcrg defcribes a Mexican bird. The neck of this is red, it is of the fize of the turtle, and lives about the lakes and rivers, but has not webbed feet ; the breaft, belly, and under part of the win^s are white ; the tail is variegated with black and yellow, and it has two black circles, a finger's fpace afun- der, round the neck and breaft. It has a very long and flen- der beak, and feeds on the infects common in watery places. Ray, Ornithol. p. 301.
AMARACUS, among antient naturalifts. — There hasbeenmuch confufion among the antients, about the two words Amara- cus and Sampfuchns, which fome will have to be the names of the fame plant, and others of two different ones. The antients have indeed faid, that fome people called the Ama- racus, Sampfucbus. Diocles in Atheiueus, and Diofcorides, both affirm this ; but the latter author fays alfo, that the Oleum fampfucbinum, and Oleum amaracinum were two different oils. It follows very certainly from this, that the two plants were different ; and tho' fome people might have called the Amara- cus by the name Sampfucbus, it does not follow, that this word Sampfucbus, Was not alfo the name of a peculiar plant. People who have been too earneft in attempting to prove, ' that they were different plants, have brought in Theophraf- tus, as faying it ; but Theophraftus no where fo much as memioiis the word Sampfucbus. See Sampsuchus.
AMA
AMARANTE, an order of knighthood, inftituted m Sweden by queen Chriftina, in 1653, at the clofe of an annual feaft, celebrated in that country called IVirtfchaft. This feaft was folemnized with entertainments, balls, rriaf- querades, and the like diverfions, and held from evening till the next morning.— That prineefs, thinking the name" too vulgar, thanged it into that of the feajl of the gods, in regard each perfon here rcprcfented fome deity, according as it fell to his lot. The queen ailumed the name of Amarante, that is* unfaiding, or immortal. The young nobility, drefled in the habit of nymphs and fhepherds, ferved the gods at the table, —At the end of the feaft, the queen threw off her habit, which was covered with diamonds, leaving it to be pulled in pieces by the mafqucs ; and, in memory of fo gallant a feaft* founded a military order, called, in Swedifh; Gefcilfcbafft, into which all that had been prefent at the feaft were ad- mitted, including fixteen lords, and as many ladies, befldes the queen. Their device was the cypher of Amarante, compofed of two A's, the one erect, the other inverted, and interwoven together ; the whole inclofed by a lawrel crown, with this motto, Dolce nella memoria. V. Jujlinian. Hift. Ord. Milit. c. 85. Trev. Diet. Univ. in voc. Amarante. Bulftrcde Whitlock, the Englifh embafTador from Cromwell to the court of Sweden, was made a knight of the order of Amarante. — On which account it feems to be, that we fome- times find him ftiled Sir Eulftrode Whitlock. AJhmale, Inftit. Ord. Gart. c. 3. p. 123- feq. Wood, Ath. Oxon. T. 2. p. 546.
AMARANTH, or PrinceVFeather, in botany, the name of a genus of plants ; the characters of which are thefe. The flower confifts of feveral petals, difpofed in form of a rofe. The piftil arifes from the center of the flower, and finally becomes an oval or roundifh fruit, containing round ifh feeds.
The fpecies of A?nara?itb enumerated by Mr. Tournefort are thefe.
1. 'The largeft Amaranth, with dufky coloured flowers and white feeds. 2. The narrower leaved lower Amaranth, with a paler panicle. 3. The largeft Amaranth, with a long .fparfed panicle. 4. The great Amaranth, with red feeds.
- 5. The great early flowering Amaranth, with pale feeds. 6. The great Wild Amaranth of New England, which is all over green. 7. The great wild Amaranth of New England, with purple fpikes. 8. The great wild Amaranth of New England, with flefh coloured fpikes. 9. The great beautiful fcarlet Amaranth. 10. The crooked fpiked Amaranth. 11. The crcRcd Amara?itb, with bright red flowers. 12. The fmall late floWering reticular, homed Amaranth. 13. The crimfon Amara?itb. 14. The Amaranth, with yellow crooked panicles. 15. TheAmaranth, with fcarkt panicles, 16. The Amaranth, with brownifh red panicles. 17. TheAmaranth, with dufky violet coloured panicles. 18. The fimple pani- cled Amaranth, and purple flowers. 19. The great Ama- ranth, with upright purple panicles. 20. The great Ama- ranth, with upright green panicles. 21. The great Ama- ranth, with yellow panicles. 22. The filky fpiked Amaranth, with yellowifh green flowers. 23. TheAmaranth^ with fcar- let fpikes, variegated with a caft of yellow. 24. The Ama- ranth, with fpikes of yellow and flefh-colour. 25. The Ama- rantb,vj\th fingle panicles of a fhining flame-colour. 26. The Amaranth, with a gold yellow fpike, variegated with red. 27. The perennial fpiked Sicilian Amaranth. 28. The talleft*, Jong-leaved American Amaranth, with whitifh green fpikes. 29. The Amaranth, with conglomerated panicles. 30. The Amaranth, with large conglomerated panicles, and deep pur- ple flowers. 31. The female, or bright coloured variegated leaved Amaranth. 32. The male variegated leaved A?narantb, with dulkier coloured leaves. 33. The prickly Amaranth, with flender panicles, 34. The Indian thorny Amaranth, with green fpikes. 35. The Indian fpiked, prickly Ama- ranth, with purple flowers. 36. The fmall procumbent, purft lain ed -leaved Eaft-Indian Amaranth, with headed flowers. Tournef. Lift. p. 234, 235.
The culture and propagation of this beautful plant is this. It is to be fowed on a good hot-bed in February, or in the beginning of March, and in about a fortnight's time the plants will rife. Another hot-bed muft then be prepared, covered with fine mould to about four inches deep, and the young plants muft be carefully raifed, and removed from the other, and planted at about four inches diftance every way, and gently watered to fettle the earth to their roots. In the heat of the day they muft be fcrecned with mats from the heat of the fun, and theymuft have air given them, by raifing the glafs that covers the bed ; and the glaffes muft be either turned, or wiped from their moifture, as often as they appear wet. In about three weeks or a month's time, thefe plants will have grown fo large as to require another hot-bed; this muft he of a moderate temper, and covered fix inches deep with fine earth, then take them carefully up, and preferve as much of the earth about their roots as may be, and plant Lnem in this bed at eight inches diftance, then let them be watered fre- quently a little at a time, and fhaded with mats in the heat of the day. In the begining of May another hot- bed muft prepared, with a deep frame, that the plants have room to
grow ;
