Chapter XCIV: Act 1903: , the powers and duties of the Board of Trade under the (19)

The higher aldehydes of the series resemble acetaldehyde in their general behaviour. Unsaturated aldehydes are also known, corresponding to the olefine alcohols; they show the characteristic properties of the saturated aldehydes and can form additive compounds in virtue of their unsaturated nature. The simplest member of the series is acrolein, C3H4O or CH2 : CH.CHO, which can be prepared by the oxidation of allyl alcohol, or by the abstraction of the elements of water from glycerin by heating it with anhydrous potassium bisulphate. It is also produced by the action of sodium on a mixture of epichlorhydrin and methyl iodide, C3H5OCl + CH3I + 2Na = C3H4O + NaI + NaCl + CH4. It is a colourless liquid, with a very pungent smell, and attacks the mucous membrane very rapidly. It boils at 52.4 deg. C. and is soluble in water. It oxidizes readily: exposure to air giving acrylic acid, nitric acid giving oxalic acid, bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid giving carbon dioxide and formic acid. It combines with bromine to form a dibromide, from which E. Fischer, by the action of baryta water, obtained the synthetic sugars a- and b-acrose (Berichte, 1889, 22, p. 360). Metacrolein, (C3H4O)3, is a polymer of acrolein. By passing acrolein vapour into ammonia, acrolein ammonia, C6H9NO, is obtained. It is a reddish amorphous mass, insoluble in alcohol, and when distilled yields picoline (methyl pyridine) (A. Baeyer, Ann., 1870, 155, p. 283). Citronellal, rhodinal and geranial are also unsaturated aldehydes (see TERPENES.)

The aromatic aldehydes resemble the aliphatic aldehydes in most respects, but in certain reactions they exhibit an entirely different behaviour. They do not polymerize, and in the presence of caustic alkalies do not resinify, but oxidize to alcohols and acids (see BENZALDEHYDE for Cannizzaro's reaction). When heated with alcoholic potassium cyanide they are converted into benzoins (q.v..) Vanillin does not give the Cannizzaro reaction, but with alcoholic potash forms vanillic acid, HOOC(1).C6H3.OCH3 (3).OH(4), and vanilloin. With ammonia, benzaldehyde does not form an aldehyde ammonia, but condenses to hydrobenzamide, ( C6H5CH)3N2, with elimination of water. Cumic aldehyde (cuminol), (CH3)2CH(1)C6H4.CHO(4), is found in Roman caraway oil and in oil of the water hemlock. It is a liquid, boiling at 235 deg. C., and has a specific gravity of 0.973. On distillation with zinc dust it forms cymene (1.4 methyl isopropyl benzene).

Salicylic aldehyde (ortho-hydroxybenzaldehyde), HO(1). C6H4.CHO(2), an aromatic oxyaldehyde, is a colourless liquid of boiling point 196 deg. C. and specific gravity 1.172 (15 deg. ). It is found in the volatile oils of Spiraea, and can be obtained by the oxidation of the glucoside salicin, (C13H18O7), which is found in willow bark. It is usually prepared by the so-called ``Reimer'' reaction (Ber., 1876, 9, p. 1268), in which chloroform acts on phenol in the presence of a caustic alkali,

C5H5OH + CHCl3 + 4KHO = 3KCl + 3H2O + KO.C6H4.CHO, some para-oxybenaldehyde being formed at the same time. It is volatile (para-oxybenzaldehyde is not) and gives a violet coloration with ferric chloride. For dioxybenzaldehydes and their derivatives see PIPERONAL and VANILLIN.

Cinnamic aldehyde (b-phenyl acrolein), C6H5.CH : CH.CHO, an unsaturated aromatic aldehyde, is the chief constituent of cinnamon oil. It is prepared by oxidizing cinnamyl alcohol, or by the action of sodium ethylate on a mixture of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde. It is a colourless aromatic-smelling oily liquid, which boils at 247 deg. C. and readily oxidizes on exposure.

By condensation of aldehydes with pyruvic acid and naphthylamines, the a-alkyl-naphthoquinoline-g-carboxylic acids are produced; the same reaction takes place with the aromatic amines generally (O. Doebner, Ann. 1804, 281, p. 1),

COOH
|
/ \ COOH / \ / \
| | + | + R.CHO = | | | + 2H2O + 2H.
\ / \NH2 CO.CH3 \ / \N/ \R

ALDEN, JOHN (1599?-1687), one of the ``Pilgrims'' who in 1620 emigrated to America on the ``Mayflower'' and founded the Plymouth Colony. According to William Bradford's History of the Plimoth Plantation, he was hired as a cooper at Southampton, ``where the ship victuled,'' just before the voyage, ``and being a hopfull yong man, was much desired.'' He was one of the first settlers of Duxbury, Massachusetts, where he lived during the greater part of his life, and from 1633 until 1675 he was an ``Assistant'' to the governor of the colony, frequently serving as acting governor. At the time of his death, at Duxbury, on the 12th of September 1687, he was the last male survivor of the signers of the ``Mayflower Compact'' of 1620, and with the exception of Mary Allerton was the last survivor of the ``Mayflower'' company. He is remembered chiefly because of a popular legend, put into verse as The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry W. Longfellow, concerning his courtship of Priscilla Mullins, whom he married in 1623, after having wooed her first on behalf of his friend, Miles Standish.

ALDER, a genus of plants (Alnus) belonging to the order Betulaceae, the best-known of which is the common alder (A. glutinosa.) The genus comprises a few species of shrubs or trees, seldom reaching a large size, distributed through the North Temperate zone, and in the New World passing along the Andes southwards to Chile. The British species A. glutinosa is confined to the Old World. This tree thrives best in moist soils, has a shrubby appearance, and grows under favourable circumstances to a height of 40 or 50 ft. It is characterized by its short-stalked roundish leaves, becoming wedge-shaped at the base and with a slightly toothed margin. When young they are somewhat glutinous, whence the specific name, becoming later a dark olive green. As with other plants growing near water it keeps its leaves longer than do trees in drier situations, and the glossy green foliage lasting after other trees have put on the red or brown of autumn renders it valuable for landscape effect. The stout cylindrical male catkins are pendulous, reddish in colour and 2 to 4 in. long; the female are smaller, less than an inch in length and reddish-brown in colour, suggesting young fir-cones. When the small winged fruits have been scattered the ripe, woody, blackish cones remain, often lasting through the winter. The alder is readily propagated by seeds, but throws up root-suckers abundantly. It is important as coppice-wood on marshy ground. The wood is soft, white when first cut and turning to pale red; the knots are beautifully mottled. Under water the wood is very durable, and it is therefore used for piles. The supports of the Rialto at Venice, and many buildings at Amsterdam, are of alder-wood. Furniture is sometimes made from the wood, and it supplies excellent charcoal for gunpowder. The bark is astringent; it is used for tanning and dyeing.

ALDER-FLY, the name given to neuropterous insects of the family Sialidae, related to the ant-lions, with long filamentous antennae and four large wings, of which the anterior pair is rather longer than the posterior. The females lay a vast number of eggs upon grass stems near water. The larvae are aquatic, active, armed with strong sharp mandibles, and breathe by means of seven pairs of abdominal branchial filaments. When full sized they leave the water and spend a quiescent pupal stage on the land before metamorphosis into the sexually mature insect. Sialis lutaria is a well-known British example. In America there are two genera, Corydalis and Chauliodes, which are remarkable for their relatively gigantic size and for the immense length and sabre-like shape of the mandibles.

ALDERMAN (from A.-S. ealdorman, compounded of the comparative degree of the adjective eald, old, and man), a term implying the possession of an office of rank or dignity, and, in modern times, applied to an office-bearer in the municipal corporations and county councils of England and Wales,and in the municipal corporations of Ireland and the United States. Among the Anglo-Saxons, earls, governors of provinces and other persons of distinction received this title. Thus we read of the aldermannus totius Angliae, who seems to have corresponded to the officer afterwards styled capitalis justiciarius Angliae, or chief-justice of England; the aldermannus regis, probably an occasional magistrate, answering to the modern justice of assize, or perhaps an officer whose duty it was to prosecute for the crown; and aldermannus comitatus, a magistrate with a middle rank between what was afterwards called the earl and the sheriff, who sat at the trial of causes with the bishop and declared the common law, while the bishop proceeded according to ecclesiastical law. Besides these, we meet with the titles of aldermannus civitatis, burgi, castelli, hundredi sive wapentachii, &c. In England, before the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act, their functions varied according to the charters of the different boroughs. By the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and other acts, consolidated by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, the aldermen are elected by the councillors for six years, one-half going out every three years. The number of councillors in each borough varies according to its magnitude. One-fourth of the municipal council consists of aldermen and three-fourths of councillors. In the counties, too, the number of aldermen is one-third of the number of councillors, except in London, where it is one-sixth. In the municipal corporations of Scotland there is no such title as alderman, the office-bearers of corresponding rank there being termed bailies. The corporation of the city of London was not included in the Borough Reform Act, and the antiquated system remains there in full force. The court of aldermen consists of twenty-six, twenty-five of whom are elected for life by the freemen of the respective wards, who return two persons, one of whom the court of aldermen elect to supply the vacancy. The city is divided into twenty-six wards; twenty-four of these send up one alderman each, the other two combine to choose a twenty-fifth. The twenty-sixth alderman serves for the independent borough of Southwark (q.v.) and is appointed by the other aldermen, who generally select the senior from among themselves when a vacancy occurs. The lord mayor is elected from such of the aldermen as have served the office of sheriff; of these the Common Hall, which consists of the freemen of the different wards, select two, and the aldermen elect one of these to the mayoralty. The court of aldermen has the power of appointment to certain offices, exercises judicial functions in regard to licensing and in disputes connected with the ward election, has some power of disposal over the city cash and possesses magisterial control over the city, each alderman being a judge and magistrate for the whole city, and by virtue of his office exercising the functions of a justice of the peace. The aldermen are members of the court of common council, the legislative body of the corporation, which consists in all of 232 members, the remainder being elected annually by the freemen. In the United States aldermen form as a rule a legislative rather than a judicial body, although in some cities they hold courts and possess very considerable magisterial powers.

ALDERNEY (Fr. Aurigny), one of the Channel Islands, the northernmost of the principal members of the group, belonging to England. It lies in 49 deg. 43' N. and 2 deg. 12' W., 9 m. W. of Cape La Hague on the coast of Normandy. The harbour, on the north coast in the bay of Braye, is 25 m. from St Peter Port, Guernsey, by way of which outer communications are principally carried on, and 55 m. S. by E. of Portland Bill, the nearest point of England. The length of the island from N. E. to S. W. is 3 1/2 m., its average breadth 1 m., its area 1962 acres, and its population (1901) 2062.

The strait between the island and Cape La Hague, called the Race of Alderney (French Raz Blanchard), confined by numerous rocks and reefs off either coast, is rendered very dangerous in stormy weather by conflicting currents. Through this difficult channel the scattered remnant of the French fleet under Tourville escaped after the defeat of La Hogue in 1692. To the west is the narrower and also dangerous channel of the Swinge (Sinige), between Alderney and the uninhabited islets of Burhou, Ortach and others. West of these again are the Casquets, a group of rocks to which attaches a long record of shipwreck. Rocks and reefs fringe all the coasts of Alderney. The island itself is a level open tableland, which on the south-west and south falls abruptly to the sea in a majestic series of cliffs. The greatest elevation of the land is about 300 ft. Towards the north-west, north and east the less rocky coast is indented by several bays, with open sandy shores, of which those of Crabby, Brave, Corblets and Longy are the most noteworthy. South-west of Longy Bay, where the coast rises boldly, there is a remarkable projecting block of sandstone, called La Roche Pendante (Hanging Rock) overhanging the cliff. Sandstone (mainly along the north-east coast), granite and porphyry are the chief geological formations. There are a few streams, but water is obtained mainly from wells. Trees are scarce. The town of St Anne stands almost in the centre of the island overlooking and extending towards the harbour. Here are the courthouse, a gateway commemorating Albert, prince-consort, the clock tower, which belonged to the ancient parish church, and the modern church (1850), in Early English style, an excellent example of the work of Sir Gilbert Scott. The church is a memorial to the family of Le Mesurier, in which the hereditary governorship of the island was vested until the abolition of the office in 1825. There is a chain of forts round the north coast from Clanque Fort on the west to Fort Essex on the east; the largest is Fort Albert, above Brave Bay. In 1847 work was begun on a great breakwater west of the harbour, the intention being to provide a harbour of refuge, but although a sum exceeding one and a half million sterling was spent the scheme was unsuccessful. The soil of Alderney is light, fertile and well cultivated; grain and vegetables are grown and early potatoes are exported. A large part of the island is under grass, affording pasture for cattle. The well-known term ``Alderney cattle,'' however, has lost in great measure its former signification of a distinctive breed. Alderney is included in the bailiwick of Guernsey. It has a court consisting of a judge and six jurats, attorney-general, prevot, greffiero and sergent; but as a judicial court it is subordinate to that of Guernsey, and its administrative powers are limited to such matters as the upkeep of roads.

For its relations to the constitution of the bailiwick, and for the history of the island, see CHANNEL ISLANDS.

ALDERSHOT, an urban district in the Basingstoke parliamentary division of Hampshire, England, 34 m. S.W. by W. of London, on the London & South-Western and the South- Eastern & Chatham railways. It was a mere village till 1855, when Aldershot camp was established. Pop. (1891) 25,595; (1901) 30,974. Its germ is to be found in the temporary camp on Chobham Ridges, formed in 1853 by Lord Hardinge, the commander-in-chief, the success of which convinced him of the necessity of giving troops practical instruction in the field and affording the generals opportunities of manoeuvring large bodies of the three arms. He therefore advised the purchase of a tract of waste land whereon a permanent camp might be established. His choice fell on Aldershot, a spot also recommended by strategic reasons, being situated on the flank of any army advancing upon London from the south. Nothing came of Lord Hardinge's proposal till the experience of the Crimean campaign fully endorsed his opinion. The lands at Aldershot, an extensive open heath country, sparsely dotted by fir-woods and intersected by the Basingstoke canal, were then acquired by the crown. Wooden huts were erected in 1855, and permanent buildings to replace them were begun in 1881. Under the Barracks Act 1890, and the Military Works Act of 1897 and 1899, large sums were provided for completing the work. The former division of North and South camps and permanent barracks no longer obtains. North camp is now named Marlborough Lines, with a field artillery barrack and five infantry barracks called after Marlborough's victories. South camp is now named Stanhope Lines, after Mr Stanhope, who was secretary of state for war when the Barracks