t of the pay apportioned monthly to the wives, children,
mothers, or destitute fathers of the warrant and petty officers, seamen,
and marines of ships of war on foreign stations. In the merchant service
all such stipulations for allotting any portion of a seaman's wages
during his absence must be inserted in the agreement.

ALLOTMENT-LIST. A document containing the requisite details, attested by
the four signing officers, to be transmitted to the Navy Office.

ALLOTTING. Persons agreeing to buy a ship's cargo appoint a
disinterested person to allot a share to each by affixing their
respective names.

ALLOW, TO. To concede a destined portion of stores, &c.

ALLOWANCE. The ration or allotted quantum of provisions which each
individual receives; and it is either double, full, two-thirds, half, or
short, according to incidents.

ALLUVION. An accretion formed along sea-shores and the banks of rivers
by the deposition of the various substances held in solution or washed
by the waters. Sea alluvions differ from those of rivers, in that they
form a slope _towards_ the land.

ALLY. A friendly or confederated state.

ALMACANTARS. Circles parallel to the horizon, and supposed to pass
through every degree of the meridian. An Arabic term, synonymous with
_parallels of latitude_.

ALMACANTARS STAFF. An instrument formerly used at sea for observing the
sun's amplitude, formed of an arc of about 15 degrees.

ALMADIA. A small African canoe, made of the bark of trees. Some of the
larger square-sterned negro-boats are also thus designated.

ALMAFADAS. Large dunnage cut on the coast of Portugal.

ALMAGEST. The celebrated work of Ptolemy on geometry and astronomy.
Ricciolus adopted the term in 1651 for his _Body of Mathematical
Science_. It became general, whence Chaucer--

"His _Almagiste_ and bookes, grete and small."

ALMANAC. A record of the days, feasts, and celestial phenomena of the
year. Though confounded with calendar, it is essentially different--the
latter relating to time in general, and the almanac to that of a year;
but the term calendar can be properly used for a particular year. (_See_
EPHEMERIS.)

ALMATH [_Hamal_]. The star in Aries whence the first mansion of the moon
takes its name. The Frankeleine in Chaucer says:--

"And by his eighte speres in his werking,
He knew ful wel how far _Alnath_ was shove
Fro the hed of thilke fix Aries above,
That in the ninthe spere considered is."