DICTIONARY OF COMMERCE. A Book of Reference. CONTAINING: AN ACCOUNT OF THE NATURAL PRODUCTIONS AND MANUFACTURES DEALT WITHI HEMISPHERES. "There is no mar who is not, in some degree, a merchant, who has not some- DR. JOHNSON. BIBL LONDON: WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER, PREFACE. Co OMPARATIVELY few people, even men engaged in business, possess a Dictionary of Commerce, although it is of the greatest service where its value is understood. Such a work should exhibit probably the work of reference that the knowledge of a man of business with information gathered from reliable sources regarding the state of trade in all parts of the world, and present the combination in such a manner that, in so far as commercial matters are concerned, the inquirer may be well satisfied. To estimate its importance we need only consider how advartageous it is in buying and selling to have the advice or assistance of an expert, one who can give at the right moment, the exact information wanted, thus saving time and preventing mistakes. In a general way, a Dictionary of Commerce aims at affording the same assistance as the human agent, with the additional advantage of being always at hand. But hitherto a book of this description has never been published at a price within the reach of the public at large, for the works of McCulloch, Waterson, and others, are costly, not perhaps more so than their worth demands, but, at any rate, they are too expensive to become popular outside the higher circles of commerce. It was, consequently, thought desirable to publish a Dictionary of Commerce, as one of "Beeton's National Reference Books," which should contain a concise account of the commodities bought and sold at home and abroad, an epitome of the law and customs observed in the commercial world, with such directions in keeping accounts, in dealing with merchantable property and in transacting business as are generally followed in mercantile concerns. found of service to both traders and non-traders. Important questions are continually In this handy form it will be arising in connection with matters of business, and as these are of abundant growth and are generally so varied as to be not always within the scope of one's experience, it is well worth the while of every business man to possess a book of reference which he may conveniently and confidently consult. London, 1873. RONALD SMITH. BEETON'S DICTIONARY OF COMMERCE. Aaggi-Doggii A A, in commerce, stands for accepted. AAA signifies, among chemists, amalgam, or the operation of amalgamation." AAGGI-DOGGI, in Persian, means "The Bitter Mountain," being the name given to a dangerous passage taken by trading caravans on crossing the frontiers of Persia on the route from Constantinople to Ispahan. ABACUS, a table used in calculations by the ancients. ABAFT, the stern part of a ship, in sea phraseology. Aberdare Railway trustee or agent he prejudices his claims against the underwriters. When abandoned, the subject-matter becomes the property of the insurers, who become liable for the necessary expenses of the casualty, but not for any claims unconnected with the loss, nor for the fulfilment of any engagements entered into by the owners, master, or freighter of a ship. ABAS, a Persian weight of 3 grains avoirdupois, used in weighing pearls. ABASAS, a second-class wine of the Douro, Portugal, considered light and wholesome if unadulterated. ABAT CHAUVEE, an inferior kind of French wool. ABATELEMENT, a process adopted in the East, which deprives merchants of the right of trading when they repudiate their bargains or refuse to liquidate their obligations. ABB, the yarn of a weaver's web is so called, the wool of which is called Abb-wool. ABBA, a coarse durable cloth made for home consumption in the Velayet of Adrianople. ABBAS, a woollen cloak worn by the natives of Turkish Arabia, manufactured and sold in Bagdad, according to quality, at from 30 to 500 piastres each. ABASSI, a Persian silver coin worth about one shilling sterling; there are double and ABA-GAITON, Turkish braid for cloaks. treble Abassis, which, being liable to adul ABANDONMENT [Fr. délaissement] in com- teration, the payment of the coin is made by merce, means the surrender of the subject-weight and not by the number of pieces. matter of an insurance policy when it has either been destroyed or injured so as to be of little value to the assured. According to Arnold, abandonment is defined to be "the act of cession, by which, in cases where the loss or destruction of the property, though not absolute, is highly imminent, or its recovery is too expensive to be worth the attempt, the assured, on condition of recovering at once the whole amount of the insurance, relinquishes to the writers all his property and interest in the thing insured as far as it is covered by the policy, with all the claims which may arise from its ownership, and all the profits which may arise from its recovery." An abandonment must be total, as in no case may one part of the property damaged be retained when jointly insured with another, consequently it is usual to insure for different objects, as by this means they may be surrendered separately. When once this course is adopted it is final, and may not be altered even if the loss has been proved to be of a less disastrous character than was supposed previously. Notice of abandonment ought to be given to the underwriters as soon as the owner of the property is furnished with all the facts of the case. The facts may be communicated either orally or in writing, and the notice should contain a distinct use of the word "abandon," and in his subsequent procedure the assured should regard himself simply as the trustee for the insurers, as by recognizing any sale of the damaged property or retaining the proceeds of such a sale in his hands otherwise than as a ABBOCATI, the name given to their sweet wines by the Italians. They are Moscatello, Alsatico, Vino Santo, Veruaccia, and are the produce of the Roman States. ABDELARI, a fruit grown in Egypt resem bling the melon. ABEL-MOSC, or AMBRETTE, is the seed of a plant growing in Egypt and the Antilles Islands whose leaves are greenish and velveted, much resembling those of marsh-mallows, and therefore called by botanists the velvet marshmallow of the Indies. The seed is scarcely bigger than the head of a large pin, in form like a little kidney; greyish, and, as it were, shagreened on the upper part, with a smell partaking both of amber and musk. It is principally used as a composition in some perfumes. It should be chosen new, plump, dry, clean, and of a good scent. ABERDARE RAILWAY, guaranteed 10 per cent. in perp. by Taff Vale, sub. cap. £50,000, B |