the commercial name of an impure carbonate of soda, which is produced by the incineration of several marine and other plants inhabiting the shores of Spain and the Levant, especially those of the genus Saloeta, which for this purpose are extensively cultivated in the huerta of Murcia, and other places on the eastern shores of Spain. Barilla is largely used in the manufacture of glass and soap, and in bleaching. Kelp is an inferior alkali prepared from certain kinds of sea-weed in a similar manner. The manufacture of barilla was introduced into Europe by the Saracens, who called it kali; whence, by the addition of the Arabic prefix al, came the term alkali. Since the introduction of artificial soda (soude factice), the importation of barilla has greatly declined. (M'Culloch's Com. Diet.)